SA MotoGP (spoiler)

So Rossi did it. Fantastic race between 2 champions. It was so hot at the
front that we didn't see anything else. We finaly saw Valentino at the limit
and it was great. It was clear that the Yam is far to be at the level of the
Honda, at least Max cannot complain anymore that his bike is shit.
Some here still say that Yam problems were the riders not the bike but
Barros demonstrate the opposite as he's managed to beat his team mate.
Too early to etablish a leader inside Honda but it seems it will be not so
easy for Mr. Edwards and Max looks like very hungry.

 

Looks to me as if the Honda has a huge power advantage that Max coudn't use
on the twisty track. Rossi were incredably early on power and it's easy to
see why his bike looked so much more powerfull compared to his team mates
last year. Anyway, a grate race.


/MBE

 

With this being such a slow track, I think it will be one of Val's best
tracks. I think Max we be able to beat him several times this year.
I think it is obvious Max should get the most support from HRC (not just
because of this single race either). He
is the only person on the same page as Rossi when it comes to talent.

I think we saw the best out of Ducati's effort last year. I don't think
they will be much more of an threat than Suzuki. They have not
been very fast all through testing. Of course this will be one of their
worst tracks.

 

Good observations. Phenomenal race. Best one I have seen in a few years, I'd
have to say. To me, Rossi had already proven he's carved himself a position
with the GP immortals at such an early age, but whoever still choses to
ignore it against all evidence is just cheating themselves of enjoying
greatness while it's around. He rode the wheels of the Yamaha, it was
evident throughout.

Not that Biaggi didn't put up a fantastic fight. He did all he could do.
Rossi just wanted it more, and perhaps Biaggi had left some tire in his
fierce early infighting against Gibernau. Rossi had ridden remarkably
smooth, resorting to a classic style and not to the tire-sliding
extravaganzas he did on the Honda. Biaggi, on the other hand, seemed to be
riding on spent tires towards the end, sliding around off every second
corner exit without it resulting in a visible acceleration advantage.

I mentioned Gibernau's early bettle against Biaggi, which might have been
key for 2 reasons: Biaggi seemed t attack Gibernau kore aggressively than he
actually attacked Rossi later on, but perhaps that was because he was on
fresh tires. But we might also speculate Gibernau, upon observing the
adrenaline coming from hyped up Rossi and Biaggi, decided things were too
hot at the front and that the two might take each other out or knock him
out, and maybe decided to settle for points as this is early in the season.
We'll see if he turns it up in following races.

And can anyone imagine how Rossi's gesture of kissing his bike on TV feels
for the Yamaha engineers and technicians? You bet that they're going to work
their asses off for this guy, and feel good about it when they burn midnight
oil during the week or weekend - it won't matter. He's got the entire Tamaha
R&D team in his pocket now. The more obnoxious GP riders should sit down for
a second and consider if an engineer in Japan is going to run a few extra
simulations on his computer on a weekend night instead of hanging out at
home with his family, when all he gets in return is sh*t... it's leadership
style 101.

Barros obviously is not ready to concede to the GP upstarts yet. Solid
performance as usual. Hayden: welcome to the MotoGP elite. He has scored
consistently in the top 5 in his last races, and in such a hyper-competitive
environment it speaks for the quality of both his skills and his smarts. It
was odd to see the commentators give Checa crap for not being closer to
Rossi, but hey, neither did the other Yamaha riders, who placed about where
they were placing last year.

Oh, one more comment on Rossi: if he's not a great development rider and
phenomenal racer, then he's got a 100 point IQ advantage over the other
riders for going for a magically competitive Yamaha at a time when all the
top riders were begging Honda for a supposedly vastly superior ride... think
about it. Naw. Rossi is just that good. Damn. Beautiful riding - memories of
Garriga's and Cadalora's rides on their good days [Lawson, arguably the best
since Ago days, just made it look too damn easy... ]

....pablo

 

Well, yes, but Rossi also opened up a gap. Maybe in the end even Biaggi
decided to score the points rather than risk going empty after a great race.
These guys are pros, after all. They learn to keep their adrenaline
controlled, and perhaps the arguments that have been kicked around in this
NG -other circuits might suit the Honda better etc- where things that also
went around in his head and decided to make him settle for second. At the
end of the day, we don't know all of the variables...

I pray to somewhat disagree. Of course he wants to secure the best Honda
support, but I venture to say we will see more of Biaggi, because this year
I have little doubt he does want that championship more than anything else,
or more than almost anyone else.

Again, I would not read too much into it. Race dynamics, and at some point
in time smart top racers realize they better secure the points and bid their
time for another race. They pushed hard at first, and it's not like the top
three opened up a big gap easily - they were pushing *extremely* hard for a
while, and Rossi and Biaggi just never stopped. It's race dynamics
sometimes. The order is more relevant than a few seconds accumulated over a
long race.

Exactly. I think many racers simply assess the situation and decide to wait
if the guys at the front fall off given the risks they seem to be taking.
After a few races, when they push very hard, the guys that are ahead in
points conversely are likely to go "I'll just score", so it'll all even out
eventually in a field that seems to be ultra-competitive. I am fairly sure
this year we will see the first Hayden victory. He rides smooth and smart
and fast. He will eventually find himself in a situation to win.

Maybe, they're also good bets (see my predicitons for the year . Gibernau
seems to ride too hot in Spain, though, trying too hard to please the fans.
His falling off the bike there is nearly a venerable tradition. Perhaps
he'll learn.

....pablo

 

Thats my suspission as well.
BTW any one else that found the power difference extreme at some points?
Wonder if the Yamaha has a huge dip in the powercurve somwhere. In a short
second it could look like engine trouble the way Biaggi suddely accelerated
almost into rossi's rear several times.

Well, let's wait and see for a couple of races. While Max is very fast I
wonder if he is tough enough to grab the championship. He's not nearly as
strong as Edwards and others in that respect.

We'll se but I expect them to be higher up the next races. I also hope that
Kawa can be even more competitive.

/MBE

 

I was hoping from a better showing from Nicky and Colin as well. Not that
the finishing spots were so bad, just that they were so far back and off the
pace.

I was surpised at how well (for assorted definitions of "well") KRJr was
doing on his Suzuki, and quite puzzled at Bayliss. And where was KRJrJr?? I
know the bike isn't what they want, but I thought they were planning on at
least racing it.

It is only the first race, though, and while Rossi may certainly have given
his best, he's going to have to get better, because everybody behind him is
going to catch up.

Regards,

Will Hartung
()

 

His shoulder that was separated in testing was still not strong enough to put
up with the bumps and direction changes of SA. He packed up and went home
after the first day for fear of popping it out while changing directions
across the bumps somewhere after T1.

-Chris-

 

Wasn't it Biaggi that said "this isn't ballet".

 

Incidentally - was somone else surprised by the camera position on Rossi's

Ahh, yes. The infamous "ass-cam". My guess is they want to show the rider
moving around on the bike. Not my favorite camera position...

-Chris-

 

Hey, get real! The passing certainly was a big part of the result, rossi
were in the lead again, but as for the gap Max had 20m to gain within, what
was it, 3 laps? If he couldn't do that he obviously wasn't fast enough or
tough enough. For a faster, better guy that gap is nothing. He even had the
advantage of the better and faster bike and still didn't make it.



/MBE

 

I agree. The stakes were high on Rossi's debut with the M1, so I could
understand some of the desperation, but I hope Rossi isn't going to
make this a routine, for his sake as well as that of the racing.

 

What I've heard the main reason of Rossi left Honda was, the company
did not respect Rossi for the winning world championship titles.

What if Yamaha M1 gradually overcome the defeciency compared to
RCV211V, especially the horse power? On the Welkom race, Biaggi's top
speed was over Rossi most of time.

For me, the other riders seemed to ride 250cc except the two riders.

 

I thought that was pretty obvious? If Biaggi coudn't do it witch one of the
two would be the faster on a honda and able to pass rossi on a yamaha?

I still have big problems with max. The Emperor crack up again and again
when the pressure is on. He fails to make the right move at the right time.
Behind Rossi he were able to make a new lap rocord on the last lap. Why
didn't he do that when he sould have opened the gap in the lead. We were all
waiting for that to happen but it didn't.

/MBE