[badri]

I have a strong feeling that we will see a Honda 1-2 this weekend. Sachsenring is a short, twisty circuit and suits the Honda better. My prediction is Marquez - Pedrosa - Rossi.

One very interesting fact about this track is the amount of time the bike spends on the left portion of the tyre. Whole 30 seconds in one stretch! All this time, the right side of the tyre will be cooling down. Immediately after this section is a fast downhill right hander. Diving down this turn with cold portion of the tyre is a real test for any rider's skill. In the video below, the left turns start at about 42 sec and run till 1:12!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JSAR3d9Gsk

[Ricci]

Originally Posted by badri

During the years they were team mates, Rossi scored 1607 points to Lorenzo's 1580 (till date). This includes Lorenzo's rookie season in which he was a whopping 183 points behind. That's just 27 points difference over five and a half seasons riding next to GOAT! Not too shabby right?

Not bad at all. I based by opinions purely from watching every or at least most of the races over the last few years, not being so obsessive about number crunching points and lap times, but seeing JL and VR go back and forth, and that shows he's got the beans to challenge MotoGP's golden boy. I remember a race where JL was even told to go slow by Yamaha , when he was leading by a several seconds. Never saw pit crew telling Rossi, slow down !

Originally Posted by badri

Have to differ with you on this though.

One highly appreciable achievement of Rossi over the last couple of seasons is his hard work to adapt to new style of riding. When he came back to Yamaha he understood that the game has moved on and he has to adapt. He also observed and picked up nuances from newer riders like Marquez. Now, his riding is quite different from few seasons ago. He hangs off the bike more, elbow scrapes etc. It is proving to be effective in dealing with the new kid on the block.

Yes, adaptability is a key survival quality and while it's taken a long time, Rossi has shown he's understood that MM and JL pin it from the word go, and if they're in form and the bike's in tune for their styles, they'll open a lead that Rossi's traditional, conservative style can't make up.

Seeing Rossi on pole at Assen is indication of that - though more so of JL not being confident of that setup, else you expect JL, MM or the Ducatis in the first row.

Originally Posted by Parth46

Where would we be without some healthy banter? It's the world of high-stakes MotoGP, not a family re-union, with all due respect. And the irrelevant poking has mostly stopped after some steps taken by the mods.

It did get a little hotter than what one would call warm cordial feelings , you know.

Originally Posted by Parth46

Beg to differ here mate, it's the same thing that's been discussed to death in these last million pages on both threads - Yeah - he's old, he's been there and done that, not won in a while, and the new lot is quick. Completely agree. - SNIP -but my main point is this : Rossi's still kicking butt, leading the title race, and has completely revamped his riding style after his ill-fated stint at Ducati.

Yeah, good to the see that. But unlike the past, Rossi's not as dominant - maybe 2015 is the best since 2009 - his last championship win - but we're still halfway to go. Between 2010 and now, JL won twice, MM twice, Stoner 1. Watching 5 seasons of Rossi being pushed into second rung, with a few podiums now and then but not competitive for a championship win, one's forgiven for thinking Rossi's best days are done, no ?

Originally Posted by naveenroy

I have been a MotoGP fan for only the past few years and I cannot quote championship points, what teams, what riders some 20 years back and try and support them blindly.

Yes - with the tech being much difference, it's hard to say, if the likes of Spencer or Doohan had they been in the 20s and racing today, would they have wiped the plate clean, leaving our current best riders in the dust ? On the other hand, going from 170hp 2 strokes to 240-250hp 800s-1000s , we don't know if 500s generation of riders might find themselves overwhelmed by the power and weight, even with the electronics to smoothen pwoer delivery.
One can only wonder.

[killjoy]

Originally Posted by badri

One very interesting fact about this track is the amount of time the bike spends on the left portion of the tyre. Whole 30 seconds in one stretch! All this time, the right side of the tyre will be cooling down. Immediately after this section is a fast downhill right hander. Diving down this turn with cold portion of the tyre is a real test for any rider's skill. In the video below, the left turns start at about 42 sec and run till 1:12!

Interesting fact. Do the tyres cool down so rapidly?

[Parth46]

Originally Posted by Ricci

It did get a little hotter than what one would call warm cordial feelings , you know.

Tell me about it - there was quite a bit of trolling & heated arguments, thankfully we can put it behind us now.

Watching 5 seasons of Rossi being pushed into second rung, with a few podiums now and then but not competitive for a championship win, one's forgiven for thinking Rossi's best days are done, no ?

As they say, the best is yet to come!

I salute the fighting spirit, and the motivation to keep yourself going after two decades at the highest level. Anyone lesser would have walked into the sunset long back. But no, the tenth beckons!

[mayankk]

Originally Posted by Ricci

It did get a little hotter than what one would call warm cordial feelings , you know.

You can say that again. It was Yowza stuff!

Originally Posted by killjoy

Interesting fact. Do the tyres cool down so rapidly?

I can believe that.
No technical expertise, I am just basing this opinion on watching the Infrared cam views of F1 tyres, how they lose and temperature in 100s of metres.

[badri]

Another awesome onboard video of Sachsenring! One of the best sound tracks I have heard. Two Hondas in synchrony!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9TTENB16ls

[badri]

Free Practice results show that Marquez is in a different league. According to motomatters.com, he put in more 1.21 laps than all other riders put together!

Bradley Smith is a surprise second. May be the track plays a bit to Yam's strength too.

[Urban_Nomad]

Marc at pole. Looking good!!!

Do tune into ten sports tomorrow to watch him win at Germany.

[naveenroy]

For the life of me, I cannot understand why Ten Sports gets exclusive rights to MotoGP races and decides to telecast it on the non-HD Ten Sports channel! It is simply pathetic. At least Star Sports has enough HD channels to spare!

[Parth46]

Originally Posted by naveenroy

For the life of me, I cannot understand why Ten Sports gets exclusive rights to MotoGP races and decides to telecast it on the non-HD Ten Sports channel! It is simply pathetic. At least Star Sports has enough HD channels to spare!

+1

The standard def content looks even more horrendous on a big screen Full HD LED. It just sucks so hard. I hate my Bravia LED and all my BluRays hooked up to my PS4 when I can't even watch MotoGP in all it's glory.

I always check what's going on at Ten HD whenever the race in on the SD channel, and it's always something with more mainstream appeal, like India's ongoing Zim tour, for example.

[Parth46]

Thoroughly entertaining race, MM93 back in form and great to see Dani Pedrosa right in the front, always good to see a rider come back from injury and run a good pace.

Great ride from Rossi after starting from 6th and carving his way up fairly early, further extends his lead in the championship to 13 points and a huge string of podium finishes.

Another lonely time-trial for JLO, simply could not keep-up with the top racers after leading for the first few turns.

Superb first half of the title race, with GOAT leading by 13 points, here's to an even better second half after the summer break.

[badri]

Absolutely dominating performance by Marquez! He is undoubtedly the most naturally talented rider out there and a delight to watch. It was evident from FP1 that he is the man to beat and that Pedrosa will be staking his claims for the second position.

In the increasing temperatures, once the tyre warmers were off to reveal that the Hondas were on hard front (as against asymmetric front for others), it was a foregone conclusion that they will be 1-2. What was surprising was that Rossi was able to latch on to the back of Pedrosa for nearly the whole distance.

The hard front gave more stability to Honda under braking and not once could Rossi out break Pedrosa. However, he tried his best to force Pedrosa into a mistake, which he could not. Hats off to the old master for this effort.

I guess the second half of the season would see dominance by resurgent Marquez. Between Rossi and Lorenzo, who ever does the least mistakes will be the champion. To my eye both of them are riding brilliant and salvaging precious points whenever they are not able to win. If Marquez misses the championship by less than 40 points he would be regretting the (avoidable)mistakes he did in Argentina, Mugello and Catalunya.

[mayankk]

That was a disappointing race.
Be that as it may, I loved how Rossi came close to the top. Downhill after that, when he was reeled in.
Why couldn't Jorge get away?

I think the Hondas, they were a foregone 1-2, but Marquez really let it rip.

Anyhoo, Rossi still managed to extend his lead, though by not as much as would have pleased me, or him, but hey. Here's to a cracker of a season. Who'd be more worried right now, Jorge or Rossi, based on who's position may be under threat from MM now?

[ebonho]

I don't like Marquez. I think he's a kid who's a sore loser. Disappointing after the amount of love and respect he's gotten from a God.

Its right what they say. People should be kept in their place. Be nice to someone and they climb on your you know where.

Jorge? Well, he was super quick. In 4th place.

I was really happy for my boy Piddi Pedi. Really happy when he took Jorge, and even happy when he fought it out with Papa. Guts. Character. Respect!

I like Piddi Pedi.

[Urban_Nomad]

Originally Posted by Ricci

As with religion, it's not god I have a problem (I'm atheist), it's his fan-club. Likewise, the Rossi fanboys leave a bitter taste in their derision of all riders not wearing the 46 number.
.......

See the lack of consistency there?

Yup!!!!!!

Originally Posted by Parth46

Tell me about it - there was quite a bit of trolling & heated arguments, thankfully we can put it behind us now.

Can you now????

Originally Posted by ebonho

I don't like Marquez. I think he's a kid who's a sore loser. Disappointing after the amount of love and respect he's gotten from a God.

Its right what they say. People should be kept in their place. Be nice to someone and they climb on your you know where

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPw-3e_pzqU

Loser Doc? I think he won the last race unless I tuned into the wrong channel and caught a completely different race

And God? Who's god? Yours? Not mine, not his either it seems. He has not put him on the pedestal as you have. He probabaly was his hero at some point in time

But you know what they say about meeting your heroes - "Dont!!! They'll disappoint you". Thats probably what happened with the Joker as well

And he is not the one to carry a chip on his shoulder it seems. Hero disappointed you - Kick his behind. Take the fight to the gates. Is there anyone who can deny the ferocity of battle this 22 year old CHAMPION OF THE WORLD brings to the fore?

Sorry if people here were expecting a "Paaye laagu sir" from MM. And whatever happened to the seeds that were sowed and fertilized and germinating and Kaiju ripping and ........... etc?

Gypsy Danger too much?

T-BHP members please note; in all of the above - I have not once:

- Called Rossi names
- Berated him, his talent or character in any form

But have still managed to cheer for / stand up for a human rider; capable of making miracles happen, who I so much admire

It can be done!