[Closed] Moto GP 2012

Yeah I just wrote that and if you like I will write it again 😆

There are plenty of 2 time world champions about 😉

I raced against Casey Stoner and so did my wife!* He's not that great, I beat him every time.

*This may not be completely true. 😆

😆

The fact he was being interviewed later the same day about it is mind blowing. One very lucky fella.

Testament to how good those airfences are. Maybe they should be on every corner of every track in motorsport..... 💡

Forgot to mention Paul Bird thinking of replacing James Ellison with Shakey Byrne for Le Mans GP

Dear god NO!! 😯 Shakey is far better off in BSB, he will be merely a back runner on that bike in GP.

Casey Stoner

Yes a massive salary from a works Honda contract will turn people in to corporate robots, maybe thats why Rossi had to leave Honda? Too big a personality for a corporation.....
Although Stoner was still a boring little **** on a Duke aswell- just as well he more than makes up for his lack of personality when he's ON the bike 😆

Not doubting Stoner is very good on a bike he is just not that good

Brilliant, absolutely brilliant forumeering. I doff my cap to you. Pish- but brilliant. 😀

or even go wider Gobert is/was one of the most talented riders ever just a total loon

Blast from the past

Now there was a top talent, one of the most exciting and skilled riders I have ever seen, but as you say, a total loon.

Off to youtube to watch Gobert videos now.

Lobby d Its an honour to be doffed 😀

Antony Gobert - the Go Show - a classic example of why electronic aids should be removed from wsb. Also a sad waste of a great talent.

Muke - where did you hear that about Ellison? Surely he's as good as Shakey (and he's a Northerner)

Muke - where did you hear that about Ellison? Surely he's as good as Shakey (and he's a Northerner)

was announced tuesday, only for the next motogp round, to get some more feedback on the bike and in Paul Birds words to get Ellison to '"pull his finger out"

Shakey has MotoGP experience (the Aprilla that kept trying to kill him, I think it was the 'cube' or RS3?) so would be a pretty good choice for further feedback/to see if Ellison is getting the most out of the package.

As for Stoner, he's bloody quick, but I don't think he gets the idea of entertainment/showmanship like Rossi does, back in the 500s you always knew Rossi would overtake with a couple of laps to go, then pull 4-5 seconds in those two laps, which made the race exciting, even if you knew the eventual outcome, there was more of an element of doubt.

Stoner goes out of the blocks, hard, and it seems like the only rider that gets into his head/can phase him is Rossi (when he's close), which turns the race into a flat out chase rather than a more cat and mouse affair.

Ellison has been struggling with massive chatter and is one of only two riders yet to score a point.

Speaking on British Eurosport's coverage of Monday's Oulton Park BSB round, Bird revealed that Byrne could take Ellison's place at Le Mans and therefore make his first MotoGP appearance since 2005.

"It's something I have been milling over for a couple of meetings," said Bird. "James seems to be lacking a bit of confidence and is complaining about massive chatter with the bike.

"Obviously Shakey has ridden at Le Mans a couple of times and maybe we will let him have a run out on the bike and rest James for a meeting.

"That way we can have another view of what the bike is like, to see if we do have a severe chatter problem, but, you known, Casey Stoner has severe chatter problems and still wins the race, so we will have a look...

"I've asked James if he wants to run at Le Mans but I think we would get another view of what the bike is like. It's our first [MotoGP] season so maybe it's time for a management decision."

Also Chris Vermeulen will stand in for Colin Edwards for the Forward Racing Squad in the forthcoming French Grand Prix at Le Mans.

Oooooh lets hope for some rain as the John Boy Walton lookalikey goes well in the wet.

Do you think Shakey will outperform Ellison? If it rains, they want to stick Chris Walker on the bike, or Michael Rutter .........

Do you think Shakey will outperform Ellison?

I have no idea, but he's a good* benchmark.

*edit, Known.

As you were...

Paul Bird Motorsport has played down comments that Shane Byrne will replace James Ellison for the upcoming MotoGP races by confirming there will be no change in the team for the French Grand Prix.

Paul Bird had intimated that he would put Byrne on the bike at Le Mans in order to get a second opinion on the chatter issues that have blighted Ellison's return to the two-wheel top flight so far this season.

However, while PBM hasn't dismissed the idea of getting Byrne, or Stuart Easton, on the bike at some stage this season, Ellison will definitely be on the Aprilia CRT at Le Mans and probably Catalunya.

"It was unfortunate that James didn't finish the race in Estoril but he proved what the machine was capable of in Jerez,” confirmed technical director Phil Borley.

“This is a long-term project and we have to look at all options available to us in achieving our goals, which both the team and James understand. Our concentration is now on getting the technical help we need and to make more progress at Le Mans and Catalunya."
🙄

Danny on Pole and the Tech 3 team better the factory 😀 Rossi getting better and Bradl having a mare.

Ellison did ok.

Good race tomorrow 🙂

Interesting top 10 in WET warm up this morning...
1. Cal Crutchlow GBR Monster Yamaha Tech3 (YZR-M1) 1m 46.095s
2. Casey Stoner AUS Repsol Honda (RC213V) 1m 46.187s
3. Dani Pedrosa ESP Repsol Honda (RC213V) 1m 46.423s
4. Valentino Rossi ITA Ducati Team (GP12) 1m 46.538s
5. Nicky Hayden USA Ducati Team (GP12) 1m 46.814s
6. Jorge Lorenzo ESP Yamaha Factory Racing (YZR-M1) 1m 46.822s
7. Andrea Dovizioso ITA Monster Yamaha Tech3 (YZR-M1) 1m 47.156s
8. Hector Barbera ESP Pramac Racing (GP12) 1m 47.311s
9. Karel Abraham CZE Cardion AB Motoracing (GP12) 1m 47.869s
10. Ben Spies USA Yamaha Factory Racing (YZR-M1) 1m 47.890s

Sad to hear that rider Mark Buckley has died following an accident in the Superstock race at the Relentless International North West 200 in Northern Ireland. 🙁

Top result for Redding 😀

Lorenzo was on it today, great to see Rossi a worthy second and little Casey whinge whinge moan my bike wouldnt do this and my bike wouldnt do that whinge whinge moan moan come third 😉

Great for Ellison and never seen anything like what happened to RDP at that level, club races maybe 😯

Ben Spies to get the bullet by season halfway?

Nice to see Vale back up the front and actually having some racing. JB didn't seem overly impressed, I guess he knows that the rain was a great help and they still have a lot of work to do to stay up the sharp end.

Well done to all riders today especially James Ellison and unlucky for Cal and Dovi but at least they managed to get back on.

RdP what a mare

Rossi is back- no i mean in Moto 3! 😆

Vale will be doing a rain dance at every race from now on i predict....
Maybe that performance was a job interview in front of Mr Suzuki of Honda 😀 although at the end of the year when Mr Stoner waves bye bye, i've a feeling a certain Stefan Bradl will be offered his seat.

I will miss Stoner, not the whineing but the sliding and the magic he produces on a bike. And he was the only one really who could duff Rossi up a bit (when he was on a proper bike). On the track that is 😉

Good job Scott Redding on third 8)

And a gold medal to Johan Zarco for this in front of his home crowd:

What a trick- i had a feeling he was going to win it or bin it 😆
(Although i had a fiver on a win 😥 )

Still got to think that now Stoner has announced his retirement that his heart can't be 100% in it - after handing in your notice would you put 100% (and possible serious injury) into the job?

I was gutted for Gino Rea in Moto2 but loved his reaction when in the gravel, strop of the season so far, especially the w***er signal, class 😀

Ben Spies has got the bullet from my MCN Fantasy team, pretty poor display this season especially when you see how well Lorenzo and Tech3 are doing.

Stoner has announced his retirement that his heart can't be 100% in it

Oh i dunno, he gave Rossi a pretty good scrap until his tyres went off. But yeah, i reckon he can take it easy on the Honda and still win it this year! I am disappointed though, i could see him doing a Doohan and winning it for the next few years. I wonder if becoming a father and remembering Marco Simoncelli had an effect. That'd sure sway it for me.

I was gutted for Gino Rea in Moto2 but loved his reaction when in the gravel, strop of the season so far, especially the w***er signal, class

He's class, but like Sam Lowes in WSS he has a tendency to throw it at the scenery. A bit hot headed. Lets hope he can do a Sam Lowes and learn to win....

The TT is coming!

Here's Guy Martin outrunning a helicopter last year.

Glad to hear he's OK after binning it quite spectacularly at the NW200. Unfortunately Mark Buckley wasn't so lucky- RIP.....

The TT is coming!

I head over on Saturday 😀

From Crash.net

Manchester's The Rainband will release a fundraising single in support of the Marco Simoncelli Foundation following a live performance at this year's British MotoGP.

“'Rise Again' is the 4th single by Manchester's The Rainband. It will be released as a download on June 18th following the band's live performance at The British MotoGP at Silverstone. Former world champion James Toseland plays piano on the track.

“Since Marco Simoncelli was tragically killed at last year's Malaysian MotoGP. The band was contacted by The Marco Simoncelli Foundation after writing the track and will donate all profits to the foundation which was set up in his name.

“The Marco Simoncelli Foundation aims to build hospitals around the world for the disabled. This is supported fully by Dorna, MotoGP and The Marco Simoncelli Foundation.

“Please visit http://therainband.co.uk to find out more.”

[img] [/img]

I was just thinking the other day, watching the race, that the track was a very empty place without Super Sic 🙁

Cal 3rd brilliant qualifying 😀

What have the Stoner fans got to say about that performance then 😉

Who cares, crutchlow continues to beat Spies..... Go Cal !

Pigface - Member
What have the Stoner fans got to say about that performance then

Oh yeah, well done crutchlow, superb result again.

*waves*. I like Lorenzo

Me too. He'll win it this year while everyones bitching about stoner n rossi.

j-cru - Member

Oh yeah, well done crutchlow, superb result again.

Only sort of - best of the also rans and well beaten by his teammate

Just seen the Moto 3 race 😯 😯 😆 fantastic racing.

I like Lorenzo 😀

Lorenzo is a very cool racer ...he doesn't get flustered like some of the other Alians when pressured ,

He's got a very dry sense of humour as well which I like .

He has a very good chance of getting the no 1 plate back this year ...

TandemJeremy - Member

j-cru - Member

Oh yeah, well done crutchlow, superb result again.

Only sort of - best of the also rans and well beaten by his teammate

Most interesting thing about that was Ellison on his mtb

And Lorenzo celebration, WTF. Then again he could have always put the space man suit on again.

Didn't find the race very interesting TBH but what is it about Pedrosa. Has he finally realised that if he stays on the bike and remains uninjured he has a very good chance of winning? Lets hope so.

Well done Crutchlow. It's going to be very interesting to see who is riding what next year and I got the distinct impression that Yamaha weren't all that confident that Lorenzo would stay.

Pedrosa just dosent have the oomph to win consistently- he gets to the front and seems to give up too easily. Like he's content with 2nd, 3rd, 4th 🙄
Lorenzo will win it this year.
I can see Cal on a factory Yamaha next year- did you see Mr Yamaha in the garage when Spies chucked it down the road? Not impressed 😕
Lorenzo may end up at Honda. Pedrosa will be jobless....
Bradl will ride Caseys bike.

Anyway, this year..... 😆

Marquez and George at Honda.Cal and Dovi at Yamaha.Rossi and crazy Joe at Ducati.Bradley and Spies at Tech3 and Dani,Bradl and Nicky on satellite Hondas.Maybe.

Spies to Honda next year ............ 😉

Whats Cal and the Honey badger all about ?

😀

Honey badger don't care

Whats Cal and the Honey badger all about ?

Wasn't it to do with with copyright issues as he was using Gnasher from the Beano before?

He should have used the rat from his motorhome in a UB40 'Rat in me Caravan' kinda way 😉

Why the badger? Erm............ 😳

Marquez penalty overturned which I think is the right decision, he can be a cock on track but this time I think it was a genuine racing accident.

I agree on the Marquez accident - racing incident and not dangerous riding.

To comment on the above - Marquez can't get a seat in the factory Honda team next year unless there is a rule change. Rookie riders are not allowed to go straight into the official factory teams.

Rookie riders are not allowed to go straight into the official factory teams.

Correct, and for this reason my money is on Stefan Bradl.... 😉

Cal big off on Test day at Catalunya, Karel Abraham off as well which lets be honest is not a surprise both ok though.

I love Crash.net 😀

I love Crash.net

Me too, especially in the off season when no-one else bothers 😀

[url= http://www.crash.net/motogp/results/180472/1/catalunya_motogp_test_times_-_monday_final.html ]Ben Spies Second Fastest?[/url]

Why couldn't he do that in the race? Oh hang on, he tried 😆

Bit of a mouthful but a nice tribute...

Misano has officially been renamed the 'Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli' in memory of the Italian MotoGP rider.

Simoncelli, who was killed in a crash in Malaysia on 23 October 2011, had lived less than five miles away from the circuit in his hometown of Cattolica.

The name change had been proposed late last year and has now been approved unanimously by the board of circuit owners Santa Monica Spa.

"I'm deeply touched in seeing the circuit of Misano named after Marco. We've received affection from all over the world in the recent months, but today is a very special day," Marco's father Paolo, who was accompanied by his wife Rossella, said.

"I'm grateful to Santa Monica Spa, owners of the circuit, and to designer Aldo Drudi for having so nicely linked the name of Marco to the logo of the circuit."

Umberto Trevi, Vice President of Santa Monica Spa, added: "We will share with the family whatever in the future will affect Sic's memory. It is an extraordinary day for us. The name of the circuit will be forever linked to Marco Simoncelli

Thats a great gesture, so wish he could still be racing, entertaining and living a fantastic life.

I miss him doing this sort of thing:

[img] [/img]

Only really see Casey Stoner doing that this year in slo mo- fantastic to see.
Sadly it will all be gone next year.

If Marco was still here, he'd be taking Stoners ride....

[url= http://www.crash.net/motogp/news/180758/1/jorge_lorenzo_signs_new_yamaha_motogp_contract.html ]J-Lo Signs new deal[/url]

Well that's some of the who goes where in 2013 mystery solved.....

I would of been amazed if Yamaha would of let Jorge go anywhere least of all to HRC.

So who gets the whingers ride? Will the whinger really quit? I don't think Bradl will get it, Bautista would be my bet with Marquez going to the San Carlo team and doing a Marco getting a factory bike in his second season but with San Carlo.

To comment on the above - Marquez can't get a seat in the factory Honda team next year unless there is a rule change. Rookie riders are not allowed to go straight into the official factory teams.

There's nothing stopping him joining a satellite team that's factory in all but name though. He will want and get the support from Honda when he moves, and Repsol won't want their star on a shed.

Gresini have normally filled that role but they could (would probably) get even more factory support.

I'd see Luthi going to Repsol over Bautista - for marketing, sponsorship as well as talent reasons.

I'd also like to see Vale head back to Honda and ditch the Duc!

Great move by Lorenzo. The Yamaha's a class act, he suits it well, he's their established number one rider and will continue to do well there.
From what I've read, Honda say Rossi's welcome back, but only on a satellite bike, not factory. So it's that or Tech 3 I guess;- please - anything but more time on the Ducati, it's so sad seeing him underachieve for whatever reason.
Marc Marquez will probably be on a factory Honda following a rule change that's likely to be phased in by then. Way to go ~ that'll be worth seeing.

Sorry if anyone is off to watch @ Silverstone but I would quite like a wet race, be nice to see Cal get on the podium as well.

I'd also like to see Vale head back to Honda and ditch the Duc!

Can't see him going just yet. The Duke is an unfinished project, and i think he'd like to turn it into a winner again. Time will tell 😉

Wet race +1, the G.O.A.T will provide some entertainment and it will bring us a lottery. which is always fun!

[url= http://www.crash.net/motogp/results/180856/1/british_motogp_silverstone_-_friday_practice_2.html ]Friday Practice After Rain Shower.......[/url]

Oh dear, not a good start to the weekend for Cal (a bit like last year 🙁 trying too hard ?)

Shitty weather just spoils bloody everything! Grrrr

Sprained ankle, that won't bother him 🙂

Sprained ankle, that won't bother him

Erm.................

[url= http://www.crash.net/motogp/news/180884/1/cal_crutchlow_unlikely_for_silverstone_qualifying.html ]Cruchlow Out Of Qualifying[/url]

😯 😥

He must be going soft in his old age 😉

Rossi just binned it as well

Anyone else watching [url= http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/motogp/17626022 ]Live BBC Website[/url] Moto GP Qualifying?

Ben Spies is having it 😀

Nicky Hayden just binned it 😐

Just started raining and Alvaro Bautista is on pole on Marco Simoncelli's bike 😀 with Ben Spies alongside him.............

Fingers crossed

Pretty good race, Rossi doesn't seem to be trying that hard. Great Moto2 race. I think I prefer Silverstone to Donnington.

Virtual win for Cal in my books.

Cal rode a stormer of a race! Dovi out as well so he's back to 4th in the standings. I was very impressed, he took 9/10 positions in the first 2 Laos, that's virtually an overtake every other corner!

Ride of the day was Cal Crutchlow for me, but then i watched the Moto 2 afterwards.
Ride of the day now goes to Scott Redding, absolutely stellar ride 😀 particularly for duffing up Marc Marquez on the last lap, although it was mighty close at the line......

J-Lo was on it, no-one was going to stop him. Great ride from Alvaro Bautista- saw him backing it in to quite a few corners round there. For a moment there a thought i was watching Marco Simoncelli.......

I think Cal's won a few more fans with that race. Awesome - he's the real deal, but it's also got to be said that it's probably easier these days to come from the back of the field. CRT bikes are three or more seconds per lap slower than Cal's Tech 3 - I'm not saying it's easy, but.......

Dead chuffed to see Bautista take pole and run a good strong race - he has under achieved so far considering his talent.

Ride of the day; Scott Redding again. Brilliant! A fair n square second place taken from the best(?) rider in Moto 2. We've all seen that Marquez likes to dish it out, it was good to see him take some for a change.
I find it very odd that the BBC post race coverage is focussed on Brad Smith despite his less than amazing seventh place and consistent mediocre performances this season. Why not give some column inches to Mr Redding? Does his face not fit?
Good weekend of racing in all classes, keep it up chaps! 😆

"I find it very odd that the BBC post race coverage is focussed on Brad Smith despite his less than amazing seventh place and consistent mediocre performances this season. Why not give some column inches to Mr Redding? Does his face not fit?"

if you had listened to the presenter he said they tried to interview Scott but he was busy with his team sponsors.

They did show an episode of the Scott Redding diaries though.

I don't think there was any indication of his face not fitting at all.

MotoGP set to scrap the rookie rule
Dorna CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta has tabled a proposition to scrap MotoGP's rookie rule with the Grand Prix Commission.

..Ezpeleta, who had previously been adamant the rule would stay in place, said his reversal was based on discussions with the series' current satellite teams - the squads the rookie rule is designed to protect. The regulation precludes MotoGP newcomers from riding for factory teams in their debut year.

Rather than supporting the rule however, Ezpeleta says Tech 3, LCR and Gresini valued keeping their existing riders over the benefits of keeping the rookie rule in place.

Assured therefore that there were no objections to scrapping the rule, Ezpeleta said - as reported by AUTOSPORT last week – that applying to cancel the rule was the logical next step.

"We talked to the people who might enjoy this rule, the four independents. They decided it was more important to keep their existing riders than to have the possibility of having new riders coming from other categories," he told the MotoGP website at Silverstone.

"We decided from common sense to propose to the Grand Prix Commission the request to cancel the rookie rule.

"The request was made by the MSMA [Motorcycle Sports Manufacturers Association] in Jerez and we said no.

"Now after many discussions with the independent teams we decided it is better, and in the help of the independent teams, to cancel the rule.

"This is something that needs to be approved by the GPC regarding the possibility, that's all."

The implications of the rookie rule have been hotly debated in the aftermath of Casey Stoner's shock retirement, and Honda's subsequent desire to call up Moto2 starlet Marc Marquez into its works squad.

While the rookie rule prevents this at present, it would also be difficult for Honda to place him with a satellite team – as has happened in the past – due to potential conflicts over the fact Marquez in backed by works team sponsor Repsol.

Ezpeleta acknowledged that the MotoGP landscape had changed since the rookie rule's introduction, and hinted it was another factor behind his call to scrap the rule.

"The situation is that the rookie rule was implemented to protect the interests of the independent teams. [At that] moment we had around 20 factory bikes, all of them similar performance," he said.

"Today the situation is not fixed, but we have factory bikes and CRT. Most probably [a] new rider in their first year in MotoGP can use one of the existing four non-factory bikes or be in the CRT. [If CRT is the only choice] maybe then the people prefer to stay in Moto2 or do other things."

PSA... Assen this weekend so everythings a day earlier than normal Qually Friday, Race Saturday.

Ohh. Assen. Nice. 🙂

Everything a day earlier except BBC coverage which will be on Sunday!