Moto Gp Round 10: Donnington Park

[MrJan]

Great pics, I always remember that when I went there were people on the track and when I watched the TV coverage back Suzi Perry was going on about how it was such a shame etc. etc. Really pisses me off that when it goes to Italy everyone is lapping it up and talking about how the Italian fans are so passionate when basically they are doing the same thing that the Brits get bad press for.

[pettersolberg29]

Just got back from holiday. Watched the race in a rainy Devon and loved seeing Dovi on the top step. I hope for more of the same soon!

[NinjaMaster]

Well that sure was a weird one.

Hell of a ride from Dovisioso - he pushed hard all the way and saw off all comers including Valentino - regardless of conditions it was a well-deserved win. Brilliant rides from CE and RDP as well, and de Angelis also rode a very good race.

Perpetual Finding Gold In A Bucket Of S%$# Award - Rossi

Not sure what award the factory Duc team deserves... had they pitted in the first five laps they may have finished top ten? but then again you've always gotta go with your first choice... no, hang on - that's when you're ordering a meal. Not racing a bike. When racing a bike it's 'I'll have what he's having, thanks'.

Very weird... at least Lorenzo played along with their clown act, and Stoner only lost 9 points to Rossi and made two up on Lorenzo (hard to believe that the damage was so little given the magnitude of the on-track difference).

Standings:

1 Rossi 187
2 Lorenzo 162
3 Stoner 150
4 Pedrosa 115
5 Edwards 103 (life in the old dog yet!)
6 Dovisiozo 94

Seven rounds to go, still lots of room yet for a challenge on Rossi.

Pretty spot on summation there Phantom.

I was really disappointed Colin couldn't get his first win (as much as Dovi deserved it) as I think it is possibly his last opportunity whereas Andrea should get plenty more. Also, Randy is turning out to be the surprise packet of the season and could strengthen a claim to Hayden's ride in my opinion. Speaking of which, Nicky's gamble was worthwhile despite it not coming off though Stoner's really sums up where he is at the moment. Unless some rest over the break sees Casey's illness heal up, he clearly only feels he can win through some luck coming his way through similar gambles and unless he gets fit again then I can only see a 2-horse race to the title.

[NinjaMaster]

Great pics, I always remember that when I went there were people on the track and when I watched the TV coverage back Suzi Perry was going on about how it was such a shame etc. etc. Really pisses me off that when it goes to Italy everyone is lapping it up and talking about how the Italian fans are so passionate when basically they are doing the same thing that the Brits get bad press for.

Despite the pics being good, I've always hated track invasions, wherever they are. It robs the riders of being able to celebrate the race and the public of watching them celebrate (burnouts, wheelies, etc.) as they can only try and pick their way through the throngs to get back to the pits. Some day, someone will get run over or a rider knocked off and hurt. Just hold back and cheer from the stands like the rest of us.

[Corny]

It robs the riders of being able to celebrate the race and the public of watching them celebrate (burnouts, wheelies, etc.) as they can only try and pick their way through the throngs to get back to the pits.

The new engine rules will also do that!

[MrJan]

Just got back from holiday. Watched the race in a rainy Devon and loved seeing Dovi on the top step. I hope for more of the same soon!

As we say down here, "Come to sunny Devon, where it rains 6 days in seven"

[patnicholls]

Just realised I hadn't posted any thoughts on Donington's action despite having been there...I was at the opposite side from AllyC at the Old Hairpin, and due to the dampness there was a lot more passing there than usual!

Three quite weird races as you all know, and a suitable send-off for MotoGP at Donington if that does turn out to be the end for now (as things stand, we're scheduled to be at Silverstone next year but this may change with all the F1 shenanigans).

The 125s was of course spoilt a bit by the rain interuption but then the five-lap shootout was pretty exciting nonetheless. Gutting for Bradley of course but in the rain you'll always fancy Julian Simon for the win (he won here in 2005 on a KTM) and he really took advantage with the other championship runners all on the floor. Nice to also see a few shocks in the final reckoning like Takaaki Nakagami in 5th, Luis Salom in 6th and Lorenzo Zanetti in 7th, along with welcome returns to the top end of the results for Simone Corsi and Scott Redding.

The 250s wasn't the most exciting wheel-to-wheeler ever, but was a masterclass in control from both Hiroshi and Alvaro Bautista who performed wonders on their wet tyres on an almost completely dry track. It was also bizarre to see the guys who changed to dry tyres part-way through charging past even though they were well down overall (Alex Baldolini set fastest lap, but finished 16th and didn't feature in the TV coverage at all).

And the big boys...something of a cracker also. I'm pleased to see Dovi get his first big-class win, although if it hadn't been for a shocking start it'd have been Colin taking the spoils after a very strong charge through in the second half (I think this was down to changing settings pre-race and taking time to get used to them to be fair - possibly changing settings for damp conditions which ultimately helped him). The drunken part of the crowd I think thought it was Toseland coming through, so they had a mixture of disappointment and then being pleased that he was 6th in the end. Of course, the big story was the Ducati tyre gamble - it failed spectacularly in the end but I tell you what, it wasn't far off working! If it'd rained a bit harder a bit earlier, it'd have been a masterstroke (it did rain throughout, and got heavier) but the tyres were chewed up in the first couple of laps - the Ducatis literally set their fastest laps on lap two of 30, everyone else did so later.

Anyway, an eventful day!

I think soon I'm going to do a round-up of my nine years attending MotoGP at Donington as a piece, since it's been a while since I've done one...

[patnicholls]

Great pics, I always remember that when I went there were people on the track and when I watched the TV coverage back Suzi Perry was going on about how it was such a shame etc. etc. Really pisses me off that when it goes to Italy everyone is lapping it up and talking about how the Italian fans are so passionate when basically they are doing the same thing that the Brits get bad press for.

For me it's a question of timing.

Last year or so, the fans broke out from where I was as soon as they saw Casey and Valentino go past us on the last lap (a third/half-way round) and they were literally almost in the way of the guys at the bottom of the top ten who were still racing, which is not on. In fact, yep I agree with Clint - people shouldn't be on the track on the slow-down lap. Once they're in the pits it's then fine for the crowd to come out onto the track to celebrate the podium with the riders. That's how they do it in Italy particularly (when you watch F1 at Monza, the crowd aren't on the main straight whilst the cars are on track, and it shouldn't be different for bikes). You do get the ODD guy with the appropriate flag to give to the podium men, but as I understand it that's pre-planned in most instances so the rider will pick up a flag from a fan club member.

[MrJan]

I don't actually like seeing anyone on the track, I just find it a bit annoying when the Brits are classed as hooligans and the Italians as passionate. I don't really see the point of being on the track (even though Ally got some mint photos from doing it)

When Exeter got promoted in May I got caught up in the moment and ended up on the pitch, at which point I realised that I didn't really know what I was doing. Due to being pretty much drunk on excitement I wandered about like a lost child until I found my brother (who looked equally lost). I'm fairly sure that I'd feel equally lost and a whole lot more scared during a track invasion