MotoGP - Portugal

[stevegula]

The front line is currently Stoner, Hayden, and Roberts. Rossi is sitting at 8th. Obviously they're still just setting up and testing, but hopefully this is just a good start to a better finish for Hayden.

Roberts is supposed to be running around on a new chasis so hopefully he'll be very competitive.

And since I'm a Suzuki fanboi, hopefully Hopper finds his way onto the podium, even if it's because lightning strikes everyone in front of him.

from motogp.com


The race airs at 12:30pm on SpeedTV on Sunday.

*edit*

And apparently Melandri crashed in the opening laps of FP2 and was unable to return. He's likely to return for FP3 and race though. I feel like that's bad news for Hayden, because he needs as many people out there who could potentially keep Rossi from winning.

[JohnC]

AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

[Apoc]

wow...

[.paul]

i konw they do not have to help each other out, but at this point why not?

edwards was helping rossi

[Evan]

Im going midget hunting.

[Ginger]

Holy.

God.

[Kaan]

Great race... for those of us that dont drink the HRC kool aid

[Dragon]

What I wouldn't give to have been a fly on the wall in the HRC camp later that night when the media wasn't around.

[stevegula]

best race of the season, or atleast in solid contention for it.

[Sijray21]

***IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE RACE DO NOT SCROLL DOWN***




























so...i got this from Paul regarding the finish:


0.002 seconds and the first loser crossed the finish line after the winner

[G.Irish]

Video of the crash: <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIEUnSMebxw&mode=related&search=">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIEUnSMe ... ed&search=</a><!-- m -->

Man I could not have imagined that Dani would do something so incredibly stupid. It's funny, but I was just thinking that he might be one of those guys who's really mentally fragile and stays wound up tight all the time to try to hide it. Sure enough he made what will go down as one of motorcycle racing's stupidest moves of all time.

Dennis Noyes (SpeedTV writer and GP journalist in Spain) had a few things to say about the situation. He pretty much says it was bound to happen sooner or later with Pedrosa as a result of his oversized ego and somewhat irrational cheerleading camp.

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.speedtv.com/articles/moto/motogp/33412/?page=3">http://www.speedtv.com/articles/moto/mo ... 12/?page=3</a><!-- m -->

He brings up a great point that HRC thought Dani was the only guy who could beat Rossi back in mid 2005 and at the time it certainly looked like it. I don't think anyone expected Nicky to take the next step up in his riding to become a legit championship contender.

Still, Dani's golden star is definitely tarnished and I have to think there are going to be some consequences for some of the leadership in HRC. In Japan teamwork is a very, very serious matter and when something like this happens it brings shame upon the whole organization. Here are some rumblings about punishment:

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.roadracerx.com/quickrelease.php?display_id=1313">http://www.roadracerx.com/quickrelease. ... ay_id=1313</a><!-- m -->

For me, I hope at the very least they kick Dani's mentor (Alberto Puig) out of the paddock. Puig was a former 500cc racer (not a champion mind you) and has been advising Dani. Here's what he said about the incident:

"Dani had a mathematical chance, so who would obligate him not to race?" Puig said, explaining why team orders were not in place. "He crashed because the other rider [Hayden] braked early, and he had to turn in. If that didnÔÇÖt happen, he wouldnÔÇÖt have crashed. Dani was going fine, and on the previous lap, Hayden had hit him.... A big deal is being made because this involves the leader of the championship and his teammate. The first thing Hayden had to do was get in front, which he hasn't done all year. I know it's terrible for Honda and for Nicky, but it could have happened to anyone.ÔÇØ

That guy needs to get sent walking.

Anyway I think no one at HRC thought Dani could do something so incredibly idiotic but that's no excuse. They proudly declared there to be no team orders, mostly likely in an effort to win the title in the most sportsmanlike manner, but instead they ended up with one of the infamous incidents in racing history.

For Nicky's part he said that the only way Pedrosa can make it up to him is for them to finish 1-2 in Valencia. Lucky for Nicky there are a couple of other guys who can get in front of Rossi so he still has a chance. Nicky HAS to win though, that's for sure.

I sincerely hope this doesn't cost Nicky the championship. You can see how hard he has worked to get here and how badly he wants it yet you never saw him whining or complaining even when he was having a hard time with the clutch issue. I hope he can still get to the promised land.

[.RJ]

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.cafepress.com/IHateDani">http://www.cafepress.com/IHateDani</a><!-- m -->

[Ginger]

While I'm really unhappy about the whole incident, Puig does make note of something everybody seems to be ignoring.

Nicky DID hit Pedrosa in a pass one lap earlier. If you look at both incidences they're almost identical - Nicky nearly tucked the front during his pass, Pedrosa went all the way over. I think it's a little hypocritical of us all to cry terrible treason when it was OK for Nicky to make the same manuever... the risk was exactly the same, it's just that Hayden's pass went off "alright." It kind of established a precedent between them at the race that that's the way it was going to be.

I'm in the Hayden camp, though, no doubt. I really hope Hayden can pull it off, it'd be awesome. I think Puig was out of line to berate Nicky for "not being at the front" - that doesn't make Dani any less wrong... and he's Dani's manager, it shouldn't matter to him what Hayden does.

[G.Irish]

While I'm really unhappy about the whole incident, Puig does make note of something everybody seems to be ignoring.

Nicky DID hit Pedrosa in a pass one lap earlier. If you look at both incidences they're almost identical - Nicky nearly tucked the front during his pass, Pedrosa went all the way over. I think it's a little hypocritical of us all to cry terrible treason when it was OK for Nicky to make the same manuever... the risk was exactly the same, it's just that Hayden's pass went off "alright." It kind of established a precedent between them at the race that that's the way it was going to be.

Nicky was leading the championship and Dani had almost no chance of winning the championship. There was no excuse for Dani doing that.

And even then, making a tough pass is fine, as long as you don't crash doing it. It's that way in almost all sports. It's okay to take 35 foot jumpshot if you make it. It's fine to throw a 60 yard pass into double coverage if you complete the pass. No will complain if you take a big risk and make it. But when you take a big (and stupid) risk and fuck it up and cost your team the championship it is definitely not ok.

[Evan]

"If the situations had been reversed with Pedrosa leading by 12 points with two races to go, Hayden would have done what Edwards was doing, and, as in EdwardsÔÇÖ case, no one would have had to have told him to do it."

Thats what drives it home. Dani is a punk little bitch with an ego. I wouldnt piss on him if he was on fire. Unfortuantely with the 800cc lighter bikes, the rules are coming right towards him and away from Nicky. This was Nicky's year and Dani fucked him.

[.RJ]

There should be a "what would mcqueen do" poll on soup about the Pedrosa situation right now.......

Dammit.

[G.Irish]

"If the situations had been reversed with Pedrosa leading by 12 points with two races to go, Hayden would have done what Edwards was doing, and, as in EdwardsÔÇÖ case, no one would have had to have told him to do it."

Thats what drives it home. Dani is a punk little bitch with an ego. I wouldnt piss on him if he was on fire. Unfortuantely with the 800cc lighter bikes, the rules are coming right towards him and away from Nicky. This was Nicky's year and Dani fucked him.

Agreed. However I have a feeling that Dani may not be the foregone conclusion for the next championship that many think he is. A couple of times this season he has shown some mental weakness that could be part of a bigger problem. In Brno he complained about Rossi making strong passes on him, which is just something you don't do with Rossi because next time he is going to turn up the heat because he knows it bothers you. In the Noyes article Pedrosa's camp and probably Pedrosa himself complained about an article where Noyes said that Jorge Lorenzo passed him more times in one race than he had been passed in one year.

I think his ego has shades of Biaggism* in it. He seems very uptight, has a lot of people pumping him up from Puig to HRC to the media machine, and he seems to have some feeling of entitlement. Next year under the full glare of Rossi and the rest of the competition we'll see if he can handle the pressure. After this incredibly irrational and foolish mistake of his and the fact that he is probably the worst rider on the grid in the rain I'm not so sure he can contend for the title next year.

*Note that Biaggi won 4 250cc titles and doesn't have one GP500/Moto GP title to his name.

[G.Irish]

Some of the Brit press gives their 2 pence:
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.superbike.co.uk/racing/gp/Superbike_staff_watching_MotoGP_race_in_Estoril_Gobsmacked_news_97626.html">http://www.superbike.co.uk/racing/gp/Su ... 97626.html</a><!-- m -->

[Sijray21]

i am glad for Elias and KRjr for their 1st and 3rd finish - they made it a hell-of-a-race to watch!

[G.Irish]

Yeah it's vindicating to see that Team KR has 2 podiums to Suzuki's 1. I really hope Team KR can get a second rider next season.

Anyone have the race tivo'ed?