MotoGP

[oddlycalm]

I've seen some of the best racing in memory this year in MotoGP. Absolutely incredible passes, and insane slides through corners once the tires have gone off. Ducati has added a nice twist to the action having now gotten their first win.

Anyone else following the action? Will Gibernau challenge Rossi for the title?

oc

[Ankf00]

unfortunately haven't been able to watch this year :(

but i'd pick biaggi or capirossi before seth, then again, i havent seen any just read about everything this year so who knows :)

[cartmanoz]

Sete has been magnificent all year and is certainly a serious contender for the MotoGP title, though Rossi realistically still has it in the bag. The only way he will lose the title is if he falls off.

Sete has now won 3 races this year and all in fantastic circumstances - in Welkon the ride was pure emotion and a win for the late Daijiro Kato. The ride in Le Mans was a pure tactical victory and getting one over Rossi was just icing on the cake. While his victory last night in Assen proved that he is probably the best wet-weather racer on the grid at the moment.

The Ducati's have been something else altogether. Clearly the second best bike on the grid already, they have blinding speed and their reliability, for such a new machine, has been superb. Loris has been on the boil all year but has made some tiny errors that have cost him points. But his ride at Catalunya was another well-judged affair and he pressured Rossi into an error. Troy Bayliss started out well but has suffered a confidence problem of late.

As for the other Honda's, Biaggi has been mighty consistent and with luck his first win on a Honda RC211V isn't too far away. Rossi's team-mate Nicky Hayden is out of his depth while Tohru Ukawa has been consistent without setting the world on fire.

The Yamaha contingent have all challenged at various stages. Shinya Nakano had a couple of good races at Mugello and Catalunya, Olivier Jacque has usually started well but fallen back in nearly every races, Charlie Checa has been his typical enigmatic self, Alex Barros has suffered fitness problems all year but is still clearly the top Yamaha rider while the rest are not worth rating.

Meanwhile, Proton have finally unveiled their new V5 monster but it's still in development, Kawasaki are just useless, Suzuki are going nowhere while Aprilia are starting to improve with each round, but the bike is still too heavy.

[oddlycalm]

Good comments cartmanoz, and I agree with your assesment. Gibernau will challenge, and win at times, but in the end it will be Rossi with podiums at all events.

Regarding Hayden, I'm not too surprised. He wouldn't have been my pick. Good natural talent, but very likely to suffer culture shock, and find it difficult to submit to the mental and physical training necessary to reach the next level of performance.

oc

[Ankf00]

colin edwards belongs on that hayden RC211V :flame:
<Colin> here's your 2nd championship, enjoy
<Honda> thank you
<Colin> so seeing as you're going to be forgetting SBK really, what say you I try out that RCV?
<Honda> why that would require quite some sponsor money, sorry.
Enter California:
<Honda> Nicky, would you like to race with the real men, no need for experience or sponsorship, just come.
<Nicky> DUDE, WOULD I?!?!

:mad: F the H :mad:

[cartmanoz]

I was shocked when Colin didn't get the call-up to the factory Honda MotoGP squad after beating Bayliss to the WSBK title last year. Talk about a major foul-up by Honda on that one.