The Moto GP 08' discussion thread

[SohailPistawala]

Five46 : Apparently I had kept an Alarm for 2.30am in the morning to watch the MotoGP , Crazy race. Stone at Pole Position with Rossi second, and hayden 3rd. As the race got away.. Stoner lead with Nicky and Rossi (as Usual he is not that great in starts). Before the 1st lap could end, rossi took over from hayden and stoner.. then the fun began for the next 20 laps... stoner chasing rossi, Overtaking was happening at every corners between each other.
At point Rossi was on the gravel, but got back. But , may the best man win, stoner went off track i think on 25th or 26th lap dont remember, that made rossi take a lead of 16 seconds from stoner. What a race!!!!

Lorenzo... loves the bench in his garage i think. Hi-side at the 1st lap.. it looked like a dejavu from the 1st crash.
Chris vermeulen was on fire!!

End result.
Rossi
Stoner
Chris!!

[turbo_v12]

Awesome race..Shows the effect Rossi has on his rivals...Stoner, when behind him, though on a faster bike could not take the pressure and...

Also see him complaining that some of Rossi's moves were not exactly...erm... Saw Rossi on the podium mouth the word SORRY to him, but his expression said IT HAPPENS MAN...ACCEPT IT...

Wow, Hamilton, Chandok and then Rossi. My Sunday could only have been made better with a Haga double win....

But anyway, waiting for Brno now...Rossi knows he probably can get a psychological advantage on Stoner now...

Note from the Team-BHP Support : Please take the time to use proper punctuation as per Team-BHP rules. Avoid...typing...like...this. Thanks.

[F50]

Very nice race. Lap 1 to Lap 24 - 1)Rossi 2)Stoner - Gap - 0.7 secs.
Stoner on a faster bike found ways to pass Rossi but couldnt hang to it.
But the huge gap to 3rd saved Stoner, even after a fall he was like 10secs+(?) ahead Chris.

[highwayblaze]

Originally Posted by SohailPistawala

Five46 : Apparently I had kept an Alarm for 2.30am in the morning to watch the MotoGP , Crazy race. Stone at Pole Position with Rossi second, and hayden 3rd. As the race got away.. Stoner lead with Nicky and Rossi (as Usual he is not that great in starts). Before the 1st lap could end, rossi took over from hayden and stoner.. then the fun began for the next 20 laps... stoner chasing rossi, Overtaking was happening at every corners between each other.
At point Rossi was on the gravel, but got back. But , may the best man win, stoner went off track i think on 25th or 26th lap dont remember, that made rossi take a lead of 16 seconds from stoner. What a race!!!!

Lorenzo... loves the bench in his garage i think. Hi-side at the 1st lap.. it looked like a dejavu from the 1st crash.
Chris vermeulen was on fire!!

End result.
Rossi
Stoner
Chris!!

I missed the race man. But good to know that Rossi' leads in points. I would have loved to see this one. About nicky hayden, he'd thank his stars for making it to the podium at least at his home gp !!
ANYYYWAY ! thanks for the update folks !

[turbo_v12]

Naah blaze...2 years in a row now and Hayden hasn't made it to the podium in his home GP. Considering the horrid 07 and 08 seasons he's had with Honda, I won't be surprised if he jumps over to Ducati next year as rumours suggest...

Note from the Team-BHP Support : Please take the time to use proper punctuation as per Team-BHP rules. Avoid...typing...like...this. Thanks.

[Sandeep_K_Ram]

Originally Posted by turbo_v12

Naah blaze...2 years in a row now and Hayden hasn't made it to the podium in his home GP. Considering the horrid 07 and 08 seasons he's had with Honda, I won't be surprised if he jumps over to Ducati next year as rumours suggest...

Spot on. Given Dani Pedrosa has been showing him up for quite some time now, Haydens continuing at Honda doesn't seem to me like a possibility. And he is talking up the Ducati deal .. but really nobody apart from Stoner has been able to wring anything from the Ducati so maybe its just an illusion that the pasture is greener on the other side.

It might well be that he is going to jump out of the pan and into the fire !

I am not sure if Ducati are too keen on him because Sete Gibernau has been setting good times in testing - despite a crash..and the boss was hinting at a deal shortly

[five46]

Here are some really interesting stories post US grand prix. Neither Valentino Rossi nor Casey Stoner were taking any prisoners during their enthralling and almost terrifying battle at Laguna Seca, and since leaving the track, the atmosphere has only gotten worse.

It started with complaints in parc ferme by Casey Stoner that some of Rossi's passes were too hard and too dangerous. Valentino Rossi then summed it up in two words which are well on their way to achieving legendary status: "That's racing!"

Stoner parried swiftly. "That's racing, is it? We'll see....". He even suggested that Rossi's fears that he couldn't match Stoner's pace had forced him to overreach himself, saying "I believe that I can be faster than Rossi. He knows that too and it worries to him. I probably shouldn't say it but I think that it was because of that in Laguna he let his ambition to win take control over his technique."

In turn, Valentino Rossi has set out his stall quite bluntly: "We have seven races left and I am dreaming of them all being as fun as Laguna Seca!" The message could not be clearer: If Casey Stoner didn't like the passes Rossi put on him in the US, then that's exactly what Rossi is going to serve up for Stoner at every race to come.

However, in the pre-race press conference at Brno on Thursday the 14th, Stoner backed down from his earlier comments and conceded that they had been made in the heat of the moment.
"All riders react in the way that we do sometimes, I think Valentino can agree with that," said Stoner. "I think at the time maybe we overreacted."


Again, is this Casey playing a Valentino on Valentino?


Wake up folks, summer break is over. Refresh a few moments of Laguna Seca in your brains and get ready for the remainder of the season. Brno is next hosting Round 12 of moto gp 2008.

FP1 is already over. Here are the times...

Pos Rider Bike Time
1. Valentino Rossi Yamaha (B) 1:57.782
2. Casey Stoner Ducati (B) 1:57.911 + 0.129
3. Shinya Nakano Honda (B) 1:59.021 + 1.239
4. Alex de Angelis Honda (B) 1:59.134 + 1.352
5. John Hopkins Kawasaki (B) 1:59.220 + 1.438
6. Chris Vermeulen Suzuki (B) 1:59.400 + 1.618
7. Toni Elias Ducati (B) 1:59.756 + 1.974
8. Loris Capirossi Suzuki (B) 1:59.770 + 1.988
9. Colin Edwards Yamaha (M) 1:59.965 + 2.183
10. Marco Melandri Ducati (B) 2:00.082 + 2.300
11. Sylvain Guintoli Ducati (B) 2:00.083 + 2.301
12. Andrea Dovizioso Honda (M) 2:00.429 + 2.647
13. Jorge Lorenzo Yamaha (M) 2:00.447 + 2.665
14. Randy de Puniet Honda (M) 2:00.496 + 2.714
15. James Toseland Yamaha (M) 2:01.074 + 3.292
16. Anthony West Kawasaki (B) 2:01.128 + 3.346
17. Dani Pedrosa Honda (M) 2:01.231 + 3.449

[badri]

It was all set for another Stoner- Rossi battle. But it was not to be!! Stoner Crashed while leading by around 1 sec. I guess the doctor is finally able to break Stoners tough psychological armour and pushed him into a mistake. Championship is more or less decided now unless some thing drastic happens in next 6 rounds..

[nitrous]

Stoner got gravelled! Poor guy. I think he powered a little too early at that corner.
Rossi had a bad start and that Kawasaki guy just sneaked past him in the first corner. Rossi took him out in the next corner.
Rossi now leads the championship by 50 points. 6 rounds to go.
I think Rossi should retire at the end of this year with 8 MotoGP titles.

[badri]

Originally Posted by nitrous

Stoner got gravelled! Poor guy. I think he powered a little too early at that corner.

He has lost the front end in mid corner. I think it was not a crash caused by powering out.

[five46]

Originally Posted by nitrous

I think Rossi should retire at the end of this year with 8 MotoGP titles.

Vale has already renewed his contract with the works Yamaha team for another 2 years. Another challenge for him is to break Giacomo Agostini's number of premier class victories, which is 68, which is achievable by this season end. Another record, again of Giacomo Agostini, is of 122 motogp victories which Vale would definitely like to have in his name before he hangs his racing boots.

Yesterdays race turned out to be very boring after Casey's crash, save for an awesome ride by Toni. Loris also rode well to finish on the podium.

[PhrozenFire]

Originally Posted by badri

He has lost the front end in mid corner. I think it was not a crash caused by powering out.

It was probably simply the psychological pressure of another upcoming battle with Rossi that caused him to lose concentration for a second and he lost his front. It seemed very inocuous though, the way it happened. Rossi has built up a huge lead now, with 6 to go.

[SohailPistawala]

nice race, got a little boring after stoners fall. Nitrous : why do you think rossi should retire?? just a question dont take it personal. I think he still has some battles to go. I think he should complete atleast 125 premier class wins. he is now at 93 wins.

When rossi was at around 1.4secs behind stoner, he started to increase his pace. and closed up by .4XX secs in the lap where stoner slipped. I am Yamaha and Rossi fan, but i like Stoners Thumping wins at times. Where he just dominates.

Bad thing for michelin riders yesterday. Pedrosa started 12th reached 6th and then starting loosing places like stockmarket. and finished last. Hope he comes back!!

[badri]

Originally Posted by five46

Another challenge for him is to break Giacomo Agostini's number of premier class victories, which is 68, which is achievable by this season end. Another record, again of Giacomo Agostini, is of 122 motogp victories which Vale would definitely like to have in his name before he hangs his racing boots.

.

I think Rossi is the greatest of all! Agostini won all the races in an era when one would compete in many classes over the same weekend. While it is a tough format in one sense, it lets you pile up victories if you are good.

I just feel lucky to be in this era and be able to watch Rossi in motogp and schumacher in F1...arguably the greatest motorsports icons. Maybe even loeb can fall into this category.He seems to be winning consistently despite many odds.

But for adding sheer drama, entertainment and fun to the high pressure environment of motor racing, no one can even come close to the doctor !!

[badri]

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