Qatar MotoGP Race **SPOILER**

I agree with most of you... today's race had me on the edge of my seat. I kept thinking Rossi was going to pull it out, but alas, he didn't. We all know he was riding on the edge as he was putting his leg out over the last few laps. I am convinced that it was the lack of grunt from the Yamaha that lost it for him. To make up that much time in the tights and get spanked on the straight must have been frustrating for him.

Nonetheless, I can't begrudge Casey his win. It was indeed spot on. He rode a brilliant race. He won it fair and square.. he didn't necessarily outride Vale, but the Duc did outpower the M1 (thank you Captain Obvious!). The fact that he hung in there and didn't crash speaks volumes for him. I had him pegged as an asphalt jockey for the year.... I kinda hope he proves me wrong. His performances last year were fantastic....... right up until the crashes. I have learned to expect that from him, and that's the outcome I was sure I'd see today.

Hopper shined!! Good for him... another couple of weeks of healing, and he will be a force to be reckoned with in Jerez. It will be nice to see some of that Rizla Blue on the podium, and I dare say it's going to happen

I was sad to see Randy deP wad it up half way through. He has a lot of potential this year.... if he can keep the plastic off the pavement. (Before you all jump on me about Randy, please note that the attraction is purely physical, and he was all wrong for sitting in grid this morning with his leathers half unzipped).

Moving on, Loris will be in the mix in Jerez. He's a better rider than he showed today and I can't imagine he will be satisfied with letting Casey run off with it.

Can't wait 'till the next one!!!

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (HiMyNameIsDan @ Mar 11 2007, 07:38 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>why? why dya have to go being Caseys number 1 fan?? lol

haha .... i dont even have to comment back dan coz my dignity will still be intact come Valencia.

CONGRATS...STONEY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ran a great race from start to finish..Hats off to him.
And it was just as thrilling seeing HOPPER do battle for a podium,I hope its a sign of good things to come.I think it shows how much HOPPER has matured, two yrs ago he probably would had pushed too hard and crashed.Sad disappointment for the KENTUCKY KID,Im sure he'll be back in good form in JEREZ.bUT THE HATERS WILL HAVE FOR NOW.

Stoner rode the perfect race, fastest lap on the final lap of the race, he had Valentino covered the whole race. beating the 7 time champ must feel good.

I'm not sure why everyone expects Casey to crash, he's on a factory team with incredibly experienced engineers, now he's getting the support he didn't get from Honda last year. The guy proved last year he had great speed and he now has the direction from a great team to ensure his success.

Valentino and Stoner were a class above everyone else. I'd say it's Vales championship to lose. The Yamaha looks as good as 2005 and his consistency will prove the difference. Casey will be good, but will more than likely run into a few more problems here and there. Its the biggest problem with guys like Melandri and Hayden, their speed varies too much from race to race. Quite frankly I never expect Hayden or Melandri to win anything its always a surprise when they do.

Edwards is absolute ...! The guy always has an excuse, Vale knows he can hand Edwards all his data from practice, set the bike up and Edwards will find a way to fck it up.

No real surprises given the practice times, maybe John Hopkins. That guy rode so well, I was hoping for him to pull a Pedrosa on Pedrosa, damn!

Cant wait for round two.

Thumbs up for Stoner........great performance, great bike. If he continues his good work, he'll be the next threat to Vale & Dani. Yamaha and Honda engineers must be cracking their heads on what to do to achieve that kinda top speed.

Yay! Well done crashy! Absolutely AWESOME (and that word's not easy for an englishman to say ).
The second i saw the tyre selections i said there is no way anyone else but Rossi is going to win. He was already comfortable second and had obviously chosen the race plan so the tyres come good at the end (the second option he happily talked about prerace)
However NO! The plan didn't work. Casey was too quick - not only the bike though obviously it made the fighting part v Rossi easier: fly past on the ...

... straight without even thinking and not have to worry about finding a place to get by on the corners as he always get to the line first.
Are there any midcorner speeds recorded? Would be interesting to compare the top 2 as i also noticed the difference in throttle/break usage. Rossi was using the break a lot less than crashy. Crashy definitely riding more like an sbk rider than gp rider. Which makes me think Hayden would be much more suited to a ducati rather than having to turn into Pedrosa as ...

... long as he is at honda.

Exciting start to the season even though eurosport chose the worst point to have a break!

Sorry mates, you are right with Capirossi being in 5th when he crashed in front of Hayden being 9th (14 laps to go)… but De Puniet was 11th behind Hayden in 8th when he fell (15 laps to go)… and Checa was 9th also behind Hayden in 8th too (16 laps to go)… Meaning only One rider crashed in front of Hayden. Although Elias dropped down from 4th to 14th… So what comes out of it is that basically Hayden didn’t improve positions! (Two year contract at HRC?)…

On another matter… Underpowered Yamaha (Obvious), almost underpowered Honda (Got the Yamaha several times), Bloody Duke… can you imagine it with more stability? Like was mentioned before “Still has a tubular chassis”…

Great race, great riding by both in front, to make up for underpower with that riding is amazing, and to hold down that pressure (we all know what Rossi´s front wheel does in that matter) is amazingly as well… WOW & Congrats!

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (VHMP01 @ Mar 11 2007, 09:16 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>De Puniet was 11th behind Hayden in 8th when he fell (15 laps to go)… and Checa was 9th also behind Hayden in 8th too (16 laps to go)…

Nicky Hayden provided the on-board footage of Checa crashing from in front of him, but De puniet was chasing when he binned it.

Damn, I only got to see the first 4 laps, but still, I was immensely pleased to hear that Casey took it. That is why you keep the faith ladies and gents I knew he could do it, and I'm really glad he proved everyone wrong with the Crashey tag.
Also a great ride by Hopkins, could this be the first time a Suzuki has actually done in racing what its promised to do in testing?
And Colin Edwards..... Don't say I didn't tell you all

The Ducati was unbelievably fast down the straights!!

Nicky's main complaint with the new machine has mainly been the lack of front end feel. This may be caused by the weight distribution brought about when the went from v-5 to v-4. Add to that the fuel tank being moved further back, and you have a bike that Hayden finds difficult to ride. The reason that Pedrosa seems to be able to cope with this problem may stem from his riding style versus haydens style. Pedrosa coming from 250 gp's puts a premium on maintaining momentum and maximum corner speed. Hayden coming from his dirt track and superbike background uses the point and shoot technique. This is illustrated by the rear brake configuration on last years bike. Haydens rear brake was almost as large as the front. Dani seems to have adapted to the new Honda's weight bias more rapidly than his world champ counterpart. Hayden and Honda had better put their heads together in a hurry, if he has similar results then he may be in for a very frustrating season.

Casey Stoner! His win cant be due only because the Ducati is a rocket-ship. Part of his speed and not crashing is due in part to the lack of feel from his front Michelin's. He is with a factory team and is keen to prove that he is a legitemate threat to win this season. I think he has proven his critics wrong, so far. The other Ducati riders were nowhere in sight, so it cant just be the bike, the man is just fast and if he can keep the rubber-side down this will be an interesting season for sure.

The Yamaha riders of Valentino Rossi, and....Uhh, Valentino Rossi (not a typo) did well and started with decent points versus last year. I think we will see a newly focused and dedicated Rossi which will mean hard times ahead for everyone else. Casey Stoner was simply a man on a mission, and he was not to be denied.

The new smaller engines mean more real world power, and less emphasis on traction control. I think this will separate the truly gifted riders from those who were able to compete by virtue of the electronic crutch of t/c.

Motogp fans, whoever you root for we are all in store for a really competitive season of close racing. May the best racer (Valentino Rossi-take that jumkie-joking) win.

I'm sorry but I don't agree about it being a great race.

I am a huge fan of MotoGP but I think it's been ruined with the 800cc rule.

I don't want to take anything away from Stoners win, he did a great race concidering his form last year.

I feel now that MotoGP is going to be about who has the fastest bike, not who has the best bike control. It didn't matter if Rossi could pass Stoner because he could alway blast past on the finish line and win. I'd hate to think that it's going to end up like Formula 1!!!!

Will we ever see anymore of the slides into and out of bends??? And the noise...it's like listening to 2 strokes.

Good racing is hard to find in any motorsport these days but MotoGP had it and it made it the huge sport it is....how many times have you heard commentators say about F1 fans watching to see what real racing is about!!!

I just hope that the poor racing was due to the type of track. If it continues then they need to go back to bigger capacity. The rule change was to try and slow the bikes down, well it didn't, it just ruined the fun.

As for Hayden, I have never rated him, he can only win at Laguna where he rode all the time in AMA. I must admit he's the champion of excuses, but he's not in the top class of MotoGP. I think he should admit that his championship win was due to the misfortunes of someone else.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Tom @ Mar 11 2007, 03:31 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>Nicky Hayden provided the on-board footage of Checa crashing from in front of him, but De puniet was chasing when he binned it.

Sorry, I watched again... yeap, you are right. I was just looking at the 'Lap Chart' to figure it out before, Checa must have overtaken a bit before he fell... So it makes them two riders, sorry again!

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (ogunski @ Mar 11 2007, 02:32 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>Nicky's main complaint with the new machine has mainly been the lack of front end feel.
<snip>
Pedrosa coming from 250 gp's puts a premium on maintaining momentum and maximum corner speed.

Strange thing is that 250 and 125 riders need that front feel more than any. Maybe they adopt a better sensetivity to the front during theirt small bore period and adapt better when the front is vauge.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (ogunski @ Mar 11 2007, 07:32 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>Casey Stoner! His win cant be due only because the Ducati is a rocket-ship. Part of his speed and not crashing is due in part to the lack of feel from his front Michelin's. He is with a factory team and is keen to prove that he is a legitemate threat to win this season. I think he has proven his critics wrong, so far. The other Ducati riders were nowhere in sight, so it cant just be the bike, the man is just fast and if he can keep the rubber-side down this will be an interesting season for sure.

The Yamaha riders of Valentino Rossi, and....Uhh, Valentino Rossi (not a typo) did well and started with decent points versus last year. I think we will see a newly focused and dedicated Rossi which will mean hard times ahead for everyone else. Casey Stoner was simply a man on a mission, and he was not to be denied.

Stoner has proven the ‘crashy’ theory already; he has crashes in the Duke… But as I mentioned, not only overpowered Duke, Stoner took the pressure and held on, good for him!



<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Malcy @ Mar 11 2007, 11:42 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>I'm sorry but I don't agree about it being a great race.

I feel now that MotoGP is going to be about who has the fastest bike, not who has the best bike control. It didn't matter if Rossi could pass Stoner because he could alway blast past on the finish line and win. I'd hate to think that it's going to end up like Formula 1!!!!

Will we ever see anymore of the slides into and out of bends??? And the noise...it's like listening to 2 strokes.

Good racing is hard to find in any motorsport these days but MotoGP had it and it made it the huge sport it is....how many times have you heard commentators say about F1 fans watching to see what real racing is about!!!

I just hope that the poor racing was due to the type of track. If it continues then they need to go back to bigger capacity. The rule change was to try and slow the bikes down, well it didn't, it just ruined the fun.

As for Hayden, I have never rated him, he can only win at Laguna where he rode all the time in AMA. I must admit he's the champion of excuses, but he's not in the top class of MotoGP. I think he should admit that his championship win was due to the misfortunes of someone else.

Please don’t let it become Boremula 1!

Yeap, Rider skills is what makes the difference, so we should be asking for it, not evading or justifying it!

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Malcy @ Mar 11 2007, 06:42 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>I'm sorry but I don't agree about it being a great race.

< snip >
I just hope that the poor racing was due to the type of track. If it continues then they need to go back to bigger capacity. The rule change was to try and slow the bikes down, well it didn't, it just ruined the fun.

You can forget about the bigger capasity, that aera is gone. Besides, yes there was a huge power difference at this race, but that will not continue. As soon as the Yamaha is at a level where Rossi can compete with the ducs as ha did with the hondas this weekend he'll be ok. That will be possible allready at next race with a shorter smain straight. And lets face it. Rossi with as good equipment as the others are boring. his honda days must have been a nightmare for anyone but Rossi/Honda fans.
Also, this still doesn't look like F1 to me, where the race are decided in the pit and there is little or no overtaking.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (K.J. @ Mar 11 2007, 02:19 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>haha .... i dont even have to comment back dan coz my dignity will still be intact come Valencia.

you and dignity dont mix deary! its on, roll on Jerez already!!

youtube has a few clips now, for anyone this side of the pond who has not seen any yet....3 hrs to go till speed show it

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Babelfish @ Mar 11 2007, 12:47 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>Strange thing is that 250 and 125 riders need that front feel more than any. Maybe they adopt a better sensetivity to the front during theirt small bore period and adapt better when the front is vauge.

^^ I understand what you mean. Dani is on the same bike and he finished in third place . I am just quoting what Hayden has stated as his reason for not being in the mix of things during the race. Does this mean that Dani is better suited to riding the new 800cc machine? Hard to say time will tell, hopefully for Hayden he just had a bad race.