**SPOILER CONTENT** The German GP Thread

[Yamadog]

First blood to Stoner again:

Pos  Rider              Team                       Time              Laps
 1.  Casey Stoner       Ducati Marlboro Team       1:21.582           21
 2.  Alex De Angelis    San Carlo Honda Gresini    1:21.993 + 0.411   28
 3.  Colin Edwards      Tech 3 Yamaha              1:22.463 + 0.881   22
 4.  Valentino Rossi    Fiat Yamaha Team           1:22.796 + 1.214   31
 5.  Jorge Lorenzo      Fiat Yamaha Team           1:22.894 + 1.312   31
 6.  Shinya Nakano      San Carlo Honda Gresini    1:22.922 + 1.340   31
 7.  Dani Pedrosa       Repsol Honda Team          1:22.974 + 1.392   26
 8.  Nicky Hayden       Repsol Honda Team          1:22.975 + 1.393   29
 9.  Andrea Dovizioso   JiR Team Scot MotoGP       1:23.093 + 1.511   21
10.  Randy De Puniet    LCR Honda MotoGP           1:23.116 + 1.534   30
11.  Sylvain Guintoli   Alice Team                 1:23.209 + 1.627   26
12.  Loris Capirossi    Rizla Suzuki MotoGP        1:23.274 + 1.692   31
13.  Toni Elias         Alice Team                 1:23.366 + 1.784   29
14.  Chris Vermeulen    Rizla Suzuki MotoGP        1:23.411 + 1.829   29
15.  Anthony West       Kawasaki Racing Team       1:23.452 + 1.870   29
16.  Marco Melandri     Ducati Marlboro Team       1:23.698 + 2.116   30
17.  James Toseland     Tech 3 Yamaha              1:23.864 + 2.282   30

[Jeff]

Melandri must be figuring it out. He's no longer in last place.

[Yamadog]

http://www.motogpmatters.com/results/2008/07/12/2008_sachsenring_fp3_times_day_2_pedrosa.html

Pos.   No.   Rider   Manufacturer   Fast Lap   Diff   Diff Previous
1   2   Dani PEDROSA   HONDA   1'22.343       
2   1   Casey STONER   DUCATI   1'22.377   0.034   0.034
3   69   Nicky HAYDEN   HONDA   1'22.935   0.592   0.558
4   15   Alex DE ANGELIS   HONDA   1'23.065   0.722   0.130
5   4   Andrea DOVIZIOSO   HONDA   1'23.129   0.786   0.064
6   50   Sylvain GUINTOLI   DUCATI   1'23.556   1.213   0.427
7   14   Randy DE PUNIET   HONDA   1'23.604   1.261   0.048
8   24   Toni ELIAS   DUCATI   1'23.670   1.327   0.066
9   46   Valentino ROSSI   YAMAHA   1'23.863   1.520   0.193
10   7   Chris VERMEULEN   SUZUKI   1'23.880   1.537   0.017
11   56   Shinya NAKANO   HONDA   1'23.933   1.590   0.053
12   52   James TOSELAND   YAMAHA   1'24.120   1.777   0.187
13   33   Marco MELANDRI   DUCATI   1'24.455   2.112   0.335
14   48   Jorge LORENZO   YAMAHA   1'24.591   2.248   0.136
15   5   Colin EDWARDS   YAMAHA   1'24.841   2.498   0.250
16   65   Loris CAPIROSSI   SUZUKI   1'25.124   2.781   0.283
17   13   Anthony WEST   KAWASAKI   1'29.301   6.958   4.177

[falcofred]

This race isn't going to be broadcast on Speed.
Either CBS or NBC are broadcasting, does anyone know who is and when?

[littlefield]

See the thread a few down from this. There are a few races not on Speed.

[mugwump58]

Anybody follow any of the other classes? Great stuff down there.

[Yamadog]

Shocker! Stoner on pole!

Pos  Rider             Bike           Time
 1.  Casey Stoner      Ducati    (B)  1:21.067
 2.  Dani Pedrosa      Honda     (M)  1:21.420  + 0.353
 3.  Colin Edwards     Yamaha    (M)  1:21.519  + 0.452
 4.  Andrea Dovizioso  Honda     (M)  1:21.656  + 0.589
 5.  Jorge Lorenzo     Yamaha    (M)  1:21.795  + 0.728
 6.  Randy de Puniet   Honda     (M)  1:21.821  + 0.754
 7.  Valentino Rossi   Yamaha    (B)  1:21.845  + 0.778
 8.  Nicky Hayden      Honda     (M)  1:21.876  + 0.809
 9.  Shinya Nakano     Honda     (B)  1:21.876  + 0.853
10.  Alex de Angelis   Honda     (B)  1:21.977  + 0.910
11.  James Toseland    Yamaha    (M)  1:22.126  + 1.059
12.  Toni Elias        Ducati    (B)  1:22.256  + 1.189
13.  Loris Capirossi   Suzuki    (B)  1:22.542  + 1.475
14.  Chris Vermeulen   Suzuki    (B)  1:22.601  + 1.534
15.  Sylvain Guintoli  Ducati    (B)  1:22.938  + 1.871
16.  Marco Melandri    Ducati    (B)  1:23.131  + 2.064
17.  Anthony West      Kawasaki  (B)  1:23.158  + 2.091

[Tyrroneous]

An American wins at Sachsenring!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

















Okay, so its the Red Bull Rookies Cup race, but still....way to go JD Beach!  He now is leading the championship by a scant 7 points.  

[Yamadog]

Results:

Pos  Rider             Bike           Time
 1.  Casey Stoner      Ducati    (B)  47:30.057
 2.  Valentino Rossi   Yamaha    (B)  +   3.708
 3.  Chris Vermeulen   Suzuki    (B)  +  14.002
 4.  Alex de Angelis   Honda     (B)  +  14.124
 5.  Andrea Dovizioso  Honda     (M)  +  42.022
 6.  Sylvain Guintoli  Ducati    (B)  +  46.648
 7.  Loris Capirossi   Suzuki    (B)  +1:04.483
 8.  Randy de Puniet   Honda     (M)  +1:04.588
 9.  Shinya Nakano     Honda     (B)  +1:16.773
10.  Anthony West      Kawasaki  (B)  +1:29.275
11.  James Toseland    Yamaha    (M)  +   1 lap
12.  Toni Elias        Ducati    (B)  +   1 lap
13.  Nicky Hayden      Honda     (M)  +  2 laps

Retirements:

     Rider             Bike           Laps
     Colin Edwards     Yamaha    (M)  20
     Marco Melandri    Ducati    (B)  9
     Dani Pedrosa      Honda     (M)  5
     Jorge Lorenzo     Yamaha    (M)  2

[hobbes]

Ok so I admit, I was pretty impressed with Greg White and Kevin Schwantz on the call. I wonder if Pedrosa is hurt, that was a nasty crash.

[atypical1]

What a lucky break for Casey. I was surprised that Dani kept trying to open up the lead even after it was more than 7 seconds. Sometimes just maintaining a pace is good enough. And the race for the championship gets closer and closer.

james

[garry]

I must say the announcing didn't suck. I liked the Colin Edwards intro lap around the track. They never did explain what "rain tires" are (I know, John Q doesn't). Sounded a little like Nascar with emphasis on bike numbers (that's Edwards on the 5 bike) or Casey Stoner on the "red bike". They could have at least said it was a red Ducati, or blue and yellow Yamaha. Interesting race. Pedrobot has to be kicking himself. Hope he isn't hurt. I'd like to see a good three-way brawl for the championship. Rossi last week, Pedrosa this week. Wonder if it's Caseys turn next week? What happened to/with Hayden? They showed him in the pits, but I guess he went back out a lap down or something.

[Yamadog]

^Agree by and large about the announce team. They were better than Sheheen/Spencer combo, and I think GW has more potential as the lead than in pits where he is basically terrible.

Hayden supposedly had tire and electronics issues see http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/69129

Pedrosa may miss Laguna with pretty badly banged up hand, fractures and tendon damage see http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/69128.

Tough environmental conditions to race in! Better them than me! Guess that's why those boys get the big bucks.

Sets up a good second half to the season too!

[protondecay123]

I thought the CBS announcing team wasn't that bad. I sure miss Nick Harris though  .

It was nice to actually see the race on raceday! Imagine that!

Hopefully Dorna will ditch the Nascar Satellite Network ( SpeedTV ) and make a deal the CBS, NBC, ABC, Fox, etc.

I was at a grill for lunch with a friend and asked to have CBS shown.  By the time the race was over, there were 10 of us watching it. Everyone there really seemed interested. Of course, the high number of crashes helps to keep the the interest level high.

  Good job Casey! Man the guy can ride a bike!

[JonS]

It was almost like those guys have read the criticism. The announcing was easily better than its ever been with US announcers! I loved the high Def broadcast too. Can't wait for all of them to be like that.
 As much as I want to see Rossi win, watching Stoner ride that bike in the rain was great. Not that Val was a slouch. All those top ten  guys are unbelievable.  

[DredheadV2.0]

I feel really bad for Pedrobot, I have to say.  He was unprecedentedly awesome for a few laps, but yeah, no one was making him stretch the lead but him.

So...  Michelin riders are pretty much f**ked, aren't they.

[mugwump58]

I meant to see how the TV coverage was. I forgot.  I'm spoiled I watch Dorna live. I can't imagine watching on commercial TV any more. I live on the east coast, it's perfect. Get up early and watch live. Have the entire rest of the day free. Or go back and watch a race from last year or Jerez from 2 years ago.

[Tyrroneous]

Interesting race for sure.  I too thought the announcers did a respectable job.  My only gripe is that they cut out a lot of the race.  The worst was the commercial break that returned to the race 5 laps later!  


I wonder what exactly Pedrosa was thinking when he went down?  Why push so hard when you've built a 7.5 second lead?!  He'll have to race at Laguna if he wants to stay in the championship.  

[TheGoose]

I feel really bad for Pedrobot, I have to say.  He was unprecedentedly awesome for a few laps, but yeah, no one was making him stretch the lead but him.

I don't.  

[squeezer]

I thought the CBS announcing team wasn't that bad. I sure miss Nick Harris though  .

Nick is outstanding.  Greg White kicked butt, though, on that guy that CBS used last year.  A little experience, and I think Greg would be a great lead announcer.  

[phoenix]

My impression of Pedrosa is that he does not play cat and mouse type games with the rest of the field. Either he doesn't like to play mental games or he's incapable. So all he seems to know how to do is ride as fast as he can. If he's in the lead, no looking back. If he's in the pack, he's just trying to get up to the front. No waiting around until the end of the race for a special opportunity.

[DNA]

I could not believe they race that hard in that rain.  How awesome to watch.

I cannot imaging diving into a corner and making the inside passes with all the wet.

I thought it was fantastic - even though I was a bit confused (and some what pleased) that Pedro crashed.  He seemed to have it locked then binned it.  Why press it when a DNF is worth nothing?

I really though Rossi was going to make up some time and have a shot at the 1st.  The Dr. from a few years back would have likley caught up and gone by.  Has he lost a step or has the field just caught (and passed?) him?

[Yamadog]

Update on Pedrosa's injuries at crash.net http://www.crash.net/motorsport/motogp/news/166247-0/pedrosa_injury_update.html I can't imagine how he can race effectively in one week if at all. But those dudes are tough after a needle obviously thinking back to Lorenzo's season so far.

Forgot to give Vermin kudos for the race he had! At one point he appeared to have Vale lined up for a pass but faded last couple of laps. If he could only figure it the dry track riding bit...

[pearsonm]

Dammit! I was supposed to get back from a track day Saturday night but we got rained out so I stayed an extra night and rode Sunday instead. My point is, I didn't tape the race. Anybody know if and when I can catch a replay?

[mugwump58]

If you subscribe to MotoGP you can watch any of the races whenever you want.

[scott-sts]

Those guys were flying in the rain!  It's amazing the grip they get.
That can't be a fun track to race at in the wet considering how many downhill and off-camber turns there are.  Must be a real white knuckle ride for sure.

Stoner looks good.  He's clearly a great rider with a ton of talent and intellegence.  Pedrosa got bit by the "Spanish hero bug".  Not the first Spaniard to get it.  

[protondecay123]

Dammit! I was supposed to get back from a track day Saturday night but we got rained out so I stayed an extra night and rode Sunday instead. My point is, I didn't tape the race. Anybody know if and when I can catch a replay?

If you don't mind using BitTorrent you can go to

http://www.racing-underground.com  

start a free account and download a broadcast of it.

[1KPerDay]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkYUaV6cjh4

vid of pedrosa's crash from the crowd.

Un frickin believable. Just gets up and walks away.

In the old days he'd have been in a body bag.

[scott-sts]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkYUaV6cjh4

vid of pedrosa's crash from the crowd.

Un frickin believable. Just gets up and walks away.

In the old days he'd have been in a body bag.

What, 1915??

[1KPerDay]

 

[scott-sts]

 

[DredheadV2.0]

 

[scott-sts]

 

[1KPerDay]

 

[DNA]

Another look.  Scary.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ac1hejmFE68&feature=related

[phoenix]

c'mon, try the embed thing!!



maybe he was looking at the girls