MotoGP: 2016 Round 18 - Gran Premio Motul de la Comunitat Valenciana (SPOILERS)

Weekend Weather looks Sunny and in Low 20s....so should be fine for racing....

FP1

1 99 Jorge LORENZO SPA Movistar Yamaha MotoGP YAMAHA 1'31.045
2 46 Valentino ROSSI ITA Movistar Yamaha MotoGP YAMAHA 1'31.432
3 93 Marc MARQUEZ SPA Repsol Honda Team HONDA 1'31.442
4 4 Andrea DOVIZIOSO ITA Ducati Team DUCATI 1'31.532
5 44 Pol ESPARGARO SPA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 YAMAHA 1'31.785
6 25 Maverick VIÑALES SPA Team SUZUKI ECSTAR SUZUKI 1'31.926
7 41 Aleix ESPARGARO SPA Team SUZUKI ECSTAR SUZUKI 1'31.942
8 43 Jack MILLER AUS Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS HONDA 1'32.155
9 45 Scott REDDING GBR OCTO Pramac Yakhnich DUCATI 1'32.212
10 29 Andrea IANNONE ITA Ducati Team DUCATI 1'32.265 12 21
11 8 Hector BARBERA SPA Avintia Racing DUCATI 1'32.285
12 26 Dani PEDROSA SPA Repsol Honda Team HONDA 1'32.453
13 9 Danilo PETRUCCI ITA OCTO Pramac Yakhnich DUCATI 1'32.479
14 35 Cal CRUTCHLOW GBR LCR Honda HONDA 1'32.576
15 53 Tito RABAT SPA Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS HONDA 1'32.637
16 6 Stefan BRADL GER Aprilia Racing Team Gresini APRILIA 1'32.845
17 19 Alvaro BAUTISTA SPA Aprilia Racing Team Gresini APRILIA 1'32.924
18 38 Bradley SMITH GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 YAMAHA 1'33.056
19 68 Yonny HERNANDEZ COL Pull & Bear Aspar Team DUCATI 1'33.161
20 50 Eugene LAVERTY IRL Pull & Bear Aspar Team DUCATI 1'33.349
21 76 Loris BAZ FRA Avintia Racing DUCATI 1'33.506
22 36 Mika KALLIO FIN Red Bull KTM Factory Racing KTM 1'33.985

Seems like Rabat has forgotten his place in the usual order of things.

Fenrir2016 said:

Seems like Rabat has forgotten his place in the usual order of things.

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He probably just got up on the wrong side of bed.

Circuit Information

LENGTH: 4.0 km / 2.49 miles
CORNERS: 9 left - 5 right
WIDTH: 12 m. / 39.37 ft.
LONGEST STRAIGHT: 876 m. / 2874.02 ft.
Laps: 30
Total distance: 120.2 km - 74.7 miles

Weather courtesy of Weather.com


The Sound of MotoGP

EXTERIOR: A European countryside manor. The stone walled building overlooks the moonlit ribbon of a racetrack.

INTERIOR: Inside the manor, the assembled pit crews mill around the refreshments table. Just as Colin Edwards goes to spike the punch, a gentle tune wafts across the crowd. The riders begin to sing as they enter the room.

RIDERS: There's a sad song a singing from the timing clock on the wall, and the bell in the steeple too. And down in the garage an absurd little bird, is popping out to say, "Cuckoo."

IANNONE: Cuckoo! CUCKOO!

RIDERS: Regretfully they tell us, the racing schedule it compels us, to say, "Goodbye," to you....



RIDERS: So long, fare well, auf wiedersehen, good night.

MARC: I have to go, and take this pretty sight... of my trophy, because I'm champion.

NARRATOR: Marquez knows that he doesn't even have to race this weekend to be honest. He's just in it for the fans, you know? He was leading in Australia, gapped the field and then just did mic drop and walked off track to hang with the grid girls. He's done 3rd, 2nd and 1st the past three years. Can't get any higher than first so....

KEY TO VICTORY: Don't crash! Effin' A, we know the fans nick named you after an incredibly self destructive comic book character but you don't have to prove them right!



RIDERS: So long, farewell auf wiedersehen, adieu.

ROSSI: Adieu. Adieu. To you (at Marc), and you (at Cal), and you! (at...)

NARRATOR: Rossi's done well these past few races, but he has struggled to take the top step. This weekend might be the last race but it's also the time when several people are going to try to make a statement. Rossi is going to want to put the young whippersnappers in their place. Still, this is home turf for the youngins, so if the old man wants to get them off the lawn he'll need a lot more than a hose and a bad attitude.

KEY TO VICTORY: Marquez playing Superman should get him on the podium after a 4th, 2nd and 4th recently. Lorenzo being on the 2006 M1 990 should also open up a place. Dani being so light that he might blow away and not getting heat into the Michelins... Rossi might just take this!



RIDERS: So long, farewell, au revoir, auf wiedersehen.

MAV: I think I'll stay, and taste my first champagne.... for Yamaha!

NARRATOR: Maverick has had a dream season so far. He proved that for all the flack he took on the net, Schwartz still knows a thing or two about the sport when he said that the Suzuki GSM was better than most people thought and capable of winning. Now, for his last race for the marque, he is going to want to keep it all in one piece first so that he can make the most of the off season test. Now I'd say something about his previous record here but he wasn't on a real bike then so nobody cares.

KEYS TO VICTORY: Marc playing superman. Lorenzo on... did we do this already?

There is another verse, but the Lorenzo joke writes itself. So...

KTM is further back than I expected. A top notch rider is worth 6-8 tenths. , leaving the bike itself over 2 seconds off pace. If they can't cut that gap to the mid to high 1's with Kallio in the upcoming days, it will be a long time if ever before they compete at the front

povol said:

KTM is further back than I expected. A top notch rider is worth 6-8 tenths. , leaving the bike itself over 2 seconds off pace. If they can't cut that gap to the mid to high 1's with Kallio in the upcoming days, it will be a long time if ever before they compete at the front

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Perhaps Kallio is also off schedule, we will see the real gap on Tuesday.

Daniboy said:

Perhaps Kallio is also off schedule, we will see the real gap on Tuesday.

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Like I said, a top rider, which KTM will not have in my opinion, is worth 7-8 tenths. Smith and PE won't be a second faster than MK

povol said:

Like I said, a top rider, which KTM will not have in my opinion, is worth 7-8 tenths. Smith and PE won't be a second faster than MK

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I think Kallio is minus even back of grid riders abilities, Bradley and Pol will be much faster, they're used to the tyres, electronics, racing speed etc. Kallio is a ex gp back of grid turned test rider, no contest.

I will be interested to see if the mental issues/poor effort attributed to Jorge all season resolve with Michelin now apparently coming to the party with a high edge grip tyre which suits him.

povol said:

KTM is further back than I expected. A top notch rider is worth 6-8 tenths. , leaving the bike itself over 2 seconds off pace. If they can't cut that gap to the mid to high 1's with Kallio in the upcoming days, it will be a long time if ever before they compete at the front

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They have no mapping data, dialing .... in FFS give em a chance

povol said:

KTM is further back than I expected. A top notch rider is worth 6-8 tenths. , leaving the bike itself over 2 seconds off pace. If they can't cut that gap to the mid to high 1's with Kallio in the upcoming days, it will be a long time if ever before they compete at the front

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2 seconds off is not bad... who knows how much data they have with this set up on this track, and Kallio is not really on the same level as the rest of the guys on track, and I am sure he was being very careful with the bike.

Cold temps in FP1 and didn't see them come out in FP2 so will see how they go today.

lil red rocket pilot said:

They have no mapping data, dialing .... in FFS give em a chance

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We'll see how the KTM goes in the Valencia test during the week, will be a good indicator of the bikes performance when the new riders pilot it.

They have already tested at the Valencia track before so they would already have settings and data for this track, but with different tyres I'd imagine which is the same case for all the teams at almost every round this season.

Looks like Lorenzo is on track (sorry for the pun) for a great send off to Yamaha. I thought he might end up just cruising it home to avoid risking any injury for his first taste of the Ducati but he is giving them a good shot at the constructors championship with his form in practice so far.

The Burning Barber said:

Looks like Lorenzo is on track (sorry for the pun) for a great send off to Yamaha. I thought he might end up just cruising it home to avoid risking any injury for his first taste of the Ducati but he is giving them a good shot at the constructors championship with his form in practice so far.

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I think he wants to show them they've made a mistake by letting him go. I would like to see him win.

Btw...I heared Yamaha was giving him a 9mil/year contract, Rossi was offered 8. Ducati ended up winning by spilling 12M.

I still don't think it was about the cash, he would've stayed with Yamaha if Rossi had retired. I think anyone would. It's still the best bike out there and Lorenzo is only happy (or rather tolerable) when he is winning.

Vinales and or the Suzuki are seriously quick. It will be interesting to see how they go next year without the concessions. I think they will be just as strong, I see no reason to think otherwise. Its a very strong bike for its second season concessions or not. I wonder if the KTM will be as strong after 2 seasons.

AJV80 said:

Vinales and or the Suzuki are seriously quick. It will be interesting to see how they go next year without the concessions. I think they will be just as strong, I see no reason to think otherwise. Its a very strong bike for its second season concessions or not. I wonder if the KTM will be as strong after 2 seasons.

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I think it's a good sign that Suzuki are now so 'competitive' that they are no longer eligible for the concessions. It's a shame Maverick is jumping ship though.

Wow, Lorenzo, 3 runs and 3 pole records, he will win tomorrow if he gets to turn one first, he's gonna miss the Yamaha.

Daniboy said:

Wow, Lorenzo, 3 runs and 3 pole records, he will win tomorrow if he gets to turn one first, he's gonna miss the Yamaha.

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Great run for sure....though it looks like MM wants the win as much as JLo does, I expect Jorge wont have it all his own way tomorrow....

MigsAngel said:

Great run for sure....though it looks like MM wants the win as much as JLo does, I expect Jorge wont have it all his own way tomorrow....

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Rossi might have something to say too, hopefully it will be a good race. I'm regretting not being there for the first time in years.