Sepang Test (cont'd)

pablo <pablo.at.simply.TakeThisOut@hombre.dot.net> Mon, 14 Feb 2005 05:39:13
 >Of course, what will really count is the first race. Still, it looks like a
 >statement from Tamada. Biaggi's clocking second while *still* recovering
 >from a leg fracture (at what time does the fact he's still convalescent
 >begin to be seen as a problem for the early part of the season?) is also
 >impressive. And Xaus seems to have a very sensitive butt. That's about as
 >much as I can conclude from these tests...

And that the top 10 are really close and there's a 2 second gap (at
Sepang) to all the rest. And that Bayliss is struggling. That Capirossi
is a maniac (but then we knew that). He takes two days off for flu,
comes back on the third day, does a few laps in 50c humid heat and rips
off a time in the middle of the lead bunch.

And that Suzuki and Kawasaki don't seem to have got there yet. They're
out there testing new engines in the official tests and are still 1-2
secs off the pace.

Interesting to see Ito running some pretty hot laps (for a tester). He
seems to be one of the very few test riders who can get within a second
of the top guys. Mostly the test riders seem to be surprisingly far back
from the people they're testing for. Which makes you wonder what they're
doing. Ducati Corse must be very pleased at grabbing him.

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 >> Stay informed about: Sepang Test (cont'd) 

Julian Bond <julian_bond.RemoveThis@voidstar.com> wrote :

 > Interesting to see Ito running some pretty hot laps (for a tester). He
 > seems to be one of the very few test riders who can get within a
 > second of the top guys. Mostly the test riders seem to be surprisingly
 > far back from the people they're testing for. Which makes you wonder
 > what they're doing. Ducati Corse must be very pleased at grabbing him.

Depends on what sort of feedback he provides. Going fast isn't necessarily
the measure of a good tester, you know. He has to be able to ride
consistently enough to be the measure of the stuff he's trying, he has to
be able to evaluate and communicate (which could be a bit of an issue
between a Japanese rider and an Italian team), and his riding style should
be somewhat similar to the riders who are doing the racing. Yes, if a guy
can't go fast enough he's not of much use, I suppose, but a quick lap isn't
everything. And Itoh hasn't done GP in, what, nine years? Once the testing
moves to Europe for the summer he may be of somewhat less value.

I still think his greatest value to Ducati may be his value to
Bridgestone...<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: Sepang Test (cont'd) 

Mark N <menusbaumNYETSPAM.DeleteThis@earthlink.net> Wed, 16 Feb 2005 08:30:16
 >And Itoh hasn't done GP in, what, nine years?

But he has appeared as a wild card in a few races every year since then.

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 >> Stay informed about: Sepang Test (cont'd) 

Julian Bond <julian_bond.TakeThisOut@voidstar.com> wrote :

 > Mark N
  >>And Itoh hasn't done GP in, what, nine years?

 > But he has appeared as a wild card in a few races every year since then.

His points-paying finishes in GP since being demoted out of the series
after the '96 season:
1997 - none
1998 - none
1999 - Suzuka, 7th
2000 - none
2001 - none
2002 - Suzuka, 4th
2003 - none
2004 - none

So he's completed two GPs in the last eight seasons, and I don't know that
he's raced outside of Japan. Certainly has at least tested at Sepang,
though. My point is that he's not raced at the tracks in Europe and beyond
in a very long time, since '95, when the series included tracks like
Eastern Creek, Shah Alam, Nurbergring, Rio, Buenas Aires. And of course
Suzuka. How much help will he be when he's spending a good deal of each
test trying to just learn the tracks?<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: Sepang Test (cont'd)