VOL. 50 ISSUE 29 JULY 23, 2013
thirsty? Well, yes and no. It's a fantastic corner.
But really, something needs to be done.
But what?
There's no really easy answer. Unlike equally thrilling corners on (for instance) the Isle of
Man, there is a good chance of walking away
from this one, albeit a bit giddy. There is plenty
of run-off area, and plenty of medical attention.
Plus Bruno, to pick up the pieces.
Hayden suggested making the corner a little
tighter so that it was necessary to brake: this at
least would put some weight on the front, giving it a chance to grip. Valentino Rossi thought
similarly.
Some blamed Bridgestone and their controltire philosophy: limited choice (only two compounds available), exacerbated by the stiff
construction of tires built to last. Past problems
with crashes on the slow-to-warm rubber had already meant a change to something softer, but
for this corner clearly not soft enough.
How about an asymmetric dual compound
front like that on the rear? Bridgestone had tried
that already before the control-tire era. Riders
hadn't liked it: queasy under braking, strange
feeling. Front-end feel is a very crucial and sensitive matter.
How about a complete tire rethink? Well
that may be the only way – the stats show that
though Dunlop runners in Moto2 and Moto3
also crashed at that turn, it was only four out of
a total of 41 tumbles. Dunlops are often pretty
ragged by race end, while Bridgestones sometimes look ready for another race. Endurance in
this case equals high risk at the warm-up phase.
The philosophy has been somewhat foisted
on Bridgestone as control tire suppliers, seldom an enviable role. Just look at F1's hilarious
exploding Pirellis…
The worst solution hangs in the air: to turn the
Waterfall into a trickle with a chicane at the top.
Like those hanging over the barrier with me,
and all the riders running past with their hearts
in their mouths, I'd hate to see that happen. CN
P119
LOOKING BACK
40 Years Ago
July 31, 1973
We pitted the Norton 850 and Yamaha 750 against each other and
put both bikes on the cover 40 years
ago... Norton-mounted Dave Aldana cleaned up at the Ascot National TT – twice… Russian Jaroslav
Falta traveled to Delta, Ohio, and
won the Inter-AMA MX round over
Heikki Mikkola.
30 Years Ago
August 3, 1983
Tammy Kirk was featured on the
cover 30 years ago to accompany
our interview with the "First Lady" of
dirt-track racing… David Bailey won
and took over the points lead at the
Foxboro Supercross… In only his
second National start, rookie Doug
Chandler topped the Santa Fe Short Track.
20 Years Ago
July 27, 1993
Ricky Graham made history and
the cover for winning for the fifth
straight time at the Syracuse Mile
doubleheader... Stefan Everts took
top honors at the Budds Creek 250
USGP. Mike Kiedrowski was top
American in second… Doug Polen
was tops at Road Atlanta.
10 Years Ago
July 23, 2003
We didn't leave anyone off this cover. Laguna Seca World Superbike
winners Ruben Xaus and Pierfrancesco Chili, AMA Superbike winner
Mat Mladin and Supermoto winner
Jeff Ward all shared a piece of the
front page… Geno Scali topped the
NHRA Pro Stock Final at Gateway International Speedway.
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