[Ducati] re: Jerez GP testing 800's

[Jules]

also sprach Alex Ortner on Friday, December 01, 2006 4:20 PM:
>> p.s. There really should be a rule in place in MotoGP for combined
>> bike/rider minimum weight, and ballast required if necessary. 
>> Whether Honda will keep that from happening is fodder for another
>> conspiracy theory fer ya.
> 
> 
> Hi Dennis
> That is a very good suggestion and makes more sense with the current
> rules then ever before.

that's been tried before but the riders laughed it off.  i think the
human animal is so incredibly adaptive that where rules which try to add
or make up for a rider's physical characteristics (weight or whatever)
would be much more damaging then the perceived benefits.

for example, pedrosa's weight benefit is offset by him having to work
harder to muscle the bike around.  yes, we all expected it to be worse
for him, but is that because it was over stated in the pre-season?  or
because he worked extra hard to be fit enough?

the point is, he shouldn't be FURTHER penalized for his weight.

besides, motorcycle racing isn't just about weight.  sure, engineers are
always working on shaving pounds because it *is* an advantage (and a
fine engineering challenge) but that doesn't mean it's a bigger
advantage then the rider's skills...

in my opinion, making rules based on a rider's physical characteristics
is admitting that it's all (or at least mostly) about the machine.  and
isn't that evil honda's stance?

-- 
j u l e s @ p o p m o n k e y . c o m
http://www.popmonkey.com/jules