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Post by colinlinz on Apr 8, 2012 20:53:48 GMT 10
do you think that rossi qualifies bad as he knows he can't beat these guys,so if he finishes better than he qualifies it makes it look like he has done pretty good. Being a bit of a fox I think he is still a racer, but suffering a lack of motivation. During practice he is trying, but it isn't something that pushes him. Once the race starts, I think he still has the racing spirit to push him into pushing a little harder and taking some risks.
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bluestorm04
The Hedge
2012 GSX1300R + 2007 GSX-R1000
Posts: 3,334
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Post by bluestorm04 on Apr 9, 2012 11:32:39 GMT 10
JB stating "sometimes youre not as good as you once were" seemed to me to be a thinky veiled notion that Rossi is past his use by date and that Ducati may well have lost patience with the constant list of excuses and complaints. It would seem even at this early stage that its almost time for a dignified retirement for Vale, he deserves to be remembered for his brilliance rather than someone who looked stupid trying to continue his flagging career. He is no longer a front runner so its time to consider transferring his immense talent to 4 wheels.
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Seanus
Admin1
2007 - CBR1000RR
Posts: 2,218
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Post by Seanus on Apr 9, 2012 16:43:50 GMT 10
Rossi does look like a spent force. Such a pity that this could be the end. Hopefully Burgess finds that special sauce that will get him believing in his bike and himself again.
A great race super smooth Lorenzo was clearly on the right bike. Stoner's bike was bucking around like crazy even on lap 1. No wonder he got arm pump.
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Post by colinlinz on Apr 9, 2012 17:45:01 GMT 10
There has been a few get arm pump over recent times. Maybe it is a symptom of the heavier bikes and stronger brakes.
Stoner said at a later interview that he had the bike package to win, and that his problem was all him. He went on to say that it started fairly early in the race, which was why he tried to build a lead. He hoped to be able to ease off and manage the lead till the end of the race, but it got to a stage where his hand was numb and he couldn't do enough to stay in front.
Lorenzo and Stoner are definitely the top guys. There are other really great riders, but none of them have the consistency and speed that those two have. That was Stoner's 16th consecutive podium!
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rowanb
Regular Member
Posts: 139
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Post by rowanb on Apr 9, 2012 19:38:29 GMT 10
Good ol arm pump we've all had it and at that level it would be unbearable (guess he will be off to get the muscle sheath cut lol). Read a few bagging out Rossi today I think we all forget one race is not a championship, if so congrats to Lorenzo he must be 2012 champ Stoner will be back, Spies hopefully can sort the bike (go the ol SBK guys NH, CE)
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Post by colinlinz on Apr 9, 2012 20:18:56 GMT 10
I think Spies had the bike sorted OK. I haven't heard any reports yet, but I would think there was some issue with the bike or tyres.
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Post by colinlinz on Apr 9, 2012 20:23:22 GMT 10
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Post by colinlinz on Apr 9, 2012 20:36:12 GMT 10
I think Spies had the bike sorted OK. I haven't heard any reports yet, but I would think there was some issue with the bike or tyres. I'm not going to bag him (Rossi), but he is in a world of trouble. He is more than a little of pace, and the difference in lap times between him and the others is increasing. His fastest lap was the slowest set by a manufacturer rider. Rossi is spewing by the sound of this quote from him. "Ducati didn't follow the direction that I indicated, but I'm not an engineer and I can't solve every problem. "...The problems with the bike haven't changed, and neither have my requests. It's unrideable, and it doesn't make much difference what track we are on. I'm not able to enter the corners hard on the brakes, and we can't hope the situation will change completely with the new Bridgestone tires. These aren't problems you can solve with set-up alone.” It is amazing how viewpoints change with experience, and how putting the shoe on the other foot enlightens you. www.crash.net/motogp/news/178407/1/valentino_rossi_lashes_out_after_qatar_nightmare.html
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Post by eternityrider on Apr 9, 2012 21:13:54 GMT 10
yes, i hope vale recognises it's time to step down so he will be remembered the way he deserves to be,as one of the greatest.
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rowanb
Regular Member
Posts: 139
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Post by rowanb on Apr 9, 2012 21:29:24 GMT 10
If MOTO GP was like footy and Rossi was in the draft I would pick him straight up, I would think if he is the slowest Ducati all season he may very well be looking for a new job. I hear a new CRT is looking for a new rider lol.
He will get there fingers crossed.
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spitfire
Honourable Member
2004 - Blue
Posts: 993
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Post by spitfire on Apr 9, 2012 21:49:03 GMT 10
As long as Rossi is there he will have a following & maybe thats why he is still there to pull the crowds Apart from people going to see the "worlds best" They want to see Rossi, people still love him
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Post by Sharpest1 on Apr 10, 2012 14:59:35 GMT 10
Great ride by Arthur Sissis in Moto3.
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Post by eternityrider on Apr 10, 2012 22:51:37 GMT 10
great ride by arthur,hope he gets some good mentoring.was talking to his uncle and arthur is not impressed with Casey because he hasn't been to see him,as of late last year,might have changed since then,where as vale has been encouraging him. Casey is a great kid,his brother in law comes to our church and Casey is pretty busy now,but i hope he can find time for arthur.
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shayne
Omnipresent
1998 Blueprint
Posts: 8,639
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Post by shayne on Apr 11, 2012 8:09:20 GMT 10
Some good racing in the lower classes again. Young Maverick looks to be the standout in Moto3 this year, with his competition from last season moving up a class.
Moto 2 is once again looking like the "premier" class for 2012 to me. This is where the good racing is going to be I think.
Lorenzo rode a great race. There were no interviews televised, but it looked to me as if he was racing to lap times, looking after his tyres. Perhaps he could have ridden harder, but did not to maintain the overall race time. Maybe wrong, but looked like a very calculated win.
Crutchlow did well, perhaps if he was not stuck behind Dovi then his track position would have been better.
Rossi is an unknown to me. It was not long ago that he was beating Lorenzo on the same machine. Has he lost his drive? Maybe he has. Can he fix the Ducati to his liking? Perhaps we will never know, but that is racing.
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bluestorm04
The Hedge
2012 GSX1300R + 2007 GSX-R1000
Posts: 3,334
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Post by bluestorm04 on Apr 11, 2012 9:20:37 GMT 10
Although moto3 sounds like a bunch of angry motocross bikes, at least its no longer formula Aprilia, variety is a good thing. If they can reel in Vinales they'll be doing well, he is a class act as he showed last year in his maiden season. Be good to see Sissis get a podium or 2, even at this early stage it would seem his future is bright..and the class has the potential to be as good a spectacle as the "old days" of 125's. moto2 as always was edge of the seat stuff, some of those young men dont know the meaning of the word fear, theyre in boots and all, good stuff. Now if there was a way to get more than 3 bikes dicing for the win in motogp.....
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Post by colinlinz on Apr 11, 2012 13:23:28 GMT 10
Some good racing in the lower classes again. Young Maverick looks to be the standout in Moto3 this year, with his competition from last season moving up a class. Moto 2 is once again looking like the "premier" class for 2012 to me. This is where the good racing is going to be I think. Lorenzo rode a great race. There were no interviews televised, but it looked to me as if he was racing to lap times, looking after his tyres. Perhaps he could have ridden harder, but did not to maintain the overall race time. Maybe wrong, but looked like a very calculated win. Crutchlow did well, perhaps if he was not stuck behind Dovi then his track position would have been better. Rossi is an unknown to me. It was not long ago that he was beating Lorenzo on the same machine. Has he lost his drive? Maybe he has. Can he fix the Ducati to his liking? Perhaps we will never know, but that is racing. Rossi had a big dummy spit following the race. His biggest problem is he is too experienced. He is used to only one way for a bike to behave, and as much as he has tried to get Ducati to turn their bike into a Japanese one, it still is a Ducati. The other riders are adapting their ridding to suit the Ducati, but Rossi just doesn't seem to be able to do this. Being the slowest Ducati, and having the slowest fastest lap of all the factory riders really strikes this point home. At some point he will need to take the blinkers off and re-evaluate how he needs to ride the bike. He now sounds very much like Stoner did when he rode the Ducati, the only difference being that Stoner changed the way he rode to suit the Ducati.
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Post by snowcone on Apr 11, 2012 15:11:49 GMT 10
A lot of people are stating what a great and calculated race Lorenzo ran, conserving his tyres etc etc It would appear that way on the surface because he eventually won. But the real thing is that he didn't improve his lap times at the end of the race and would not have been able to get anywhere near Casey's 2 second lead had the "arm pump" issue not arisen. There is no way he could have calculated that Casey would have a physical problem in the last few laps and then sit back and wait for it to happen. Lorenzo did run a smooth a fast race, but Pedrobot was all over him too at times, and when the early race pace was on neither of them could stay with Casey.
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Post by colinlinz on Apr 11, 2012 21:01:57 GMT 10
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Post by snowcone on Apr 12, 2012 16:18:04 GMT 10
English version
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Post by colinlinz on Apr 12, 2012 22:45:21 GMT 10
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Post by colinlinz on Apr 29, 2012 10:08:41 GMT 10
Rossi's woes continue. He has only managed 13th fastest in qualifying for Jerez. Not only is he the slowest prototype, he even has a CRT bike in front of him. Meanwhile his team mate has put the other factory Ducati on the front row of the grid, in 3rd place.
You would have to think that this isn't the bikes fault. Everyone else on a Ducati is faster than him. I have to wonder how much longer his pride will allow him to race. I just can't see him lasting the season if he can't improve his competitiveness. I don't think he can ask Ducati for anything more, they have thrown everything into changing the bike to suit his requests.
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bowler
True Stormer
No more 1998 Yellow Storm but a 2016 Triumph Tiger 800XCx instead
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Post by bowler on Apr 29, 2012 10:24:29 GMT 10
It's odd isn't it , how his performance has dropped off so quickly. He went from 125 to 250 to 500 to 990 to 800's and changed either the bike or his riding to begin and then to remain at the pinnacle of the sport in each class. When he went to Yamaha he was able to adapt to the bike straight away and push hard , although most people said it was nowhere near as good a machine as it's opposition. With the Ducati he cannot get to grips with it at all. Maybe he is dropping down the pecking order much quicker than anyone would have believed possible , considering his stellar career up to the beginning of last year.
Graham
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Post by colinlinz on Apr 29, 2012 14:08:10 GMT 10
I think a lot of his problems come from his past strength. He has for some time now, been able to control development of machines to his specific needs. He has possibly lost the ability to adapt. The Ducati will never be like the Yamaha. The engine design will ensure this. This doesn't make it bad, and in some ways it is a benefit. When bikes handle in much the same way, it is difficult to make a pass, as there are not many comparative weak or strong differences in performance. He has to get his head around where the Ducati is strong, and stop worrying about its weaknesses.
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erno
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owner of the Thing
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Post by erno on Apr 29, 2012 15:19:50 GMT 10
Maybe the death of his mate simmo has something to do with his performance
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Post by colinlinz on Apr 29, 2012 15:45:04 GMT 10
He had been doing poorly before that incident, but it certainly could have reduced his motivation and be behind his further slump. It was pretty clear from pictures taken from behind, that Rossi hit him at the base of his head with the front wheel of his bike. That by no means is a criticism of Rossi's riding, or reference to fault. It wasn't something anyone could have avoided, but it would surely effect you badly and be very difficult to accept. A similar incident with WG almost made him give up racing.
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bluestorm04
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2012 GSX1300R + 2007 GSX-R1000
Posts: 3,334
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Post by bluestorm04 on Apr 30, 2012 16:32:38 GMT 10
A race that was interesting right to the end was a nice change. Hopefully more like it through the year. Fanati has had a dream start to his moto3 career and good to see another new winner in moto2 despite the rain causing the red flag. But what is the go with Ben Spies... But All in all well worth sitting up for.
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Post by colinlinz on Apr 30, 2012 18:01:42 GMT 10
The moto3's sound crap! The young fella did well though. MM looked good in the Moto2, as did Redding and Luthi. Apart from the opening couple of laps, there wasn't much passing in the MotoGP, but Stoner's and Lorenzo's ridding was full of tension. I thought Lorenzo had his measure, but just at the last moment Stoner found just a little more pace. I loved seeing a Ducati back up near the front. A pity Hayden couldn't maintain that speed. No idea what is going on with Spies. Crutchlow has certainly improved though.
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spitfire
Honourable Member
2004 - Blue
Posts: 993
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Post by spitfire on Apr 30, 2012 20:21:46 GMT 10
I dont know about Moto3 being crap, I thought it looked ridiculous The amount of bikes that went down, did anyone actually finish the race??? It felt like the race went on & on & on & on & on, seemed like it wouldnt end Was it just me or were they slow?
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trezza
Honourable Member
'08 CBRThou
Posts: 613
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Post by trezza on Apr 30, 2012 20:40:26 GMT 10
No I think Col was aying they "sound" crap. Which they do. Lawn mowers come to mind... Stupid single cylinder tractors.
Crutchlow was always going to be promising, he had a pretty good year last year, and had a great ride last night. Stoner is still shredding his tyres, I thought the 1000cc would make it even worse, but I suppose the electronics might help him there somewhat. I really thought Lorenzo would have caught him with a couple laps to go, and that he was just being mature and cautious, pressuring stoner to chew up his tyres or to make a mistake and throw it down the road. But Stoner just kept finding pace somewhere even with his fading tyres, so in that regard he deserved the win. Was good to see alot more action than usual, I suppose partly from the fact that there isn't a clearly dominant bike just yet. As development and set-ups are still moving forward at a great rate of knots, It's going to come down to the team that adapts the quickest I guess.
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Post by colinlinz on May 1, 2012 6:09:42 GMT 10
Stoner, according to his engineer, uses the least amount of traction control of any rider he has seen data from. One interesting comment from earlier in the week was that Stoner was saying that the soft tyre lasted better than the harder tyre (rear). The harder one was spinning up down the main and back straight, and then overheating and wearing out faster.
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