2018 MOTOGP Season ****SPOILER ALERT*** *****WARNING - SPOILER *******

[madvlad]

Whatever they tweaked worked cause I know during the testing Yamaha was dreading coming back to ride here, hope they can carry forward with this momentum and finish strong. I still foresee Marquez sealing the championship next round though as the last couple years as he’s really clear away from both Dovi and Rossi and with four rounds remaining MM would have to DNF and or finish outside the top 10 to lose the title which we all know won’t happen. Rossi is 99 points behind already so yeah. That dude and HRC just have the magic formula and his domination is insane, Dovi turned it on a bit too late unfortunately but well what are you gonna do. Hope they keep giving us these entertaining races at least, top 4 were super close today and a good little scrap. Definitely nice seeing Yamaha up there again battling it out.

[The Black Knight]

That was a good race, I wonder what opinions on the track will be now that the weekend is done.

Same here, I know Yamaha were concerned about the long straights but after seeing most of the speeds through the speed traps, Yamaha was right there with everyone else. And that was with some tire spin. So I think Yamaha have a strong motor, and I think that's been the issue. Their engine just eats tires and looks to be in this race they are finally coming to terms with it.

Whatever they tweaked worked cause I know during the testing Yamaha was dreading coming back to ride here, hope they can carry forward with this momentum and finish strong. I still foresee Marquez sealing the championship next round though as the last couple years as he’s really clear away from both Dovi and Rossi and with four rounds remaining MM would have to DNF and or finish outside the top 10 to lose the title which we all know won’t happen. Rossi is 99 points behind already so yeah. That dude and HRC just have the magic formula and his domination is insane, Dovi turned it on a bit too late unfortunately but well what are you gonna do. Hope they keep giving us these entertaining races at least, top 4 were super close today and a good little scrap. Definitely nice seeing Yamaha up there again battling it out.

That is my thing. I know Yamaha(Rossi/Vinales) can't/won't win every race. But at least be competitive and be there at the sharp end. I think crossing the line within 3sec to the leader is a good target and lets you know you are there. But that garbage of 25+ seconds behind the leader showed that they as a leading manufacture were having problems. Even if Yamaha doesn't win a race this season, at least show you are there.

I'm with you, just give Marquez the crown now and get it over with. He's not going to lose this one and move on with the 2019 bikes.

[ock1]

How about the theory that Yamaha is the only factory who didn't hire Magneti Marelli spec software engineers to help cheat the software, and that the upcoming spec IMU rule is because the other factories have still been allowed to supply their own IMU 6-axis sensors with their own processing power that could be adding capabilities to the spec software? "In racing if you're not cheating you're not trying." Technically not cheating until the spec IMU rule is enforced.

I agree that the new track could be leveling the team performances. I remember some testing a long time ago, maybe indycar, where traction control wasn't allowed, and one guy's car got totally undriveable because he cut the track and it messed up engine control that had been programmed for each individual curve, maybe based on the odometer.

[madvlad]

How about the theory that Yamaha is the only factory who didn't hire Magneti Marelli spec software engineers to help cheat the software, and that the upcoming spec IMU rule is because the other factories have still been allowed to supply their own IMU 6-axis sensors with their own processing power that could be adding capabilities to the spec software? "In racing if you're not cheating you're not trying." Technically not cheating until the spec IMU rule is enforced.

I agree that the new track could be leveling the team performances. I remember some testing a long time ago, maybe indycar, where traction control wasn't allowed, and one guy's car got totally undriveable because he cut the track and it messed up engine control that had been programmed for each individual curve, maybe based on the odometer.

It isn’t a theory as they’re the only factory besides I believe KTM who didn’t go out and hire former magneti marelli engineers, it definitely will be interesting to see how the 2019 IMU rule plays out and how it will affect the other factories who have been technically cheating the rule over a technicality which is why it was re-written for next season.

[The Black Knight]

How about the theory that Yamaha is the only factory who didn't hire Magneti Marelli spec software engineers to help cheat the software, and that the upcoming spec IMU rule is because the other factories have still been allowed to supply their own IMU 6-axis sensors with their own processing power that could be adding capabilities to the spec software? "In racing if you're not cheating you're not trying." Technically not cheating until the spec IMU rule is enforced.

I agree that the new track could be leveling the team performances. I remember some testing a long time ago, maybe indycar, where traction control wasn't allowed, and one guy's car got totally undriveable because he cut the track and it messed up engine control that had been programmed for each individual curve, maybe based on the odometer.

As MadVlad said, it isn't a theory. It's an open secret that both Honda and Ducati poached employees from Magneti Marelli. Which in 2015 the compulsory software was actually being based off of the then Ducati(open class) software. So I'd say Ducati has probably the best experience with it. Honda just threw a ton of money at it and snagged some people that know how to manipulate it.

I honestly believe that either Yamaha didn't think they would need help with it, or that they believed everyone else was going to play fair and just deal with the standard ECU like they would. I agree, in racing if you're not cheating, you're not trying. And Honda knows this very well(I have my own 2006 championship theories, one being they had a hit out on Rossi, any Honda rider was to target Rossi, except the factory Repsol riders). Ducati poached engineers because they were the most hungry to get back in the game.

Suzuki is the one I can't explain other than I believe they have just figured it out on their own. Then again, doesn't surprise me with Suzuki they have a funny way making the best out of a situation. I've always been a huge fan of Suzuki and I believer are the tiny factory that could.

The track leveling thing I believe is playing a role. The Indy car example makes sense. I remember Crutchlow experienced the same thing a few years back(with the factory software). In that something on his bike went haywire and the bike didn't know where it was at. Back then, they used to map the bikes down to each corner of the track and if the bike deviated from that it really screwed them up. His bike somehow thought it was at a different part of the track and it wouldn't run right and kept giving him issues. In some parts of the track he'd get tons of power, and then on the straight he'd get reduced power.

I know this happens in Formula 1 as well. They are trying to move away from this kind of technology. But just watch an F1 race. You get real time timing from each car, the exact distance in time they are from the next care. The teams are on the radios constantly telling the drivers what the car is doing. Brake temps, trans temps or issues, engine performance or failures. Yeah, Formula 1 is completely fly by wire and it makes it boring. Sometimes it's fun to watch but most of the time it's a procession.


P.S.
I do think next years IMU restrictions will level the playing field somewhat. We may even see Yamaha be at the forefront of it all, as they've been dealing without having the knowledge of tweaking the IMU to the extent that everyone else does.