China Spoiler

[TXRC51fatboy]

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Rossi
turd
stoner
birthday boy horhay
marco -great ride
hayden
edwards
caprix

[Old Baldy]

Yah, the "has-been" on the stinky I4 ran away from Pedrobot at the end.

Great race for Melandri. They said that Ducati had made some TC software changes for him to improve his front-end feel. Whatever they did seems to have really helped his confidence.

Lorenso was phenomenal for his condition. I've no doubt Rossi would have had a much tougher time if L had been fit, although the Bridgestones seemed to last very well at the end. Woulda, coulda, shoulda ---- at least Pedrobot kept the front of the race interesting.

[Jami6989]

None of the races were overly exciting, but they all beat anything the AMA could provide us. Congrats to Rossi! Without a pole in almost a year and a Championship in two+ years, he was sure on the throttle and deserved the win.

[TXRC51fatboy]

i was really hoping for a podium for colin, pretty sure if he didnt have the run off, he would have finished ahead of stoner.

i dont know who lit the fire under marco's ass, but i hope it continues to burn. he looked like the old marco today. I still want to see nicky on the ducati next season.

i wonder if hopper is starting to second guess his move to kawasucki?

[Leif]

I'll cosign Fatboy, I REALLY want to see Colin win one GP race this year, and I think Nicky would do awesome on the Duc.

Is it just me or are the 800s boring to watch. They fight for the first few laps then get so spread out its boring. But like Jami said its still much better than AMA.

[247]

So now we see how the Championship will shape up.

Yamaha seems to be the best bike overall right now.
Bridgestone should be better as the temperarures rise.
Ducati still has amazing power.

1/D16/Bridgestone
2/RCV/Michelin
46//M1/Bridgestone
48/M1/Michelin

There are 5 more (LeMans, Mugello, catalunya, Donington, Assen) race before the end of June.

Any predictions about how the points will look after Assen?

[tmoneyr007]

Well, well, well.

They finally got the TC figured out for Marco and look what he did from starting so far back. Stoner's the only one that can ride the Duc now huh?

Rossi/Stones finding a good setup look out!

[247]

Keep in mind that China really, really suits the Duc, and casey still was way out of touch.

Here's something to think about.

In '07 Stoner won the race, beating Rossi by 3 seconds. This year he was 16 seconds back of Rossi.
Here are the race times (and differential) for Rossi, Pedrosa and Stoner for today and 2007 in China.

Stoner: <2007- 44:12> <2008- 44:24> 12 seconds slower
Rossi: <2007- 44:15> <2008- 44:08> 7 seconds faster
Pedrosa: <2007- 44:26> <2008- 44:12> 14 seconds faster

Stoner and Ducati still have a lot of work to do, and they have to do it fast with 5 races coming in May and June. Michelin's narrowed the gap, and Yamaha has way more power. This year Stoner will have to fight on what seems to be a much more level playing field.

[veetwinducati]

Good to see Rossi get a win after a long barren spell,(for him) HRC really need to up the work and get the pneumatic valve machine on the track.Pedrosa was lamenting on Saturday that he did not have enough top end to really compete.He was never going to make passing Valentino stick .Those two were in a different riding world from the rest today.

Apparently West is about to get dumped by Kawasaki. Also Elias has been to the Ducati factory and they have switched the weight bias away from the front end of the bike which appeared to suit him better.Not sure if Marco had that benefit as well as mapping changes.I think this could be the boost Marco has been waiting for.

Well done to Lorenzo for an extremely spirited and in fairness amazing race result.

[Turbo329]

Originally Posted by 247

Keep in mind that China really, really suits the Duc, and casey still was way out of touch.

Here's something to think about.

In '07 Stoner won the race, beating Rossi by 3 seconds. This year he was 16 seconds back of Rossi.
Here are the race times (and differential) for Rossi, Pedrosa and Stoner for today and 2007 in China.

Stoner: <2007- 44:12> <2008- 44:24> 12 seconds slower
Rossi: <2007- 44:15> <2008- 44:08> 7 seconds faster
Pedrosa: <2007- 44:26> <2008- 44:12> 14 seconds faster

Stoner and Ducati still have a lot of work to do, and they have to do it fast with 5 races coming in May and June. Michelin's narrowed the gap, and Yamaha has way more power. This year Stoner will have to fight on what seems to be a much more level playing field.

Agreed.

Looks like Yamaha's got the package this year. On both the Bridgestone and Michelin front.

Pedrosa is riding great though. Rossi needs to win this year and retire.

[XFBO]

What a load of CRAP Im reading in here.

Everyone's so quick to dismiss Marco's lackluster season to TC issues when the simple truth could be as simple as he felt threatened of losing his seat....ya think that's possible?


Clearly Yamaha has a superior handling, brakes and now a screaming pneumatic motor to boot........all I wanna know is where are all the whiners from last yr pissing n moaning about an unfair advantage?!?!?
Ya think Im exaggerating????

Last yr ONE MAN took the Ducati on a championship run all season long, no one else was able to get even close to it but yet we had a bunch of pathetic whiners bickering on how any person could throw a leg over the Duc and do the same thing.

This yr, it could be argued that all FOUR Yams are doing well and definitely have potential of placing top 5 consistently if it werent for rider error and no ones lamenting over factory/power/etc domination??? LOL!

Very amusing to say the least.


Congrats to Rossi, it's good seeing him fighting for first and win again, it's been awhile.

Im disappointed by Colin, it would of been nice to see him finally get the top step before he gets booted.

Dani and Jorge are two incredible racers with loads of talent, I cant wait to see a fierce battle upfront with several others.

Hooray for Marco for having a great day.

That is all.

[wdavis009]

Originally Posted by XFBO

Everyone's so quick to dismiss Marco's lackluster season to TC issues when the simple truth could be as simple as he felt threatened of losing his seat....ya think that's possible?

Not according to Marco. Read his posts on his web-site and what he says instead of making up something. According to him, there is too little front end feel and too much traction control. The latter is also what Nicky complained about last year about his Honda. Anyone who thinks Nicky would do better on the Ducati needs to listen to what the riders are saying. In it's current state, Nicky would be where everyone else is (except Stoner) on the Ducati.

Originally Posted by XFBO

Im disappointed by Colin, it would of been nice to see him finally get the top step before he gets booted.

Disappointed? Did you actually expect him to podium? Colin will never win a race in MotoGP IMO. YMMV. While capable of riding fast, he can't keep the pace once the tires begin to wear. He needs to go back to WSB.

[247]

What a load of CRAP Im reading in here.
Go on...

Everyone's so quick to dismiss Marco's lackluster season to TC issues when the simple truth could be as simple as he felt threatened of losing his seat....ya think that's possible?
I think Marco's problems are related to a bike that needs tons of engine management to be rideable. Reports say that the Duc runs extremely lean in the corners to get better fuel mileage. It probably is almost completely missing the "throttle/tire connection" that most riders are so dependent on.
BTW- Marco's not worried about losing his seat. He can get any number of seats.


Clearly Yamaha has a superior handling, brakes and now a screaming pneumatic motor to boot........all I wanna know is where are all the whiners from last yr pissing n moaning about an unfair advantage?!?!?
Ya think Im exaggerating????
I agree 100% that the Yamaha is the best package right now. That means that Jorge and Rossi have an advantage over Stoner. You conveniently dismiss the fact that Stoner was the only the only top rider, with a top bike AND Bridgestones. He had TWO advantages over Rossi and Pedrosa.
Anytime you use 4-5 question marks/exclamation points you're exaggerating something.

Last yr ONE MAN took the Ducati on a championship run all season long, no one else was able to get even close to it but yet we had a bunch of pathetic whiners bickering on how any person could throw a leg over the Duc and do the same thing.
As I pointed out, last year Stoner had the best bike AND the best tires. Yamaha and Honda were well off the pace most of the season AND the Bridgestones were much better overall.
Also- last year's Duc was not only way better than the competition, it was way better than this year's Duc... as evidenced by Stoner's 2008 race times being worse than last year's.


This yr, it could be argued that all FOUR Yams are doing well and definitely have potential of placing top 5 consistently if it werent for rider error and no ones lamenting over factory/power/etc domination??? LOL!
One more time- one bike is always better than the rest. Why would anyone "lament" that fact? Last year was completely unique. ONLY ONE top rider had the best bike AND the best tires.

It's starting to look like Stoner may be more like the next Gibernau instead of the next GOAT.

[tmoneyr007]

Originally Posted by XFBO

What a load of CRAP Im reading in here.

Everyone's so quick to dismiss Marco's lackluster season to TC issues when the simple truth could be as simple as he felt threatened of losing his seat....ya think that's possible?


Clearly Yamaha has a superior handling, brakes and now a screaming pneumatic motor to boot........all I wanna know is where are all the whiners from last yr pissing n moaning about an unfair advantage?!?!?
Ya think Im exaggerating????

Last yr ONE MAN took the Ducati on a championship run all season long, no one else was able to get even close to it but yet we had a bunch of pathetic whiners bickering on how any person could throw a leg over the Duc and do the same thing.

This yr, it could be argued that all FOUR Yams are doing well and definitely have potential of placing top 5 consistently if it werent for rider error and no ones lamenting over factory/power/etc domination??? LOL!

Very amusing to say the least.


Congrats to Rossi, it's good seeing him fighting for first and win again, it's been awhile.

Im disappointed by Colin, it would of been nice to see him finally get the top step before he gets booted.

Dani and Jorge are two incredible racers with loads of talent, I cant wait to see a fierce battle upfront with several others.

Hooray for Marco for having a great day.

That is all.

Please, Marco is as passionate as anyone about racing, he's been trying all year, they just said they made TC adjustments which helped his feel with the bike and confidence and look at the result.

If they continue to make him feel comfortable on the bike and get it to do what he needs he will be right up there in the top 7-8 at the end of the year, which will be an accomplishment given the competition and his horrible start to the year.

[XFBO]

Originally Posted by 247

the fact that Stoner was the only the only top rider, with a top bike AND Bridgestones.

Well well well, it didnt take long for whiner #1 to reply.

So what about this yr Jeff, clearly Valentino has the unfair advantage in being the "only top rider, with a top bike & B'stones" why havent we heard any unfair advantage boohooing from you today??????????? < Over analyze that while you're at it.


BTW- I like Marco and his ferocity over the yrs but give me a break. Everyone complains about their racing package in one way or another, that's a fact. It's a matter of putting in the seat time and 'finding' what works best for YOU. Up until this weekend he wasnt doing very well in doing that.

[247]

Well... the obvious reason why no one is saying that Rossi has an unfair advantage is that the Bridgestones haven't even been as good as the Michelins so far this year.

Originally Posted by XFBO

So what about this yr Jeff...

clearly Valentino has the unfair advantage in being the "only top rider, with a top bike & B'stones"

Why havent we heard any unfair advantage boohooing from you today???????????

[wdavis009]

Originally Posted by XFBO

So what about this yr Jeff, clearly Valentino has the unfair advantage in being the "only top rider, with a top bike & B'stones" why havent we heard any unfair advantage boohooing from you today???????????

Advantage does not equal "unfair" advantage. As long as the rules are followed, no advantage is unfair.

Originally Posted by XFBO

It's a matter of putting in the seat time and 'finding' what works best for YOU. Up until this weekend he wasnt doing very well in doing that.

You previously stated he rode poor previously because he was worried about losing his ride, even though every rider who has ridden the bike besides Stoner has complained about lack of front end feel, to the point that Ducati itself asked Biaggi and Bayliss to test the bike in order to figure out how to improve it, i.e., they admit there is a problem. Not to mention the fact that chalking up Marco's earlier poor performance was due to him worrying about losing his ride is illogical, i.e., it would not explain why he rode poorly at the first race (when little was at risk and little to worry about) but rode well at the last race (when something may be at risk and therefore something to worry about), which coincidentally, was the first race after Ducati adjusted the mapping and the weight distribution on the bike. But yeah, everyone but you is full of crap. Who cares about logic and being consistent.

[mikstr]

"Looks like Yamaha's got the package this year. "

surely only because the V-4's are sandbagging, after all, it is inconceivable that a gutless and cammy I-4 could get the best of such a clearly superior design....

he he

[Busy Little Shop]

For me I4s are the past like drum brakes and the V4s are new like disc brakes... even
though drum wins over dics now and then you know which technology has the
advantage and represents OUR future...

[dj_wawa]