MotoGP Qualifying at Sachsenring

[El Toro]

Not trying to take away from the excellent summaries provided by our in-house commentator (feejer222) :clapping: , but I thought that since qualifying has been over now for an hour or so, that I'd post just some key results.

Stoner ran away with it again. He beat the old qualifying record by about .8 seconds. Pedrosa and Edwards will join him in the first row. Stoner is confident, and with good reason.

Second row is Dovizioso, Lorenzo, and dePuniet. All happy campers to be there.

Hayden and Rossi are in row 3 (I don't remember the other fellow in row 3).

Rossi struggled. Of course we've all seen him work his way up through the pack in a race. If Rossi gets out of the first lap unscathed, maybe he can catch the leaders. It was not to be in qualifying.

 

[Hit the Road Jack]

Achtung - the German MotoGP race will be televised on network TV (CBS) tomorrow, Sunday, July 13th at 1pm EDT (10am PDT).

I'm looking forward to seeing it since I'm too cheap to pay for the NASCAR channel!

 

[feejer222]

Not trying to take away from the excellent summaries provided by our in-house commentator (feejer222) :clapping:

No problem ET just got home and about to watch on replay. I would have done the usual run down but will just add a few snippets.

Melandri has been given until the end of the Laguna race to shape up or ship out by Ducati. Apparantly known for his dislike for hangers-on, he usually has no family or friends around the garage. His father used to drive him around Europe when he was racing the 125's and wasn't old enough to drive himself, but has not been seen at a race for a couple of years. His father IS however present this weekend. Read into that what you will. It's an open secret that Melandri has been in talks with Kawasaki, AND Sette Gibernau has been testing the Ducati's! There is also talk of the Ducati test rider getting a chance, (can't remember his name).

Hopper is still out, he has a broken ankle and fibula in the same leg and his knee on his other leg locked solid and required surgery to be released! West is the only Kawasaki rider this week, but as you know the ENGLISHMAN Jamie Hacking is standing in for Hopper at Laguna. (Hacking was born in Lancashire England and lived there until he was 9, only 20 miles from Carl Foggarty, apparantly their grandmothers are good friends [don't know what the f**k that has to do with anything]).

On Saturday morning, Stoner (who has dominated all weekend again) went into the right-hander after a long left handed complex yesterday at 13 mph faster than he had the previous lap, consequently his front tyre said enough is enough fella! and down he went. He slid for about 48 miles and burned elbows and knees, but is otherwise OK.

There have been several other front end slide-offs including Edwards (who is if you ask me looking decidedly porky...[***** over]), and Pedrossa. As I mentioned there is a series of left hand corners that take up about a third of the track and then debatably, the fastest right hander of the year....on potentially a cold tyre. Get ready for some front end slide-offs around that right hander.

Toseland is bringing up the rear this weekend, consistently stuck at the bottom of the timing sheet with Melandri.....who is by the way, a full 2.7 seconds a lap slower than Stoner.

Lorenzo was fast in free practice, but seems to have slowed in qualifying. Stoner is upset once more about people following him. He claimed after Assen that he could have won it by another 10 seconds if he had wanted.

Rossi set to break another record with his 202nd consecutive start. That takes some doing!

During qualifying Nicky went under Rossi smoking his rear tyre. The cameras cut to the Stoner garage to show the whole team, including Casey applauding Hayden. Rossi has said that there is no-one out there with better throttle control than Nicky. Maybe from his flat track days?

For my money one of the most stylish riders I have ever watched is Tony Elias. See if you get a glimps of him from the rear on full tilt.

Tose clambered up to 9th from 17th in one lap. Again at a brand new to him, very technical circuit.

At the end of qualifying Stoner was quicker than the outright lap record set on a 990 by point 8 of a second. Second position on the grid changed about 4 times in 15 seconds in the last minute.

Grid:

Stoner

Pedrossa

fatty Edwards

Dovizioso

Lorenzo

DePunier

Rossi

Hayden

Nakano

DeAngelis

Toseland

Elias

Capirossi (still injured)

Vermulen

Guintoli

Melandri

West

 

[El Toro]

Toseland is bringing up the rear this weekend, consistently stuck at the bottom of the timing sheet with Melandri.....who is by the way, a full 2.7 seconds a lap slower than Stoner.

They said that Stoner was interviewed on Saturday morning and in his usual modest way, he observed that since he could ride the bike, he would expect others could master it too. They said that he had commented that the Alice team riders were working very hard to do better with the Ducati, and that they had a very strong work ethic. I don't know how specific he got, but the commentators said that Stoner had implied or maybe even stated that Melandri wasn't working at it at this point. They said that everyone now expected a new rider at BRNO after the break.

During qualifying Nicky went under Rossi smoking his rear tyre. The cameras cut to the Stoner garage to show the whole team, including Casey applauding Hayden. Rossi has said that there is no-one out there with better throttle control than Nicky. Maybe from his flat track days?

I think we may have talked about this before, but there is a lot of speculation around the idea that Nicky has already signed with Ducati Marlboro for next season. I've always thought that his style of riding, with the dirt track background, might make him a good candidate for success on the Ducati. I've seen Hayden ride through the middle of some of the biggest messes, and recover from some of the biggest bucks... only Stoner has handled the bucking better. If he's with Ducati next year, it will be really interesting to see if he can handle their bike.

 

[feejer222]

Where did you hear about Nicky and Ducati? It's not one that has surfaced here.

 

[El Toro]

Where did you hear about Nicky and Ducati? It's not one that has surfaced here.

There have been no formal news reports, but at Assen and now at Sachsenring, the commentators have speculated about Nicky's future. Nicky is in his last year of his contract with Repsol, and both at Assen and at Sachsenring the commentators have said that the rumor is that Nicky has already signed with Ducati for next year.

Of course there are always a lot of rumors, so it may not be true. However, we all know that Nicky has not really felt like he was getting good support from Repsol or HRC. They've said that HRC told Nicky that he would have to earn the ride on the pneumatic valve train engine, so he did. Nicky himself said mid season last year that HRC and Repsol had indicated that the 800cc bike was not really set up for him. You don't usually hear Nicky whine, but he made a comment to the effect "Here I am, the world champion, and my team apologizes that the bike they've given me to ride isn't really designed for me or my style."

They've thought more about Dani than about Nicky in doing their development. You may recall that Nicky's dirt track history has sort of lead him to favor components that aren't the norm. His rear brake is quite powerful, for example, while his front brake is less powerful... at least according to reports from those close to the team. I would expect Repsol to be signing another small guy. There has been some speculation that Dovizioso may be on their radar.

 

[feejer222]

Where did you hear about Nicky and Ducati? It's not one that has surfaced here.

There have been no formal news reports, but at Assen and now at Sachsenring, the commentators have speculated about Nicky's future. Nicky is in his last year of his contract with Repsol, and both at Assen and at Sachsenring the commentators have said that the rumor is that Nicky has already signed with Ducati for next year.

Of course there are always a lot of rumors, so it may not be true. However, we all know that Nicky has not really felt like he was getting good support from Repsol or HRC. They've said that HRC told Nicky that he would have to earn the ride on the pneumatic valve train engine, so he did. Nicky himself said mid season last year that HRC and Repsol had indicated that the 800cc bike was not really set up for him. You don't usually hear Nicky whine, but he made a comment to the effect "Here I am, the world champion, and my team apologizes that the bike they've given me to ride isn't really designed for me or my style."

They've thought more about Dani than about Nicky in doing their development. You may recall that Nicky's dirt track history has sort of lead him to favor components that aren't the norm. His rear brake is quite powerful, for example, while his front brake is less powerful... at least according to reports from those close to the team. I would expect Repsol to be signing another small guy. There has been some speculation that Dovizioso may be on their radar.

I don't mean to be picky, but....I have heard nothing whatsoever from our guys or in the BSB paddock about Nicky even being considered let alone having signed for Ducati. I really can't see it happening. As far as having a more powerful rear brake and a de-tuned front brake, make a note of whoever you heard say it and remember to disregard his information in future.

It is common knowledge that HRC have not been helpfull or responsive to his requests. Ridiculous really....unless they didn't take his win seriously....can that happen???....that would be really rediculous.

I like Nicky, although I have heard negatives about him and his dad, but he comes across to me as a decent lad and a tryer. I hope he comes good.

Sete Gibernau has put in a lot of testing on the Ducati recently. There is also Nicola Canoppa the official Ducati test rider. He is already booked in for 3 wild card rides on Ducati's in WSBK. I would put my money on him getting the bike. His style has already been likened to Stoner.

By the way, they are on the left hand side of the tyre for 37 consecutive seconds at the Sachsenring on a wet lap. I am watching the build up to the race as I write....it is extremely wet.

Vermulen.....Edwards???????

 

[El Toro]

Good race today. Won't spoil it with a report. I saw Nicky's 990cc bike up close, and it had the brake oddities I mentioned above. Very different from the others.

I think Nicky is being hosed by Repsol and HRC. Today's prep just reinforces my view. No more to be said til after the delayed broadcast.

Gary Nixon once said that Nicky was the best overall rider he'd ever seen.

Hey, at this level, anyone out on the track has my respect.

 

[feejer222]

Good race today. Won't spoil it with a report. I saw Nicky's 990cc bike up close, and it had the brake oddities I mentioned above. Very different from the others.
I think Nicky is being hosed by Repsol and HRC. Today's prep just reinforces my view. No more to be said til after the delayed broadcast.

Gary Nixon once said that Nicky was the best overall rider he'd ever seen.

Hey, at this level, anyone out on the track has my respect.

What differences did the brakes have?

 

[El Toro]

What differences did the brakes have?

Disk size was obviously different, especially at rear.

You seem interested, so I'm going to recommend two books .... you may have already seen them, but maybe someone else would like the reference too.

First, if you're interested in Nicky's championship RC211V, and in fact in the whole 2006 season, this book has a lot of great stuff in it.

https://www.amazon.com/MotoGP-Season-Review...2441&sr=1-5

On page 29 you can see Nicky's rear brake clearly. Compare it to any of the other 990cc era bikes.... they're all in the book.

Second, if you're interested in the 990cc era technology, once it was over, a lot of stuff was showcased. I'm sure they didn't give anything away that they thought was of value to their 800cc development, but the book goes into a lot of neat technical detail. Here's a link

https://www.amazon.com/MotoGP-Technology-Ne...2441&sr=1-1

 

[feejer222]

What differences did the brakes have?

Disk size was obviously different, especially at rear.

You seem interested, so I'm going to recommend two books .... you may have already seen them, but maybe someone else would like the reference too.

First, if you're interested in Nicky's championship RC211V, and in fact in the whole 2006 season, this book has a lot of great stuff in it.

https://www.amazon.com/MotoGP-Season-Review...2441&sr=1-5

On page 29 you can see Nicky's rear brake clearly. Compare it to any of the other 990cc era bikes.... they're all in the book.

Second, if you're interested in the 990cc era technology, once it was over, a lot of stuff was showcased. I'm sure they didn't give anything away that they thought was of value to their 800cc development, but the book goes into a lot of neat technical detail. Here's a link

https://www.amazon.com/MotoGP-Technology-Ne...2441&sr=1-1

Thanks for that I have already got the second one that you mention. I might have a look at the other. Thanks again.