***SPOILER*** Mugello MotoGP result

[feejer222]

A great race, although a bit of a procession at the end. Capirossi and Stoner shared the lead from the start but were hunted down within a few laps. Rossi does what he does best. It is a twisty circuit, although it does have the fastest straight on the calendar. This meant that on the big straight, Rossi was about 10mph down on Stoner, but he was quicker overall because the Yamaha is able to accelerate and turn quicker than the Ducati.

Rossi started from 3rd but slipped to about 6th after a couple of laps, some aggresive braking soon brought him through to the front and he led from about half distance. At first he had a battle with Pedrossa but soon pulled away to win by 3 seconds.

The rider conspicuous by his absence once again was the current champeen, Nicky Hayden. I don't know what is going on, but he is going that slow at the moment he has flies on the back of his helmet. He ran the race at 10th and finished there just in front of Colin Edwards.

A great result for Brazilian Alex Barros who was running in his 235th GP and finished 3rd. on a private Ducati in front of Stoner on the works bike. Capirossi was 5th I think.

2 Interesting points, the works Ducati garage was closed immediately the bikes came in, highly unusual and 'out of order' according to the race commentator.

The second was the young guy in a Rossi sun visor who Rossi kept going to for long meaningful hugs. Why wont he come out?

Almost a bigger spectacle than the race was the response Rossi got from the fans. He has won there 6 times in a row now. The pits and track and spectating area beyond was filled with thousands of people cheering and singing. The commentary was stopped so that the viewers could listen. Toby Moody who does the commentary for Eurosport said that he had never in 15 years seen the like.

 

[madmike2]

2 Interesting points, the works Ducati garage was closed immediately the bikes came in, highly unusual and 'out of order' according to the race commentator.
The second was the young guy in a Rossi sun visor who Rossi kept going to for long meaningful hugs. Why wont he come out?

1. It sounds like there is some trouble in the camp. Could be anything from bike problems to personalities and they don't want the "general populace" in the middle of it.

2. I appears he is "out" and without the usual fanfare. Everyone else is trying to make something more of this part of his life and he isn't going to participate.

 

[feejer222]

2 Interesting points, the works Ducati garage was closed immediately the bikes came in, highly unusual and 'out of order' according to the race commentator.
The second was the young guy in a Rossi sun visor who Rossi kept going to for long meaningful hugs. Why wont he come out?

1. It sounds like there is some trouble in the camp. Could be anything from bike problems to personalities and they don't want the "general populace" in the middle of it.

2. I appears he is "out" and without the usual fanfare. Everyone else is trying to make something more of this part of his life and he isn't going to participate.

Correct and correct.

 

[snikr]

Any idea when Rossi's teammate is going to do something besides stay in the middle of the pack??

Tom

 

[squeezer]

Bad day for all the Yanks except Hopper.

Two things explain Nicky, I think. One, he is still riding hurt. Two is something interesting mentioned by Freddie Spencer today during the AMA Superbike race. He made a tangential comment about the Honda MotoGP fairing being too small for Nicky, that they needed to widen and raise it so that he could tuck better behind it. Spencer said it was costing him a mile per hour or two on the straights. Sounds like the bike was designed for Pedrosa.

 

[cougar8000]

Just an amazing race. Rossi coming all the way from 8 spot.

Something is not right for the Ducs. I was almost sure they would dominate this track with the speed they have and looked like they did at the beginning.

 

[Kevin Daly]

Rossi was of course amazing! Anyone see Lorenzo get batted out of the race on the last lap for the 250's? WOW. I would be pissed! but he still eeked out an eighth place!

2 Interesting points, the works Ducati garage was closed immediately the bikes came in, highly unusual and 'out of order' according to the race commentator.

They closed their doors because the track was mobbed with Rossi fans.

 

[jeremybhm]

Eurosport

Sounds like their coverage is much better than the Speed Channel's coverage... I wanted some replay's during that 250cc race they had on before the big race this afternoon, but there were none to be found. An HD feed would be nice too.

And they need Darryl Waltrip to commentate so that I can understand them.... :clapping:

Can't you see MotoGP w/ some "Boogity, Boogity, Boogity, let's go racing boyz!!!" :fans:

 

[Randy]

The rider conspicuous by his absence once again was the current champeen, Nicky Hayden. I don't know what is going on, but he is going that slow at the moment he has flies on the back of his helmet. He ran the race at 10th and finished there just in front of Colin Edwards.

Call me crazy, but, I can't help but to think back to the end of last season. When everyone else was doing test runs on the 800s, Nicky had to ignore the 800 and stuck to polishing the 990 as Pedrosa's stunt forced him to be in a position where he had to pull out all stops for the final race. That development time is crucial. The other riders had 2 full testing sessions in on the 800 before Nicky ever threw a leg over one. And when he finally did get on the 800, he was riding injured (again, a result of the midget's bonehead move).

 

[feejer222]

Bad day for all the Yanks except Hopper.
Two things explain Nicky, I think. One, he is still riding hurt. Two is something interesting mentioned by Freddie Spencer today during the AMA Superbike race. He made a tangential comment about the Honda MotoGP fairing being too small for Nicky, that they needed to widen and raise it so that he could tuck better behind it. Spencer said it was costing him a mile per hour or two on the straights. Sounds like the bike was designed for Pedrosa.

A lot of riders ride hurt............Rossi was giving Stoner 10mph on the long straight, and still left him behind.

I really believe its in Nicky's head. Pedrossa was at the front for much of the race on the same bike. I am sure Honda would want Nicky to retain the title and would use Danni's tellemetry for Nicky's bike when needed.

At the end of last year James Toseland was given a ride on the GP bike as a well done present from Honda. He was at the last GP and was told he could have Nicky's for the afternoon, the day after the race. As it turned out it didn't happen and he got to ride Danni's for 15 minutes. With knees under his chin as he is 5'10'' he managed to get within 1 second of Nicky's race time from the day before. It's alllll in the mind!!

 

[Randy]

Bad day for all the Yanks except Hopper.
Two things explain Nicky, I think. One, he is still riding hurt. Two is something interesting mentioned by Freddie Spencer today during the AMA Superbike race. He made a tangential comment about the Honda MotoGP fairing being too small for Nicky, that they needed to widen and raise it so that he could tuck better behind it. Spencer said it was costing him a mile per hour or two on the straights. Sounds like the bike was designed for Pedrosa.

A lot of riders ride hurt............Rossi was giving Stoner 10mph on the long straight, and still left him behind.

I really believe its in Nicky's head. Pedrossa was at the front for much of the race on the same bike. I am sure Honda would want Nicky to retain the title and would use Danni's tellemetry for Nicky's bike when needed.

At the end of last year James Toseland was given a ride on the GP bike as a well done present from Honda. He was at the last GP and was told he could have Nicky's for the afternoon, the day after the race. As it turned out it didn't happen and he got to ride Danni's for 15 minutes. With knees under his chin as he is 5'10'' he managed to get within 1 second of Nicky's race time from the day before. It's alllll in the mind!!

I partially agree.

I agree that some of it is in the head, but, I completely disagree that he and Dani are 'on the same bike'. Yes, they both say Honda and have the same paint job, but, they are hardly the same bike.

 

[feejer222]

Bad day for all the Yanks except Hopper.
Two things explain Nicky, I think. One, he is still riding hurt. Two is something interesting mentioned by Freddie Spencer today during the AMA Superbike race. He made a tangential comment about the Honda MotoGP fairing being too small for Nicky, that they needed to widen and raise it so that he could tuck better behind it. Spencer said it was costing him a mile per hour or two on the straights. Sounds like the bike was designed for Pedrosa.

A lot of riders ride hurt............Rossi was giving Stoner 10mph on the long straight, and still left him behind.

I really believe its in Nicky's head. Pedrossa was at the front for much of the race on the same bike. I am sure Honda would want Nicky to retain the title and would use Danni's tellemetry for Nicky's bike when needed.

At the end of last year James Toseland was given a ride on the GP bike as a well done present from Honda. He was at the last GP and was told he could have Nicky's for the afternoon, the day after the race. As it turned out it didn't happen and he got to ride Danni's for 15 minutes. With knees under his chin as he is 5'10'' he managed to get within 1 second of Nicky's race time from the day before. It's alllll in the mind!!

I partially agree.

I agree that some of it is in the head, but, I completely disagree that he and Dani are 'on the same bike'. Yes, they both say Honda and have the same paint job, but, they are hardly the same bike.

Why would Honda put their defending world champion on anything but their best equipment?

 

[Randy]

Bad day for all the Yanks except Hopper.
Two things explain Nicky, I think. One, he is still riding hurt. Two is something interesting mentioned by Freddie Spencer today during the AMA Superbike race. He made a tangential comment about the Honda MotoGP fairing being too small for Nicky, that they needed to widen and raise it so that he could tuck better behind it. Spencer said it was costing him a mile per hour or two on the straights. Sounds like the bike was designed for Pedrosa.

A lot of riders ride hurt............Rossi was giving Stoner 10mph on the long straight, and still left him behind.

I really believe its in Nicky's head. Pedrossa was at the front for much of the race on the same bike. I am sure Honda would want Nicky to retain the title and would use Danni's tellemetry for Nicky's bike when needed.

At the end of last year James Toseland was given a ride on the GP bike as a well done present from Honda. He was at the last GP and was told he could have Nicky's for the afternoon, the day after the race. As it turned out it didn't happen and he got to ride Danni's for 15 minutes. With knees under his chin as he is 5'10'' he managed to get within 1 second of Nicky's race time from the day before. It's alllll in the mind!!

I partially agree.

I agree that some of it is in the head, but, I completely disagree that he and Dani are 'on the same bike'. Yes, they both say Honda and have the same paint job, but, they are hardly the same bike.

Why would Honda put their defending world champion on anything but their best equipment?

You're talking about the same team that couldn't give him a decent clutch towards the end of his championship winning season. You're also talking about the team that didn't tell the mighty midget not to take himself and the championship points leader out at the closing of the season.

I think they are trying to do the best they can, but, they aren't there yet. Again, bikes are similar, but, not the same. Suspension components, geometry, and quite a few other things are individualized based on feedback from testing. It's not like they can just go to a parts bin and pull out the parts needed to fix a problem. They need to do engineering and then manufacturing and then testing. So, at the end of last year when everyone else was on the 800s doing test sessions to provide the factory the feedback they need to make what was needed, Nicky was trying to find out if they got the 990 dialed in and get the clutch fixed. He is still a few steps behind in the cycle of testing and developing.

I might be way off, but, I think they see Dani as their future, not Nicky, and that's where they're sending the top notch stuff. Just an opinion.

 

[feejer222]

You're talking about the same team that couldn't give him a decent clutch towards the end of his championship winning season. You're also talking about the team that didn't tell the mighty midget not to take himself and the championship points leader out at the closing of the season.I think they are trying to do the best they can, but, they aren't there yet. Again, bikes are similar, but, not the same. Suspension components, geometry, and quite a few other things are individualized based on feedback from testing. It's not like they can just go to a parts bin and pull out the parts needed to fix a problem. They need to do engineering and then manufacturing and then testing. So, at the end of last year when everyone else was on the 800s doing test sessions to provide the factory the feedback they need to make what was needed, Nicky was trying to find out if they got the 990 dialed in and get the clutch fixed. He is still a few steps behind in the cycle of testing and developing.

I might be way off, but, I think they see Dani as their future, not Nicky, and that's where they're sending the top notch stuff. Just an opinion.

There is a theory that the big manufacturers favour riders from countries where they have best sales. It makes sense to give a good bike and a chance to win a world title to Nicky Hayden from USA where Honda sales are by far bigger than in Spain where Pedrossa is from. This is often cited as an argument as to why Brits never get top rides any more.

The good Brit guys are usually used as test riders at best.

 

[Randy]

You're talking about the same team that couldn't give him a decent clutch towards the end of his championship winning season. You're also talking about the team that didn't tell the mighty midget not to take himself and the championship points leader out at the closing of the season.I think they are trying to do the best they can, but, they aren't there yet. Again, bikes are similar, but, not the same. Suspension components, geometry, and quite a few other things are individualized based on feedback from testing. It's not like they can just go to a parts bin and pull out the parts needed to fix a problem. They need to do engineering and then manufacturing and then testing. So, at the end of last year when everyone else was on the 800s doing test sessions to provide the factory the feedback they need to make what was needed, Nicky was trying to find out if they got the 990 dialed in and get the clutch fixed. He is still a few steps behind in the cycle of testing and developing.

I might be way off, but, I think they see Dani as their future, not Nicky, and that's where they're sending the top notch stuff. Just an opinion.

There is a theory that the big manufacturers favour riders from countries where they have best sales. It makes sense to give a good bike and a chance to win a world title to Nicky Hayden from USA where Honda sales are by far bigger than in Spain where Pedrossa is from. This is often cited as an argument as to why Brits never get top rides any more.

The good Brit guys are usually used as test riders at best.

Which explains why Edwards gets all the good stuff and Rossi gets the crap :rofl:

 

[markjenn]

You guys are clutching at straws defending Hayden. Now six races into the new season, you're still blaming Dani's shunt in Portugal last year for Nicky's poor showing this season? Give me a break.

Hayden was a very weak champion last year. Don't forget, in about 75 MotoGP starts on arguably the best bike in the paddock and certainly the most well-funded team, he has exactly three (yes 3!) wins - two on his "home track" where he raced AMA for years and has a tremendous knowledge advantage while his competitors had never set foot on the track until 2005, and one where someone crashed out in front of him on the last corner. All the cards broke right last year, he was consistent, and he squeaked out the championship. This year, it's going the other way and he's middle pack at best.

The reason for Hayden's poor showing this year is staring back at him in the mirror. He's a good (not great) rider and a heck of a nice guy, but he's a very marginal champion.

- Mark

 

[Randy]

You guys are clutching at straws defending Hayden. Now six races into the new season, you're still blaming Dani's shunt in Portugal last year for Nicky's poor showing this season? Give me a break.
Hayden was a very weak champion last year. Don't forget, in about 75 MotoGP starts on arguably the best bike in the paddock and certainly the most well-funded team, he has exactly three (yes 3!) wins - two on his "home track" where he raced AMA for years and has a tremendous knowledge advantage while his competitors had never set foot on the track until 2005, and one where someone crashed out in front of him on the last corner. All the cards broke right last year, he was consistent, and he squeaked out the championship. This year, it's going the other way and he's middle pack at best.

The reason for Hayden's poor showing this year is staring back at him in the mirror. He's a good (not great) rider and a heck of a nice guy, but he's a very marginal champion.

- Mark

I agree that it's partially him, but, to put it simply, if the bike don't turn, then the bike don't turn. And if you're doing everything in your power to give the right feedback and tell the team what you need, and yet the bike still don't turn, then wouldn't that get you down, too?

And to say that someone who has multiple championships at the AMA level (dirt and track) and also a championship at the world level, is only a good, but not great, rider is nothing short of hilarious.

 

[feejer222]

Sorry Randy, I have to disagree. Nicky is a loooooong way off being a great rider. There are not many, and to become one you have to be great, not mid-pack week in week out. Great riders ride round problems.

When Rossi changed to Yamaha he went from a dominant bike to one that had struggled to get mid-field finishes. He won his first race on it and went on to win the title. That is the mark of a great rider.

At Philip Island in 2004 he was battling for the lead with 2 or 3 other riders. They put out a board to tell him that he had a 10 second time penalty for a jump start. He pulled away and won by 15 seconds just to prove a point. Can you see Nicky Hayden ever doing that at world level? Hardly!

I must add I don't like Rossi, I think he is immature and...well...strange! But if nothing else, like Hailwood, Agostini, and very few others, he is the deffinition of 'Great'.

 

[Randy]

Sorry Randy, I have to disagree. Nicky is a loooooong way off being a great rider. There are not many, and to become one you have to be great, not mid-pack week in week out. Great riders ride round problems.
When Rossi changed to Yamaha he went from a dominant bike to one that had struggled to get mid-field finishes. He won his first race on it and went on to win the title. That is the mark of a great rider.

At Philip Island in 2004 he was battling for the lead with 2 or 3 other riders. They put out a board to tell him that he had a 10 second time penalty for a jump start. He pulled away and won by 15 seconds just to prove a point. Can you see Nicky Hayden ever doing that at world level? Hardly!

I must add I don't like Rossi, I think he is immature and...well...strange! But if nothing else, like Hailwood, Aggostini, and very few others, he is the deffinition of 'Great'.

Before we get into the pointless never-ending thread category, guess we'll just have to agree to disagree.

Then again, we can put out money where our mouth is. $50 to the Roadracing World Action Fund says Nicky is on the podium twice before the end of the year.