MotoGP this weekend!

[neuthunder]

landsdowne's not far from me.... what time's the race start?

[Supah Dave]

250GP starts at 4pm with MotoGP following at 5pm.

[MRBoss429x]

Looks like I'll be in boston afterall on sunday. Ill be at Game On for the race.

[Supah Dave]

That's probably going to be the best place to watch it

[benVFR]

So if anyone is watching up in NH what time is the race?

My cable did get hooked up but I don't have the sports package.. I'll have to see about getting it hooked up. Friggin annoying cause I have about 100 channels I don't care about and the "HD package" I got is only about 25 HD channels.

I might just go to Motomarket as they always show the game. They just need a bigger TV.

Ben

[Supah Dave]

So... that Ducati is fuggin ridiculously fast! It was a pretty good race. Would've been a lot better if Hopper and Pedrosa weren't mixing it up so much so early. Maybe they wouldn't have lost touch with Rossi and Stoner and had a good 4 way battle to the end. This is going to end up being a great season no matter what. There are at least 10 guys that can win on any weekend now rather than 3-4 like in years past.

[smf]

So... that Ducati is fuggin ridiculously fast! It was a pretty good race. Would've been a lot better if Hopper and Pedrosa weren't mixing it up so much so early. Maybe they wouldn't have lost touch with Rossi and Stoner and had a good 4 way battle to the end. This is going to end up being a great season no matter what. There are at least 10 guys that can win on any weekend now rather than 3-4 like in years past.

holy f-ing shit yeh. that duc is seriously retarded. good to see stoner out in front. just need hopper to pick it up a little.

[JohnnyV]

It was a great race.... that Ducati was insanely fast on that straight.... but it seemed once they got back into the twisties Rossi was right there with him. Yamaha better step it up and get some more power out of that motor because there's no doubt in my mind that if Stoner and Rossi were on equally performing bikes Rossi would have been long gone. I am very happy for Stoner however he poured his heart and soul into that race

[odduc]

Great race and a great beginning to a new era in MotoGP racing. Ducati has obviously done alot of work on their motor. If they get the chassis anywhere close to that of the Yamaha, look for them to dominate all season. Hopper is looking really good too and for him to start the season with a 4th is outstanding ! Nicky needs to come to grips with his new bike in a hurry if he wants to defend his title. I also think that Edwards will win a race or two this season.
Great Stuff !!!!!

[benVFR]

If you saw the little bit of the race where they were showing the telemetry Rossi was braking WAY later then Stoner and he was back on the throttle WAY earlier... like he was back at WOT 1 second earlier then Stoner. That's just him being Rossi. The telemetry readings could be meaningless as maybe the Yammie ECU is just set up to let Rossi do that and it doesn't indicate he was putting more power down. But it did appear as if he was able to close up easily under braking & on corner exits.

That Ducati is a MONSTER. I don't remember seeing anyone able to pass like that at any point last season.

[Awesome]

Way to go Hopper, I would have liked to see him on the podium but what a great race.

[Supah Dave]

If you saw the little bit of the race where they were showing the telemetry Rossi was braking WAY later then Stoner and he was back on the throttle WAY earlier... like he was back at WOT 1 second earlier then Stoner.

It looked like there had to be something wrong with the telemetry from Rossi's bike. Maybe he just doesn't use the brakes and that YZR has more engine braking ability than anything ever built....

[Awesome]

He could have a better braking setup too. I'm thinking the sensors measure pressure, could be that his system requires less pressure than stoner's? At WOT you could also see that the sensor didn't stay maxed out like stoners, it would fluctuate up and down just a little bit. The new lean angle display was pretty cool to have.

[McBiggity]

He could have a better braking setup too. I'm thinking the sensors measure pressure, could be that his system requires less pressure than stoner's? At WOT you could also see that the sensor didn't stay maxed out like stoners, it would fluctuate up and down just a little bit. The new lean angle display was pretty cool to have.

the lean angle display was nice- Hopper hit 63 degrees, lol.

[benVFR]

What kind of advantage must the Duc have to have been able to pass like that? 20hp? 30hp?

The Duc was the only one that still kind of looked like the 990s. Everything else looked dead smooth with a chassis that could far exceed the motor's power...

Also no one seemed to be destroying their tires towards the end.. I'm not sure the 800s are going to make for as exciting of a spectacle as the 990s did.

[Supah Dave]

It doesn't take that much of a horsepower advantage. Maybe 10hp + better aerodynamics which the duc is supposed to have over the rest of the bikes.

[Supah Dave]

When Stoner had the lead coming outta the last corner he would stretch his lead a little not a lot, but when he was following Rossi through the last turn and getting the draft down the front straight that's when it really looked ended up looking ridiculous.

[MRBoss429x]

That was one hell of a race. Supahdave did you end up goin to game on? I went in there probably 15 mins prior to the race and they said they weren't putting it on. So, I went to caskn flagon and got them to put it on and was undoubtedly the ONLY one watching it there haha.

[Paul_E_D]

I'm thinking the ducati's advantage is more than HP. The acceleration difference was clear even before the bikes were topped out. That indicates better gearing, better traction control, better torque, and maybe better tires.

The tires thing is doubtful asa Rossi was so much faster in the corners that he surely had more grip than Stoner.

That leaves gearing, torque, traction control AND HP that are probably better than the rest. Lots of work will be needed to close that gap.

[snaggle]

that Ducati was insanely fast on that straight.... but it seemed once they got back into the twisties Rossi was right there with him.


I think this was more due to Rossi's extreme late braking on the end of the front straight seemed like by the end of T1 Rossi was right back where he was at the beginning of the straight. I think that this is just Rossi's style. He always seems to brake harder and later than the others. You can see it really well when they show aerial shots of the long straights. Seems like it has been this way since he switched to Yamaha

[akira700]

yeah, Ducati seem to be on a roll...
Last race last year they took a 1-2.

Could be in for a Ducati show this year ! But
I think that Bridgestone will not be as consistent
track to track as Michelin is. Its going to be a good year,
with Rossi the favorite obviously.

I'm rooting for Nakano to make a comeback on the Honda.
He's proved to be talented enough to take the Kawasaki
to some respectable finishes in years past.
Now that he's riding a RCV I'd think that he can do even better.

[Rick Lee]

I thought it was cool to see the NF$ (No Factory Sponsor) team with Doug Chandler. Thats like a privateer in MotoGP. All in all i loved watching stoner win. Too bad about Nicky.... I hope he can get things back on track but it sounds like he is getting no love from the Repsol team I would love to see hopkins keep up the pace like he was.

Oh yeah FAWK PEDROSA!!

[benVFR]

It's hard to imagine Nicky getting the same support as Pedrosa this year, Repsol is probably going to fuck him and he'll be stupid-loyal to a fault. He's been on a Honda practically his whole career hasn't he?

[13]

PREDICTIONS!
Yes, Nicky is screwed.
Pedrosa won't be as good as everyone's worried about.
Stoner won't be dominating for long.
Hopkins will do better this year.
If Fiat Yamaha can pick better gearing and engine management, Rossi will dominate this year.
Hopefully Edwards can get in on it.
Hmmm?

[KB]

Nicky needs more HP!!!

KB