Who could've guessed?!

[13]

Hayden on pole for usgp? Awesome!! 3 americans in the top 10 on the starting grid? Sweet! It'll be a hell of a race!

[smoothwaterman]

Good luck to 'em.

Personally I still think it was the wrong choice of tracks - perhaps it was political - but even the riders are all saying it ranges from bad to very very dangerous.

Marco Melandri, Movistar Honda – 8th
“I felt good on the bike this morning and wanted to push a little more before the time was up, but it was a mistake. I lost the rear, the bike spat me off and then dragged me down the hill through the Corkscrew. I got stuck between the rear wheel and the tail and bashed my wrist, knee and head. I was lucky because I could have really hurt myself. I couldn’t ride much today but I hope to get a decent night’s rest and make up for it tomorrow.”

Valentino Rossi, Yamaha Factory Team – 9th
“The track is difficult, it’s a strange track, old style. The Corkscrew is good, yeah it’s not too bad. Unfortunately for me it’s too dangerous for our bike. We’ve had some problems, this morning was good but this afternoon we tried something that was quite bad for the setting – so we need to improve tomorrow.”


The only track I know of that *might* be a decent MotoGP track in the USA is Barber.

I hope one gets hurt tomorrow.

pb

[smoothwaterman]

World champion Rossi unhappy with ‘dangerous’ Laguna Seca track

MONTEREY (California): The Laguna Seca track for the US Grand Prix is unsuitable for motorcycle racing, world champion Valentino Rossi says.

Speaking after the first day of practice for Sunday's race, being held in the US for the first time since 1994, Rossi said: “The track was quite dangerous in many points, but some are very, very dangerous.

“When you walk around or go with a scooter it's dangerous, but it's less dangerous on a motorbike.

“The level of security is not very good, certainly not as good as the other tracks we go to,” the runaway championship leader said.

“If they don't change it, I don't think we will be able to race here again.”

For many riders, including Rossi, this was their first exposure to the tortuous, up-and-down 2.238-mile road course for the eighth round of the MotoGP world championship.

The Italian – who has won five races in a row – was an uncharacteristic ninth fastest on his Yamaha after Friday's first day of practice.

Rossi's comments echoed those of compatriot Marco Melandri.

Second in the championship to Rossi, Melandri's initial poor impression was cemented after a crash in the “Corkscrew,” the track's signature corner, late in the morning practice session.

Minor injuries kept him out of the second practice session, but he took part in the third.

“I find the track so much less fun than I thought,” he said. “It's not so nice.

“It's small, slippery, bumpy. Also the corners, nothing special,” the Honda rider said.

“For our bike, too much power this track. You fly everywhere.” – Reuters

[smoothwaterman]

And a bit more -

"It was very important to get a good lap time today to start on the front row," Rossi said.

"Second place is very good because tomorrow it will be quite hard to overtake on this track."

Sunday's Grand Prix will be the first on US soil for 11 years.

[13]

It does look alot more wild than the other tracks, huh? I think it looks fun. By fun I may mean deadly, though.

[13]

Funny, I checked all the interviews. None of the American riders seem to be whining about the track being dangerous. Maybe he's afraid of having to chase someone who has more experience on that track than he does? Don't get me wrong, I love to watch him ride. But, Hayden, Hopkins and Edwards seem to love the track, no complaints there. Eh, Melandri's a , so is Giberneau for that matter!

[OreoGaborio]

fuck em. i'll have more to say tomorrow when i'm not buzzin from the night's festivities

[Karaya One]

I was watching qualifying, and the MotoGP bikes seem to be a real handful on that course. They never really get to stretch their legs, and it looks very bumpy.

They should have went to Road America.

[TTD]

I think most of the corners have sufficient runoff... but the track "feels" tight because there are numerous areas where the bike is fairly straight up and down and there are barriers on either side of the track (probably less than 40 feet away from edge of track)

Now... 40 feet is HUGE for american tracks... but not for european tracks... and not for bikes that are going the speeds these guys are going.

As everyone that has ridden the track before on non-motoGP bikes.... these bikes seem to make the track feel smaller.

So, while I don't think it is really a safety issue... I am sure that it "feels" like one to riders that are not used to see walls at all (even though the bikes are going straight at these sections).

Hopefully, no one will be hurt because of a wall this year... and then we'll have another year to make improvements or consider another venue.

If someone gets hurt this year due to the track... it is going to make it virtually impossible to get the GP next year.

[13]

Way to go Nicky!! What a performance!

[odduc]

Congratulations Nicky and Colin!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[smoothwaterman]

Well, call me a complainer.

Nicky and Colin did a good job. I would have prefered to see Colin win, but that's personal preference. It all looked a bit too staged, with Rossi down 4 seconds, and then suddenly right back within 1.5 seconds in the last lap.

Whoever produced the event for Speedvision sucked pond water. 32-25 laps - then commercial and we are at 17 laps, then commercial and suddenly we are at 7 laps with a few changeups??? What happened to the 10 laps in between? Then we jump during commercial to 4 laps, watch Rossi's butt for a full friggin lap, and then the last 2 laps. The worst.

This is a FIA race right? No podium with speech at the end? Just everyone in a corral and someone handed Colin and Nicky a mike? C'mon, let's get professional.

Worst televised MotoGP I've ever seen. Us world-class Americans have something to learn from MotoGP events held elsewhere.

My .02

Peter

[smoothwaterman]

Oh I forgot. Who REALLY CARES if Brad Pitt shows up to watch the race or not? More useless coverage.

[OreoGaborio]

Originally posted by smoothwaterman
Oh I forgot. Who REALLY CARES if Brad Pitt shows up to watch the race or not? More useless coverage.

sure, there were alot of comercials... but what cha expect w/ american TV coverage?

s'ok, cuz i was too buzzin to notice anyway


NEXT MOTO GP WEEKEND @ MY PLACE

[craig]

Originally posted by smoothwaterman


Worst televised MotoGP I've ever seen. Us world-class Americans have something to learn from MotoGP events held elsewhere.

My .02

Peter

Agreed - the announcers were AWFUL and sounded like the didn't even know where they were. I wish they brought the REAL motogp announcers over.

"Oh a yellow rider is out...it's troy bayliss" as the screen clearly shows leathers with BARROS on them "oh wait...Troy Bayliss just went by there...uhhhh "

Anyways, still a great race and congrats to Nicky!

[Nikon]

I couldn't believe hearing an announcers say "steering dampener"....

[13]

Boy, by the sounds of it, I'm sure glad I subscribed to motogp.com for the season. You guys should too. The races are shown live(great quality!). Then, if you miss them, they are stored in the archive(decent quality). And the announcers are the educated kind that announce every race in europe. It's totally worth it!

[Tarmac]

Originally posted by smoothwaterman
It all looked a bit too staged, with Rossi down 4 seconds, and then suddenly right back within 1.5 seconds in the last lap.

I think it may have been a combo of Nicky being careful at end (knowing he had a small lead) to ensure he didn't blow it and characteristic Rossi. Val's known for hanging out the laundry at the end and man can he push it to the limit. I've been amazed at some of his last laps this year...sometimes nailing a new lap record just near the end on worn tires...there's a reason he wins races and it ain't only Jeremy Burgess...

Regardless of staging....Nicky was on. Psyched to see that kid win a GP.

I thought the coverage was really weak too...Was it me or did they increase the commercial time as the hour went by....I was pretty pissed off. Speed only gets my attention on bike races and I've been impressed with AMA coverage compared to MotoGP but Sunday was worse than both together. Fuck Speed.

As for Laguna vs Barber, I agree Barber would be the better place but this was first year back so I'm sure there were many variables...I forgot how many spectators showed up but how would it compare to the numbers that would have attended Barber? Plus CA is a sexy state so go figure...more opportunity to waste time on movie stars....

[smoothwaterman]

Reports were 59,000 attending on Sunday, with a total of around 100,000 for the whole weekend festivities.

I don't know what Barber's capacity is - someone else may know on here. And yes, CA has that appeal over the deep south for the glamour....I guess they could take visitors catfish hunting...

On a side note - how does MotoGP set the number of laps for a race? What is it based on, miles?, miles per lap?, TV coverage in an hour? One of you true aficionado's must know this -

pb.

[TTD]

Total miles... so the number of laps varies by miles per lap.

Determined by fuel averages (I assume)

[smoothwaterman]

...and there folks, is the aficionado.

Thanks Tony.