pablo wrote:
> Rossi showing why he rules these guys - it's not that he can always be
> faster, but he is always consistently fast enough to mess with their
> heads.
Rossi simply shouldn't have been racing with guys for this win - once
Stoner went down it should have been a cakewalk. But one thing to
consider is that they made some changes before the race in a rather
desperate attempt to close the gap to Stoner, failed, and that dropped
him into the grasp of slower guys - who also made changes, but ones that
worked. In MotoGP it's all about setup.
> Stoner to me shows that he is possessed by an intensity that drives
> him to excel, and then will predictably consume him. Now he is behind
> and will respond the only way he knows - by risking even more. Reminds
> me of how Rossi broke previous challengers - first Biaggi and then
> Gibernau, who in the end complied with being followers (I am aware
> neither of them won a title..).
Oh, please, do we have hear the "Rossi breaks another one" crap every
time someone makes a mistake and/or Rossi wins? Off the top of my head I
can list three things that might be behind Stoner's crash, assuming it
was sourced in his head:
1) The Rossi psych.
2) The pressure of a job perhaps in jeopardy, after the Marlboro-Lorenzo
situation last year during Casey's summer vacation, and the feeling he
has something to prove.
3) A tendency to always run too close to the knife's edge, and
occasionally to step over. Something we saw him do in 2005 while
fighting Pedrosa in 250, and in 2006, when he crashed out of races
something like a half-dozen times.
Given the circumstances today, I think #1 comes in #3...
> Fantastic race by Hayden, *and* what amounts to a big warning shot by
> Spies. When a newbie on a second team can still be as safely predicted
> to land amonf the top 5, wow, wait until they give him the bike and
> support he deserves. Future world champion.
Note to Pablo - he's already a world champion. And moreso than Pedrosa
or Lorenzo. Yes, a good start, but now it gets a lot tougher, he doesn't
see a track he's been on again until the end of June at Assen, and one
he's been on on a MotoGP bike until July at Laguna. Losail is a track he
raced on last year and won both races, and tested on last month, so a
fairly optimal situation for him. On the other hand, he did finish less
than 4 seconds behind Rossi, and look at his lap times - his best was
only bettered by Aliens Stoner, Rossi and Lorenzo, and the latter two by
less than .05 second; his five best laps were better than anyone else's,
and his times from lap 12 thru 18 were all 56.33 or better.
What these guys show is what being in the right situation will do in
MotoGP. Hayden is out from under the Pedrosa-Puig midget strategy at
Repsol, has finally worked through the adjustment to the Ducati and
assumedly given them a reality check and feedback sufficient to fix the
bike, fixed his team and has become acclimated with them, and now he is
starting to show what he can do. For Spies, Team Techsas is about
perfect, not the pressurized seat next to Rossi but on the best bike in
the series, on a team that welcomes him and as importantly his guys,
with a perfect teammate, and at a time when Spec tires and 3-race motors
make the satellite equipment as close as it's ever been. I don't think
these two give up anything to the aliens, except the right background,
passport, influence, and size. So they have no chance unless the other
stuff is right enough.
> Lorenzo a predictable follower. Dovizioso starts the rearrangement of
> the Honda garage as Pedrosa continues to look for excuses... I simply
> don't think he still wants to be there anymore. He is Criville, but
> without a title.
For Lorenzo this was a great result, given his thumb. To finish 2nd and
only a second behind Rossi, fantastic. Pedrosa gave it some fight, but
his pace simply wasn't there, which we all knew going in. Let's see if
he figures out the Ohlins stuff before trashing him entirely. If Dovi
can do what he did tonight, and de Puniet as well, then there's hope for
Dani as well.
> Edwards 16s behind the newcomer... that's another garage that is being
> rearranged.
I think there's a reasonable chance that both sides of that garage will
be different next year, if Spies moves up to the Fiat (or whatever)
team. One has to believe that if Ducati doesn't re-sign Hayden, this is
where he's headed. Unless he's headed for Fiat instead of Spies, perhaps.
> Melandri.. yikes. Does the Gresini Honda really suck so much, or is
> it just that Melandri and Simoncelli are now doubting themselves...
Melandri gets into a funk more quickly and with more commitment than
anyone in that paddock, and he's showing it again. But remember where he
was with the new chassis at the start of 2006 and how soon after that he
was a race winner. So it all could change. I actually thought Simoncelli
did okay tonight, considering where he's been. 32 seconds off the winner
isn't a total embarrassment in MotoGP by any means.
> A matter worth discussing on the Moto2 front... who the heck is
> Tomizawa? Didn't he hear the Euromeds were supposed to rule this class
> with an iron hand...? How dare he... :-D
I was a little disappointed with this first race, but they are picking
up the pace some, and there was some good fighting. It'll get better, I
think, but they really need some SS/SB blood in that class instead of
all that 125/250 stuff. And another 15-20 horsepower...
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> faster, but he is always consistently fast enough to mess with their
> heads.