Now That's A Man's Corner.....

[Gilbert]

ENJOY the ride...

http://vimeo.com/53551115

[JerolW]

Thanks for that.

Pretty cool.

jerol

[dtel]

You have to be a little nuts, speaking of them where do they hide those huge things required to do that ?

[sunburnwilly]

King of the Mountain !

http://www.broadjam.com/artists/songs.php?artistID=38379&mediaID=361363

[BusaDude]

Speaking of King of the Mountain... John McGuinness bumped his own outright lap record up to an average 131.671 mph, on the nearly 38 mile long course (all public roads), at this year's TT. www.iomtt.com

[JJkizak]

Doing a wheely while in a turn---that takes some balls.

JJK

[Gilbert]

This was the big news at last years TT.

http://cyclenews.coverleaf.com/cyclenews/20121204?#pg31

I've been following his progress since he first revealed his first attempt at building a gas powered MotoGP bike (the C1, or Czysz-1) some years ago. The guys brilliant, shortly after revealing his C1 MotoGP bike he was approached by a group of investors, and a few years later, he'd changed directions on the method of propulsion.

Very unusual stuff, the kind of stuff nobody else is doing.... http://motoczysz.com/

[tigerwoodKhorns]

Doing a wheely while in a turn---that takes some balls.

JJK

Especially at that speed.

[merkin]

That made my sack shrivel up just watching. I don't think I'd be comfortable where the spectators were setting.

[Islander]

Doing a wheely while in a turn---that takes some balls.

Especially at that speed.

It's not really a case of intentionally doing a wheelie, it's the hump in the pavement causing the front wheel to lift while turning. That said, it does take some serious commitment to keep the power on when the front wheel is that high.

It takes those riders quite a while to build up to that confidence level, but when you practice lap after lap without a problem (and have massive amounts of skill and courage), you eventually get to the point of riding like that as a matter of course.

Check out the action at The Mountain at Cadwell Park. As you can hear by the commentary, the riders think it's actually a lot of fun.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=T-aGYGSsVIk&feature=endscreen

[tigerwoodKhorns]

It's not really a case of intentionally doing a wheelie

Well yea, the jumps too, it looks like a function of the speed and the course. Showboating is not the way to win and these guys are the best out there.

Thanks for the link.

[Islander]

That's right. Showboating is saved for the victory lap, if you earn the victory. One rider in the Mountain clip even mentions that it's best to spend as little time in the air as possible. That makes sense, because you can only put power to the ground when you're on the ground. They're trying to find the very fastest way around the course, so if speed before and after the leap is maximized, then acceleration time lost while in the air is compensated for.

Getting air time on a bike seems to be much less dangerous than in a car. At Mosport, a famous hilly track east of Toronto, there was a jump near the end of the back straight. Although the straight is uphill, it's three-quarters of a mile long, so speeds get pretty high. On a small bike you'd be cresting the hill at about 120 mph, and you'd get a cool wheelie. On a big bike, you'd be doing 140-170 mph or more, and you'd get a half-second to a full second with both wheels in the air. The 210 mph MotoGP bikes don't race there, probably because the track doesn't meet current FIM safety standards.

After the crest, it's a short downhill bit to Turn 8, so you need to be on the brakes hard to slow for the turn, but it's not a big problem. With cars, it was a problem. The fastest cars would be travelling at 170 mph or more, and some would flip or fly off the course, resulting in some serious injuries and even fatalities. I think the car drivers sometimes call it a "blowover" when the front of the car gets too high, the wind gets under it, and the body becomes a wing, with no control surfaces. In the late 1990s, the "hump" was removed. The car drivers were happy, but the bike riders either didn't care, or wished it was still there.

In relation to bravery, it helps to realize that the vast majority of top riders are in their twenties and early thirties, when healing happens relatively quickly and feelings of invulnerability are near their maximum. People race cars successfully in their forties and fifties, but that's very rare in motorcycle racing. The riders eventually get tired of the crashes, and they start to notice how the permanent damage to their bodies is accumulating. After thirty or so, you don't recover 100% as often as when you were younger.

[Gilbert]

The 210 mph MotoGP bikes don't race there, probably because the track doesn't meet current FIM safety standards.

exactly correct... and that video showed a couple of nasty highsides. thanks.

[Islander]

These MotoGP riders are iron men. I just watched the Grand Prix of the Netherlands from Assen. Jorge Lorenzo, the current World Champion, crashed in practice on Thursday afternoon and broke his collarbone.

That evening, he flew to a hospital near his home in Barcelona. Early on Friday morning he had a titanium plate attached to his injured collarbone with eight screws. Friday afternoon he flew back to the track. On Saturday morning, after passing a medical fitness test, Lorenzo qualified in eighth position.

On Saturday afternoon, less than thirty-six hours after his surgery, Jorge Lorenzo raced and finished in fifth place. He said it was pretty painful after the seventh lap.

On Monday, X-rays confirmed that he did not further damage during the race and "recovery of the left clavicle is well underway": http://www.motogp.com/en/news/2013/No+further+damage+to+Lorenzo+collarbone

No wonder they're starting to call him the Man of Steel. I think Wolverine might be more accurate, but whatever. He's even humble about it, as you can see by the last couple of lines in this news item: http://www.motogp.com/en/news/2013/Global+reaction+to+remarkable+Assen+weekend

Here's data from the sensors in his airbag-equipped racing suit: http://www.motogp.com/en/news/2013/Alpinestars+releases+Lorenzo+crash+data

[tigerwoodKhorns]

That evening, he flew to a hospital near his home in Barcelona. Early on Friday morning he had a titanium plate attached to his injured collarbone with eight screws. Friday afternoon he flew back to the track. On Saturday morning, after passing a medical fitness test, Lorenzo qualified in eighth position.

He is the Terminator.

[Islander]

That evening, he flew to a hospital near his home in Barcelona. Early on Friday morning he had a titanium plate attached to his injured collarbone with eight screws. Friday afternoon he flew back to the track. On Saturday morning, after passing a medical fitness test, Lorenzo qualified in eighth position.

He is the Terminator.

Hmm, that could explain the robot moves he sometimes does after winning a race.

Here he plants his flag (which matches the design on his helmet) after winning the Dutch Grand Prix in 2010 in front of over 50,000 spectators:

He even planted his flag at the Corkscrew after winning at Laguna Seca in 2010:

Jorge wins a lot, since he was the 250 cc World Champion in 2006 and 2007, and MotoGP World Champion in 2010 and 2012. Jorge Lorenzo is hoping to win the World Championship again this year, so he was really, really, determined to score points in every race, no matter what.

Lorenzo entertains the fans with a bit of chemical magic at Catalunya last year:

[Islander]

Ever wonder how much MotoGP riders earn? Here are some salary estimates. Endorsement deals often amount to as much or more than salary amounts. Valentino Rossi, for example, endorses helmets, racing suits, even Nutella hazelnut spread.

http://www.asphaltandrubber.com/racing/valentino-rossi-motogp-salary/

Here's an excerpt from that page:

The following are salary estimates compiled by GPone:

• Valentino Rossi: $15.5 – $19.5 million
• Jorge Lorenzo: $5.2 – $9 million
• Casey Stoner: $6.5 – $9 million
• Dani Pedrosa: $3.9 – $5.2 million
• Andrea Dovizioso: $1.9 – $2.6 million
• Marco Simoncelli: $1.9 – $2.6 million
• Loris Capirossi: $1.9 million
• Ben Spies: $1.3 – $2.6 million
• Alvaro Bautista: $1.3 million
• Randy De Puniet: $650,000
• Marco Melandri: $650,000
• Mika Kallio: $450,000
• Colin Edwards: $325,000
• Aleix Espargaro: $325,000

Ben Spies and Colin Edwards are Americans. Colin's nickname is the Texas Tornado. He was the Superbike World Champion in 2000 and 2002, but has never finished a MotoGP season higher than 4th, even when on the Yamaha factory team, which gives you some idea of the level of competition in MotoGP.

Another famous American MotoGP rider is Nicky Hayden, the "Kentucky Kid", who was World Champion in 2006. I don't know why he doesn't appear in that salary list, since he rides for the Ducati factory. His net worth is around $12 million.