Well I haven’t had the stomach to comment on the post race thread because I was rather disappointed with Hayden’s performance. A few days have passed now, so I can muster the will to post my thoughts.
First of all, congrats to Stoner. He is the real deal. I can’t imagine what possibly could be said to detract from his performance. One only needs to look at his teammate, who surely is on the same 08 bike with ALL the factory support due to him. Notwithstanding, I think the following is the real story of this round: I was more impressed by Stoner’s patience and maturity rather than the win. He has become increasingly forbearing and sensible indicated by his management of the race, where as before he was hasty and impatient about having to lead in the first turn (i.e. Laguna 07). I think there is a frightening message here for the competitors--he is becoming stronger, faster, and more calculating. He’s becoming the machines from the movie Terminator—learning, adapting, and becoming more efficient by the moment. Scary, I know.
Lorenzo is very impressive (disclaimer: though I personally don’t like him as an individual). Obviously his pole position was backed up with an outstanding race performance. He was un-phased by Toeslands pass, and had no problem taking the position away from his teammate Rossi and fellow shitbird compatriot Padrosa. The Factory Yamahas will be the closest challenge to Stoner.
Pedrosa had a tremendous start and a good podium finish (disclaimer: he is still a shitbird anyway). I think he will be a regular on the podium, however, I think his number next year will be 3 or 4. I’m thinking his thoughts were, “...., Stoner now Lorenzo, and I still have to deal with Rossi?—damn!”
Dovizioso was also impressive, and that pass he made on Rossi is an indication that he intends to make an impact. Well he just did. Don’t know much about him, but I’m sure we will know a lot by the end of the season.
Rossi finished a respectable 5th place. I still think he will be a very close runner up this year (if not the champ). The tires blame-game should be dead now, however, it seems a new subtle form of bringing this up has crept into the dialog, “it was the set-up” that made the “tires” fall off. (Where is Babel, surely he can make a case it was a “tire issue” of some sort). But here is what I think. First of all, this is a unique track with its long flowing lines and lack of elevation, and that long straight will eventually take its toll. Lacking a true teammate to bounce data off certainly is not a good thing (though I’m not saying it’s a disadvantage). Rossi’s learning curve is extraordinary and he did very well on a new brand of tire (its not like he didn’t lead for a while). So I don’t think it had anything to do with tire performance, but rather how he managed the tire (which is a rider thing not a tire thing). However, I think this is a positive sign for him (again learning curve) because the next round should favor him. I’m predicting a win next round (that is, if Hayden doesn’t—save your comments).
James Toesland for me was the real hero of lead pack. Sure there were three rookies in this pack, but only one of them was a true “rookie” to the GP series. So I was much more impressed by his performance. The pass that he put on Lorenzo was a thing of beauty. It was clean enough yet he felt compelled to apologize—now that’s class. If anybody can claim being underpowered from the lead pack, its Toesland. He had to endure the frustration of making up all the time in the corners (where the real racing takes place) only to be blown away in that monster straight. I’m worried that the pass he made on Lorenzo stifled his enthusiasm to make a similar pass on Rossi. No doubt in my mind, he could have, and should have, taken the position from Valentino. But of course cooler heads prevailed. This can only mean that the factory will do something NOT to be embarrassed by the satellite teams (yeah, I said it, watch out how the factory reacts the rest of the season, remember boys and girls, these factories supply the customers, and Ducati last year didn’t take so kindly to Barros passing a factory bike in Mugello last year). Which leads me to my next thought…
Colin Edwards stayed at the tail end of the lead pack for the greater part of the race, which is uncharacteristic of his time as Rossi’s teammate. For me, there is something there to be uncovered. Edwards has endured a thrashing here by many as a sub-par rider, but never taking into account that he was the whipping boy for his teammate (despite anybody wanting not to believe it, I believe this was his reality). Now that he is on a satellite team, he is free from that grip, and frankly it showed in his performance. He managed to be a front row qualifier and backed it up with a respectable race performance. I think the calls for him going to the AMA are premature.
(INTERMISSION)
I’m gonna skip the rest of the finishers but mention a few, namely Capirossi and Hopkins, Melandri, and of course Hayden.
Capirossi’s bike and leathers look great. But the development of the Suzuki seems to have peaked last year. (I know it’s early, so lets hope I’m wrong).
Hopkins left a good team for a promise. It may seem like this was a mistake, but judging from the piss poor performance of the Suzukis, it wasn’t such a bad idea. However, he did have a poor showing on the bike that has promised him a great development effort (backed up by a great paycheck), but really lets not forget the guy’s balls are injured at the moment (growing injury). How well would you have done if you were riding around feeling like somebody had kicked you in the balls? Yeah, outch! So for now, I’ll wait and pass judgment next round.
Melandri is getting all the support he needs on a fully 08 spec bike; yet sill struggling to get to grips with the Ducati. I guess his remote control wasn’t working so well. Having said that, I don’t doubt he will improve. Which of course leads me to the following thought…
Hayden. Oh, Lord! First of all, I have to say that he has NOT performed well as a rider. He lacks adaptation to this increasingly narrow scope of bike type that is the 800s. So the blame must be squarely placed on him first. If in fact there are other riders out there on similar or identical bikes, then he must, without reservation beat them. Now then the question becomes, are other Honda riders on the same bike, yes and no? Hayden himself accepted responsibility and admitted he got the set-up wrong. So being that its rider’s responsibility, then we can say he screwed up. (He has accept as much too). It seems from the reports, that at least one of the Satellite Hondas was similar to his 07 spec bike. So if this is true, I can’t help but say Hayden’s performance has much to be desired. (Hard words to say from a mindless-cheerleading diehard fan, and obviously humble pie leaves a lump in my throat).
So then, having put the reproach on Hayden, the rider, it seems fair to also take a look at what, if any, factors have scaffold his poor performance. It seems bits and pieces of information have begun to surface that he was riding a previous generation bike, shipped in last minute, and perhaps may not have had “access” to the 08 spec bike. These report are just now surfacing, and I submit that it would be difficult to find a quote where Hayden himself admitting or casting any doubt on HRC and their level of commitment to his effort. But lets for a moment say for the sake of NOT sounding like a conspiracy theorist, that the report is ........ and that he really did have “access” to the 08 bike. Fine. Now why would a rider face the prospect of having to “pick” between a 07 spec vs. 08 spec bike? Are they that close in performance that a factory rider must choose between what is deemed the newest generation and a previous generation bike? (Consider for a moment if you are a fan of Rossi or Casey or Melandri if they would be asked to “pick” between the 07 vs. 08 spec bikes a day or two before the start of the season. What would be your reaction?) I read a member saying, yeah well that’s because Hayden did so poorly last year. Yes this is true, so then the question becomes, why? That is, why did he do so poorly last year and is there any culpability in the machine he rode? (He asked to go back to the 07 spec after PI, the race where he showed most promise, that is until the engine took a dump, but Honda were not willing to take that step at the moment so they waited until right before the season opener). Surely the bike he started off on and ended with in 07 were different, right? Well if this last minute debacle is any indication as to the level of factory support behind him, then really, a cast of doubt upon factory itself is certainly in order. (Of course, that may be because I’m a “bias” fan, but I ask you, a non-Hayden fan, do I have a point, or I’m I simply drowning in grief?)
Last thoughts: Rookies were amazing. The tire war is alive, for now.
