Moto GP 2008 (1 Viewer)

[Graney]

Exciting championship this year with Stoner trying to back up the 2007 win. Rossi has moved from the underperforming michelins to bridgestone to be on an equal footing with Stoner, and the new yamaha has a bit more power. Pedrosa is on an all new honda and is a real contender.

New entries to the class include 250 champs Lozenzo as Rossi's team mate, Dovizioso on a satellite honda, and Superbike champ Toseland on a yamaha.

Aussies Chris Vermuelen returns on the Suzuki and Ant West on Kawasaki.

Anyone see the first race at Qatar? Stoner rode brilliantly obviously. Pretty embarassing for Rossi, finally on the rubber he'd been whingeing about all last year and his L-plate teammate Lorenzo scored second on michelins, with Rossi unable to keep pace with the front runners, finishing in 5th. Not underestimating his prospects this year at all however.

 

[Graney]

The Ducati is made of fail. Lorenzo is a big surprise and good to see Rossi competitive again. I'm excited for what it means for racing, to have four real competitors and 3 different manufacturers competing for the title, none of this one dominant force business.

Some day I will get a reply to my thread

 

[RiSeAgAiNSt2538]

how bad was the ducati's handling? that front end looked like a handful.

and ant west (my fav) is just not gettin on with the kwaka

 

[Slatteryexpress]

Come on Ant West, as much as I like him i dont see him at kawasaki next year unless he does something spectacular like finish in the top 10!

 

[Graney]

Wow, a lot of shits happened in the past few months.

It looked really bad for Stoner for a long time with the worst period so far of his premier class career with a string of average results.

Suddenly, a little work on the bike and he has equalled his previous record of 3 consecutive race victories.

Wet race at Sachsenring last Saturday, Pedrosa got off to an amazing start, leading by 7 seconds! early in the race before crashing out of the lead.

Rossi claimed second, and it was great to see Vermulen, always dominant in the wet claiming his first podium of the year in third.

Ant West has been a major dissapointment in Moto GP, the class doesn't suit him at all obviously.

Stoner is only 4 points behind Pedrosa now, so I'd bet on him being in second place by the end of the season at least. Rossi's twenty point lead is a huge advantage to overcome, I think it's a bit far gone for Stoner, considering Rossi's on good form currently, but you never know with GP.

 

[Slatteryexpress]

Yeah and how good was that race at Laguna Seca at the weekend, I thought it was definitely one of the better races this year and Rossi did very well to win even though he had the slower of the two bikes.
Graney will you be making your way down to Phillip Island in October?

 

[Graney]

I was pissed when I missed Laguna Seca. Checked the Tv guide for Sunday night, was surprised there was nothing, didn't realise the race was on Monday morning.

Yeah, definetly going to the island this year, have you been?

 

[ledzeppelin]

How did Rossi win at Laguna Seca?
Stoner had been so much faster all weekend

 

[StuntManonFire]

How did Rossi win at Laguna Seca?
Stoner had been so much faster all weekend

He got to the front and everytime Stoner would pass he threw it down the inside again. Stoner ran wide with about 7 laps to go on the final corner and hit the gravel traps and his bike went down. Pretty impressive to see him pick his bike up so quickly. You see much bigger riders who struggle picking theirs up and usually need assistance.

 

[Graney]

Omg, Philip Island GP, race broadcast at 4pm

I didn't end up going

 

[BackCountrySnow]

do you need cable tv to follow it?

 

[beksta21]

Anyone here into dirt bikes??
Love them MUCH more than motogp.

 

[ledzeppelin]

do you need cable tv to follow it?

It's on Channel Ten as well, although often delayed, whereas always live on Fox (I think)

 

[Graney]

Yeah, past couple of weeks I've realised, even when I have the cash/time, I still wouldn't go see moto gp live.

I'll still watch it on TV, because it's the only free to air motorcycle racing, and I'll watch any sort of racing.

Moto gp sucks. There are too few bikes on the grid, the racing is rarely close, it's usually pretty boring viewing. Wish world superbikes was broadcast on free to air.

Moto gp needs to lift it's game. Make the racing cheaper to get into, get more bikes on the grid.

 

[Terlob]

Yeah, past couple of weeks I've realised, even when I have the cash/time, I still wouldn't go see moto gp live.

I'll still watch it on TV, because it's the only free to air motorcycle racing, and I'll watch any sort of racing.

Moto gp sucks. There are too few bikes on the grid, the racing is rarely close, it's usually pretty boring viewing. Wish world superbikes was broadcast on free to air.

Moto gp needs to lift it's game. Make the racing cheaper to get into, get more bikes on the grid.

It would be pretty awesome to see 30 bikes in the Moto GP, like the 125cc's. Would probably be a bit more dangerous though.

I'd say Moto GP is in better condition than the formula one, where the race is basically decided after the first corner.

 

[BackCountrySnow]

I've never been a fan of formula one...

So when is motoGP on channel 10?

 

[Graney]

It would be pretty awesome to see 30 bikes in the Moto GP, like the 125cc's. Would probably be a bit more dangerous though.

I don't understand how anyone can watch formula 1.

I don't believe the safety is a valid reason not to have more bikes. Back in the last year of the 500cc 2-strokes, 2001, there were 27 riders in the championship. Keep in mind the 500cc bikes were way more dangerous and hard to ride than the modern motogp bikes. They were also a lot cheaper.

32 riders competed in this years world superbikes championship, and world superbikes aren't far off moto gp pace at all.

 

[Terlob]

I don't understand how anyone can watch formula 1.

I don't believe the safety is a valid reason not to have more bikes. Back in the last year of the 500cc 2-strokes, 2001, there were 27 riders in the championship. Keep in mind the 500cc bikes were way more dangerous and hard to ride than the modern motogp bikes. They were also a lot cheaper.

32 riders competed in this years world superbikes championship, and world superbikes aren't far off moto gp pace at all.

I watch both the F1 and MotoGP, and both have been getting progressively less competitive. F1 is taking steps to control the cost - engine changes have been limited etc - has MotoGP been doing anything?

I haven't seen the Superbikes though - I don't know why its not shown in Australia - surely with Bayliss and Corser there would be a good amount of people watching, as many as the GP and F1 at least.

 

[Graney]

I watch both the F1 and MotoGP, and both have been getting progressively less competitive. F1 is taking steps to control the cost - engine changes have been limited etc - has MotoGP been doing anything?

They're introducing a control tyre next year, though that's not going to get more bikes on the grid.

They've talked about limiting or even completely banning the rider electronic aids. Moto gp with no traction control would be a big improvement. Nothing concrete yet though.

 

[Terlob]

I've never been a fan of formula one...

So when is motoGP on channel 10?

Its usually on late at night - while F1 races almost always start at 12UTC (for the Europeans, about 11PM here), the MotoGP changes around a lot. Some start at 10pm, others at 4am. The only one I've seen at a decent time was the Australian race