MotoGP 2012 (Spoiler)

[Ted]

Round 8 ... Damn.... Dani is Badass .. I am definitely getting a six pack for this one... Casey blinked .... What a race !

[The Black Knight]

It sure was great watching Stoner crash out. Hope that knocked him down a few rungs. Lorenzo back in the lead and that's a good thing.

[VryfastRR]

Lots of that when Stoner crashed out.

Fun to watch the 3rd group at the end, glad to see anyone but stoner at the top now.

[drago52]

What's up with all the Stoner hate? The guy is rediculously fast and has an awesome style on the bike. I enjoyed watching he and Dani battle. I thought he was going to embarrass Dani like he did in the last race when he dropped him, but Dani was strong today. Spies just doesn't seem to have the edge he's had in the past. It's not the bike since Lorenzo is killing it. If I were Yamaha, I'd put Dovi on the factory ride. He's been riding awesome this year.

[salsashark]

What's up with all the Stoner hate?

The guy is rediculously fast and has an awesome style on the bike. I enjoyed watching he and Dani battle.

Agreed

I thought he was going to embarrass Dani like he did in the last race when he dropped him, but Dani was strong today.

Personally, I can't stand the spanish midget, but he was on his game today... good for him.

Spies just doesn't seem to have the edge he's had in the past. It's not the bike since Lorenzo is killing it. If I were Yamaha, I'd put Dovi on the factory ride. He's been riding awesome this year.

Several weeks ago one of the commentators said that watching Crutchlow and Dovi stalk Lorenzo was like watching rabid dogs chase an injured bunny. I LOL'd.

If the rest of the season goes like today, I'd put Dovi in Spies' seat and Spies on a CRT... or at least back to a Tech 3 ride.

[kawasakirob]

How many times has Pedrosa won there did they say? After this has it been like 3 times in a row, and Stoner has never one there? Something like that. Great race. Bautista went to work for sure and climbed to a pretty good finish. Crutchlow...poor Crutchlow The bikes were definetely putting on a show as well, twitching all over the place

[kawasakirob]

It sure was great watching Stoner crash out. Hope that knocked him down a few rungs. Lorenzo back in the lead and that's a good thing.

Just thought I'd let you know I bought a shirt with Stoner on the Ducati that sais "World Champion". How's your boy Rossi doing on the Duc?

[The Black Knight]

Just thought I'd let you know I bought a shirt with Stoner on the Ducati that sais "World Champion". How's your boy Rossi doing on the Duc?

Not doing well. Then again he's got 9 championships across several platforms. Hang on to that shirt it should be worth tons of money especially when Stoner gets as many championships as Rossi.......... Oh that's right, he's quitting after this year, so go ahead and use that shirt to check your oil or wipe yourself. That's about all I'd use it for

[kawasakirob]

Not doing well. Then again he's got 9 championships across several platforms. Hang on to that shirt it should be worth tons of money especially when Stoner gets as many championships as Rossi.......... Oh that's right, he's quitting after this year, so go ahead and use that shirt to check your oil or wipe yourself. That's about all I'd use it for

Rossi didnt do bad either. 6th isnt bad. Looking forward to hearing what he has to say after the next few rounds. Hopefully Ducati can produce something that he is able to be more competitive on in the upcoming races. We'll see. It was a step in the right direction for him in this race. Good to see him battling again.

[Ted]

Just watched Stoner's post race interview. He is very disappointed with the corner workers ..

"... disappointing for sure, but for me the Marshals were the most disappointing. I have seen them pick up loads of different riders and get them going, and there was nothing wrong with my bike, but there was no way they were going to help me. So yet again, you know, German Marshals have kept me from getting a decent result." - Casey Stoner , Post race interview, Germany 2012.

Reminds of me when Valentino took him out last year, and the Marshals "didn't pick up" his bike in time ... At least this time, no one was accused of having their ambition far exceeding their talent !

Edit...
Link to video, for anyone interested. Motogp.com subscription required, i think.
http://www.motogp.com/en/videos/latest+videos#Sachsenring+2012+MotoGP+Race+Intervi ew+Casey+Stoner

[The Black Knight]

Just watched Stoner's post race interview. He is very disappointed with the corner workers ..

"... disappointing for sure, but for me the Marshals were the most disappointing. I have seen them pick up loads of different riders and get them going, and there was nothing wrong with my bike, but there was no way they were going to help me. So yet again, you know, German Marshals have kept me from getting a decent result." - Casey Stoner , Post race interview, Germany 2012.

Reminds of me when Valentino took him out last year, and the Marshals "didn't pick up" his bike in time ... At least this time, no one was accused of having their ambition far exceeding their talent !

Oh geez Stoner!!! cry me a freakin river!!! Waaaahhhhhhhhh!!!

And even if he did get his bike going, I doubt he would have garnered any points from it. He put that thing so far in the kitty litter that it would have taken them a just a little bit to get it back on track.

See this is what I hate about this guy. He's always got some reason to cry foul. Just own it!! You laid the bike down, you were pushing to hard or dare I say, "your ambition far exceeded your talent" in this instance. Just live with the fact that you went down. Happens to ALL riders. Oh, obviously not for Stoner, he's got loads of talent and he'd never make that kind of mistake. Hell I bet if you give his ass enough time, he'll try and blame Rossi for this one.

I can't wait to see this bitch leave the sport.

[salsashark]

If I had a quarter for every time I heard some interview with some random professional athlete throwing out an excuse or blaming someone else for their performance... Well, I'd have a shitload of quarters!

What makes Stoner any different? Do any of you watch F1? Nothing is EVER anyone's fault, no one ever just makes mistakes...

[CYCLE_MONKEY]

Well, I thought it was a great race, regardless. Actually BETTER than mnoto2 as far as passing. Pedrosa was smart enough last race to take 2nd and not throw away the points, whereas this race Crashey Stoner went back to his old "win it or bin it" ways and his ego exceeded his talent and he DIDN'T settle for an easy second place, and keep his championship lead.

Instead, there was some poetic justice in that Lorenzo crashed out through no fault of his own and put Crashey 25 points up on him, then Crashey BLEW IT all by himself, and threw away 20 points, putting Lorenzo back in the lead.

Bravo!

Spies had a good race, the only people ahead of him at the end have vastly more experience, and are 1/2 his size. He beat Crutchlow. Also, he WAS battling for the lead for maybe 1/4 of the race, unlike everyone behind him and even Dovi and Lorenzo. so, while I'd love to see him do better, he's certainly doing all the right things now.

[Ted]

So now we know what Repsol Honda's plans are for 2013 . Rumours turned out to be true.

[kawasakirob]

So now we know what Repsol Honda's plans are for 2013 . Rumours turned out to be true.

Yeah saw that. Next up, Ducati and Yamaha. It looks like Spies is starting to swim fast now with the season progressing. Man he's gotta be seriously feeling the pressure. But also read somewhere that it's possible he and Dovi will be staying where there at as well?

[Sean]

I would have rather watched the race for 5th (I think). There was a big pack of guys dicing it up. I thought it was a bummer about Stoner. Like him or not, the guy can ride the shit out of a bike. The only upside is that it makes the points race interesting.


On a side note, someone needs to punch DePuniet in the balls so Colin can keep with the first CRT. They obviously aren't giving him a quality bike. We may need to push Colin's world championship title off to next year?

[kawasakirob]

Has anyone seen Pole for tomorrow?? Looks like its shaping up to be a good battle.
Would love to see Nicky finish high and give Ducati the finger.



MotoGP: Honda's Pedrosa On Pole, Barbera Third!
by staff
Saturday, July 14, 2012
Pos. Rider Team Bike Time
1 Dani Pedrosa Repsol Honda Team Honda RC213V 1:47.284
2 Jorge Lorenzo Yamaha Factory Racing Yamaha M1 1:47.423
3 Hector Barbera Pramac Racing Team Ducati GP12 1:47.545
4 Nicky Hayden Marlboro Ducati Team Ducati GP12 1:47.671
5 Casey Stoner Repsol Honda Team Honda RC213V 1:47.689
6 Cal Crutchlow Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha M1 1:47.749
7 Andrea Dovizioso Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha M1 1:47.751
8 Stefan Bradl LCR Honda MotoGP Honda RC213V 1:47.857
9 Ben Spies Yamaha Factory Racing Yamaha M1 1:48.149
10 Valentino Rossi Marlboro Ducati Team Ducati GP12 1:48.502
11 Alvaro Bautista Honda Gresini Honda RC213V 1:48.894
12 Aleix Esparago Aspar Team MotoGP ART 1:49.387
13 Randy De Puniet Aspar Team MotoGP ART 1:49.450
14 Michele Pirro Honda Gresini FTR 1:50.263
15 Yonny Hernandez BQR BQR-FTR 1:50.610
16 James Ellison Paul Bird Racing ART 1:50.812
17 Mattia Pasini Speedmaster ART 1:50.953
18 Ivan Silva BQR BQR-FTR 1:51.242
19 Colin Edwards Forward Racing Suter 1:51.348
20 Danilo Petrucci Ioda Racing Project Ioda 1:51.473
Both Spies and Crutchlow crashed as the session clock ran down. Both unhurt, both unable to improve their lap times. Dovi also almost crashed.

Lorenzo made a big push at the end of the session to steal pole but his team apparently mis-judged the amount of fuel to run with a light fuel load in the tank. Lorenzo reportedly ran out of fuel halfway through the fast lap.

Hayden was on the front row until the final moments of the session when Barbera "tricycle'd" his way to the front row.

Rossi? Tenth and unable to improve.

ENDS

[rybo]

1) Casey Stoner was so far off in the gravel that IF the marshals had pushed him back to the track and got him going they would have been doing so IN THE IMPACT ZONE while the battle for 5th was charging into the corner. In my opinion the did EXACTLY what they were supposed to do - assure rider safety.

2) Valentino Rossi is the best rider of the generation. Period. Is he the best rider on the track today? I would say, no. I think that title goes to either Jorge or Casey. I have a hard time liking Casey these days, but REALLY liked him when he was racing 250's. Look back at some of those races, check out the interviews. Smiling, happy to be racing, clearly loving his job. Casey was refreshing to watch in those days. These days, he's clearly a great rider, but it's impossible for me to like the guy. Every interview is a complaint, every error is someone else's fault. I just can't get behind that.

3) There are two ways to take something and make it better. One is to adapt something that's already been done. This is Jorge's style. His riding style is very much like Rossi. He's found a way to make the work of someone who has gone before him, work for him. It's impressive. He has a sense of humor (see the Pedrosa / Lorenzo interview from not too far back) and is a fierce, but smart, competitor. The other way is to invent something new, ala, Casey Stoner. When he got the Ducati Factory ride in 2007 he was coming off of his rookie year in Moto GP where he really did nothing but crash the shit out of Honda RC211V's. He had to adapt, and he had to win. If 2007 hadn't gone the way it did I think that Casey's career was over, right then and there. He had to ride that bike, and he had to win. To accomplish this Casey often rode (in my opinion) OVER the limit. He took the risk, and in 2007 it worked out for him.

4) Don't count Valentino out. He and Jeremy Burgess are the most potent team in the paddock and he still has the ability to win. I think the Audi acquisition of Ducati is going to change the resources available to that team, and I don't think it's going to be long before you see Valentino back on the box. 2012 is a write-off year at this point, but I don't think he's going anywhere. I think Audi has promised him the resources necessary to put together a winning program in the off season and I'm certain that they will.

More later....

[Ted]

Mugello 2012: Whats up with Jorge waving to the crowd on the last lap 2 or 3 corners before the checkered flag ???? Dude must be one very confident young man !

Great job done by Andrea. Three consecutive podiums now on a satellite bike. This may not end well for Ben........

[The Black Knight]

1) Casey Stoner was so far off in the gravel that IF the marshals had pushed him back to the track and got him going they would have been doing so IN THE IMPACT ZONE while the battle for 5th was charging into the corner. In my opinion the did EXACTLY what they were supposed to do - assure rider safety.

2) Valentino Rossi is the best rider of the generation. Period. Is he the best rider on the track today? I would say, no. I think that title goes to either Jorge or Casey. I have a hard time liking Casey these days, but REALLY liked him when he was racing 250's. Look back at some of those races, check out the interviews. Smiling, happy to be racing, clearly loving his job. Casey was refreshing to watch in those days. These days, he's clearly a great rider, but it's impossible for me to like the guy. Every interview is a complaint, every error is someone else's fault. I just can't get behind that.

3) There are two ways to take something and make it better. One is to adapt something that's already been done. This is Jorge's style. His riding style is very much like Rossi. He's found a way to make the work of someone who has gone before him, work for him. It's impressive. He has a sense of humor (see the Pedrosa / Lorenzo interview from not too far back) and is a fierce, but smart, competitor. The other way is to invent something new, ala, Casey Stoner. When he got the Ducati Factory ride in 2007 he was coming off of his rookie year in Moto GP where he really did nothing but crash the shit out of Honda RC211V's. He had to adapt, and he had to win. If 2007 hadn't gone the way it did I think that Casey's career was over, right then and there. He had to ride that bike, and he had to win. To accomplish this Casey often rode (in my opinion) OVER the limit. He took the risk, and in 2007 it worked out for him.

4) Don't count Valentino out. He and Jeremy Burgess are the most potent team in the paddock and he still has the ability to win. I think the Audi acquisition of Ducati is going to change the resources available to that team, and I don't think it's going to be long before you see Valentino back on the box. 2012 is a write-off year at this point, but I don't think he's going anywhere. I think Audi has promised him the resources necessary to put together a winning program in the off season and I'm certain that they will.

More later....

I agree and I believe Rossi has more in the tank that what many may think. Last year and this year have been an eye opener for him. As soon as he has a properly competitive bike, he'll be the hungriest to get on the box and get wins. And yes, him and Burgess will now finally get the chance to create the bike they have wanted from the get go with Audi's backing. When they do get the bike they are after, I hope it's a slap in the face to Ducati to see that they don't always know what's best and that not listening to their rider is what has cost them the past two years.

Mugello 2012: Whats up with Jorge waving to the crowd on the last lap 2 or 3 corners before the checkered flag ???? Dude must be one very confident young man !

Great job done by Andrea. Three consecutive podiums now on a satellite bike. This may not end well for Ben........

And great job for Valentino!! I honestly believe if he had one more lap, he would have passed Dovi and Bradl. He's lap times were just getting quicker towards the end and he was pulling half a second out of the three in front of him every lap. It would have been nice for him to have one more lap and possibly get that POS Ducati on the box in front of the home crowd. But he didn't get another lap and had to settle for 5th. Nevertheless his bike showed some great progress and his lap times were consistent and getting faster.

Bum deal for Hayden but that's just racing. Anything and everything can happen on the last lap. He did well and held his own the whole race. I've got to say, maybe the Ducati's are starting to turn it around.




P.S.
was nice to see Stoner run off and have to come in 8th

[kawasakirob]

Turned out to not be as good of a battle as I originally thought for the lead. Towards the end of the race things started to pick up nicely. That last lap was awesome! Bummer for Hayden. With Rossi finishing ahead of his future possible teammate Cal(?) that had to feel good. Stoners bump with Alvero was a little weird too but I don't think it was intentional. Spies...did anyone see the carve he was laying down on that bike when he went down earlier the other day before the race? They showed it right before the race. He had some serious lean angle and layed that thing into such a nice bend before he lost it. It was unfortunate his health wasn't up to par with apparent food poisoning today.Also like Ted said congrats to Dovi. Tech 3's gotta be so happy with both those guys.

[Ted]

From the grapevine....

EDIT..... CM pointed a possible infection with the link, and i confirmed it this morning, so i just took it out....

[The Black Knight]

Oh how I hope this turns out to be true. Don't care what bike The Doctor is on as long as he's on the podium. A return to Yamaha would be awesome. I really like Spies but it wouldn't hurt my feelings to see him relegated to a satelitte team. Then give his spot to Rossi.

[CYCLE_MONKEY]

I think the "grapevine" link above may be infected. I got a big pop-up that said my PC was infected, click here! I shut IE down immediately.

On topic, I agree pretty much 100% with Rybo. I think one thing is Rossi, after breaking his leg and other injuries so late in his career, has realized he's not invincible anymore, and is as vulnerable as the rest of them. combine that with a bike that, frankly, sux, and, well..... But, if Audi money helps (how could it not?) and the "nothing's wrong" attitude of the Ducati race team (like the Ferrari team years ago) goes away, I feel certain he'l swiftly get back to his winning ways. His qualifying sux, strange because he used to always qualify well, but his race pace is better than Hayden's, and that's where the points are. Best to Rossi, and also, Jorge, who's doing a HELL of a job this year. Crashey can mostly only blame himself for being down 38 points to Jorge, while Jorge can say he'd have another 20-25 points in hand if not for Bautista. THAT, is what champoins are made of.