| Author | Message | ||
     12r |
The first race of the season is tomorrow in Qatar and the Yamahas are already 'on fire' closely followed by the usual suspects, although it seems Champ Hayden has his work cut out. Like Doohan said there are no points for winning qualifying but like Rossi said it's important to demoralise your opponents before the race starts. Bring it on ! | ||
| Trojan |
Normal service does indeed seem to have resumed even before the season starts. The world champion has been pretty much ignored by everyone and he question on everyone's lips is 'Who can beat Rossi?'. Nicky must get a bit pissed off, but given his current form doesn't look likely to prove anyone wrong either. He does appear to have stepped up his game from yesterdays lowly 15th spot and was 8th fastest in today's morning session, although still a long way back from his team mate Pedrosa. It will be interesting to see what happens today in qualifying  | ||
| 12r |
The Doctor has pole but Hayden languishes in 9th. McWilliams is busted up (again). The race is on BBC2 live tomorrow 1130-1305. Go!!!!!!! | ||
| Trojan |
Rossi's time is also 1 second faster than the 'old' 990 lap record, which is some going  I know where i will be at 1130 tomorrow | ||
| 12r |
Rossi's time is also 1 second faster than the 'old' 990 lap record Any idea what kind of top speed the 800s are posting ? I know where i will be at 1130 tomorrow lol me too ! | ||
| Jmor03 |
800cc Ducati MotoGP Bikes Top 200 mph At Losail http://roadracingworld.com/news/article/?article=2 8432 | ||
| Trojan |
Top Speeds: 1. Casey Stoner (Ducati), 201.8 mph 2. Loris Capirossi (Ducati), 201.0 mph 3. Alex Hofmann (Ducati), 200.5 mph 4. Alex Barros (Ducati), 198.5 mph 5. Dani Pedrosa (Honda), 197.0 mph 6. John Hopkins (Suzuki), 194.6 mph 7. Jeremy McWilliams (Ilmor), 194.5 mph 8. Nicky Hayden (Honda), 194.2 mph 9. Toni Elias (Honda), 194.0 mph 10. Shinya Nakano (Honda), 194.0 mph 11. Olivier Jacque (Kawasaki), 193.4 mph 12. Carlos Checa (Honda), 192.8 mph 13. Makoto Tamada (Yamaha), 192.7 mph 14. Valentino Rossi (Yamaha), 192.6 mph 15. Sylvain Guintoli (Yamaha), 192.1 mph 16. Chris Vermeulen (Suzuki), 192.0 17. Marco Melandri (Honda), 191.7 mph 18. Randy De Puniet (Kawasaki), 191.4 mph 19. Colin Edwards (Yamaha), 191.3 mph 20. Andrew Pitt (Ilmor), 190.4 mph 21. Kenny Lee Roberts (Honda), 190.3 mph Just goes to show though that the new bikes are much more about corner speed, smooth riding and later braking than top speed, with both Rossi & Edwards way down the order, but McWilliams bizarrely up there in 7th fastest through the speed trap yet almost 5 seconds per lap slower overall. Jeremy ended in the gravel trap once more, which is a pretty sure sign that he is have to 'over ride' the Ilmor just to get it close to the others  Hopefully he will be fit for the race tomorrow. | ||
| Davegess |
Jeremy picked up two and a half second between the first and third practice. Still 3 seconds off the pace. You can see why they want him, he sure can figure out how to make the bike faster. Hope he is not too badly hurt | ||
| Vagelis46 |
I hope Casey wins his first MotoGP on Saturday! Go Ducati ! | ||
| 12r |
Those Ducatis are flying...good luck to them, I hope Capirossi has a great ride. | ||
| Vagelis46 |
Jerez QP1 & QP2. The question is who used the Qualifying tires, and who did not. It seems Stoner is going to have another good race. I do not know how Capirex is feeling since his young team-mate outpaces him by 0.5sec. I hope Capirex wins this time! GO Ducati! | ||
| Jaimec |
All Spanish 1-3 after the second practice led by... CARLOS CHECA??? Followed by Dani Pedrosa and Tony Elias. Looking good for a hometown hero in Jerez! | ||
| Firebolt428 |
This is going to be an exciting race for sure. Look out for Roberts JR. | ||
| Moboy516 |
go hopper! | ||
| Rocketman |
Two Spaniards on the front row. Ducati went too early. Second row for Stoner. I don't see Stoner getting away from the pack tomoz. Ped and Rossi will be hot. I certainly wouldn't like to predict the top three. Saw some great action during qualifying. Melandri's last fast lap he had the bike tied in knots coming off one corner. Looked awesome. Elias is good to watch in the corners. He hangs off real good. Stoner was using the kerb through one corner just totally weaving and holding the power right on. Spectacular. Rossi's last in lap, he knows how to work the camera. He turned around and looked at the forward facing camera on the rear of his Yamaha, then gave us a couple of semaphore signals. Rocket | ||
| Buellishxx |
Honda get the muffler placement correct! http://www.motogp.com/en/motogp/popup_1000/popup_1 000_183119.htm?lang=en | ||
| Jaimec |
Two Yamahas on the podium! Looks like Colin's FINALLY picking up the pace! | ||
| Imonabuss |
No, no, Buellishxx, that can't be right! It needs to be way up in the tail! This is so wrong! Why I read in many places how stupid Buell was to put the muffler underneath. It's sabotage, I tell you! Someone snuck into the Honda pits and put a Buell muffler on it! | ||
| Jackbequick |
Good race. I'd like to see the Ducatis do as well in the race as then do in practice. Looks like Pedrosa is more of a follower than a leader. He got through one turn in the lead, checked his mirrors, saw Rossi coming, and got the hell out of the way. Might be an interesting season... Jack | ||
| Tripper |
Hey calm down fellas. Hondas been talking Mass Centralization for like, 3 years now. Someone took a seminar in Wisconsin I heard.  | ||
| 12r |
Luvvin that lean angle graphic. Shame it didn't show Hopper 40...50...60...skkrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrzzzzzzzzzzz z  | ||
| Vagelis46 |
As a Ducati fan, I am very happy with Stoner's performance. He just waited for the right time and made his moves to finish 5th showing great maturity and getting points. He also said that there were some VERY STUPID moves at the begining of the race that forced him behind and ruining the fight for a podium for him! Who was he refering to? Melandri?Elias?Checa? Anyway it looked to me that the Ducati is not turning as well as the other bikes. Lets hope that the next 2 circuits that require the max horsepower will suit them better. Imagine a 10 years earlier someone saying that the Ducatis are the most powerful and least handling from the grid against the Jap bikes. It would be a joke. So far we knew it was the other way round. | ||
| Rocketman |
When Stoner was coming through the field the Ducati was well tight in the corners. I saw no handling issues with the Duc during the last few laps of the race. Could be interesting to see how the Duc figures if it comes good throughout the race rather than the last third. Seems it handled better with less fuel, tyres came good and the balance came in. Rocket | ||
| Trojan |
He also said that there were some VERY STUPID moves at the begining of the race that forced him behind and ruining the fight for a podium for him! That is a bit rich coming from Casey 'sorry Sete I didn't see you' Stoner! He should be used to a bit of bumping and barging coming from 250's, or does he think that now he has a works bike that other racers aren't allowed to race him hard? Either way I thought it was a poor showing for Stoner and Ducati in Spain. He got it together towards the end of the race when the tyres were shagged, but had no excuse for the earlier part. Good to see Rossi back in dominant form though, and a nice celebration at the end | ||
| Rocketman |
There were some good rides in that race. I too thought Stoner was lacklustre until the end, but Hopkins was really good. Hayden looked to be fast and smooth, until eventually TV coverage didn't see enough of him. Edwards for me is hard to figure when I watch him running on his own. Seems he's spent so long these past couple of seasons out of TV shot that when I see him on his own these days I can't work out whether he's that fast, that good, it's his bike or his luck. Maybe it's his long tall sitting up in the saddle on the 990 I'm confused by. But that was certainly something we didn't see much if anything of last weekend, where they all pop up from behind the bubble under braking. Seems everyone''s got their heads down into the corners now. Is this a scenario created by higher corner speeds I wonder. But Edwards seems to be unexciting to watch when he's not mixing it up. Remember him in WSB? I dunno. Since the traction control etc etc and the less darkies than used to be, Edwards style seems uneventful for me. Almost as if he enjoys playing rear gunner to Rossi, when he can. Someone qualified tell me I'm wrong and Edwards is brilliant. I mean everyone likes the guy. I like his missus more though! Checa and Barros looked good too, but Barros dropped off for whatever reason, but his form at one point showed why he's still in Moto GP and no longer WSB. Interestingly I'd like to see Barros on a top ride to see if he really is still a race winner. I believe he is. Toni Elias looked good on the dance floor, and a pretty storming race for him. But it was his home GP of sorts. Still, I'm interested to see how his season comes together, and if Melandri is as great as I think he is. Lastly, what is happening with Capirossi? I don't recall the cameras catching his ride even once he was so far back. Rocket | ||
| Trojan |
Capirossi finished behind Barros, which must be a bit embarrassing for the Ducati factory. Both Ducatis went well in testing at Jerez over the winter, so his performance is even more baffling. I know they all complained about the temperature being low on race day, but it was the same temperature for everyone (maybe they just used the Max Biaggi book of excuses). Hopper's ride was sensational until he rode off the edge of his front tyre, which to be honest looked like it was going to happen lap after lap. Elias was also sensational in parts, then crap in others...very inconsistent. When he is firing on all cylinders I think he is the most entertaining rider out there, but he just can't seem to hold it together for a whole season (or even a whole race sometimes). Biggest surprise to me was Careless Chucca running right at the front all weekend. Good on the old fella Hayden still looks like a fish out of water, and his performance was flattered by a very good start. Slowest of all the Hondas in qualifying must be painful for a reigning world champ. I hate to say 'I told you so', but I did. The guys with the 250 experience, and those that can adapt their riding style, are packing the front of the field on the new 800's and that doesn't look like it will change any time soon Maybe Nicky needs to spend less time riding dirt track on the ranch and buy a 250 2 stroke to practice on. | ||
| 12r |
For sure Nicky's riding style is totally unique. The wider front Michelin (introduced last year) is designed to deform under braking and together with the longer swingarm it stabilises the motorcycle as it enters a corner. This is totally at odds with Hayden's style (witness his dinner-plate rear disk) as he prefers to unload the back end going into corners. He will really stuggle this year unless he can adapt. | ||
| Vagelis46 |
Trojan, Loris said he has problems with the 800cc electronics that make the power delivery smooth. He prefers to be agresssive with the gas! Or it is just his mind thinking about his wife and their baby about to get born ??? Stoner finishing 5th when Loris was 15th(or so) says a lot for the kid's abilities. I say, BAN ELECTRONICS !!! and seperate men from boys !! I would rather watch a 600cc GP bike with no electronics than a 1000cc monster( or p#%#y??) with its balls removed, that any rookie can race and win poles and races! If electronics prevent racers like Loris from doing well, then ...... Any way, Rocket in some corners Stoner's Ducati was running wide and not being able to keep a tight line against the Hondas. I think I saw this at Qatar too when Rossi was after him, but at that track the power of the Ducati was unbeatable! But comparing anyone and anybike against Rossi looks like he cannot keep a tight line. So I said OK. But at Jerez I think the same was happening at the corners up until 3/4 of the race, even against the Hondas with Bridgestones, and not Rossi's M1. So, maybe the Ducati is too long for a MotoGP bike, because of the 90o long engine? Can it handle? Or are they going to win 1-2 races until the Japs extract more HP from their engine? How much longer will their bike be a long engine with the swing-arm mounted directly on it, to keep the wheelbase logical? Can they produce the required ridgitidy for the bike? The others change the frame, Ducati has to change the engine's crankcases! I am sure Ducati knows their engineering, but sometimes manufacturers are 'in prison' just to stay with their "tradition", either 90o engines or trellis frames. | ||
| Rocketman |
Well I saw Stoner's Ducati cornering down the inside of a few Hondas toward the end of the race, so a bike cannot be said to be running wide in the corners because of design problems when it later proved it can handle. And that's on a track like Jerez. So I disagree the Ducati is inhibiting its own abilities by way of its design. Rocket | ||
| Trojan |
The most interesting thing to me about the Ducati performance at the weekend was not how good Stoner's bike was/wasn't, but just how much of a performance gap there was between the two factory bikes. Stoner was pretty much on the pace all weekend, but lost out when the going got rough in the early laps of the race, leaving himself just too much to do at the end. Capirossi on the other hand had his worst qualifying for as long as I can remember, and limped around the race looking more than second rate. You have to remember that Loris won the race here two years ago and is a world class rider, so what is wrong? Riding style is the greatest factor in making these new 800 bikes work, and Loris admits that his style is too aggressive at the moment. Hayden has the same problem and looked decidedly average over the first two races. If the trend continues it would not surprise me to see some major heads roll by mid season to make room for some new blood from the ranks of the second string teams such as D'Antin or Gresini, or even from the more than eager 250 GP riders champing at the bit to get a MotoGP ride. |
