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Randy de Puniet Proves CRT Bikes Can Be Competitive With MotoGP Factory Bikes

The recent Sepang test made the CRT machines look completely out of their league against the factory MotoGP bikes. Indeed, the quickest CRT machine at Sepang (ridden by Colin Edwards – a BMW based entry) was more than five seconds off the leader’s pace at the test.

Randy de Puniet and his CRT Aprilia were not at the Sepang test, however.  De Puniet, along with some of the other Aprilia CRT riders, has just finished a test at Jerez that casts a whole new light on the CRT (Claiming Rule Team) performance potential for this season.  De Puniet lapped Jerez in a best time of 1 minute 40.3 seconds . . . a quick time even among MotoGP factory times set at Jerez.

For comparison, Dani Pedrosa set the official MotoGP lap record at Jerez on a factory Honda in 2010 with a time of 1 minute 39.731 seconds, just a hair over half a second quicker than de Puniet went on his new Aprilia powered CRT bike! Although the top factory riders were not at Jerez for this same test, Hector Barbera of the satellite Ducati team Pramac was present and was able to lap only 0.3 seconds quicker than de Puniet. Barbera was the fastest satellite team rider at the Sepang test.

20 Comments

  1. Dale says:

    Colin’s a Great Rider but that Aprilia and Randy may be too tall an order this year.

    The potential of Colin’s bike is less obvious… and Randy can FLY!

    If the CRT’s could get within 1 second of pole times I’d be Amazed. I’d rather them give the CRT’s advantages (40K for the engines claimed?) than try to slow down the prototypes.

    I’m divided on how I feel about the “electronics” in Racing. On one side it seems to promise ever higher performance with future development possibly making for “better”, “safer” bikes trickling down to us mere mortals. On the other, I believe that minimal “electronics” would make for more competitive, less expensive Racing.

    They should stabilize the rules so that at some point a refined 3 year old bike wouldn’t be “obsolete”. That would tend to equalize the field.

    I hope for a safe and competitive season, SOON!!!

  2. bikerrandy says:

    I believe British Superbike is making everybody use the same ECU this year.

  3. MuddShrk says:

    Moto GP and F1 are the pinnacles of their moto sport. When active suspension was cutting edge in F1 and the big budget teams were suddenly 4 seconds per lap faster they banned the technology. Likewise with traction control, F1 couldn’t control the software and instituted Spec ECU’s.

    Save the sport and make engine tuners tune engines not software. Institute a rigid specification for Electronic Control Unit’s in Moto GP.

    • Norm G. says:

      re: “Save the sport and make engine tuners tune engines not software.”

      save the sport, go buy a motorcycle.

    • superbikemike says:

      here here…+1… ditto… i totally agree, been saying that 4 years, they should have a control ecu, and let the best rider win, not the best software engineers… my two cents

  4. Crashie says:

    Along a slightly different line, World Superbike starts this weekend, being shown on SpeedTV Sunday afternoon.

  5. Stinky says:

    When I saw the picture of Rossis bike with aluminum frame, why couldn’t Aprillia bring it? V4 aluminum frame, the design is only a couple years old and started from clean sheet design. I know there’s more to it than that, but, power shouldn’t be an issue. Those darned electronics will prove to be though. No satellite or CRT team will be able to test enough to ever be competitive on electronics. That requires in house test tracks, disposable bikes and test riders. WSB has a chance, Moto GP is DOA. Darn, just as we were getting the Austin GP.

  6. Fred M. says:

    Whether you like them or not, the CRT bikes are a necessity. The field was so small last year, and the racing so lackluster (often with margins of several seconds between the guys who ended up on the podium), that MotoGP was almost on life support.

    There’s only so much interest you can generate when there are only three factories (Honda, Yamaha, and Ducati) competing and only two of them (Honda and Yamaha) were able to place riders on the top step of the podium in 2011.

    What they really need to do is ban “rider aids” such as traction control, wheelie control, and launch control. It’s adding huge costs to the sport and it’s resulting in races that are decided as much by the firmware engineers as by the riders.

    • MGNorge says:

      I understand that there is a reality concerning the need to keep viewers and make money but isn’t MotoGP the “open” class? That’s where teams and factories showcase their best bikes and best riders. If the rider’s too tall or too heavy then either put him on a diet or find someone else. If your bike isn’t competitive then redesign it! Sounds simple and I know it’s not but it still is the open class. I like to see what can be achieved by the factories when they let it all hang out. Not much interested in watching equipment “equalized” just so they all ride around in a train. I’m not much for identifying with a rider but much more so with the engineering that can be developed.

      • Dave says:

        The reality is that keeping viewers and making money are the only important thing. There’s no reason to showcase if nobody will watch.

        All successful motorsports have had to continually adjust to stay viable.

        • Norm G. says:

          re: “There’s no reason to showcase if nobody will watch.”

          there’s no reason to watch if isn’t showcased. see, that coin has a flipside. now what…?

          • Dave says:

            It has been demonstrated over and over that the quality of racing it what draws fans, not the technology in the equipment. People won’t watch racing that has too few competitors which is the result of allowing a couple of factories out-spend everyone else (the “showcase” of technology). It was allowed to play out and that is where we are now. CRT is an attempt to bring it back.

      • Norm G. says:

        re: “I’m not much for identifying with a rider but much more so with the engineering that can be developed.”

        in another tab, a facebook friend request is sent to mgnorge… LOL

  7. Norm G. says:

    re: “Randy de Puniet Proves CRT Bikes Can Be Competitive With MotoGP Factory Bikes”

    shouldn’t this headline read, “Randy de Puniet Proves CRT Bikes Can Be Competitive With MotoGP Factory Bikes That Have 200 Less cc’s”…?

    • Dave says:

      Maybe, but the 800’s are faster than the 990’s they replaced almost everywhere, even in top-speed.

      Of course, nobody at that Jerez test turned an all time fastest lap like Stoner did at Sepang.

      • tepi says:

        This is the year 2012 and the MotoGP factory bikes are 1000cc…

        • Norm G. says:

          correct. more specifically, they are now 1000cc and will have the entire sum knowledge of both the 990 and 800cc eras applied to this extra displacement.

  8. M says:

    Arguably an outlier – with such odds that it’s all but an Aprilia factory bike. And definitely an outlier compared to all other CRTs so far. Which makes even more compelling the argument that its performance is thanks first of all to factory support.

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