Motosport General discussion tread --- Formula1, MotoGP, WTCC, ETCC, DTM.....

[coinlocket$]

Another stat of today.



Source: https://www.skysports.com/f1/live-blog

Mercedes did 500km less than opponents and this is a big thing.

For times we need to wait until tomorrow when they will try with low fuel.

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[Cnut237]

For times we need to wait until tomorrow when they will try with low fuel.

Pre-season testing always throws up some weird results. I'm as guilty as anyone of trying to draw conclusions when there may not actually be anything of substance available yet. Cars run different tyres, different fuels loads, different strategies, and there is always some element of teams trying to hide their full potential... but even having said this, Mercedes don't look quite right at the moment. One day of testing left, and they do appear to have some problems they need to resolve quite quickly. They are certainly in a better place today than yesterday, as I said above... but now that I've had a bit more time to think about it, I think I was being overly optimistic. It's clear they're not quite where they'd like to be at the moment.

[coinlocket$]

Anyways these are the times for day 2

1    Valtteri Bottas   Mercedes   58   1:30.289
2    Pierre Gasly   AlphaTauri   87   +0.124
3    Lance Stroll   Aston Martin   70   +0.171
4    Lando Norris   McLaren   52   +0.297
5    Antonio Giovinazzi   Alfa Romeo   124   +0.471
6    Charles Leclerc   Ferrari   73   +0.597
7    Nicholas Latifi   Williams   132   +1.383
8    Sergio Perez   Red Bull   139   +1.393
9    Daniel Ricciardo   McLaren   52   +1.926
10    Fernando Alonso   Alpine   127   +2.050
11    Yuki Tsunoda   AlphaTauri   57   +2.395
12    Mick Schumacher   Haas   88   +2.594
13    Carlos Sainz   Ferrari   56   +2.783
14    Nikita Mazepin   Haas   76   +2.812
15    Lewis Hamilton   Mercedes   58   +3.110
16    Sebastian Vettel   Aston Martin   10   +8.560

Source: https://www.skysports.com/f1/news/12433/12244868/f1-testing-day-two-valtteri-bottas-fastest-as-mercedes-bounce-back-while-alphatauri-mclaren-impress

Ferrari is still in a bad spot, they have reduced the gap but they are close to so many teams, let's see if they push more tomorrow.

Strange to see Alfa Romeo ahead of Ferrari while they are a "Ferrari2" team.

[aesma]

Vettel last while Lance is third !

[coinlocket$]

Vettel last while Lance is third !

Vettel got problems in his gearbox xD, too early to call this.
Actually, this can be a huge problem.

It seems he got the same problem as Hamilton/Bottas had yesterday and yes in case you are wondering they are using the same gearbox and this can be a HUGE problem since if it is a structural problem it can take months to be solved.

So far Red Bull seems maybe the favorite.

[LTU_btc]

Personally, I don't want to make some kind of conclusion from testing. Mercedes completed fewest laps, they had some problems with gearbox. But it's also possible that they're just sanbagging at some level. I don't know it's coincidence or no, but Aston Martin had same gearbox issues and completed fewest laps after Mercedes.
It was interesting to see Perez in Red Bull car and it was great to see Alonso back in action.

[Cnut237]

Mercedes completed fewest laps, they had some problems with gearbox.

The weird thing is, they're using the same gearbox as last year. It's not like it's a new and untested piece of machinery. Perhaps there is some problem in getting the existing gearbox to work with the new car... but then it's strange to say the problem is the gearbox, when it ran absolutely fine last season.

possible that they're just sanbagging

Perhaps. But there does seem to be a genuine issue there. It's one thing to hide your true pace, but another to pretend you have a major issue and then miss a big chunk of what is a very limited testing window.

[tokeweed]

Vettel last while Lance is third !

Vettel got problems in his gearbox xD, too early to call this.
Actually, this can be a huge problem.

It seems he got the same problem as Hamilton/Bottas had yesterday and yes in case you are wondering they are using the same gearbox and this can be a HUGE problem since if it is a structural problem it can take months to be solved.

So far Red Bull seems maybe the favorite.

I’ll start to worry for Vettel after the fifth race of the season.  But there’s some info swirling around that the tail of that Aston Martin is very stable which suits Vettel’s driving style.  Pretty excited to see him in his first quali of the season.

[coinlocket$]

Pirelli guy spoke with Italian Sky and he said:

"We spoke with Fia and teams for the sprint qualify, a race of 100km, we already have the regulation and it will public soon"
The intention is to do 1 race and test it.



Sky also said the probable races are, Silverstone Monza and Interlagos.

[AakZaki]

Fourteen days again MotoGP will start, I'm waiting for Rossi and Marquez one more track. With Rossi's old age condition, can he still compete? Then Marquez I haven't heard he will come back even though he is listed as a racer in Qatar's opener series. If you look at the results of the last test, Yamaha riders dominate the positions one to three of the fastest. Will Yamaha dominate the opening series in Qatar? I can't wait it. Below are the results number 1-15 of their last test.

Source: https://www.crash.net/motogp/results/972223/1/qatar-motogp-test-ii-losail-thursday-lap-times-final

[coinlocket$]

Test are done and Today they had pushed a little more but not at 100%.

    Driver    Team    Laps    Time
1    Valtteri Bottas   Mercedes   58   1:30.289
2    Pierre Gasly   AlphaTauri   87   +0.124
3    Lance Stroll   Aston Martin   70   +0.171
4    Lando Norris   McLaren   52   +0.297
5    Antonio Giovinazzi   Alfa Romeo   124   +0.471
6    Charles Leclerc   Ferrari   73   +0.597
7    Nicholas Latifi   Williams   132   +1.383
8    Sergio Perez   Red Bull   139   +1.393
9    Daniel Ricciardo   McLaren   52   +1.926
10    Fernando Alonso   Alpine   127   +2.050
11    Yuki Tsunoda   AlphaTauri   57   +2.395
12    Mick Schumacher   Haas   88   +2.594
13    Carlos Sainz   Ferrari   56   +2.783
14    Nikita Mazepin   Haas   76   +2.812
15    Lewis Hamilton   Mercedes   58   +3.110
16    Sebastian Vettel   Aston Martin   10   +8.560

Source: https://www.skysports.com/f1/news/12433/12244868/f1-testing-day-two-valtteri-bottas-fastest-as-mercedes-bounce-back-while-alphatauri-mclaren-impress


Redbull seems the best car right now followed by Mercedes and the rest of the teams.
Alfa Romeo seems very strong and competes for the 3-4th spot on the leaderboard.

Alpine seems week as Aston Martin who had a lot of problems.

See you back in 10 days F1!

[aesma]

I've started watching the practices since I found a way to get them, I didn't realize it was so many hours ! Long days for the engineers ! The Alpine car has a bulbous airbox, it's very strange. Mercedes and the gearbox, yeah, I don't know, maybe they tried to optimize something to eek out more performance and it isn't working. Or maybe a manufacturing defect ?

I don't know how these pre season tests affect the season regarding the parts, are they using an engine a gearbox (and all other power elements) that will be used in races ?

[coinlocket$]

I've started watching the practices since I found a way to get them, I didn't realize it was so many hours ! Long days for the engineers ! The Alpine car has a bulbous airbox, it's very strange. Mercedes and the gearbox, yeah, I don't know, maybe they tried to optimize something to eek out more performance and it isn't working. Or maybe a manufacturing defect ?

I don't know how these pre season tests affect the season regarding the parts, are they using an engine a gearbox (and all other power elements) that will be used in races ?

Mercedes changed the back of their car like every other team since we have a slim difference between this year and the last year.
Since they have a smaller back car I suppose they changed something in their gearbox or even they have a new gearbox and is not performing as expected.

I'm also pretty sure since they can use only 3 engines every piece on these cars on the test can be changed without any penalty.

Tests are very strange because many teams can hide but problems are real.

For now we probably can say.

RedBull most consistent.
Mercedes has some gearbox problem, can they be easily fixed? Who knows
Aston Martin and Ferrari uses tires aggressively but Ferrari in the end of Today did a very good long session without destroying the tires.

Alfa Romeo, Alpha Tauri, and Mclaren can fight for the 3rd spot after Mercedes and Redbull.

Ferrari new engine seems very competitive in high speed.

[Koal-84]

Fourteen days again MotoGP will start, I'm waiting for Rossi and Marquez one more track. With Rossi's old age condition, can he still compete? Then Marquez I haven't heard he will come back even though he is listed as a racer in Qatar's opener series. If you look at the results of the last test, Yamaha riders dominate the positions one to three of the fastest. Will Yamaha dominate the opening series in Qatar? I can't wait it. Below are the results number 1-15 of their last test.

Source: https://www.crash.net/motogp/results/972223/1/qatar-motogp-test-ii-losail-thursday-lap-times-final[/center]

Last year Yamaha also had a fantastic start to the season, but then probably fell further and further back due to engine problems (valves). I hope that things go better this year for Yamaha and of course for Rossi too.

[swogerino]

I don't know if you guys noticed it but in the F1 official page I saw MSC standing for Mick Schumacher during testing and it felt great seeing it again after many years.Also Mick too said it was very happy for it because it felt a bond to these letters referring to his father Michael Schumacher.

[Koal-84]

At the tests it looks like Ducati use as first MotoGP team the ground effect at his new bikes?



And it looks that under the bike the air come back over the back swing arm?



Also Yamaha have a new aerodynamic part at the front.



Sources:

https://www.motorsport-magazin.com/motogp/news-269722-technik-news-beim-motogp-test-nutzt-ducati-ground-effect/

https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/articles/motorcycles/motogp/is-ducati-using-ground-effect-for-more-grip-in-motogp

[aesma]

I don't know if you guys noticed it but in the F1 official page I saw MSC standing for Mick Schumacher during testing and it felt great seeing it again after many years.Also Mick too said it was very happy for it because it felt a bond to these letters referring to his father Michael Schumacher.

Yeah the commentators also explained why Michael had MSC and not SCH, it was because of Ralf ! I didn't know/remember that.

To be honest I'm not convinced, if Mick wants to prove he deserves his seat in F1, he should be his own man. He can't avoid being compared to his father but he could at least get his own 3 letters !

[Koal-84]

I don't know if you guys noticed it but in the F1 official page I saw MSC standing for Mick Schumacher during testing and it felt great seeing it again after many years.Also Mick too said it was very happy for it because it felt a bond to these letters referring to his father Michael Schumacher.

Yeah the commentators also explained why Michael had MSC and not SCH, it was because of Ralf ! I didn't know/remember that.

To be honest I'm not convinced, if Mick wants to prove he deserves his seat in F1, he should be his own man. He can't avoid being compared to his father but he could at least get his own 3 letters !

I'm not sure if that's true, Michael Schumacher was in F1 long before Ralf and I don't remember Michael ever having anything other than MSC. Ralf I think had RSC. Mick still had SCH in Formula 2 and I agree that he should remain authentic and not use his father's acronym.

[AakZaki]

At the tests it looks like Ducati use as first MotoGP team the ground effect at his new bikes?

~snip~

It seems that after the 2019 case regarding ducati's aerodynamics, it is now a solution to increasing motor speed. If I'm not mistaken at that time Suzuki, Honda, Aprilia, and KTM protested for the Ducati Desmosedici P19 swing-arm spoiler. Many have accused Ducati of taking advantage of these regulations. Therefore, for 2020 to date, rules have been made regarding the aerodynamic body spoilers of MotoGP which must be obeyed. So starting from here, I see new aerodynamics in each team, past many people protested, now they are used a lot.                                                               

Source: https://www.crash.net/motogp/feature

[coinlocket$]

It seems that after the 2019 case regarding ducati's aerodynamics, it is now a solution to increasing motor speed. If I'm not mistaken at that time Suzuki, Honda, Aprilia, and KTM protested for the Ducati Desmosedici P19 swing-arm spoiler. Many have accused Ducati of taking advantage of these regulations. Therefore, for 2020 to date, rules have been made regarding the aerodynamic body spoilers of MotoGP which must be obeyed. So starting from here, I see new aerodynamics in each team, past many people protested, now they are used a lot.                                                               

Source: https://www.crash.net/motogp/feature

This is the Motorsports.
We always see someone bypassing the regulation with the innovation, this is why we are getting more, faster safer cars/moto.

If they gain is too much the trick will be banned the following year.

For example, now in F1 we also have the Mclearn who is the only one using a special back on the car and they probably have an huge advantage.