SPOILER MotoGP Qatar

[russell_bynum]

With the exception of Dovizioso roughing up Rossi a bit in the last few laps, it was another snoozefest.

 

When's the next World Superbike race??

[Deadboy]

Stoner is the man....my hat is off to Ducati....even with the entire off season it looks like no one can even come close.

[russell_bynum]

Stoner is the man....my hat is off to Ducati....even with the entire off season it looks like no one can even come close.

 

 

Put your hat back on...the other Ducati still hasn't finished.

 

You're right about Casey, though...he's definitely the man.

[JerryMather]

Stoner is the man....my hat is off to Ducati....even with the entire off season it looks like no one can even come close.

 

 

Put your hat back on...the other Ducati still hasn't finished.

 

You're right about Casey, though...he's definitely the man.

 

I told you guys last year, he's the real deal and he may be up on top for awhile, we'll just have to see, there's pretty of time for the others to make adjustments and put the hex on him.

[Whip]

I think I've seen that same race before.....what ...bout 9 maybe 10 times last year.

 

 

Next time I'll do the dishes and let Louise watch the race.

[ericfoerster]

I may have to become a Stoner fan and see if I can reverse this trend

[BabyCow]

Tough crowd. Pedrosa off the line like he was fired out of a cannon....... straight down. Pedrosa is making his Honda go fast....so what is Hayden's problem. Does he have the same bike as Pedrosa? Lorenzo is fast and consistent straight away. Rossi is on Bridgestone's now so what is his next excuse Rumours have been circulating that his prefential treatment by Michelin i.e. given sole use of special Michelin tyres gave him an advantage all these years. I really thought after qualifying Edwards would be more competitive. Slightly disappointed for him. I believe Melandri was fastest down the main straight at 323 km/h......so where was he? Well done Toseland. Not sure whether he has "it" but good luck to him. I thought it was great racing for about 2/3's of the laps and then the WORLD CHAMPION/best bike/best package/best rider cleared off. One race does not make a season......but I would like to be C.Stoner riding a Ducati at the moment. How is my bet looking Jerry

[red1]

Regarding the race being a snoozefest, I think I would disagree. Stoner did not lead from start to finish, in fact the lead changed hands several times in the first half of the race. With several newcomers to the class doing well, and lots of changes from last year, there were plenty of points if interest in the race. I guess after being a fan for many years, I still find watching people racing motorcycles on a roadracing course at over 300 kmh a thrill. I can't wait for Indy!

[russell_bynum]

Tough crowd. Pedrosa off the line like he was fired out of a cannon....... straight down. Pedrosa is making his Honda go fast....so what is Hayden's problem.

 

Dani got an absolutely killer start and definitely got the most from the bike. I don't know if he and Nicky are on the same bike right now or not. There was talk of giving both of them the 2007 bike (the one the satellite teams are running), but I don't know if that actually happened, or what they decided to run in the race.

 

I thought it was great racing for about 2/3's of the laps and then the WORLD CHAMPION/best bike/best package/best rider cleared off. One race does not make a season......but I would like to be C.Stoner riding a Ducati at the moment.

 

The first third of the race was quite interesting. From there it was downhill, and once Casey got the lead, that's all she wrote.

 

One thing I did notice, though...Stoner was not the fastest guy down the front straight.

[Boffin]

After having almost no pre-season training due to injury, Dani asked for, and got, the 2007 bike to dial himself in. He did seven laps on it then switched back to the 2008 bike which he raced. Nicky, seeing the improvement Dani got when he first sat on the 07, also switched to the '07 but stuck with it, including the race.

 

Fuel was a huge issue at Qatar, with several riders (including Stoner and Pedrosa) running out on the slow-down lap. The older Yamahas with the valve-spring engines, as ridden by Toesland and Edwards use more fuel then the 08 bike and had to be leaned off a lot more then the new engines, thus robbing them of a lot of power and straight-line speed. Ducati seemed to use the lean fuel map at the start of the race, switching to the richer fuel map at the end, whilst the other teams looked to be doing the opposite.

 

There was a heck of a lot of interest when you knew about the backround.

 

Oh, and the 125 race was a stunner.

 

Andy

[BMT]

... it was another snoozefest.

It was pretty good here. You folks need to get some decent tv coverage, so you know what's going on in the background -- see Andy's post. What do you want, a control tyre?

When's the next World Superbike race??

Speaking of control tyres.

 

If you really can't get into MotoGP, give over whining and let the rest of us enjoy it.

[BabyCow]

Wow Nick

[JerryMather]

One race does not make a season......but I would like to be C.Stoner riding a Ducati at the moment. How is my bet looking Jerry

Bask in their glory .......... three races and three Aussies are #1 right now.

 

Personally, I thought the race was pretty interesting with the new guard taking it to their hero's big time and the ending wasn't unlike the days when Rossi was on top of the heap, with the exception of not having guys like Sete or Biaggi sucking on his exhaust pipe.

 

Stoner and Ducati are just a lot better at race management, IMO. It took him a few laps to make his way through the pack and then string a few very fast laps together in order to put some distance between the top ten guys and stay out there in front.

 

Dani's hole shoot was unbelievable. And there were more than a couple position changes that were rather exciting.

 

Why you guys don't get as excited with what Stoner has done, as you used to when MotoGP was called the Rossi Show is kinda strange to me.

This is a Hollywood screenplay in the making. A small manufacture that almost went down the tubes financially a few years ago, hires a young kid that can't stay upright on a race bike during the races and now they've taken on the giant motorcycle manufactures that have been holding all the cards for a very long time with tons of money to throw at this series and they're kicking their butts. Not just once or twice but all last season and maybe this one too.

 

If you don't like it ........... maybe you should turn the channel and check out NASCAR on Sunday's instead.

[russell_bynum]

Personally, I thought the race was pretty interesting with the new guard taking it to their hero's big time and the ending wasn't unlike the days when Rossi was on top of the heap, with the exception of not having guys like Sete or Biaggi sucking on his exhaust pipe.

 

Yep...the first third of the race was quite interesting in that regard. I loved that scuffle between Toesland and I think it was Lorenzo...trading paint like he was back in WSBK.

 

 

Stoner and Ducati are just a lot better at race management, IMO. It took him a few laps to make his way through the pack and then string a few very fast laps together in order to put some distance between the top ten guys and stay out there in front.

 

Yep...there's no question that Casey and his team have this thing dialed.

 

Dani's hole shoot was unbelievable. And there were more than a couple position changes that were rather exciting.

 

Absolutely.

 

 

Why you guys don't get as excited with what Stoner has done, as you used to when MotoGP was called the Rossi Show is kinda strange to me.

 

I couple of things about that...

What we saw yesterday was very much like what we saw from Rossi back in I think it was 2003 when he'd start on hard tires, run in the middle of the front group for a while, then gradually pull away and win the race by a big margin. That wasn't good racing either.

 

When Rossi had actual competition (Max, and to a lesser degree, Sete), we had good racing.

 

How about '06 when you never knew who was going to win from race to race, and there were several races when there were a handful of guys who had a real chance of winning right up until the very end. That's good racing.

 

 

 

This is a Hollywood screenplay in the making. A small manufacture that almost went down the tubes financially a few years ago, hires a young kid that can't stay upright on a race bike during the races and now they've taken on the giant motorcycle manufactures that have been holding all the cards for a very long time with tons of money to throw at this series and they're kicking their butts. Not just once or twice but all last season and maybe this one too.

 

Don't get me wrong...I think that's great.

 

But at the end of the day, what I want most of all is good racing. I want nail-biting, edge-of-the-chair, not knowing who's going to win until the very end, paint-trading, fairing bashing, bar-to-bar racing. We got that for the first 1/3 of yesterday's race, then Casey got the lead and controlled the rest of the race.

 

If you don't like it ........... maybe you should turn the channel and check out NASCAR on Sunday's instead.

 

I just want to see good racing. If I could get that with NASCAR, that's what I'd watch.

[russell_bynum]

It was pretty good here. You folks need to get some decent tv coverage, so you know what's going on in the background -- see Andy's post.

 

Yes, we do need better coverage here, but fuel management isn't interesting racing.

 

 

If you really can't get into MotoGP, give over whining and let the rest of us enjoy it.

 

A couple of things there:

1. I was into MotoGP when it was great racing. Obviously it is too early to judge this season, but if we're going to have a whole season like this race (which is to say another season like last year), then I probably won't be watching it anymore.

 

2. It's OK for people to complain about surging, final drives, bad dealer experiences, tire wear, tire prices, expensive maintenance, poor color choices, ugly styling, bikes that are too complicated, gas that's too expensive, etc...but I can't say I wish we had better racing to watch?

[BMT]

'morning!

 

2. It's OK for people to complain about surging, final drives, bad dealer experiences, tire wear, tire prices, expensive maintenance, poor color choices, ugly styling, bikes that are too complicated, gas that's too expensive, etc...but I can't say I wish we had better racing to watch?

You can be offered an opinion the same as the other complainers are -- that's what they are/it is like, deal with it or change brand.

 

Towards the end of last season, you said that MotoGP should be a straightforward no-holds-barred technofest. What would you do to improve the viewer experience, other than introducing some sort of limitation? Performance of a given bike, rider and team combination is usually cyclical and it's only when the respective talents and abilities sit in the right conjunction that we get a spectacular season. All things must change.

 

Nothing personal, of course, but to start your commentary on the season with "With the exception of Dovizioso roughing up Rossi a bit in the last few laps, it was another snoozefest.", was always going to bring a response from someone. I am he.

 

It's far too soon to write off the season. At least the rest of the year will be without that terrible floodlighting.

[ghaverkamp]

At least the rest of the year will be without that terrible floodlighting.

 

I loved the lighting.

[Deadboy]

+1

 

The lighting was amazing....

[russell_bynum]

Towards the end of last season, you said that MotoGP should be a straightforward no-holds-barred technofest. What would you do to improve the viewer experience, other than introducing some sort of limitation? Performance of a given bike, rider and team combination is usually cyclical and it's only when the respective talents and abilities sit in the right conjunction that we get a spectacular season. All things must change.

 

Yep.

 

And I'm fully aware that my two goals for MotoGP (no-holds-barred techno development and "great racing") don't really go together.

 

It's far too soon to write off the season.

 

Absolutely. I'm not writing the season of based on one race. I'm just saying...that race wasn't very interesting after the first 8 laps and if that's what the rest of the season is going to be like, then that's not a good thing.

[russell_bynum]

+1

 

The lighting was amazing....

 

It did make the colors stand out, that's for sure.

 

 

Photo from SuperBike Planet

[Todd_Z1]

Zzzzzzzzz.....puh puh....slubber....zzzzzzz.....grmmrhuh..puh.puh...zzzzzzz...wah? Who won? Stoner? Yeah, good on him! Was it close? No? Hrumph! Where was I? Zzzzzzzzzzz.

 

Cheers!

[Joe Frickin' Friday]

+1

 

The lighting was amazing....

 

It did make the colors stand out, that's for sure.

 

 

Photo from SuperBike Planet

 

[Boffin]

+1

 

The lighting was amazing....

 

It did make the colors stand out, that's for sure.

 

 

Photo from SuperBike Planet

 

 

Hmmph, global warming, hmphh

[Shawnee Bill]

I've been watching a lot of different types of racing at a lot of different levels for a lot years now. What I've noticed is that the best racing is rarely at the front, watch the dicing for 4-8th places, that's racing. Granted, those guys are lacking something the first few places have so they have to make up by pushing what they have to the limit, each one having some advantage at different sections of the track and fighting for every inch.

 

Of course I'm kind of getting to like Stoner so it was good for me.

 

Or the Daytona Supercross, now that was fun

[mbelectric]

 

Or the Daytona Supercross, now that was fun

 

Except for Chad Reed...Now that was sad..

 

The Daytona "Soupbowl Cross"

[JerryMather]

I've been watching a lot of different types of racing at a lot of different levels for a lot years now. What I've noticed is that the best racing is rarely at the front, watch the dicing for 4-8th places, that's racing. Granted, those guys are lacking something the first few places have so they have to make up by pushing what they have to the limit, each one having some advantage at different sections of the track and fighting for every inch.

 

Of course I'm kind of getting to like Stoner so it was good for me.

 

That's the way I look at it. A lot of the great racing has been behind the race leaders and IMO, it's been very entertaining to watch.

 

Of course, it looks even better when my boy's in RED are way up front and thinking about what's for dinner instead of swatting those flea's that are trying to take a bite of them!

[markgoodrich]

After having almost no pre-season training due to injury, Dani asked for, and got, the 2007 bike to dial himself in. He did seven laps on it then switched back to the 2008 bike which he raced. Nicky, seeing the improvement Dani got when he first sat on the 07, also switched to the '07 but stuck with it, including the race.

 

Fuel was a huge issue at Qatar, with several riders (including Stoner and Pedrosa) running out on the slow-down lap. The older Yamahas with the valve-spring engines, as ridden by Toesland and Edwards use more fuel then the 08 bike and had to be leaned off a lot more then the new engines, thus robbing them of a lot of power and straight-line speed. Ducati seemed to use the lean fuel map at the start of the race, switching to the richer fuel map at the end, whilst the other teams looked to be doing the opposite.

 

There was a heck of a lot of interest when you knew about the backround.

 

Oh, and the 125 race was a stunner.

 

Andy

 

Excellent points, Andy; we'll not be getting good TV coverage any time soon, though. MotoGP.com and Crashnet don't really provide much information either. Is there a website you could recommend that might broaden our perspective/

 

The fuel map change suggested (lean to rich) by Stoner clarifies the way he ran the race. Vale's still my hero, my prejudice against Ducati in WSBK bleeds over into MGP, which it shouldn't (just as my prejudice against Suzuki in the U. S. faux SBK series bleeds over into WSB and MGP), but there's no question Stoner's the real deal. Toseland will be at the front as soon as he gets a little air in his valves.

[russell_bynum]

Toseland will be at the front as soon as he gets a little air in his valves.

 

That wouldn't suprise me at all.

 

I'd also look to see Pedrosa (and hopefully Nicky) up there once Honda gets their pneumatic valve engine working. The 2008 chassis seems to be pretty good, and if Pedrosa can get on the podium with it with the old engine duct-taped into it, then imagine what he can do with it with the right engine.

 

I was disappointed by Meladri's performance. Marco is a better rider than his finishing order suggested. Hopefully he figures out the bike soon so he can be up there fighting for the lead as well.

[Boffin]

The UK TV coverage is provided by Eurosport, the web link I use is here. There is the usual amount of news and a few videos. This site is biased to UK viewers, there is also an international site here.

 

Andy

[Joe Frickin' Friday]

 

Hmmph, global warming, hmphh

 

5.5 megawatts for the lighting, from what I've been reading.

[steve.foote]

5.5 megawatts for the lighting, from what I've been reading.

 

That's a lot of electricity, though probably no biggie for a place where gas is ten cents a gallon.

 

The lighting was quite impressive. The bikes stood out much more than during daylight. It is, however, unfortunate that even though Speed listed the race as High Definition, it wasn't. Maybe after we've been to Mars and back.

[motoguy128]

I've been watching a lot of different types of racing at a lot of different levels for a lot years now. What I've noticed is that the best racing is rarely at the front, watch the dicing for 4-8th places, that's racing. Granted, those guys are lacking something the first few places have so they have to make up by pushing what they have to the limit, each one having some advantage at different sections of the track and fighting for every inch.

 

 

I agree. The few amature level motorcycle races I've watched, the best racing was often midpack. The one not going for glory or impressing a sponser, but just having a great time.

[IanW]

Mark

Check out this site:

www.motogp.com

Ian

[BabyCow]

Race Top Speeds:

 

1. Marco Melandri (Ducati), 207.8 mph

2. Casey STONER (Ducati), 205.4 mph

3. Toni ELIAS (Ducati), 204.1 mph)

4. Valentino (Yamaha), 202.7 mph

5. Dani PEDROSA (Honda), 202.3 mph

6. Sylvain GUINTOLI (Ducati), 201.6 mph

7. Jorge LORENZO (Yamaha), 201.0 mph

8. James TOSELAND (Yamaha), 200.3 mph

9. Chris VERMEULEN (Suzuki), 200.0 mph

10. Loris CAPIROSSI (Suzuki), 199.6 mph

11. Randy DE PUNIET (Honda), 198.9 mph

12. John HOPKINS (Kawasaki), 198.1 mph

13. Colin EDWARDS (Yamaha), 197.9 mph

14. Nicky HAYDEN (Honda), 197.7 mph

15. Anthony WEST (Kawasaki), 197.3 mph

16. Andrea DOVIZIOSO (Honda), 196.3 mph

17. Shinya NAKANO (Honda), 196.0 mph

18. Alex DE ANGELIS (Honda), 195.4 mph