**Spoiler** MotoGP of France

[Yamadog]

Practice 2 results!

 
2008 Le Mans FP1 Times Day 1 - Pedrosa Fastest Again, Stoner Chasing Now Pos.   No.   Rider   Manufacturer   Fast Lap   Diff   Diff Previous
1   2   Dani PEDROSA   HONDA   1'34.227      
2   1   Casey STONER   DUCATI   1'34.276   0.049   0.049
3   5   Colin EDWARDS   YAMAHA   1'34.287   0.060   0.011
4   48   Jorge LORENZO   YAMAHA   1'34.487   0.260   0.200
5   7   Chris VERMEULEN   SUZUKI   1'34.630   0.403   0.143
6   46   Valentino ROSSI   YAMAHA   1'34.959   0.732   0.329
7   56   Shinya NAKANO   HONDA   1'35.047   0.820   0.088
8   14   Randy DE PUNIET   HONDA   1'35.073   0.846   0.026
9   21   John HOPKINS   KAWASAKI   1'35.133   0.906   0.060
10   15   Alex DE ANGELIS   HONDA   1'35.239   1.012   0.106
11   65   Loris CAPIROSSI   SUZUKI   1'35.256   1.029   0.017
12   69   Nicky HAYDEN   HONDA   1'35.378   1.151   0.122
13   4   Andrea DOVIZIOSO   HONDA   1'35.450   1.223   0.072
14   33   Marco MELANDRI   DUCATI   1'35.678   1.451   0.228
15   52   James TOSELAND   YAMAHA   1'35.848   1.621   0.170
16   13   Anthony WEST   KAWASAKI   1'35.877   1.650   0.029
17   24   Toni ELIAS   DUCATI   1'36.039   1.812   0.162
18   50   Sylvain GUINTOLI   DUCATI   1'36.414   2.187   0.375



Circuit records Fastest Lap:    29    Dani PEDROSA    1'34.227    159.890 Km/h
Circuit Record Lap:    New circuit
Circuit Best Lap:    2008    Dani PEDROSA    1'34.227    159.890 Km/h

[desert_rider]

Could be very competitive, the top five are separated by less than 1/2 a second.  

[dnlwthrn]

They haven't posted the official times from FP3 yet, but here's the rundown:

Edwards
Rossi
Pedrobot
Stoner
Dovizioso
Vermulen

and I'm not sure the rest.  Interesting to note that Jorge had another getoff, and was taken to Clinica Mobile for examination...

Qualifying should be VERY interesting, not to mention the race.  Also of note was the weather, as it rained overnight and the track was drying during FP3.  Its hard to tell from the video feed what the surface is like right now.

[Yamadog]

^
FP3 Times

Pos.   No.   Rider   Manufacturer   Fast Lap   Diff   Diff Previous
1   5   Colin EDWARDS   YAMAHA   1'33.765      
2   46   Valentino ROSSI   YAMAHA   1'34.114   0.349   0.349
3   2   Dani PEDROSA   HONDA   1'34.229   0.464   0.115
4   1   Casey STONER   DUCATI   1'34.353   0.588   0.124
5   4   Andrea DOVIZIOSO   HONDA   1'34.438   0.673   0.085
6   7   Chris VERMEULEN   SUZUKI   1'34.746   0.981   0.308
7   14   Randy DE PUNIET   HONDA   1'34.767   1.002   0.021
8   21   John HOPKINS   KAWASAKI   1'34.828   1.063   0.061
9   52   James TOSELAND   YAMAHA   1'35.107   1.342   0.279
10   65   Loris CAPIROSSI   SUZUKI   1'35.128   1.363   0.021
11   56   Shinya NAKANO   HONDA   1'35.190   1.425   0.062
12   69   Nicky HAYDEN   HONDA   1'35.321   1.556   0.131
13   48   Jorge LORENZO   YAMAHA   1'35.345   1.580   0.024
14   24   Toni ELIAS   DUCATI   1'35.642   1.877   0.297
15   15   Alex DE ANGELIS   HONDA   1'35.700   1.935   0.058
16   33   Marco MELANDRI   DUCATI   1'35.891   2.126   0.191
17   50   Sylvain GUINTOLI   DUCATI   1'36.044   2.279   0.153
18   13   Anthony WEST   KAWASAKI   1'36.228   2.463   0.184

[dnlwthrn]

Qualifying Times:

Pos Num Rider Manufacturer Time Lap Total Top Speed
1 2 Dani PEDROSA HONDA 1'32.647 26 27 279.9
2 5 Colin EDWARDS YAMAHA 1'32.774 21 25 0.127 0.127 281.0
3 1 Casey STONER DUCATI 1'32.994 21 22 0.347 0.220 284.4
4 46 Valentino ROSSI YAMAHA 1'33.157 27 28 0.510 0.163 286.1
5 48 Jorge LORENZO YAMAHA 1'33.269 24 28 0.622 0.112 275.1
6 69 Nicky HAYDEN HONDA 1'33.286 24 25 0.639 0.017 273.4
7 52 James TOSELAND YAMAHA 1'33.396 24 25 0.749 0.110 276.2
8 7 Chris VERMEULEN SUZUKI 1'33.440 24 28 0.793 0.044 279.3
9 21 John HOPKINS KAWASAKI 1'33.628 24 25 0.981 0.188 291.6
10 4 Andrea DOVIZIOSO HONDA 1'33.689 24 25 1.042 0.061 275.2
11 65 Loris CAPIROSSI SUZUKI 1'33.707 24 28 1.060 0.018 282.9
12 14 Randy DE PUNIET HONDA 1'33.723 18 26 1.076 0.016 281.6
13 56 Shinya NAKANO HONDA 1'34.077 26 27 1.430 0.354 281.8
14 24 Toni ELIAS DUCATI 1'34.561 22 23 1.914 0.484 282.6
15 15 Alex DE ANGELIS HONDA 1'34.670 24 25 2.023 0.109 274.9
16 50 Sylvain GUINTOLI DUCATI 1'34.747 24 26 2.100 0.077 275.9
17 33 Marco MELANDRI DUCATI 1'35.081 21 21 2.434 0.334 284.9
18 13 Anthony WEST KAWASAKI 1'35.349 26 27 2.702 0.268 279.1

Sounds like Edwards could have gotten top spot if it weren't for a little mixup with Melandri towards the end of QP...

[LicketySplat]

Hope the TV feed carries a good portion of Rossi's victory lap with Nieto. That was awesome.

[miles]

Hey, how about those stinky I-4s, huh?  Top three spots- not a V-4 on the podium!

[Yamadog]

Hey, how about those stinky I-4s, huh?  Top three spots- not a V-4 on the podium!

 

[TheGoose]

Hey, how about those stinky I-4s, huh?  Top three spots- not a V-4 on the podium!

 

Did you see the look in Rossi's eyes when he mentioned Mugello? He's baaaaaaaaaack!

[DogBoy]

Hey, how about those stinky I-4s, huh?  Top three spots- not a V-4 on the podium!

Yeah, now all we need is some asshole with two I-4 Yamahas in his garage to go on and on about how superior they are. Oh. Hey, thats me.    

[Yamadog]

To me the difference in race pace seemed to be handling, and the fact that the competition weren't disappearing down the straights like last year. Vale's M1 in particular seem planted compared to Ducati and Honda (never saw enough of Vermin or Hopper to see how they were sorted). But impressive race from the M1s, Lorenzo had to be my pick for man of the race even though Vale dominated. Even Colin Edwards looked pretty good and that's unusual.
Back to my popcorn

[phoenix]

Any idea what happened to Stoner's bike? Electrical gremlin?

That sucked for Hopkins, losing the chain like that.

[Jeff N]

Hope the TV feed carries a good portion of Rossi's victory lap with Nieto. That was awesome.

You've got to be kidding. Speed doesn't even show the full opening comments of all three podium winners anymore.

Here's Rossi being taken for a ride by Angel Nieto to celebrate the fact that with today's victory the Dr. has 90 GP victories, tying Nieto's record.

[pearsonm]

As much as I enjoy watching Lorenzo, especially the stuff he put on Pedrosa today, I’m afraid he’s going to have a short career if he doesn‘t start being a little more selective with the risks he's taking.

And how about Edwards! If he can stay away from any more DNF's he could wind up having a fine season! Stepping out from Rossi’s shadow seems to have been a good move.

[JonS]

 

Did you see the look in Rossi's eyes when he mentioned Mugello? He's baaaaaaaaaack!

  Its great to see him back in form.
 Lorenzo is amazing, but I don't want him winning the championship.

[keystonejenks]

There was some good racing. Hayden still is a headscratcher. He looks good early but then slowly falls back.

[Tyrroneous]

 Lorenzo is amazing, but I don't want him winning the championship.

Not this year anyway...  

I gotta admit, that I am now extremely impressed with Lorenzo's grit and determination.  To finish second today was amazing.    

I'm happy for Colin.  Now if he can just score a win!  

[veefer800canuck]

[Yamadog]

As usual Kropotkin does a fabulous job describing what happened. If you didn't see the race just read this http://blogger.xs4all.nl/daisy/archive/2008/05/19/390612.aspx

And the usual levity from the boys at MotoGPNews http://www.motogpnews.com/home.php?pageid=1052

The win at Le Mans was the Rossi of old. The kind of race we'd watch in days gone by that would see him take the victory and Sete pile through the gravel shaking his head and looking at his rear tyre like he'd ridden through a turd.

[protondecay123]

Yeah, now all we need is some asshole with two I-4 Yamahas in his garage to go on and on about how superior they are. Oh. Hey, thats me.    





 

Thanks for posting up that wonderful photo of the all Yamaha podium. Isn't this the first time in the premiere class that Yamaha has filled the podium?

 

[scott-sts]

Rossi looks very sharp, like he's back to his old form.  Shame on everyone who questioned his move to Bridgestone.

Edwards always does well at Le Mans so it's no surprise he got on the podium.  He'll be back to 8th place next race (Unfortunately).

Lorenzo is a maniac!  He passed Edwards and Pedrosa like they weren't even there.

Stoner's Duc is very fast; notice how he pulled away on the straights?  At least until his tires went off.  

[LicketySplat]

Shame on everyone who questioned his move to Bridgestone.

I'll say it again: imagine what that team could be doing if they were allowed to share data.

It's shaping up as a more interesting season because of Rossi's switch, and maybe making for more exciting racing, but I think Lorenzo's success is proof of how poor a decision Rossi made.

Memo to Roger Edmondson: instead of spec tires, how about requiring every team in AMA to be on DIFFERENT tires?  

[1KPerDay]

dayum...

[Busy Little Whiner]

Hey, how about those stinky I-4s, huh?  Top three spots- not a V-4 on the podium!

My congratulations to Rossi Lorenzo and Edwards... their virtual V4s beat the
real V4s today... but when is Yamaha going to replace the cheap cammy hit
180º I4 sold in pairs at CostCo with their irregular firing Motogp version I4???

[Busy Little Whiner]

WOOF!!!

[tomek]

http://www.superbikeplanet.com/2008/May/080518zx.htm

It is interesting read,especially Stoner`s and Pedrosa`s comments,front tire this,front tire that.

Basically, 90 deg V4 is a front plowing device that will never  work in 800 format ( never mind 2007  ).It is all about corner entry and high mid corner speed.90 deg V4 can`t turn without long enough wheelbase.But SUV like WB has no place in 800 format.Basically they are doomed,Rossi is gonna win championship by country mile.

[TheGoose]

You've almost got the syntax down!

[Busy Little Whiner]

Basically, 90 deg V4 is a front plowing device that will never  work in 800 format ( never mind 2007  ).It is all about corner entry and high mid corner speed.90 deg V4 can`t turn without long enough wheelbase.But SUV like WB has no place in 800 format.Basically they are doomed,Rossi is gonna win championship by country mile.

Technically speaking... in MotoGp the I4s long and ponderous crank makes the Yamaha M1
handle like a wheel borrow full of bowling balls compared to short and sassy V4... so much
so that Yamaha has reverted to spinning the M1 crank backwards relative the wheels in
order to cancel it's negative gyroscopic effects... but this slight of hand trick cost Rossi
5HP and that's why he made this quote:

"It is Yamaha's prerogative to have an engine isn't the
fastest, it was also the same 20 years ago." he laughed. "It is a
technical choice, to go more slow!"

[Yamadog]

^Rises to take the bait

[pearsonm]

^Rises to take the bait

^^Once again plagiarizes and takes out of context Neil Spalding's work in his book MotoGP Technology.

[JonS]

I'm not sure where to put this, but here it is. This morning I stumbled upon a very good MotoGP forum and found this great explanation of Rossi, Yamaha and Bridgestone:
http://www.rideontwo.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1702

[DogBoy]

rideontwo.com rocks. Good discussion and they get all the good pics.

[Orson]

Technically speaking... in MotoGp the I4s long and ponderous crank makes the Yamaha M1
handle like a wheel borrow full of bowling balls compared to short and sassy V4...

2 words...wishy-washy front-end

or is that 4 words?  

[Busy Little Whiner]

2 words...wishy-washy front-end

or is that 4 words?  

Don't worry Orson... Yamaha is working over time on Rossi's lack of front end feel...

Quote Road Racer X

"In the very early 08 season, Rossi's setup was lacking in the area of
consistency and front end feel, by the second race, he was already far
enough along to post a strong runner up finish, after holding Lorenzo
off for the entire 27 laps. This champioship will be very long
Valentino said-twice-in the post race press conference"