Baju Balap dari Kulit Kanguru
Serat Kevlar ampuh menahan laju peluru. Tapi untuk pembalap itu masih jauh dari cukup karena mereka butuh bahan yang tahan gesek hingga puluhan meter.
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Sabtu, 15 November 2008
Baju balap
Jumat, 14 November 2008
Empat Helm, Satu Khusus Hujan
Saat ini helm tak Cuma jadi alat pengaman semata karena juga berfungsi untuk mengenali pembalap. Ibaratnya kartu identitas, semua pembalap minimal harus memiliki empat “KTP “untuk setiap seri.
Memang FIM telah menetapkan standar tertentu bagi helm untuk bisa dipakai pembalap di ajang MotoGP, namun demi meningkatkan jaminan keselamatan setiap pembalap harus memiliki setidaknya empat helm untuk setiap seri.
Tiga di antaranya adalah helm biasa, sementara satu helm dipergunakan saat hujan. Helm khusus hujan ini tentu saja dilengkapi teknologi khusus yang membuat kacanya bebas embun meski menjalani balapan saat hujan. Beberapa produsen memberi lapisan film tertentu pada kaca helm sebagai pencegah kabut.
Kamis, 13 November 2008
Kerjasama FIAT&Yamaha berlanjut
Kerjasama FIAT dengan Yamaha masih terus berlanjut. FIAT akhirnya telah meneken perpanjangan kontraknya dengan pabrikan tim MotoGP dari Jepang ini untuk beberapa tahun ke depan.
FIAT tampaknya puas dengan kerjasama yang telah dilakukan dengan Yamaha. Hubungan kedua dimulai pada musim 2007 ini dan dengan kesepakatan baru tersebut membuat kerjasama akan terus berlanjut hingga akhir musim 2010.
Tidak dapat dipungkiri keberhasilan pembalap Yamaha Valentino Rossi meraih gelar juara dunia, dan suksesnya Yamaha sukses meraih gelar konstruktor tentunya yang membuat kesepakatan antara keduanya semakin mulus.
"Saya sungguh menyambut baik perpanjangan persetujuan dengan FIAT selama dua tahun lagi. Kami akan bekerja untuk meneruskan kemitraan luar biasa yang menghasilkan kemenangan gelar pada 2008," kata Pejabat Eksekutif Yamaha Masao Furusawa seperti dilansir autosport.
Sementara rekan setim Rossi, Jorge Lorenzo berada di posisi ke-4 overall. Hasil tersebut juga cukup baik bagi pembalap asal Spanyol ini karena dia menjadi rookie yang berada di posisi teratas dalam klasemen.
Minggu, 12 Oktober 2008
Rossi reviews best form of MotoGP career
Monday, 29 September 2008
New MotoGP World Champion Valentino Rossi reviews his title-winning season, in which he says he did the best riding of his career.
`I think it´s difficult to say, but maybe this is even better than the first championship with Yamaha in 2004. In 2004 I arrived after three championships in a row; the change was very big and no one expected me to win then, not even us to be honest! But this year is great too because I didn´t start as the number one favourite after losing for two years. The taste of this is something special.
`In 2006 I lost because of bad luck; I still won the most races and was the fastest on track for most of the time, but in 2007 Stoner was a lot faster than us and so we got to the end with a big of disadvantage. Winning this championship was very difficult but also very, very important.
`The decision to change to Bridgestone tyres, which I took together with Jeremy, my team and all the Yamaha crew, was very important, as were the changes to the bike because the first 800cc M1 last year was not competitive enough. We spoke a lot during last season and I remember a strange meeting in Valencia last year, me with a broken hand, speaking with Furusawa about 2008. From then we started to work on the improvements for this season. It´s also been important to have the right people in the right place and this year everything has been correct. It's been step-by-step.
`I think I have made a lot of good decisions this year and we have been competitive from the start. Qatar was the worst race of the season but I knew our potential was good so, although we were a bit worried at that point, we weren´t desperate because we knew if we fixed a few problems we could try to win.
`I grew up a lot in the last two years, because at the end of 2005 I had a great career and I had won all the important targets so far. 125, 250 and then five titles in a row in MotoGP with two different bikes – I felt unbeatable. But in 2006 and 2007 I learnt to lose and this has been very important. I came out much stronger and my level of concentration and effort to win this championship has been higher than ever before.
`This season has had some different periods. At the beginning of the year we had some important results when Bridgestone wasn´t the strongest: Jerez, Portugal and others, and in that period we took a big advantage from Stoner. After Barcelona Casey started to ride like a demon and dominated three races in a row, and then we went to Laguna which was the turning point of the season. Laguna was a real battle and from then on we have flown.
`The show after the race was one of my friends pretending to be a `notary´, signing and certificating the eighth championship `deed´. It was very exciting to be planning the championship t-shirt and celebration once again with my friends and fan club and the one we came up with is funny I think, it says `I´m sorry for the delay!´
`I am very content at Yamaha and this is why I signed for two more years. I had some good offers at other factories, but I already changed bike once and proved everything I wanted to and so there is no need to do that again. Also I am no longer 20 years old and I need a good atmosphere in my team in order to keep me focused and happy, and I have this at Yamaha. The atmosphere in our team, from the Japanese all the way down to the garage is fantastic and this is what makes me want to stay.
`I think 2009 will be even more difficult than this year. Now I am the world champion again and I have demonstrated that I am still very fast; I think I rode the best of my career this year apart from the mistake in Assen, but next year is another story, it depends on how the winter is and how Stoner, Pedrosa and also Lorenzo are next year, as well as the other riders because there are many fast people in this championship. I think it will be a great championship and I´m looking forward to it, but first I want to finish this year and try to win the final three races!
`As I said, there are many strong riders but of course I hope that in the future nobody will win like Valentino Rossi! Maybe my brother Luca will be as strong as me…I wanted to take him on my bike on the celebration lap, but they did not allow it. Maybe I will wait for him to be a MotoGP rider before quitting, then I will beat him in the first year, and then I will stop riding!
`When you are 20 or 22 yrs old, you live everything in a different way. It´s different… In 2000, maybe, I could have won on my debut, but I underestimated myself! In 2001 it was the last chance for me to win in 500, so I gave it my best and did that. In 2001 it was the year of the battle with Biaggi, in 2002 it was the year when everybody said that I won because of my bike, then 2003 was the year of Gibernau, it was hard until the end. They were fantastic years but with Yamaha it is different. I enjoy it more.
`During 2003 I started thinking about Yamaha. Of course I was scared about the new challenge, it was a big question mark. This year, when I tested the new bike and the new tyres, I understood that I could win. In 2004, however, when I tested the new bike I understood we had to work a lot. Sincerely, the feeling of winning in Welkom in 2004 was the strongest emotion of my career; more so than in Laguna Seca this year. The 2005 the M1 was very fast and that one and the 2008 one are the best Yamaha bikes ever.
`I think Stoner next year will be back stronger again, so maybe he is the hardest rival I have ever had, more than Gibernau and all the others I fought against in the past. Last year I was sorry that after so many successful years, some people thought Valentino was finished and Casey was the new Valentino. As I said, until I stop riding a bike, my objective will always be to win. I like this life and I always try to do my best in it.´
Read More…
`The decision to change to Bridgestone tyres, which I took together with Jeremy, my team and all the Yamaha crew, was very important, as were the changes to the bike because the first 800cc M1 last year was not competitive enough. We spoke a lot during last season and I remember a strange meeting in Valencia last year, me with a broken hand, speaking with Furusawa about 2008. From then we started to work on the improvements for this season. It´s also been important to have the right people in the right place and this year everything has been correct. It's been step-by-step.
`I think I have made a lot of good decisions this year and we have been competitive from the start. Qatar was the worst race of the season but I knew our potential was good so, although we were a bit worried at that point, we weren´t desperate because we knew if we fixed a few problems we could try to win.
`I grew up a lot in the last two years, because at the end of 2005 I had a great career and I had won all the important targets so far. 125, 250 and then five titles in a row in MotoGP with two different bikes – I felt unbeatable. But in 2006 and 2007 I learnt to lose and this has been very important. I came out much stronger and my level of concentration and effort to win this championship has been higher than ever before.
`This season has had some different periods. At the beginning of the year we had some important results when Bridgestone wasn´t the strongest: Jerez, Portugal and others, and in that period we took a big advantage from Stoner. After Barcelona Casey started to ride like a demon and dominated three races in a row, and then we went to Laguna which was the turning point of the season. Laguna was a real battle and from then on we have flown.
`The show after the race was one of my friends pretending to be a `notary´, signing and certificating the eighth championship `deed´. It was very exciting to be planning the championship t-shirt and celebration once again with my friends and fan club and the one we came up with is funny I think, it says `I´m sorry for the delay!´
`I am very content at Yamaha and this is why I signed for two more years. I had some good offers at other factories, but I already changed bike once and proved everything I wanted to and so there is no need to do that again. Also I am no longer 20 years old and I need a good atmosphere in my team in order to keep me focused and happy, and I have this at Yamaha. The atmosphere in our team, from the Japanese all the way down to the garage is fantastic and this is what makes me want to stay.
`I think 2009 will be even more difficult than this year. Now I am the world champion again and I have demonstrated that I am still very fast; I think I rode the best of my career this year apart from the mistake in Assen, but next year is another story, it depends on how the winter is and how Stoner, Pedrosa and also Lorenzo are next year, as well as the other riders because there are many fast people in this championship. I think it will be a great championship and I´m looking forward to it, but first I want to finish this year and try to win the final three races!
`As I said, there are many strong riders but of course I hope that in the future nobody will win like Valentino Rossi! Maybe my brother Luca will be as strong as me…I wanted to take him on my bike on the celebration lap, but they did not allow it. Maybe I will wait for him to be a MotoGP rider before quitting, then I will beat him in the first year, and then I will stop riding!
`When you are 20 or 22 yrs old, you live everything in a different way. It´s different… In 2000, maybe, I could have won on my debut, but I underestimated myself! In 2001 it was the last chance for me to win in 500, so I gave it my best and did that. In 2001 it was the year of the battle with Biaggi, in 2002 it was the year when everybody said that I won because of my bike, then 2003 was the year of Gibernau, it was hard until the end. They were fantastic years but with Yamaha it is different. I enjoy it more.
`During 2003 I started thinking about Yamaha. Of course I was scared about the new challenge, it was a big question mark. This year, when I tested the new bike and the new tyres, I understood that I could win. In 2004, however, when I tested the new bike I understood we had to work a lot. Sincerely, the feeling of winning in Welkom in 2004 was the strongest emotion of my career; more so than in Laguna Seca this year. The 2005 the M1 was very fast and that one and the 2008 one are the best Yamaha bikes ever.
`I think Stoner next year will be back stronger again, so maybe he is the hardest rival I have ever had, more than Gibernau and all the others I fought against in the past. Last year I was sorry that after so many successful years, some people thought Valentino was finished and Casey was the new Valentino. As I said, until I stop riding a bike, my objective will always be to win. I like this life and I always try to do my best in it.´
Bridgestone make proposal to be single tyre supplier in 2009
Saturday, 04 October 2008
Japanese tyre manufacturers Bridgestone have submitted their proposal to the FIM and Dorna to be the sole supplier of tyres in MotoGP in 2009.
In a meeting held on Saturday at Phillip Island the Grand Prix Commission, composed of Messrs. Carmelo Ezpeleta (Dorna, Chairman), Claude Danis (FIM), Herve Poncharal (IRTA) and Takanao Tsubouchi (MSMA), in the presence of Mr. Paul Butler (Secretary of the meeting), were informed that Bridgestone has sent a proposal to the FIM and Dorna to be the single tyre supplier in MotoGP for 2009.
The proposal will be
studied and an announcement will be made on 18th October 2008 in Sepang, Malaysia.
Bridgestone´s current competitors in the premier class, Michelin, did not submit a proposal as confirmed by a press release from the French tyre company themselves on Saturday.
Hiroshi Yamada, Bridgestone´s Motorcycle Sport Unit Manager, commented, `We submitted our proposal yesterday and we have heard that Michelin didn´t apply. At the moment they have not decided yet which company will supply the tyres for next year, but as we are the only manufacturer (to propose) there is a very high possibility that we will be the supplier for next year´.
Read More…
Bridgestone´s current competitors in the premier class, Michelin, did not submit a proposal as confirmed by a press release from the French tyre company themselves on Saturday.
Hiroshi Yamada, Bridgestone´s Motorcycle Sport Unit Manager, commented, `We submitted our proposal yesterday and we have heard that Michelin didn´t apply. At the moment they have not decided yet which company will supply the tyres for next year, but as we are the only manufacturer (to propose) there is a very high possibility that we will be the supplier for next year´.
Kamis, 04 September 2008
Rossi Soal Rekor Agostini
Rossi Raja Misano Misano - Kemenangan Valentino Rossi di Misano bikin dia sejajar dengan Giacomo Agostini dalam jumlah kemenangan di kelas utama (500cc & MotoGP). Berpeluang besar bikin rekor baru dengan tambahan satu kemenangan lagi, Rossi menjamin rekor Agostini lainnya tetap aman.
Seiring dengan laju Rossi yang melintasi garis finis MotoGP San Marino dari posisi terdepan, pembalap Yamaha itu menorehkan kemenangan ke-68 di kelas utama. Jumlah sama dibuat oleh Agostini.
Mengingat bahwa Rossi masih aktif membalap ditambah dengan performanya yang tengah menanjak --dengan juara tiga seri beruntun--, raihan Agostini bisa dilebihinya musim ini karena musim 2008 masih tersisa lima seri lagi.
Meski demikian, Rossi dengan setengah bergurau menjamin ada rekor Agostini yang takkan bisa dilebihinya. Yaitu catatan kemenangan dan juara dunia yang dicatat Agostini di semua kelas.
"Saya berjanji kepadanya takkan menggapai rekor lainnya, karena 122 kemenangan --atau 123 seperti yang dia bilang-- sangat sulit dan juga 15 gelar juara dunia," seloroh Rossi seperti dikutip Autosport.
Sepanjang karirnya di kelas 250cc, 350cc dan 500cc, Agostini meraih 122 kemenangan. Total 15 titel juara dunia --tujuh di 350cc dan delapan di 500cc-- juga dicatatkan pembalap Italia tersebut sehingga digelari "Legenda" Grand Prix oleh FIM pada tahun 2000 silam.
Sementara Rossi sendiri yang mulai turun membalap di kelas 125 cc pada tahun 1996 sampai saat ini sudah menang 94 kali, dengan tujuh titel juara dunia, yakni masing-masing satu di kelas 125cc, 250 cc dan 500cc dan empat kali di MotoGP.
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motogp calendar 2008
motogp rider 2008
The big three motogp 2008
