| Author | Message | ||
     Simond |
No question that Hayden is the gentleman of the grid. The spread of the CRT bikes is surprising. 4.5 seconds from the fastest (which is in front of Rossi) to the last. I know the conditions improved a little but Marquez' time in Moto2 would have put him 14th on the grid in MotoGp, second fastest CRT bike and only 4/100ths away from Rossi's time. | ||
| Crusty |
Things are looking interesting in the morning warm up. The little rat-weasel was quickest with Nicky second and Dovi third. I'm kind of hoping for a wet race, but since it's partly cloudy, the track will probably dry out. I would dearly love to see Nicky win, but I realize that that's pretty unlikely. Maybe not, if the rain comes back. | ||
| Davegess |
Well not too bad of a race. Got a bit interesting at the end the first few laps were fun but compared to the AMA Superbike race at Atlanta it was pretty tame. Wonder why the duc was pretty fast early on and then just went backwards? Do they have any idea what is happening? And what about Ben Spies; why is he so slow? Can he not get the bike set up or is the team making sure he can't compete with Lorenzo? I know he has not suddenly lost his touch. | ||
| Svh |
Hayden's front tire was going away is what was said after the race. Not sure whats up with Ben but with a lot of people thinking he is racing for his ride this year, this slump is hitting at a bad time. | ||
| Jaimec |
If Ben doesn't pick his game up SOON it's either back to WSBK, or back here to the States. He even got beaten by Rossi! | ||
| Davegess |
Yeah, wonder about the "slump" is someting going on inside that team? | ||
| Svh |
I bet it has little to do with the other side of the garage unless they are no longer sharing data. I highly doubt they would purposely hold Ben back. He isn't quite as marketable and media friendly as Nicky so he needs to start winning races or like Jaime said he will be back in the US or WSBK next year. I really hope he can pull that bike together | ||
| Trojan |
And what about Ben Spies; why is he so slow? Can he not get the bike set up or is the team making sure he can't compete with Lorenzo? I know he has not suddenly lost his touch. Ben Spies runs a completely different setup to ALL of the other Yamaha riders, so although he can share data from Lorenzo and the Tech 3 guys it isn't always any use to him. In a way he is suffering from the same problem as Valentino Rossi at the moment, in that his style simply doesn't suit the bike he is on. Likewise he either needs to change his style (again) or find a way to change the setup to suit him. He complains that he has no front end feel and that the bike pushes wide in corners (another similar story to Vale) yet all the other Yamaha guys love the front end feel and praise it above all else. He apparently tried Lorenzo's setup and just couldn't ride it, in exactly the same way that Vale tried Haydens settings and couldn't make it work either. Also like Rossi, Ben needs to have more testing time on the bike rather than attempt to find major solutions in practice and Qualifying. Ben is under severe pressure this year, and knows his job is on the line, with Crutchlow and Dovi both eyeing it up. There has been a reported 'cooling' of atmosphere in his side of the garage but that doesn't mean that they don't want him to win or do well. That would be commercial suicide for a team like Yamaha which costs a fortune to run and has no major sponsor. They need both riders up front and winning. As for the race itself, it was close enough to remain interesting without being particularly exciting. I thought things would close up a lot more in the latter stages but they seemed to remain pretty stagnant all the way to the line. Man of the meeting was Cal Crutchlow though, and he has certainly silenced a few critics who thought he lacked experience and was 'no Ben Spies'. If he can keep up this pace for the rest of the season he has a good chance of a factory ride next year for sure. Ducati seemed to have turned a bit of a corner in qualifying, at least with Hayden. But that turned out to be a false dawn unfortunately. Being fast over one lap isn't what they need and finishing down in 8th and 9th isn't either. Rossi looked dejected and uncomfortable on and off the bike all weekend, and only seemed happy once the race was finished. He obviously isn't willing to risk serious injury by overriding the bike like Stoner did, but how long can he hang around in the middle of the pack without losing patience and motivation? Moto3 was a crash fest but the eventual winner was a name that everyone will be talking about in the next few years. Romano Fenati is just 16 years old and was riding in only his second GP race (he finished 2nd in his first GP!). On top of that, this was only his second ever wet race yet still managed to lap 1.5 seconds faster than the rest of the field (those that could stay upright) and win by 36 seconds. The Italian press will give him a hard time now and expect miracles from him, but he is a name for the future nonetheless  Moto2...what can I say. Best race of the weekend even though t was shortened by rain. Glad to see Pol Espargaro given the win on count back to beat Marquez, if only to keep the championship alive. Also good to see Scott Redding looking more competitive, even though he did fade at the end to 4th place. Altogether not a bad weekend racing. 7/10 I hope next week proves as entertaining | ||
| Gaesati |
Unfortunately, Nicky Hayden is running true to form. Over the past few years i have seen him make supreme efforts at the beginning of the race only to fade as it goes on. It's a pity he can't sustain the pace he obviously has for a whole race. If races were ten laps long Nicky would run with the aliens all the time. | ||
| Jaimec |
Nicky took all the blame. He ran with the softer tire which allowed him to be competitive at the beginning of the race, but it went off and he was no longer capable of maintaining it. I think Lorenzo said something similar... it was all he could do to hang with Stoner (on the harder tire) but there was no way he could attempt a pass. | ||
| Trojan |
I think Lorenzo said something similar... it was all he could do to hang with Stoner (on the harder tire) but there was no way he could attempt a pass Stoner, Lorenzo and Pedrosa all ran the softer tyre for the race. The first guy to finish using the new harder compound was Crutchlow. In fact Honda complained when Bridgestone announced they were introducing a new harder compound, and were the only manufacturer who didn't want it. Most of the grid changed tyres on the start line and most just followed what the front guys did, and fitted the soft front. Dovi even admitted to fitting the softer front 'because the front guys did'. So, almost everyone who finished ahead of Nicky except Crutchlow was using the same tyre combination as he was. The Ducati problem wasn't that the tyre was too soft, but that the bike uses its tyres up too quickly. It remains to be seen if the new harder compound would work any better on the Ducati, but they knew they needed a harder front tyre so really both riders should have run it during the race, even though they hadn't tested it. They couldn't have finished much worse than they did could they? Next week they will all have a larger allocation of the new front tyre so should be able to test it in practice at least. Over riding the bike can produce excellent one lap efforts but at the end of the day the bike is still seriously flawed over full race distance, regardless of rider at the moment. | ||
| Jaimec |
You'll have to ask Colin Edwards. By the way, what happened to Randy de Puniet? Run out of gas or something?? | ||
| Bads1 |
All I can say is AMA is much much better to watch right now. | ||
| Svh |
Agree with Dana 100%! Way better product as far as race excitement goes. | ||
| Trojan |
By the way, what happened to Randy de Puniet? Run out of gas or something?? I thought he had run out of fuel too, which isn't great for a CRT bike carrying 3 litres more than the prototypes  However the truth is harder to find, as the team didn't get their story together prior to the post race press conferences. Randy said that he had been having problems getting into second gear for a few laps, and that it got worse to tehpoint where he stopped. The team then said it was a fuel pump issue.................................. Which I think (reading between the lines) means he ran out of fuel  | ||
| Trojan |
All I can say is AMA is much much better to watch right now You need to watch Moto2 The MotoGP race is just the sideshow/warm up for the main Moto2 event | ||
| Jaimec |
I can't get into Moto2 because, as close as the racing gets, I really don't give a ***'* *** who wins! It's just a bunch of bikes running around on the track for all I care. On the other hand, in MotoGP you KNOW I'm pulling for Yamaha and the Americans (Ben, Nicky and Colin, not necessarily in that order). In AMA, I'm pulling for that OLD guy (Josh Hayes) as well as Geoff May and Danny Eslick. THAT'S why I find Moto2 BORING. A close race means nothing if you don't give a **** who wins. | ||
| Davegess |
Moto2 is fun but the first AMA race at Road Atlanta was more fun. | ||
| Paint_shaker |
From what I have watched of Moto 2, the racing action is great. But, not knowing the riders detracts quite a bit. | ||
| Sidepipe79 |
All I can say about Moto2 is that if you aren't watching it because you don't know the rider, you are missing out. Take 5 min, learn a bit about the riders, at least their names, and then route for one. Marquez is insane out there but I route for Iannone. Learn them now, they will be the future stars. | ||
| Davegess |
Learn them now, they will be the future stars. That is true. The guys who win here will be leading the way in MotoGP in a few years. Bumping Stoner, Pedrossi, Lorenzo etc off the podium | ||
| Xb1125r |
Stoner did it again, Like i have been saying since day one | ||
| Bads1 |
Stoner did it again, Like i have been saying since day one Like I said since day one. Its not just Stoner. ITS THE COMPLETE PACKAGE not just the rider alone.lol | ||
| Jaimec |
Unlike at Ducati, this time Stoner has a team mate who is every bit as capable of pushing the bike and winning. It's not a bike "only Stoner can ride." I forgot to mention in my previous post: I also root for Honda to LOSE. Not an issue in AMA SBK where they're too chicken**** to even field a team. In AMA SBK, I'm rooting for winners, and not wishing anyone any ill will. Another strike against Moto2 -- they're ALL Honda-powered. Blech! | ||
| Bads1 |
I have no problem with Honda. I wish they would come back to AMA....they will one day. And its not that i'm not a Stoner fan cause I am. Its just there is capible riders in the field. We're just not seeing it. | ||
| Trojan |
On the other hand, in MotoGP you KNOW I'm pulling for Yamaha and the Americans Maybe if there were some American riders in Moto2 you would be more interested? Unfortunately the AMA (and to an extent the UK authorities too) don't have a setup that would lead young riders into GP racing other than the Red Bull Rookies series). I know I keep saying this, but take a look at the amount of Spanish riders in GP racing simply because their system is geared towards pushing young riders into GP racing. They have a domestic Moto3 and Moto2 championship, and plenty of sponsors interested in motorcycle racing to finance young riders, whereas we don't yet have either. The Italian federation even run their own team to to give encouraging yougsters a financial leg up and experience at world level, and this has given us the sensational 16 year old Romano Fenati this season. We could do a lot worse than to follow their example and set up an academy for young riders to race at world level. Kyle Ryde (UK 125 champion) is 14 years old and a future star, yet was almost left without a ride at all this year because he couldn't get enough money together to pay for it. He haas now been 'rescued' but has had to resort to the Red Bull series rather than Moto3 aas he wanted to. Take 5 min, learn a bit about the riders, at least their names, and then route for one. I couldn't agree more. The leading riders in Moto2 will be next years Moto GP rookies and 2014 factory riders, so watching them now will give you a heads up on who is the new kid on the block for next year. Stefan Bradl has proved that Moto2 is a good stepping stone to MotoGP, and the racing in Moto2 is far better and more in depth than MotoGP will ever be | ||
| Jaimec |
BOMBSHELL!! That means I'll only have Pedrosa to root AGAINST next season?? | ||
| Trojan |
What a shame Then who would we complain about However Marc Marquez will be in MotoGP next year and I'm sure he will give us (and his fellow riders) quite a lot of dodgy riding manoevres to whinge and moan about ....and it means that Repsol Honda could always re-sign Rossi to replace Stoner (hee hee hee hee hee....) | ||
| Crusty |
....and it means that Repsol Honda could always re-sign Rossi to replace Stoner That's the first thought that ran through my head, also. | ||
| Jaimec |
But not on the official factory team unless Dorna changes the rules (again). Of course, Honda could always "be Honda" and give him a factory bike and put him on a satellite team (wink wink). And people wonder why I root AGAINST Honda all the time. |
