I'm not sure why no one ever posts any post-race follow up, so I'm giving it a chance: Anyone catch the race in Turkey this weekend? Damn, that race for 3rd. place was like watching the 250s battle it out. The real surprise was seeing Barros on the Pramac bike get in there and mix it up. Not bad for a 36 year old guy on a second rate team. Had high hopes for Collin, that crash really sucked. I think he's got he mojo on for 07. Even Hopper is looking hungry. Got to get him on the podium at some time. As for Nicky, well . . . . . Speaking of 250s, damn that race was something. This is the second 250 race so far where three guys are smacking bikes for the lead. How they keep those things upright is amazing. I'm waiting for someone to pull out a chain and start wacking the other guys! The post race antics are getting pretty funny. Good stuff
The season starts when they throw the green flag at the first race. Points earned in the first races are the same as the ones after Turkey. Will Stoner fall apart later? Who knows? Will Rossi and Yamaha get it together? Probably, but again, who knows? That's why they run the races. As far as Stoner's inconsistency; Two wins this early seems plenty consistent to me.
I tried to watch it the best that I could from the back patio at my sisters. I took up smoking again..........I know STUPID!!!! Anyways, I didn't want to have to get help coming back and forth coming from inside to outside because I kind of accidentally stabbed myself in the thigh with my hunting knife on Sunday in the thigh.......DOH!!!! :shock: :shock: I now know what it feels like to be stabbed. 2 inches deep and an inch wide.......Oops. From what I could see of it. It was a pretty good race. I did notice hearing something about the new tire reg though.
Kool, Stoner is inconsistent but leading the consistent Rossi by ten points. Someone quick tell Stoner he is acually looseing. Any team that is calling the first four races unimportant is making excuses. I don't think Rossi or any of the other competitive teams have this outlook.
Overall, I'm just happy that the series is shaking it up a bit. No one's ruynning away from it all (yet) and the battles for 3rd and 4th have been great. I don't really care about a favorite rider walking away with the series, I just want to see good, close racing with a good helping of surprises. Probably why I like the 250/125 races so much, although I'm much mroe in tune with the riders and teams of MotoGP. Still, I got to list Stoner as a favorite for 07, both rider and bike are just too good to ignore. Pretty surprised to see Rossi having serious tire problems again. Anyone catch a close up of his rear tire at Turkey? That thing was shredded! By the way, what's up with Team Roberts? He was looking a bit promissing last year, but now he's at the back. I guess the chassis didn't really work with the 800cc change. The team finally got some decent sponsorship, and he can barely scrore a point.
I agree Rich, It seems Moto GP, WSB and AMA all have battles going this year. Much better than the one rider domination of these series that we have seen lately. Are Rossi's tire troubles perhaps caused by the need to over-ride an underperforming bike?
Don't know. How's Collin doing with his? Rossi's tires from last year didn't do too well in China or Laguna either.
With the current tire regulations being what they are either a team guesses on the weather and gets very lucky or the smartest team (rider, crew chief, tire representative and the rest) that can tune the bike in the least amount of time (IMHO its Rossi and JB) will do best come race day. That said, the conditions that are expected at the European tracks is expected to favor Michelin as they have a lot of experience there. But, who knows. That’s why they actually have to throw the green flag and race. Stoner is consistent. If you feel he is inconsistent then I believe its based on your opinion of a consistent racer. Qatar - win, Jerez - 5th (5 seconds back of Rossi at the line), Turkey - win, China - win, Le Mans - 3rd, Mugello - 4th. That seems quite consistent to me. I also find it funny that the press says Stoner’s winning is all about HP as if there are no turns at the Chinese GP (for example). Also note that Ducati has an automatic tuning change built in to the electronics on the Desmosedici where as the Honda riders have to switch the button. Does this make it easier for Stoner? More difficult for Nicky and Dani? About John Hopkins, it seems he pushes the motorcycle to its limits the quickest but my impression of him (part of which comes from seeing interviews and his role in FASTER which he was still quite young/green and perhaps not sure enough of his opionion??) is that he doesn’t necessarily know what he wants to change on the bike to make it better. Basically, his ability to set up the motorcycle doesn’t match Rossi and some of the others. Lastly on John, I feel part of his problem is still the Suzuki. The King’s woes are likely mostly due to lack of funds to do the testing they need. They did have to lay people off a few weeks back. IMHO he’s luck to even be running his team still. Lets see what is other son does. Today (June 8th) Kurtis and Kenny are last in the timing for practice but that doesn’t always mean that’s where they’ll finish in the race. About the tire regulations I wonder when anyone will ever learn from the past, with the exception of the Flamini brothers. Trying to save cost by limiting tires always ends up in adding to the cost. More crashes, worse finishes and lack of TV time (which results in pulled sponsors, as sponsors are paying for the TV time) etc.....Rossi’s tire issues to date could partly be from Michelin pushing the envelope too far in an effort to compete with Bridgestone. If its close racing that is desired then everyone having access to the same quality tires makes the field the most equal, as in WSBK. This is why rain is considered the greatest equalizer in motorcycle racing. A smart team would pick some extra soft tires so they can run quick enough in the ‘cool’ morning session to allow to adjust on set up. This too is part of the learning to deal with the “new regsâ€. Right now it looks to me that its going to be between Rossi and Stoner but Pedrosa can’t be counted out.