| Author | Message | ||
     Simond |
Neil Hodgson pointed out while commentating a couple of races ago that the Moto3 bikes were lapping faster than he did when he was in 500GPs in the late 90s. | ||
| Pwnzor |
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| Trojan |
Free Practice means nothing really. Espagaro can use the soft tyre to do one banzai lap to garner headlines, but can't use it in the race. The grid will almost undoubtedly be formed as usual with Marquez at the front and the other usual suspects lined up behind him (although I suspect one of the Ducatis may put in a brief appearance near the front again, then drop back once the lights go out. | ||
| Rocket_in_uk |
No one saw that coming! Rocket in England | ||
| Rocket_in_uk |
I believe it was Moto 2 bikes and not 3 which are lapping faster than the 500's mentioned. Rocket in England | ||
| Simond |
No, definitely Moto3 bikes...... but that was compared to Hodgson's Roc Yamaha not to the 500GP front runners! | ||
| Jaimec |
BOOM!! Pedrosa on the pole, Marquez 3rd! Lorenzo, second. Maybe this race will be interesting after all! | ||
| Rocket_in_uk |
I reckon Marquez has got a hot right arse cheek! At that speed it adds a whole new meaning to 'carpet burn'! Rocket in England | ||
| Pwnzor |
I am extremely happy with the front row. | ||
| Crusty |
That was an excellent race. I would have preferred a slightly different finishing order, but the racing was close and the riders all rode well. I hope we see more like it this year. | ||
| Jaimec |
SON OF A BITCH!!! I actually found myself rooting for Pedrosa, that's how SICK I am of seeing Marquez win. It's too bad Pedrosa's mistake at the end couldn't knock Marquez off line too... And the "old man" still has lots of fight left, I can see. | ||
| Pwnzor |
That was one of the best races I've seen. | ||
| Classax |
^ It's funny everyone likes a winner,but no one likes anyone to be perfect. That was one of the best MotoGP races I've seen in a long time. Rossi has come to grips with the Yamaha, but Jorge seems to be unable to muster his former courage. I too found myself rooting for Danny Boy to blemish the kids record. | ||
| Trojan |
Great race in the MotoGP class for a change, and just showed how close the Honda and Yamaha are in terms of speed these days. The 'Honda lane' seems to be a thing of the past now thankfully! The Yamahas suffered later in the race though from increased tyre wear, which is why Jorge lost touch with the lead group. Rossi must have thought his lottery numbers had come up in the last corner! Moto2 and Moto3 were more pedestrian at the front for a change, but still some great racing for the final podium places  Congrats to Josh herrin for finishing a race and almost in the points from a poor starting position. He benefitted from people in front falling off but at least he finished a race in decent form and that should bode well for the future. Especially as his team mate made the podium Maybe Caterham have got their act together at last. Enea Bastianini looks like an exciting young name to watch in Moto3! 16 years old too, where do they find these fast kids! | ||
| Jaimec |
Spain. | ||
| Jaimec |
As soon as Marquez hit the front I was tempted to turn off the television in disgust. I decided to hang in and watch the inevitable. I was actually excited when Pedrosa blew his braking marker and hit Marquez on that last lap, but apparently Marquez is God's Chosen Motorcycle Racer, because not even THAT could upset his line. What does it TAKE??? Where is Bautista when we NEED him?? | ||
| Bads1 |
Now that Moto GP is going to Michelin and just announced 17 inch wheels could this all upset the balance and we see this playing a favor to some riders over others. Also seeing more of a competitive race??? | ||
| Rocket_in_uk |
I must have different eyes from you lot. I was screaming for Pedrosa to get out of the way. Had Rossi not got mugged by him whilst concentrating on the fight with Marquez, that might have been a better race finish had it been Marquez Rossi. Pedrosa just doesn't exert the killer punch at the mo. Rocket in England | ||
| Trojan |
If you read the press releases and expert comments from after the race it is apparent that both the Yamahas were unable to keep pace with the Hondas at the end of the race despite Rossi's best efforts. The Yamaha is harder on the rear tyre which then affects braking and acceleration as the race goes on. For the first 2/3 of the race Rossi was on par with Marquez and better than Pedrosa. After that he struggled to stay with them and once Pedrosa had spoiled his rythm he simply couldn't have made up the gap back to Marquez. He must have briefly hoped that both Hondas would go off track when Pedrosa hit Marquez, but was still lucky to inherit 2nd. Remeber this is a track that Marquez doesn't like because the high curbs inhibit his riding style, so was probably one of the few real opportunities to beat him this year. Assen could be another one, so Rossi had better bring his A+ game to Holland Jaimec, thankfully Enea Bastianini is Italina and not just another Spanish Marquez clone Yamaha should get him signed to a long and watertight contract now if they have any sense. | ||
| Jaimec |
I'd read that. Also, once he started losing edge grip, Lorenzo's race was over too. All he could do was hang on for the points. | ||
| Rocket_in_uk |
Had to settle for ITV4 highlights Matt. Missed the first 20 mins which utterly confused me when they put their hands up for rain. All I saw was Rossi get duffed up by the Honda's in the end, but get lucky and jumped back to 2nd. Gonna try for Assen seeing as I missed Mugello. Love to be there for a Rossi win. Rocket in England | ||
| Jaimec |
I think EVERYONE was confused by the hand waving. The announcers thought they'd seen rain. The pit crews thought they were signaling rain and got all the bikes with rain tires ready. The only ones who knew what was going on was Marquez and Pedrosa who realized they'd passed Rossi under a yellow flag and had to drop back to their original positions. Apparently, not even Rossi had seen the flags. | ||
| Firstbuell |
fun fact - Larry Pegram used his EBR 1190RS for Moto2 Dunlop tire testing at Indy | ||
| Jaimec |
How are the test results taken from a 1200 V-Twin valid for a spec Honda CBR600 powered bike??? | ||
| Firstbuell |
think AMA Pro 2009 Daytona Sportbike rules..... | ||
| Jaimec |
Hmmmmmmmmmmm... | ||
| Jaimec |
Here's hoping Aleix can back up his free practice speeds with race performance on Saturday! | ||
| Trojan |
Here's hoping Aleix can back up his free practice speeds with race performance on Saturday! Not a chance. He does this every week and goes out in FP with a supersoft tyre a couple of minutes before the end of the session to put in a fast time to grab headlines. Yet every race this season he has gone backwards in the race because he cannot use the softest tyres available. Pol has more chance of a podium than Aleix. having said that...it may just rain tomorrow in which case it is anyon'es race really. | ||
| Trojan |
Oh well, a shambles of qualifying leaves us with an interesting grid for the race at least and shows up the weakness of the single 15 minute qualifying session. Aleix was the only rider to use his brain in the 5 minutes dry time available it seems. I think he'll be a mobile chicane tomorrow though unfortunately, and Marquez will be long gone by the time the other 'aliens' fight their way to the front. unless it rains again..... | ||
| Jaimec |
One can always hope. I'd love for Aleix to be the first non-factory rider to win since Tony Elias! Quite frankly, I'd love to see ABM win tomorrow ("Anyone But Marquez")... but one of the Espargaro brothers? That'd be WONDERFUL. |
