MOTO GP 2012

h3000

Spies and Iannone to Pramac Ducati for 2013

I'm a bit surprised by the Spies bit

Infoanon

h3000 wrote: »

Spies and Iannone to Pramac Ducati for 2013

I'm a bit surprised by the Spies bit

Factory bikes by the way (and Spies paid by Ducati) - 1 year contract - same as Nicky

h3000

Infoanon wrote: »

Factory bikes by the way (and Spies paid by Ducati) - 1 year contract - same as Nicky

Yep factory bikes and both riders "will have a direct link to the factory".

Infoanon

Colin Edwards has signed up for another season and confirmed that he will see out 2012 on a Suter-BMW.

Pramac's Hector Barbara has also stated that he will be in Moto GP on a CRT next year.

Infoanon

Interesting colour scheme on the Marc VDS Moto 2 bikes today.......

Pramacs colours but no logos - wonder what the tie up is there as the current 'Pramac' team (personnal) are due to run the 2nd Ducati team.

Logos have appeared - 'Go&Fun' - from the front the hues resmeble the Pramacs !

'Go&Fun' also on the Gresini Moto GP bikes

CJhaughey

So Ducati are going to have two Americans Hayden and Spies and two Italians with Dovi and Iannone. Which are going to be the senior team and which are the junior team?
Jury still out on J. Rea taking the HRC satellite RC213 from Bautista.

I would say that a lot of CRT teams will avail of the Factory production RCV213 from Honda instead of using CRT bikes.
And you can be damn sure that Yamaha aren't just watching idly, if HRC start filling the grid with their machinery then Yamaha will have to come to some kind of arrangement TZ style
The CRT concept has really forced the MSMA's hand in all this, they really don't think the premier class looks that premier with a load of CRT machinery lapping 5-10 secs slower than the works bikes.
I have high hopes for next years racing, MotoGP is all about entertainment not to test technology and thats what has been killing it since the 4 stroke era.

h3000

So Misano MotoGP race was a bit crazy this weekend. Delighted with Rossi's result, now I know if Dani did not get bowled off by Barbera and Stoner was racing they would have probably been in front of him but he did show some real speed. It should at least give him a bit of a confidence boost.

I was watching it on BBC and Parrish and Cox were bigging up Crutchlow big time when the cameras suddenly flicked to a shot Crutchlow after he just binned it. I have to admit a little giggle may have slipped out straight away but once I seen he was okay I could not help but laugh. Now I like Crutchlow and I think he will get quicker but he is just not as quick as they let on.

I have not seen the Moto2 or Moto3 races yet but going to watch them this evening.



Great motorsport weekend for me all in all:
Jari Matti Latvala win in WRC
Craig Breen win in SWRC
Rossi's podium
and made it out to watch the Clare Stages Rally :D:D

Yikert

A strange but entertaining race, I know Lorenzo didnt have to push too hard but Rossi kept up the speed throughout which is new. Fair balls to Rea, no crash and a descent finish. WTF with the start ???? Pedrosa must be sick as a parrot.

CJhaughey

Yikert wrote: »

A strange but entertaining race, I know Lorenzo didnt have to push too hard but Rossi kept up the speed throughout which is new.

New frame on the Ducati, maybe thats the turning point?
It would have been 4th if Pedrosa and Stoner were there but all in all thats a great effort, Honourable mention to Bautista as well, pretty emotional stuff for Gresini, that would have been Simoncelli's bike this season.

Max Headroom

One word...."Crutchlow"........:rolleyes:

Please Kill Me

Max Headroom wrote: »

One word...."Crutchlow"........:rolleyes:

Trying too hard!!

Max Headroom

Please Kill Me wrote: »

Trying too hard!!

He's always making things hard for himself...he's quicker than Dovi most of the time, he just needs to get and stay in front of him....:mad:

Please Kill Me

Max Headroom wrote: »

He's always making things hard for himself...he's quicker than Dovi most of the time, he just needs to get and stay in front of him....:mad:

But this is it!! He carries the corner speed quicker, and is generally just a faster rider. He needs to work on his starts and get in front like you said.

Hotblack Desiato

Yikert wrote: »

A strange but entertaining race, I know Lorenzo didnt have to push too hard but Rossi kept up the speed throughout which is new. Fair balls to Rea, no crash and a descent finish. WTF with the start ???? Pedrosa must be sick as a parrot.

Rossi getting under half a second off pole in the dry was impressive. What was more impressive was that the Ducati didn't appear to have shot tyres by half distance, he was able to keep up the pace and if anything it was Bradl etc. who had to fall back later on. It really does look like it was the chassis all along (as no doubt VR and JB were saying all along) and changes have finally borne some fruit. If the Duc is competitive next year will VR get the credit? There has been an awful lot of crap spoken about how he's past it, etc, but if he can get within 4-5 sec of Lorenzo over a race distance on the Ducati, how close would he be to Lorenzo on the same bike?
In fairness, Lorenzo would I'm sure have had to push more if Pedrosa had been there. Awful shame for him and for the championship.

Edit: great job by Rea, was careful not to try too hard and bin it, but instead keep learning and get faster bit by bit, session by session. HRC have a seat for next year left don't they?!

Max Headroom

Johnny Rea only 1sec behind Lorenzo........sounds a lot ,but fair play to him...
Cal 3rd..hope he can do the same in the race...

Please Kill Me

Max Headroom wrote: »

Johnny Rea only 1sec behind Lorenzo........sounds a lot ,but fair play to him...
Cal 3rd..hope he can do the same in the race...

Aye, Cal seemed happy enough. It'll be interesting with the two boys at the front though. Bradl was flying too. Fair play.

Infoanon

Please Kill Me wrote: »

Aye, Cal seemed happy enough. It'll be interesting with the two boys at the front though. Bradl was flying too. Fair play.

Jorge and Cal had a more constant pace throughout qualifying today so should be on for a strong race - Jorge has never bettered 3rd at Aragon btw.

Good performance by Jonathan Rea - listening to him on Eurosport later you got the impression that he will not be riding in Japan irrespective of Casey returning or not.

Lucky escape for Marquez in qualifying - how he kept on board and didnt crash on the last corner was amazing.

h3000

Really enjoyed the races today. I hope Nicky is okay it was a big one :eek:

Please Kill Me

h3000 wrote: »

Really enjoyed the races today. I hope Nicky is okay it was a big one :eek:

Well, they said he was conscious, had mobility and was talking, but still transferred him to the hospital anyway. Better safe than sorry. It was a big off alright.

Great racing with Cal and Dovi. They're so evenly matched it's unreal. One as good as the other. Very entertaining. Fair play to Rossi too, after getting bumped to last, to get back up to 8th.

Between that and the Moto2 and Moto3 races, 'twas a great day's racing. Them Moto3 lads are feckin' mental! :pac:

NinjaK

looked great on eurosport HD:)

Max Headroom

NinjaK wrote: »

looked great on eurosport HD:)

Rich bas**rd...........probably have a job and a lovely wife too.........:D

Please Kill Me

Max Headroom wrote: »

Rich bas**rd...........probably have a job and a lovely wife too.........:D

Yeah...and eats lobsters for lunch! :P :pac:

h3000

Please Kill Me wrote: »

Well, they said he was conscious, had mobility and was talking, but still transferred him to the hospital anyway. Better safe than sorry. It was a big off

yeah he went to the hospital but back out now with the all clear. Great to here it could have been a whole lot worse.

h3000

Nicky Hayden - Twitter wrote:

Painful hand again but everything else is fine. Thanks #dainese #arai and everyone for all the concern. See you in Japan! 🇯🇵👍👊✊

He was really lucky.

CJhaughey

Some thoughts on the race and MotoGP's future.
Pedrosa showed what he can do with that bike, awesome display of racing the clock, as for actual racing its pne of the most boring races this year at a fantastic track.
Lorenzo showed that he was content to defend his lead by just riding steady and finishing second.
Rea rode well, thats a creditable finish on a brand new bike, HRC were very happy with his performance and apparently let Gresini know that they would like to see him on the Satellite RCV but they can't force Gresini's hand in selection. Bautista was the preferred rider by Gresini so Rea resigned with Ten Kate for the next season.
Now the news that Bridgepoint have allowed Dorna to manage both WSBK and MotoGP measn that in my view its almost inevitable that both series will be brought together into one world bike series.
Once the move to 1000cc four strokes came into GP racing then the writing was on the wall.
The MSMA have only themselves to blame, through using MotoGP as a R&D facility they have made the class prohibitively expensive for anyone but the really big companies to enter.
If Kawasaki and Suzuki have to pull out what kind of racing is it?
16 or 18 on the grid and 3 manufacturers? thats a pretty weak spectacle IMHO.
So I can see that in a few years MotoGP and World Superbike wil become one series.

Please Kill Me

Anyone see the qualifying? Jaysus I nearly fell off the seat when Spies got pole with 9 minutes to go!! :eek:

I reckon it's gonna be another two horse race tomorrow with the best of the rest chasing a few seconds behind. Hope it's a good race though.

Hotblack Desiato

Disappointing that the BBC coverage is ending at 7am tomorrow, at that hour they could easily extend it by half an hour to include the podium, interviews, etc. (what goes into 'MotoGP Extra' for the European races) without inconveniencing the schedule at all. PITA that I can record the races no problem on Freesat but can't record the red button 'MotoGP Extra'.

Although it's noticeable at most of the 'flyaway' races that they only have the bare minimum of coverage and don't offer anything post-race on the red button. Budget cuts probably, another half hour of satellite feed from the US or Japan seems to be beyond them

The BBC have now cut back on the red button video feeds on Freesat, there used to be 3 or 4 on the go if there were lots of sports events on, but they'll only have one red button video feed from now on. So no MotoGP Extra if it clashes with ANY other sport. At this rate we'll be lucky to get live MotoGP coverage at all next year if it clashes with more 'important' sports like feckin' golf :mad:

CJhaughey

I was lucky to catch the qualifying, I had the sky+ set to record it and it was listed on the planner but when I woke and went down at 6 nothing was happening! The sky+ won't record it unless manually.

Infoanon

Motegi - Moto 3 incredible last 2 laps,Moto 2 sooo close between Pol & Marquez, Moto GP - can Pedrosa keep on winning and claw back the championship ?

Dreadful luck for Crutchlow, Spies having brake problems and the Ducatis no where.

Qualifying process all changed for 2013 - bit confused as the new system will work against the CRTs ? which Dorna are trying to promote ??

h3000

Infoanon wrote: »

Motegi - Moto 3 incredible last 2 laps,Moto 2 sooo close between Pol & Marquez, Moto GP - can Pedrosa keep on winning and claw back the championship ?

Dreadful luck for Crutchlow, Spies having brake problems and the Ducatis no where.

Qualifying process all changed for 2013 - bit confused as the new system will work against the CRTs ? which Dorna are trying to promote ??

I can see Dani going well for the rest of the season but even if he won all three remaining races Lorenzo would only have to finish third in them to take the championship. I really can't see anyone challenging either of them for the top two at any race remaining, Stoner still looks too sore. it's Lorenzo's to trow away.