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Jerez

DribbleDuke

DribbleDuke

2012-04-30 01:35:00 UTC

Not sure if Ben Spies is having a case of too much thinking.
He got busted up pretty well at the start and lost all his mojo before the second lap.
Nicky rode at one hundred ten percent for as long as fate would allow, not long enough.
Cal Crutchlow still looks a bit ragged and I am surprised how much he gets out of a satalite team bike. I think that Dovi and Crutch will make for great racing for fourth place all year long.
It appears to be battles between teamates sept for Team Yamaha.
I looked for a pass in the last laps and Jorge decided he is riding for a championship in only round two.
Casey will race for first and Jorge for points.
This may be a lousy season, my fingers are crossed.
Yeh, nothing to report or feel about 46, soon he wont even get to wave all silly like at the beginning of the race.

Reb

Reb

2012-04-30 08:09:00 UTC

As good as Nicky is I'm sure he would be the first to agree he doesn't have the talent of Rossi. But if Nicky can make third on the grid and all Rossi can do is drag his arse into thirteenth, there is a major problem with Rossi

troy

troy

2012-04-30 08:14:00 UTC

I'm impressed wth Cruchlow.
Think Hayden would be doing amazing things on any oher bike.
Pedbot has win in his eyes but I don't think he's got enough to ace Casey or maybe even Jorge.

DribbleDuke

DribbleDuke

2012-04-30 13:24:00 UTC

Post missing.

Blackduke77

Blackduke77

2012-04-30 14:16:00 UTC

I looks to be that this years version on the Ducati bike is not that great. Nicky seems to have the best handle on it considering his team mate is the GOAT. Is this bike really that poor or is Rossi just declining? It will be interesting to see what happens with each race for the rest of the season.

Ducati Pete

Ducati Pete

2012-04-30 14:45:00 UTC

Post missing.

MADDOG53

MADDOG53

2012-04-30 19:44:00 UTC

Cal does look a bit ragged, but he's going slightly quicker than the guy who finished 3rd in the championship last year (or was it 4th) on identical kit! I don't think it's just the new bikes that Cal likes, I think the new construction tyre suits him better.

I would imagine that as the season goes on, Cal's task will become a little harder. All the good bits that are developed will hit the factory bikes first.

I loved Scott Readings ride in Moto2 although I admit it was almost uncomfortable for me to watch. He was so much on the edge that I thought he may fall off every other corner! Watching Marquez make up multiple bike lengths on Scott down the straights, only for Scott to be visably latter on the brakes was amazing.

Shame his tyres were so worn, unless they introduce a minimum weight for bike and rider he will always suffer.

DribbleDuke

DribbleDuke

2012-04-30 19:56:00 UTC

Bradle's ride ,,I thought was impressive,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Ducati Pete

Ducati Pete

2012-05-01 00:30:00 UTC

Post missing.

Crotchrockety

Crotchrockety

2012-05-01 03:47:00 UTC

Remember with all the changes Ducati made they have painted themselves into a corner. NO TESTING! It's very hard to integrate all their chassis changes without testing. Lorenzo had nothing for Casey. When Casey laid back and let Jorge have a sniff, then that was all he got. Pedrosa seems to not be able to lead from the front anymore. Spies 3 crash opener will weigh on him. He'll be back.

tripoddave

tripoddave

2012-05-01 22:11:00 UTC

I think Rossi should use his wealth to buy out of the Ducati contract, then buy a satellite Yamaha, take his crew with him and get back up there. I think he still has it in him, but simply cannot adjust to ride the Ducati.

BASH69

BASH69

2012-05-01 22:53:00 UTC

Post missing.

Reb

Reb

2012-05-01 23:27:00 UTC

Rossi has been through a lot of shit. He suffered a compound fracture of this leg and effed up his shoulder. Those injuries plagued him for a long time, and may still plague him. He slammed into one of his best friend's body and his friend died before his eyes. That image is probably burned into his mind.

So Rossi's had a whole lot of reality checks in the last couple of years. That's a whole lot of shit to clear out of your head and set your mind to the task at hand, especially as you get longer in the tooth. If you watch him ride, he's not taking the chances that he used to. Taking those chances is what made him a superstar, but I think those days are over. I believe the leg fracture was and is a constant reminder of his mortality. Plus, he probably has enough eff you money to never have to work again. So, why should he take crazy chances? He'll finish his contract with Ducati, say the bike was unrideable and retire. He may not go out of the top of the pile, but he'll always have 9 world championships under his belt to show what a stellar rider he was.

As for the rest of them, I'm glad Stoner is around. I'd stop watching MotoGP if it was the Jorge Lorenzo show. He bores the hell out of me as does Dovi. I hope Spies clears the cob webs out and starts performing, but only time will tell. If he doesn't get his shit together soon, I'd be watching for Bradl to take his place. I was pumped to see Nicky dicing it up, but he couldn't keep up the pace.

Marquez rides the fooking wheels off his bike and is going to be really tough to catch this year. (I think they might have purposefully screwed him at Jerez to keep the points close because he was checking out when they red flagged the race.) He truly seems to be toying with the rest of the field. Say what you will about Iannone, but Crazy Joe is exciting to watch on most days. I think his unpredictability causes his opponents to have fits and makes for great racing.

DribbleDuke

DribbleDuke

2012-05-02 06:22:00 UTC

No one has mentioned Romano Fenati.
Its very early days yet but he looks like the real thing to me.
Apparently he'd never raced in anything other than dry conditions before!

As others have said: I loved Scot Reading's riding but he is hampered by being so much heavier than his rivals. If they don't introduce a minimum weight for bike AND rider I don't think he's got a future in Moto2 but I would bet on him in a straight fight with Marqez on MotoGp bikes. I'd very much like to see him make the move up to MotoGP next year.

I was delighted and impressed with Cal's ride. He looked to me as though he was riding that Yamaha like he rode the R6, I was convinced he was going to loose the front so many times. Got to say i agree: his job will get harder as the works Yams and Hondas improve and the Tech3 bikes don't but I think the rate at which he's improving its not impossible for him to score podiums.

For me it was a fantastic weekends racing.

Reb

Reb

2012-05-02 08:58:00 UTC

I havnt watched the Moto2 yet but i may have to sit down and watch it today by the sound of it

DribbleDuke

DribbleDuke

2012-05-02 20:45:00 UTC

I think little Pedbot might be on his last go round on the factory bike. Next year we could see Marquez straight onto the factory bike alongside Casey, and Pedbot out the back door to a satelite team.

That would make some awesome racing. Neither Casey or Jorge will want to be shown up by the young starter, and it will be these three fighting for the podium with Spies, Crashlow and Dovi scrapping for fourth.