Nice start to the season 

Really glad to see Nicky doing well again, and if Casey can remain upright, he'll be impressive this year.

nicky's post-race interview was kinda heartbreaking.

he basically said that if somebody had told him before the race that he was going to be 2s from rossi and finish 4th, he would've been like "yeah, ok." but after getting that start and being up in the mix, he was really bummed for his team that he didn't reach podium.

i'm really hoping we see the hungry nicky of old in japan.

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/82829

"It was confidence inspiring after the weekend we had to keep Lorenzo right there and actually for a few laps we were reeling in the front guys," he said. "But that was everything I had and I think I rode a pretty good race.

"I didn't make too many mistakes and that was all we had today."

Good race overall. I really wanted to see Hayden on the podium.

Quote from: Spidey on April 07, 2010, 08:15:48 PM
So here it is . . . he's not going to beat Rossi or Casey (though Casey could fall down -- he does sometimes or completely blow a turn) . . . . . So the really big question is Lorenzo.  Lorenzo's had a coupla weeks to heal, has no problem coming on strong at the end of a race, and can race hurt . . . . I call Rossi, Stoner and Lorenzo in that order.  

Damn accurate prediction.

Too bad for Hayden in the last turn.  I'll be interested to hear what the deal with Stoner's crash was.  Bad night for Pramac.  Bad night really for Desmos in general.

Congrats to Nicky 


Stoner better get his head straightened - he said for himself yesterday, he needed solid points - well, that isn't the way to get them.


mitt

Just watched the delayed telecast down here in Melbourne. You can't afford to give the GOAT 25 points like that.
Depressed

I still don't see a post race interview with Casey.  Is he dodging the media because all didn't go well? 

now that's more like it!  who told those guys to actually go have a race?

flippin' pedro is gonna get to T1 first even if he starts last.  sheesh.

crazy to see the repsol bikes going so fast.  that only took 'em 3 years...

no podium for nicky really sucked but i almost don't care.  that was some hungry, awesome riding.  hell yeah!

stoner.  pfft.

i like how dovi gets half a bike on rossi, rossi outbrakes him (shocker) and then throws down 2 blindingly fast laps.  uh oh.. i'm outta here.  that guy... man.  amazing.

and what a ride from george.  sandbag city.

  The Ben.  that was not a rookie ride by a long shot.

  melandri.  wth is going on with the gresini bikes that LCR has evidently already figured out?


and the moto2 race was awesome.  that is gonna be scrappy all year long.  sorry for de angelis.. but it's not like he didn't have it coming.

http://www.crash.net/motogp/news/158653/1/stoner_apologises_for_qatar_crash.html

Quote“The bike bogged at the start so I didn't get away well but I felt good and I was able to pass the other guys,” began Stoner, who slipped from pole to fourth at turn one. “Once I got to the front I started to get into my rhythm but I lost the front end a couple of times in long corners so I made the decision to try to ride a bit smoother and not put so much pressure on the front tyre with the full tank.

“Unfortunately that is what led to the crash because looking at the telemetry I didn't have enough load on the front, so I guess in hindsight I should have stuck to the way I'd been riding all weekend.

Stoner seems to contradict himself in this quote.  He upped the pace a half a second a lap, and then crashed out immediately afterwards, so I don't see where he was trying to take load off the tire and smooth it out.  From what the riders say, bridgestones don't work well unless under heavy load, so I don't get why he'd want to unload the front anyway.. you'd think that would start making the bike push and not get through the corners, not to mention compromise grip.  I think the lack of load in telemetry data was because the front tucked   .  

Honestly I think he 'was' riding the way he had all weekend when he crashed and is making lame exucses when he simply overrode hard tires in a section of the track that is a little slippery.  He was doing his typical blaze away into the sunset maneuver and it didn't work out.  Just admit it.  This is the third or fourth time he's slid off the track when trying to clear off into the distance since 2008.  Its not a one time error.

Quote from: gm2 on April 11, 2010, 08:53:57 PM
  sorry for de angelis.. but it's not like he didn't have it coming.

Isn't that the truth.

Quote from: Jester on April 11, 2010, 09:02:30 PM
Stoner seems to contradict himself in this quote.   

he does that ALL the time.  he could fall down a flight of stairs, take responsibility for it, and then blame the stair in the next breath.

I was really impressed to see Nicky back up near the front, but saddened when he got nosed off the podium there at the last second.  Hopefully this is a sign of good things to come from him this  year, as he was competitive all race, instead of being near the front due to multiple DNFs.  Good race all the way around!

Rossi - himself
Lorenzo - Holy shit! From 4th to 2nd in a lap or 2? That was probably the best riding of the night.
Dovi - Awesome ride and pulling it out at the end
Nicky - Ditto as Dovi. Who would have guessed that it would have been a battle to the very end between these 2.
The Ben - 5th on his first GP race on a satellite team. You think he has a future in bike racing?

Quote from: gm2 on April 11, 2010, 08:53:57 PM

and the moto2 race was awesome.  that is gonna be scrappy all year long. 

+1

Those guys were bumping everywhere, and the bikes were all over the place. Very entertaining!