Red Bull USGP at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca

Straight from the mouths of some of MotoGP's stars...

By Matthew Miles | Photos by James Wirth

July 2009

Photos: USGP Laguna Seca 2008 >>

Transitioning from southbound Highway 1 to eastbound Highway 68 en route to Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca this past July, I turned the wheel on our sister publication Road & Track's long-term Nissan 370Z to steer around a mid-corner pothole. As I completed this simple maneuver, CW Technical Editor Kevin Cameron looked over at me and smiled broadly. "Isn't rubber great?" he beamed.

Thus began the first of many memorable conversations that I had with Kevin and many others during the Red Bull USGP race weekend. What follows are excerpts from our interviews with MotoGP riders Loris Capirossi, Colin Edwards, Nicky Hayden, Marco Melandri, Valentino Rossi and Gabor Talmácsi. Look for Kevin's analysis of the event, "Strength Renewed," in the October issue, due out on newsstands September 1st.

Loris Capirossi
"I still enjoy riding the bike. I am 36 years old now, and when I start this season, I think, 'Maybe this is the last one.' But after a couple of races, I say, 'I am not ready to retire.' I still love to fight these young guys. My goal is to do 300 GPs.

"Our bike has improved, but we are always behind everybody. Before I retire, I need to fight again for the top position. But I need help from Suzuki. I don't make engines, you know?

"We still use Mitsubishi electronics. The Japanese don't want to move to Magneti Marelli. This is also one of our problems. For a MotoGP bike, for sure, the power is important. But electronics are the most important. When the electronics are not 100 percent, it is difficult to go quick for the full race. Last year, we were 50 percent. Now, we are 80 percent. We need to go to 100 percent.

"In the past with the 500s we had 10,000 to 12,000 rpm. Now, with these four-strokes, we have 8000 to 19,000 rpm. It looks easy, but it isn't. But it is safe. For sure, anyone can jump on the bike and ride it.

"Last year, we didn't use the Bridgestone RJ tire—the spec we have now. It was unridable on our bike. When we tried it, we went 3 seconds slower and crashed. I asked Suzuki to develop the chassis for that kind of tire. The tire is really strong, really hard. When the conditions are not really hot, we don't put enough weight on the tire and it doesn't get hot. This is our problem. That's why, when I see the sun in the morning, I am really happy.

"Working with Honda is a little bit different—more cold people, you know? Not really easy to have a relationship. Yamaha is not too bad. Ducati is easy; I am Italian. Suzuki, for me, is the best. We talk easily—like friends."

Colin Edwards
"Bridgestone went to something this year that I think everybody can use. It's a really good base. The construction is much harder than anything I've ever used, and you can get away with murder. You can run it in deep, keep braking and turn it in.

"This bike was built for Bridgestones; I don't know how well it would work on Michelins. I'm a sensitive guy when it comes to setting up a bike. What would normally be, let's say, a 2 or 3 millimeter change, if you change half a millimeter, I'll come in and say, 'What did you change?' It's very sensitive.

"Guy Coulon, my crew chief, is awesome. Anybody who can build an engine from scratch is a genius. The key is to give him the correct information. As long as I give him the correct information, he can fix the bike.

"This front tire is the one Bridgestone used here last year, which they're calling 'soft.' The rear is the left-side compound from last year, which they are calling 'hard.' I always use a harder front, but the hard front feels too loose here. When you back out of the throttle a little bit, the soft rear doesn't come back immediately. It takes two or three laps for that compound to heat up again. It seems like the hard one would take longer to heat up, but it is good right from the start. I crashed yesterday on the soft rear—electronics, cold tire, whatever it was, it snapped. I said, 'Let's go with the hard rear.'

"We don't know what the factory has, but we have a good package. We can't complain. It's a pleasure to ride. When I go home, I can't wait to come back to the track. When that happens, you know the bike is working well."

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