Yes, I know the calender still says 2010, but testing tomorrow really is the start of the season.
Forecast is good, high 60's and partly cloudy. Who will be faster, Stoner on the Honda or Rossi on the Duc? Will either of them be faster than Lorenzo? How will Spies do on the factory Yamaha??
Stay tuned!!!
True, but a win, especially in his home GP, would do his career a solid .. more important than being 5th or 6th in the standings which is where he is going to end up at this point.
Laguna is known for having tough corners to pass in, he's going to have to get a start somewhere in the top 3 to have a chance. So if he's going to be in "win it or bin it" mode, the first 3 laps are the time to do it.
I have to admit a certain amount of self-satisfaction over here listening to Nick and Gavin's comments about The Corkscrew. You see, I've been through that corner many times at "speed."*
*Quotes used to differentiate my speed from those guys. Mine is probably a tick or two slower than they can do on a pit bike, but maybe faster than their track walk.
US MotoGP, Laguna Seca - Friday practice (2) http://www.crash.net/motogp/gallery/1/2011+motogp/3925/photos.html
1. Jorge Lorenzo ESP Yamaha Factory Racing 1m 22.056s
2. Dani Pedrosa ESP Repsol Honda 1m 22.197s
3. Casey Stoner AUS Repsol Honda 1m 22.231s
4. Andrea Dovizioso ITA Repsol Honda 1m 22.537s
5. Ben Spies USA Yamaha Factory Racing 1m 22.615s
6. Marco Simoncelli ITA San Carlo Honda Gresini 1m 22.803s
7. Alvaro Bautista ESP Rizla Suzuki 1m 23.056s
8. Randy de Puniet FRA Pramac Racing 1m 23.135s
9. Colin Edwards USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1m 23.183s
10. Nicky Hayden USA Ducati Marlboro 1m 23.195s
11. Valentino Rossi ITA Ducati Marlboro 1m 23.369s
12. Hector Barbera ESP Mapfre Aspar 1m 23.424s
13. Cal Crutchlow GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1m 23.707s
14. Karel Abraham CZE Cardion AB Motoracing 1m 23.811s
15. Toni Elias ESP LCR Honda 1m 23.830s
16. Hiroshi Aoyama JPN San Carlo Honda Gresini 1m 24.590s
17. Loris Capirossi ITA Pramac Racing 1m 24.663s
18. Ben Bostrom USA LCR Honda 1m 26.159s
If not for that Simoncelli crash, this would have been Pedrosa's best chance for the title yet. He seems so susceptible to injury, either starting a season injured or going down during, always being compromised. This was the one season he started completely healthy and on a b!tchin bike.
I don't think he can catch Stoner who's 74 points ahead.
A lot can happen in half a season. If Stoner has to miss 2 or 3 races for some reason then Pedrosa could be back in the running. I'm not saying I think it'll happen, but anything's possible. Personally, I think Pedrosa is the greatest rider who'll never win a championship.
Wow, B I G crash for Lorenzo at the end of FP3. Really bizarre, practice start after the session and as he went into turn five he had a massive highside. Apparently he had came out of the pits with only time for about a lap before the session ended so early guesses are a cold tire highside. After being on the ground for a bit he walked away (eventually) under his own power. Yet to be seen if he'll make QP, gotta be hurting...
Full qualifying times from the US MotoGP at Laguna Seca, round 10 of 18.
World champion Jorge Lorenzo was back on track after his huge morning highside.
1. Jorge Lorenzo ESP Yamaha Factory Racing 1m 21.202s
2. Casey Stoner AUS Repsol Honda 1m 21.274s
3. Dani Pedrosa ESP Repsol Honda 1m 21.385s
4. Ben Spies USA Yamaha Factory Racing 1m 21.578s
5. Marco Simoncelli ITA San Carlo Honda Gresini 1m 21.696s
6. Andrea Dovizioso ITA Repsol Honda 1m 21.731s
7. Valentino Rossi ITA Ducati Marlboro 1m 22.235s
8. Hector Barbera ESP Mapfre Aspar 1m 22.238s
9. Nicky Hayden USA Ducati Marlboro 1m 22.271s
10. Cal Crutchlow GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1m 22.385s
11. Colin Edwards USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1m 22.520s
12. Alvaro Bautista ESP Rizla Suzuki 1m 22.669s
13. Karel Abraham CZE Cardion AB Motoracing 1m 22.893s
14. Hiroshi Aoyama JPN San Carlo Honda Gresini 1m 22.937s
15. Randy de Puniet FRA Pramac Racing 1m 22.961s
16. Loris Capirossi ITA Pramac Racing 1m 23.876s
17. Toni Elias ESP LCR Honda 1m 24.156s
18. Ben Bostrom USA LCR Honda 1m 25.291s
Fastest practice time: Casey Stoner AUS Repsol Honda 1m 21.806s (FP3)
2010 US Grand Prix (July 25): Pole position: Jorge Lorenzo ESP Fiat Yamaha 1m 20.978s Fastest race lap: Casey Stoner AUS Ducati 1m 21.376s
Wasn't it him also (or was it Dovi, or someone else?) who ran a race a few years back with two broken ankles. Started something like 14th and either won or finished on the podium.
Last I remember hearing, it was Randy Mamola. I didn't see them, but hope you are referring to the 2 seater they use to scare the sht out of celebrities and sweepstakes winners.
Congrats to Stoner, he road a brilliant race, hit is passes when he could then just disappeared.
Or...
Meh, what are you so happy about? You beat one guy still not completely fit after a broken collarbone, and another guy who almost broke his leg yesterday and couldn't even get off his bike in Park Ferme without assistance. Big deal. Don't go stealing any purses from old women on your way out.
Was it me or did Hayden look annoyed with Rossi who was apologizing to him in the garage after the race? This was on the BBC coverage, not sure if it was played everywhere.
You Californians certainly know how to build a track. Awesome. Best podium chics this season too! But why are they sending the teams to Brno before the next American round - madness.
Whether you think You'reGay was a racing cripple or not; that was a classy pass by Stoner. I'm gathering they used the good tyre pressure gauge rather than checking things on the back of the ute at the servo en-route to the track.
My mate seems to be right too; Stoney shakes and sprays on the podium but will not drink the bubbles. That's nearly as gay as a helmeted apology. Even grumpy little Pedrosa has a quick sip.
Simmo deserves a kick in the arse for wasting everyones' time.
Ben Bostrom deserves a kick in the arse for returning to the pits. Poofters.
While on the topic, Marwa Klebi is four months pregnant and Rossi is looking down the barrel of fatherhood. Guess that severely reduces the likelihood of Rossi and Uccio being an item. 46.1 in only 5 months.
Seems Burgo has finally succumbed and agrees that Ducati's present chassis set-up is limited and Ducati needs to consider a more conventional frame to become competitive again.
While on the topic, Marwa Klebi is four months pregnant and Rossi is looking down the barrel of fatherhood. Guess that severely reduces the likelihood of Rossi and Uccio being an item. 46.1 in only 5 months.
He's had a few girlfriends in the past who the Italian press had discovered. I'm not really sure why people seemed to think he was gay even after that. As Colin said, he's never seen Jorge or Ben with a woman.
Seems Burgo has finally succumbed and agrees that Ducati's present chassis set-up is limited and Ducati needs to consider a more conventional frame to become competitive again.
I'm sure when he was saying someone was slow, he meant it in relative terms. Anything else might be projected onto him by you. Having him instead say "someone was struggling" seems to me like sugarcoating things. No different than the "everyone gets a trophy" mentality. And the reality is that being a racer is probably a tought job. You get sh!t from all corners if you're not performing the way people think you should be.
Before Stoner made that pass I got an inkling that Jorge was slow out of that turn, or slower than Stoner and was thinking a pass would happen. Not sure if Stoner set him up or just capitalized on a bad exit.
And if anyone goes to Laguna for the MotoGP race next year, stand next to the entrance to the bridge that goes over the start/finish line. When the bikes go over that crest at speed, they look like they're getting shot out into outer space. It's nuts and you'll stand there with your jaw agape.
From what I hear, the Marc VDS bike (pictured) is about 6.5 seconds off the pace right now, but they're not expecting it to be the fastest of the new CRT teams either. Plus, they still have a lot of time to make it faster. Regardless, I wouldn't be surprised if the top CRT team was at least 3 seconds off the pace next year. 3 seconds may even be a bit ambitious.
Yeah, they told me about the telephone pole trick when I went there. It meant I would pass five-six riders going into Turn Two who hadn't heard that trick and were rolling off before the crest of the hill. That turn is really frightening, and mad props to the riders who can do it well.
On the Jumbotron at the track, you could see Lorenzo's rear tire slip/slide in T11, and I turned to my friend next to me and said, "Here it comes." By the time I'd turned back, they were side-by-side, then Stoner was ahead.
Good times. 20th or 21st time I've been to Laguna for WSBK/MotoGP/500s.
...On the Jumbotron at the track, you could see Lorenzo's rear tire slip/slide in T11, and I turned to my friend next to me and said, "Here it comes." By the time I'd turned back, they were side-by-side, then Stoner was ahead...
Yep, it was obvious on the exit of 11 that Stoner was going to pass. Not to take anything away from him, because it is a scary thing to do, but the only way he could NOT pass Lorenzo was to roll out of it way, way early.
Heh heh, I like this example even better of the Royal We:
Its first recorded use was in 1169[citation needed] when King Henry II, hard pressed by his barons over the Investiture Controversy, assumed the common theory of "divine right of kings," that the monarch acted conjointly with the deity. Hence, he used "we" as "God and I...," or so the legend goes.
Vale seems to be enthusiastic about next year... We'l see what happens then.
If stoner was competetive on the Duca,, It would have been very interesting if Rossi was still on the Yammy, and stoner on his current honda....
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