MotoGP back in action at Sepang Test

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (michaelm @ Feb 6 2010, 10:20 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>The flamminis were quoted in a recent article in the australian motorcycle press as saying they will sue if dorna attempts to bring any production based engine into motogp though.
They'll do it as well - just ask Peter Clifford, it's still fresh in his memory

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (michaelm @ Feb 6 2010, 10:20 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>Doesn't everyone post in such a situation?
No...I shudder to picture the scene in Pinky's hotel room.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (SackWack @ Feb 5 2010, 11:21 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>Hopefully Rossi loses to Lorenzo then he will come back hungrier than ever next season Only way to ensure that he stays in GP for another 2-3 seasons

I am not sure Sack… I think Rossi is as hungry as ever and wants to stay 2 or 3 more years ‘for sure’, biting Lorenzo would be a ‘great battle’ incentive, but I think Rossi is now considering new comers for that matter too. Then there is the ‘Most Wins All Time’ Record with 20 wins to go, on average of 7.7 wins per Season, makes 3 Seasons.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Arrabbiata1 @ Feb 6 2010, 04:06 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>Talpa, Valentino failed to win two championships in a row remember, and I would contend that he was still the best rider in Moto GP at the time. We tend to forget, that the margins between these guys is so incredibly close. On balance, Vale is still the greatest talent out there, and still has the edge....for now. We should celebrate the fact that although this accursed formula is so processional and divisive on track, there really isn't that great a gulf between the top four - soon to be five - riders in the championship

Not that we forget, but Rossi failed to win two championships having 5 Top Class Championships in the bag (+2 Lower Classes), not the same case I guess. This would back up and favor Rossi even after two failed attempts.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Talpa @ Feb 6 2010, 04:47 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>

Yeah....what was it that Tardozzi said again? Maybe somethings wrong with the timing devices!!!! CS couldn't be second, 0.5 off the pace?? Surely not, he is the best rider in Motogp

Cool talpa so when stoner is faster than rossi in practice in Qatar you'll concede that rossi is no longer the best rider will you?



























oh and rossi's still a cheat

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (lad @ Feb 7 2010, 03:49 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>oh and rossi's still a cheat
And you are still a troll.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (lad @ Feb 7 2010, 04:49 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>Cool talpa so when stoner is faster than rossi in practice in Qatar you'll concede that rossi is no longer the best rider will you?
Well, Stoner is the one who always want to dominate and has often been fastest i practice the recent years. Rossi on the other hand prefer to be fastest at the race, practice doesn't count, any led there is taken as a bonus.
No reason to believe he has changed his winning tactics, you stoner fans just has to hope that the arch angel is right and that Stoner is much more tactical now and actually is holding back these early days.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Babelfish @ Feb 7 2010, 10:15 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>Well, Stoner is the one who always want to dominate and has often been fastest i practice the recent years. Rossi on the other hand prefer to be fastest at the race, practice doesn't count, any led there is taken as a bonus.
No reason to believe he has changed his winning tactics, you stoner fans just has to hope that the arch angel is right and that Stoner is much more tactical now and actually is holding back these early days.
You are correct that it is hard if not impossible to argue that rossi is the best positioned, with unknown possible further performance up his sleeve. We can perhaps also console ourselves that stoner is closer to rossi than he was in practice for sepang last year.

As has been discussed there is an extra element this year in that it is uncertain what the state of engine tune is with the various bikes in testing ie how close to 6 engine per year engine preservation mode; it seems unlikely yamaha would present their two factory bikes with different states of engine tune so perhaps jorge of the championship contenders is the one with the most definite cause for concern.

I am clutching at straws as I suspect the engine tune for the various bikes was probably similar but this is a possible extra reason this year why testing may not necessarily be a guide to actual race performance .

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (inam @ Feb 7 2010, 12:07 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>And you are still a troll.

You are correct I am a troll who loves to get up the noses of you rossi ......s, but enough about me lets talk about the man in question:

tax cheat (millions needing to be payed to stay out of gaol)...check
rules cheat (team scrubs grid in qatar leading to ROF start penalty)...check
rules cheat (overtake on yellow phillip island leading to 10 second penalty)...check
voodoo cheat (puts "curse" on sete to never win a race again)...check
demolition derbi cheat (bashed sete off track jerez)...check
lookout ...... I'm rejoining the track here cheat (laguna)...check

Your worship I have nothing more to add

lad is just a .....

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (lad @ Feb 7 2010, 12:50 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>You are correct I am a troll who loves to get up the noses of you rossi ......s, but enough about me lets talk about the man in question:

tax cheat (millions needing to be payed to stay out of gaol)...check
rules cheat (team scrubs grid in qatar leading to ROF start penalty)...check
rules cheat (overtake on yellow phillip island leading to 10 second penalty)...check
voodoo cheat (puts "curse" on sete to never win a race again)...check
demolition derbi cheat (bashed sete off track jerez)...check
lookout ...... I'm rejoining the track here cheat (laguna)...check

Your worship I have nothing more to add

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (lad @ Feb 7 2010, 11:50 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>You are correct I am a troll who loves to get up the noses of you rossi ......s, but enough about me lets talk about the man in question:

tax cheat (millions needing to be payed to stay out of gaol)...check
rules cheat (team scrubs grid in qatar leading to ROF start penalty)...check
rules cheat (overtake on yellow phillip island leading to 10 second penalty)...check
voodoo cheat (puts "curse" on sete to never win a race again)...check
demolition derbi cheat (bashed sete off track jerez)...check
lookout ...... I'm rejoining the track here cheat (laguna)...check

Your worship I have nothing more to add
Unlucky, you fail miserably at getting up anyones nose because you are just a troll so nobody takes you seriously

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (lad @ Feb 7 2010, 05:50 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>You are correct I am a troll who loves to get up the noses of you rossi ......s, but enough about me lets talk about the man in question:

tax cheat (millions needing to be payed to stay out of gaol)...check
rules cheat (team scrubs grid in qatar leading to ROF start penalty)...check
rules cheat (overtake on yellow phillip island leading to 10 second penalty)...check
voodoo cheat (puts "curse" on sete to never win a race again)...check
demolition derbi cheat (bashed sete off track jerez)...check
lookout ...... I'm rejoining the track here cheat (laguna)...check

Your worship I have nothing more to add

Lets see:

Tax cheat! (Stupid accountant my guess and I don't know the real story)... Check!

Rules cheat? (ALL teams including Honda with Biaggi same race, used to scrubs grid not only in Qatar and Sete was afraid so he pull any way to get a bit of advantage because of fear)... Check!

Voodoo cheat? (Puts "curse" on "blindly religious believer" Gibernau to never win a race again, and fulfills it. With a scientist by theory, and non-believer Gibernau this would be void so why is it cheating?)... Check!

Rules cheat? (Overtake twice on yellow flag Phillip Island and Donington same year, leading to 10 second penalty which were applied, so Rossi fulfilled his punishment and still wan one race and got a second on the other, makes it legendary)... Check!


Demolition derby cheat? (Remember Rossi was on the inside and Gibernau was the one to hit because he could not believe Rossi was in there, so after Gibernau went off track at Jerez he cried like a puss)... Check!

Lookout sucker I'm rejoining the track here cheat? (500 meters before with a clean overtake by Rossi, Stoner elbowed at over 250Km/hr so at that speed getting back in line is tougth coming towards one of the toughest turns in the World at Laguna, so Stoner cheated first)... Check!

Check this last one out if you don't believe me! Check!

i am a stoner fan but mate you cannot argue against Rossi, he is a GOD! belive me i want Casey to win and tbh i think he will but say what you want about Rossi all your doing is making yourself less popular

back onto the subject .... i think that the Ducatis have to be careful, they put a lot of developement into the GP10 and the "big bang" engine and this could come back and bite them in the arse with the engine restrictions in the season. I expect that we wont see too many laps by Ducatis in practice nor quali espically in the hot humid races, this will hurt Hayden more than anybody you feel with him needing laps

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (rowles @ Feb 7 2010, 06:55 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>i think that the Ducatis have to be careful, they put a lot of developement into the GP10 and the "big bang" engine and this could come back and bite them in the arse with the engine restrictions in the season. I expect that we wont see too many laps by Ducatis in practice nor quali espically in the hot humid races, this will hurt Hayden more than anybody you feel with him needing laps

Or HAyden can say .... the rules and get his setup done. Then go out and try and win his best ra es at his best tracks taking the penalty at his worst tracks.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (michaelm @ Feb 7 2010, 08:08 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>You are correct that it is hard if not impossible to argue that rossi is the best positioned, with unknown possible further performance up his sleeve. We can perhaps also console ourselves that stoner is closer to rossi than he was in practice for sepang last year.

As has been discussed there is an extra element this year in that it is uncertain what the state of engine tune is with the various bikes in testing ie how close to 6 engine per year engine preservation mode; it seems unlikely yamaha would present their two factory bikes with different states of engine tune so perhaps jorge of the championship contenders is the one with the most definite cause for concern.

I am clutching at straws as I suspect the engine tune for the various bikes was probably similar but this is a possible extra reason this year why testing may not necessarily be a guide to actual race performance .

Judging by Colin and Ben's reaction to the new M1's engine, IMO Yamaha has a very, very good machine this year on the back of 2 strong development years with the best riders in Motogp.

CS only knows one speed-Flat out, discretion for the sake deluding his rivals is a highly unlikely scenario. Hes like Mick was, needs to be on top of the time sheets-always. We'll see what Ducati can come up with from here, however I feel they may be suffering from only having one rider at the sharp end, compared to Yamaha's 3.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Talpa @ Feb 7 2010, 09:43 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>CS only knows one speed-Flat out, discretion for the sake deluding his rivals is a highly unlikely scenario. Hes like Mick was, needs to be on top of the time sheets-always. We'll see what Ducati can come up with from here, however I feel they may be suffering from only having one rider at the sharp end, compared to Yamaha's 3.
No argument that rossi could not be looking better, and at this stage I have hope rather than expectation of stoner teing competitive with him when the races start; I don't think I need despair yet either though as he was faster than jorge on a bike perhaps more changed than the yamaha. I am not sure about the three riders vs one thing, especially where george is concerned if he is dual number one and not following team orders at least for the first part of the season, particularly if he has pissed rossi off enough for rossi to take risks to beat him. Ben I am sure at this stage of his career would ride to help rossi and could benefit rossi's cause as you say. I am surprised if you are implying 2 other top riders on yamahas will make rossi's own bike any faster; I certainly don't think he needs any help with development or set-up.

I would not argue that stoner's approach in 2008 and in most races in 2007 was not flat-out regardless, but he was not fastest in pre-season testing in 2007 despite riding what you and many others have argued was an invincible rocketship, suggesting he was either not showing his hand or that things improved with testing, which may still apply to early test results this year particularly with a radically different engine. Whether the new engine will suit him as well as the screamer engine did is another question.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (michaelm @ Feb 6 2010, 01:06 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>Whilst I wasn't among those to agree with tardozzi that stoner is currently the best rider in motogp, as you are well aware when not attempting to incite stoner fans world championships are not won by pre-season testing times particularly at one circuit, and this applies even to valentino. Stoner lost the world championships in 2008 and 2009 after mostly being the fastest in pre-season testing but wasn't fastest in 2007 pre-season testing even on the apparently unfair bike. It is my hope, and only a hope, that casey will be more strategic in his approach after his various vicissitudes and I thought he showed some signs of this on his return last year (other than in the valencia warm-up lap

).

As I said in the other thread valentino obviously looks to be in good shape whichever way you want to slice it, and it is possible that he and the bike are so fast he can't help but be 0.4 seconds faster than the field even holding back. However he did seem to want to dominate testing against his usual habit, and there may be something in what some are saying about him being partly motivated by a personal dislike of lorenzo and a wish to show him up. This is the only aspect where his apparent rivalry with lorenzo may help stoner; certainly I don't believe lack of access to jorge's data will trouble him. He did make more mistakes last year than is his wont however, particularly compared to 2008 when imo he rode as well as he and possibly anyone else has ever ridden. One interpretation is that jorge is so good that he challenged rossi more than anyone else ever has; my view is more that he can't stand to have jorge beat him even in an individual race particularly on "his" bike. Of course if by some chance stoner does start to look like a stronger rival than jorge, he may well re-focus.


<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Talpa @ Feb 6 2010, 06:39 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>Yes Indeed, and after not winning the last two championships, his boppers are still calling him the best rider in Motogp??? Hmmmmm

Speaking of the Valencia Warm up lap, maybe CS could take a leaf out of VR's PR book and use a special livery to highlight one of the most spectacular F-ups in Motogp I've ever seen, Donkeys been done though, maybe he could use the other end of the Donkey on his helmet and call himself 'The ...'............

Just a thought...!!

Talpa, your suggestion re accepting responsibility for the warm up lap is pretty poor. The crash was a result of a faulty tire warmer. The left side of the warmer was not working but the right was. So he went out with a stone cold left side of the tyre. Needless to say the supplier has one less contract.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (is200 @ Feb 8 2010, 05:23 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>Talpa, your suggestion re accepting responsibility for the warm up lap is pretty poor. The crash was a result of a faulty tire warmer. The left side of the warmer was not working but the right was. So he went out with a stone cold left side of the tyre. Needless to say the supplier has one less contract.
Thanks for that. I am not aware of any real explanation from stoner or ducati at the time, and recall a ducati spokesman saying that review of the warm-up lap strategy might be in order, but I did see something more recently from casey saying there was a problem without any great detail. I guess this still doesn't mean there is no risk to the strategy, but it would seem likely it has also contributed to his past success particularly on the 2007 "hard" bridgestone tyres only he could apparently utilise.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (is200 @ Feb 8 2010, 02:23 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>Talpa, your suggestion re accepting responsibility for the warm up lap is pretty poor. The crash was a result of a faulty tire warmer. The left side of the warmer was not working but the right was. So he went out with a stone cold left side of the tyre. Needless to say the supplier has one less contract.

Finally an explanation. Makes perfect sense to a rational person (a bopper will still find Stoner at fault) and I am suprised no-one made this suggestion as a possible cause.

Just shows that the smallest thing can upset a season and gives credit to the whole team being required to perform perfectly to get through a season mistake free. When you look at Rossi's career it has been so close to mistake free (comparative to others) over such a long stretch that the unison in which that team works must be phenominal. The confidence or trust that a rider has to have in each aspect of a team doing their job perfectly for them to go out and put it on the edge is awe inspiring to me. I remember Kropotkin sticking up for Elias and his career by highlighting the fact that he had been on a new team every year and never really achieving results until late in the season. When you look at one side of a tyre warmer not working results in a highside on a warm up lap it sort of makes you feel empathetic towards a rider like Elias who has never had the chance to build trust with a team for race one of a season.

I thought everyone knew about the tire warmer? Somebody on here pointed out the mechanics reaction to removing it.

I thought it was only the Rossifans in denial again LOLOLOL