***Spoiler*** MotoGP Mugello

[dnlwthrn]

I can't believe nobody has said anything yet about the practice or qualifying at Mugello.

Well, the race is over and the Doctor has his third straight victory, and his seventh straight win at Mugello.  Stoner second, Pedrosa third.

Seems that Melandri can't get rid of his bad luck either.  DNF today, due to being forced off the track when de Puniet lowsided in front of him.  Other notable DNF's were Lorenzo (lowside) and Hopkins.  

Can anybody catch Rossi now?  How will things play out with only a few days till practice starts in Barcelona?

Discuss...

[tomek]

Championship is over,Rossi is gonna win 70% of remaining races,,,,,,,,clinch 1st place with couple races to spare,,,,,,,,,,on inline 4,,,,,,,

Ducati and Honda might as well start working on 2009 bikes now,better yet,they should dump 90 deg V4 configuration,,,,,,,,,

[Yamadog]

You mean the ancient technology I4 won again?

[Orson]

yee of little faith...

the V4 contingent are merely lulling their prey into letting their guard down.

then they pounce.

I learned that from Marlin Perkins.

[TheGoose]

Man, Rossi's helmet was pure genius. I was It's so awesome to see him at the front again. There are as many Rossi haters on some of the other boards I frequent now as there are fans, but say what one will, it's a lot more exiting, at least to me, when he's in the fight and winning.

[Shastarider]

Man, Rossi's helmet was pure genius. I was It's so awesome to see him at the front again. There are as many Rossi haters on some of the other boards I frequent now as there are fans, but say what one will, it's a lot more exiting, at least to me, when he's in the fight and winning.

I'll second that!!!

[phoenix]

It looked to me like the Yamaha was NOT the fastest bike down the front straight, but Rossi just wants it more and is willing to go a little further to the edge, but still with a hair's worth of margin.

What the hell happened to Hayden?

[TheGoose]

It wasn't, and given the performance of the other Yamaha riders it's clear Rossi is back on his game. My understanding is that in addition to his tax woes and getting used to the Bridgestone tires he also broke up with his long time girlfriend (who, as you might imagine, is stupendously hot), but it appears he's gotten his mojo back.

It was too bad Lorenzo went down, but Toseland and Edwards had a nice scrap.

I don't know what was up with Hayden. Something on his bike was definitely not working though.

[garry]

Got to see the first few laps (until Rossi took the lead) then had to go rescue my son from a minor car accident (hit curb, two flat tires). Didn't get to see the rest of the race, but it sounds like I saw the interesting part. It does seem like Rossi is back on his game. I hope he doesn't run away with it. It'd be nice to see some long battles between the fast guys. I bet a serious Lorenzo-Rossi battle would be interesting (if Yamaha would let them).

[keystonejenks]

Missed the race this week. It sounds like Rossi is back to his old self so everybody is racing for 2nd. How much more incentive do you think Hayden needs to finally leave Honda?

[garry]

Might be time for Nicky to head to WSBK and liter bikes. Seems to suit his riding style better.

[ReviveTheWhigs]

Might be time for Nicky to head to WSBK and liter bikes. Seems to suit his riding style better.

He looked absolutely terrible yesterday. It was painful to watch him fall back through the field. Whereas Rossi seems to have rediscovered his mojo, Nicky seems to have completely lost his.

The one saving grace Nicky always had during 2006 was consistency. Maybe he wasn't always the fastest guy, but he pounded out lap after lap as fast as he could. Now it seems like he'll set a hot time during QP, run a few laps at a lead group pace, then fade. It appears to be a mental problem more than anything else; he strikes me as more emotional than the average racer, and he might be letting HRC have to much of an effect on his focus...

I really hope he moves to Ducati. Kropotkin has noted on several occasions that the Ducati requires a heavy handed, dirt-bike style of riding - which suits Nicky a hell of a lot better that the RC212V...

[Jeff N]

I wonder if Nicky can disconnect the traction control?

[DogBoy]

A sense of humor is important:

[TheGoose]

Oh man I was laughing so hard when I saw that.... effing brilliant. Can you imagine taking a quick peek behind you and see that coming up? How you'd keep your concentration is beyond me....

[DogBoy]

 I guess there is an Italian joke that you get a wood "medalion" rather than gold/silver/bronze for finishing fourth in any competition. In 2004, after finishing fourth at Jerez and LeMans, Rossi wore this helmet at Mugello that year as a joke on himself:

[Jeff N]

Carl Edwards' back flip ain't got nuthin' on Valentino.

[Yamadog]

Finally got around to watching the race this afternoon. Vale was untouchable. Ducati "appeared" to have just a tad more speed down the straight, but not enough to overcome the M1 railing through the corners. Nicky? Anyone ever hear what the problem was with his motorcycle? Getting beat by customer motorcycles is not a way to enhance one's career. (Oh yeah--loved the helmet!)

[Jeff N]

Nicky? Anyone ever hear what the problem was with his motorcycle? Getting beat by customer motorcycles is not a way to enhance one's career.

The old joke used to be "electrical problems" but anyone who's bought a Sony knows that's a load of bull.

According to press releases they're looking into it.  

[DFH]

My understanding is that in addition to his tax woes and getting used to the Bridgestone tires he also broke up with his long time girlfriend (who, as you might imagine, is stupendously hot), but it appears he's gotten his mojo back.

Really?....I'm sure I saw Uccio on the grid before the race

DFH

[Jeff N]

Really?....I'm sure I saw Uccio on the grid before the race

DFH

Back door lover, underneath the cover?


Hey, DFH. You started it.  


Word is, Rossi gave up his London digs and exile tax status (and GF), fired his manager as per his father's advice, and moved back to Italy to straighten out his life.

Apparently, Vale is now old enough to take Dad's advice and keep it simple. Graziano still visits all the continental GPs in some old station wagon and sleeps out back on a mattress.

[Tyrroneous]

What a boring race.  Seriously.  The only cool part was seeing Edwards and Toseland come storming through the pack.  

Pedrosa's complete inability to fight back after being passed or ride on the ragged edge makes him one of the most boring racers to watch.  

Hoppers had another mechanical problem that caused him to crash at the end of the straight.  That dude is having some seriously bad luck and the move to Kawasaki is not looking like a good one (aside from all the dough he's making).  

[TheGoose]

Really?....I'm sure I saw Uccio on the grid before the race

DFH

Bah...

[scott-sts]

Pedrosa is a threat to Rossi.  He's riding very smart and isn't crashing like he did last year.  It ain't over yet.

Nicky is riding an '07 machine.  Okada raced to test out the new valve train.  

[Yamadog]

  Kinda sorta. Did anyone watch the 250cc race? That was one scary endo that Hector Barbera pulled right on the main straight, going warp speed! Ouch!  /:threadjacked:

[phoenix]

  Kinda sorta. Did anyone watch the 250cc race? That was one scary endo that Hector Barbera pulled right on the main straight, going warp speed! Ouch!  /:threadjacked:

At first I was thinking that they might penalize Simoncelli for swerving over so drastically and causing the crash. After watching it several times, I don't think he saw Barbera coming, although he knew Barbera WOULD be making that move to pass.

Still, I wouldn't be too proud of Simoncelli.

[squeezer]

Might be time for Nicky to head to WSBK and liter bikes. Seems to suit his riding style better.

That makes sense to me.  Probably not to Nicky.

[dnlwthrn]

Hmm, I'll have to go watch that now...  (referring to endo in the 250 race)

[1KPerDay]

Simoncelli rides wild and dangerous. So's Barbera. They deserve each other.  

[Mr Sunshine]

It is the passing bikes responsability to make a clean pass.  The guy in front was weaving but they ALL do that.  It was solely the fault of the dude passing.