MotoGP round 3: Jerez

[Corny]

The first European race of the year

FP1:
1 46 Valentino ROSSI ITA Fiat Yamaha Team YAMAHA 1'39.647 16 21 273.6
2 65 Loris CAPIROSSI ITA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP SUZUKI 1'40.011 19 21 0.364 0.364 275.3
3 27 Casey STONER AUS Ducati Marlboro Team DUCATI 1'40.268 11 16 0.621 0.257 269.9
4 99 Jorge LORENZO SPA Fiat Yamaha Team YAMAHA 1'40.441 18 20 0.794 0.173 275.3
5 4 Andrea DOVIZIOSO ITA Repsol Honda Team HONDA 1'40.601 21 21 0.954 0.160 272.8
6 5 Colin EDWARDS USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 YAMAHA 1'40.703 9 19 1.056 0.102 276.9
7 14 Randy DE PUNIET FRA LCR Honda MotoGP HONDA 1'40.866 17 21 1.219 0.163 270.9
8 7 Chris VERMEULEN AUS Rizla Suzuki MotoGP SUZUKI 1'41.063 20 20 1.416 0.197 274.6
9 33 Marco MELANDRI ITA Hayate Racing Team KAWASAKI 1'41.182 18 20 1.535 0.119 274.8
10 3 Dani PEDROSA SPA Repsol Honda Team HONDA 1'41.208 19 19 1.561 0.026 272.8
11 52 James TOSELAND GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 YAMAHA 1'41.461 15 20 1.814 0.253 273.3
12 59 Sete GIBERNAU SPA Grupo Francisco Hernando DUCATI 1'41.531 12 18 1.884 0.070 272.9
13 15 Alex DE ANGELIS RSM San Carlo Honda Gresini HONDA 1'41.557 19 22 1.910 0.026 265.0
14 36 Mika KALLIO FIN Pramac Racing DUCATI 1'41.584 10 21 1.937 0.027 274.4
15 24 Toni ELIAS SPA San Carlo Honda Gresini HONDA 1'41.736 19 19 2.089 0.152 276.4
16 72 Yuki TAKAHASHI JPN Scot Racing Team MotoGP HONDA 1'41.898 17 20 2.251 0.162 268.7
17 69 Nicky HAYDEN USA Ducati Marlboro Team DUCATI 1'41.916 15 21 2.269 0.018 277.0
18 88 Niccolo CANEPA ITA Pramac Racing DUCATI 1'42.063 13 19 2.416 0.147 267.9

Just hope that Nicky will not be another Melandri on the second Ducati

[The Phantom]

Hayden 2.26s down on Rossi, I think that's less of a gap than Melandri was usually behind by in 2008? Hopefully he is simply suffering from lack of track time and to a lesser degree his below usual physical condition.

Cannepa I expected more from, but he might come good once he gets a handle on the circus.

[Corny]

FP2:
1 3 Dani PEDROSA SPA Repsol Honda Team HONDA 1'39.422 10 20 271.8
2 99 Jorge LORENZO SPA Fiat Yamaha Team YAMAHA 1'39.476 18 22 0.054 0.054 274.1
3 27 Casey STONER AUS Ducati Marlboro Team DUCATI 1'39.542 3 16 0.120 0.066 271.1
4 14 Randy DE PUNIET FRA LCR Honda MotoGP HONDA 1'39.759 20 22 0.337 0.217 273.0
5 4 Andrea DOVIZIOSO ITA Repsol Honda Team HONDA 1'39.962 20 22 0.540 0.203 275.5
6 5 Colin EDWARDS USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 YAMAHA 1'40.134 4 21 0.712 0.172 276.0
7 46 Valentino ROSSI ITA Fiat Yamaha Team YAMAHA 1'40.244 5 20 0.822 0.110 271.4
8 65 Loris CAPIROSSI ITA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP SUZUKI 1'40.304 13 19 0.882 0.060 273.9
9 33 Marco MELANDRI ITA Hayate Racing Team KAWASAKI 1'40.520 5 18 1.098 0.216 273.1
10 69 Nicky HAYDEN USA Ducati Marlboro Team DUCATI 1'40.593 17 23 1.171 0.073 277.0
11 15 Alex DE ANGELIS RSM San Carlo Honda Gresini HONDA 1'40.601 18 21 1.179 0.008 266.7
12 24 Toni ELIAS SPA San Carlo Honda Gresini HONDA 1'40.762 11 20 1.340 0.161 275.4
13 7 Chris VERMEULEN AUS Rizla Suzuki MotoGP SUZUKI 1'40.829 15 21 1.407 0.067 276.8
14 59 Sete GIBERNAU SPA Grupo Francisco Hernando DUCATI 1'40.878 4 18 1.456 0.049 276.1
15 52 James TOSELAND GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 YAMAHA 1'41.042 10 21 1.620 0.164 272.8
16 72 Yuki TAKAHASHI JPN Scot Racing Team MotoGP HONDA 1'41.203 17 18 1.781 0.161 273.0
17 36 Mika KALLIO FIN Pramac Racing DUCATI 1'41.339 12 18 1.917 0.136 264.1
18 88 Niccolo CANEPA ITA Pramac Racing DUCATI 1'42.167 14 19 2.745 0.828 269.8

Nicky is up to tenth now.. That's better indeed

[TheFamousEccles]

Melandri seems to be getting along with the Kawasaki - maybe the Factory keeping its nose out of things is working ;)

[Corny]

qualifying:

1 99 Jorge LORENZO SPA Fiat Yamaha Team YAMAHA 1'38.933 18 21 275.7
2 3 Dani PEDROSA SPA Repsol Honda Team HONDA 1'38.984 20 23 0.051 0.051 275.7
3 27 Casey STONER AUS Ducati Marlboro Team DUCATI 1'39.415 17 18 0.482 0.431 272.8
4 46 Valentino ROSSI ITA Fiat Yamaha Team YAMAHA 1'39.642 21 21 0.709 0.227 269.9
5 14 Randy DE PUNIET FRA LCR Honda MotoGP HONDA 1'39.806 17 21 0.873 0.164 272.7
6 65 Loris CAPIROSSI ITA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP SUZUKI 1'39.862 18 20 0.929 0.056 276.6
7 5 Colin EDWARDS USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 YAMAHA 1'39.926 19 20 0.993 0.064 275.7
8 4 Andrea DOVIZIOSO ITA Repsol Honda Team HONDA 1'39.966 18 22 1.033 0.040 268.9
9 24 Toni ELIAS SPA San Carlo Honda Gresini HONDA 1'40.112 17 19 1.179 0.146 276.0
10 7 Chris VERMEULEN AUS Rizla Suzuki MotoGP SUZUKI 1'40.185 21 22 1.252 0.073 276.4
11 33 Marco MELANDRI ITA Hayate Racing Team KAWASAKI 1'40.381 17 20 1.448 0.196 273.6
12 59 Sete GIBERNAU SPA Grupo Francisco Hernando DUCATI 1'40.440 16 19 1.507 0.059 270.5
13 72 Yuki TAKAHASHI JPN Scot Racing Team MotoGP HONDA 1'40.599 19 21 1.666 0.159 271.8
14 52 James TOSELAND GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 YAMAHA 1'40.670 14 19 1.737 0.071 269.9
15 15 Alex DE ANGELIS RSM San Carlo Honda Gresini HONDA 1'40.796 18 18 1.863 0.126 267.7
16 69 Nicky HAYDEN USA Ducati Marlboro Team DUCATI 1'40.953 18 20 2.020 0.157 273.8
17 36 Mika KALLIO FIN Pramac Racing DUCATI 1'41.238 19 21 2.305 0.285 271.2
18 88 Niccolo CANEPA ITA Pramac Racing DUCATI 1'41.253 17 20 2.320 0.015 266.5

the 3 'other' ducati's on the back.. Unbelievable

This is the first time that Vale has a faster teammate. How will he react on that?

[tha_jackal]

Jonas Folger is my new hero... What a freaking ride by the young man, sooo shattered when he crashed.

Kudos to young Bradley, he has a sound head on those young shoulders.. Handles himself very well on and off the track IMO..

Aoyama will probably end up in MotoGP one day, Honda seem to like him..

Shame Pedrosa couldn't give Rossi more of a scare or give the home crowd something to smile about.. The atmosphere at Hereth seems amazing, definately a round to attend one day.. 120,000+ attendance :s hock:

Special mention to RdP too.. Me likey the playboy-bunny grid girls :D Oh and his race was ok too..

[ozrevhead]

Special mention to RdP too.. Me likey the playboy-bunny grid girls :D Oh and his race was ok too..
I thought you would like that :D

Im happy with the result - Casey's third is as good as a win and to leave his and Duc's two worst tracks by far with only 11pts in areers is a nice feeling :)

Onward and upward! :D

[The Phantom]

Good race, interesting in the first half and just when the second half is looking like a procession to the flag Lorenzo makes it all very interesting with a chase and fall. A shame for him but certainly good for the spectacle of a close championship.

[52Paddy]

Good racing. Particularly enjoyed the Melandri-Capirossi-Edwards race-long battle. That was entertaining. Pedrosa drove solidly but its a shame he couldn't keep up with The Doc when he'd been passed. And I expected a little more from Lorenzo but he just went backwards...and then downwards :p :

[Rod Richardson]

Stellar performances on the day by Smith, Folger despite his crash, Melandri and and DuPuniet in their respective classes. I hope that Kawasaki continues to improve and stirs up the top 5. The company needs a boost.

[Rod Richardson]

Oops....................forgot to mention the performances of Aoyama, Bautista and Simoncelli in the 250's which also provided excellent race viewing.

[Roby44]

3 great races!! Bradley rode an excellent race start to finish!! I was so happy for him!! Yeah , I got emotional as he crossed the line!! :)

Jonas Folger.. that is a name we are sure to be hearing lots more of in the future, what a ride..35 on the starting grid to "almost" a podium....


Hero, Bautista and Marco raced a great race..

Dovi.. almost but not this time.. Next raceDovi on the podium!!

Sete kept it upright and Marco is sticking it to all those doubters!!

[CaptainRaiden]

Wait a second. Did Aoyama win yesterday on a 250 "HONDA"? Didn't HRC pull the plug on their 250 development altogether about 3 years ago? So, this is essentially a 3 year old Honda which just won a race.

I couldn't believe it even while watching him slug it out with Bautista. Or maybe Honda jumped back into the development of this year's bike, hence the sudden competitiveness from Aoyama? Whatever it is, I'm thoroughly impressed. And bad taste on the part of the Spanish crowd, chanting "Bautista" during the Japanese national anthem for Aoyama. Probably couldn't digest the fact that homeboy on that booming Aprilia got beaten by a Honda. The least they can do is STFU during someone's national anthem. Ugh.

MotoGP was the perfect example of Rossi style winning. He kept eating the gap little by little, and I knew it was over for Dani when the gap closed to 0.5 seconds. A special mention has to go to Pedro-gremlin, who I am sure rode the wheels off that Honda to win his home race.

[Corny]

no, Honda started developing it's 250 bike again last year. But that is happening somewhere in Europe, not at HRC in Japan. Don't know the exact details, but I've heard our commentator telling this few times

[CaptainRaiden]

no, Honda started developing it's 250 bike again last year. But that is happening somewhere in Europe, not at HRC in Japan. Don't know the exact details, but I've heard our commentator telling this few times

Yeah, I had my doubts about that, because Wilairot also suddenly became kinda competitive. And when Hector Faubel tops a practice, you know Honda is back. :D

Signs of engine development as well, because Aoyama was able to follow in the Aprilia's slipstream quite comfortably and even pass them, while when Dovizioso was riding in the 250cc class, he got eaten up on the straights by any and all Aprilias out there.

Probably Honda want to win the 250 championship before the Moto2 series debuts next year with their spec engine.

[The Phantom]

3 great races!! Bradley rode an excellent race start to finish!! I was so happy for him!! Yeah , I got emotional as he crossed the line!! :)

Jonas Folger.. that is a name we are sure to be hearing lots more of in the future, what a ride..35 on the starting grid to "almost" a podium....


Hero, Bautista and Marco raced a great race..

Dovi.. almost but not this time.. Next raceDovi on the podium!!

Sete kept it upright and Marco is sticking it to all those doubters!!

What, no mention of Randy's great ride to fourth???

[patnicholls]

Ooooh, lots of races to pass brief comment on. (have been at Oulton Park today for BSB)

125s - Bradley - first win, in dominant fashion (although Simon crashed early on) - well done :up:

A great battle behind Bradley for second place with many contenders; good to see Scott Redding very competitive again; Efren Vazquez's best-ever result; KTM on the podium with Marc Marquez; young rookie Zarco in the points again with an unfancied team.

250s - brilliant race all-round; Honda's re-invigorated effort in 250s is working well for the superb Scot Honda team [former home of Dovi from 2002-2008] in particular and Hiro put in a very aggressive - and as such out-of-character - performance to steal the win from Alvaro who was also pretty pleased despite not quite being able to get the win. Jules Cluzel continues to be the find of the season for Matteoni Racing (I nearly fell off my seat at Qatar) and rookies Raffaele de Rosa and Shoya Tomizawa also look pretty handy on their Hondas despite their lack of experience.

MotoGP - each of the top five finishers will be happy for differing reasons' Rossi re-asserting; Dani defying injury once more; Casey on the podium at his bogey track; Randy getting a decent finish outright!; Marco once again doing much better on a Kwak than he could on a Ducati!

Rider of the day - Jonas Folger in 125s. 35th on the grid to the podium (before unluckily crashing, collided with Pol), in the dry, as a rookie. Stunning, brilliant, amazing :up:

[AndyRAC]

Ooooh, lots of races to pass brief comment on. (have been at Oulton Park today for BSB)

125s - Bradley - first win, in dominant fashion (although Simon crashed early on) - well done :up:

A great battle behind Bradley for second place with many contenders; good to see Scott Redding very competitive again; Efren Vazquez's best-ever result; KTM on the podium with Marc Marquez; young rookie Zarco in the points again with an unfancied team.

250s - brilliant race all-round; Honda's re-invigorated effort in 250s is working well for the superb Scot Honda team [former home of Dovi from 2002-2008] in particular and Hiro put in a very aggressive - and as such out-of-character - performance to steal the win from Alvaro who was also pretty pleased despite not quite being able to get the win. Jules Cluzel continues to be the find of the season for Matteoni Racing (I nearly fell off my seat at Qatar) and rookies Raffaele de Rosa and Shoya Tomizawa also look pretty handy on their Hondas despite their lack of experience.

MotoGP - each of the top five finishers will be happy for differing reasons' Rossi re-asserting; Dani defying injury once more; Casey on the podium at his bogey track; Randy getting a decent finish outright!; Marco once again doing much better on a Kwak than he could on a Ducati!

Rider of the day - Jonas Folger in 125s. 35th on the grid to the podium (before unluckily crashing, collided with Pol), in the dry, as a rookie. Stunning, brilliant, amazing :up:

Think you have summarised it pretty fairly.

One final point/grumble - the lack of acclaim in British media for Bradley - absolutely shocking! Just proves that if it isn't F1 - they're not interested! :mad:

[Roby44]

What, no mention of Randy's great ride to fourth???


True.. and he was looking mighty fine on the starting grid with his leathers unzipped!! :eek: :eek:

[CaptainRaiden]

Now, this is a weird picture:

http://images.gpupdate.net/large/124616.jpg

What do you think they are saying?

[52Paddy]

Rossi: "Hello son, whats your name?"
Stoner: "Oh, Mr Doc, I'm your biggest fan. Can I have an autograph purty please....."

[jim mcglinchey]

Casey " ..you can squeeze all you want Vale, its actually my left wrist that hurts.."

[Roby44]

Now, this is a weird picture:

http://images.gpupdate.net/large/124616.jpg

What do you think they are saying?


Vale.. Look at me, look at me.. you're not going to cry are you??

[NinjaMaster]

Casey - hmmm, when I pull his finger, it makes him fart. I wonder what'll happen if I pull his hand?

[CaptainRaiden]

http://images.gpupdate.net/large/124616.jpg

Rossi: Was it you who was peeking from the window of my dressing room?

Stoner: Vale.....sir, did it ever occur to you it could be Uccio wearing a red cap?

[The Phantom]

http://images.gpupdate.net/large/124616.jpg

Stoner: Aww come on Vale, Lorenzo held it at Motegi!

Rossi: Sorry Casey, what's in your left hand stays in your left hand! Besides, Uccio is watching!