MotoGP 2009 Round 2 - Motegi

[patnicholls]

Things have opened up at Motegi, with Valentino, Marco Simoncelli [great return from injury after missing Qatar] and Andrea Iannone quickest in the opening practice session for each of the classes.

[Corny]

I've red an interview with Valentino, where he said that the weather could be bad tomorrow..

We'll see. Can't see the race unfortunately

[paulpock]

Two Days And There Will Be The Motegi Motogp In Japan And The Weather Forecast Say Rain Too Here ,i Hope The Weather Will Not Rain And That Too The Two Japanese Riders Shoya Tomizawa And Yuki Takahashi Will Do A Good Result In Their Country And They Will Score Some Points ,and Let's Hope Too Valentino Rossi Do Some Points !!!!!!!!!!!good Lucky To Shoya Tomizawa, Yuki Takahashi , And Vallentino Rossi!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!all Three Riders Would Deserve Much Lucky And Much Success!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!are You Right? To Soon!!!!!!!!!

[Rod Richardson]

Qualifying for all classes delayed. Decision due in 45 minutes. It's apparently slightly damp (pun) and the butterflies have headed for shelter.

God and Allah (don't know their surnames) are probably agro over Moto GP being held on the same day as WSBK.

[TheFamousEccles]

Qualifying for all classes delayed. Decision due in 45 minutes. It's apparently slightly damp (pun) and the butterflies have headed for shelter.

God and Allah (don't know their surnames) are probably agro over Moto GP being held on the same day as WSBK.

And with the WSBK only on Focks here in Aussie, I can well understand these two deities getting a bit punchy. :blackeye:

[Rod Richardson]

Well......now they have canceled qualifying and decided that grid positions are to be determined by the combined free practice times. Heard they just ordered a new abacus.

[Rod Richardson]

I will be very interesting if it turns out to be a wet race with Edwards and Vermeulen in the mix.

[Ranger]

Wouldn't mind seeing Edwards winning but it won't happen under normal conditions (ie, without pitstops).

Mind you, it'd be exceptional if anyone other than Rossi or Stoner won a race this year. On any given lap they seem to be half a second faster than the rest of the grid.

[Roby44]

Chris Vermuelen might just win this race ....

[Ranger]

Wouldn't mind seeing Edwards winning but it won't happen under normal conditions (ie, without pitstops).

Mind you, it'd be exceptional if anyone other than Rossi or Stoner won a race this year. On any given lap they seem to be half a second faster than the rest of the grid.

Oops! :p :

Well done Jorge.

[Rod Richardson]

Enjoyable racing, top efforts by Lorenzo and Rossi and gutsy effort by Pedrosa in particular having regard to him still being on the mend.

Unfortunately Stoner did not go well in the early stages neverthless he was upbeat about the result.

[leopard]

God and Allah (don't know their surnames) are probably agro over Moto GP being held on the same day as WSBK.

;)

[leopard]

The result was to affirm that only Stoner the right doer of Ducatis. Riding Hayate Kawasaki Melandri performed quite impressive.
Applause for expressing the approval for Pedrosa who was playing with strength against Rossi.

[CaptainRaiden]

125: What a race by Iannone. I don't think he's gonna have any problems winning the WC this year.

250: Gutted for Simoncelli. I really wanted him to win, but hey, only the second race gone so far. He was at the same position last year and still won the championship. Congrats to Bautista.

MotoGP: I'll stand by what I said earlier. Rossi is gonna wrap up the championship even earlier this year. Lorenzo would have had a last lap heartbreak if Rossi didn't have those front tyre problems.

It seems the Ducati GP9 isn't the all-conquering bike as it was supposed to be because of the hype surrounding its carbon fiber chassis and swing-arm. I know it had front chatter problems at the start, but it's not as dominating as GP7. The Yamaha is better on tighter circuits. I can't see Stoner winning the championship this year.

[CaptainRaiden]

Also, a bit of whining from Stoner the moment he rode into the garage shaking his head, and this was while his team were applauding him. I don't think a team would like it very much if a rider whines every time he gets anything else than a victory. Disheartening. It seems he is a bit of a sore loser, but I guess with time he will improve.

Of course, later in his interview he sounded much more like a team player. Sure, the Duc PR team told him to calm down.

[Rod Richardson]

Also, a bit of whining from Stoner the moment he rode into the garage shaking his head, and this was while his team were applauding him. I don't think a team would like it very much if a rider whines every time he gets anything else than a victory. Disheartening. It seems he is a bit of a sore loser, but I guess with time he will improve.

Of course, later in his interview he sounded much more like a team player. Sure, the Duc PR team told him to calm down.

What was it that Stoner actually said when he rode into the garage? I didn't hear it.

[CaptainRaiden]

What was it that Stoner actually said when he rode into the garage? I didn't hear it.

He said something about the front brakes not working from lap one, then did some "da da da da" to show how the bike rode with the front chatter, then shook his head again before getting off, all this while his crew were applauding his efforts for the fourth place.

I know he is ultra competitive and all, but a little more patience and grace would make him look like a better loser, and not a sore one.

[TheFamousEccles]

I have read that Ducatis' own data logger recorded the chatter. Could the head shaking in the pit box be a "mea culpa" of sorts, that he couldn't bring the thing home on the podium in spite of having to ride around the problem and adapt his style to the bike quick enough?

Mick Doohan also had to contend with people questioning his sportsmanship and graciousness, all because he was a more reserved individual, not the class clown - Stoner is the same. One mans whining is anothers constructive criticism....

[CaptainRaiden]

I have read that Ducatis' own data logger recorded the chatter. Could the head shaking in the pit box be a "mea culpa" of sorts, that he couldn't bring the thing home on the podium in spite of having to ride around the problem and adapt his style to the bike quick enough?

If he knew that the data logger recorded the chatter, why then did he have to complain about it in front of the camera without even looking at the guys around him? Don't tell me he didn't see the camera and his pit crew applauding around him. It wasn't a 'mea culpa' headshake, he was clearly unhappy with the bike, because he "said" so at that point. Which, in the interview later was put in a nicer way.


Mick Doohan also had to contend with people questioning his sportsmanship and graciousness, all because he was a more reserved individual, not the class clown - Stoner is the same. One mans whining is anothers constructive criticism....

I'm sure Stoner is nothing like Doohan. I don't think Doohan ever did the "rejecting handshake and we'll see" thing that Stoner pulled off at Laguna last year.

Well, all things said and done, I agree that he is a wonderfully talented and bloody fast racer, but I don't like him as a sportsman, and it's only my opinion. He is still better than Pedrosa.

[TheFamousEccles]

Fair enough, and I agree about Pedrosa!

[jim mcglinchey]

[quote="X-ecutioner"]Also, a bit of whining from Stoner the moment he rode into the garage shaking his head, and this was while his team were applauding him. I don't think a team would like it very much if a rider whines every time he gets anything else than a victory. Disheartening. It seems he is a bit of a sore loser, but I guess with time he will improve.

this is a real non issue. obviously he was disappointed and the most pressing thing to report back from the race was the front end problem, and that, I'm sure, is what the crew wanted to hear. he wasnt whining.

[Rod Richardson]

What was it that Stoner actually said when he rode into the garage? I didn't hear it.


He said something about the front brakes not working from lap one, then did some "da da da da" to show how the bike rode with the front chatter, then shook his head again before getting off, all this while his crew were applauding his efforts for the fourth place.

I know he is ultra competitive and all, but a little more patience and grace would make him look like a better loser, and not a sore one.

I must confess that I baited the hook by asking the question because I knew it did not go down as you suggested..

The shaking of the head or the mere mention of a front-end problem to his team on returning to his garage hardly constitutes whining or whinging nor does it make him a "sore loser" or lacking "grace".

Those brake things are fairly handy at times when you're attempting to slow down from over a couple of hundred km/h and if I was to have a sight problem pulling up, I might just mention it to my mechanic when it sprung to mind on returning to the garage.

I would go so far as to say that you will see the "da da da da" stuff done at every race weekend after practice or a race by most other riders including Rossi as they explain bike movement to their teams.

[CaptainRaiden]

Look, I know very well how riders and drivers explain the vehicle behavior to their mechanic or pit crew. I've done that myself, although at a smaller level, in professional karting in my country a couple of years ago.

The point I am trying to make is that he did this after the race, not during practice or qualifying or warm-up, in the midst of all his pit crew clapping their hands trying to encourage him I guess for the 4th place. What is the first thing he does when he stops the bike? Complain.

In his shoes, I would have waited until later to explain the bike nitty-gritties at the back. Maybe not in front of the camera. I mean nobody grabbed his collar and said, "Why Stoner? Why the 4th place??! Die!!!!"

But hey, then again, I'm no Casey Stoner. Not even close. :D Maybe he likes to get right down to business.

[gco0307]

Also, a bit of whining from Stoner the moment he rode into the garage shaking his head, and this was while his team were applauding him. I don't think a team would like it very much if a rider whines every time he gets anything else than a victory. Disheartening. It seems he is a bit of a sore loser, but I guess with time he will improve.

Of course, later in his interview he sounded much more like a team player. Sure, the Duc PR team told him to calm down.

I frequent a lot of forums (yes I am a whore) and many are pure unabashed Stoner haters (primarily bacuse he has beaten their god), yet I have not read anyone else make comment that Stoner 'whined' after this race. In fact, most actually complimented the fact that he was able to ride to fourth place under the duress shown by on screen telemetry, footage and other means of what was clearly a braking issue.

You comments later about the timing of his complaint are (IMO) nonsense as unless you were present you do not know whether the shake of the head was admonishment or resigned satisfaction.

IMO, I would much rather have a person return to my pits peeved off whether cameras are around or not, then have them come back all happy for the cameras and then become like a child once the door closes.

Further to this of course, as a sponsor woudl you rather someone look happy at underachieving or look peebed and demanding perfection?

I know which one I want and for the record, whilst I am not a rider nor a pit crew I do have experience within the scene at Australian level so have seen many riders return to the pits in all manner of mood.

Additionally, you may also like to know that Doohan was actually far worse in his tantrums than anything seen thus far from Stoner, some of the tantrums occurring in the public eye just that the fous at the time was less than that of today.



All that said thought, I am extremely happy for Lorenzo ast he guy has oodles of talent and is very deserving of the win which I expect will not be his only such result this year. IMO, he is very focused to compete with and beat Rossi moreso than any other.

All things going well we have seen the clear top 4 (Dovi in 5th) of the championship this year and I suspect the main race positions will be from those riders (CE to sneak a spot or two)





Garry

[leopard]

Was there anyone being happy Stoner performs that way as it may cause camera gives more shoot at someone being worried at Ducati paddock...

[CaptainRaiden]

I frequent a lot of forums (yes I am a whore) and many are pure unabashed Stoner haters (primarily bacuse he has beaten their god), yet I have not read anyone else make comment that Stoner 'whined' after this race.

I'm not a pure unbashed Stoner hater. I'm not a conservative guy either, who says don't show your emotions. Hey, I was a fan of Stoner. Supported him all throughout 2007, and even defended him against Rossi fans on other forums. That was all until Laguna Seca last year. The way he whined after the race IMO was classless. Oh, and just for the record, as it stands, Rossi beat Stoner last year, unless you think this is 2008 and Stoner became champion last year. So, there is no reason to hate Stoner, because Rossi is the reigning champion.


In fact, most actually complimented the fact that he was able to ride to fourth place under the duress shown by on screen telemetry, footage and other means of what was clearly a braking issue.

Alright, then that should make him happy right? I mean under the circumstances which were beyond his control, he still managed to bring the bike home in fourth. You'd think he would be content with it, which brings us to the next point.


You comments later about the timing of his complaint are (IMO) nonsense as unless you were present you do not know whether the shake of the head was admonishment or resigned satisfaction.

Before you go around calling other people's opinions "nonsense", maybe you'd like to ask yourself whether you were there in the garage or not, and then base your judgment on that. I saw and heard what he did on the telly, and called it as I saw it.

In my humble opinion, the only people who would call that head shake "resigned satisfaction" are either blind and deaf, heavily biased Stoner fans or his wife. So, you mean to say that he shook his head in "resigned satisfaction", and then stopped the bike and complained? :laugh: I'm sorry, but that sounds like a bit of a contradiction to me.


IMO, I would much rather have a person return to my pits peeved off whether cameras are around or not, then have them come back all happy for the cameras and then become like a child once the door closes.

So, you'd prefer a prima donna child throwing tantrums and whining every time things don't go according to his taste? That would guarantee at least one thing. Your garage would be the most entertaining place in the paddock. ;)


Further to this of course, as a sponsor woudl you rather someone look happy at underachieving or look peebed and demanding perfection?

I don't think any team or sponsor "prefer" a rider who is happy when all is sunny and good, and gets peeved and demands perfection when things go bad. Of course, he is justified to complain if he is giving his 100% and the bike is not upto the task. But if I was a team manager, I'd prefer that the rider wait until later and then address the problems to his engineers.

Of course, in Ducati's case, they won't have ANY problems with Stoner as long as he is bringing home the wins and championships. Maybe the occasional whining works for them to achieve perfection.

It's not such a big issue as I'm making it out to be. Probably in his shoes I would have acted differently when my team was trying to encourage me with applause. But of course, it's wrong on my part to expect Stoner to behave as I would have, I was merely stating an opinion that it looked like whining to me. That's all.

[gco0307]

Before you go around calling other people's opinions "nonsense", maybe you'd like to ask yourself whether you were there in the garage or not, and then base your judgment on that. I saw and heard what he did on the telly, and called it as I saw it.

No you're getting tetchy as you would notice that I used the term IMO to indicate that it was my opinion, just as it is yours that he should heave reacted differently. Being opinions we are entitled to them whether one agrees with the second or not, we are entitled and I will defend you right and mine to have different opinions.

I also notice in the quote below that you descrive people who believe that the headshake was 'resigned satisfaction' as 'either blind, deaf heavily biased Stoner fans or his wife'. ABove you admonish me yet below you seem to fall into the same labelling trap, yet for the record I am no Stoner fan (Doohan is god), not blind (although I am an Aussie), not deaf (although I am married) and about three times Adriana's size.



In my humble opinion, the only people who would call that head shake "resigned satisfaction" are either blind and deaf, heavily biased Stoner fans or his wife. So, you mean to say that he shook his head in "resigned satisfaction", and then stopped the bike and complained? :laugh: I'm sorry, but that sounds like a bit of a contradiction to me.

See, here you assume that he complained (and I mean in a vigorous way) by the hand motion indicating a chatterring front end.

Personally I have seen many a rider return after practice and racing and perform the same indications of an issue (Rossi, Capirossi, Lorenzo, Hayden, Edwards etc). It may look poor in your eyes and possibly the eyes of many but if it is a way to demonstrate the issue that is fully recognised by the mechanics then it works.

I personally do not see shaking hands in the manner shows as a complaint about the bike in the manner in which you do (ie. a petulant display).



So, you'd prefer a prima donna child throwing tantrums and whining every time things don't go according to his taste? That would guarantee at least one thing. Your garage would be the most entertaining place in the paddock. ;)

Didn't think I said that but then I guess your opinion of a prima donna child may be much lower to that of mine.

IMO, CS did not perform as a 'prima donna child' on the weekend and with the exception of Laguna he has not even gotten close throughout the MotoGP career (the refusal to share VR's hand after Laguna was totally unacceptable).

Besides, any pits I was involved in would be the most entertaining because we would try to have naked women.


I don't think any team or sponsor "prefer" a rider who is happy when all is sunny and good, and gets peeved and demands perfection when things go bad. Of course, he is justified to complain if he is giving his 100% and the bike is not upto the task. But if I was a team manager, I'd prefer that the rider wait until later and then address the problems to his engineers.

A sponsor wants a winner or failing a winner they want a person who contactly brings press. As a sponsor they will want a person who is driven to deliver the excellence that will mean more air time for their product so naturally want a rider who ensures best performance. If the rider cannot perform at their best week in and week out due to equipment issues, I would expect that a sponsor would not be entirely happy with their dollar spend.

Does Stoner produce good sponsorship returns, well yes as he is constantly up front, interviewed and one of teh top riders.

Should he be careful of displaying petulance, well like any rider I woudl say yes but again, aside from teh failure to shake hands after Laguna I have not seen petulance sufficient to want to clip him behind the ears.



Of course, in Ducati's case, they won't have ANY problems with Stoner as long as he is bringing home the wins and championships. Maybe the occasional whining works for them to achieve perfection.

Well it has certainly gotten results and I just wonder given results in teh 800 era where Ducati would be were it not for Stoner. I woudl even go so far as to say would they still be competing given the economic situation worldwide without the success that they have achieved.


It's not such a big issue as I'm making it out to be. Probably in his shoes I would have acted differently when my team was trying to encourage me with applause. But of course, it's wrong on my part to expect Stoner to behave as I would have, I was merely stating an opinion that it looked like whining to me. That's all.

And with total respects, that is 100% right.

It isn't a big issue and I am sure all riders would react differently under that type of circumstance. Some would react more vociferously whilst others would seem unfazed but given Stoner is a very tightly wound perfectionist I would say he reacted about right for the circumstance (in terms of expectation).





Garry

[gco0307]

http://www.crash.net/motogp/MotoGP/News/146074/1/bridgestone_apologises_for_pedrosa_tyre.html

http://pix.crash.net/motorsport/360/PA576204.jpg

Bridgestone has promised to carry out a full investigation to find out why Dani Pedrosa's front tyre was in such a poor condition at the end of the Japanese Grand Prix.

Pedrosa returned to the pit lane following the race at Motegi showing visible chunks out of his front tyre, prompting Bridgestone to apologise for the isolated case.

Even so, Pedrosa enjoyed an impressive run at Motegi, finishing in third position from a lowly eleventh on the grid. His result was also achieved while he continues to recuperate from knee and arm surgery.

“We did see some problems with Dani Pedrosa's medium compound front Bridgestone tyre after the race,” admitted Bridgestone race tyre manager Tohru Ubukata.

“All the other tyres that were used during the weekend, and this season, performed well so we can say this is a problem isolated to just this one tyre, but of course we have already taken the tyre to our technical centre in Tokyo where we are investigating the problem in detail.

“I would like to apologise to Dani and the Repsol Honda team, but we saw that despite the problem the front Bridgestone continued to perform until the end of the race and I am happy that Dani finished a great ride in third position.”





Garry

[Rod Richardson]

Pedrosa returned to the pit lane following the race at Motegi showing visible chunks out of his front tyre, prompting Bridgestone to apologise for the isolated case.”
Garry

Crikey........ I hope Pedrosa didn't shake his head, say anything to his team members or gesture to demonstrate the effect it had on the bike's handling otherwise he may be criticized by someone.http://www.motorsportforums.com/forums/images/icons/icon10.gif

Crikey........ I hope Pedrosa didn't shake his head, say anything to his team members or gesture to demonstrate the effect it had on the bike's handling otherwise he may be criticized by someone.http://www.motorsportforums.com/forums/images/icons/icon10.gif

:laugh:

[The Phantom]

Gee you guys really get down to the nuts and bolts sometimes.

The day a rider returns to the pit garage and simply hops off his bike and heads for his trailer/girlfriend/the bar without filling in the team on what went wrong, is the day you're watching an AMA race :)

Think about it, every single time they ride the bike they come back to the garage with their head bursting with feedback for the team. It's pretty silly to make assumptions about Stoner's attitude, you're not looking at the footage you saw in the correct context.

Maybe you're just too used to seeing Stoner happy in Parc Ferme, and have never seen the reality of a minor-placed rider returning to his garage?

[CaptainRaiden]

Crikey........ I hope Pedrosa didn't shake his head, say anything to his team members or gesture to demonstrate the effect it had on the bike's handling otherwise he may be criticized by someone.

:laugh:

I'm sure Pedrosa and Puig did worse things in the Honda garage. Although I'm pretty sure he never refused Rossi's handshake after getting his butt handed to him. ;) :D


Gee you guys really get down to the nuts and bolts sometimes.

The day a rider returns to the pit garage and simply hops off his bike and heads for his trailer/girlfriend/the bar without filling in the team on what went wrong, is the day you're watching an AMA race.

Think about it, every single time they ride the bike they come back to the garage with their head bursting with feedback for the team. It's pretty silly to make assumptions about Stoner's attitude, you're not looking at the footage you saw in the correct context.

Maybe you're just too used to seeing Stoner happy in Parc Ferme, and have never seen the reality of a minor-placed rider returning to his garage?

I think this whole discussion went so long, so far, leading to all Australian Stoner fans defending him like this, only due to different perspectives really. I'm sure you guys didn't see it like I did, or quite possibly didn't see the after-race footage at all, because I don't think anybody really got the crux of the issue really. It's not about IF he shook his head, it's about WHEN he did it.

Believe me, after having done professional karting, being at races, watching F1 for the last 21 years, MotoGP and WSBK for the last 15 years, I am pretty aware of how a rider reacts when he returns to the garage, and I am also aware of how a team feels when they work all night, give it their all, but don't have that crucial last tenth of performance, and the rider comes back to the garage and whines.

It's like the team saying, "Well done Stoner for the 4th place." and him replying with, "Oh what a crappy bike." Well, at least that's how it looked to me. Maybe I'm not completely unbiased either, but I like Stoner as a rider.

I hope you guys would get what I meant. I see all the Australian guys defending him till kingdom come, but try to see beyond national pride and those red Ducati goggles, and you'll see he is a BIT of a whiner, always has been. Not saying that that's a bad trait, since he is a perfectionist. But that is something I, myself, ME don't admire in a racer, and is all my humble opinion.

I'll shut it now, since we can discuss this all day, and it's not gonna lead to anything or anywhere. :p

[Rod Richardson]

Well bud, I'll guarantee you would have received the same sort of responses from Australian and NZ members of this forum if you had made similar comments that appeared unjustified about any rider from any country because that's the way we are.

[CaptainRaiden]

Well bud, I'll guarantee you would have received the same sort of responses from Australian and NZ members of this forum if you had made similar comments that appeared unjustified about any rider from any country because that's the way we are.

Maybe, maybe not. It's just that I saw a continuing trend in the forum in the last 6 years since I joined. Australian fans always have been very supportive and passionate, and a tad biased (sometimes heavily biased) towards a rider/driver from their country, which is only normal. Mark Webber in F1 and Casey Stoner in MotoGP are prime examples. I mean some of the guys in the F1 forum wouldn't even tolerate a single word against Webber sometimes.

I'm not saying it's something bad, in fact it's wonderful that you guys are so passionate about your racing heroes. I'm not this passionate about Karthikeyan (well, he's not that good actually :p ).

But sometimes that pride or passion stands in way of probably seeing things in a different light and maybe even cloud your judgment to hide their obvious flaws. Maybe, maybe not. I'm only speculating here.

[gco0307]

Maybe, maybe not. It's just that I saw a continuing trend in the forum in the last 6 years since I joined. Australian fans always have been very supportive and passionate, and a tad biased (sometimes heavily biased) towards a rider/driver from their country, which is only normal. Mark Webber in F1 and Casey Stoner in MotoGP are prime examples. I mean some of the guys in the F1 forum wouldn't even tolerate a single word against Webber sometimes.

I'm not saying it's something bad, in fact it's wonderful that you guys are so passionate about your racing heroes. I'm not this passionate about Karthikeyan (well, he's not that good actually :p ).

But sometimes that pride or passion stands in way of probably seeing things in a different light and maybe even cloud your judgment to hide their obvious flaws. Maybe, maybe not. I'm only speculating here.


To be honest it is fairly normal for any nationalility in my experience to seem to defend one of their own, so I don't see Aussies as necessarily better or worse than most.

With regards to the Webber comments I will leave that alone as F1 has as much interest to me as does watching a live parliamentary broadcast on ABC, but with regards to Stoner well I will comment.

It is true that this forum does seem to defend Stoner, but that is primarily becasue most likely do not have any issues with his so called 'flaws' but instead see a person who is dedicated to pursuing his dreams to teh best of his abaility and is, in all aspects a pure perfectionist. He will make mistakes at times, sometimes on the track and sometimes off it, but trying to keep my unbiased hat on here, IMO Stoner gets a lot of undue and unnecessary bad press from a number of areas, including many in Australia.

Stoner was roundly pilloried in media in all areas for his Laguna Seca after race actions and whilst much centred on the comments (unjustly IMO as he called it as he saw it), the Australian emphasis was on the failure to shake hands (IMO rightly). In Australia to fail to shake hands after a sporting activity is considered a low act whether it be an park level, professional level or world level, it just is not done and Stoner did rightly cop much for that.

But he also cops a lot of unfair criticism, particularly with the alleged 'whiner' commentary of many. WIt seems that if Stoner makes a comment it is negative or a whinge, yet others can make negative comments and they speak the truth. Just as if CS mentions an issue with the bike, he whinges yet Rossi speaks the truth or so one is led to believe.

So, don't take the defense of Stoner as being through Ducati coloured glasses as I will stand up now and state that Biaggi, Gibernau and a number of other riders of the current era have also been unfairly or unjustly treated by sections of the media and I have and will continue to defend them.

Australians thrive on a fair go, always have and always will and should Stoner be seen as getting 'to big for his boots', the Australian public and media will ensure that he knows about it as the public will turn (this is a generic comment).


EDIT: By all means continue with your opinions as I for one find it interesting to see opposing or different points of view on a range of subjects as there are time when interpreteations will differ which will lead to discusison which is after all, what the forum is about.






Garry

[NinjaMaster]

It has certainly been an interesting start to the year. I think it's hard to get an entirely accurate gauge of where things are at with the series given the interruption the rain has caused.

The 125's was probably more interesting than exciting. Iannone rode a very nice race. He really looks to have stepped it up this year and appears to be up to fighting for the title. We all knew he was fast in the wet but now he's a race winner in the (relatively) dry. Julian Simon is well incontention, riding consistently and deserving of his title favourite status. Sandro Cortese has been a bit of a surprise for me and perhaps this is the year he comes of age. Pol Espargaro has always had huge wraps on him and his ride on the weekend was very impressive. Also, I don't think Danny Webb's ride should be underestimated either. He had nothing to lose and outrode some much more highly fancied riders on wet tires.

I was barracking pretty hard for Hiroshi Aoyama to win the 250 race but it wasn't to be. He still rode a fantastic race though. Bautista did what he had to do. It was a shame for Simoncelli to ride so well despite his injury and have such an odd thing go wrong. Hopefully this is his bad luck out of the way so he can launch his assault on retaining his title. Was gutted for Wilairot. He rode so well and then to see him on a stretcher I was incredibly disappointed and hope he's ok.

It was good to see a lead group in MotoGP and Jorge really rode well especially considering Casey and Vale had looked to be a class ahead of the rest. Rossi rode an odd race, jumping out to an early lead before being overhauled and then battling with Pedrosa, then finding a second wind to make a run for the lead that proved too late. Dani's ride was a surprise but all power to him, he's a resilient little bugger! :) Stoner salvaged a solid 4th after a struggle at the start and Dovi is looking like getting closer to the front with every ride. Melandri had possibly the most impressive ride of the weekend, giving the Kawasaki bosses something to think about. I'd love to know how competitive the ZX-RR would've been if they'd continued with another couple of months of development before the season started.

As for the talk about Stoner, talk about a storm in a shot glass. So he came back to the pits and gave his mechanic a debrief as to what he experienced. Nothing more, nothing less. There is no story there.

Roll on Jerez! :up:

[TheFamousEccles]

^ re: the Kawasaki - I would be keen to see how it may have fared if it's development was managed by a single entity, instead of factory, kawasaki europe, bridgestone, suspension providers, engine developers, chassis specialists, electronics suppliers, feng shui consultants and astrologists all having a bun fight as to whose 2c is worth more.

It wasn't slow, that's half the struggle (innit, suzuki?).

Roll on Jerez.........

[NinjaMaster]

^ re: the Kawasaki - I would be keen to see how it may have fared if it's development was managed by a single entity, instead of factory, kawasaki europe, bridgestone, suspension providers, engine developers, chassis specialists, electronics suppliers, feng shui consultants and astrologists all having a bun fight as to whose 2c is worth more.

It wasn't slow, that's half the struggle (innit, suzuki?).

Roll on Jerez.........
Yeah, an HRC style organisation to run everything but with the resources of the factory. Hopefully a bit of help for Marco and co. will be forthcoming after such a positive early showing.