Catalunya Race: Spoilers

Right 'Sun' tune in...cause here's another reason to dislike Dani.



Far from venting spleen on his errant anti wheelie electronics, instead he was highly critical today of Jorge's out braking move on the front straight saying that Lorenzo pushed him off-line - . As Jules commented that was clean and in comparison to Moto 2 and Moto 3 Lorenzo gave him a football field of room. Irony being Dani loved the cut and thrust of 125's and 250's usually giving as good as he got against the then very wild and hot headed young Lorenzo and lunatics such as Stefano Perugini. Anyhow - that was the reason he had such a long face and miserable demeanour in the press conference. The hard tyre option didn't allow him to check out as he had intended - over and above that the Lorenzo/Yam package is superior in every respect bar the holeshot and initial drive out of the corners.



I'm not sure that was such a good ride from Alvaro - he's very good here and from memory has won a few Catalan GP's in the past. That's Sic's ex factory ride....which in the hands of Marco would have given Dani a few more sour grapes to tread tonight over and above Jorge's victory.

Talpa said:

Great for Cal too, only the Honda's better drive, and very defensive riding prevented him from getting through on Stoner. As for Ducati, not too bad, but far from special, and well, probably the most important tests they've had since entering Motogp in the next few weeks, I would say they need to find a consistent half a second on the front runners today, tomorrow and at Aragon....to avoid mass exodus.

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Agree on both points

Eurosport played out with this today by Brit Group 'The Rain Band' Not the greatest song, but certainly the greatest sentiment. All proceeds to the Marco Simoncelli Foundation.



Rise again Super Sic.



http://youtu.be/6ST3B3qH52Q

Im wondering with the ducati.. they've seemingly made progress.. but is it a swingarm or something that's going to make the difference and gain them that second a lap?.. or is it the transmission from outerspace that honda has, better electronics package.. and/or whatever bits yam came up with that are just making the ducati look slower? i know its all conjecture and what not.. but is it that they're slow.. or has honda/yamaha advanced that much? i havent compared to the last few years.. but its hard to do that anyway with a formula change

truent said:

Im wondering with the ducati.. they've seemingly made progress.. but is it a swingarm or something that's going to make the difference and gain them that second a lap?.. or is it the transmission from outerspace that honda has, better electronics package.. and/or whatever bits yam came up with that are just making the ducati look slower? i know its all conjecture and what not.. but is it that they're slow.. or has honda/yamaha advanced that much? i havent compared to the last few years.. but its hard to do that anyway with a formula change

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Its now clear, that the piss-poor rubber choice of a sole supplier is making it impossible for Ducati to get on pace with Honda and Yamaha whilst persisting with the 90-degree engine config-which IMO combined with the new twin-spar frame has made the bike even less nimble than with the carbon mono-thingy last year, only thing is its now more predictable and stable, for if you look at last year here at Catalunya, Rossi was only 7 seconds off the lead, yesterday he was 17. And of course Yamaha and Honda haven't been hanging around.

Arrabbiata1 said:

Right 'Sun' tune in...cause here's another reason to dislike Dani.



Far from venting spleen on his errant anti wheelie electronics, instead he was highly critical today of Jorge's out braking move on the front straight saying that Lorenzo pushed him off-line - . As Jules commented that was clean and in comparison to Moto 2 and Moto 3 Lorenzo gave him a football field of room. Irony being Dani loved the cut and thrust of 125's and 250's usually giving as good as he got against the then very wild and hot headed young Lorenzo and lunatics such as Stefano Perugini. Anyhow - that was the reason he had such a long face and miserable demeanour in the press conference. The hard tyre option didn't allow him to check out as he had intended - over and above that the Lorenzo/Yam package is superior in every respect bar the holeshot and initial drive out of the corners.



I'm not sure that was such a good ride from Alvaro - he's very good here and from memory has won a few Catalan GP's in the past. That's Sic's ex factory ride....which in the hands of Marco would have given Dani a few more sour grapes to tread tonight over and above Jorge's victory.

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Don't forget Alvaro has Showa forks not Ohlins like everyone else.

I'm sure its gonna make a slight difference?

I'm a little worried about Lorenzo now, looks extremely strong. I cant see him finishing lower than second all year, which means Stoner would have to win 4 races just to get level. Forget gearboxes and tires this is all down to Lorenzo imo, he makes riding a 1000cc 250hp monster look easy at times compared to Spies. I think this is the cause of Spies troubles. He should forget Lorenzo and concentrate on matching Dovi.

The first past [font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif] Lorenzo made on Pedro was a beauty. [/font]

Talpa said:

It can't be the riders bad choices, or slightly poorer performance-or even far better performances from those in front of him-nope has to be Mechanical, although the other Factory Honda looked pretty good, mind you when you think of Mechanical issue-we usually think of Ducati...... Either way its now Jorge's IMO, too strong, Yamaha too good this year-maybe now the silly season's first crucial race result.



Dovi's ride was excellent, and even though most of us were expecting it, its great to see a satellite bike on the podium in the dry again. Great for Cal too, only the Honda's better drive, and very defensive riding prevented him from getting through on Stoner.



As for Ducati, not too bad, but far from special, and well, probably the most important tests they've had since entering Motogp in the next few weeks, I would say they need to find a consistent half a second on the front runners today, tomorrow and at Aragon....to avoid mass exodus.

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Please explain what qualifies this last race as being more crucial than the ones preceding it.

Just released transcript from the conversation between Honda CEO Takanobo Ito, and HRC president Tetsuo Suzuki during todays race



Ito: Whata da fucka just happenned.



Suzuki: What do you mean Ito san?



Ito: Lorenzo just passed Asimo like he was standing still. Something strange just happenned to his bike. I saw a space between the pavement and his front wheel. I hava never seen that before.



Suzuki: Neither have I. Is there a bump in the pavement? It could be like that moving bump we had back at Motegi



Ito: Get me Ezpleta now, We need answers



Ezpleta: Ito san. What is the problem



Ito: Whata da fucka just happenned to Asimo, there was a space between his front tire and the pavement. Is there a problem with the track surface.



Ezpleta: Asimo Ito san? Who is Asimo?



Suzuki whispers in Ito's ear: Ito san, Remember, Asimo is the name our engineers gave to the robot we call Pedrosa. The world thinks Pedrosa is a Spanish born human rider, We created him so Repsol would sponsor us.



Ito: Ahhhhh Ezpleta san, I sawwy. Asimo is a nickname we have for Pedrosa.



Ezpleta: Oh, ok. Nothing is wrong with the track surface. Dani just experienced a wheelie.



Ito: A vheelie. wtf is a vhellie? Suzuki. Do you know what a vheelie is



Suzuki: Ive never heard of it Ito san



Ezpleta: a wheelie is when too much throttle is being used and the rear tire grips which makes the front tire come off the ground. You used to see them all the time. We havnt seen one for years. We thought they were extinct. The last known sighting was back in 2006



Ito: SUZUKI! What is happenning here are we having a malfunction in our robotics? You assured me that our machine was to have the exact same lean angle, the exact same speed, the exact same trajectory. The exact same g force, and the exact same throttle delivery that the laptop programmed for each corner. What about the gyroscopes, the gps, the radar detectors, and the built in time machine. This is shamefull Suzuki. Go get your samuri sword. You have shamed your family and your country. You must commit hari kari.



Suzuki: No Ito san, calm down. Have some more of this freshly butchered baby dolphin meat. It will relax you.

We just detected a jamming signal that disrupted our feed from the M.I R. Space station



Ito: Ahhhh there is some assahole over there at the end of the straight wearing an Arizona Sun Devils shirt. He has what looks like a jamming device. Go get him.



Suzuki: No Ito san, That is a microphone. He is just some nerd that shows up to all the races and records the sound of the bikes at full rpm's. He has no life so we leave him alone.

We detected the signal is being transmitted from the 46 bike and is aimed at the 69 bike. It looks like Asimo crossed paths and was interfered with.



Ito: awwwwwwww. All is forgiven then. But why is out other bike going so slow in 4th place. Is he quitting?

Suzuki: Ito san. His electronics are weak. They are 27 years old and no longer able to withstand the rigors of being used for 100 hours per year. We will retire them at the end of the year



Ito: Good Suzuki san. Carry on

Keshav said:

Please explain what qualifies this last race as being more crucial than the ones preceding it.

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The fact that the Yamaha was working far better, in most condition's at Catalunya for Jorge, and most others, would suggest that Jorge might now stay there, instead of going to Honda. I still think the main variable for Jorge will be who else may end up on the Honda. However the advantages Honda gained over Yamaha last season-at least in the hands of both sets of top riders, seem to have been negated. Catalunya was the latest-and probably most telling example-mainly because one Satellite Yamaha beat Stoner-and the other nearly did.

Nice work JK! Funny ....!!

Talpa said:

The fact that the Yamaha was working far better, in most condition's at Catalunya for Jorge, and most others, would suggest that Jorge might now stay there, instead of going to Honda. I still think the main variable for Jorge will be who else may end up on the Honda. However the advantages Honda gained over Yamaha last season-at least in the hands of both sets of top riders, seem to have been negated. Catalunya was the latest-and probably most telling example-mainly because one Satellite Yamaha beat Stoner-and the other nearly did.

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I would hazard that the Yamaha has worked well at all previous races this season - but that it (like all other marques) suits some tracks other than others. That, and today Lorenzo was especially motivated/inspired. I don't think that makes this race in any way unique. I don't think many amongst us seriously thought Lorenzo was seriously considering leaving Yamaha. Dovi rode well and Stoner made a bad start and chose the wrong tire. While it was good to see him shine, I don't anticipate seeing Dovi finishing ahead of Stoner again this year.

Keshav said:

I would hazard that the Yamaha has worked well at all previous races this season - but that it (like all other marques) suits some tracks other than others. That, and today Lorenzo was especially motivated/inspired. I don't think that makes this race in any way unique. I don't think many amongst us seriously thought Lorenzo was seriously considering leaving Yamaha. Dovi rode well and Stoner made a bad start and chose the wrong tire. While it was good to see him shine, I don't anticipate seeing Dovi finishing ahead of Stoner again this year.

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It makes it unique as last year, Honda won here, and I'm pretty sure Jorge would have been just as motivated then too-and this year a Honda was only a few seconds off in second place-and that if Pedrosa was not injured last year-he too would have been vying for the win also. If Stoner and Dani were able to beat Jorge yesterday, then I'd say Jorge would have been thinking a lot more about a move to Honda-seeing as its the first round since the announcement of the available seat there.



I would say there is no reason as to why Dovi couldn't finish ahead of Stoner again this year, as could Cal. The Tech III's look better than any Satellite effort since 2006- And they make the Factory Ducati's look like steaming piles of ...........in the dry

Talpa said:

The fact that the Yamaha was working far better, in most condition's at Catalunya for Jorge, and most others, would suggest that Jorge might now stay there, instead of going to Honda. I still think the main variable for Jorge will be who else may end up on the Honda. However the advantages Honda gained over Yamaha last season-at least in the hands of both sets of top riders, seem to have been negated. Catalunya was the latest-and probably most telling example-mainly because one Satellite Yamaha beat Stoner-and the other nearly did.

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I think it's going to come down to money for Jlo, the only competition for him if CS leaves will be Rossi and that's only if he can manage to get onto a good bike. I wouldn't say the M1 is more competitive just because it looked good today, they did make a better choice with the tire for today's conditions. CS took a gamble and he wasn't that far off considering how much better the softer option was. The Yam actually has an intensive testing schedule coming up to fix some issues but I think today's results were purely down to having the correct tires.

I hope Cal will get his first podium at his home Grand prix

Keshav said:

Stoner ... write him off at your peril.

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yes, its not like ive written him off i'm not a rider its just my guess that he overcame much bigger problems in 06-2010 whereas now if the bike is 90% he will only ride 90% to not crash. of course thats better for the championship and thats also what rossi does, ride as hard as the bike allows you to without pushing past the limits. but had stoner ridden that way on the duc he wouldn't be a world champion but rather just another good rider.

damnit casey i want to see you wringing that bikes neck every single precious time i get to see you!!

i'll be mighty pissed off if honda don't sort out the chatter /tyre issues until sachsenring

I hate to sound all negative, but I have my doubts whether we will see Casey "wring the neck" of that bike again. I agree with what some of the other punters have said about him not being the same since the announcement. It looks like he has retired already. Perhaps he has had some bad luck, but the way he has been sitting on that bike doesn't look like him. Maybe he is just gonna fulfill his contract to the end of the year and get out...



For the last couple of weeks a lot of people have treated his announcement with great surprise. So many people can't understand why he would walk away from fame and fortune. After yesterday's race, I think I understand. The sport has turned into a joke. It is a circus with performing monkeys as the stars. Casey Stoner fans are not the "neo-boppers" - you could probably call them many things, but a neo-bopper is not accurate. The neo-boppers are Jorge Lorenzo fans. They are the new breed of "black flag" waving morons who want another circus clown like Rossi. Rossi has done to this sport what Michael Jackson did to music - turned it into an image driven joke. Now the new breed of monkeys wanna be like Vale. Many of the young riders even have their number written in Vale's flouro-yellow font. I know a lot (maybe most) are gonna disagree, and fair enough - we all have a right to express our opinions. But when I saw Jorge jump off that bike yesterday and behave like that, it all dawned on me. The guy has no personality. It's all an act. The whole bloody contrived plot was scripted right down to where he walked over to his "too cool for school" DJ buddy (what a cliche) and pour crap into the waiting buckets for a foam ejaculation gimmick. How dumb! What's the point? The guy has been turned into a brand. He even has his own flag and logos for god's sake! And all the suckers buy them by the truck load and wave them like monkeys in a cage. He wants to win the title again this year so he can have his branded JL #1 again. Let the ..... have it. This aint bike racing. This is just marketing crap. Sure, it brings fans to the race - but they are .... heads. Is this how racers have to act to be considered "great for the sport"? How many times have I heard commentators say how a particular rider's personality will bring or attract people to motogp. Screw that! I wanna see racing, not ........ theatrical stunts for the soap opera fans. Ok, I've had my rant. Feel free to cut me to pieces...

Arrab, I was also very surprised to hear Pedro criticise Lorenzo's maneuver. Dani actually said he was almost forced off the track.

I didn't see that happen anywhere. He seemed to give him plenty of room.

I still think this will be Casey's year, provided we have very bright sunny races.

mad mick said:

I hate to sound all negative, but I have my doubts whether we will see Casey "wring the neck" of that bike again. I agree with what some of the other punters have said about him not being the same since the announcement. It looks like he has retired already. Perhaps he has had some bad luck, but the way he has been sitting on that bike doesn't look like him. Maybe he is just gonna fulfill his contract to the end of the year and get out...



For the last couple of weeks a lot of people have treated his announcement with great surprise. So many people can't understand why he would walk away from fame and fortune. After yesterday's race, I think I understand. The sport has turned into a joke. It is a circus with performing monkeys as the stars. Casey Stoner fans are not the "neo-boppers" - you could probably call them many things, but a neo-bopper is not accurate. The neo-boppers are Jorge Lorenzo fans. They are the new breed of "black flag" waving morons who want another circus clown like Rossi. Rossi has done to this sport what Michael Jackson did to music - turned it into an image driven joke. Now the new breed of monkeys wanna be like Vale. Many of the young riders even have their number written in Vale's flouro-yellow font. I know a lot (maybe most) are gonna disagree, and fair enough - we all have a right to express our opinions. But when I saw Jorge jump off that bike yesterday and behave like that, it all dawned on me. The guy has no personality. It's all an act. The whole bloody contrived plot was scripted right down to where he walked over to his "too cool for school" DJ buddy (what a cliche) and pour crap into the waiting buckets for a foam ejaculation gimmick. How dumb! What's the point? The guy has been turned into a brand. He even has his own flag and logos for god's sake! And all the suckers buy them by the truck load and wave them like monkeys in a cage. He wants to win the title again this year so he can have his branded JL #1 again. Let the ..... have it. This aint bike racing. This is just marketing crap. Sure, it brings fans to the race - but they are .... heads. Is this how racers have to act to be considered "great for the sport"? How many times have I heard commentators say how a particular rider's personality will bring attract people to motogp. Screw that! I wanna see racing, not ........ theatrical stunts for the soap opera fans. Ok, I've had my rant. Feel free to cut me to pieces...

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Mick, you really are mad (as in extremely ). FWIW I dislike all the embarrassing post-race circus antics as well - what's wrong with a couple of monster wheelies and/or stoppies???