MotoGP 2011 (125, Moto2, and MotoGP)

[Mike Rotch]

Great race indeed. Another solid race from Hayden on a difficult bike to ride fast too.

I can't wait for Laguna Seca.

 

[HKS racer]

I give up with that Ducati, it simply turns like a truck. Their managers better employ new engineers or retire their brand from MotoGP because the actual moto is simply rubbish, which is not what Ducati stake holders were expecting neither Rossi fans. Vale better move on an unofficial Honda team next year or jump in Superbike with Biaggi and Melandri.

 

[VRacer]

I give up with that Ducati, it simply turns like a truck. Their managers better employ new engineers or retire their brand from MotoGP because the actual moto is simply rubbish, which is not what Ducati stake holders were expecting neither Rossi fans. Vale better move on an unofficial Honda team next year or jump in Superbike with Biaggi and Melandri.

Will you give up that fast? I think Vale is having a difficult year, but we can't rule him out for next year. I think he may still win a few races, and when he does, who knows? I think he needs just a bit of confidence and when that comes, he'll be a different man. He's Italian, for Christ's sake!

But this year, I hope Stoner wins the campionship, because he deserves it.

 

[Mike Rotch]

Will you give up that fast? I think Vale is having a difficult year, but we can't rule him out for next year. I think he may still win a few races, and when he does, who knows? I think he needs just a bit of confidence and when that comes, he'll be a different man. He's Italian, for Christ's sake!

But this year, I hope Stoner wins the campionship, because he deserves it.

The Duke chassis seems fundamentally flawed. Even going to 1000cc next year, it seems flawed

Boo Stoner. IMO, he is over rated. Contrast him on the Duke last year and Rossi this year. At least Rossi is a) staying on and b) bringing in regular points. Last year Stoner spent more time shaking gravel out his undies then he did making the bike work.

 

[F1 fan]

I would love to see Lorenzo take the title this year. A lot of people claimed his title was somewhat de-valued last season. I don't buy into that for a second. Regardless of two of his main rivals being injured and the other one, like you said, adopting a fondness for gravel in his underwear, Lorenzo was impeccable last year. At one point, he did take things easy with the championship in mind, but after that, the beast was revived.

His drive in Valencia only backs that up. If he can win the title this year through sheer consistency and constantly riding the wheels off the bike, I'm hoping his doubters will accept his talent. It pains me to see him getting booed at nearly every track. Yes, Vale is a legend, but Lorenzo clearly has respect for Vale and learned a great deal from him. I think Rossi's fans should relax as he is not immortal and he is human like the rest of us. As far as I'm concerned, Lorenzo is a great ambassador.

As for Rossi, I said it at the time, going to Ducati was a bad move. Hopefully he can turn them around. If he can't, then they should drop out as it's unlikely anyone else can. I do admire Rossi for his determination, but he voluntarily left (what was the top team and is now the second best) and went with Ducati who were clearly in a slump. I question the move.

 

[niky]

Shame about the Ducati... but man... what a freaking race.

That was one of the most entertaining races I've seen in a long while. 👍

 

[spyrrari]

Yeah great race!!!!

About the Ducati and Vale:yes the Duke is not one of the top bikes this year,the Honda's and Yamaha's are just too damn good...but Vale is doing an amazing job in the races on it,it doesn't matter what he does in quali at all !!! he will be next to his team mate within a few laps anyway,even if he starts last!!!..that shows how incredible Vale still is ,so if Ducati manages to create a good bike for next year i am 100% sure Vale will be in for the championship !!!!...


spy.

 

[Tired Tyres]

Sachsenring bike races tend to be great. It's a very good track of two halves. Tight and relatively slow for the first part and really fast after that until to last corner. 👍

I'm hoping a Honda rider wins the title since they haven't won one under the 800CC rules. That will mean Stoner then.

Lorenzo's title last year was fully deserved. It's not his fault if no one else can stay on his bike, and besides he was putting in great performances right from the start of the season before everybody started throwing it down the road.

 

[hornet_burnout]

Only saw the highlights... Scary crash for Oliveira on 125. Great Moto2 race as usual.

Lorenzo again at his best. That bike can not be driven any faster...

Good to see Asimo back on form

Didn't see the reason why Spies was complaining with Sic. Did something happen between them?

 

[VRacer]

The Duke chassis seems fundamentally flawed. Even going to 1000cc next year, it seems flawed

I hope it is flawed, but Rossi apparently doesn't think so: http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/93133

He is saying that the problem is just with the 800cc engine, and that the chassis works better with the 1000cc. But of course nobody knows how the new bike will perform agains competitors, it may be 1 sec slower or faster than the others.

As far as Stoner is concerned: he is still the only driver who could ride the Ducati. Rossi on the same bike is even slower than Hayden, even with the same chassis he was sometimes slower... there is no way to explain this other than he lacks the kind of talent Stoner has.

If Rossi makes a totally different Ducati, which he seems to be doing, he will only prove that he can't ride the original Ducati better than Stoner. Not only he is just slower on the bike, but miserably slower...

But anyway, as I was saying, he's an Italian and everything is possible so we shouldn't rule him out.

 

[hornet_burnout]

"there is no way to explain this other than he lacks the kind of talent Stoner has"

Wrong. Stoner adapted perfectly to the Ducati and vice versa. Rossi is struggling, the same as Toni Elias in MotoGP, dead last and crashing, after being champion last year in Moto2, a much more challenging championship.

If Casey was God's gift to the riding world, with the fastest bike at the moment, he wouldn't be regularly outpaced by teammates, semi-private Hondas and the Yamahas.

Edit: Meaning, it's not a question of talent, but riding style and bike handling working together, instead of in opposite directions.

 

[Mike Rotch]

there is no way to explain this other than he lacks the kind of talent Stoner has.
.

I think those the 8 world titles he has that Stoner doesn't might object to your opinion.

 

[Neal]

Great race and an absolutely amazing last few corners and pass by lorenzo The four factory Honda's are unbelievably strong but he can still duff them up. I know Yamaha are a big team but compared to Honda this year it does appear to be a case of David vs Goliath, if Lorenzo does win the championship this year it will be an outstanding achievement and an enormous kick in the danglies to Honda who desperately want to win the last 800c season.

As the Rossi it's difficult to see him out of touch with the guys at the front as he usually gets on the podium even if he started from the pit lane. I do think he and Ducati are doing the right thing though and should stick with this programme so they are in the strongest position possible at the start on the next season. It must be hard for him to be so out of contention but he isn't spitting his dummy out or complaining and in fact he seems relatively upbeat which is a huge credit to him. If and when he does win a MotoGP championship on the Ducati he will be the first person in history to have won it with three different manufacturers and this is his motivation to stick at it rather than jumping ship, moving to four wheels or retiring.

Boo Stoner. IMO, he is over rated. Contrast him on the Duke last year and Rossi this year. At least Rossi is a) staying on and b) bringing in regular points. Last year Stoner spent more time shaking gravel out his undies then he did making the bike work.

 

[YellowG1]

Only saw the highlights... Scary crash for Oliveira on 125. Great Moto2 race as usual.

Lorenzo again at his best. That bike can not be driven any faster...

Good to see Asimo back on form

Didn't see the reason why Spies was complaining with Sic. Did something happen between them?

I watched the whole race. TV didn't show Spies' pass (AGAIN) so I'm not sure what went down. My guess is maybe Simoncelli tried to close the door on Spies at the last turn (like what happened in France), but it is purely a guess. I was just floored that Spies caught them up.

And Pedrosa might be the spoiler this year if he stays healthy. At least MotoGP is interesting and relatively wide-open this year unlike F1, which is again interesting for the wrong reasons...

 

[F1 fan]

there is no way to explain this other than he lacks the kind of talent Stoner has.

Takes me back to the whole "looks like your ambition outweighed your talent". Rossi once said it to Stoner. So when Stoner said it to Rossi at Jerez, I was almost on the floor laughing.

I know Yamaha are a big team but compared to Honda this year it does appear to be a case of David vs Goliath, if Lorenzo does win the championship this year it will be an outstanding achievement and an enormous kick in the danglies to Honda who desperately want to win the last 800c season.

The Honda is clearly far superior. Lorenzo is performing amazingly well this season. I have faith in him. I wonder what the championship standings would look like if Lorenzo was riding a Honda.

 

[Mike Rotch]

I watched the whole race. TV didn't show Spies' pass (AGAIN) so I'm not sure what went down. My guess is maybe Simoncelli tried to close the door on Spies at the last turn (like what happened in France), but it is purely a guess. I was just floored that Spies caught them up.

And Pedrosa might be the spoiler this year if he stays healthy. At least MotoGP is interesting and relatively wide-open this year unlike F1, which is again interesting for the wrong reasons...

Simoncelli had a half hearted dive up the inside of Dovi at the last corner, but bottled it and overshot the apex, allowing Spies to sneak up the inside and outdrag him to the line.

A couple of weeks ago Simoncelli would have gone for it, but now he has been browbeaten into submission it seems.

I'm not sure what Spies' line celebrations were about, he and Simoncelli didnt tangle at all during the race.

 

[niky]

That's what I saw in our coverage, too... very very late overtake thanks to a mistake by Simoncelli.

Quite a good second half to the race for Spies... either he was overcautious or preserving his tires for the first half of the race... I don't know... but he was pretty far back for a long while, and then bam! he was back in the hunt.

 

[180bandit]

People should stop sweating Rossi this year. He's using this year to develop next years bike. He doesn't need to take unnecessary risks by riding the GP11 hard like Casey did, he has 8 titles and nothing to prove to anyone.

 

[YellowG1]

Dovizioso looks to be dropped from the works team at the end of the year: http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/93182

If Honda's only fielding 4 bikes, that means Elias and Aoyama are out of a job... jeez, could we be looking at a 15 bike grid next season?

 

[adamp93]

Dovizioso looks to be dropped from the works team at the end of the year: http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/93182

If Honda's only fielding 4 bikes, that means Elias and Aoyama are out of a job... jeez, could we be looking at a 15 bike grid next season?

Well no since 6 extra teams are entering. 4 Hondas means 2 repsol plus 2 Gresini, there will be others, just that they are customer bikes, like the LCR team

 

[Mike Rotch]

Pity about Dovi, I hope he lands up at Gresini, Aoyama was extracting as much out the bike as it's clearly capable of.

It also pains me to see Elias struggling, I hope he goes back to Moto2 and pursues another championship in that class.

 

[adamp93]

Pity about Dovi, I hope he lands up at Gresini, Aoyama was extracting as much out the bike as it's clearly capable of.

It also pains me to see Elias struggling, I hope he goes back to Moto2 and pursues another championship in that class.

I think the Gresini team will be another full factory team with Simoncelii and Dovi; they both deserve factory bikes and have HRC contracts.
Elias just needs a class that doesn't use Pirellis and he'll be fine.
EDIT: Bridgestones not Pirellis, don't know where that came from

 

[hornet_burnout]

Very different tires may be making the difference indeed. We saw how Spies couldn't perform until they changed the front fork. Casey complained about front tire "pressure" and Cal had troubles with front as well, destroying a tire in half a race on one occasion.

The Spies overtake was perfectly "normal":
http://otobizz.blogspot.com/2011/07/video-ben-spies-overtake-simoncelli-at.html

Maybe he was complaining about something else... maybe his extensive use of his legs under braking that takes half the track

 

[YellowG1]

Great ride by Stoner. That was exactly what he needed (aside from Lorenzo DNFing) to boost his title chances. A bit disappointing by Spies--4th is good but I would've liked to see an American on the podium at Laguna Seca and being 20+ secs behind Stoner...

 

[adamp93]

Great ride by Stoner. That was exactly what he needed (aside from Lorenzo DNFing) to boost his title chances. A bit disappointing by Spies--4th is good but I would've liked to see an American on the podium at Laguna Seca and being 20+ secs behind Stoner...

If Stoner wins the championship now, I think it will be very much because of that ride.

 

[Seaca07]

If Stoner wins the championship now, I think it will be very much because of that ride.

Makes you wonder how the championship would stand if Lorenzo was sat on that ride.

 

[hornet_burnout]

Haven't had the chance to see it yet... was it interesting enough (is it worth DLing)?

 

[YellowG1]

Haven't had the chance to see it yet... was it interesting enough (is it worth DLing)?

Yes, it was a pretty good race. I definitely think it's worth watching.

 

[adamp93]

Makes you wonder how the championship would stand if Lorenzo was sat on that ride.

Not necessarily, I always thought it was 10% bike and 90% rider; plus Lorenzo just seems suited the Yamaha better than he would a Honda.

 

[Harley45]

Lets see halfway though the 2011 Season ...............


Looks like it'll be a Stoner , Lorenzo title fight to the bitter end , well bring it on its been intresting

Shame about Pedrosa otherwise I reckon we would have had a 3 way fight for the Title .

Rossi , well I honestly think ducati need to Dump the Carbon Frame its too stiff and watching the front end tuck here there and everywhere is bad enough so god alone knows what it must be like to ride . Seems theres at least two new Chassis being Constructed one in Steel and one in Aluminium for future testing .

Stoner Versus Rossi as mentioned lets wait till or If Stoner can get 9 World Championship Titles , but you've got to admire him for his commitment on a bike and he has proved one thing , he will go down as the most sucsesful 800cc Ducati Rider .

Oh an why the Hell did LCR Dump Randy De Puniet for Tony Elias ?