Steve: I'd like to think that I had something to do with his hiring Vincent. Vincent, Hagan and I ran an endurance race at Sears in 01, and he started. Hadn't ridden the bike before, Hagan had ridden it all season, finishing 2, 3 & 4th in the Formula Pacific races. Vincent started 12th, and had the lead by turn 2, with a 2 second lead by the end of the 1st lap. I was very impressed with him, and urged John to hire him, which happened in 04. From what I'm told, this is a career ending crash, I don't know for sure but I'm told that there is a spinal injury. I hope not, but I'll find out today. Here is Suzuki's press release from Spain. Note that John was 1 lap down at the start and gained about 1/2 lap on the leaders to finish 16th. Piss poor luck, he could have won. BAD LUCK FOLLOWS TEAM SUZUKI Team Suzuki Press Office May 15, 2005. Team SUZUKI MotoGPs string of bad luck continued at the Grand Prix Alice de France today as John Hopkins was forced to start from pit-lane due to an engine management control fault. Today started positively for both Hopkins and team-mate Kenny Roberts Jr. as the two Suzuki GSV-R riders posted the second and fourth quickest times respectively in a damp morning warm-up. Before the start of the race, held in dry but overcast conditions, Hopkins had to pull into the pit-lane at the end of the warm-up lap and change to his reserve bike. Starting nearly a lap down, he managed to catch the tail-end of the field and pass one rider but was not able to reel in the main pack and finished in 16th place. A frustrated Hopkins said: Im absolutely devastated. Weve worked hard all weekend and we qualified the bike well. I really felt we could have got a good result. Even on the spare bike - that didnt perform quite as well as my main bike I was able to run at a reasonable pace but I just didnt have the target of any other riders to aim for. Im sure my pace could have been a lot quicker if I had been with the faster guys. I have no idea what happened to my bike on the warm-up lap. I really feel for my team as they have worked so hard again this weekend. We now need to put this behind us, move onto the next race and have another go. Roberts Jr. finished in a points-scoring 13th place and his lap-times towards the end of the race were worthy of a higher placed finish. His Chief Technician Tom OKane said: Kenny didnt get a good qualifying position here yesterday after he nearly crashed on his fastest lap and that showed in todays race. Its really difficult to pass riders at Le Mans due to the nature of the circuit but his times towards the end of the race showed that if he had got away with the leaders things might have been very different. Team Manager Paul Denning said: Im really disappointed. Today was different from Shanghai. We didnt have the chance to win the race but we did have a chance for solid top-ten finishes. You can call it bad luck be we have to look at how we can make our luck better. We cant afford to blame bad luck when thats the only type of luck coming. I feel sorry for John but he never gave up and showed a true racing spirit by riding hard and completing a Grand Prix from what was basically a hopeless position. Kennys pace was good towards the end and showed that race-long consistency is there from the Bridgestone tyres. We now have a further days testing here tomorrow with some new engine and chassis parts as well as some prototype Bridgestone tyres. We start working on improving our chances of success tomorrow. Todays race was won by World Champion Valentino Rossi on a Yamaha in front of a crowd of over 75,000. The next round of the MotoGP World Championship will be at Mugello in Italy on June 5th. Grand Prix Alice de France Results: 1. Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) 4412.223: 2. Sete Gibernau (Honda) +0.382: 3. Colin Edwards (Yamaha) +5.711: 4. Marco Melandri (Honda) +7.276: 5. Max Biaggi (Honda) +7.703: 6. Nicky Hayden (Honda) +21.770: 7. Loris Capirossi (Ducati) +24.664: 8. Shinya Nakano (Kawasaki) +35.940: 9. Toni Elias (Yamaha) +38.062: 10. Troy Bayliss (Honda) +52.607: 13. Kenny Roberts Jr. (Team SUZUKI MotoGP) +100.514. 16. John Hopkins (Team Suzuki MotoGP) +1 LAP. Championship Points (after four rounds): 1. Rossi 95: 2. Melandri 58: 3. Gibernau 53: 4. Biaggi 47: 5. Alex Barros (Honda) 43: 6. Edwards 41: 7. Nakano 27: 8. Hayden 26: 9. Olivier Jacque (Kawasaki) 25: 10. Capirossi 23. 16. Hopkins 11. 18. Roberts Jr. 7. Art
Art Both riders were significantly off the pace, not withstanding Hopkins bike change (which for some reason I thought was a tyre change on lap 1). Hopkins may indeed have the talent, but he certainly doesn't have the bike. Suzuki needs to do some serious thinking about where they are at. Very sorry to hear about Haskovec, hope he has a speedy and full recovery.
1 Valentino Rossi Gauloises Yamaha Team Yamaha YZR-M1 1:50.778 2 Max Biaggi Repsol Honda Team Honda RC211V 1:50.823 3 Sete Gibernau Team Movistar Honda Honda RC211V 1:51.064 4 Nicky Hayden Repsol Honda Team Honda RC211V 1:51.158 5 Marco Melandri Team Movistar Honda Honda RC211V 1:51.234 6 Colin Edwards Gauloises Yamaha Team Yamaha YZR-M1 1:51.320 7 Carlos Checa Ducati Marlboro Team Ducati Desmosedici GP-5 1:51.488 8 Shinya Nakano Kawasaki Racing Team Kawasaki Ninja ZX-RR 1:51.494 9 Loris Capirossi Ducati Marlboro Team Ducati Desmosedici GP-5 1:51.537 10 Alex Barros Camel Honda Honda RC211V 1:51.573 11 John Hopkins Team Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki GSV-R 1:52.190 12 Kenny Roberts Jnr. Team Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki GSV-R 1:52.288 13 Troy Bayliss Camel Honda Honda RC211V 1:52.345 14 Alex Hofmann Kawasaki Racing Team Kawasaki Ninja ZX-RR 1:52.357 15 Makoto Tamada JIR Konica Minolta Honda Honda RC211V 1:52.489 16 Ruben Xaus Fortuna Yamaha Team Yamaha YZR-M1 1:53.330 17 David Checa Fortuna Yamaha Team Yamaha YZR-M1 1:53.961 18 Shane Byrne Team Roberts/KTM Proton/KTM 1:54.673 19 Roberto Rolfo D'antin Pramac MotoGP Ducati Desmosedici GP-4 1:54.859 20 Franco Battaini Blata WCM Blata 1:55.774
Less than 1 second separating the first 10 riders!! When will F1 be this competitive?? EDIT: OMG, just logged onto the MotoGP site, Checa is trapping 340kmh on the Ducati!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hopkins qualified 5th, about .25 off the pace. However, his top speed is 324 vs. Barros 332, so the top speed is about 4, 5 mph difference. Looks like Suzuki has made up quite a bit of distance. Art
Melandri is second in points. Like I said before....watch out for this guy in the next couple of years, he is the guy to give Rossi a run for the title. It would be nice for an American like Hopkins to take the title. I don't think it will happen in the next while. There is alot of talent in the 250 class just waiting to move up to motogp.
I don't really see Melandri challenging Rossi in the next two or three years. Gibernau is the only one who has been able to match his pace since 2003 on a consistent basis. Guys like Barros, Melandri, Biaggi, can all wins races, but cannot string enough good finishes together to be champ. I highly doubt Melandri will finish the year is first or second. With the new rules in 2007 which limit engine size to 800cc, it could get interesting however. The bikes will still have over 200hp, and my guess is that F1 technology will become incorporated more widely. Honda will again have a clear advantage in this case, so Rossi on a Yamaha may have a considerable amount of ground to make up once again. Assuming he doesn't retire from bikes to go to F1 of course. It will very interesting to see what the manufacturers come up with for the new rules. I would say Honda will use their rumored V-3, while Yamaha and Kawasaki will stick with the I-4. Suzuki may go I-4 as well. I would not be at all surprised if Ducati pulled out to concentrate on Superbike. Roberts, WCM, et al will continue to bring up the rear on underfunded, underdeveloped bikes.
The three you mentioned are 32, 33, and 34 years old.....all reaching their expiry date. Melandri is 22, still in his prime and he is second in points. You can only expect better in the next couple of years.
Rossi, Sete, Max on the first row, Barros, Hopkins, etc. on the second row. Take a look at the top speeds. Rossi is at 328, Hondas all over 330, Hopkins at 324. tomorrow should be interesting. Art
A very creditable qualifying result. Top 13 riders within 1sec of each other, let's hope that Suzuki has a setup and race tyre that will last the distance.
1 Valentino Rossi Gauloises Yamaha Team Yamaha YZR-M1 42:42.994 2 Max Biaggi Repsol Honda Team Honda RC211V 42:43.353 3 Loris Capirossi Ducati Marlboro Team Ducati Desmosedici GP-5 42:46.868 4 Marco Melandri Team Movistar Honda Honda RC211V 42:46.973 5 Carlos Checa Ducati Marlboro Team Ducati Desmosedici GP-5 42:50.892 6 Nicky Hayden Repsol Honda Team Honda RC211V 42:51.198 7 Alex Barros Camel Honda Honda RC211V 42:54.566 8 Makoto Tamada JIR Konica Minolta Honda Honda RC211V 43:08.388 9 Colin Edwards Gauloises Yamaha Team Yamaha YZR-M1 43:08.479 10 Shinya Nakano Kawasaki Racing Team Kawasaki Ninja ZX-RR 43:19.543 11 John Hopkins Team Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki GSV-R 43:24.631 12 Alex Hofmann Kawasaki Racing Team Kawasaki Ninja ZX-RR 43:26.653 13 Troy Bayliss Camel Honda Honda RC211V 43:26.910 14 Ruben Xaus Fortuna Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha YZR-M1 43:34.569 15 Kenny Roberts Jnr. Team Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki GSV-R 43:53.269 16 Shane Byrne Team Roberts MotoGP Proton/KTM 43:55.576 17 Roberto Rolfo D'antin Pramac MotoGP Ducati Desmosedici GP-4 43:56.041 18 Franco Battaini Blata WCM Blata Lapped 19 David Checa Fortuna Yamaha Team Yamaha YZR-M1 Lapped Rossi wins again. Looks like a Gibber DNF. Good to see the Ducatis near the front. The depth of talent in the class is just incredible.
Almost everyone running in that class is a world champ from either the 250 class, superbike, etc. There are no slouches there. Art
Mugello was an amazing event, what a beautiful track, and so well suited to the bikes. Those left right complexes are so awesome for passing and repassing. Rossi's first lap was astonishing. And good job to Biaggi and Melandri for bringing the race back to him.
T.O.Dino, I just checked Speed Channel's website, and they list it as the 250 race. So, who's right? On further checking, it will be on Speed Channel at 4:00 a.m. (Eastern) Thursday. I missed the race Sunday. I will not miss it this time. Thanks for the heads up.
Top Speeds From Friday Afternoon MotoGP Practice At Catalunya: 1. Loris Capirossi, Ducati, 205.932 mph 2. Marco Melandri, Honda, 205.124 mph 3. Makoto Tamada, Honda, 205.000 mph 4. Carlos Checa, Ducati, 204.876 mph 5. Max Biaggi, Honda, 204.006 mph 6. Nicky Hayden, Honda, 203.198 mph 7. Sete Gibernau, Honda, 202.949 mph 8. Alex Barros, Honda, 201.955 mph 9. John Hopkins, Suzuki, 201.831 mph 10. Valentino Rossi, Yamaha, 200.836 mph 11. Colin Edwards, Yamaha, 200.836 mph 12. Troy Bayliss, Honda, 200.588 mph 13. Shinya Nakano, Kawasaki, 199.594 mph 14. Shane Byrne, Proton KR, 199.345 mph 15. Tony Elias, Yamaha, 198.164 mph 16. Kenny Roberts, Suzuki, 198.102 mph 17. Roberto Rolfo, Ducati, 197.916 mph 18. Ruben Xaus, Yamaha, 197.232 mph 19. Alex Hofmann, Kawasaki, 195.430 mph 20. Franco Battaini, Blata, 188.222 mph 21. James Ellison, Blata, 184.494 mph You'll note who has the HP and who doesn't. Art
1 Valentino Rossi 1:58.936 2 Sete Gibernau 1:59.247 3 Marco Melandri 1:59.632 4 Shinya Nakano 1:59.760 5 Nicky Hayden 1:59.784 6 Colin Edwards 2:00.006 7 Loris Capirossi 2:00.136 8 Alex Barros 2:00.232 9 Max Biaggi 2:00.281 10 Alex Hofmann2:00.298 11 Makoto Tamada 2:00.656 12 John Hopkins 2:00.810 13 Carlos Checa 2:00.883 14 Troy Bayliss 2:01.216 15 Kenny Roberts Jnr. 2:01.836 16 Ruben Xaus 2:01.854 17 David Checa 2:02.639 18 Roberto Rolfo 2:02.704 19 Shane Byrne 2:03.442 20 James Ellison 2:03.488 The race is on Saturday for the TT. This will be the last year for the track in its current configuration . Catch it 3pm Eastern on Sunday on Speed.
Just a recap. Rossi 170 points, Melandri 107 points. So much for hopkins winning the title in 05. Like I said before watch out for Melandri in the next couple of years, as long as Rossi takes an early retirement that is.
Stu: You're right. However, the interesting thing is that it wasn't the bike this year. It was Hopkins AND his tires. His deal is for one year, and a renewal is at his option. Look to see him at either Ducati or Honda next year. Art
Art, that was a quick. Hopefully he will do better on a different ride but he still has a host of great riders to deal with.
After watching a few more races, with respect to Melandri, you may be right. Gibernau seems to be cracking under pressure, as does Biaggi. Mad Max should just hang it up, his window of opportunity for a championship has closed. Even if Rossi retired after this year, he probably could not win even on the works Honda in '06, there are better riders than him in the series. I will be curious to see what happens to Hayden, in his third year he should be pushing for wins. Maybe a demotion to a B-squad with Melandri in his spot next year. Bayliss is another rider that seems to be struggling. After '03 he has done very little. My hope is that he goes back to WSBK for the next two years: '06 on the twin Ducati, '07 on the V-4.
There is an interesting poll going on right now at www.superbikeplanet.com whether Mladin will qualify for the superbike race faster than one or both of the MotoGP Suzukis. I voted no, but I would wager the difference between Mladin and the slowest Suzuki MotoGP bike will be less than the difference between between that same bike and the polesitter for the GP race. Imagine the egg on the MotoGP team's face though, if Mladin did end up faster than one of them.
