| Author | Message | ||
     Eboos |
I think that John Hopkins will finally start to see some success in MotoGP. Although he has always performed well in testing, practice and qualifying, I think that this year he will get his first win and start becoming a regular on the podium. What do you think? | ||
| Buell2001b |
is he on a Buell, then you are on the wrong site | ||
| Eboos |
 http://unemployment.ytmnd.com/ (Message edited by eboos on January 23, 2007) | ||
| Davegess |
Eboos, those Suzuki's are looking tough, although 1 test is no a seasons! Honda will be throwing massive amounts of money at the bikes, they can't be happy to be so far down the time sheets. | ||
| Eboos |
That may be true, but I would like to see different faces on the podium this year. It would be good to see Edwards with a win or two too. | ||
| Moboy516 |
I'm with you Eboos. Go Hopper! | ||
| Jimidan |
Go Nicky Hayden...he remains the man to beat. And naw, he ain't on a Buell...MotoGP doesn't have any Buells. jimidan | ||
| Rocketman |
Hopkins, Vermulen, and Suzuki, have been on the pace at every test since the end of last season. The 800cc Suzuki has been fast from day one. Rocket | ||
| Eboos |
I just can't wait until this season begins. | ||
| Vagelis46 |
Hopkins is fast on the dry. Vermulen is the BEST of Motogp on the wet (Along with Kawa's Jacque). That is a very good combination for the Suzuki team. Also it is clear now that Suzuki spent the entire last year developing solutions to suit the 800cc machines. They were the first to use pneumatic valves so that they can get the max revs from the engines. I think this is VERY important for the 800cc engines. This gave them problems last year at the first races (remember Hopkins kicking the bike after the engine blew??)but now they might have have an advantage. Suzuki was the only bike last year to use a 'screamer' 990 cc engine, while all the other were using 'big bang' engines. I noticed that at the Motogp of Turkey that I went. The Suzuki sound was VERY different than all the others. The 'screamer' gave them problems finding traction last year and destroying the rear tire very early. Remember that at the begining of the race they were running at the front, and then the tires were gone and moving back?? But now at the 800cc it is the other way round. Everybody (even Ducati) are using 'screamer' engines to get the max horsepower. So Suzuki is ahead with mapping and traction control electronics. So it seems that while everybody were thinking that the Evil Empire (Honda)will have an advantage with the 800cc, Suzuki surprises us all. They actually declared clearly last year, that their main purpose from the last 990cc season is to develop their 800cc. Once again I say that is going to be very interesting to see the Evil Empire developing and setting up a bike without the Rossi-Burgess combination. I am also happy that Hayden is doing better than robot Pedrosa, although I do not see him having a season as good as last year. Personally I rate Hopkins higher than Hayden, as a rider. | ||
| Davegess |
And, BIG SURPRISE, the last session ends and who is the fastest? Why some guy named Rossi, you know that all the fast guys are saying "man I thought I was finally faster that that guy". It would be typical of Val to have been running race simulations, getting the bike dialed for racing, letting the others chase that fast time and then BANG just when they are starting to think that maybe they have him beat he sticks on a Q and lays down the time of the test. I don't think it bothers the more experienced or level headed guys but it sure upsets some of the guys. I wonder if Hopper or Dani are susceptible to these mind games? They sure used to tip Biaggi over the edge into mistakes. | ||
| Vagelis46 |
I am sure all riders and manufacturers use a Q tire at the end of the tests just to get to the top of the timesheet. This helps the rider+team confidence. So it is not just Vale that use this technique. It is just that Rossi is the BEST, and the one the others fear. Last year only Elias (and Capi-T-Rex when his Bridgestones were performing OK)stood against him and managed to beat him. | ||
| Eboos |
Hopkins does let his age and lack of maturity show on the track when things don't go right. The bike kicking was pretty funny, but also pretty sad at the same time. I think that he is growing up though. I just read a recent interview with him and was pretty impressed by it. | ||
| Blake |
"Last year only Elias (and Capi-T-Rex when his Bridgestones were performing OK)stood against him and managed to beat him."  Not quite. Actually, not even close. Out of 17 MotoGP races last year, Rossi won five. Nick Hayden and his Honda beat Valentino and his Yamaha seven times. Capirossi did the same while Hayden finished ahead of Capirossi nine times. Elias finished ahead of Rossi five times while Hayden finished ahead of Elias in 16 of the 17 races. Advantage Hayden. Pedrosa beat Rossi to take first to Rossi's 2nd in the British GP.    | ||
| Rocketman |
Nick Hayden and his Honda beat Valentino and his Yamaha seven times. That's like saying you beat me to Texas coz I've never been there. Rocket. | ||
| Davegess |
Nicky was the best last year and has the number 1 plate to prove it. I agree he was lucky at times but he still one the damn thing. He beat Rossi to win it. Just 'cause your bike blew up is no excuse you still lost. | ||
| Rocketman |
I see it different. Let's say Rossi DNF'd in every round at the first corner on the first lap. Now if I won the title at the end of that season I would be gutted that I hadn't proved I could beat Rossi. Maybe I'm just honest and real about it. Some of you guys need to take out the patriotism effect and consider how Hayden really was fortunate enough to win the title. Deserving as he might be (well midway through he wasn't actually) he certainly didn't beat Rossi, and I'd wager that irks him a little. People say Schumacher is the greatest F1 driver of all time. The statistics certainly suggest so. But he never won a title from Mansell, Piquet, Prost or Senna. If he'd have raced against those guys in the last 12 seasons he would no way have as many F1 crowns to his name. That is the Hayden point. Rossi on the other hand has proved his greatness in several ways. That is the Rossi factor. As for Hopkins, I said on the BadWeB months ago he was better than Hayden. Rocket | ||
| Davegess |
You might be gutted but you would still have the number 1 plate and the record book would show that you won. The best guy wins the championship, his bike doesn't break, he doesn't crash. Not to say that Nicky is a better racer than Rossi, he is not, but last year he was the best. That old saw "to finish first you must first finish" hold true. You can argue all you want that it is not the riders fault if the bike breaks but so what, the history books will only remember that you lost. As far as Shumacher, no way no how the greatest ever, He has won more races than anyone but he has also started more than any other. Fangio has the clear edge with 24 wins in only 51 starts. Clark is a distant second with 33 wins in only 72 starts. If Fangio had run 250 races he would have won 125 and Clark 114. Schuie is in third place. But in my book it's hard to top Tazio Nuvolari who raced before the whole world champion formula one thing started. He routinly won races with cars that did not have a chance with his greatest victory coming in an Alfa at the 1935 German Gran Prix at Nurburgring were in a very uncompetive car he set such a pace that all of the 9 factory Mercedes and Auto Union cars broke or crashed and despite a horrible pit stop stunned Hitler and the Germans with a dominating victory. | ||
| Davegess |
I forgot Alberto ascari, he won 13 out 32 races entered so he would have won 101 if he enterd 250 races. | ||
| Vagelis46 |
When I say only Elias and Capi-T-Rex managed to beat Rossi last year I mean : During a final laps dogfight for the win. Other riders manage to beat him when their bike-tires package works much better than his. Or their knowledge of the particular track is better. So they have an obvious advantage and they start first, make a safe gap and finish the race first. For example Pedrosa at Donnington and Hayden at Laguna. When it comes down to a dogfight for the win, Rossi (so far) holds a psychological advantage, and will probably win. | ||
| Trojan |
I was a fan of Hopkins (he is British after all  ), but this winter he has really let his mouth get the better of him and has gone down in my estimation. Telling the world's press that he is better than Hayden & Rossi would be fine if he had actually beaten either of them, but he hasn't yet. Being fastest in testing means zip when the season starts, and the Suzuki test times have to be tempered slightly by the fact that were achieved using the same chassis as last year, whereas the other teams had completely new bikes from the ground up. I can't see Hopkins posing a threat for the title in 2007 although he may have a few podiums. I would expect his biggest threat to come from his team mate, who has been quietly getting on with the job in hand and going pretty quickly. When the flag drops, the bullshit stops  Meanwhile I would expect normal service to be resumed with Rossi, Pedrosa, Capirossi, Stoner, Hayden, Melandri, etc at the front (pretty much in that order) Prediction for 'Surprise package of the year' award? Barros on the D'Antin Ducati | ||
| Jimidan |
Personally I rate Hopkins higher than Hayden, as a rider. No way. Hopper may be able to turn a faster time upon occasion, but he showed several times last year that he can't keep it together for a whole race. Sometimes the best rider is the one who is the most consistent, not the fastest for a while. Ninety percent of racing is half mental. The tortoise beat the hare, didn't he? jimidan | ||
| Rocketman |
Dave, nice of you to remind us of the greats. Sadly I wasn't around to see those guys in anger. I believe Murray Walker puts Ascari ahead of everyone he's ever seen from any era, and he's been watching for nigh on 80 years and commentating more than 50. Still today in his mid 80's he works PR for Honda. His own success incidentally, he puts down to a bowl of porridge every day. I've read that Jim Clark was special as he could drive in any discipline and win, no matter what type of car he was racing. That also explains how he came to be killed in a race accident outside of Formula 1. As for the bike racers, I think we can say only one thing for certainty next season. We are in for a very interesting ride. Given the new bikes the playing field seems somewhat level. More so given we are not expecting any new breathtaking talent coming into Moto GP 2007. So we see a grid of highly talented, well seasoned racers, many who on paper and statistics alone could win the title. I suspect this year though we will see the best racer win. I doubt we'll see another season of hardship and good luck like the last one for sometime to come, though the euphoria will be equally as good but hopefully better. Rocket | ||
| Vagelis46 |
I did not know that Hopkins declared publicly that he is better than Rossi. Saying that about Hayden makes sense, since they are both American, and he might be feeling that their is an un-informal title of the best American rider. But actually saying this about Rossi??? This mean that he needs to see a psychiatrist. Maybe the Clinica Mobile will provide one for him, along the season.  | ||
| Davegess |
"Sadly I wasn't around to see those guys in anger." Nor was I although I saw Jim Clark in the Lotus at the Milwaukee Mile running againest all the Offy roadsters. Quite a show that was. After breaking Fangios record for titles Schumacher had this to say; "Fangio is on a level much higher than I see myself. What he did stands alone and what we have achieved is also unique. I have such respect for what he achieved. You can't take a personality like Fangio and compare him with what has happened today. There is not even the slightest comparison." Fangio was 39 years old in 1950 the first year of the world championship. In 1949 he won 6 races in Europe (his first year there was 1948). Before that he raced modified stock cars in Argentina. He won the world title in '51, '54,'55, '56 and '57. He was second in '50 and '53 and missed most of the year in 1952 because of an injury. Not only did he win 24 out of 51 races entered he finished 2nd 10 times and 3 once, he was on the podium 72% of the time! He won 5 titles in 7 tries for a 71% rate and to top it off he didn't start until and age when most drivers are retired. Oh and he did it in 4 different brands! No one will ever to him. As for bikes, yes this year will be very much fun, lots of talent, lots of new bikes, can't wait to watch it. | ||
| Ebear |
Dave.....Right on!!!......He has been my Hero since I was 9 and started reading race books...... Oh , by the way ,my work is blocking the pictures you posted and I'm going to have them review site.....are there any risque pics there? | ||
| Ebear |
Oh yeah .....and rival Nuvo....These guys had HUGE BRASS ONES!!!!What they drove and their passion to win kicks butt on ANY modern racer..... And I too think Hoppy has come of age...(and bike)...but better than Nicky??????????????Come on!!!I think too many pints were speaking there Bro!!!! | ||
| Davegess |
Are there any risque pics there? NOT THAT i KNOW OF. | ||
| Blake |
The 2006 MotoGP Champion!  Sean, you are funny. According to you, if/when Rossi DNFs or is involved in a crash, it's just all bad luck, not his responsibility in any way. But when Hayden is torpedoed by his team mate in the opening laps, its just racing, Hayden should have known better. Repeat after me: "In 2006 Nick Hayden and his Honda beat Rossi and his Yamaha and all other competition." It ain't patriotic, it's simple cold hard fact. Sorry it twists you up so much. | ||
| Blake |
I think Hopper was thrown into MotoGP too soon. He would have been well-served to have stayed racing in AMA for a few more years. |
