Catlunya Race Talk - Spoiler

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (ptk50 @ Jun 10 2007, 06:42 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>oh come on learn how to read - top speed ducati 317-320 kmh, top speedfast as the ducati - yamaha 300-308 kmh - is thst supposed to say the yam is as fast as the ducati - or what??????? stoner's turned into a good rider, stacks better than nh & pedrosa - but the crap in his interview "we didn't have a straight line top speed advantage" what do you call it then when he comes out of turn 1, 2 bike lengths back - turns on the gas and in a straight line drag - the sort of stunt that requires the least skill - sails by rossi, who can only try to compensate by braking later. if having a bike that goes faster in a straight line isn't straight line top speed advantage, then what the f... is it then? the only answer will be for yamaha to pull their finger out and find some more power - or vale starts talking to ducati now for 2008

hi 250 screamer - oops - i guess i need to work on reading - doesn't change the above - the reply just shouldn't be aimed at you - sorry

Awesome race today, Stoner beat Rossi on level terms and rode so damn well. WD to Rossi and Pedrosa though, it was just a fantastic battle. Waiting for mindless fanboys to start saying Stoner only won becasue of his top speed , im a hardcore Rossi fan but im not blinded by it.

Best race of the season!!Fkin sick!!

Stoner looked like a champion. Another great and exciting ride by Vale, but I expected more from him on the last lap..

Valentino Rossi
Position: 2nd Time: +0.069

"What a race! Even if I'm disappointed not to win, it's a great emotion to be part of a race like that and fantastic fun. It really was an amazing battle to the end with many wonderful overtaking manoeuvres by both of us in all different parts of the track! Unfortunately I lost a bit of time at the start and then it was quite hard to pass Hopkins because he was fantastic on the brakes. Then with Stoner it was a great fight and honestly I couldn't have tried harder to win, but he was a very hard rival. There were some places were we could have been better today, not just on the straight but also in some corners, but anyway it was a great experience and it will help us to understand what we need to do to keep on improving. Yamaha and Michelin are working very hard and the fact that we could fight like this today to the very end showed this. Of course I'm sad because I've won a lot of times here in Montmelo and I wanted to win again, but like I said, I don't think I could have done anymore today! We know that we can beat Stoner but today he rode like a god and he's a fantastic rival, so congratulations to him."

Class act!!

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Ospi @ Jun 11 2007, 12:06 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>Awesome race today, Stoner beat Rossi on level terms and rode so damn well. WD to Rossi and Pedrosa though, it was just a fantastic battle. Waiting for mindless fanboys to start saying Stoner only won becasue of his top speed , im a hardcore Rossi fan but im not blinded by it.

Great Post. I'm a Rossi fan also, but today was less about the Ducati and more about Stoner's ability to manage the race and use the pressure from behind to go faster. We've seen a lot of guys crack and even Rossi has made a few mistakes under pressure on the final lap. It seems Pedrosa and Stoner have the attitude that Rossi is just another guy in the way to winning.

Below is a quote from Julian Ryder
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE <div class='quotemain'>Nicky Hayden has said it, Ducati team manager Livio Suppo keeps saying it -- stop talking about the bike and start talking about how well the man riding it is doing his job. They have a point. Casey didn't think this was his best win of the year, thus contradicting the opinion of the rest of the paddock. He thought his runaway in Turkey was better. That's the sort of thing Mick Doohan used to say, he always enjoyed his crushing victories more than the close-fought battles.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (news1213 @ Jun 11 2007, 09:58 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>Stoner looked like a champion. Another great and exciting ride by Vale, but I expected more from him on the last lap..

So did I, I was watching with my flatmate and she thought it was over at the first corner of the last lap. I told her to wait, Rossi will slam the thing up the inside of Stoner and pull a crazy fast lap to take the win. Bit surprised, but Stoner never gave him the chance. Great rides from the top 3 and DePuniet.

Apparently Ant West is testing the Kawasaki today?

Casey just rode the best race of his young career. Yeah, I saw him drive by Rossi on the front strait...after the finish line. If Rossi was so much better he would have been ahead of Casey coming out of the final turn, holding on until the finish line. Casey out-rode The Doctor, rocket bike or not.

I thought the race was over when Rossi began his recovery from yet another poor start. He went through Pedrosa and Stoner pretty easily. It was looking like Mugello. Luckily, Casey and Pedro' were able to stay with Rossi and keep things interesting...

When the final lap began I already knew where Rossi was going to make his move. I was telling my friend how The Doctor was gonna do it again:

"Okay, Stoner didn't pass Rossi before the finish line. Rossi is gonna pass him in one of the hard braking zones, lead out of the final corner, and hold on until the finish line."

So, they get to Curva Elf...Stoner stays in front.

"Wow, Stoner is still in front. Well, Rossi will do it under braking for Curva Repsol."

The Doctor was too far back to try an outbraking manouver. The little Aussie stays in 1st.

"Hmm, okay, Rossi will do it in trn 7, just like he did earlier in the race."

Another Curva went by, and Stoner remained in front.

"Damn man, Stoner is really fighting. Rossi is surely gonna do it under braking for Curva La Caixa, though."

But he didn't do it; That was his last chance too.

"WHAT?! He didn't do it! Casey's got it! He's gonna win!"

And Casey did win. He bounced back from the disappointment of the Mugello GP and held off Rossi through the twisties. No excuses, nothing was given away, Rossi rode brilliantly, he just wasn't brilliant enough. Well..I dunno...maybe the sun was in his eyes.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Teomolca @ Jun 11 2007, 12:50 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>Great race, even if the result was sad for me. The last few laps were pure adrenalin injections!

About the Hondas:
I completely disagree with Vale4607, IMO today proved the RCV212 is a pice of ..... Despite having improved the top speed (only of the HRC and Melandri's bike) it's still embarrasingly slow and now furthermore it's got reliability issues.

Checa finished 17th out of the points, Nakano 15th, World Champion Nicky 11th, Melandri 9th .... Only Pedrosa managed a good result and IMO that's just because he's a ....... genious and at home he rode the wheels off that junk.

About Rossi vs Stoner, Yamaha vs Ducati:
IMO The Yamaha is as good as the Ducati, it doesn't have the top speed of the Ducati but it's much more stable under braking and much more nimble. Overall pretty even.

It's quite obvious the Ducati ain't winning the races for Casey, because just look were the rest of Dukes are, NOWHERE. How many other riders have won races with this bike? NONE.

So full praise to Stoner who so far has been a better rider than Rossi.

And I'm not a fan of either of them so my view is unbiased.

About Kawasaki:
HALELUYA!!! I think this is the best bike Kawasaki has built during the MotoGP era, I know Nakano managed a couple of podiums but it was either under wet condition or Bridgestone sanctuaries.
IMO they just need a top rider to be a regular podium finisher.
GO KAWA!!!!!!!!

We are never going to agree on the Honda situation. As I've said before 4 2nd places and 2 3rds does not equal ...., .... is not being in a position to fight for a podium or a win. Does Honda need to produce a bike that Nakano and Checa can ride near the front? Considering their performances over the past years, they are not expected to be at the front. Maybe Checa and Nakano are ....? Embarrassingly slow? Where? Nakano, Hayden, Melandri and Checa don't need to be at the front to prove the bike is competitive.

Dani Pedrosa is a genius and proof once again that he is making the difference as your post stated. Yamaha, only win with Rossi, Ducati with Stoner and Pedrosa is the only consistent guy with the Honda. I'm sure Ducati will support Loris, but he ain't winning this championship so they will focus development around Stoner. Rossi will steer Yamaha development and Pedrosa Honda. Each factory will focus resources around the main contender as the season plays out, this is the problem with fielding 6 machines, if there is a problem no. 6 ain't getting anything for a long time and will continue to languish. Plus getting 6 riders capable of taking podiums on one brand is not likely. The number of machines makes it seem worse than it is.

I agree that the results aren't what most expect from Honda, the design doesn't work for everyone and my contention is it never will.

You stated that Kawasaki need a decent rider to get regular podium finishes, so the Kawasaki isn't .... just the riders.

Glad we agree

Troy Bayliss rode a Ducati and won at Valencia, inflicting embarassment to the group of best riders in the world! The fact is , no offence to Loris fans, Capirex looked good on a Ducati but he is not good enough on the red rocketship. Stoner seems to be able to harness the red monster and tame it just like Bayliss has done at Valencia. The truth is, the 800cc Ducati is the best bike in the paddock today. No matter who the rider may be, he will look very good on it. Stoner hardly break a sweat winning that Catalunya race and he did'nt even need to ride it to the max (his practice time were consistently in the 1:42s) That explained Stoner's incredible run of 4 victories and his 'crushing' and 'straight' victories over Rossi.
Rossi, on the other hand was riding at the limit and beyond. He was consistently squeezing dry whatever amount of power on his Yam and dishing out every trick he has up his racing leather, only to be dissapointed repeatedly by the awesome grunt of the Ducati. Unless Yamaha can find that little bit of speed, we'll have a new MOTOGP king...the Red, Awesome, Incredible fast Ducati.

Yeah i dont think Repsol Honda are doing all that badly, i think Hayden just hasn not got a handle on this bike. Pedrosa had a potentially race winning bike today.

Can motogp do no wrong? each week i think "well i dont think they will top that race" yet the prove me wrong each weekend. This is shaping up to be the best season in many years and i dare say it's going to go to the wire.

Didn’t really leave the Forum, now just catching up thought…

Catalunya Race:
Stoner – Congrats on him handling pressure, tough Bridgestones.
Rossi – Great riding, tough task (weak Michelins on left turns).
Pedrosa – 15 straight none wins (weak Michelins on left turns too confirmed by him).
Hopkins – He did keep up, congrats to him too.
De Puniet – How does this leave Nakano?
Capirossi – Come on, do better.
Vermuelen – Tied with Hopkins in the standings!
Barros – 8th both in race as in standings, ok for a satellite veteran.
Melandri – Still not good really, second Honda in 9th.
Eduards – Second Yamaha in 10th. Too much talking in races before, now he can claim the “Cero” is worth nothing which means a 1st tied with Stoner.
Hayden – He’s got his two “Ones” wrapped up in 11th, miserable season.
Tamada – Can blame Dunlops and Nakano makes it a bit better being 15th on standings compared to his 12th last season.
Hofmann – It’s a Ducati, should do a bit better as top speeds show.
Guintolli – Rokie, satellite Yamaha, Dunlops, say no more.
Nakano, Roberts Jr, Checa, Roberts Kurtis – (The worst: 4 Hondas).
Elias – Almost gets De Puniet down, too many riders risks' coincidences. (Sorry, the worst: 5 Hondas, blown engine).

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Teomolca @ Jun 10 2007, 09:50 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>About the Hondas:
I completely disagree with Vale4607, IMO today proved the RCV212 is a pice of ..... Despite having improved the top speed (only of the HRC and Melandri's bike) it's still embarrasingly slow and now furthermore it's got reliability issues.

Checa finished 17th out of the points, Nakano 15th, World Champion Nicky 11th, Melandri 9th .... Only Pedrosa managed a good result and IMO that's just because he's a ....... genious and at home he rode the wheels off that junk.

Sorry Temolca, but the first Yamaha was above the first Honda, and the second Yamaha was underneath the second Honda (Rossi 2nd, Pedrosa 3rd… Melandri 9th, Eduards 10th). And with Yamaha’s lower top speeds than Honda’s also being Pedrosa 2nd with 312.9km only underneath Capirossi 314km. And the Second Ducati (Capirossi) and even the third satellite Ducati (Barros) are above the Second Yamaha. Same with the Second Honda (Melandri) being above the Second Yamaha. Even both Suzuki’s. Plus none has either wan any race with the Yamaha, all which could mean that Yamaha is even crappier piece of crap then.

Brilliant race.

Quite dissapointed that Pedrosa didn't put his balls on the tank and really get in the battle at the front but Stoner deserves a big congrats for that effort or he now has quite a few brownie points as my dad put it.

Great performance from Hopkins too as per normal and but not so good from CV after he couldn't get past Barros... but he really stuck it to Capirossi right down to the line.

Is anyone seriously trying to claim that the Duc didn't have a speed advantage? Because that's outrageous, get a copy of the race & re-watch the main straight. I mean REALLY!!

The Duke may have won it on the last lap straight, but Stoner did well to hold Rossi off.

I think Rossi would have won it had he come out front in the first corner, but if's and but's are not for racing.

Amazing race though.

It was great to see 4 different manufacturers riding at the front.

Stoner was ace! Lewis Hamilton comparisons anyone?

Hats of to Vale & Pedrobot for keeping it exciting at the front. Hopper again a nice solid performance and keeping it close to the others fearly on.

RDP, he stayed on and got a great 5th, has he been rubbing shoulders with Stoner? lets hope he puts in repeat performances on that Kwacker.

Elias you have screwed my fantasy standing even more

Best race so far.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (jdhu @ Jun 10 2007, 11:47 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>You Euro's are lucky you have such great, commercial-free coverage, and exciting, knowledgeable announcers.
Eurosport are notorious for commercial breaks. They can't even hold off for one entire MotoGP race.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Goatboy @ Jun 11 2007, 05:51 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>Is anyone seriously trying to claim that the Duc didn't have a speed advantage? Because that's outrageous, get a copy of the race & re-watch the main straight. I mean REALLY!!
i don't think any1 is denying it does, but it doesnt take away the fact stoner was on par with Rossi today, rossi would get passed and stoner would be right there to take it back, and he did it a few times during the middle of the track and not down the straight. Give him the same bike as Rossi and i have no doubts they would still be battling eachother tooth and nail.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Ospi @ Jun 11 2007, 02:30 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>i don't think any1 is denying it does, but it doesnt take away the fact stoner was on par with Rossi today, rossi would get passed and stoner would be right there to take it back, and he did it a few times during the middle of the track and not down the straight. Give him the same bike as Rossi and i have no doubts they would still be battling eachother tooth and nail.

I know a few passes were done in the Eurosport comercial but all the passes I saw Stoner did was either on the straights on power or when rossi overshot in his own overtaking manouver.
Allthough it's a nice move fighting back after a pass it's not really that big a deal and we should expect no less of a topp GP rider. ( I saw the same move in a similar corner a dozen times live on sunday in the national series )I suspect we expect evryone to fold under pressure when in front of Rossi, but really, the performance of Biaggi and Gibbers in those situation was way bellow par for a wold class rider.

Don't get me wrong, Stoner did his best race so far. His ability to hang on to Rossi through the corners were what decided this race. But his ability to reply when someone get the exit all wrong is not what define him as a great rider or what decided the race.

A fantastic race.. I keep waiting for Stoner to crash out, like he did so frequently last season (he did not finish 6 of the 16 races last season). Looks like it ain't gonna happen. Must be those bridgestone tires!

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Mr. Shupe @ Jun 11 2007, 01:28 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>Casey just rode the best race of his young career. Yeah, I saw him drive by Rossi on the front strait...after the finish line. If Rossi was so much better he would have been ahead of Casey coming out of the final turn, holding on until the finish line. Casey out-rode The Doctor, rocket bike or not.

I thought the race was over when Rossi began his recovery from yet another poor start. He went through Pedrosa and Stoner pretty easily. It was looking like Mugello. Luckily, Casey and Pedro' were able to stay with Rossi and keep things interesting...

When the final lap began I already knew where Rossi was going to make his move. I was telling my friend how The Doctor was gonna do it again:

"Okay, Stoner didn't pass Rossi before the finish line. Rossi is gonna pass him in one of the hard braking zones, lead out of the final corner, and hold on until the finish line."

So, they get to Curva Elf...Stoner stays in front.

"Wow, Stoner is still in front. Well, Rossi will do it under braking for Curva Repsol."

The Doctor was too far back to try an outbraking manouver. The little Aussie stays in 1st.

"Hmm, okay, Rossi will do it in trn 7, just like he did earlier in the race."

Another Curva went by, and Stoner remained in front.

"Damn man, Stoner is really fighting. Rossi is surely gonna do it under braking for Curva La Caixa, though."

But he didn't do it; That was his last chance too.

"WHAT?! He didn't do it! Casey's got it! He's gonna win!"

And Casey did win. He bounced back from the disappointment of the Mugello GP and held off Rossi through the twisties. No excuses, nothing was given away, Rossi rode brilliantly, he just wasn't brilliant enough. Well..I dunno...maybe the sun was in his eyes.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (crvlvr @ Jun 11 2007, 09:37 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>A fantastic race.. I keep waiting for Stoner to crash out, like he did so frequently last season (he did tno finish 6 of the 16 races last season). Looks like it ain't gonna happen. Must be those bridgestone tires!

But of course, stones ofr stoner. That goes without saying!
Anyway, the stones front get a lot of praise but it's more than that. Honda strugeled with the front last year as well. Hayden's bike was the exception, but the rest had more or less problems. Stoner had most.

Great post, just how it was, Casey has proved he is championship material.
What a race, best race in years ,not taking anything from Vale and Dani they were all fantastic.
Bravery award has to go to RDP ,what a ride .
What's wrong with the Roberts team, surely the honda is not that bad.