| Author | Message | ||
     Trojan |
FP1 times show that Lorenzo appears fighting fit and ready to take the fight to Honda this weekend. Big creashes in the session for Dovi, Iannone, and Crutchlow so hopefully they are all OK. Both the Aspar ART bikes are quick again (7th and 11th), and it shows how not all CRT bikes are created equal. The Aspar bikes are pretty much factory Aprilias in everything but name, and are certainly not the same spec as those bought by other teams such as PBM and Cardion thats for sure. 1 99 Jorge LORENZO SPA Yamaha Factory Racing Yamaha 290.4 1'22.047 2 26 Dani PEDROSA SPA Repsol Honda Team Honda 292.6 1'22.221 0.174 / 0.174 3 46 Valentino ROSSI ITA Yamaha Factory Racing Yamaha 288.2 1'22.241 0.194 / 0.020 4 93 Marc MARQUEZ SPA Repsol Honda Team Honda 291.1 1'22.397 0.350 / 0.156 5 6 Stefan BRADL GER LCR Honda MotoGP Honda 292.3 1'22.460 0.413 / 0.063 6 35 Cal CRUTCHLOW GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 289.7 1'22.469 0.422 / 0.009 7 41 Aleix ESPARGARO SPA Power Electronics Aspar ART 278.9 1'22.641 0.594 / 0.172 8 69 Nicky HAYDEN USA Ducati Team Ducati 287.2 1'22.816 0.769 / 0.175 9 19 Alvaro BAUTISTA SPA GO&FUN Honda Gresini Honda 290.6 1'22.882 0.835 / 0.066 10 4 Andrea DOVIZIOSO ITA Ducati Team Ducati 289.0 1'23.068 1.021 / 0.186 11 14 Randy DE PUNIET FRA Power Electronics Aspar ART 272.2 1'23.131 1.084 / 0.063 12 29 Andrea IANNONE ITA Energy T.I. Pramac Racing Ducati 287.9 1'23.578 1.531 / 0.447 13 8 Hector BARBERA SPA Avintia Blusens FTR 274.9 1'23.672 1.625 / 0.094 14 68 Yonny HERNANDEZ COL Paul Bird Motorsport ART 273.9 1'23.695 1.648 / 0.023 15 38 Bradley SMITH GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 285.3 1'23.726 1.679 / 0.031 16 51 Michele PIRRO ITA Ignite Pramac Racing Ducati 283.4 1'23.868 1.821 / 0.142 17 5 Colin EDWARDS USA NGM Mobile Forward Racing FTR Kawasaki 278.4 1'24.521 2.474 / 0.653 18 9 Danilo PETRUCCI ITA Came IodaRacing Project Ioda-Suter 271.8 1'24.575 2.528 / 0.054 19 7 Hiroshi AOYAMA JPN Avintia Blusens FTR 279.0 1'24.682 2.635 / 0.107 20 71 Claudio CORTI ITA NGM Mobile Forward Racing FTR Kawasaki 274.5 1'24.728 2.681 / 0.046 21 67 Bryan STARING AUS GO&FUN Honda Gresini FTR Honda 270.5 1'24.798 2.751 / 0.070 22 70 Michael LAVERTY GBR Paul Bird Motorsport PBM 274.8 1'25.129 3.082 / 0.331 23 17 Karel ABRAHAM CZE Cardion AB Motoracing ART 275.4 1'26.195 4.148 / 1.066 24 52 Lukas PESEK CZE Came IodaRacing Project Ioda-Suter 262.5 1'27.172 5.125 / 0.977 | ||
| Trojan |
There may be a lack of technical interest and diversity in Moto 2 chassis design these days, but that certainly makes the times a lot closer when almost everyone is running one of the two major chassis designs (Suter or kalex). The top 19 riders in FP1 were within 1 second of the leader! Wouldn't that be great to see in MotoGP! Great time by Gino Rea in 23rd place too. For those that don't know, Gino is funding himself in selected wild card rides on the only FTR in the paddock, since his intended team went bust pre-season. he has managed to scrape together enough to do just a few wild card rides through donations form fans and family. Just to qualify would be a great result and to be ahead of so many established Moto2 regulars is amazing. Hopefully somebody will sign him up soon or it will be anoher tragic waste of talent through lack of funding. | ||
| Jaimec |
Matt, My "fireworks" comment was actually directed to these final two lines in the article I linked:
| ||
| Trojan |
I see what you mean  Crutchlow certainly won't be the 'company man' that Hayden has been at Ducati that's for sure. If he has something to say then I don't think the Ducati management will be able to stop him. Hopefully though that could even galvanise them into action at last! 3 of the 4 Ducati riders all had problems at the same corner this morning (Pirro probably wasn't going fast enough tohave the same problem!), with Hayden running across the gravel and Dovi 7 Iannone having big crashes at turn 11. Obviously the 'Lab' bike being ridden by Dovi is no better than the previous incarnation being used by Nicky so far. | ||
| Trojan |
less than 10 minutes into FP2 and a red flag stops racing  Lorenzo crashed and stopped the session but no knowledge of injuries yet I think Crutchlow also crashed out even earlier in the session. | ||
| Jaimec |
Oh crap. The MotoGP site is saying he landed right on his injured shoulder...  | ||
| 99buellx1 |
Word is that he bent the plate they just put in, will require more surgery, probably out until Laguna. https://twitter.com/motomatters/status/35567976876 8815105 Video: http://www.motogp.com/en/videos/2013/Sachsenring+2 013+MotoGP+FP2+Action+Jorge+Lorenzo+crash+1 | ||
| 46champ |
The top 19 riders in FP1 were within 1 second of the leader! Wouldn't that be great to see in MotoGP! Isn't that called NASCAR | ||
| Trojan |
Isn't that called NASCAR Not really, in Moto they have to turn right too (and use the brakes occasionally!). Moto 2 is definitely most exciting race action to watch at the moment as far as World Championship racing goes. It may not have the technical sophistication of MotoGP but who cares when the racing is so enjoyable | ||
| Trojan |
Word is that he bent the plate they just put in, will require more surgery, probably out until Laguna I've heard that he will miss Laguna as well, so his championship is pretty much over now Crutchlow has an arm injury but will apparently ride in FP3 tomorrow (hopefully). | ||
| Jaimec |
CRAP!!!! http://www.motorcyclenews.com/MCN/sport/sportresul ts/MotoGP/2013/July/jul1213-germany-motogp/ | ||
| Jaimec |
It's still tight! Pedrosa had to withdraw, and now Marquez leads the points! Jeez what a season!! | ||
| Trojan |
You couldn't make it up! Not the most exciting race but well ridden by the top 3 nonetheless. Marquez is proving to be the real deal after all I think Lorenzo HAS to risk racing at Laguna to avoid losing more ground to Marquez and the others. He doesn't have a big points cushion over Crutchlow and Rossi either, so can't afford the luxury of 4 weeks recovery time really. Like wise for Dani, although he doesn't seem as resilient as the other walking wounded. | ||
| Jaimec |
I think Lorenzo has already bowed out of Laguna and will race again in Indianapolis. So we'll get to see the return of TWO walking wounded next month: Ben Spies and Jorge Lorenzo. I'm thinking Dani will PROBABLY race at Laguna so he has a chance to get back some points. I'm hoping Vale and Cal can minimize that, too. | ||
| Trojan |
Interestingly, Lorenzo has said he won't be at Laguna..but the team say it is still a possibility and are taking the bike and crew ready to run, 'just in case'. If Dani races (which is still not certain) then I would be very surprised if Lorenzo doesn't race, as he is just giving away free points otherwise. I'm sure that Lorenzo can perform better when injured than Pedrosa, so it is all down to damage limitation really. If he misses Laguna he could conceivably be 4th in the championship by the time they roll up to Indy. Will Lorenzo want that? | ||
| Bads1 |
http://www.nextmotochampion.com/nmc-news/paddock-r umors-josh-hayes-will-fill-in-for-jorge-lorenzo-at -laguna-seca | ||
| Simond |
I can't see why they would risk any of Lorenzo's engine allocation on something like that. Cal managed to go from second to sixth this time in the first couple of corners. They talk about problems with confidence on cold tyres and full tanks but he's lost most of the positions before he gets to the first corner. If it weren't for this I think he may have already won his first race. Starts aside he impresses more every time I see him race. | ||
| Bads1 |
I can't see why they would risk any of Lorenzo's engine allocation on something like that I don't think they will. | ||
| Jaimec |
And why would Hayes want to risk getting injured in MotoGP (where nothing he does would really matter) and ruining his chances at a record-breaking fourth consecutive AMA title?? | ||
| Crusty |
Because he's a racer. Like all top level racers, he wants to beat anybody else who races. Beating the Moto GP Racers would be a real shot in the arm for him. | ||
| 99buellx1 |
I think it would be very hard for ANY racer to turn down an offer to field a factory MotoGP ride. Those opportunities don't come knocking very often, and if your contract would allow it....would have to give it a shot. And for the record, also don't see it happening. Not really anything to be gained by the Yamaha team in that scenario that I can think of. | ||
| Bads1 |
I'm with Craig on this as well. He'd put his very close 6 point lead in jeopardy now that Josh Herrin is starting to show big improvement. Two, he would be racing double duty. Could be wrong but it sounds just like it states.... a rumor. | ||
| Davegess |
Hayes gets offered a top notch MotoGP bike for laguna he is gonna jump on it so fast we will hear the sonic boom here in Wisconsin. It would a be a once in a career deal for him. No way he passes that up. He has won AMA championships. he hasn't raced a top GP bike. | ||
| Trojan |
Beating the Moto GP Racers would be a real shot in the arm for him. Jumping off an AMA Spec superbike onto a factory MotoGP bike with no testing is unlikely to be a winning combination, and although he would probably beat the lower echelons of MotoGP CRT class (and Ducati) to break into teh top ten, he probably wouldn't see the other factory Hondas/Yamahas for dust. If Yamaha want to salvage points from Honda they should be giving Cal Crutchlow the factory engine and crucial support this weekend rather than wasting it on a wild card rider. You also have to remember that everything that has already been air freighted to Laguna by the teams has to be capable of being used at Indy too, so risking damage to Lorenzos chassis/engines probably isn't worth the risk of putting a different rider on it for one race. Personally I would still be surprised if Lorenzo doesn't at least try to race at Laguna. if he doesn't then he is giving Marquez and Pedrosa a free hat full of points that could decide the championship. | ||
| Jaimec |
Dave, you have a short memory. http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/95971 | ||
| Blake |
Excellent article Jaime. 7th place at Valencia in 2011. Note the closing quote of Hayes: "Riding a MotoGP is definitely something I would like to do again in my career." | ||
| Trojan |
Dave, you have a short memory I don't have a short memory, the article is a little short on actual facts from the race though........ The 7th place achieved by Hayes in spain was achieved in unusual circumstances (not many decent bikes on the grid to start with) and weather that made the transition to a GP bike easier. If it is dry then it is a different matter. Let us look at the 7th place in more detail...... He was beaten to 6th place by 10 seconds by Japanese yamaha test rider Nakasuga (a rider who usually rides around at the back of the pack in his infrequent GP rides). Only 12 riders finished the race, and of those 3 were on terrible Ducati models ridden by riders who rarely if ever challenged at the sharp end at that stage of their career (Abraham, Barbera and Capirossi), 2 were Hondas ridden by other riders that had performed awfully all year(Elias and Aoyama) and were both replaced by their teams for the next season. Hayden, Bautista, Rossi and De Puniet all retired and at least 3 of these 4 would probably have finished ahead of Josh under normal curcumstances. Cal Crutchlow finished 4th during a season in which he was very much less competitive than he is now. This was in 2011. 2013 is a different championship altogether. I already said Hayes would probably make the top ten, given that he has good track knowledge and would be on one of only a few truly competitive bikes (either factory or Tech 3), but giving him a potentially race winning bike is a waste of time and energy if you want to take points from the factory Hondas. If you must give the ride to a local rider to give a bit of local interest, then give him the Tech 3 bike that Crutchlow usually rides and let Cal have the factory bike. At least he is in with a mathematical shout of the championship. (Message edited by trojan on July 16, 2013) (Message edited by trojan on July 16, 2013) | ||
| Simond |
I think even Crutchlow admits that he wouldn't be much faster on Lorenzo's bike. .....and sorry to keep banging on about it but even before Assen Lorenzo had used 5 of his six allowed engines. I don't know what the situation is since the crashes but they are having to carefully manage engine life in order to complete the championship without penalty. I think Pedrosa had only used two engines at this stage. Every race that Lorenzo misses improves that situation - why would they waste precious engine time on a wild card? IIRC a rider can miss two races before the team is forced to provide a replacement by Dorna. | ||
| Trojan |
But if Crutchlow was to move across to Lorenzo's bike he would be using his own engine allocation (it wouldn't matter where that engine came from -whether it was a factory engine or a customer Tech 3 motor, it would still come from Cal's allocation). My reading of the situation is that they can use a wild card rider and the engine is not part of the injured riders allocation, so Hayes could use a Tech3/factory yamaha without using any of Jorges/Cals engines? However, as you say, ALL of the Yamahas are on their 4th or 5th engine so far I think, so they have none to spare If Pedrosa puts his leathers on to race I firmly suspect that Lorenzo will follow suit. If he misses the round then Jorge may be tempted to do likewise, but if they both miss Laguna they will both have Marquez, Crutchlow AND Rossi to worry about in the points table. Not an easy call, but if I were Jorge I would be putting pressure on Honda by telling everyone that I intend to race on Sunday (even if it is a big fat lie!) | ||
| Trojan |
from Motomatters.com Jorge Lorenzo is edging closer to a decision to race in the US. The reigning world champion is due to have a medical examination this afternoon, to assess his physical condition. Based on the outcome, Lorenzo will decide tomorrow morning on whether he will fly to the US and take part in the Laguna Seca race. On Saturday, Jorge Lorenzo had announced on his Twitter feed that he would not be racing. Three days later, Lorenzo may be reconsidering that decision. The announcement, made yesterday, that Dani Pedrosa intends to fly to the US and hopes to race at Laguna may have a bearing on Lorenzo's decisions I hate to say...I told you so.....but I did tell you so  |
