***Official Moto GP Thread***

Rossi is on the second row in Jerez. However, Looks like Yamaha has more than a decent bike this year.

Art

 

Good posioum actually, important to gain confidence,

he is now challenging the younger boys being the third in the title race, Lorenzo & Pedrosa leads in 2nd and 1st place respectively

so sorry for stoner, ran wide 2 times, so bad luck,

ROSSI GET THAT MOTOGP CROWN BAK THIS TIME OK

 

It looks like Pedrosa took some English lessons since last year. He almost looks upset after a win, because he has to do the press conference. Good to see Rossi on podium.

The 250 CC race was amazing, better than the main event. The two leaders collided on the last lap!

I will be in Indy this year. I read on this thread that Spies may be on a bike there. I wish it was Mladin instead. They are both too big for MotoGP though.

 

Ben will be on a bike there and probably Laguna and Valencia and he will be the rider who surveys the track for safety at Indy. Mat Mladin isn't going to ride there. Neither are too big for the class. Ross is 5'11" tall, weighs about 150#s. Ben is slightly shorter, weighs about the same. Matt is taller, and weighs a little more.

Looks like, if Bridgestone gets their act together, Rossi stands a good chance to regain the title. The Yamaha is awesome, and has HP equal to the Ducati, somebody did their homework. The race did point out that Hopkins made the wrong choice if he ever wanted to win a GP (also a client in the past). He's making decent money, but the Kaw isn't competitive, doesn't have enough HP and won't turn, at least with the front runners.

Art

 

Art - you must be joking! Yes, Rossi is unusually tall for a MotoGP rider, but he is a stick, he can't be more than ~130 lbs. Ben and Mat have a good 30 lbs on him! The AMA bikes are very torquey (comparing the ratio of torque to HP), so the weight of the rider matters less, but MotoGP bikes are high strung high HP, low torque, higher revving machines. The rider must extract every last ounce of performance from the machines. A 165 lb rider simply cannot do this!

Though I usually love for the red machine to win, that will not be extended to MotoGP this year. I will love to see Rossi regain the title and beat the Duc.

Here's a fun vid. If you thought Nicky's save today was great, check this one out from Edwards: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1UlEQtdUGc&fmt=6 Wow!

 

It was a good race. I especially loved it in the 16:9 aspect ratio that my new satellite provider broadcasts it in - suh-weet!!!!

Great start by the Honda boys, with Rossi dropping back to 7th. As is expected, Rossi got to work and started to move up the field eventually finishing in 2nd. Pedrosa was untouchable that race. It was interesting to see if Lorenzo would be able to pass Rossi for second. He looked like he was in good position a couple of times, but never really had a good chance. Hayden rode a good race, that is until you compare to how his team mate did. I was curious to know if he was still running with any of the '07 pieces, like he did last race, or was he on the exact same bike as Pedrosa - I don't recall the commentators mentioning this at all. Did anyone hear? Hayden had a nice save from going down.

Hopper had a pretty good race, as did Edwards for a while.

As for Stoner - it just wasn't meant to be. Going off twice is just not the way to a victory. At least he kept the bike up both times, and was able to finish in a respectable position for someone having gone off twice.

 

great race... glad Rossi got 2nd. I wish he had won though.. but Pedrosa was flawless.

I can't believe Stoner had the audacity to say that he 'feels Rossi isn't a threat...".... Cocky bastard.. if it weren't for the Duc Stoner would have been stoned to the rear of the Moto GP championship.

 

so true. the Duc seems to be Stoner's bike. before the move, he always seemed to be a "win it or bin it" [crashed out of 7(?) races in his '06 motogp debut] type of racer. I find it hard to believe he improved THAT much in one year -- from being marginal in his 2006 debut with honda to completely dominating the 2007 season.

 

Stoner said that??? Hard to believe he would say something so ignorant. You can put Rossi on a 250, and he'd still be a threat!

 

Just putting it back on the 1st page. Portugal coming up. Great track. With the new performance of the Yamahas, I look to see Rossi do very, very well, as he comes to grips with the Bridgestones.

Art

 

It will be good to see how Stoner is under pressure. He does really well when he's leading the pack. Can he race his way from mistakes to get to the front of the pack on a consistent basis, without cocking up like he did during the last race?

 

Yamaha, Honda, Yamaha, Yamaha. Not bad. However, it looks like Rossi made the wrong decision on tires. We''ll see.

Art

 

He absolutely made the wrong choice. Out of the top 8 qualifiers or so, he was the only one on Bridgestones. His team mate won the race on Michelins. Can you imagine what he would be doing with Michelins?

Rossi did a nice job for the 1st half of the race, able to stay ahead of the pack, but just barely. He did what he could for as long as he could - 3rd was very respectable. I am anxious for Rossi's 1st win of the year - hopefully it will be sooner than later.

 

looked like everyone was a little loose, front ends giving out, bikes squirming around.

Too bad Nicky dropped it. He was headed for some points in 4th or 5th place.

 

We'll see about the tires. Remember that the season is just starting. Rossi started on Mediums because of the rain forecast, when it stopped raining, and the track got dry, his tires got hot, and he started sliding around. Both Pedrosa and Lorenzo were on hards, and their tires didn't go away when the track got dry. I wonder how well he'd have done, had he started on the hards?

As for qualifying, the Bridgestones aren't nearly as good as the Michelins, but, as long as he gets a front or second row start, I'm not sure that makes any difference.

Art

 

Man, I hope Stoner gets back into the groove for the next race. I still think Stoner/Duc is the best current combination.

 

Finally out: Swantz will be involved in Suzuki's motogp effort next year, along Ben Spies:

http://www.motogp.com/en/news/2008/Schwantz+eyes+2009+Suzuki+MotoGP+role

Maybe, just maybe, they might win another championship, in 3, 4 years.

Art

 

I don't think Spies can cut it in MotoGP. Let's see how well he tests and races at Indy / Laguna this year. I don't even think he will beat Mladin this year in AMA.

 

Did you watch Fontana? Beat him on Saturday, and then on Sunday, ran him down, and did him at the line. I know both, represented Mat with a beef with the AMA years ago, currently represent Ben's agent, Doug Gonda. He will beat Mat this year. If you saw the look on Mat's face at the end of the race on Sunday, you'd have been looking at a beaten man. He's had his day, but he's getting too old for this sport and I think that the realization of that fact sunk in on Sunday. Ben is on the way up, and will do well. Remember, when he tested at Valencia last year, he got within .5 seconds of Hopper's time (I was there to watch the test, and frankly, if he'd had enough time, he'd have beaten the time, but they didn't have enough time to modify the bike enough to suit his riding style)

Art

 

Hm... ok then. You seem to know something. So I will watch his tests closely. Do you know if Spies will be racing at Indy / Laguna?
I am still a Mladin fan though. C'mon, you gotta root for the older guy. He has way more heart than anyone out there! Best attitude I've ever seen from any racer when he wins or loses.

 

Ben has wild card entries at both Laguna, Indy and Valencia. I'll be at them to watch him. He is supposed to go to Europe next year, but remember Capirossi's deal with Suzuki is that if he gets 3rd in the Championship, he gets another year on his contract. I don't think that will happen, but who knows?

I like Mat. I think he's an absolutely great rider, but sooner or later it's time to quit, and he is getting to that point. As long as Ben is coming up, Mat will have extreme difficulty winning. When Jimmy France takes over the AMA professional series, you aren't going to see Yosh winning every race. I have it on very good info, that they will change the rules immediately to keep the factories from dominating the class. Things like special unobtainable swing arms, ECUs, unobtainable tires, etc., aren't going to happen any more, and that will be very good for the sport.

Art

 

You know Ben is getting a little old to just be starting MotoGP! Lorenzo is only 20.
I will be at Indy too! It is my first MotoGP race. Where are your seats?

Who else has come up from AMA into MotoGP? I can only think of Nicky.

-Tom

 

I don't have seats, I'll have a Suzuki pass, which lets me in everywhere. Ben is only 23, about the right age. Kenny went over there when he was over 25, and taught them how to ride.

Art

 

Rossi was the quickest today. Stoner was fastest in the afternnon, but Rossi was 2 tens quicker based on his morning time. Jorge has a broken ankle, but claims he's going to ride.

Art