What we learned in Qatar

machine
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machine 3/1/2015 6:24am
3/1/2015 6:24am Edited Date/Time 3/1/2015 6:26am
machine wrote:
I think the tracks make the riders look slow over there. It's actually not nearly as enjoyable to watch as a fan though IMO. Cue the...
I think the tracks make the riders look slow over there. It's actually not nearly as enjoyable to watch as a fan though IMO.


Cue the Euros.. "US tracks aren't proper mx tracks" in 3..2.1..
Harry Backmon wrote:
No, I've watched two full seasons of GPs, and I'm positive it was the camera work. Last night was different, and you could tell the top...
No, I've watched two full seasons of GPs, and I'm positive it was the camera work. Last night was different, and you could tell the top 10 were ripping it. I think in the past, the cameras were further away from the track, but I'm not sure what it is.

As far as enjoyment, I sure like it. Not a big fan of Malin, but he's not as bad as some guys make him out to be. If they keep up the camera work like Qatar, I'm gonna be one happy viewer.
Malin is a freakin idiot.
RY4N37
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RY4N37 3/1/2015 6:43am
3/1/2015 6:43am
RY4N37 wrote:
I honestly couldn't believe Rattray's interview after the race. He said ' “It was a tough weekend for me, for the team, for Ryan, for everyone...
I honestly couldn't believe Rattray's interview after the race.

He said ' “It was a tough weekend for me, for the team, for Ryan, for everyone. We’re not where we want to be; we did a lot of testing, with suspensions, we thought we had good settings coming here, but the GP tracks are much different than the US tracks and where we’ve been testing in Europe. In this case we return to the drawing board, and do some testing; we return with Ryan to Belgium before going to Thailand, we’ll do some more testing this week and will continue to work hard. Sometimes you have to deal with the circumstances, and do the best that you can, but we’ll be ready for Thailand.”

He sounds surprised that the Grand Prix tracks are much different to what they have been testing on. The guy is a former World Champion, he raced in GP's last year, he should know exactly what to expect. Surely the whole reason he is on the team is because he knows what the tracks are like and he can help Villopoto with set-up and preparation. He's obviously not on the team because of his results
Robgvx wrote:
Interesting Ryan. Let's also not forget that Kawasaki won that GP last year with Paulin on the same track. They had settings that worked fine last...
Interesting Ryan.

Let's also not forget that Kawasaki won that GP last year with Paulin on the same track. They had settings that worked fine last year. That suggests that RV chose to develop his own settings, which, if that was the real issue, didn't work.

Maybe he didn't do the pre-season warm-up races because he felt he was going to kill it anyway?

Or maybe he didn't do those races because he knew he wasn't ready? As I said after Hawkstone (and was accused of making it up) I was told that his lap times were a couple of seconds off other teams' times at practice tracks in Sardinia.


It is very interesting. You would think that maybe the best way to go would've been to use the settings they (KRT) used last season when Paulin won on Qatar as a starting point, and then let RV tweak it to suit him. That way you know that what you have is somewhere in the ballpark.

I'd be interested to know what the real reason for him deciding not to do any pre-season races is. Maybe he felt he didn't need to, or like you said, he maybe felt like he wasn't ready. Which would be surprising, but he certainly didn't look like he was 100% ready to go this weekend. Obviously, a lot of people have put that down to not racing for so long, which is why at least 1 race pre season would've been beneficial. Lets not forget that Desalle hadn't raced since June/July, but he did nearly all the pre season races that were available to him and he looks as good as I've ever seen him.

It just seems to me that despite having one of the most decorated and experienced rider line ups in the paddock, KRT are having to play catch up already, which, when you consider that they were one of the first teams to begin testing, seems very odd
Kartwheel84c
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Kartwheel84c 3/1/2015 7:47am
3/1/2015 7:47am
Rattray was off from where I expected him to be also, not just RV. Does anyone know if he used Paulin's settings as a base or did he go with RVs settings or come up with his own?

I ride a lot of enduro/hare scrambles, and MX. I have totally different suspension setups for different bikes. Its not an exact comparison, but if you take a bone stock MX bike and try to ride it in a slow, tight off road trail with lots of tree roots it will kill you because the suspension is so stiff the tires are not allowed to move and roll over the roots, they slide down the root and will pull the bike right out from under you. I'm 1/10th the speed of RV but from a bike setup perspective its the same thing, and its is pretty much the same thing DV said about how RV would need to set up his bike.
Patar57
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Patar57 3/1/2015 7:55am
3/1/2015 7:55am
We learned that we would have been better off to send Kailub Russell to compete on a track like that lol

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mxaaron
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mxaaron 3/1/2015 7:58am
3/1/2015 7:58am
philG wrote:
Max Nagl is a man in form Cairoli has more than one person to worry about RV has dropped the ball with his preseason prep. Herlings...
Max Nagl is a man in form

Cairoli has more than one person to worry about

RV has dropped the ball with his preseason prep.

Herlings was obviously in a much worse place mentally than we realised.

Qatar is a brutal track.
iBobbyb wrote:
so we must have learned in RV's last sx championship, that he dropped the ball with his preseason prep. since A1 that year, went worse than...
so we must have learned in RV's last sx championship, that he dropped the ball with his preseason prep. since A1 that year, went worse than this one single race that apparently determined the entire season. AC222 didnt win either. must have dropped the ball with his preseason prep as well.
Agreed. He typically starts a little slow. It should be a good season.
GoldenState54 3/1/2015 8:14am
3/1/2015 8:14am
Patar57 wrote:
We learned that we would have been better off to send Kailub Russell to compete on a track like that lol
Ha, that's what I was thinking.
Kartwheel84c
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Kartwheel84c 3/1/2015 8:15am
3/1/2015 8:15am Edited Date/Time 3/1/2015 8:16am
Patar57 wrote:
We learned that we would have been better off to send Kailub Russell to compete on a track like that lol
Or at least have him do the suspension testing and setup for RVs bike...
Chu
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Chu 3/1/2015 8:19am
3/1/2015 8:19am
Keyboard warrior..you think rv hung his boots up since his last race?
Get over it man.
CR250Rider
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CR250Rider 3/1/2015 8:31am
3/1/2015 8:31am
RV tweeted don't worry we'll get there.
I believe him.
CalimeroFan
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CalimeroFan 3/1/2015 8:53am
3/1/2015 8:53am
Kartwheel84c wrote:
Rattray was off from where I expected him to be also, not just RV. Does anyone know if he used Paulin's settings as a base or...
Rattray was off from where I expected him to be also, not just RV. Does anyone know if he used Paulin's settings as a base or did he go with RVs settings or come up with his own?

I ride a lot of enduro/hare scrambles, and MX. I have totally different suspension setups for different bikes. Its not an exact comparison, but if you take a bone stock MX bike and try to ride it in a slow, tight off road trail with lots of tree roots it will kill you because the suspension is so stiff the tires are not allowed to move and roll over the roots, they slide down the root and will pull the bike right out from under you. I'm 1/10th the speed of RV but from a bike setup perspective its the same thing, and its is pretty much the same thing DV said about how RV would need to set up his bike.
Well, to me Rattray finished just where I expected him.... Did you really think he could do better?
Tumblin
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Tumblin 3/1/2015 9:01am
3/1/2015 9:01am
I thought the coverage sucked, at least on the delayed CBSSN....but certainly the camera work sucked. Its to chopped up. I enjoy watching these guys flow and bouncing back and forth to "create" more action in a dull race drives me nuts. Certainly in a long spaced out boring race with little to no passing they have time for that, but keep the camera on Nagel, TC, Paulin or any of the top guys for at minimum a 1/2 lap.

I'll bet there was some stress on RV about that 40th kick on that KX, now that mechanics aren't allowed on the line...many new things to get use to.

That wet sand.., or crete seemed to set up and looked like Ryan would have liked to trowel some of that prior.
Looked harsh as hell on those battle battered joints endured by most at this level.

But...I'll bet RV had a pretty posh room to chase Kristen around in this morning....life is good and hopefully he stays well.
Kartwheel84c
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Kartwheel84c 3/1/2015 9:04am
3/1/2015 9:04am
Yes, he is a former world champion, I expected him to be closer to the top 10. I'm not saying I expected him to be up there with DeSalle, Paulin, Nagl or AC battling for a podium, but I didnt expect 17-16.
jasonv43
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jasonv43 3/1/2015 10:19am
3/1/2015 10:19am
Here's what I learned after just watching the races.

There are no fans that go to the races. At least I didn't see any other then people that were working there.

The racing was boring.

RV has some work to do. Which I kind of expected he would.
seth505
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seth505 3/1/2015 10:35am
3/1/2015 10:35am
Also, lots of yardsales in the mx2 class.
karsmakers
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karsmakers 3/1/2015 10:47am
3/1/2015 10:47am
What we have learned is that no one goes to the opposite series and does well straight away !. If history is accurate..it will take RV a year or two to adapt....as it did for Kenny, Marvin, Rattray and Searle. Some never adapt.
jasonv43
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jasonv43 3/1/2015 11:06am
3/1/2015 11:06am
karsmakers wrote:
What we have learned is that no one goes to the opposite series and does well straight away !. If history is accurate..it will take RV...
What we have learned is that no one goes to the opposite series and does well straight away !. If history is accurate..it will take RV a year or two to adapt....as it did for Kenny, Marvin, Rattray and Searle. Some never adapt.
He doesn't have a year or two. It's now or never.
St Ann More 3/1/2015 11:14am
3/1/2015 11:14am
karsmakers wrote:
What we have learned is that no one goes to the opposite series and does well straight away !. If history is accurate..it will take RV...
What we have learned is that no one goes to the opposite series and does well straight away !. If history is accurate..it will take RV a year or two to adapt....as it did for Kenny, Marvin, Rattray and Searle. Some never adapt.
Pourcel from memory had no issues adapting! First race, 2nd behind RV. Second race, he won and beat RV.

Then he came over full-time the following year, won two SX titles and came runner up in twice in his first two seasons.
Tumblin
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Tumblin 3/1/2015 11:23am
3/1/2015 11:23am
karsmakers wrote:
What we have learned is that no one goes to the opposite series and does well straight away !. If history is accurate..it will take RV...
What we have learned is that no one goes to the opposite series and does well straight away !. If history is accurate..it will take RV a year or two to adapt....as it did for Kenny, Marvin, Rattray and Searle. Some never adapt.
St Ann More wrote:
Pourcel from memory had no issues adapting! First race, 2nd behind RV. Second race, he won and beat RV. Then he came over full-time the following...
Pourcel from memory had no issues adapting! First race, 2nd behind RV. Second race, he won and beat RV.

Then he came over full-time the following year, won two SX titles and came runner up in twice in his first two seasons.
JMB, Tortelli and Team USA...

Pit Row

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KlootZak
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KlootZak 3/1/2015 11:23am
3/1/2015 11:23am
machine wrote:
I think the tracks make the riders look slow over there. It's actually not nearly as enjoyable to watch as a fan though IMO. Cue the...
I think the tracks make the riders look slow over there. It's actually not nearly as enjoyable to watch as a fan though IMO.


Cue the Euros.. "US tracks aren't proper mx tracks" in 3..2.1..
No, I've been saying this for years as well and it will get worse as the season goes on. They go to some of the most beautiful places with a nice natural and authentic layout but the track itself is some kind of dried-up, chopped mud race with almost zero flow
jamma10
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jamma10 3/1/2015 2:18pm
3/1/2015 2:18pm
I didn't say you were a cunt and I didn't say you were eating crow. You don't like RV but you enjoy trolling internet message boards. Whoop-dee-fucking-doo...

Keyboardwarrior; King of the nerds.
bd
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bd 3/1/2015 2:25pm
3/1/2015 2:25pm
karsmakers wrote:
What we have learned is that no one goes to the opposite series and does well straight away !. If history is accurate..it will take RV...
What we have learned is that no one goes to the opposite series and does well straight away !. If history is accurate..it will take RV a year or two to adapt....as it did for Kenny, Marvin, Rattray and Searle. Some never adapt.
St Ann More wrote:
Pourcel from memory had no issues adapting! First race, 2nd behind RV. Second race, he won and beat RV. Then he came over full-time the following...
Pourcel from memory had no issues adapting! First race, 2nd behind RV. Second race, he won and beat RV.

Then he came over full-time the following year, won two SX titles and came runner up in twice in his first two seasons.
Tumblin wrote:
JMB, Tortelli and Team USA...
It took a few races for JMB. I never forget Anaheim when he got tagged by RJ and took flight. Could of been an ugly race. Did Tortelli win his his first race in the US?
machine
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machine 3/1/2015 2:25pm
3/1/2015 2:25pm
karsmakers wrote:
What we have learned is that no one goes to the opposite series and does well straight away !. If history is accurate..it will take RV...
What we have learned is that no one goes to the opposite series and does well straight away !. If history is accurate..it will take RV a year or two to adapt....as it did for Kenny, Marvin, Rattray and Searle. Some never adapt.
St Ann More wrote:
Pourcel from memory had no issues adapting! First race, 2nd behind RV. Second race, he won and beat RV. Then he came over full-time the following...
Pourcel from memory had no issues adapting! First race, 2nd behind RV. Second race, he won and beat RV.

Then he came over full-time the following year, won two SX titles and came runner up in twice in his first two seasons.
Where is Pourcel now....would you like fries with that?...Laughing
machine
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machine 3/1/2015 2:26pm
3/1/2015 2:26pm
jamma10 wrote:
I didn't say you were a cunt and I didn't say you were eating crow. You don't like RV but you enjoy trolling internet message boards...
I didn't say you were a cunt and I didn't say you were eating crow. You don't like RV but you enjoy trolling internet message boards. Whoop-dee-fucking-doo...

Keyboardwarrior; King of the nerds.
You're just horrible Jamma..you called him a nerd!
Jamie_Munro 3/1/2015 2:32pm
3/1/2015 2:32pm
machine wrote:
I think the tracks make the riders look slow over there. It's actually not nearly as enjoyable to watch as a fan though IMO. Cue the...
I think the tracks make the riders look slow over there. It's actually not nearly as enjoyable to watch as a fan though IMO.


Cue the Euros.. "US tracks aren't proper mx tracks" in 3..2.1..
Just very different

We've been saying it for ever and a day, ama tracks are flat out and wild, that's why we love to watch them, the GP tracks have their fare share of speed don't get me wrong but it's more varied, more technical, not in a better way and not in a worse way

Just different
jamma10
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jamma10 3/1/2015 2:33pm
3/1/2015 2:33pm
jamma10 wrote:
I didn't say you were a cunt and I didn't say you were eating crow. You don't like RV but you enjoy trolling internet message boards...
I didn't say you were a cunt and I didn't say you were eating crow. You don't like RV but you enjoy trolling internet message boards. Whoop-dee-fucking-doo...

Keyboardwarrior; King of the nerds.
machine wrote:
You're just horrible Jamma..you called him a nerd!
Im a real mean mofo!
machine
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machine 3/1/2015 2:35pm
3/1/2015 2:35pm
jamma10 wrote:
Im a real mean mofo!
Smile
robkinuk
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robkinuk 3/1/2015 2:36pm
3/1/2015 2:36pm
RY4N37 wrote:
I honestly couldn't believe Rattray's interview after the race. He said ' “It was a tough weekend for me, for the team, for Ryan, for everyone...
I honestly couldn't believe Rattray's interview after the race.

He said ' “It was a tough weekend for me, for the team, for Ryan, for everyone. We’re not where we want to be; we did a lot of testing, with suspensions, we thought we had good settings coming here, but the GP tracks are much different than the US tracks and where we’ve been testing in Europe. In this case we return to the drawing board, and do some testing; we return with Ryan to Belgium before going to Thailand, we’ll do some more testing this week and will continue to work hard. Sometimes you have to deal with the circumstances, and do the best that you can, but we’ll be ready for Thailand.”

He sounds surprised that the Grand Prix tracks are much different to what they have been testing on. The guy is a former World Champion, he raced in GP's last year, he should know exactly what to expect. Surely the whole reason he is on the team is because he knows what the tracks are like and he can help Villopoto with set-up and preparation. He's obviously not on the team because of his results
Robgvx wrote:
Interesting Ryan. Let's also not forget that Kawasaki won that GP last year with Paulin on the same track. They had settings that worked fine last...
Interesting Ryan.

Let's also not forget that Kawasaki won that GP last year with Paulin on the same track. They had settings that worked fine last year. That suggests that RV chose to develop his own settings, which, if that was the real issue, didn't work.

Maybe he didn't do the pre-season warm-up races because he felt he was going to kill it anyway?

Or maybe he didn't do those races because he knew he wasn't ready? As I said after Hawkstone (and was accused of making it up) I was told that his lap times were a couple of seconds off other teams' times at practice tracks in Sardinia.


Rob, I too had the very same conversation at Hawkstone with a rival team director about RV's times on Sardinian tracks being two seconds off other GP riders.
I heard he did not want to do pre season races for fear of getting hurt! That's already starting the season on the back foot.
Hope RV can figure it out as another below par result in Thailand and his title hopes will be gone.
Jamie_Munro 3/1/2015 2:39pm
3/1/2015 2:39pm
karsmakers wrote:
What we have learned is that no one goes to the opposite series and does well straight away !. If history is accurate..it will take RV...
What we have learned is that no one goes to the opposite series and does well straight away !. If history is accurate..it will take RV a year or two to adapt....as it did for Kenny, Marvin, Rattray and Searle. Some never adapt.
St Ann More wrote:
Pourcel from memory had no issues adapting! First race, 2nd behind RV. Second race, he won and beat RV. Then he came over full-time the following...
Pourcel from memory had no issues adapting! First race, 2nd behind RV. Second race, he won and beat RV.

Then he came over full-time the following year, won two SX titles and came runner up in twice in his first two seasons.
machine wrote:
Where is Pourcel now....would you like fries with that?...Laughing
Pourcel is doing pretty much what he wants when he wants, it's not his dream to chase rides and he has shown he can do more than ok when he gets a ride. Look at his outdoor performance last year. Look at what he did when he came back to 450 GP for a year. Each time was after a long lay off with no real racing, he's a top class racer

he's living the life he wants and not what fans think he wants.

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