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

Pedrosa breaks dry spell for Repsol

Very uncharacteristic of the European flat circuit terrain, the Mazda Raceway succeeded in tossing a lot of riders over the weekend. Many that rode on Sunday were riding injured from their tangles with the track during free practices and qualifying. Several riders feel victim to the track during the race on Sunday as well. Andrea Dovizioso, Sete Gibernau and fresh-meat G. Talmacsi all went skittering off into the gravel traps. Loris Capirossi didn't finish the race, however, his DNF was chalked up to mechanical problems, and James Toseland was "excluded" from competition for a refusal to take a ride-through as a penalty for jumping the start (which even on the replay.... in slow motion.... I did not see).

Dani pulled well away early after a perfect start, and maintained his lead throughout. There was a fantastic last-lap rally by Rossi, who ALMOST overtook him on the last turn before the line. In the post race interview, Dani admitted to being a little too comfortable with what he thought was a formidable lead - until he heard Valentino's bike. As he came to the realization that Rossi was a fraction of an inch off his six, he tipped his Honda in a hair earlier than necessary to close the gap and ran like hell for the line. I must say, it was amusing to see his reaction - equivalent to that of a fourth grader that got caught napping in class. Nice save Dani - and a well-deserved win.

Nicky Hayden with his fantastically festive Ducati and leathers, once again bettered his best, finishing 5th. He rode a spectacular race - who knows.... we may even see him back on the podium before season's end. Mika Kallio did not participate in this weekend's race due to a severely injured finger as a result of last week's untimely crash on the last turn at Assen. He will be back for Sachsenring.

Over all, it was a good race. Aside from the crashes, Jorge's hail Mary pass-attempt on Rossi (which damn near took them both out of the race) and Rossi's last minute sneak attack on Pedrosa kept it interesting. In two weeks, everyone should be healed from the beating inflicted by the infamous US circuit and back in form to entertain us with what will no-doubt be a close race at Sachsenring.

1	D. Pedrosa	Honda
2	V. Rossi	Yamaha
3	J. Lorenzo	Yamaha
4	C. Stoner	Ducati
5	N. Hayden	Ducati
6	T. Elias	Honda
7	C. Edwards	Yamaha
8	C. Vermeulen	Suzuki
9	R. De Puniet	Honda
10	M. Melandri	Kawasaki
11	A. de Angelis	Honda
12	N. Canepa	Ducati

Until next time....

Rubb'er Down

Kristen

Flawless victory in Assen marks 100 Grand Prix wins for Rossi

Valentino Rossi, once again, gave the master class in Grand Prix racing, as he dominated the Assen TT and brought home his 100th GP victory in classic Rossi style. The first two laps saw 3 different race leaders with Rossi, Stoner and Lorenzo teasing us with another epic battle, but it was not to be. Rossi pulled ahead and enjoyed a pressure-free race leaving Lorenzo and Stoner well spaced-out to claim 2nd and 3rd respectively. A full 23 seconds separated Rossi and Stoner - evidence of the total domination displayed by the Italian uber-racer.

The real action today was the race for 6-12. James Toseland, Randy De Puniet, Mika Kallio, Nicky Hayden, Toni Elias and Loris Capirossi absolutely battled for position - bumping, grinding, swapping paint and pushing one another off track several times. I think every rider in that group suffered an off-track excursion at some point during today's race. The biggest disappointment was Mika Kallio who rode an outstanding race, swapping licks with James Toseland for 6th place, which would have been his best finish yet in his MotoGP career..... had he not crashed out on the last turn before the finish line. Nicky Hayden bettered his best by finishing 9th this session - maybe he's finally getting a handle on that big red Duc.

Repsol Honda had a disastrous day starting with Dani Pedrosa crashing out on the third lap and finding themselves out of the points all together as Dovizioso followed suit several laps later. Bad luck for Repsol, but no injuries reported so we will be seeing them next week at Laguna.

All-in-all, it was a race for the books - not a head-to-head battle, but a smooth, effortless, landmark victory for Valentino Rossi - a man that has landed himself amongst the ranks of the legends and proven himself the best Grand Prix racer the world has ever seen.

1	V. Rossi	Yamaha
2	J. Lorenzo	Yamaha
3	C. Stoner	Ducati
4	C. Edwards	Yamaha
5	C. Vermeulen	Suzuki
6	J. Toseland	Yamaha
7	R. De Puniet	Honda
8	T. Elias	Honda
9	N. Hayden	Ducati
10	L. Capirossi	Suzuki
11	A. de Angelis	Honda
12	M. Melandri	Kawasaki
13	S. Gibernau	Ducati
14	N. Canepa	Ducati
15	Y. Takahashi	Honda
16	G. Talmacsi	Honda

Until next time....

Rubb'er Down

Kristen

Epic shoot-out yields victory for Rossi at Catalunya

In a race that will no doubt be included in highlight reels for years to come, Valentino Rossi eeked out a win over Jorge Lorenzo at Catalunya in a last second, last corner overtaking that had over 90,000 fans on their feet and at least two announcers on the floor of the booth.

Today is what MotoGP racing is all about. Lorenzo and Rossi put on a superb show that will not soon be forgotten. Veteran Valentino swapped licks with rookie Jorge Lorenzo until the bitter end - landing Rossi in the top spot with only .095s of a margin over Lorenzo - and making his 99th premier class victory well-earned and hard fought.

Casey Stoner who had been ill over the past few days, nearly rode himself to death wrestling the big red Duc over the line for a third place finish. Visibly weak from what was reported later to be severe dehydration, Casey stepped off the bike and was immediately escorted to the garage and tended to by the circuit physician. I believe it took all the strength he could muster to make it to the podium ceremony.... where he looked like he could drop at any moment. Good on ya Casey..... once again, a lesser rider would have hung it up or not even started in his condition, and he still pulled out a third place finish. The list of adversity this kid rides through seems to grow with every race, and yet he has not fallen out of the top three in the overall standings. Impressive.

Andrea Dovizioso ran a superb race and found himself right on the heels of the big dogs again, coming in fourth. Teammate Dani Pedrosa ran a brave race on painkiller injections for his hip, in which he has seperated the muscle from the bone. He finished an extremely respectable 6th.

Loris racked up another top ten spot for Rizla Suzuki finishing 5th with teammate Chris Vermeulen rolling in just outside in 11th. Colin Edwards finished a solid 7th followed by De Puniet in a slightly-better-than-typical 8th postition. Mika Kallio smacked down some talent and found himself reaping the satisfaction of a 9th place finish, and Nicky Hayden scored his best finish so far this season for Marlboro Ducati rounding out the ten fastest riders on the track.

Yuki Takahashi had another disappointing DNF after crashing out on the first lap. There are whispers of concern over his fate with Scot Racing Honda Team - especially after the last-minute addition of Hungarian rider Gabor Talmacsi to their paddock. Gabor is apparently quite the accomplished 125cc rider (7 years if I remember correctly - and yes, I am too lazy to look it up right now) who landed in the 250 class and was subsequently sh*t canned a month ago by Balatonring. Although further chatter reveals that Honda is not likely to release it's only Japanese rider, me thinks Yuki better nail it down for a few races.

Bridgestone debuted their first line of asymmetrical, dual compound "tyres" at Catalunya. Very interesting concept and apparently quite effective as well. The circuit has 8 right hand turns, and only 5 left hand turns, which prompted Bridgestone to wow us with a crooked tire that would result in more consistant wear. Genius in it's simplicity.

Okay, this is getting out of hand, and it's nearly Beer : 30 - feast your eyes on the results. If you haven't already watched the race, watch it... then watch it again... and I bet you'll wanna see it one more time after that (consecutively of course...cause it was that good!).

The Assen TT will run on June 27th - with a THREE WAY TIE for first place in the championship standing among Rossi, Lorenzo and Stoner - we will no longer be on speaking terms if you miss it.

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

Until next time....

Rubb'er Down

Kristen

Wet - Dry Victory for Stoner in Mugello

Mugello began as what looked like a nightmare repeat of Le Mans as the sign was held up at the flag stand declaring it a wet race. However, it seems the Kings learned their lessons two weeks ago and were much better prepared for what was to come.

Jorge Lorenzo suffered the idignity of crashing out on the sighting lap, so he began his race on his back-up bike with quite a shot to his confidence (and dirty leathers). Dani Pedrosa was riding with yet another physical compromise as he somehow managed to tear ligaments in his hip resulting in a sudden loss of feeling at one point yesterday, and a subsequent crash during the race today. He was rendered completely immobile after becoming unseated and was removed from the gravel trap on a stretcher.

The race was indeed an exciting one. The switch to dry set ups went rather smoothly (as opposed to Le Mans) however the conditions created quite an interesting mix of race leaders. We even saw Loris Capirossi lead the way after overtaking Valentino in a power-move that seemed to stop the Suzuki garage in it's tracks - it's entertaining to see a team surprise themselves. Marco Melandri was podium bound for several laps too as he made a triumphant come back from a 15th place start. Ultimately, my favorite pseudo-Saki jockey was swallowed up by the pack and remanded to 11th place by race end.

Andrea Dovizioso put on quite the show by taking the lead for several laps as well. He turned out to be quite the formidable opponent, running with the "big dogs" for enough laps to prove he meant it, and finally just missing the podium as he crossed the line a hair off Rossi's back tire - fantastic effort by the rookie!!

Jorge Lorenzo found his confidence, his pace and his way back to the podium finishing second. But it was Casey Stoner who stole the show in Italy giving Ducati their first win in the Mother Land - and making it all happen with a burned out clutch. Dammit boy!!

Feast your eyes on the results posted below and get ready for some hard core racing in Catalunya in two weeks time. Casey is back on top in the championship standings after today's win. With Rossi and Lorenzo nipping at the heels of his Alpinestars, nobody is running away with the championship so far..... which means it only gets better from here!!

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

Until next time....

Rubb'er Down

Kristen

Qatar Canceled

The first race of the 2009 season in Qatar has been canceled due to weather conditions. The 125 class ran only 4 laps before it was red flagged for rain. The result was a half-point race. 45 minutes later, the kings of MotoGP were on the grid, 2 minutes from starting the first race of the season, and the rains came. Qatar is in the middle of the desert, where it rains only 4 or 5 days a year. The races there are run under the lights in order to escape the extreme desert heat of the day. Because of the primarily dry conditions, there is no drainage on the track. On top of that, the lights that are required for the racers to run at night, reflect on the wet track and create a white-out effect. So, ultimately, it was an impossible race to run.

Nicky Hayden, who was injured yesterday during qualifying, did show up for the race, appeared relieved, as did Dani Pedrosa, who is still healing from his winter-break surgeries on his knee.

As it stands now, the officials are discussing possibly running the race tomorrow. This is posing a problem with riders and team members who have flights booked to leave Qatar tomorrow and head for Japan for race 2. Updates will be posted as they become available.

Until next time ....

Rubb'er Down :)

Kristen

MotoGP News - Rough Day for Dani and Nicky

Qualifying proved interesting indeed yesterday. The end result found Casey Stoner and his Ducati Marlboro machine taking pole, followed closely by Valentino Rossi aboard his Fiat Yamaha beast. The top three was rounded off by Vale's teammate, Spaniard, Jorge Lorenzo. The second row starters will be Loris Capriossi, dropping the hammer for Rizla Suzuki, Colin Edwards, piloting the newly sponsored Monster Yamaha (Tech 3) and Randy dePuniet on his as-of-yet-unrashed LCR Honda, sponsored by Playboy.

Repsol Honda's anchor rider, Dani Pedrosa, struggled through qualifying, landing in 14th. Dani is still healing from the surgeries he had over the winter break. His knee is not 100% healed, and it showed. Nicky Hayden was not entirely on his game. As he tried to wrestle his Duc into submission towards the end of the QP session, he had a horrific high speed high-side. He was carted off track on a stretcher and is undergoing a round of x-rays due to the extreme back pain he is experiencing. His participation in the premier race this afternoon has not yet been decided.

Until next time ....

Rubb'er Down :)

MotoGP News - Pedrosa, Stoner and Monster

Dani Pedrosa has flown home to Spain after a fairly serious crash at Qatar during testing. His injuries will require surgery; a screw for the fractured radius bone in his left arm, and surgery/ skin graft for his now further damaged left knee. I know I poke fun at the Pud a lot, but I hate to see a rider down.... so here's wishing you a fast and flawless recovery Dani. You are a formidable opponent on track and make for some interesting races.

In other Qatar-related news (that's about all there is now anyway), Stoner topped the timesheets early and maintained his standing even though he completed fewer laps than any of the other riders, proving he has not lost his edge through the winter break despite his recent wrist surgery. Valentino rolled in just under Casey. The top five was rounded out by Nicky Hayden on his new Duc (appears to be settling in quite well!), Loris Capirossi (Rizla Suzuki.. GET IT old man!!!) and Jorge Lorenzo (Fiat Yamaha) respectively. Marco on his last-minute-Kawasaki-effort machine ended up 16th on the sheets for Hayate Racing, over 3 seconds off of Casey's pace.

Monster Energy Drink has agreed to sponsor Tech 3 Yamaha for the 2009 season (and beyond). They have now been dubbed Monster Yamaha Tech3, and the infamous M Claw will adorn the rockets piloted by Colin Edwards and James Toseland. They also scored a small sticker on Rossi's helmet in a personal sponsorship deal - which is relatively old news, but I thought I'd throw it in here anyway as fodder.

Ducati ran the first tests on their new swing arm design, and got the basic thumbs-up. They admit it's going to take some fine tuning, but judging by the lap times for both Nicky and Casey, I don't think it will need much. Valentino reports that he is generally happy with his machine in these early stages, as is his teammate Jorge.

April 12th is right around the corner (but still can't frickin come fast enough for me) and with all the drama, rule changes, last minute seatings (ah hem... Kawasaki) and rookies in the field, this will no doubt be a fantastically entertaining season.

Until next time ....

Rubb'er Down :)

Kristen

MotoGP Testing and Some Fun Stuff :)

Ha! Welcome back Kristen!! Why thank you, it's good to be here :)

I know, I know, I have once again been remiss in my postings. I have no excuse (at least not anything good) so I will just leave well enough alone with my weak, satirical, self-welcoming opening.

Testing is in full swing, and the MotoGP boys are adjusting well to new "tyres" (dammit that cracks me up!!), rockets, set-ups, teams, etc.

Casey and new teammate Nick have been putting the new GP9's through their paces. There are varying opinions as to how well Nicky will adapt to the Ducati. Apparently the best approach with the Ducs is getting them "to full throttle as soon as possible and letting the electronics do the rest". It was reported though, that after his first ride on the new rocket he dismounted and said "Whatever they pay Casey (Stoner), it´s not enough." Ha!



SETE!!!! How happy am I about this???? I am standing here beside myself! The Gibbers has come out of retirement. We all remember how sad I was to see him go, so we can all imagine how ecstatic I am that he has returned. And coming back with style as (yet another) member of the Ducati paddock. His timing couldn't have been better. With Ducati's myriad of bikes on the track for the 09 season, a brand new design and a bevvy of fresh tenderlings to jockey them around, Sete's knowledge and experience will be well received when it comes to dialing them in.



Will he be rusty? Afterall, he's been in retirement for what... 2 years now? He's no spring chicken either. BAH! His test times were a mere half second off of Casey who ran at the top of the boards. So watch out "freshies" :)

Of course, there's still the little issue of the Rossi Curse that was thrust upon him at the close of the 04 season. It will be interesting to see how it all pans out for him. I yearn (yes, yearn) to see a few more of those epic shoot-outs of yore. I hope you're up for it Sete.... I'm holding my breath.

Okay, now for a few fun things. If you are reading this, you are obviously a fan of sportbikes and/or MotoGP racing, OR you are being forced to read it against your will by someone who is a fan that you clearly love enough to subject yourself to the torture. Either way, with Christmas approaching faster than Rossi from mid-pack, you are looking for some sort of gift for said loved one, or yourself. I personally like to wrap everything I give me, tag it with "to: me, from:me" and rip through it Christmas morning with all the vigor and excitement of a 4 year old looking for the-one-with-Elmo-in-it. Right... cue the crickets.

During my daily cruises through the online haven of bike-related goodies, I chose a few to highlight here for that hard-to-shop-for bike freak on your list.

First up is a perfect gift for the GP fan. A little pricey, but would certainly be much appreciated. It's Tissot's official limited edition MotoGP watch


You can get it here. With free shipping.... like that's really gonna make or break the deal when you're dropping that much cash :) But hey! Incentive is incentive. It is really quite spectacular.

I also checked out the MiniChamps die cast models. They are much more budget friendly.... unless you are looking for Rossi's 2004 Jerez test bike... in which case GOOD LUCK. That particular model trickles through eBay from time to time, but most store inventory is sold out internationally. I did find ONE from an online store in Europe that listed for $1295.00. I digress, the little replica helmets are fantastic and will only run you $20(ish). The model bikes, are a little steeper, but not bad at all, $30-$50 in most cases.
Minichamps on eBay


They even have.... and I LOVE this... the little Rossi figurines. Most of them are of him standing, sitting sideways on a rocket, blasting a champagne bottle on the podium, etc. The two that caught my eye were his signature crouch pose and him kneeling in front of his Yamaha to kiss it after winning his first race for the factory in South Africa. PERFECT!!



Above is the actual picture of the touching moment, and now you and your loved ones can commemorate it with this lovely MiniChamps figurine (bike sold separately). Hahaha... if you think this isn't on my mantle you're nuts.....

Click on the image to purchase one at Grand Prix Legends.

Oh, and the crouching Rossi.... I couldn't find a suitable actual photo of him doing it, but we've all seen it... pre-race, in the paddock. The first few times I saw him do it, I thought he was stretching out his leathers. Not the case, after all, this is Vale... that would be too simple and down-to-Earth. He is actually having a little conversation with himself and his bullet about what is about to happen and what he expects of it (and himself). I love me some Rossi :)

Click on the image to purchase one at Grand Prix Legends.

Okay miniChamps, you've captured him doing everything else, when do we get the one of him standing on the pegs to dislodge his wedgie right after he gets on??? He's certainly not shy about it, and the rear bike cam always airs it, so I say we cast that precious moment in resin so I can put it on my mantle too :)

Until next time ....

Rubb'er Down :)

2009 MotoGP teams... and other stuff!

Okay, I'll get right to the meat of the post..... The "other stuff" will follow (dessert, if you will).

Here's what we know of the 2009 MotoGP teams and the riders they have signed

Fiat Yamaha:
Valentino Rossi (contract through 2010)
Jorge Lorenzo (contract through 2009)

Tech 3 Yamaha:
Colin Edwards (Contract through 2009)
James Toseland (Took option through 2009)

Repsol Honda:
Dani Pedrosa (Contract through 2009)
Andrea Dovizioso (Contract through 2009)

Ducati:
Casey Stoner (Contract through 2010)
Nicky Hayden (Contract through 2009)

Kawasaki:
John Hopkins (Contract through 2009)
Marco Melandri (Contract through 2010)

Suzuki:
Loris Capirossi (Contract through 2009)
Chris Vermeulen (Contract through 2009)

Gresini Honda:
Toni Elias (Contract through 2009)
Alex de Angelis (Contract through 2009)

Alice Ducati:
Mika Kallio (Contract through 2009)
Niccolo Canepa (Contract through 2009)

Team LCR (Honda):
Randy de Puniet (Contract through 2009)

Scot Honda:
Yuki Takahashi (Contract through 2009)

Onde 2000 Ducati:
Sete Gibernau (Contract through 2009)

Team JiR and Aspar Kawasaki have both dropped out of MotoGP, which unseats Alex Debon and Shinya Nakano. Team JiR was Ben Spies' great white hope for joining MotoGP. Since the dissolution, he has opted to ride for Yamaha in World Superbike, but is forecast to join MotoGP in 2010, riding for Tech 3 Yamaha. At least he is out of AMA....

AMA.... AMA..... AMA.... has reportedly been purchased by NASCRAP. Sweet Jesus. Where does it/will it/ can it end??? I will agree with the fact that NASCRAP can promote the hell out of an event. The advertising money is there, the television contracts abound, and they have a lot of pull in the sports world...... with the bottom feeders.. I mean... bottom quarter of the east coast. There is already a sour taste in the mouths of the sportbike community, but most are willing to give it a wait-and-see approach. Maybe NASCRAP can drum up a tiny bit of class and pull it off. Enough of my opinion... I would now like to cut and paste a few reactions from riders across the country that entertained me.... enjoy!!

"You mean the NASCAR show? Racing where you constantly change the rules to prevent anyone from dominating is not racing. Also go download a NASCAR rule book... oh wait you can't! It may get exposure and increase revenue for the riders/teams (not bad things) but I doubt it will improve 'racing' "

"Well more exposure will be good...hopefully they can even get the redne...I mean the NASCAR lovers to watch."

"Shit. Now I am gonna have to grow a mullet."

My personal favorite so far.....

"I wonder if NASCRAP will charge admission by the number of teeth you still have in your head?"

And last, but certainly not least... one fantastic rant, courtesy of Sean....

" Great, now we can drive our NASCAR Monte Carlos to the speedway, wearing our NASCAR clothing that was washed in NASCAR Tide, while we blissfully sip our NASCAR Coca-Cola Racing Family beverage, from our twin-can hat-mounted beverage dispenser. When we get there, we can watch em turn-left real_fast_like! Hopefully we won't be overwhelmed at the amount of talent being displayed or the fact that aside from paint and decals, several of them moter-sic-els are actually not identical to the others. What's your favorite "Calvin Pissing-On...... " sticker? Quick, somebody pass me a beer and a quaalude! "

At least I know I am not alone :)

One last little personal note.... this afternoon, my brother, Spaz, who will be hereby known as "Double O Spaz" was certified to carry a concealed weapon. As if that is not scary enough (buy stock in Kevlar, and don't forget to get your own vest), he emails me this.....

"I wasn't paying attention, but my concealed weapon permit photo clearly shows my "I make stuff up" shirt.... Is that bad ?!?!?!?"

And to top it off, he was joined in his certification by my father (Oh God!!) who, after the "Double O Third celebratory beer" was subsequently dubbed "Double O Wrinkle" ......

Until next time......

Rubb'er Down :)

A fond farewell to the 2008 season

This afternoon's race at Valencia marked the end of the 2008 MotoGP season, and yet another World Championship title for Valentino Rossi. Casey Stoner ran away with the event today, with Dani Pedrosa, a not-so-close second, and Vale closing out the trio de podium.

There were no Hail Mary laps, no spectacular shoot-outs, no heroes and no tragedies. Everyone seemed to be on their best behavior. Nick and Dovisioso mixed it up a few times, and The Doctor did not lack awesome as he rocketed to third after a tenth place start. Oh yea, as if I have to even mention it, Randy crashed..... on the first lap..... and didn't even get any camera time for it. You know you are a habitual offender when your bins don't even warrant a replay.

Casey is going to be testing the new Duc over the next couple of days. There is much excitement over the new design and carbon fiber frame. After testing, he will be shipped off to hospital for his surgery. He is getting a bone graft (from his hip) to repair a crack in his wrist that is not healing properly.

The gloriously short winter that I boasted about in my last post will not be so short after all. Qatar, the 2009 season opener, has been pushed back to April. I will dig up the schedule for next year and post it.... and maybe even update my rider profiles, which I think are a whopping 2 years old.

Okay, it's time to thin the herd of brown bottles in the fridge and slip off into my coma :)

Until next time......

Rubb'er Down :)

Sepang!!!!

Okay, I kept myself away from my computer all day today so as not to give into temptation and read the spoiler to another spectacular showing by the MotoGP boys.

Dani winning pole came as a bit of a surprise, but Good Onya "Pud" :) Not only did he win pole, but he ran one hell of a race to hang on to it. Although he could only hold Rossi off for about half the race, he piloted his bullet with nothing but heart. The will to win was there, but (yes, I'm gonna go ahead and give him a good excuse) the tires weren't. By the end I think he had dropped back by 7 seconds...... a formidable gap..... if you will.

Tangent...... apparently next year (and subsequently 2 years after that) the playing field will be leveled as far as tires are concerned. If you are breathing and have a flicker of interest in MotoGP, you have heard that BridgeStone signed a deal to be the only "tyre" (take that Mikey!!) provider for the World Championship for the next three years. So now, everyone will be riding on BS - I just made me laugh.

Back to the race, the shootout for the 3rd podium spot (we have already learned that Rossi and Pedrosa tied up the first two spots, and yes, you will be quizzed on that later) was no less than breathtaking. Hayden and Dovizioso hammered it out like mad-men. Solid entertainment..... thanks boys! In the end, Nick couldn't pull off a permanent overtaking and ended up 4th. Congratulations D... that was a righteous win indeed.

Only one more race left for the season. I will leave you now to look forward to Valencia, and know in my heart that it will be a gloriously short winter. The test season is right around the corner, and from there we move into 09.... come on March!!!!

Until next time......

Rubb'er Down :)

Indianapolis results and NICKY.... WTF????

Okay, we all knew this would bring me out of the woodwork....

First of all, I had no immediate commentary on the Misano race. Good race, yes.... but once again, there was the "Casey-surfing-asphalt" factor that accompanied the win by Rossi. I love me some Vale, but I was yearning (yes, yearning) to see the righteous win that I know he is capable of. As far as the podium line-up for Misano.... Rossi, Lorenzo, Elias, respectively.... that was not at all what I would have expected. We'll call it a pleasant surprise and look forward to Indianapolis. I have to mention that I was watching the race with a fellow sportbike enthusiast who is relatively new to the MotoGP experience. As the track was heating up, and the bikes were getting a little squirrely, he said "someone's going down".... I laughed, and replied... "no, if anyone is going down, it would be Ra....." and there went DeP skittering off the track. Randy, dammit..... I'm still a huge fan :)

Ohhhh, Indianapolis. A race that I would have given my left ________ (insert name of pertinent appendage, digit, or "other" part, here) to go and see in person. No worries, it's a race in the states, much like Laguna, only better, as it was the premier race for this particular track. The coverage should be no less than phenomenal. As I cruised through the SpeedTV line-up first thing Sunday morning to get the exact time of the airing of the festivities (you know, to be sure the beer was at the perfect temperature for MotoGP viewing) I was stunned, no, taken aback, NO, furious to see that the only race to be shown was the 250 class.... shades of Brno and the finger of shame. The disappointment was palpable.

I went on about my business, stopping every once in a while to open the fridge and give a short, but poignant, pep-talk to my faithful beers that were perfectly chilled and ready to give their all for the good of the regime. A few hours later, I happened to be scrolling through the menu on the up-until-this-moment-worthless TV and caught a glimpse of "MotoGP rac....". What????? It was on the local NBC channel. JOY!!

The beers fulfilled their destiny, and I mine, all within the hour between 2 and 3 PM on that glorious Sunday afternoon.

It was a good race. I was a little disappointed that it was run in wet conditions, but I was fully prepared to take what I could get... and so I did. Rossi pulled off a magnificent win, 7 laps short, but nonetheless magnificent. Nicky.... congratulations to you for your first podium spot of 2008. The wet and windy conditions added some excitement. And I have to mention that Randy.... yes Randy... Randy DePuniet... yea, that guy... stayed up on two during the entire event!! Sure Randy, perfect track conditions and you duff.... send a hurricane through and you make it through just fine. Maybe the man feeds on pressure and adversity?

So, on to the reason I am actually posting right now (i.e. crawling out of the woodwork).... I just caught wind that Nicky has signed with Ducati for 2009. I did NOT see that one coming. There was nothing but polite praise and best wishes from all. Honda asserted that Nicky could not get a handle on the new 800cc machine and would surely benefit from the larger, more liter-like Ducati. So it will be Nick and Casey next year, jockeying the big, red bullets around the fastest tracks in the world. Marco Milandri will be stepping out of the Ducati camp to make room for Nick... I wonder who, if anyone, he will sign with??

I am not going to post the results of Indianapolis here this time around, but I will update the schedule and post them where they should rightfully be, in the near future. I will tell you it went Rossi, Hayden, Lorenzo on the podium, and I will also throw in my opinion on the announcers. Schwantz.. I love ya! You are definitely qualified to be out there calling the shots, but seriously, can we import the Brits for the next US race?? They are a lot more knowledgeable of the MotoGP circuit and 10 times more entertaining to listen to....

That will be all :)

Until next time......

Rubb'er Down :)

MotoGP results for Brno

Once again, I wag my finger of shame at SpeedTV. It appears that they are not airing the Brno race.... at least not for the premier class. Nay, the 250cc riders will get some air time at 2 this afternoon.... but what of the kings?

Race reports, still shots and podium results revealed an interesting race. Rossi pulled out the win.... however it was once again attributed to Casey Stoner's misfortune. Stoner, who started from the pole position, crashed on the 6th lap. He was enjoying a comfortable 1.5 second lead over Rossi and the rest of the bullet herd when he lost his front end in a corner and low-sided.... unrecoverable (thank you Captain Obvious). Rossi maintained his lead after the crash and crossed the line first, extending his overall point lead to 50.

A surprising finish for Toni Elias riding for Ducati who landed a podium finish. After starting THIRTEENTH, he walked away with the silver. Very nice.

Completing the trio of excellence was Loris Capirossi, riding for Rizla Suzuki. This was the maiden voyage for Capirex and his fresh, newly-updated GSV-R. Apparently the updated version worked well for him. With his new chassis and completely different weight distribution, he began his journey to the podium from the end of the third row after an unspectacular qualifying round. Welcome back to the podium Loris.... we missed you! By the way, this was Loris's 276th MotoGP event.... sweet Jesus old man!!! You've still got it :)

Shinya Nakano landed in fourth..... the top finisher for the Honda paddock. Dani struggled to pull out a 15th place finish, and Nicky wasn't even on the roster for this race due to a foot injury sustained at the X Games Supermoto event on August 2nd.

Okay, feast your eyes on the results from the GP at Brno.... it's time for me to run along and see what kind of debauchery I can drum up :)

Position	Rider	Manufacturer
1	Rossi	Yamaha
2	Elias	Ducati
3	Capirossi	Suzuki
4	Nakano	Honda
5	West	Kawasaki
6	Vermeulen	Suzuki
7	Melandri	Ducati
8	de Angelis	Honda
9	Dovizioso	Honda
10	Lorenzo	Yamaha
11	Hopkins	Kawasaki
12	Guintoli	Ducati
13	Toseland	Yamaha
14	Edwards	Yamaha
15	Pedrosa	Honda
16	de Puniet	Kawasaki

Until next time......

Rubb'er Down :)

Okay, I did say several months ago that if I had gotten slack with the posts again, I was fired. Well, I got slack..... REALLY slack, but I am not ready to fire me yet. I have a good excuse or four.

The new season of MotoGP is well underway. Although I have not been posting results, or updating rider profiles, or blabbering on about the races, I have indeed been watching them. I choose to call this "behind the scenes participation"...... cause it makes me feel better about me :)

Now for the excuses.... first, there's the move. Yes, MO has moved into new headquarters. We're not 100% moved YET, but the computer is functional, and the bikes and cars are here.... what else do we need?? Here's where I boast of the new toy. She's pretty, and she's fast, and she's black, and she's shiney.... mmmm hmmmmm

Mark and I will be hauling the new black bullet, along with one of the Busas,

up to Virginia this weekend to compete in the Divisionals in Danville... which brings me to my next excuse for my slack-ass-ed-ness..... my racing schedule. It has been rather hectic thus far this year. Not only am I attending the divisional and national events with the Moose, but I have also been lucky enough to snag a ride sponsored, owned and provided by none other than Mark (mmm hmmm it's ALL good!)

As for my final excuse, which subtly ties in with the rest of the crap..... Mark and I have been doing a lot of traveling in the last few months. Last month we took 8 (ish) days and drove down to Key West with the two Busas in-tow, by way of Ponte Vedra and Stuart, FL. We stayed in the Keys for a few days, and came back up north by way of Naples for a night and then Tarpon Springs, FL (for a little longer stay than we had originally planned). Last weekend, we straddled the RR and the Busa and took off for Leesburg, FL with Sue and Steve, for the bike festival down there. We arrived back here Sunday night, just in time to pack for 6 days in SC/VA beginning tomorrow morning.

SO.. there will be no updates this weekend... but, I promise I will be more vigilant in the future :)

Until next time......

Rubb'er Down :)

Qatar Spoiler

Once again, the fastest men on two wheels have provided 45 minutes of heart-pounding, twitch-inducing entertainment. Here's your spoiler.... Casey Stoner clinched his first ever MotoGP win on his fresh Ducati rocket. Casey was SOLID throughout the entire race. It was a righteous win, a perfect win, ultimately..... a fair win. Vale took the lead several times, only to be overcome (every time) by the raw power of Stoner's Ducati on the long straight to the finish. In the end, the former World Champ just couldn't pull it out.

Our reigning World Champ, Mr. "Number's Don't L1e" himself, finished toward the back half of the pack in 8th. I don't enjoy seeing someone get their own ass handed to them like that. I couldn't help but feel bad for the young pig farmer. I have nothing personal against Nicky.... really I don't. I'm glad he got to experience the thrill of winning such a prestigious title, even though I strongly feel that he won it by default. I would be the first to say congratulations if I met him face to face. But his fans..... yes, his obnoxious, overbearing fans..... have totally turned me off to him. They have managed to bring a tast of NASCRAP to MotoGP. Apparently there's a law against being a respectful supporter of The Kentucky Kid... instead you must don your wife-beater, crack open a can of Bud and verbally bitch slap anyone who doesn't think Hayden is God.

I digress...

Rizla made a fine showing this morning, with the injured Hopper putting up an excellent fight to land him just off the podium in the 4th place spot.... right behind Dani Pedrosa. The victims of today's race.....Loris Capirossi, Randy DePuniet (dammit Randy!!!) and Carlos Checa, all skittered off the track (on seperate occassions) about mid-way through. Andrew Pitt suffered from mechanical failure on his Ilmor bullet and didn't finish the race.. his teammate, Jeremy McWilliams, wasn't healed up enough from his qualifying crash to start today.

It was indeed an exciting way to kick off the 2007 season. 1 race down, 17 to go!! I wonder what Yamaha's answer to the fierce power of Ducati is going to be? They had better strengthen their pimp hand and smack down some more grunt. If today's race was any indication of the way Casey and his Duc are going to perform on a regular basis, Rossi might just have his hands full!!

Here's the official results of todays race:

Position	Rider	Manufacturer
1	Stoner	Ducati
2	Rossi	Yamaha
3	Pedrosa	Honda
4	Hopkins	Suzuki
5	Melandri	Honda
6	Edwards	Yamaha
7	Vermeulen	Suzuki
8	Hayden	Honda
9	Barros	Ducati
10	Nakano	Honda
11	Hofmann	Ducati
12	Jacque	Kawasaki
13	Roberts, Jr	KR212V
14	Elias	Honda
15	Guintoli	Yamaha
16	Tamada	Honda

Practices for the next race will begin in just under two weeks on March 23rd in Jerez, with the live coverage of the race (on MotoGP.com) beginning at 7:00 a.m. Sunday morning (EST). FRICKIN YIPPEE!!!

Until next time......

Rubb'er Down :)

QP results from Qatar

The 2007 season has FINALLY begun. The boys completed their practices over the past couple of days, and dropped the hammer in qualifying this morning. Rossi, in his irreverent Rossi style, took pole (was there ever any doubt?). He sported a furry 46 on his leathers for the premier event, stating that he had managed to pull a rabbit out of the hat in '04 and '05 to clinch the championship, but the rabbit had died in '06. The rabbit-fur covered 46 was in memory of the aforementioned hat-rabbit.

Rounding out the top three for this weekend's race is Casey Stoner in position #2 (didn't see THAT coming) and Collin Edwards at #3 (Go!!!!!! Yamaha). Toni Elias rolled in to claim position #4 on the grid, followed by Dani Pedrosa, John Hopkins, Loris Capirossi, RANDY DePUNIET!!!, Nicky Hayden and Marco Melandri to seal the top ten.

The race kicks off at 7:00 a.m. our time tomorrow morning, available live online at MotoGP.com, or, if you can wait for it, it will be televised on SpeedTV Sunday night at 6. I personally can't wait for SpeedTV to air it, so I will be here, like a moron at 7 tomorrow morning to catch it live :) If you want a spoiler, check back after the race.... if not, stay away until after Sunday night.

Jeremy McWilliams, who rides for the virgin Ilmor team, suffered another crash in today's QP. There was a concern that he had re-injured himself (re: the crash during winter testing) but X-rays confirmed "no break", so he will grid-up as planned for tomorrow's race.

Okay, I'm off to participate in whatever debauchery I may find for the weekend :) Damn, I love me some debauchery!!!

Until next time......

Rubb'er Down :)