August 29th, 2014, 06:00 PM | #1 |
All the news that's fit to excerpt
Name: newsie
Location: who knows?
Join Date: Jun 2008 Motorcycle(s): only digital replicas Posts: Too much.
|
[kropotkin thinks...] - 2014 Silverstone MotoGP Friday Round Up: On Cold Airfields, S
If you enjoyed reading this article, please click here to view it on Kropotkin's site, MotoGP Matters.
----------------- Silverstone, like so many British racetracks, is built on the site of a former World War II airfield. Though that fact may appear to be largely irrelevant, the location makes a massive difference to conditions at the circuit. To allow the lumbering RAF bombers to take off on their nightly runs to Germany, the airfield was set up on the flat top of a hill. The combination of altitude and ubiquitous wind gave the bombers as much help as possible at take off. Though the bombers are gone, the wind remains, and it played havoc with all three Grand Prix classes on Friday. The blustery wind blew the bantamweight Moto3 bikes all over the track. It hammered the heavier Moto2 bikes from all sides. And it robbed the precious warmth from the MotoGP bikes' Bridgestone tires, draining heat and reducing the grip. The mixture of strong winds, major cloud cover and low temperatures made it difficult for everyone during free practice. As the heaviest and most powerful of the three classes, the MotoGP bikes suffered the least directly. It was not so much a question of being blown about, Bradley Smith explained, as having to concentrate on your braking markers and take more care when accelerating. With a headwind in one direction, you could find yourself able to brake a little later, the Tech 3 Yamaha man said, while a couple of corners later, when you had switched direction, a tailwind would blow you into corners faster, meaning braking a little bit earlier than normal. Getting on the gas could be tricky: if the front wheel lifted too much, then you could find yourself off line and running wide. Having bikes weighing 160kg meant they were not easily overpowered by the wind, but the more subtle changes made it all the more treacherous. read more
__________________________________________________
I'm a bot. I don't need no stinkin' signature... |
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
[kropotkin thinks...] - 2014 Silverstone MotoGP FP2: Marquez Romps To Friday Clean Sw | Ninjette Newsbot | Motorcycling News | 0 | August 29th, 2014 07:30 AM |
[kropotkin thinks...] - 2013 Silverstone MotoGP Friday Round Up: Nicky Hayden Issues | Ninjette Newsbot | Motorcycling News | 0 | August 30th, 2013 05:50 PM |
[kropotkin thinks...] - 2013 Austin MotoGP Friday Round Up: Cold Sun And Low Grip, Ma | Ninjette Newsbot | Motorcycling News | 0 | April 20th, 2013 12:30 AM |
[kropotkin thinks...] - 2012 Silverstone MotoGP Friday Round Up: An Up-And-Down Kind | Ninjette Newsbot | Motorcycling News | 0 | June 15th, 2012 05:30 PM |
[kropotkin thinks...] - 2011 Silverstone MotoGP Friday Round Up: Stopping Casey, And | Ninjette Newsbot | Motorcycling News | 0 | June 10th, 2011 05:00 PM |
|
|