MotoGP predictions 2011

[Corny]

Dear motorsport friends,

New exciting season is coming :) A season with 2 'hot' switches from top riders. What do you all think?

I think Lorenzo will take it again. Yamaha should be the best bike still. Stoner might be bloody fast at testing, (he always is) but for a whole season he's not consistent enough for a title I think.. Pedrosa is the one that people do not really count with, he was top scorer on second season half last year. Rossi hasn't been good at all testing, might even call it bad, but I think during second half they will come stronger. For first few races it'll be 4th to 6th place

1 Lorenzo
2 Pedrosa
3 Stoner
4 Rossi

[NinjaMaster]

An exciting new season indeed! Obviously the Stoner and Rossi moves are the headline attractions but the promotion of Ben Spies and to a lesser extent, Marco Simoncelli are also of significant interest. Also, Can Lorenzo back up his title or did things just go his way in 2010?

It would be an understatement to say that Casey Stoner's transition from Ducati to Honda has been impressive. Many are already writing him down as the 2011 champion but I wouldn't be so hasty. Yamaha will be strong. Sure Honda outpaced them at Sepang but Yamaha will be strong at plenty of other tracks, at least as strong as big red.
Jorge is the reigning world champ for a reason. He's super-hungry and made great strides in his race craft last year and will be even harder to beat his season. Ben Spies was impressive last year and is constantly improving. Time will tell if he can consistently challenge at the top but he will definately have a say in the overall shape of things at the top. Ditto for Simoncelli.
The Adjustment for the biggest series drawcard in Valentino Rossi has been less smooth. Shoulder surgery and illness have hampered development of the Bologne bullet and their testing pace has been disturbingly lacklustre. Vale has good reason to be very worried. More concerning for Ducati than Rossi's struggles are the regression of their other riders. This is the biggest proof of the lack of improvement for their GP11.
The other competition to Stoner for the title is Dani Pedrosa. Dani's chances, I believe, have been severely underrated. In the past he has been very fast but fragile. He'd always have a big crash that would injure him for a significant period. If he can stay healthy, with the extra motivation of having an equally fast teammate, then I think he has a great chance at becoming the MotoGP champion Repsol and Honda have invested such big dollars into.

Having said all that, my picks are as follows:
1. Stoner
2. Pedrosa
3. Lorenzo
4. Spies

I think Stoner will be too strong too often for the competition and his experience wrestling the Ducati beast around will hold him in good stead on the easier-to-live-with Honda. Pedrosa to have his career best year in MotoGP but to be pipped by a more aggressive teammate. This year, Jorge is the hunted, not the hunter. His title chances will hinge on how he handles the pressure of everyone out to get him. Spies and Simoncelli are both about equal on raw speed but I see Spies as a superior tactician and less reckless. In other words, he'll be more consistent. I can see at least the first third of the year being very difficult for Rossi and really, just for Ducati in general. Their testing, even though it's only testing, has be quite disastrous. Rossi's complaints at the end of 6 days of testing is still pretty much the same as what Stoner complained about 12 months ago. The big problem for them is that, unlike Honda, Ducati don't have the resources to bring out half a dozen new frames until they find the right solution.

nb. Just on Stoners 'inconsistency', last year Ducati had well documented front end issues amongst all their riders and the year prior he suffered from illness. Just food for thought.

[SeaN77]

An exciting new season indeed! Obviously the Stoner and Rossi moves are the headline attractions but the promotion of Ben Spies and to a lesser extent, Marco Simoncelli are also of significant interest. Also, Can Lorenzo back up his title or did things just go his way in 2010?

It would be an understatement to say that Casey Stoner's transition from Ducati to Honda has been impressive. Many are already writing him down as the 2011 champion but I wouldn't be so hasty. Yamaha will be strong. Sure Honda outpaced them at Sepang but Yamaha will be strong at plenty of other tracks, at least as strong as big red.
Jorge is the reigning world champ for a reason. He's super-hungry and made great strides in his race craft last year and will be even harder to beat his season. Ben Spies was impressive last year and is constantly improving. Time will tell if he can consistently challenge at the top but he will definately have a say in the overall shape of things at the top. Ditto for Simoncelli.
The Adjustment for the biggest series drawcard in Valentino Rossi has been less smooth. Shoulder surgery and illness have hampered development of the Bologne bullet and their testing pace has been disturbingly lacklustre. Vale has good reason to be very worried. More concerning for Ducati than Rossi's struggles are the regression of their other riders. This is the biggest proof of the lack of improvement for their GP11.
The other competition to Stoner for the title is Dani Pedrosa. Dani's chances, I believe, have been severely underrated. In the past he has been very fast but fragile. He'd always have a big crash that would injure him for a significant period. If he can stay healthy, with the extra motivation of having an equally fast teammate, then I think he has a great chance at becoming the MotoGP champion Repsol and Honda have invested such big dollars into.

Having said all that, my picks are as follows:
1. Stoner
2. Pedrosa
3. Lorenzo
4. Spies

I think Stoner will be too strong too often for the competition and his experience wrestling the Ducati beast around will hold him in good stead on the easier-to-live-with Honda. Pedrosa to have his career best year in MotoGP but to be pipped by a more aggressive teammate. This year, Jorge is the hunted, not the hunter. His title chances will hinge on how he handles the pressure of everyone out to get him. Spies and Simoncelli are both about equal on raw speed but I see Spies as a superior tactician and less reckless. In other words, he'll be more consistent. I can see at least the first third of the year being very difficult for Rossi and really, just for Ducati in general. Their testing, even though it's only testing, has be quite disastrous. Rossi's complaints at the end of 6 days of testing is still pretty much the same as what Stoner complained about 12 months ago. The big problem for them is that, unlike Honda, Ducati don't have the resources to bring out half a dozen new frames until they find the right solution.

nb. Just on Stoners 'inconsistency', last year Ducati had well documented front end issues amongst all their riders and the year prior he suffered from illness. Just food for thought.

Spot on with that Prediction i reckon, unless Pedrosa injures himself ..
Stoner will dominate now he has a stable bike underneath him.
Rossi may aswell focus on the 2012 season, things are not looking good. i think he will finish 6th.

Does anyone know whether the test in Qatar the week before the race is televised ??