Today in Valencia 7 time F1 Champion Michael Shumacher completed 58 laps onboard of Casey Stoner’s Ducati. Amazingly he lapped at impressive pace, his quickest lap in high 1:37’s. That is only 5 (!) seconds off the lap record set by Dani Pedrosa this weekend. This just proves that Moto GP bikes are very easy to ride because of all electronics involved.

In 2005 Shumi rode Ducati’s 990cc Desmosedici in Mugello. That time he was 15 seconds off the pace. Did he become a better rider? I seriously doubt it, it’s the bike that gives him the confidence. I can speculate that if he tried riding 500cc two stroke GP machine, he would be 45 seconds off the pace or possibly thrown off the bike.

 With high horsepower Moto GP bikes getting more and more manageable every year, the rider’s skill slowly becomes irrelevant. It is clear to me that the Golden Era of motorcycle RACERS is over, replaced by the battle on the technological fronts. I think Dorna should do something ASAP, banning traction control would be a geat start. We want RIDING back in the equation for the victory.

On a separate note, newly crowned 250cc Champion Jorge Lorenzo got his first taste of Moto GP bike today, he did 1:37 as well! Maybe Yamaha should’ve hired Shumacher instead?

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 6th, 2007 at 9:59 am and is filed under Racing, Motorcycles, Riding. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.