[kropotkin thinks...] - 2012 MotoGP Season Preview: A Year of Transition

[Ninjette Newsbot]

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2012 is a year of transition for MotoGP. The return of the 1000cc bikes is just the start of the changes that will transform the series over the coming years, in an attempt to contain the costs of the series which spiraled out of control during the 800cc era, but for now, we have the mouthwatering spectacle of the fastest motorcycles ever to grace a racetrack. With rev limits and electronic controls looming on the horizon, these machines may well go down in history as the pinnacle of racing motorcycles, alongside the products of the last Cambrian explosion of technology in the 1960s, the six-cylinder 250cc four strokes and 14-gear 125cc twin-cylinder two strokes which, like the current generation, became so expensive that they forced the factories out of racing.

The fans are breathing a sigh of relief. After the processional racing that so much of the 800cc era produced, MotoGP fans are looking forward to closer, more exciting racing, with the rip-snorting 1000s sliding and squirming all over the place, the same way that the old 990s used to. That is unrealistically optimistic, perhaps, but the racing should at least be a little better. Helped by the softer Bridgestone tires - introduced in response to many requests from the riders for tires that warm up much faster, preventing the massive highsides that have plagued the premier class for the last couple of years - the bigger bikes do make it possible to correct mistakes, and make up on corner exit time lost in overly optimistic passing attempts on the brakes. The days of smoking tires may be in the past, but losing momentum - the cardinal sin on the 800s, which placed a premium on maintaining corner speed - will no longer be punished mercilessly. Riders have less left to lose in trying to pass on the brakes again.

Race results and championship standings 2012


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