| Author | Message | ||
     Xb1125r |
trojan dont loose any sleep over Rossi Moto gp will do just as good without Rossi. you are puttign too much sock on it. Lorenzo, Pedrosa and Marquez make it fun to watch. and if they pay a boat load to Stoner he will be back next year | ||
| Trojan |
It doesn't matter how 'fun' it is to watch (although I woudl dispute that recent seasons have been much fun to watch at all!). What Rossi brings to MotoGP is marketability and sponsor attraction. He is the 'Face' of MotoGP as far as the non riding public are concerned and unless and until they can get another rider with a personality to represent the sport they will struggle to attract viewers or sponsors. Don't believe me? Yamaha last year couldn't give away space on their bikes and pretty much failed to attract any new sponsors during the time that Rossi was at Ducati. Since his return they are announcing new sponsors on an almost weekly basis. The bottom line is that Rossi brings money and attention to a sport that otherwise wouldn't even figure on the radar of most potential sponsors. I've followed racing since before Rossi was born, so won't suddenly stop following it when he retires, but it will be the end of an era when he does and MotoGP will be worse off. By the way....Crutchlow can't argue any harder than this for hs place at yamaha...FP2 times from today... 1 99 Jorge LORENZO SPA Yamaha Factory Racing Yamaha 341.6 1'48.375 2 46 Valentino ROSSI ITA Yamaha Factory Racing Yamaha 339.4 1'48.409 0.034 / 0.034 3 35 Cal CRUTCHLOW GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 337.8 1'48.672 0.297 / 0.263 4 69 Nicky HAYDEN USA Ducati Team Ducati 338.4 1'49.377 1.002 / 0.705 5 26 Dani PEDROSA SPA Repsol Honda Team Honda 340.0 1'49.383 1.008 / 0.006 6 29 Andrea IANNONE ITA Energy T.I. Pramac Racing Ducati 340.6 1'49.467 1.092 / 0.084 7 4 Andrea DOVIZIOSO ITA Ducati Team Ducati 338.8 1'49.543 1.168 / 0.076 8 6 Stefan BRADL GER LCR Honda MotoGP Honda 338.9 1'49.595 1.220 / 0.052 9 14 Randy DE PUNIET FRA Power Electronics Aspar ART 322.4 1'49.599 1.224 / 0.004 10 51 Michele PIRRO ITA Ducati Test Team Ducati 340.1 1'49.649 1.274 / 0.050 11 19 Alvaro BAUTISTA SPA GO&FUN Honda Gresini Honda 338.8 1'49.733 1.358 / 0.084 12 41 Aleix ESPARGARO SPA Power Electronics Aspar ART 326.3 1'49.769 1.394 / 0.036 13 38 Bradley SMITH GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 335.2 1'50.103 1.728 / 0.334 14 93 Marc MARQUEZ SPA Repsol Honda Team Honda 342.0 1'50.210 1.835 / 0.107 15 8 Hector BARBERA SPA Avintia Blusens FTR 320.6 1'50.400 2.025 / 0.190 16 11 Ben SPIES USA Ignite Pramac Racing Ducati 340.9 1'51.105 2.730 / 0.705 17 5 Colin EDWARDS USA NGM Mobile Forward Racing FTR Kawasaki 323.5 1'51.433 3.058 / 0.328 18 17 Karel ABRAHAM CZE Cardion AB Motoracing ART 325.8 1'51.528 3.153 / 0.095 19 68 Yonny HERNANDEZ COL Paul Bird Motorsport ART 322.9 1'51.644 3.269 / 0.116 20 9 Danilo PETRUCCI ITA Came IodaRacing Project Ioda-Suter 322.0 1'51.937 3.562 / 0.293 21 7 Hiroshi AOYAMA JPN Avintia Blusens FTR 320.9 1'52.182 3.807 / 0.245 22 71 Claudio CORTI ITA NGM Mobile Forward Racing FTR Kawasaki 326.3 1'53.314 4.939 / 1.132 23 70 Michael LAVERTY GBR Paul Bird Motorsport PBM 321.8 1'53.480 5.105 / 0.166 24 67 Bryan STARING AUS GO&FUN Honda Gresini FTR Honda 324.4 1'54.231 5.856 / 0.751 25 52 Lukas PESEK CZE Came IodaRacing Project Ioda-Suter 312.0 1'54.829 6.454 / 0.598 Hayden & Iannone seem to be going well, although the Ducati always seems to run well in practice and qualifying then struggles over a full race distance. Marquez and bradley Smith both crashed during the session and were treated at the medical centre. No mention of injuries but not serious apparently. (Message edited by trojan on May 31, 2013) | ||
| Jaimec |
Rossi actually led the times for most of FP2 till his team mate put on a new soft front and blitzed the circuit on the last lap. Lorenzo pulled a "Stoner."  | ||
| Trojan |
Love Rossi's new 'tortoise/turtle' design helmet! Don't know what it signifies but I'm sure the replicas will sell well and put a few more million in the bank  Marquez is struggling with a broken bone in his arm and, having missed the top ten in FP3 will need to qualify through QP1 for the first time this year. Now we'll see if he can grit his teeth Ben Spies has called it a day and will take no further part this weekend. How long can the team afford to keep the bike parked waiting for Ben to heal? Ducati and sponsors will want the bike on track so I think we'll see Pirro on it again next round (He is on the factory 'lab' bike this weekend as a wild card). | ||
| Jaimec |
Notes on Rossi's "Tortoise" helmet: http://www.asphaltandrubber.com/racing/valentino-r ossi-2013-mugello-helmet-motogp/ | ||
| Jaimec |
Bautista seems to have it in for Factory Yamaha riders...  | ||
| Crusty |
Clearly it was Rossi's fault. If he'd qualified better then he would have gotten a better start and wouldn't have been anywhere near Bautista and the "Incident" wouldn't have happened. With a little luck, Pedrosa could have been where Rossi was and Bautista would have taken him out and looked like a hero (in my eyes, anyway). When Marquez crashed and the announcers first I.D.ed him as Pedrosa, it really made the race a whole lot more interesting. When it became evident it was Marquez, my bubble was broken. Talk about a tease... Crutchlow rode a very good race. I was hoping that he would catch and pass the little rat weasel, but he ran out of laps. If he had gotten a better start, he could have been dicing for the lead since his pace was as fast as the leaders. Ah, well; if only... | ||
| Jaimec |
I never found myself rooting for a Honda rider more than I was for Marquez when he passed Dani. I was quite upset when the threw it down the track shortly after. My only hope was Cal, but he decided to play it safe (I can't blame him) and settle for third. Oh well... there's always Catalunya... | ||
| Simond |
I suppose it's hardly surprising that Marquez has had a couple of falls. Lorenzo had some pretty spectacular ones himself in his first season. Should we read anything into the fact that Crutchlow has bought a place in Tuscany? Great result for Scott Redding too. A 43 point lead at this stage of the season is pretty impressive. Lin Jarvis may be thinking twice about ditching Cal for Pol Espargaro after his indifferent start to the season......... (Message edited by SimonD on June 03, 2013) | ||
| Trojan |
Clearly it was Rossi's fault On what basis, poor qualifying? If that is a basis for blame then everyone on the third row and back is to blame for any accident that occurs surely? Rossi was on the outside and slightly ahead of Bautista, so had no input into Bautistas crash not could he do anything to avoid the out of control Bautista, so was innocently collected by it. Alvaro was yet again a loose cannon on the first lap of the race and skittled Rossi through going into the corner too hot and on the wrong line. Race direction really need to hand him another ban, and it is a shame that he wiped out Rossi at his home race. I don't think Vale would have figured in the result, but you never know. Other than that it was a pretty processional race apart from the Marquez/pedrosa overtake and subsequent crash. Marquez had been overididng all weekend and crashed in EVERY session, so it was hardly a surprise to see him chuck it away again. Good solid performance by Cal and he needs to try a bit harder in the opening laps to get by Dovi in future (although that is not without risks of course!). Another solid ride by Bradley Smith too. His finger is absolutely mangled and he couldn't even fasten his crash helmet at the start. he may not be Marquez but is doing OK. Scott Redding really is head adn shoulders above the Moto2 field now (literally!) and it is quite annoying to read all this stuff about Pol Espagaro getting a factory Yamaha contract ahead of Scott (and Cal!). I hope the VDS team can get a decent MotoGP team together next season for Scott to continue with teh same team, but if not then surely Ducati need to snap him up NOW! Epic Moto3 race too. Shame about the amount of Spanish riders at the front again though  | ||
| Jaimec |
I'm pretty sure Crusty wrote that line with his tongue firmly implanted in his cheek, Matt... | ||
| Gaesati |
Scott Redding is a revelation this year. What has made the difference? Cal and Dovi, machinery aside seem very much on a par. They are always good to watch. Next year will be interesting for both of them. I definitely agree with your point about a factory MotoGp team snapping up Redding an extra 100 hp or so would definitely counterbalance his size and weight disadvantage. | ||
| Simond |
What has made the difference? The minimum combined rider/bike weight. He's still well over the limit but many of the smaller riders are carrying ballast this year. The team seem to be getting it right too as Mika Kallio looks more competitive too. Winning his first Moto2 race has done no harm to his confidence either. | ||
| Trojan |
I think the biggest difference is defintley the new weight limits, and it makes you wonder just how dominant Marquez and Elias in particular would have been if the weight limit had been right to start with in Moto2. Elias is now nowhere and a waste of a decent ride this year (give it to Gino Rea instead!). The other factor is that Scott has simply 'grown up' and is more focussed on his racing. The team have employed someone just to get the riders minds in the right place on race day and it seems to be working for both of them. | ||
| Crusty |
Matt; it was a joke. | ||
| Xb1125r |
comon on now, smith should be gone next year. same bike as crutchlow and he can't keep up. crutchlow should get Rossi's bike next year. | ||
| Trojan |
Matt; it was a joke. Shucks you know us Brits, We don't do irony very well comon on now, smith should be gone next year. same bike as crutchlow and he can't keep up. crutchlow should get Rossi's bike next year. There are a number of problems with that argument.... 1. Bradley Smith is on the first year of a two year FIXED contract at tech 3, and is very much on a learning year this year. Even if Poncheral wanted to get rid of Smith (and I believe he tried pre-season)he can't, without huge financial penalties. Considering how bashed about Bradley was this weekend I am surprised he even rode in the race let alone finished 9th. He may not be as good as Marquez but Bradley is a lot better than people give him credit for, and is a 125 GP winner remember. He spent the last 2 years putting the most uncompetitive Moto2 bike on the grid into a regular top ten position, and if you want to see just how good that achievement is look at the current Tech 3 Moto2 riders performance for comparison. 2. Rossi is also on a 2 year contract with Yamaha, so Cal Crutchlow really has nowhere to go at yamaha unless they agree to supply him with a factory spec bike within Tech 3 (highly unlikely) or Rossi decides to hang up his helmet a year early (also very unlikely). Yamaha are obsessed with Pol Espagaro so he is almost certain to replace Crutchlow next year at Tech 3 and I really hope that Bradley Smith hands him his a** on a plate! Cal needs to start knocking on other factory doors for next year (as if he hasn't started already), as he is being royally shafted by Yamaha every time he gets a podium for them and they refuse to offer him a contract for next year. Davide Brivio has made no secret that he wants Cal at Suzuki. The only fly in the ointment is Suzuki's reluctance to officially announce it will be in the mix next year. A number one slot for the factory Suzuki team would be the ideal long term position for Cal. The only other factory option may be Ducati (If Hayden goes at the end of this year) but that would leave Cal as number two to Dovi again, and I don't think that would work. Ducati have already broken promises to Cal laast year, so maybe he won't want to throw his lot in with them again. It will ceertainly be interesting to see what happens if Cal continues to score good points ahead of Rossi though. Yamaha may be forced (by Dorna and public opinion) to offer him something better than he currently enjoys at Tech 3 | ||
| Trojan |
For those who think that Bradley Smith's ride to 9th wasn't heroic...... http://www.superbikeplanet.com/2013/Jun/130604smit h.htm | ||
| Xb1125r |
Hayden will be gone this year for sure. every rider that has come with hayden has done better then him, its good that stoner is gone because he was embarrasing the crap out of hayden. as far as susuki, I think Depuniet is trying to earn that ride, but bautista has good ties with suzuki, but it does not matter the suzuki was never able to keep up wih yami and honda, its going to take them some time to develop the bike. Ducati on the other hand now that audi is adding their engineering to the deisgn development, might produce a more efficient bike in reguards of materials and electronics | ||
| Trojan |
Hayden will be gone this year for sure. Unless Duccati are more worried about US sales figures than GP results (again). Hayden is one of the names mentioned in relation to the new Suzuki ride (along with Crutchlow, Redding, Aleix Espagaro and others). Nicky may be a good development rider but he is no longer a GP winner unfortunately. De Puniet is only contracted as a test rider for Suzuki and I doubt he will figure in the final rider lineup, especially given his performances compared to his team mate this year. There is still no absolute guarantee that Suzuki will even enter next year, and it will depend on the deal that they can put together with Dorna. Rumour is that Dorna will insist on at least a 3 year contract, although Suzuki apparently want a shorter term in case they decide to pull out again (although contracts never stopped them deserting the grid before!). Dorna bent over backwards to keep Suzuki last time, so probably want cast iron contracts in place this time. | ||
| Trojan |
Superbiek Planet seems to have a downer on Cal Crutchlow http://www.superbikeplanet.com/2013/Jun/130612az.h tm They seem to forget that the reason he only wanted a one year contract was that Tech 3 only had one year remaining on their Yamaha contract (expiring this year). he also made no secret of wanting a factory ride, so why tie himself into a 2 year satellite deal that could have seen him riding a CRT bike or even Moto2 next year? Hopefully he will get the Suzuki gig or at least a 'semi' factory Yamaha within the Tech 3 team next year. | ||
| Jaimec |
Spies likely out until Indianapolis. Stick a fork in him, he's done... | ||
| Trojan |
Ducati 'say' they are standing by him and his two year contract....yeah right. Pramac will have sponsors banging on the door asking for their money back if they can't get another decent rider on the bike this season. Even if Spies does return for Indy he will be rusty and need a few races to get back up to speed. before you know it the season will be over. The good thing is that there is not exactly a rush of riders to take his place on a Ducati (yet). | ||
| Jaimec |
Superbike Planet isn't exactly feeling a lot of love for "The Doctor" either: http://www.superbikeplanet.com/2013/Jun/130613a.ht m | ||
| Trojan |
I think that Rossi/Burgess are starting to realise that 18 years at the top has to end sometime. The problem is that Rossi is THE face of MotoGP and Dorna are scared rigid that when he leaves there will be a huge drop in TV and spectator attendance (like there was when he was injured - attendances plummeted). Maybe he'll move across to ride the new Yamaha WSB bike next year with Sam Lowes That would free up a factory yamaha for Cal Crutchlow too. Now that is what I call a win-win situation Anyoen who thinks Bradley Smith isn't tough as nails needs to read this.... http://www.motorcyclenews.com/MCN/sport/sportresul ts/MotoGP/2013/June/jun1313-smith-happy-with-recov ery-progress/ I don't think I would get out of bed with these injuries, let alone race a GP bike ! | ||
| Jaimec |
Day 1 in Barcelona: The Doctor is IN! http://www.superbikeplanet.com/2013/Jun/130614b.ht m | ||
| Trojan |
Hopefully Rossi can manage to get his head around the qualifying system this time out, and not end up languishing amongst the desparados on row 3! He needs a decent result to get ahead of his Ducati nemesis! Times are pretty close right through the top ten this week so far though | ||
| Jaimec |
Rossi does know how to manage expectations with a grin, though. When asked if we could expect the same kind of exciting finish he and Lorenzo gave the fans in 2009, he responded: "Only if Jorge waits for me." | ||
| Jaimec |
Oh no!! http://www.superbikeplanet.com/2013/Jun/130614nost oner.htm A sure sign that he is coming back is that he is DENYING that he's coming back!! | ||
| Trojan |
I heard that he has denied the denial, and even denied denying that he denied it in the first place! (the truth is that nobody wants him anyway! MotoGP is a much happier place when Stonerless ) |
