RACE STUFF THREAD

[junior varsity]

i can't believe you are still talking about stoner. two dnfs. no championship possible. Hayden? A speck of a chance.

[Jester]

Yeah it pretty much allows Jorge to cruise to a title.

[Cher]

I suspect the second most disappointed person with Rossi's injury is Lorenzo.  If he does win the title, there will always be an asterisks behind it... No Rossi  Hollow victory.

[caffeinejunkee]

Yup

[Jester]

I suspect the second most disappointed person with Rossi's injury is Lorenzo.  If he does win the title, there will always be an asterisks behind it... No Rossi  Hollow victory.

Maybe, but with that line of thinking, you could say that most of the great riders had hollow championships.  Sure people came and went that gave them some trouble, but Valentino had a handful of championships where he thoroughly thrashed the grid the entire season.  Were those hollow because he wasn't racing anyone?  Mick Doohan whooped the grid a few times, Rainey, etc.  Blame it more on the fact Stacy Moaner has lost his confidence and Pedro not entering the season on a sorted bike.  Stoner and Pedro will run with him or beat him a couple times I imagine, so its not as if the paddock is empty of talent.  No championship is hollow though.  You can't dictate your competition.  You just go out and do your part.

I'd be more excited that we might see some different faces on the podium for once, since one of the "given" slots just opened.

[TresGatos]

Hugh should know.

[/quote]Is that RonR?

[Cher]

Maybe, but with that line of thinking, you could say that most of the great riders had hollow championships.  Sure people came and went that gave them some trouble, but Valentino had a handful of championships where he thoroughly thrashed the grid the entire season.  Were those hollow because he wasn't racing anyone?  Mick Doohan whooped the grid a few times, Rainey, etc.  Blame it more on the fact Stacy Moaner has lost his confidence and Pedro not entering the season on a sorted bike.  Stoner and Pedro will run with him or beat him a couple times I imagine, so its not as if the paddock is empty of talent.  No championship is hollow though.  You can't dictate your competition.  You just go out and do your part.

I'd be more excited that we might see some different faces on the podium for once, since one of the "given" slots just opened.

Pragmatically, that is undeniably true.  But on a more emotional level, would you rather beat a significantly diluted field of racers or beat the best?  As much as I am in total awe of the entire MotoGP fieled, there is only one, on any given Sunday, that is clearly better than anyone else and that's Valentino Rossi.  Yeah, Lorenzo can beat Pedroso but Pedroso is not the defending, multi-time world champion.  No one on the grid represents the sort of challenge or sense of accomplishment that winning againnst VR would represent.

[Cher]

So I wonder if the MotoGP on-line subscription department realizes how big a windfall SPEED channel's "enhanced coverage" has been for them?  Cha-ching.

[Jester]

I about threw up my hands watching world sbk last week on Speed.  Bring back the Euro commentators, because having the Americans call the race makes all of us look like ignorant fools. ( I know it was just for the US round )  They don't know how to pronounce half the names in the field, which also lets the fan know that they don't know jack about or follow the racing either.  Its a bunch of garbage.

[Cher]

Wow. In spite of of all the AMA/DMG pregnant doging I have done, this weekend's Road Atlanta SBK races kicked ass! [moto] Gotta love that race course! I am sure Laguna Seca lovers would love to protest, but Road America rocks!!! What a great race course! It's one of the best in the US for sure!

Jason Pridmore was a welcome addition with race commentary but he still had to compete with Greg White. 

I follow most major forms of racing - most of it televised on SPEED - and it is obvious to me that AMA races are at the very bottom of their food chain; the redheaded stepchild behind F1, ALMS,and the Rolex Sports Cars series.  All three of those productions are EXCELLENT; knowledgeable, passionate "insiders" within their given sport that add relevance to what your watching. I also feel like the producers of the AMA racing shows assume the average age of their viewership must be about six years old.

I about threw up my hands watching world sbk last week on Speed.  Bring back the Euro commentators, because having the Americans call the race makes all of us look like ignorant fools. ( I know it was just for the US round )  They don't know how to pronounce half the names in the field, which also lets the fan know that they don't know jack about or follow the racing either.  Its a bunch of garbage.

I had tivo'd both races but deleted them both after listening to the first few minutes of the first race.  Very, very sad.

[CajunR]

I'll freely admit that I've never really followed racing (other than Supercross)... But I happened to catch the SBK race on Speed this week.  You guys are SOOOO right!  I wanted to shoot the commentators within seconds... 

[Cher]

I've really been impressed with the quality of racing in the AMA the last several races.  Nice to see 

[Cher]

Hell, I'm just happy it's not a damn blue and white Yoshimura Suzuki every time you turn on AMA Road Racing.  Well at least not all of the time... 

[webspoke]

Greg Tracy on a practice run with the new Multi 1200 - After a few runs they recorded the fastest time a bike has ever done in the first section. I like how it hardly slows down on the dirt 
Greg Tracy - 2010 Ducati Multistrada Practice Run - PPIHC

[Cher]

Well alrighty then, Race Fans!  Warm up the DVR, pull up a beer and open the chair 'cos there's all kinds of racing on TV this weekend - and NOT in their typical time-slots either.  SO, being the totally hopeless thoughtful gearhead that I am,  I thought I'd share with you a complete run-down of the upcoming racing events.  They are many and varied and don't even include NASCAR.  Go figure...

Friday 7am - 8:30am:  Formula 1 Practice, Valencia, Spain.  Live.  SPEED

Saturday  7am - 8:30am:  Formula 1 Qualifying, Valencia.  Live.  SPEED
Saturday  8:30am - 9:30am:   MotoGP Race, Assen, Live.  SPEED
Saturday  11pm - mdn:   Moto2, Assen, SDD.  SPEED

Sunday 11am â€" 1pm:  Formula Race, Valencia. SDD.  FOX
Sunday 10pm â€" 11pm:  FIM WSBK, Misano, Race 1. SDD.  SPEED
Sunday 11pm â€" mdn:  FIM WSBK, Misano, Race 2.  SDD.  SPEED