| Author | Message | ||
     Rocketsprink |
MotoGP is the top of the mountain. Probably the only thing you could buy that is the same is the grips, otherwise they're pretty much one off bikes. WSBK is probably next in line since the AMA is leaning more toward stock set ups like forks and such. On a side note, was at the Indy GP last year. This year, the stands looked empty. | ||
| Bigblock |
Wow! Doerman is right, I don't know who is in control of that show, but real poor work. It was a great race, though, I thought. | ||
| Duggram |
Isn't the broadcast provided by a European contractor and Fox just dubs over it? Just like they do it for F1. It drove me crazy that in the last few laps Nicky and whatshisname were racing and the broadcast was showing Lorenzo doing wheelies. Blake fix offensive mispelling. (Message edited by blake on August 31, 2009) | ||
| Vagelis46 |
"I will be interested to see if Lorenzo can continue to take the fight to Rossi or if the mental damage is already done " Yes he can ! Good job Jorge. Keep the pressure. Rossi can make mistakes too. | ||
| Holling |
Great job Nicky! I was on the edge of my seat. I wasn't sure he could hold off Andrea but he did. I hope this performance will convince Ducati to re-sign him. | ||
| Blake |
Third place in any race is good for Nicky, but if Rossi, Pedro, and Stoner had all been in the mix, he'd have finished 6th. So it is okay, a general improvement, but he and Ducati have a long way to go still as Nicky himself has stated. | ||
| Jaimec |
Max Biaggi said it best: "To finish first, first you must finish." | ||
| Smoke |
just back from the MotoGp. great racing in all 3 classes. Congratulations to Lorenzo, DeAngelis and Hayden!!! Congratulations also to Barret Long on his 250 ride! it also looked to me that the attendance was down from last year. The Indy Mile was a hoot!! tim | ||
| Wolfpak765 |
I think I read that attendance for race day was down 15k. Too bad it was a great race and a great weekend! I kinda blame the economy but the Indy Star newspaper is saying the people who flew in from out of town and overseas are loving the Indy GP experience. I'm really hoping for a big turn out next year. Next year is already on contract but after that is up in the air. | ||
| Duggram |
Anybody know about Laguna Seca next year? I'm thinking I'd like to attend because the AMA also meets there that weekend, at least it happened that way this year. What a bargain, MotoGP and AMA American Super Bike/DSB all in one weekend. (Message edited by duggram on September 01, 2009) | ||
| Simond |
I was shocked to hear that Ben Spies is likely to be joining Tech 3 alongside James Toseland. While I'm pleased to see that James will be in MotoGP for another year it is quite a kick in the teeth for Colin Edwards who has comprehensively out-performed JT all season. It is a shame that Colin will lose his ride because of his passport but it has to be the first time for a long while that a Brit has kept a ride because of his! | ||
| Fuzzz |
Duggram, I'm thinking about making it to that one as well, Usually my son and I try to go to Sears Point, but I'd like to see the MotoGP races, and my boy won a writing contest, subject: "Where in all the world would you like to go in a hot air Balloon" His answer, Laguna Seca! | ||
| Trojan |
I agree that the TV coverage wasn't great, but then it doesn't look like a track that would give decent TV coverage anyway. Too many bends squeezed into an infield area of a big oval always looks too complex and doesn't flow very well for TV purposes. The TV coverage also suffered because the place looked half empty with deserted grandstands (Yes I know there were 146,000 people there but it didn't look like it on TV). As for concentrating on Lorenzo pulling wheelies on the last lap, well he was winning so I would expect to see him on the final lap instead of the guy who was third  Poor track surface looked to have caused most crashes over the weekend, and I hope that the organisers do something about it for next year (or move the event to Barber!). Pity about the mistakes by Pedrosa and Rossi, as it turned a potentially exciting race into a procession (although congratulations to Lorenzo for getting it home in first place). The rest of the top 5 should be thanking their respective gods for picking up a couple of free places  At least the 125 and 250 races made up for the lack of excitement in the main event. I was shocked to hear that Ben Spies is likely to be joining Tech 3 alongside James Toseland. I thought this was just unsubstantiated rumour at the moment? It is certainly true that DORNA want a British rider in the championship to satisfy the BBC TV coverage, so will be willing to pay Tech 3 to keep James (they already paid them this year too), but the final decision is made by Tech 3 for the second place in the team. Things have been complicated even further by the offers of Tony Elias, Chris Vermuelen and Alex De Angelis to ride at Tech 3 next year for nothing! Both Elias and DeAngelis have shown beter form that Toseland recently. With Crutchlow, Smith and Redding (plus maybe Eugene Laverty and a few more fast Brits) likely to feature at the sharp end of Moto2 next year it may not be so important for Dorna to keep JT in MotoGP after all. Yamaha make the choice of the first rider, which is likely to be either Spies or Edwards, but it is unlikely they will both have a slot in the team, so if Spies gets the job it is very likely to be at the expense of Colin. Toseland certainly doesn't deserve to retain his place on current results, but politics plays a big part in who goes where and why, and it would certainly make a change to see a British rider benefit for a change rather than a Spanish one I haven't heard anything about Spies making a decision for 2010 yet, but he is obviously teh key to both Edwards and Toseland's future next year. | ||
| Duggram |
Would it not be a good thing for Spies and Edwards to swap teams? This is what I would like to see. I'm sure I've seen a quote from Edwards that he wouldn't mind ending up in WSB. BTW I understand the frustrating politics and try to get along with it. That's what makes the world go round. Also, why isn't there more enthusiasm to join Honda? They looked like they had the power advantage at Indy. (I understand this may be a naive question, but then I am a noob). | ||
| Trojan |
Would it not be a good thing for Spies and Edwards to swap teams? I think that this would be a distinct probability. There was talk a few months ago that even if Edwards/Toseland renewed their contracts with Yamaha they could still be moved sideways into the WSb team should Ben Spies decide he wanted to go to motoGP. However, Edwards (like Spies) is contracted directly to Yamaha, unlike Toseland whose contract is with Tech 3. It therefore stands to reason that Yamaha have more latitude to move Edwards where they want him than Toseland. However, as both are still without a 2010 contract of any description it may not matter soon  Ben Spies may have been everybody's favourite racer a coupe of months ago, but events tend to move pretty quickly in the racing world, and most GP teams are now pretty settled for 2010. In particular Yamaha have now secured another two years from Lorenzo and Rossi for the factory team, so it looks like Spies is no longer their number one priority to get into their GP lineup. In fact he is now almost amazingly surplus to requirements at Yamaha MotoGP regardless of how he performs in WSB this year. If they take him into the Tech 3 team will he want to stay there for 2 years while Rossi and Lorenzo have their feet under the factory table? There may be a few other options for Spies in MotoGP (and these are getting less every week), but nothing as competitive as the Yamaha is right now, so maybe another year in WSB isn't looking too bad to him rather than take a big risk in a satellite Honda/Ducati GP team. | ||
| Blake |
Ducati. | ||
| Vagelis46 |
Ducati sounds great. | ||
| Simond |
I thought this was just unsubstantiated rumour at the moment? I know no more than was presented on the BBC at the weekend. The grid interview with JT I might have put down to wild optimism but Ms Perry's apparent certainty and Colin's reaction seemed to confirm that there was some substance to the rumour. | ||
| Trojan |
Ducati. Spies would have to be pretty desperate to get into MotoGp and risk the rest of his career to consider signing up for a year at Pramac Ducati. Why would he do that when he could stay in WSB for another year with the top team and either defend his title or try to win it (If Haga wins this year of course). Going to Ducati should be an absolute non starter for Spies. Let's face it, it hasn't done any of the other incumbents any good except Stoner, and now he appears to be suffereing for it. Ducati are nw so desperate to sign ANYONE that they are chasing just about any current MotoGP rider without a contract already signed and sealed. Pedrosa seems to be the latest target now that Lorenzo has seen teh light and decided to stay at Yamaha for the forseeable future (It wouldn't surprise me to see Elias at Pramac next year either). | ||
| Blake |
Ducati knows how to win. Assuming they are mired in trouble is probably not a good bet. Spies may well be the man to help get them on track. I'm not sure the sample of unsuccessful riders is enough to prove that only Stoner can ride the bike. | ||
| Amafan |
Lorenzo only signed a 1 year extension with Yamaha and 2010 is also the last year Rossi is signed for with Yamaha . Spies is happy with Yamaha and will be racing for them in MotoGP ,but since a Yamaha rider has never won the WSBK title they want him to win that title before he goes to MotoGP . Colin Edwards might be rooting for Haga to win the WSBK title because that is probably the only way he keeps his Tech 3 ride for 2010 otherwise he will replace Ben Spies on the Yamaha WSBK team . | ||
| Trojan |
Lorenzo only signed a 1 year extension with Yamaha and 2010 is also the last year Rossi is signed for with Yamaha . Rossi has however stated that he would be happy to continue racing for another 5 years so long as he is still enjoying himself. If he decides to stay another year or two I cannot see Yamaha (or any other manufacturer) telling him they don't want him any more! Lorenzo has signed for Yamaha for another year, and unless Ducati and Honda up their game next year he will probably stay there, as it is the most competitive bike by far at present. I'm not sure the sample of unsuccessful riders is enough to prove that only Stoner can ride the bike. The list of unsuccesful Ducati riders is pretty impressive, and if you look at their records before (and in some cases after) they left Ducati you'll see that they are well qualified and talented racers who were held back by poor (or poorly developed) machinery. Capirossi, Melandri, Barros, Gibernau, Elias, Hodgson, Hayden and even multi world champion Bayliss all struggled on the works Ducati. Only two of them (Bayliss & Capirossi) managed to win a race on either the 990 or 800 machine and nobody other than Stoner has come close to bothering the the top step of the podium in the last 3 seasons. Ben Spies (and his mum) are savvy enough to realise that they are hot property at te moment because he is winning. After a year at Pramac Ducati making up places his stock would be worth a lot less, and although he is undoubtedly a talented rider he has not shown yet if he is capable of winning a gP on any bike, let alone a Ducati. Remember we have seen plenty of WSB champions ( and some multi WSB champions)come to MotoGP and be average already. So far he only one to win a race has been Bayliss and non ehave been close to the championship win. If Spies comes to MotoGp on anything other than a Yamaha I'll eat my hat | ||
| Blake |
although he is undoubtedly a talented rider he has not shown yet if he is capable of winning a gP on any bike, let alone a Ducati. Just curious, what would one need do to demonstrate such a capability, besides decimating the entire WSBK field I mean? | ||
| Blake |
What kind of hat do you wear?  | ||
| Easy_rider |
Poor track surface looked to have caused most crashes over the weekend I doubt it. I sat at the last turn, and it's a newer section. IMS also diamond-cuts their track, IIRC, that leaves a better surface. I believe most of the wrecks in front of me were due to irrational exuberance before the main straight-away. | ||
| Avc8130 |
If the track surface on the infield was anything like the surface on the back straight we parked on it was AMAZING. When I did the track lap on Monday it certainly didn't look like there was ANYTHING wrong with the track surface. Most of the crashing in the last turn right in front of me, including Pedrosa was dure to trail braking and washing the front. In that turn they are braking hard as they transition from the end of the right hander into the super tight left hander heading onto the straight. We did also see many "moments" as riders were a little anxious getting hard on the throttle exiting the corner onto the front straight. Plenty jumped over the curbing and plenty got some head shake. ac | ||
| Blake |
Edwards said the traction was fine. God forbid the riders would have to take traction into account. | ||
| Vagelis46 |
"The list of unsuccesful Ducati riders is pretty impressive, and if you look at their records before (and in some cases after) they left Ducati you'll see that they are well qualified and talented racers who were held back by poor (or poorly developed) machinery. Capirossi, Melandri, Barros, Gibernau, Elias, Hodgson, Hayden and even multi world champion Bayliss all struggled on the works Ducati. " Bayliss did absolutely nothing on the Camel HondaGP. Elias had a better year on the Pramac Ducati than on the Gresini Honda this year. Capirossi had more success on the 800cc Ducati than his last 2 years at Suzuki. Hayden has been making progress and he is now doing better on the Ducati 800cc than on the Honda 800cc. He is now considered a tough and hard worker that never gives up and stays loyal to his team, which is a great quality that will keep him in motoGP. His reputation is better this year than last year. The Ducati is a hard bike to ride, but is not that bad to scare a top rider signing. It might not be the best bike on the grid, but it will not destroy a rider. Maybe the problem is the management of the factory team....So a Pramac team may be a good choice. | ||
| Trojan |
Just curious, what would one need do to demonstrate such a capability, besides decimating the entire WSBK field I mean? I'm not saying that he isn't extremely talented, which is obvious for all to see. What I said was that, despite dominiating WSB he has yet to show he can translate that into GP success. There have been a long line of riders who have dominated WSB that have gone to MotoGP and failed to win a race, including Edwards, Hodgson, Toseland (twice WSB champion), Bayliss (who only won on his return to Ducati for a one of ride). Modern 800 GP bikes require a totally different riding style to the Superbikes or 990 GP bikes, and that is a disadvantage to Superbike riders and an advantage to riders coming from 250 and 600 racing where corner speeds are much higher. It takes a while for riders to get to grips with this, and some never seem to get it. Also there are now very few testing opportunities for new riders to get up to speed outside of races, so 'training' has to be done during race weekends. I believe most of the wrecks in front of me were due to irrational exuberance before the main straight-away. What I meant by the surface being responsible for accidents was the changes in surface and the bumps, rather than the tarmac itself. Toseland and others crashed in practice on the bumps, and Simoncelli nearly lost the 250 race when he hit a bump in the middle of a turn. When the track was wet riders complained that the different surfaces offered very different grip levels. Not good for a GP track really. What kind of hat do you wear? I have a special chocolate one....just in case | ||
| Jaimec |
No one other than Casey Stoner (and now Nicky Hayden) has managed to podium the Ducati since the 800 era. Bayliss won on a 990. |
