The Return of Hopper, I wouldn't be surprise if he finishes in the top 10 on sunday
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The Return of Hopper, I wouldn't be surprise if he finishes in the top 10 on sunday
A 'fool' rejoins racing this week at Jerez.
http://onehd.com.au/video.htm?tags=c...ovideo_m=99253
I think the race will be a very tight battle between Stoner, Lorenzo and Pedrosa. There's no way I can see Stoner just disappearing into the distance, Lorenzo won't let it and Pedrosa is so fast there he may get enough lead he can back of at the end of the race. Simoncelli and Dovizioso should likely be battling for fourth again but with Ben Spies as well. Rossi? Well who knows. Ducati apparently have a bunch of new parts for Hayden to test. And then there's Hector Barbara whose desperation could provide anything! Jerez should be a cracker!
He would be only in the top 10 if there are only 10 riders at the finish.Quote:
Originally Posted by jonny hurlock
Have to agree a tenth place wouldn't be that special...
I think Jerez will be Pedrosa's weekend. 2 Lorenzo and third Stoner. 4 Dovizioso and 5 rossi? :) We'll see, Qatar's race wasn't too bad so hope this will not be too
Last year's was a cracker
MotoGP Free Practice 1 Results:
Pos. Num. Rider Nation Team Bike Km/h Time Gap 1st/Prev.
1 27 Casey STONER AUS Repsol Honda Team Honda 277.1 1'39.551
2 26 Dani PEDROSA SPA Repsol Honda Team Honda 270.6 1'39.579 0.028 / 0.028
3 46 Valentino ROSSI ITA Ducati Team Ducati 274.4 1'40.077 0.526 / 0.498
4 58 Marco SIMONCELLI ITA San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 275.9 1'40.176 0.625 / 0.099
5 1 Jorge LORENZO SPA Yamaha Factory Racing Yamaha 268.3 1'40.420 0.869 / 0.244
6 4 Andrea DOVIZIOSO ITA Repsol Honda Team Honda 277.0 1'40.429 0.878 / 0.009
7 11 Ben SPIES USA Yamaha Factory Racing Yamaha 278.3 1'40.887 1.336 / 0.458
8 5 Colin EDWARDS USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 273.1 1'41.063 1.512 / 0.176
9 14 Randy DE PUNIET FRA Pramac Racing Team Ducati 272.0 1'41.064 1.513 / 0.001
10 69 Nicky HAYDEN USA Ducati Team Ducati 271.8 1'41.233 1.682 / 0.169
11 17 Karel ABRAHAM CZE Cardion AB Motoracing Ducati 269.5 1'41.398 1.847 / 0.165
12 8 Hector BARBERA SPA Mapfre Aspar Team MotoGP Ducati 271.4 1'41.601 2.050 / 0.203
13 7 Hiroshi AOYAMA JPN San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 271.6 1'41.816 2.265 / 0.215
14 35 Cal CRUTCHLOW GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 270.3 1'41.949 2.398 / 0.133
15 24 Toni ELIAS SPA LCR Honda MotoGP Honda 279.3 1'42.157 2.606 / 0.208
16 65 Loris CAPIROSSI ITA Pramac Racing Team Ducati 273.8 1'42.313 2.762 / 0.156
17 21 John HOPKINS USA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki 275.2 1'42.538 2.987 / 0.225
The usual protagonists at the front. Rossi competitive but will have to keep improving because the guys behind him aren't that far. Abraham very impressive in 11th, hopefully that form continues showing his talent over just money seeing him in MotoGP.
Moto2 Free Practice 1 Results:
Pos. Num. Rider Nation Team Bike Km/h Time Gap 1st/Prev.
1 12 Thomas LUTHI SWI Interwetten Paddock Moto2 Suter 247.2 1'43.528
2 65 Stefan BRADL GER Viessmann Kiefer Racing Kalex 253.5 1'43.843 0.315 / 0.315
3 15 Alex DE ANGELIS RSM JIR Moto2 Motobi 246.1 1'44.199 0.671 / 0.356
4 3 Simone CORSI ITA Ioda Racing Project FTR 241.3 1'44.202 0.674 / 0.003
5 36 Mika KALLIO FIN Marc VDS Racing Team Suter 245.7 1'44.258 0.730 / 0.056
6 60 Julian SIMON SPA Mapfre Aspar Team Moto2 Suter 245.5 1'44.260 0.732 / 0.002
7 51 Michele PIRRO ITA Gresini Racing Moto2 Moriwaki 240.7 1'44.329 0.801 / 0.069
8 45 Scott REDDING GBR Marc VDS Racing Team Suter 243.7 1'44.469 0.941 / 0.140
9 16 Jules CLUZEL FRA Forward Racing Suter 246.7 1'44.531 1.003 / 0.062
10 77 Dominique AEGERTER SWI Technomag-CIP Suter 245.1 1'44.541 1.013 / 0.010
11 13 Anthony WEST AUS MZ Racing Team MZ-RE Honda 244.5 1'44.700 1.172 / 0.159
12 29 Andrea IANNONE ITA Speed Master Suter 245.5 1'44.705 1.177 / 0.005
13 40 Aleix ESPARGARO SPA Pons HP 40 Pons Kalex 246.2 1'44.716 1.188 / 0.011
14 21 Javier FORES SPA Mapfre Aspar Team Moto2 Suter 243.0 1'44.799 1.271 / 0.083
15 93 Marc MARQUEZ SPA Team CatalunyaCaixa Repsol Suter 246.4 1'44.828 1.300 / 0.029
16 71 Claudio CORTI ITA Italtrans Racing Team Suter 244.6 1'44.898 1.370 / 0.070
17 38 Bradley SMITH GBR Tech 3 Racing Tech 3 245.8 1'45.023 1.495 / 0.125
18 54 Kenan SOFUOGLU TUR Technomag-CIP Suter 248.5 1'45.079 1.551 / 0.056
19 88 Ricard CARDUS SPA QMMF Racing Team Moriwaki 245.7 1'45.086 1.558 / 0.007
20 76 Max NEUKIRCHNER GER MZ Racing Team MZ-RE Honda 245.6 1'45.160 1.632 / 0.074
21 9 Kenny NOYES USA Avintia-STX FTR 248.4 1'45.185 1.657 / 0.025
22 75 Mattia PASINI ITA Ioda Racing Project FTR 245.1 1'45.492 1.964 / 0.307
23 4 Randy KRUMMENACHER SWI GP Team Switzerland Kiefer Racing Kalex 247.9 1'45.523 1.995 / 0.031
24 25 Alex BALDOLINI ITA Forward Racing Suter 244.0 1'45.524 1.996 / 0.001
25 68 Yonny HERNANDEZ COL Blusens-STX FTR 245.5 1'45.577 2.049 / 0.053
26 34 Esteve RABAT SPA Blusens-STX FTR 247.4 1'45.676 2.148 / 0.099
27 72 Yuki TAKAHASHI JPN Gresini Racing Moto2 Moriwaki 244.5 1'45.820 2.292 / 0.144
28 14 Ratthapark WILAIROT THA Thai Honda Singha SAG FTR 245.6 1'45.853 2.325 / 0.033
29 49 Kev COGHLAN GBR Aeroport de Castello FTR 244.0 1'45.856 2.328 / 0.003
30 44 Pol ESPARGARO SPA HP Tuenti Speed Up FTR 247.1 1'45.946 2.418 / 0.090
31 19 Xavier SIMEON BEL Tech 3 B Tech 3 243.7 1'45.978 2.450 / 0.032
32 35 Raffaele DE ROSA ITA Desguaces La Torre G22 Moriwaki 246.9 1'46.036 2.508 / 0.058
33 53 Valentin DEBISE FRA Speed Up FTR 244.3 1'46.297 2.769 / 0.261
34 80 Axel PONS SPA Pons HP 40 Pons Kalex 248.1 1'46.346 2.818 / 0.049
35 63 Mike DI MEGLIO FRA Tech 3 Racing Tech 3 245.1 1'46.358 2.830 / 0.012
36 64 Santiago HERNANDEZ COL SAG Team FTR 245.1 1'46.497 2.969 / 0.139
37 39 Robertino PIETRI VEN Italtrans Racing Team Suter 243.1 1'47.129 3.601 / 0.632
38 97 Steven ODENDAAL RSA MS Racing Suter 243.7 1'48.884 5.356 / 1.755
39 95 Mashel AL NAIMI QAT QMMF Racing Team Moriwaki 241.8 1'49.011 5.483 / 0.127
99 Lukasz WARGALA POL Desguaces La Torre G22 Moriwaki 236.3 1'50.827 7.299 / 1.816
West 11th and Neukirchner 20th, hehe. Hope the new MZ frame is the business, it's got a bit boring all Suters, FTRs, Moriwakis and Kalexs. Come back Bimota!
Son of Helmut is continuing his good form and proving Qatar was no fluke and I'm still loving Luthi at the pointy end. I hope he takes the title this year.
FP2 Results
1 26 Dani PEDROSA SPA Repsol Honda Team Honda 275.7 1'40.101
2 27 Casey STONER AUS Repsol Honda Team Honda 278.4 1'40.289 0.188 / 0.188
3 1 Jorge LORENZO SPA Yamaha Factory Racing Yamaha 270.0 1'40.623 0.522 / 0.334
4 58 Marco SIMONCELLI ITA San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 278.3 1'40.701 0.600 / 0.078
5 46 Valentino ROSSI ITA Ducati Team Ducati 276.6 1'40.956 0.855 / 0.255
6 14 Randy DE PUNIET FRA Pramac Racing Team Ducati 267.7 1'40.982 0.881 / 0.026
7 11 Ben SPIES USA Yamaha Factory Racing Yamaha 279.1 1'41.053 0.952 / 0.071
8 69 Nicky HAYDEN USA Ducati Team Ducati 272.6 1'41.058 0.957 / 0.005
9 7 Hiroshi AOYAMA JPN San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 275.2 1'41.292 1.191 / 0.234
10 17 Karel ABRAHAM CZE Cardion AB Motoracing Ducati 265.2 1'41.304 1.203 / 0.012
11 5 Colin EDWARDS USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 273.3 1'41.337 1.236 / 0.033
12 4 Andrea DOVIZIOSO ITA Repsol Honda Team Honda 277.0 1'41.407 1.306 / 0.070
13 8 Hector BARBERA SPA Mapfre Aspar Team MotoGP Ducati 273.5 1'41.665 1.564 / 0.258
14 65 Loris CAPIROSSI ITA Pramac Racing Team Ducati 272.7 1'41.810 1.709 / 0.145
15 35 Cal CRUTCHLOW GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 272.4 1'41.854 1.753 / 0.044
16 21 John HOPKINS USA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki 275.5 1'42.305 2.204 / 0.451
17 24 Toni ELIAS SPA LCR Honda MotoGP Honda 274.2 1'42.690 2.589 / 0.385
It seems the Ducati goes a bit better here than in Qatar. Third for Rossi in first practice is a surprise. Still, I fully expect this race to also go down between Stoner, Pedrosa and Lorenzo. What is Dovizioso doing on the same bike that Stoner and Pedrosa are kicking ass in? He keeps this up and Simoncelli and him will swap bikes in 2012.
There's a lot of talk that they are fighting for the one seat next year. I think that's probably why Dovi was so forceful in his ride at Qatar and I think he'll be more agressive this year. But he needs to find some pace because aggressive for 10th isn't going to retain his ride!Quote:
Originally Posted by X-ecutioner
125 have run their third practice session and Cortese has led Terol for the last two:
Pos No. Rider Bike Time Diff Diff Previous
1 11 Sandro CORTESE APRILIA 1'47.066
2 18 Nicolas TEROL APRILIA 1'47.620 0.554 0.554
3 44 Miguel OLIVEIRA APRILIA 1'48.347 1.281 0.727
4 55 Hector FAUBEL APRILIA 1'48.532 1.466 0.185
5 94 Jonas FOLGER APRILIA 1'48.659 1.593 0.127
6 25 Maverick VIÑALES APRILIA 1'48.729 1.663 0.070
7 5 Johann ZARCO DERBI 1'48.792 1.726 0.063
8 7 Efren VAZQUEZ DERBI 1'48.974 1.908 0.182
9 26 Adrian MARTIN APRILIA 1'49.252 2.186 0.278
10 23 Alberto MONCAYO APRILIA 1'49.274 2.208 0.022
11 96 Louis ROSSI APRILIA 1'49.523 2.457 0.249
12 52 Danny KENT APRILIA 1'49.674 2.608 0.151
13 33 Sergio GADEA APRILIA 1'49.714 2.648 0.040
14 39 Luis SALOM APRILIA 1'49.747 2.681 0.033
15 15 Simone GROTZKYJ APRILIA 1'49.765 2.699 0.018
16 17 Taylor MACKENZIE APRILIA 1'49.918 2.852 0.153
17 53 Jasper IWEMA APRILIA 1'50.242 3.176 0.324
18 77 Marcel SCHROTTER MAHINDRA 1'50.278 3.212 0.036
19 84 Jakub KORNFEIL APRILIA 1'50.420 3.354 0.142
20 31 Niklas AJO APRILIA 1'50.495 3.429 0.075
21 99 Danny WEBB MAHINDRA 1'50.699 3.633 0.204
22 28 Josep RODRIGUEZ APRILIA 1'51.123 4.057 0.424
23 19 Alessandro TONUCCI APRILIA 1'51.169 4.103 0.046
24 63 Zulfahmi KHAIRUDDIN DERBI 1'51.284 4.218 0.115
25 21 Harry STAFFORD APRILIA 1'51.556 4.490 0.272
26 3 Luigi MORCIANO APRILIA 1'51.754 4.688 0.198
27 30 Giulian PEDONE APRILIA 1'51.760 4.694 0.006
28 76 Hiroki ONO KTM 1'51.926 4.860 0.166
29 36 Joan PERELLO APRILIA 1'52.005 4.939 0.079
30 34 Daniel RUIZ HONDA 1'52.811 5.745 0.806
31 12 Daniel KARTHEININGER KTM 1'52.838 5.772 0.027
32 43 Francesco MAURIELLO APRILIA 1'53.840 6.774 1.002
33 86 Kevin HANUS HONDA 1'54.073 7.007 0.233
Not qualified (Out 107%) 1'54.560
69 Sarath KUMAR APRILIA 1'55.652 8.586 1.579
Finally, Terol might have some competition! Oh, and Maverick VIÑALES is the coolest name in motorcycle racing. :up:
Moto2 Free Practice 2 Results:
Pos No. Rider Bike Time Diff Diff Previous
1 72 Yuki TAKAHASHI MORIWAKI 1'44.044
2 93 Marc MARQUEZ SUTER 1'44.139 0.095 0.095
3 60 Julian SIMON SUTER 1'44.153 0.109 0.014
4 12 Thomas LUTHI SUTER 1'44.204 0.160 0.051
5 40 Aleix ESPARGARO KALEX 1'44.248 0.204 0.044
6 29 Andrea IANNONE SUTER 1'44.263 0.219 0.015
7 71 Claudio CORTI SUTER 1'44.284 0.240 0.021
8 45 Scott REDDING SUTER 1'44.316 0.272 0.032
9 65 Stefan BRADL KALEX 1'44.449 0.405 0.133
10 15 Alex DE ANGELIS MOTOBI 1'44.490 0.446 0.041
11 3 Simone CORSI FTR 1'44.642 0.598 0.152
12 80 Axel PONS KALEX 1'44.674 0.630 0.032
13 36 Mika KALLIO SUTER 1'44.674 0.630 0.000
14 54 Kenan SOFUOGLU SUTER 1'44.697 0.653 0.023
15 14 Ratthapark WILAIROT FTR 1'44.733 0.689 0.036
16 51 Michele PIRRO MORIWAKI 1'44.749 0.705 0.016
17 16 Jules CLUZEL SUTER 1'44.807 0.763 0.058
18 68 Yonny HERNANDEZ FTR 1'44.842 0.798 0.035
19 77 Dominique AEGERTER SUTER 1'44.872 0.828 0.030
20 34 Esteve RABAT FTR 1'44.888 0.844 0.016
21 49 Kev COGHLAN FTR 1'45.305 1.261 0.417
22 4 Randy KRUMMENACHER KALEX 1'45.326 1.282 0.021
23 63 Mike DI MEGLIO TECH 3 1'45.344 1.300 0.018
24 21 Javier FORES SUTER 1'45.363 1.319 0.019
25 13 Anthony WEST MZ 1'45.405 1.361 0.042
26 44 Pol ESPARGARO FTR 1'45.447 1.403 0.042
27 75 Mattia PASINI FTR 1'45.605 1.561 0.158
28 38 Bradley SMITH TECH 3 1'45.631 1.587 0.026
29 35 Raffaele DE ROSA MORIWAKI 1'45.681 1.637 0.050
30 9 Kenny NOYES FTR 1'45.784 1.740 0.103
31 88 Ricard CARDUS MORIWAKI 1'45.787 1.743 0.003
32 25 Alex BALDOLINI SUTER 1'45.869 1.825 0.082
33 76 Max NEUKIRCHNER MZ 1'46.135 2.091 0.266
34 64 Santiago HERNANDEZ FTR 1'46.243 2.199 0.108
35 97 Steven ODENDAAL SUTER 1'46.276 2.232 0.033
36 19 Xavier SIMEON TECH 3 1'46.338 2.294 0.062
37 39 Robertino PIETRI SUTER 1'46.359 2.315 0.021
38 53 Valentin DEBISE FTR 1'46.549 2.505 0.190
39 95 Mashel AL NAIMI MORIWAKI 1'48.236 4.192 1.687
40 99 Lukasz WARGALA MORIWAKI 1'50.898 6.854 2.662
The top 20 are covered by less than 9 tenths of a second! Just astounding! :o
Aii Rossi wasn't good.. Just 2 tenths in front of Hopkins, who's ridden few KM's since he gone away of this championship. They'll have to work
Honda's are good.. Though I think Lorenzo will take it
Great to see Cal is in the top 9, horrible qualifying for the factory Ducati's though!
They'll talk about that Stoner-Rossi crash for weeks, years even!
Pretty obvious who the marshalls favourite rider was there. Not impressed.
well at least until tommorrow.................Quote:
Originally Posted by Malllen
Rossi goes to apologize.
Stoner's response: "your ambition outweighs your talent......."
what he should have said, "gee, bro could you have spared one of those ten marshalls......"
Clearly getting Rossi out from underneath Stoner's bike was a priority......but after that....... :rolleyes:
I know the Ducati is crap right now, but did Rossi really need to take Stoners bike off of him? ;)
Great race, though I couldnt help but laugh at the Eurosport Commentators putting the mockers on Simoncelli and Edwards! Was gutted to see Crutchlow go down, but considering how many other crashed its not so bad and up until that point the performance was massively encouraging!
Rossi finds Stoner in the pits and they shake hands...
Stoner (smiling): “How's your shoulder? Is it okay?”
Rossi: “I'm very sorry.”
Stoner: “Okay. You have some problem with your shoulder?”
Rossi: “I make a mistake”
Stoner: “Yeah. Obviously your ambition outweighed your talent.”
Rossi: “Eh?”
Stoner: “Ambition is more than the talent.”
Rossi: “I'm very sorry.”
Stoner: “No problem.”
The conversation between them after the race.. Can't believe Stoner's reaction again. He makes himself so unpopulair with these things
Stoner should have given Rossi an uppercut to the jaw. If you wreck someone, don't expect a warm reception.Quote:
Originally Posted by Corny
I believe that Rossi gave Stoner the middle finger during the race -that's what I read in El País anyway-, so I'd hardly have expected Stoner to put a happy face about it.
Agreed, Stoner does make himself look like a complete twat when things go worng. Rossi cocked up, but admitted fault like any decent person would and Casey goes on to say that arguably one of the greatest riders of all time is lacking talent. Almost reminds me of when Casey was crying over their epic battle at Laguna Seca a couple years back!Quote:
Originally Posted by Corny
Is there any video of the conversation?
edit: yes there is
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tx-D-E7sn7U
he did finished in the top 10, could have finished 9th at the end, there were 12 riders at the finish lolQuote:
Originally Posted by Wim_Impreza
I'm pretty sure Casey's line was a jokey reference to something Valentino said in his (outspoken) pre-season discussion of Casey and Jorge - he certainly had a big smile when Valentino came into the pits to apologise and took it in good spirits. I *think* - could be wrong - that Vale had used that in reference to Casey's front-end crashes in the last few years, and so was getting him back a little for that (although obviously not too much, given that the first time Vale had the same problem Casey comes out of it worst!).
Crazy races. If he hadn't fallen off, Karel Abraham could've had a podium, ditto Cal, ditto MANY others! A ton of great Brit performances too.
What a hilarious race - not often that MotoGP give more thrills and spills than Moto2, which itself was a cracker. How about Kallio getting rear-ended, somehow saving what looked unsaveable, then giving a long hard look back over his shoulder - all during a typically packed mad scramble through a corner! hehehe
Rossi screwed up in a very big way. The marshalls were idiots. Stoner's anger is completely justifiable and now just watch him rip on that Honda, Rossi has unleashed the dragon with this one. I don't think Stoner will allow Rossi to finish ahead of him for the rest of the season & Lorenzo won't get a look in for a few races either.
Disastrous MotoGP race, and the most cautious of the frontrunners won in the end. It was an amazing race until the crash on lap 7. Stupid move by Rossi, he went in too hot and too ambitious and ruined not only his race, but also Stoner's, who was at no fault. And he duly went to apologize to Stoner to the Honda garage, who as usual was being his bitchy best. I still don't understand what was the point of saying "Your ambition outweighs your talent" to Valentino Rossi. Really, Stoner? You say that to a 7 time champion, and more importantly a guy who admits his mistake, walks over to your garage to apologize. Cheap shot from Stoner.
Marc Marquez actually showed way much more maturity and integrity when Jules Cluzel came to apologize after crashing into him, a similar incident and at the same corner. He took it well and shook hands with Cluzel without taking cheap shots.
Stoner needs to learn something called sportsmanship. Racing incidents happen, it was clearly not intentional, and when someone realizes their mistake and comes to apologize, you don't be a little biatch about it all. Answer on the track in the next race, not by taking stupid cheap shots.
I read what Rossi said about Casey and Jorge, and no, there was nothing about "ambition outweighing talent". From what I remember, Rossi talked about how Casey and Lorenzo hate him, and Stoner is prone to making mistakes, and Jorge is not exciting as a rider etc. As for those two hating him, it's clear, because both Lorenzo and Casey have shown to act like little whiners after races. Stoner refusing Rossi's handshake after Laguna Seca 2008, Lorenzo acting like a prude when Rossi went to congratulate him last year at Malaysia and Valencia, not acknowledging Rossi congratulating him, and now Casey being his unsportsman-like best when Rossi clearly raised his hand, accepted his mistake, and went to apologize to Stoner and his team. Classless.Quote:
Originally Posted by patnicholls
There is a certain decency and class you have to show before you're considered a great champion, and Stoner certainly hasn't shown it. Agreed, Rossi's move was stupid and way too ambitious, but worse racing incidents have happened, and at worse times of the season and riders have been able to shake it off without trying to be ironic and saying moronic things. Having said that, Rossi himself hasn't been an angel but his way of retaliating is to mess with the riders on the track.
How can that be? Never saw it. The only one time Rossi was ahead of Stoner was at the first corner where his bike gave way, and then Rossi got up and rejoined and Stoner didn't. This everybody saw, where was the finger? I think that paper or website is printing blatant lies.Quote:
Originally Posted by N4D13
this is what he should have said
your ambition to win on a Ducati outweigh your talent to ride that pice of sh*t
From what I read somewhere (can't remember where) Stoner was waving at Rossi when he passed after the accident, which is when Rossi gave him the finger.Quote:
Originally Posted by X-ecutioner
Crazy race, but you could see it coming with a lot of them. Spies in particular was far too quick, in as much as he didn't need to push that much to gap Dani. Gutted for Marco though, would have loved to have seen him come home on the top step.
I also wouldn't say that Casey was classless, IMO you're well over the line with that remark because Stoner is one of the gents in MotoGP. I far prefer Rossi as a character and a rider, but when it comes to manners the bloke can be a cock.
Wowee, what a sensational race! There really was action at every corner, even with such a tiny field.
Lorenzo rode a particularly masterful race. Paced himself and kept out of trouble. Pedrosa did the same, slow to start and did a good job of getting strong points. Was happy to see Hayden rewarded with a podium, even if it was somewhat fortunate. I was really stoked to see Colin Edwards set for his first podium in a while only for his bike to stop. Very disappointing. Was very happy with Hiroshi though, he's the consumate professional and he so nearly snuck a podium finish. All of Spies, Crutchlow and Abraham rode very well and it was disappointing that small mistakes caught them out.
And then of course there was 'that' incident. It was clearly all Rossi's fault and Stoner was an innocent bystander but it was just an (significant) error of judgement, no malice in it that I could see. As Stoner described it, a racing incident. I guess the thing that annoyed me most was that it was only about 7 weeks ago that Rossi criticised Stoners cunning and racecraft, then, in the second race of the year, he rode like a complete rookie trying to win the race on the 8th lap of a 27 lap race. Need to be calmer than that Vale. Also, about the 'apology', how serious was Casey supposed to take it when Valentino didn't even have the courtesy to take his helmet off and speak to him face-to-face? And his "ambition greater than your talent" quip is very much an Australianism, much in the vein of "eyes too big for your stomach" and it was for nothing more than this particular incident.
I only got to see the final handful of laps of the Moto2 race after wasting my time seeing my footy team get flogged. Anyway, Iannone really seemed to be riding beautifully smoothly and Luthi is continuing to impress after his surprising strength last season. I'm just not sure if Tomas has that extra edge to take him to the title. And I read somewhere here that it was Mika Kallio who had that amazing save - that was just miraculous! And then he eyeballed the guy behind him as they went around the corner! Exciting stuff!
Rossi is obviously a great, the GOAT – however, he does exert an unhealthy imfluence on MotoGP as a whole. He is basically the sports ‘gravy train’. Unfortunately, his fans and followers won’t accept he does anything wrong. It was a way over optimistic move. Imagine if it had been somebody else taking Rossi out of the race.....I would imagine there would have been a ride through penalty.
Yup. The Rossi-worship is incredibly frustrating. The move was incredibly risky, and didn't turn out well. It's a shame Stoner was the one who suffered from it, really.Quote:
Originally Posted by AndyRAC
Ooh, also wanted to give props to Alex DeAnglis for his sterling ride after copping a ride through penalty, Bradley Smith also for his strong ride and Ant West for improving about 20 positions - only to get beaten by his pesky teammate!
Then we'd have all laughed at him like we laugh at Max.Quote:
Originally Posted by suzukimad07
Re Rossi worship. It's kinda hard not to rave about the guy, his MotoGP career is absolutely sensational and he's done it up against some pretty tough opponents. I've always liked the story of the 'curse' he put on Gibernau, even if the reasons that the guy didn't win another race were completely unrelated (like hitting a damp track at Estoril when he was miles out in front).
The move was risky but it wasn't reckless, he was quicker and there was a gap and, to quote Ayrton Senna, "if you no longer go for the gap, you're no longer a racing driver". Given the same situation I'd expect, nay want, Stoner to make the same move.
I think the people that find Rossi worship frustrating are quite obviously Stoner or Lorenzo fans, and probably can't stand him for what he did to Stoner in 2008 or to Lorenzo in 2009. Hey, I'll hate him too if he beat my favorite rider and continues to have tussles with them.Quote:
Originally Posted by barryfullalove
Love him or hate him, can't deny that he is the greatest motorcycle racer ever, whether by statistics or racecraft, or simply going by how many fans love him.
I don't think that's true. Thinking that someone can do no wrong is irritating, whether or not you adore the person. Rossi is human. He's not perfect. Nobody is. Obviously he's a great racer, I'm not denying that, but the worship can get a little extreme.Quote:
Originally Posted by X-ecutioner
Casey is not letting this go, is he? - http://www.motogp.com/en/news/2011/s...shing+in+jerez
Now, he wants Rossi to apologize, but also wants him to do it his way. All Rossi did was go straight to the Repsol Honda garage to apologize as soon as the race ended. What more does Stoner want? As if mocking his shoulder and taking a cheap shot wasn't enough, now it should have been done his way. :rolleyes: Rossi came to your garage to apologize to you, didn't he? Casey needs to man-up. These prima donna reactions show that he's emotionally still not able to put 2008 behind him.Quote:
”For sure, I would prefer if Valentino did it away from the cameras and would say something to me quietly without always having to have proof,” commented Stoner. ”For sure Valentino doesn’t do this for himself, he just wants to show to everybody that he has apologised. Yes it’s a nice gesture, it’s very good, but it still doesn’t change the result today, so we’ll see what happens in the next races.”
Anyway, all in all it spices things up really nice. If the Ducati reaches the level of the Hondas and the Yamahas, we could have an all out gob-smacking war at the front. Who wants goody-huggy rivals in any sport anyway. Roll on Estoril! :p
Nobody is worshipping him, and if you read my earlier post, I never said that Rossi didn't do anything wrong. Here, let me quote myself. I said "It was an amazing race until the crash on lap 7. Stupid move by Rossi, he went in too hot and too ambitious and ruined not only his race, but also Stoner's, who was at no fault." So, I clearly acknowledged that it was Rossi's stupidity, and his alone, that robbed us all of what could have been a great race. He could have been patient and overtaken Stoner next lap, but of course he didn't have his head screwed on right, too eager.Quote:
Originally Posted by sarahelizabeth
My bone is with what happened later. Rossi went to Stoner to apologize. Stoner could have been magnanimous and more appreciative of the gesture, but was a bit too ironic and bitchy for my taste. That's all.
I wasn't talking about you! I was referring to comments I've heard in other places (I should have clarified - I'm sorry if it came across as a personal attack). I do agree that Stoner should have accepted the apology with good grace, though. This hoo-hah about him not apologising properly is rather melodramatic, considering Rossi headed over to apologise right after the race.Quote:
Originally Posted by X-ecutioner
Does make for an exciting competition, though, I must admit. :P
Oops, my bad then. As a Rossi fan, I thought your post was directed towards me. :DQuote:
Originally Posted by sarahelizabeth
I'm just salivating at the thought of the last 3 races coming down to a last lunge between Rossi, Lorenzo and Stoner, and Pedrosa as a dark horse with this bad blood brewing a bit more and reaching fever pitch. Some elbowing and fingers in the air also welcome. :pQuote:
Originally Posted by sarahelizabeth
Sadly the Ducati in dry is not at a top level right now, fingers crossed though.
Yep, pretty much my thoughts on the incident - clearly no malice and just a racing incident in the conditions and I have no problem with Casey's reaction. Asking Valentino about his shoulder was racer's opportunism, trying to get a key bit of info about a rival at a crucial time while Valentino's feeling guilty about the crash - I'd have done the same. In the karting championship I run in, one of my former rivals (my team got promoted this year) described himself as 'always the first one to come and apologise' after crashing into someone - to which the jokey response is 'well, you're always the first one to crash into us to start with'...(said with a large grin)Quote:
Originally Posted by NinjaMaster
Mika Kallio's save is here (it was Yonny Hernandez behind):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b__yZ7-zYoI
Not as good as this one from 2009 though from Raffaele de Rosa (any excuse!):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lz16KvYYQw4