First off, Aprilia appear to have their bike sorted already. They're quick in a straight line, corner well, and generally handle very well. Mind you, the straight line speed is a bit deceptive, as from the quick glances of the live timing screens I had during the weekend, all the bikes had a similar top speed. The Kawasaki's of Loris Baz and Tom Sykes also looked to be well setup, and from the evidence, it looks as though they have managed to sort out the tyre wear problem in the latter stages of the race, with both riders able to move foward in the final few laps in race 1. It will be interesting to see how they manage during the rest of the season when Sykes is fully fit, and they can avoid getting caught up in accidents. Honda are still having problems with their electronics, as the software they have has been supplied by the MotoGP team with that parts they don't need switched off and the rest adapted to suit. Unfortunately, the traction control still needs a fair amount of work doing to it for both riders to benefit from it. The BMWs also look to be a settled package overall, with Chaz Davis moving strongly through the field in race 1 to finish 4th, and Melandri having a reasonable race in race 2, despite picking up a shoulder injury earlier in the day following a collision with Carlos Checa. It's hard to read how good the Panigale is so far. Yes, it's quick over 1 lap as Checa proved in Superpole, and yes, it was running strongly during race 1 until he hit Melandri, but overall, the jury is still out IMO. We don't know if it would have chewed the rear tyre to shreds in the latter stages of the race (like Kawasaki last year) or not, or if the chassis is good enough. the next round at Aragon should answer these questions. Moving back to the speed of the Panigale however, (and the rest for that matter), I saw a post elsewhere about lap times. The pole position of 1:30.2 was only a tenth of a second slower than Casey Stoner's quickest race lap last season. How much of this is down to increased grip from the newly resurfaced circuit however remain unanswered. This will only be resolved when the MotoGP bikes race around Philip Island. I'm not commenting on the Supersport race however, as for whatever reason, my Virgin box didn't record it. Finally, full credit to Marco Melandri. Despite being torpedoed by Checa in race 1, his first reaction when he saw Carlos wasn't moving was to rush over and see how seriously he was hurt. Fortunately, despite being knocked unconcious for several moments he wasn't seriously hurt, but was unable to take his place on the grid for race 2. Disagree with these comments or want to say something yourself? let me know by posting a reply.
