Le Mans MotoGP:Spoiler

Keshav said:

Someone said he had water streaming into his helmet. This is the second time he's done badly due helmet malfunction. At the least he needs to get an Arai.

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Motogp.com should work with HJC to learn how they stream so well

digger said:

Is that test this week Arab? I'm sure I read the 22nd, 23rd may, something like that?

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No, sorry I was referring to post Estoril.



I'm sure if they could get some decent dry testing time we might witness a sea change at Ducati by the end of the year

demingracer said:

Funny how rossi tries haydens setup and finds it better and immediately hayden gets slower. Hayden found more than just a direction, he developed a setup. Just the usual bs. Its all about rossi. Ducati gives him too much money and don't want to be embarrassed by having their number 2 riders beating him. Ducati is a joke.

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But Hayden hasn't got slower, in fact that 6th place finish equalled his highest finish this season ! Rossi just managed a better finish with that set up assuming that's what he used.

Well, it's been a very interesting week for us all. I think most of us were pretty satisfied. Here are my humble conclusions from Le Mans:



After the "Moaner" made his big announcement on Thursday, debate has been furious. Many opinions have been shared and one post in particular has shed great light on the controversy - our beloved "Lexicon" has highlighted to us that things are never quite as they appear when he lifted the veil on our sport to reveal that MotoGp (I do hope I'm interpreting this properly) is in fact some mutated kind of Pavlovian dog show on wheels! Where, Dorna is really Ivan Pavlov in disguise, and his salivating pooches are our favourite riders. However, as Lex pointed out in that most popular post, one of these dogs has shown little gratitude to its master and is attempting to stray, despite all previous forms of stimuli being waved in the face of this ungrateful little mutt. More about that little creature soon...



Jorge was definitely best dog in show on Sunday. He is showing all the hallmarks of pure pedigree expected from a top dog. He ran very well in the wet, kept his nose clean, and took the award for the day. Well done, boy! He knows this will be his last chance to take the title in an even battle from Casey (the Australian Terrier). Must say he looked very strong on that bike. I would say he is the favourite for this year, in my book at this stage. He certainly has the motivation (not so sure about the motivation levels of that mangy Australian yapper that we will get to shortly). Jorge is a good little dog that really responds to Ivan's stimuli - takes the photo's with the girls, happily holds his rockstar can up for the camera's etc. He'll be very promising for the show for years to come. Good boy!



Jorge might have taken the blue ribbon on Sunday, but the real star of the show today was our favourite good old dog, Valentino Rossi. Valentino has been in this show for a long time. He is a champion breed that has won more shows than any other dog I can think of... We haven't had good old Vale standing on the box for a while, so it was great to see him back where he belongs. Despite being part of this traveling dog show for many, many years, he still responds to Ivan's stimuli very well indeed. You can shove a million cameras in his face and he will lap it all up. And it doesn't matter how much cash you throw at him, he'll always roll over and do a little trick for more. This good old Italian retriever ran really well in the wet yesterday, and in my opinion, deserved his second place and all the applause that came with it.



Now, for that ungrateful, mangy, barking, untrained Australian Terrier they call Casey. Ivan probably thought he was on a sure thing when he picked this little pup out of the litter. In the past, Autralian dogs have always been most reliable. When we cast our memories back quite a few years ago there was a great little working dog in the 80's called Wayne. Tough as nails, always showed up, worked for years, and even won best dog of the entire year in 1987! What a great little companion he was to have around. When Wayne started getting a bit long in the tooth, Ivan took on another Aussie working dog called Mick. Mick had great potential. After having a bad accident, Mick made a terrific recovery and came back to win 5 best "dog of the year" titles in a row! Some may say, Mick was a bit boring, but he always gave his best for Ivan and the show and he had a long career. So, what went wrong with this Casey? Maybe it was bad breeding or something. The longer his career gets, the less this little Terrier responds to the stimuli. There are rumors that Honda may throw him a big stack of cash (probably in the shape of a bone) to see if he bites. But I don't think he will. He is one stubborn little dog. No bloody wonder all those hard working punters at the dog shows don't like him. It's really amazing that Ivan allows him to win. What's the point of having an unpopular champion? Anyway, little Casey was in a difficult position yesterday. His bike wasn't handling well in the wet and he is riding for the championship. I'm sure he didn't like getting passed by the old dog, but taking the points was the smart thing to do.



What happened to that little Cocker Spaniel, Dani? You know, I like Dani, I really do. But, I get the feeling that despite being a great rider, he just doesn't have what it takes to win the "dog of year" prize. He really looked piss weak on that bike, it must be said and was extremely lucky to be gifted 4th place.



Despite coming off, the 2 tech3 hounds ran really well. At least there was some fight in them. I expect Cal to be tempted with some stimuli soon. I'm sure he will have his eyes firmly fixed on Casey's kennel, as Stefan and Alvaro do as well.



As for Benny, where the hell did he go?

Faultless ride from Lozzie, great to see Vale back on the box. The Tech 3's continue to impress, Not sure whats up with Spies but If I were him I would start to worry about my ride.

Dazza said:

Faultless ride from Lozzie, great to see Vale back on the box. The Tech 3's continue to impress, Not sure whats up with Spies but If I were him I would start to worry about my ride.

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He said he had water getting into his visor misting it up so he pitted. Thing is he was not the only rider suffering this but he was the only one who pulled into the pits . Rossi said he lost 2 sec's because of it but managed to open his visor slightly which eventually cleared it. Maybe the run of bad luck and the team pressure has made him so despondent he is no longer really trying.

chopperman said:

He said he had water getting into his visor misting it up so he pitted. Thing is he was not the only rider suffering this but he was the only one who pulled into the pits . Rossi said he lost 2 sec's because of it but managed to open his visor slightly which eventually cleared it. Maybe the run of bad luck and the team pressure has made him so despondent he is no longer really trying.

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That was a great battle between Stoner and VR and MotoGP needs Stoner and Rossi...period.. Had Rossi not having water getting into his visor he might challenge JLO for no 1 spot. ... Ducati must sort out the bike so that the bike can be pushed to the limit in dry condition just like Honda and Yamaha.

Hey chopper,

Do you think Spies has had bad luck this year?

SlartyBartFast said:

Hey chopper,

Do you think Spies has had bad luck this year?

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Yes. Spies is the real deal and i don't believe for a second he has turned .... over night. My main worry is the stress of failing to deliver will give him Melandri syndrome .

mad mick said:

Well, it's been a very interesting week for us all. I think most of us were pretty satisfied. Here are my humble conclusions from Le Mans: After the "Moaner" made his big announcement on Thursday, debate has been furious. Many opinions have been shared and one post in particular has shed great light on the controversy - our beloved "Lexicon" has highlighted to us that things are never quite as they appear when he lifted the veil on our sport to reveal that MotoGp (I do hope I'm interpreting this properly) is in fact some mutated kind of Pavlovian dog show on wheels! Where, Dorna is really Ivan Pavlov in disguise, and his salivating pooches are our favourite riders. However, as Lex pointed out in that most popular post, one of these dogs has shown little gratitude to its master and is attempting to stray, despite all previous forms of stimuli being waved in the face of this ungrateful little mutt. More about that little creature soon... Jorge was definitely best dog in show on Sunday. He is showing all the hallmarks of pure pedigree expected from a top dog. He ran very well in the wet, kept his nose clean, and took the award for the day. Well done, boy! He knows this will be his last chance to take the title in an even battle from Casey (the Australian Terrier). Must say he looked very strong on that bike. I would say he is the favourite for this year, in my book at this stage. He certainly has the motivation (not so sure about the motivation levels of that mangy Australian yapper that we will get to shortly). Jorge is a good little dog that really responds to Ivan's stimuli - takes the photo's with the girls, happily holds his rockstar can up for the camera's etc. He'll be very promising for the show for years to come. Good boy! Jorge might have taken the blue ribbon on Sunday, but the real star of the show today was our favourite good old dog, Valentino Rossi. Valentino has been in this show for a long time. He is a champion breed that has won more shows than any other dog I can think of... We haven't had good old Vale standing on the box for a while, so it was great to see him back where he belongs. Despite being part of this traveling dog show for many, many years, he still responds to Ivan's stimuli very well indeed. You can shove a million cameras in his face and he will lap it all up. And it doesn't matter how much cash you throw at him, he'll always roll over and do a little trick for more. This good old Italian retriever ran really well in the wet yesterday, and in my opinion, deserved his second place and all the applause that came with it. Now, for that ungrateful, mangy, barking, untrained Australian Terrier they call Casey. Ivan probably thought he was on a sure thing when he picked this little pup out of the litter. In the past, Autralian dogs have always been most reliable. When we cast our memories back quite a few years ago there was a great little working dog in the 80's called Wayne. Tough as nails, always showed up, worked for years, and even won best dog of the entire year in 1987! What a great little companion he was to have around. When Wayne started getting a bit long in the tooth, Ivan took on another Aussie working dog called Mick. Mick had great potential. After having a bad accident, Mick made a terrific recovery and came back to win 5 best "dog of the year" titles in a row! Some may say, Mick was a bit boring, but he always gave his best for Ivan and the show and he had a long career. So, what went wrong with this Casey? Maybe it was bad breeding or something. The longer his career gets, the less this little Terrier responds to the stimuli. There are rumors that Honda may throw him a big stack of cash (probably in the shape of a bone) to see if he bites. But I don't think he will. He is one stubborn little dog. No bloody wonder all those hard working punters at the dog shows don't like him. It's really amazing that Ivan allows him to win. What's the point of having an unpopular champion? Anyway, little Casey was in a difficult position yesterday. His bike wasn't handling well in the wet and he is riding for the championship. I'm sure he didn't like getting passed by the old dog, but taking the points was the smart thing to do. What happened to that little Cocker Spaniel, Dani? You know, I like Dani, I really do. But, I get the feeling that despite being a great rider, he just doesn't have what it takes to win the "dog of year" prize. He really looked piss weak on that bike, it must be said and was extremely lucky to be gifted 4th place. Despite coming off, the 2 tech3 hounds ran really well. At least there was some fight in them. I expect Cal to be tempted with some stimuli soon. I'm sure he will have his eyes firmly fixed on Casey's kennel, as Stefan and Alvaro do as well. As for Benny, where the hell did he go?

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Nice! The dog metaphor is great.

+1

chopperman said:

He said he had water getting into his visor misting it up so he pitted. Thing is he was not the only rider suffering this but he was the only one who pulled into the pits . Rossi said he lost 2 sec's because of it but managed to open his visor slightly which eventually cleared it. Maybe the run of bad luck and the team pressure has made him so despondent he is no longer really trying.

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The pressure on these riders is huge. They are not robots. It takes so little to lose that small something that makes the difference between the podium and mid pack. Probably Spies needs a break, and subtle physical problems should also be investigated, like Casey's famous lactose intolerance. Such things are fairly common nowadays in our polluted world, and can drain one's energies. It has to be seen if he can afford to take a break in Stoner 2009 style... Probably not.

V5Stroker said:

That was a great battle between Stoner and VR and MotoGP needs Stoner and Rossi...period.. Had Rossi not having water getting into his visor he might challenge JLO for no 1 spot. ... Ducati must sort out the bike so that the bike can be pushed to the limit in dry condition just like Honda and Yamaha.

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Hmmm, I do not think Rossi could have challenged Lorenzo. The Ducati is better in the wet, but still the superior cornering ability of the Yamahas and Hondas was evident when he was dueling with Dovi, Crutch and Stoner. Rossi's only weapon was late braking, his strong point, and when accelerating in the wet, with the limited power, the Ducati is able to put down all the available bhps, but when entering tight corners he was always struggling and going wider compared to the Yamahas or the Honda. Now with the twin spar frame the front end of the Ducati has become reliable, but the understeer is still there, and visible.

J4rn0 said:

Hmmm, I do not think Rossi could have challenged Lorenzo. The Ducati is better in the wet, but still the superior cornering ability of the Yamahas and Hondas was evident when he was dueling with Dovi, Crutch and Stoner. Rossi's only weapon was late braking, his strong point, and when accelerating in the wet, with the limited power, the Ducati is able to put down all the available bhps, but when entering tight corners he was always struggling and going wider compared to the Yamahas or the Honda. Now with the twin spar frame the front end of the Ducati has become reliable, but the understeer is still there, and visible.

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Totally agree. Now he has some confidence the thing won't spit him off arbitrarily, and he knows he can still dice with the front runners even if in the wet he has something to work with though, even if they do need to change the engine or whatever. Still rare to be able to improve during a race as he did, although jorge had no need to do so of course.

chopperman said:

Yes. Spies is the real deal and i don't believe for a second he has turned .... over night. My main worry is the stress of failing to deliver will give him Melandri syndrome .

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Some rumor mongering said Spies to WSBK with factory BMW...next year..

looking at the lap times, if Nicky had gotten off to a better start, he certianly would have been able to front Pedrosa and finished 4th...I think Pedro folds up like a cheap lawn chair if either Bradl or Hayden are putting the pressure on him.

V5Stroker said:

Some rumor mongering said Spies to WSBK with factory BMW...next year..

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Well the motogp paddock does not look a happy place to be these days. Stoner had enough, Spies seems to have lost his sparkle and did you see Haydens face while he was on the grid. Not many look happy to be there these days.

1st motogp race this season that actually got my heart pumping. Install this system on every track.

Was an entertaining race, even if all the entertainment was for 2nd place!



Jorge was flawless, managed the lead like a pro.

I thought Vale was awesome, was nice to see him back where he belongs, shame he has to rely on pishy weather to be there tho! Really hope they sort that thing for dry conditions. Was quite interesting reading Vale and Caseys comments RE Jerez last year, they both thought about it and were both quite apprehensious. I know they hate each other but it was cool to see them shake hands on the cool down lap/podium...made me smile.

The Tech3 boys were entertaining, gutted they both decked it but fair play for pushing it!

Worried about Spies these days, i think his confidence must be shot, vicious circle...he better start screwing the nut or he's offski.

livewoutlimit said:

1st motogp race this season that actually got my heart pumping. Install this system on every track.

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I didnt see a battle for the front. Somebody asked if this was a classic, since when is a race for a podium a classic? What made it 'look' like a battle was simply the overshooting by Rossi at pass attempts, and we can chalk it up to wet conditions too. Qatar was a battle for the lead, the next two rounds were not "battles" in the passing sense, but there looked at least to be a challenge for the lead within a second. Le Mans was a wet race clinic by Lorenzo. As far as getting ur heart pumping, every wet race offers the possibility of crashes, so the unpredictability is inherent of wet races.

V5Stroker said:

Some rumor mongering said Spies to WSBK with factory BMW...next year..

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i think its better for both spies and nicky, and valentino actually, to move to wsbk. its the only place they can challenge for wins and championships, plus the much more relaxed atmosphere in the paddock... the upcoming moto2 guys will get their rides..