2008 Moto GP Official Thread.

[Homem de Gelo]

The Ducati's were 4-14-16-17.
Stoner is either god on 2 wheels or the bike has his DNA. I bet on a bit of both.

[Matra et Alpine]

I'm betting that the cost to Ducati to provide a competitive engine means they can only do one per race

[faksta]

After races in 125 and 250 classes I guess the Qatar night race should be considered successfull. Both runs were exciting.

[Homem de Gelo]

Wow. What a race!
Those guys were giving nothing away and it was like a cat fight for each and every inch from the word go. Stoner, really, really impressed me today. Besides how he makes the Ducati look from another category compared to his teammates, he kept his cool and rode to the top one place at a time. And it was not easy. The pnematic Yamahas flew down the straight and you could see from the 'wobbling' how he was pushing to not let them break away. I consider this another milestone victory in his career. Very championlike.

And it really did seem as if the top 7 were in a category of their own.

I'm very excited with the rookies, except De Angelis, shit happens.


Pedrosa rocked too. He certainly squeezed every singe milisecond from the bike and more.

Nightracing, yay!
Moto GP, yay!
Casey Stoner, yeehaw!!!

Roll on Jerez!




And could Rossi's time slowly but surely be passing by??? I think not, yet. But it sure seems as if this is the hardest he ever had to fight against in Moto GP.

[Matra et Alpine]

PLease stop posting in both threads.
This is for general championship discussion, there's one for the race alone.

[Homem de Gelo]

Um, yeah... whatever.

[Matra et Alpine]

Total respect to Colin for one of the best saves ever ...

YouTube - Colin Edwards amazing save - MotoGP Jerez 08



what goes through a mind ..... right bike's sliding, I'll put my knee doen and keep it upright. Oops, that's not working so I'll just stick my elbow doen and push the bike back up and then jump on it

[Homem de Gelo]

What about this?
YouTube - nicky hayden fantastic save at jerez race

[Homem de Gelo]

About the race, what a surprise. Jerez was nothing like Qatar, Stoner had a disastrous race, Pedrosa dominated the race after Lorenzo dominated qualifying and practice sessions.

I did expect the race to be a different one to Qatar, but not so different.

Anyhow, even though there have only been two races, I already see 3 major contenders. Stoner, Rossi and Pedrosa. It seems as if the new Honda suits Pedrosa very well and he can only get stronger once he becomes perfectly healed form the hand injury and gathers more mileage on the bike. Rossi was always a factor, only fools doubted him, but what he did Sunday was great. To take 20 points on a day Michelin were the better tyre shows how he still has it and can still ride around problems to collect very important results and points. Stoner is in a very delicate situation. He is under pressure form 3 oponents and it is already evident that the Hondas and Yamahas are all very competitive and quick. Last year he only had to worry with Rossi, and Pedrosa, once in a while. This year the field is much stronger in both regards to pilots and bikes. I expect and hope he rises to the challenge and continues to win, but it's clear a 2007 like domination is not in the cards.

Despite very impressive form, I don't think Lorenzo will be a title contender. He has lots to learn as a rookie and the field will not sit tight waiting for him to catch up. I do expect him to win soon and be a huge factor in the championship. It seems as if his qualifying is already tip top and that is very important.

I also have not mentioned Hayden as a title contender because I'm not sure if can beat Pedrosa during a full season on a 800cc bike. I wouldn't worry if the 990cc were still around, but they are not. I do think he can fight for wins, especially at his favoured tracks. Hopefully he'll be at the sharp edge of the field the entire season.

[Homem de Gelo]

And people should really keep a watch on Toseland and Dovisiozo. Toseland was quite sick and still raced well to finish 6th. Once Tech 3 gets those pneumatic engines, I think he'll become even stronger. And Dovisiozo has also been quick and competitive so far. He messed up his last corner this time, but he will get better too.

Roll on Estoril.

I wish it was this weekend!

[Homem de Gelo]

Stoner hit set up troubles again at Estoril.
Considering how far behind his teammates are, the bike must not be as good as people thought...
I hope Hayden or Pedrosa win.

[fpv_gtho]

Its hard to know if its just Stoners setup or the Ducati. At Qatar Melandri and the Alice Ducati's were still at the back. Now Stoner's struggling and theres nowhere else for the other 3 Ducati's to fall.

[Homem de Gelo]

Despite the long straight, Estoril is a tight track, so to speak.
Next round is China, it has the longest straight of the calendar and isn't as tight as neither Estoril nor Jerez, despite a fair share of slow corners. IMO, Stoner's fightback will begin there.

It's just a pity Pedrosa and Hayden are stuck with the valve-spring engines. The Yamahas and Stoner will eat them down the chinese straights.

[Jack_Bauer]

After his amazing start to the season, rookie sensation Jorge Lorenzo came back down to earth with a bump (quite literally) in practice for this weekend's Chinese Moto GP. He apparently lost traction in a medium speed direction change and was viciously high-sided. He landed heavily on his right foot and was taken to hospital with a suspected fractured ankle. Seems unlikely now that he will be able to take part in the rest of the race weekend.

Video: YouTube - Lorenzo Crash

Some pretty incredible pics from Crash.net:

[Homem de Gelo]

Edwards on pole, Rossi and Stoner on the front row.
It's looking like Rossi and Stoner will have their first head to head battle of the season. Lorenzo will be lucky to score any points at all, given his highside yesterday and amazing save today. He should really take it easy and do some damage limitation. Pedrosa starts form a decent 5th, his main concern will be to beat Lorenzo. He can afford to let Rossi or Stoner win tomorrow, but this will probably be his only break of the season. Too bad for Hayden, I hope he gets a good start and joins the leaders. A podium would be very good for him.


So, IMO, I think Stoner will win after a very hard battle with Rossi. Pedrosa will come home on a very important 3rd to re-take the lead and Hayden will follow him in 4th after fighting with Edwards. Dovizioso and Toseland might surprise too, they shouldn't be discarded!!!