Moto Gp 2007

[Mesa]

Ferrari and Ducati share at least one parts wharehouse. A friend of mine works for Ducati, on a recent tour of the wharehouse he was guided past the Ferrari section and was commanded "do not touch and NO pictures". He said the entrance to the Ducati race team workshops was virtually a VAULT DOOR that took all kinds of security measures just to open it! Once inside "do not touch and NO pictures" rang out once again. My friend thought he had died and gone to heaven, trick, trick, Moto GP bikes and engines in all states of assembly then on to the 'pedestrian' World Superbike stuff almost as impressive. He complained he could not take all the eye candy in fast enough and wanted another pass through :-)

Ferrrai and Ducati one in the same....or at least sleeping in the same bed.

[Pete.]

Congratulations Casey.


Casey Stoner is the new MotoGP World Champion after he finished sixth at the A-Style Grand Prix of Japan on a great day for Ducati Marlboro, with the Australian's colleague Loris Capirossi completing a hat-trick of Motegi wins.

Stoner took the title after a complicated contest in which Fiat Yamaha's Valentino Rossi came home an unlucky 13th due to tyre problems. The Italian lost time after he entered the pits twice, with the Japanese track drying after some morning rain which saw the riders required to change from wet tyres mid-race – Rossi uncomfortable after his swap of bikes.

Kawasaki's Randy de Puniet got his first MotoGP podium finish as he crossed the line second, ahead of Honda Gresini's remarkable Toni Elias who was third despite still suffering due to his Assen injury.

Dunlop Yamaha Tech 3's Sylvain Guintoli rode brilliantly for his best ever premier class result too, missing out on a rookie season podium by just 0.666s.

Marco Melandri (Honda Gresini) was fifth having led the race, whilst sixth place was good enough to give Stoner the World Championship. De Puniet's team-mate Anthony West also led at one stage but was called in for a ride through penalty after a jump start and eventually crossed the line a creditable seventh

[I LOVE GT40- Paolo]

too great winning for casey.
Hope next year we will have a real fight between him and doctor.

No contest with BS formula 1 world:..we have mclaren robbering ferrari parts in the worst way possible, and shitty boring races (since some years also in ugly location..)
Once again,too nicer to see competitive champs as aussie V8 or desperados formula races.. IMHO

[helloyes]

Hi all this could be the last interesting year in moto gp with all the electronic rider aids they are getting its going to turn into f1 very boring they need to ban anti wheelie traction control etc etc etc give them back 1000cc engines then stoner will need binoculars to see rossi
There will be more sliding about more rider skill and keep the spectical we are used to !! Waching stoner wack the throttle open while cranked over in the wet and see that ducati just sort its self out and drive off the turn is clever but boring just the same
RANT OVER !! lets all hope they see sence

[Bill Hara]

Helloyes
You imply that there is little skill involved in the current form of racing but that is too simplistic to be true. All these machines have the same aides more-or-less as there are 2 bikes for each team and yet you see Rossi miles ahead of Edwards, Stoner miles ahead of Capirossi but the pairings of Hopkins/Vermuelin and Pedrosa/Hayden are much closer together. So either the bike suits them all better or they are closer in skill levels.
Too often we have heard that the single biggest difference is tyres and it has been evident with certain races favouring Michelin and others Bridgestone - even different compounds of the same tyre showed huge differences between team mates.
So when all is said and done over the course of the season, Stoner's team package (which includes his skill level) was better than anyone else which is why he is numero uno this year. To genralise and say that Stoner wins on the twist of his wrist is to discredit what all these guys do in MotoGP.

Bye the way, although the birth of my first child coincides with the Australian MotoGP, I have prepped my old CB750K2 and will be at Phillip Island for the race next week...

Bill.

[Bill Hara]

Sorry - duplicated the post...

[Pete.]

Ditto Bill couldn't agree more. Have a great trip, one of these years I'll join you.

[helloyes]

Bill yes you are right ALL the guys out there from the front to the back are the very best but team mates Rossi / Edwards to name but two you will find Edwards is testing parts most of the time he is one of the best test riders in moto gp as for stoner / capo i think loris is coming to the end of his career still a vey very fast guy mind !!! I had the pleasure of watching casey week in week out here in the uk when he was in British 125 i was running a Super Sport team for Yamaha and you could see then he would go far and he has !! would haave loved him in our team !!!! but seeing first hand what the elctronics are doing to all levels of the sport here they need to be banned not least on cost it costs £8k plus a man at every round to look after it at £300 a day

[David Morton]

James Tosland is switcing from Superbike to MotoGp in 2008. Should be good.....

[David Morton]

Norick Abe.
Former Superbike and MotoGP racer Norick Abe died in an accident while out riding on a busy street in Japan. He was 32 years old.

Norick competed in MotoGP between 1994 and 2004. Stats: 144 race starts, 17 podiums and 3 race wins.

[Pete.]

Yes, very sad. Apparently he was riding his road bike and a truck did a U turn in front of him.
Condolences to his family and friends.

[Pete.]

Very Sad,
Apparently he was riding his road bike and a truck did a U-turn in front of him.
Condolences to his family.

[Pete.]

Practice at Phillip island starts today, with gale force winds rain and hail forcast. Welcome to sunny Australia.

[Bill Hara]

I know Pete, I am just looking out the window now and it is hailing!
Coincidently, I won't be riding down to the Island now in this wonderful weather as the Good Lady Wife is being induced tomorrow morning and I have to attend for moral support purposes...
Sunday will see me more than likely a little drunk so no chance of riding for me!

Bill.

[Pete.]

I'm still stuttering, I must get to the bottom of that.
Congratulations Bill, I hope everything goes well.

[Pete.]

Zoom
Casey Stoner
Despite a crash with no great consequences towards the end of the second MotoGP free practice session, newly crowned World Champion Casey Stoner was well in control of proceedings on Friday at the GMC Australian Grand Prix.

On an overcast and somewhat windy afternoon at Phillip Island Ducati Marlboro's Stoner repeated his morning trick of topping the timesheets to make a good start to his homecoming weekend.

Although Stoner was the only rider unable to improve on his morning time in the second outing, his afternoon lap of 1'312.86s was 0.154s slower than his best FP1 time but still enough to keep him ahead of second fastest participant Marco Melandri (Honda Gresini) by 0.269s.

Melandri by contrast had improved on his own morning best by more than four seconds, but was still 0.423s off Stoner's early pace.

[Pete.]

In a nice touch Suzuki have created a Barry Sheene replica (sort of) for Chris V to ride in the Moto GP as a tribute to Barry this afternoon.

[Pete.]

Malaysian GP - Stoner wins again

Eurosport - Sun, 21 Oct 22:34:00 2007

Casey Stoner took a commanding victory in sweltering conditions at the Malaysian Grand Prix, recording his tenth win of the season in the process.
More Stories

• Race results and highlights

The 22-year-old Australian, who has been unbeaten since clinching the world title two races ago, led into the first corner on his Ducati and was never headed.
A late charge from Gresini Honda rider Marco Melandri was unable to eat in much to his margin as he won by 1.718 seconds. Dani Pedrosa completed the podium.
Stoner's win marked the first time anybody had won at the Sepang circuit in three classes of Grand Prix racing and also tied Colin Edwards' record of 17 points finishes in a season.
Stoner got the jump on polesitter Dani Pedrosa at the start, but was unable to pull away in the early stages, instead leading a four-bike train of the Spanish Repsol Honda rider, Randy de Puniet's Kawasaki and Melandri.
Melandri was already in trouble with a tube leading to his drinks bottle becoming detached and spraying liquid in his eyes, but he did not let it slow him down and passed de Puniet for third on lap five.
Next up was Pedrosa, who, despite having more horsepower from his latest engine upgrade, could not contain the Bridgestone-tyred Melandri and was forced to concede second four laps later.
Melandri tried hard to put Stoner under pressure, and reduced the leader's advantage to just under a second with four laps to go, but was unable to eke out the final few tenths when it counted and settled for second.
Pedrosa and de Puniet were next up, with the Frenchman lucky to reach the finish as his Kawasaki broke down on the warm-down lap.
Fifth was Valentino Rossi, who dropped to 11th off the start, but took his finishing position on lap four when he barged past Anthony West, before the Kawasaki man was handed a jump-start penalty that dropped him to the tail end of the points by the finish.
Nicky Hayden and Toni Elias had a great battle for sixth, mirroring that of their team-mates Pedrosa and Melandri.
Hayden looked to have grabbed the spot from the Gresini man at the final turn on lap 12, but missed his braking point and had to ride through the gravel before re-joining in tenth.
That promoted the Suzukis of Chris Vermeulen and John Hopkins, who were tied to each other all race long, to seventh and eighth, with Hayden finishing ninth after passing Colin Edwards' Yamaha with two laps left.
Britain's Chaz Davies came home 17th on his d'Antin Ducati, the rookie passed by West with a few laps left as the Australian eventually made it to the flag in 15th.
Kurtis Roberts finished 20th and last, the KR rider having a trip through the gravel of his own at turn seven early in the race.
Jamie O'Leary / Eurosport

[David Morton]

Rossi Injures hand:

Fiat Yamaha Team rider Valentino Rossi put his final race of the season in doubt today, after fracturing three bones in his right hand during a crash in qualifying in Valencia. Team-mate Colin Edwards meanwhile had a difficult session, failing to make much progress with the grip issues which troubled him yesterday and qualifying in 15th place.

Rossi’s injuries were sustained when he crashed after exiting from turn one, just ten minutes into the session. He was taken to the Mobile Clinic and x-rays revealed fractures to the base of his little finger and to the ulnar styloid and pyramidal bones in his right hand. He also sustained bruising to the base of his spine but x-rays revealed there was no serious damage. The Italian, who has never missed a race in his eleven-year career, will be keen to ride tomorrow, as he needs just one point to seal the runner-up spot from Dani Pedrosa. A final decision will not be taken until tomorrow morning however, after his condition has been reassessed by both Dr. Costa and by the Spanish doctors. If he is able to race he will start from 17th on the grid tomorrow.

Edwards, who finished this morning’s session ninth, tried further set-up changes in a bid to improve his pace this afternoon but was unable to make any significant progress on race tyres. He used a different profile front-tyre in an effort to improve his pace with qualifying tyres but was unable to challenge for the top spots. 15th will see him start from the outside of the fifth row tomorrow, while Dani Pedrosa will start from pole.

Colin Edwards Position: 15th Time: 1'33.021 Laps: 28
“We tried a different profile front tyre with our qualifying tyres this afternoon, similar to what we used in Le Mans and Donington when I was on pole, but I just didn’t really have enough time to get used to it. Some of the lines were a bit different and I couldn’t quite find the key in the few laps available; I just wasn’t able to make the most of it, which is a pity. On race tyres we’re still having some problems and I’m disappointed to be starting my last race with the Factory Team from fifteenth. I’m determined not to end it there though so I’m going to be going for all or nothing tomorrow. We’ll have a look at the data tonight and do our best to find something radical to help me go out there and fight my way through.”

Valentino Rossi Position: 17th Time: 1'33.290 Laps: 5
“So, I’m okay, but I was