100% entertainment - and then some. The first race of 2010 under the lights at Qatar certainly set a high bar for expectations of the rest of the season. Seventeen bikes and riders started, only 13 finished....
The biggest surprise - Casey Stoner, who crashed out of the lead relatively early on.
The biggest disappointment - Alvaro Bautista, who washed out in the last turn on the last lap of his first ever MotoGP race.
Mika Kallio and Aleix Espargaro also crashed out about half way through the race in unrelated incidents.
Cruising over the line to his first victory of the new season was none other than Valentino Rossi. Although not a flawless win for Rossi, he did manage to pull a fairly comfortable lead during the last two laps. His extra push may have come from Andrea Dovizioso who steadily made his way through the pack to overtake teammate Dani Pedrosa and Nicky Hayden before a short-lived game of cat and mouse with Valentino.
Ultimately, Dovi eeked out a spot on the podium - eleven THOUSANDTHS of a second ahead of (or, beside, as it were) Nicky Hayden. Nicky ran an absolutely amazing race. He came out of the box strong and maintained a masterful grip on that big red Duc that has given him so many problems over the past couple of years. He held a podium position for most of the race, which made the final lap damn near heart breaking to watch. Great start to the season for him nonetheless - he's got to be happy with that one.
Second place went to Jorge Lorenzo who fought his way up from fairly deep in the field. It's not so surprising to see Jorge on the podium - he seems to have made that quite the usual protocol since his MotoGP debut - what is surprising is that he did it while riding with a rather significant right-hand injury. Respect.
Marco Simoncelli managed to stay up-on-two throughout the race after two confidence-shattering crashes during the practice sessions - hopefully that will give him a boost going into the next round.
All in all, a fantastic race (that had me screaming at the tv like an idiot)... just the way we like em'. Oh, and I can't forget to lend praise to Dorna for stepping up the broadcasts to HD - New season, new bikes, new riders, under the lights, on the big-ass flat screen, in high definition....
I need a moment.....
Until next time (Motegi - 2 weeks)
Rubb'er Down!!
Kristen
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Friday, April 9, 2010
Finally... the 2010 MotoGP season has begun!
The first free practice sessions have concluded under the lights at Qatar. The eagerly awaited Moto2 class had a very drama-free session with only one mechanical issue out of the 3,468 bikes on track. I jest!!! But WOW!! are there a lot of riders out there?!?! Another FP session tomorrow, followed by qualifying and then we finally get to the meat of the action on Sunday.
The big boys came out to play today too. Although not quite as uneventful as the Moto2 session, everyone seemed in good form and beyond ready to start the season. Casey Stoner topped the boards followed by Jorge Lorenzo - who smacked down a righteous time before duffing the bike in the last few minutes of the session - and Valentino Rossi, who dropped his own proverbial hammer.... without the wipe-out.
Rookies Ben Spies, Alvaro Bautista and Hector Barbera all ended up in the top ten today - rock on fresh meat!! It's going to be a good year indeed.
Bikes and riders all looked to be in top form for the debut. Loris Capirossi was an unfortunate victim of a rather high-speed low-side, but handled it like the veteran he is. The cameras cut to a shot of his wife, Ingrid, in the garage as Loris was tobogganing into the gravel pit. She, much like Loris, is such an old-hand at the sport she didn't even bat an eye, but rather gave an almost disgruntled look - as though she had just caught him walking in the house wearing muddy shoes. Classic!
The only eyebrow raised so far (for me) is at Pramac Ducati. I have NOTHING but respect for Ducati as they are a staple in the racing community, maintain top talent to jockey their uber-fast machines, and support their racers with everything they can muster - that being said... the day-glo lime(ish) green paint scheme - not the most aesthetically pleasing livery. I understand the color choice was to celebrate "going green" which is, in a word, awesome. But there are so many alternative shades of green that could shout their "green initiative" without looking like a safety vest rocketing around the circuit at 200MPH.
Again, Ducati, NOTHING but repsect.... but I'll be eagerly awaiting a new paint scheme :)
Okay, off to assure the beer is at optimal temperature for viewing the inaugural race of 2010 - this will require testing, lots of testing.....
Until next time,
Rubb'er Down!!!!
Kristen
The big boys came out to play today too. Although not quite as uneventful as the Moto2 session, everyone seemed in good form and beyond ready to start the season. Casey Stoner topped the boards followed by Jorge Lorenzo - who smacked down a righteous time before duffing the bike in the last few minutes of the session - and Valentino Rossi, who dropped his own proverbial hammer.... without the wipe-out.
Rookies Ben Spies, Alvaro Bautista and Hector Barbera all ended up in the top ten today - rock on fresh meat!! It's going to be a good year indeed.
Bikes and riders all looked to be in top form for the debut. Loris Capirossi was an unfortunate victim of a rather high-speed low-side, but handled it like the veteran he is. The cameras cut to a shot of his wife, Ingrid, in the garage as Loris was tobogganing into the gravel pit. She, much like Loris, is such an old-hand at the sport she didn't even bat an eye, but rather gave an almost disgruntled look - as though she had just caught him walking in the house wearing muddy shoes. Classic!
The only eyebrow raised so far (for me) is at Pramac Ducati. I have NOTHING but respect for Ducati as they are a staple in the racing community, maintain top talent to jockey their uber-fast machines, and support their racers with everything they can muster - that being said... the day-glo lime(ish) green paint scheme - not the most aesthetically pleasing livery. I understand the color choice was to celebrate "going green" which is, in a word, awesome. But there are so many alternative shades of green that could shout their "green initiative" without looking like a safety vest rocketing around the circuit at 200MPH.
Again, Ducati, NOTHING but repsect.... but I'll be eagerly awaiting a new paint scheme :)
Okay, off to assure the beer is at optimal temperature for viewing the inaugural race of 2010 - this will require testing, lots of testing.....
Until next time,
Rubb'er Down!!!!
Kristen
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