Inaugural race = Edge of your seat

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

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

Ben Spies gets a taste of the Premier Class

First off, congratulations to Valentino Rossi (and his fully-geared chicken) for securing his NINTH World Championship title in Sepang.





Priceless...

Now on to the final race of the season in Valencia. The championship may have been decided in Sepang, but the last race still holds a lot of excitement - in the form of one Ben Spies. Sterilgarda Yamaha have prepared a fine-looking one-off livery for Ben and are about to shove him out amongst the sea of seasoned MotoGP riders for his first trial-by-fire in the Premier Class. He was originally scheduled to sign on in 2011, however his contract was bumped up, and he will be competing in the 2010 season. Once again, MotoGP has snagged some incredible talent.



2010 will no doubt be another exciting year

Until Next Time.....

Rubb'er Down!

MotoGP News - Estoril qualifying and 2010 Teams

The boys of MotoGP are back in action this weekend in Estoril - even Casey Stoner who appears to be in top form after his "medical leave".

The qualifying session this morning went swimmingly, leaving us with the comfort of the usual front row qualifiers, Jorge Lorenzo, Valentino Rossi and Casey Stoner - Pedrosa took first chair in the second row. Just as it should be.

Fiat is taking brilliant advantage of it's sponsorship of the top two riders in the world by running a one-off livery design to announce the unveiling of it's new 2010 Evo Punto car.


The bikes (as well as Rossi and Lorenzo) are clad in a classy silver and white design, inspiring Lorenzo to top it off with a special helmet painted in the theme of Neil Armstrong's astronaut helmet.






Now on to the line-up for 2010....

Every season's end brings surprises, disappointments and smatterings of hope for MotoGP fans, teams and riders, and this year is no exception. Although not quite as cliff-hanger-esque as the last couple of seasons, there are a few surprises and indeed, a few disappointments.

One surprise that played out a little earlier than planned is Ben Spies step-up to MotoGP. Originally sited for the 2011 season, Ben and Tech 3 Yamaha have bumped up the timeline and signed a contract for the 2010 season. But, Ben will not wait until 2010 to make his first appearance in the premier class. He will ride as a Wild Card in the Valencia race, the last race of the year, and he will be racing on track with James Toseland.... the man he is poised to replace. Juicy... I know :)

James Toseland will cross back over to SBK for 2010 along with Chris Vermeulen, who's Rizla Suzuki ride is being taken over by Alvaro Bautista.

San Carlo Honda Gresini has given both of their 2009 riders the boot. Alex de Angelis and Toni Elias are floating at the moment without a confirmed ride for next year. Toni seems to be calling his own shots thus far and is waiting to decide his own future in MotoGP. He will reportedly wait until after Sepang and Philips Island to pin-down plans for next year. According to him, top six finishes in both sessions will mean MotoGP for 2010, and sub-top-six will result in a switch to Moto2. His options for a ride in MotoGP are down to Scot Racing and Pramac Ducati.

San Carlo will have a fresh pair of riders in their camp next year - Marco Melandri and Marco Simoncelli.

FB Corse is reportedly working on a bike for a new MotoGP team next year. This looks to be Alex de Angelis' best bet for a ride. The team is building a bike around the engine designed by BMW for their MotoGP efforts... which turned into a SBK campaign, and the engine was thus abandoned. Being an all-Italian effort, FB Corse will likely seek an Italian rider. Alex fits the bill.

Pramac Ducati has confirmed Mika Kallio for 2010, and I believe Aleix Espargaro has signed with them as well. Niccolo Canepa has made this his first and last year in MotoGP. He will not race the premier class next year. He is allegedly entertaining several offers from SBK as well as the Moto2 series.

Here it is in a less-confusing layout:

Repsol Honda

• Dani Pedrosa
• Andrea Dovizioso

Tech 3 Yamaha

• Ben Spies
• Colin Edwards

Rizla Suzuki

• Loris Capirossi
• Alvaro Bautista

LCR Honda

• Randy De Puniet

San Carlo Honda Gresini

• Marco Melandri
• Marco Simoncelli

Ducati Marlboro

• Casey Stoner
• Nicky Hayden

Pramac Ducati

• Mika Kallio
• Aleix Espargaro (not confirmed)
  

Fiat Yamah

• Valentino Rossi
• Jorge Lorenzo

Scot Racing

• Not confirmed

Until next time.....

Rubb'er Down!!!!

Kristen

San Marino dominated by "The Donkey"

Valentino Rossi, in a characteristic show of humility, wore a special lid for the Misano race today, with a big donkey painted on the top - his opinion on crashing out at Indianapolis. In a fantastic show of support, his crew greeted him in the winners circle, wearing gigantic donkey ears..... which Rossi confiscated at proceeded to wear during the podium presentation.

Jorge Lorenzo landed the one-two punch for fiat Yamaha today, following Rossi over the line to take second place. Dani Pedrosa took third, and in a surprising show of humor after his Repsol machine ran out of gas and left him stranded on the track, thumbed a ride from Toni Elias back to the garage.

Nicky Hayden and Colin Edwards were savagely taken out in the first turn of the first lap by an over-zealous Alex de Angelis - extremely disappointing for them. Nicky was clearly upset as he picked himself up and took a couple of shots at Alex. A short while later, he was interviewed back at the garage, and had simmered down and returned to his diplomatic, southern gentleman demeanor.

Other than that, it was an uneventful race with Rossi taking the lead by midway and maintaining a comfortable 2 second lead until the end.

Until Next time

Rubb'er Down!

MotoGP Indianapolis extravaganza

An astounding race in Indianapolis this afternoon. Pedrosa snagged pole for the start of the race, and came into it on fire after breaking the track record in qualifying. He led the race for the first couple of laps, and looked as though he was poised to give Rossi and Lorenzo a run for their collective money..... right up until he crashed. He did recover, and ended up with a well-earned post-crash 10th place spot. Several laps later, it was Lorenzo leading Rossi after a smooth overtaking by the Spaniard. Rossi was left to do what Rossi does best.... pressure from behind. This time however, it backfired on him. He tried to make up the gap with a hard drive into the corner and tapped the brake - I was a little - nay, a LOT - surprised to see him make such a rookie mistake. He went down hard, but managed to get back on his faithful Yam and return to the track..... only to retire a few laps later after being passed by Pedrosa, due to the effects of the crash on the bike. The irony was palpable as we viewed Rossi and Pedrosa swapping licks for 16th position not 2 minutes after they were swapping for the lead - and off rode Jorge Lorenzo with a 10 second lead over the rest of the pack... to victory.

Nicky Hayden did very well as he carried not only himself, but the weight and nerves of his entire family and gaggle of friends that attended this race with him. He made us all proud as he held up under the pressure of Dovizioso's barrage of attacks and ended up with a 3rd place spot on the podium. By the way, props to Nick who wore a specially designed "Make a Wish" helmet that will be auctioned off after the race for the benefit of the Make a Wish Foundation - solid charity and a solid show of character from Nicky.

Alex de Angelis claimed second place and ran a fine race indeed. Marco Melandri - who by the way snagged a contract with Gresini Honda for next year - suffered a spectacular crash near the end of the race. He made a fine mess of his Hayate machine and was not able to rejoin the race. His moment of enlightenment was clearly visible as he walked up to his bike and discovered that he did such a thorough job of crashing it, the back tire came off. Niccolo Canepa did not finish the race either. It appeared that he had a mechanical problem with his Ducati.

All in all, a very good race with very unexpected results.... just the way I like 'em :) A couple of last-minute mentions before I conclude my ramblings, Chris Vermeulen is now seeking a ride after Rizla Suzuki confirmed the signing of 250cc super star Alvaro Bautista for the 2010 season, and Jorge Lorenzo put rumors to bed about his contract, by signing another year with Fiat Yamaha.

That'll do it for me.

Until Next time

Rubb'er Down!

Incredible Donington finale lands Dovizioso his first premier class victory

In an incredible farewell to the Donington circuit, the men of MotoGP put on a show that will not soon be forgotten. The final podium order is void of the top three riders, and yields the first ever MotoGP victory for Andrea Dovizioso as well as the first podium finishes for 2009 for Colin Edwards and Randy De Puniet.

The race was declared wet as the riders were set up on grid. The only team to strap their bullets with a wet set-up was Ducati, all other riders were strapped with slicks. As the lights ticked off, Toni Elias rocketed to the head of the pack and held an impressive lead for the first two laps.

By lap 3, Andrea Dovizioso had taken over the top spot trailed closely by Jorge Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi. By the end of lap 3, Rossi had fallen into 5th position, behind Dani Pedrosa and Toni Elias who he immediately overtook to claim 4th position. Confusing?? Well, brace yourself because this will conitnue for the remianing 27 laps of the race!

Lap 4 - Lorenzo, Dovizioso, Pedrosa, Rossi, Elias.....

Lap 7 - Lorenzo, Rossi, Dovizioso, Elias, Pedrosa.... Tonis Elais crashes out when he nicks the white paint of the rumble strip.

Lap 8 - Lorenzo crashes out after nicking the white paint of the rumble strip

Lap 11 - Rossi, Dovizioso, De Puniet, Pedrosa - Pedrosa and De Puniet swap positions several times during this lap..... where's Casey Stoner? He has just been passed by Nicky Hayden who overtook him for FOURTEENTH position.

Lap 12 - Seizure-inducing game of leap frog between Pedrosa and De Puniet... leaving De Puniet ahead as they move into lap 13

Lap 13 - Casey Stoner and Nicky Hayden have become lap traffic as Rossi and Dovizioso pass them while continuing the battle for first place.

Lap 14 - Rossi and Dovi find themselves 13 seconds ahead of the volley for 3rd - which is still being masterfully played out between De P and Pedrosa.

Lap 19 - ROSSI CRASHES OUT and Dovizioso takes the lead leaving De P and Pedrosa to now battle it out for 2nd. Rossi manages to pick up his bike and get back out on track.

Lap 22 - Loris Capirossi and Marco Melandri and Chris Vermeulen give in to the wet conditions and switch to their "water bikes" which have been warming up in the pits since lap 12.

Lap 24 - Mika Kallio trades his slicks for the wet-set. The running order is now Dovizioso, De Puniet, Edwards, de Angelis. Rossi has clawed his way back up into 6th place and settled in behind James Toseland.

Three laps to go and Colin Edwards and Randy De Puniet begin the battle for 2nd which ends up being an absolutely brilliant display of wet weather riding talent - on slicks. Randy doesn't want to give it up, but Edwards manages to overtake him in the last turn before the flag to finish the podium order - Dovizioso, Edwards, De Puniet.

Rossi manages to overtake Toseland for an overall 5th place finish... which still increases his points lead in the championship standings.

This was certainly an edge-of-your-seat race - for all 30 laps. MotoGP bids farewell to the Donington circuit for at least 5 years, as Silverstone will take over hosting the British round in the mean time. The riders will enjoy an extended 3 week break before resuming the season in Brno on August 18th. I will personally use this time to un-scramble my brain after what I have seen today!

1	A. Dovizioso	Honda
2	C. Edwards	Yamaha
3	R. De Puniet	Honda
4	A. de Angelis	Honda
5	V. Rossi	Yamaha
6	J. Toseland	Yamaha
7	M. Melandri	Kawasaki
8	N. Canepa	Ducati
9	D. Pedrosa	Honda
10	M. Kallio	Ducati
11	L. Capirossi	Suzuki
12	G. Talmacsi	Honda
13	C. Vermeulen	Suzuki
14	C. Stoner	Ducati
15	N. Hayden	Ducati

Until next time....

Rubb'er Down

Kristen