2010 MotoGP

[ddasey]

Thought I would start this as there are a few of us here that follow MotoGP.

Preseason testing kicks off tomorrow, will be interesting to see how a fully fit Casey goes.

News just in, Garry McCoy has signed a deal that will see him back him the MotoGP paddock. The sultan of slide is back :smt038

[virge666]

Thought I would start this as there are a few of us here that follow MotoGP.

Preseason testing kicks off tomorrow, will be interesting to see how a fully fit Casey goes.

News just in, Garry McCoy has signed a deal that will see him back him the MotoGP paddock. The sultan of slide is back :smt038

Gaz is back !! YAY !

Who is Casey's teammate this year - no one else seems to be able to ride the Duke ?

[Iain]

Nicky Hayden.

Gaz will be interesting? Has he done much competitive riding lately?

[ddasey]

Nicky Hayden.

Gaz will be interesting? Has he done much competitive riding lately?


He has spent the last couple of years on a Triumph in WSS. For some reason the team or ride fell in a heap 10 days ago.

[Iain]

That's right. I personally think he'll struggle on motogp.

[virge666]

Gaz was a midpack rider in World Superbikes.

[damoocow]

Thought I would start this as there are a few of us here that follow MotoGP.

Preseason testing kicks off tomorrow, will be interesting to see how a fully fit Casey goes.

News just in, Garry McCoy has signed a deal that will see him back him the MotoGP paddock. The sultan of slide is back :smt038

Why anyone would sign McCoy to do anything but lube chains is beyond me... Schwantz was the best 'slider' without a doubt.

[virge666]

Why anyone would sign McCoy to do anything but lube chains is beyond me... Schwantz was the best 'slider' without a doubt.


The bikes have traction control and various other gizmos now. It should suit Gary's entry into corners.

His is with a Satellite team so his bike will be so underpowered anyway.

Schwantz wasn't Australian, therefore he was not THE best. :)

[ddasey]

Worlds worst secret has been made official.

Rossi off to Ducati next year.

Wonder if Burgess will follow him again?

[virge666]

Worlds worst secret has been made official.

Rossi off to Ducati next year.

Wonder if Burgess will follow him again?

I wonder if he can make the bike ridable ?

[ddasey]

I wonder if he can make the bike ridable ?

I suppose if anyway can, he can.

I'm guessing Ducati will give Rossi exactly what he wants as far as setup.

Would be a fairytale swansong. Italian on an Italian bike winning the World Championship.

[Veefore]

I believe the Ducati is much more rideable for most riders now than it was two years ago.
The problem is that Stoner likes a very unique setup. He is one of those riders that rides totally on the front tyre. As long as he has front grip then he is happy. It doesn't matter if the back end is waving around like a flag.

Most riders don't like that much front end at the expense of rear end grip. Melandri for example, and they lose confidence in the rear. Hayden also likes a more neutral setup which is why he is getting much better results at the same time that Stoner is getting worse. I found it interesting that Hayden was using much more tc than Stoner last year but it kind of follows with their different riding styles.

Unless Honda can give Stoner that kind of setup, he will struggle there too. I vaguely remember Doohan have a similar problem while at Honda where he just couldn't get past the front end chatter that is a first sign of a rider who pushes the front hard.

[Jake]

Bit of a shame that McCoy couldn't get the times to get on the grid.

Stacey's doing pretty well, all things considered. It'll be interesting to see who gets the most attention at Honda, him or Pedrobot.

[Fraser]

So there will be Dovi, Pedro and stoner all riding for honda? If that is the case it will be interesting.
Who is getting the Dr's bike?

[ddasey]

Who is getting the Dr's bike?

Rumour has it Ben SPIES will head from Tek 3 to Fiat Yamaha.

[rubin]

Awful crash a few minutes ago involving Simoncelli...does not look good at all.
Race called off now..expecting the worst news.

Just saw the replay - quite sickening watching his body almost fold up around the bike.

[rubin]

News just through that he passed away. Doctors couldn't revive him.

[just]

Passed away. Awful crash.

[Veefore]

Worst possible news. RIP Marco. :(

[Leon Phelps]

Sad news, he was a cool character

[Iain]

Nasty crash. RIP Marco.

[Leon Phelps]

Just saw a slow motion replay on you tube, that is seriously heavy to process

[damoocow]

Absolutely terrible news - one of the most interesting GP characters since Schwantz - will be missed...

[Flavzz]

Shocking. Poor bloke. Just tragic.

[Grunt]

RIP Marco, was going to be the one to chase Stoner next year too. Hard to find riders with character nowadays

[jaybam]

I want to know what caused him to veer to the right so dramatically. Was very unusual. I feel for Colin and valentino. Poor buggers. Rip Marco.

[rubin]

I want to know what caused him to veer to the right so dramatically. Was very unusual. I feel for Colin and valentino. Poor buggers. Rip Marco.

From what it looks from the video - he started to lose the rear tyre, almost caught it but then went down in the middle of the corner. A shame to lose such a character and care free personality. RIP

[virge666]

Just watched it ... Gutted for another life to be lost in Motorsport in such a little amount of time.

If you watch the replay... He lost the front and the guys were just too close to him to do anything.

Just awful.

[Veefore]

What Virge said. He lost the front, then as the front moved out from under him his body weight dropped down to the inside and took a bit of weight off it. Then it gripped and being turned in drove him straight to the right. I've seen helmets knocked off before and the rider survived but he was just so unlucky.

[virge666]

Rossi missed him - but Colin just smashed him in the back of the neck and I hope he didn't feel a thing...

Honestly - felt sick watching it and you and I both know from racing bikes, that kind of stuff doesn't happen often, but that feeling just kicks you in the guts and the world looks a little different.

The shot of him lying on the track not moving, and the body language of Rossi and Edwards... haunting.

[Leon Phelps]

Edwards definitely knew it was bad, his body language said it all....

[Veefore]

Rossi missed him - but Colin just smashed him in the back of the neck and I hope he didn't feel a thing...

Honestly - felt sick watching it and you and I both know from racing bikes, that kind of stuff doesn't happen often, but that feeling just kicks you in the guts and the world looks a little different.

The shot of him lying on the track not moving, and the body language of Rossi and Edwards... haunting.

I only saw it during the telecast and couldn't tell if Rossi got him or not. I thought he must have by his reaction but that could just as easily been a "shit that was close" reaction too.

I went stone cold when I saw the impact and the shot of his helmet tumbling down the side of the track and then his body, prone in the middle of the track. It was the same when Senna went.

Those sorts of freak accidents happen rarely and like you said, it just kicks you in the guts when it does. It's one I'll remember forever. :(

[rodders]

Rossi didn't miss him.

It was horrific. I've seen a front on shot which shows exactly what happened.

Edwards basically hit Sic between him and his bike ie the front side of his body and Rossi goes straight over his leg and lower body.

Bike sites say that Sic lost front end and tried to hang on and stand bike up instead of sliding off and that's why it veered back in path of Edwards and Rossi. They had no chance.

RIP Marco.

[rubin]

Rossi goes straight over his leg and lower body.

are u talking about the same thing? Rossi doesn't go anywhere near his legs, unless u meant his head?

[rodders]

Yep you're right. Only looked at pic once but and thought they were his arms at front but are his legs! Rossi goes over his head.

[virge666]

Yep you're right. Only looked at pic once but and thought they were his arms at front but are his legs! Rossi goes over his head.

No wonder he was gutted...

[TourFit]

In some circles, they are talking that this may well be the thing that causes Valentino to walk away.

Edwards dislocated his shoulder in the fall, so there is a fair bit of pain reaction in what he was like after he got up...then he turned around and saw Sic prone on the track with no helmet and not moving. That's when he went down on the one knee (and looked kinda like he was gonna throw up). I think he knew then.

I don't know if any of you guys saw it, but the death of that young luge rider in Vancouver was also one of those sickening moments you never forget...out of the chute and slammed back first into a pylon. I saw some pics of the crash and it's just horrific. Another is footage of Gilles Villeneuve's death.

There are so many when you stop and think about it, but I guess that is the nature of those types of sport.

[rubin]

I think webber summed it up best in his article for the bbc. If it wasn't fast, and dangerous and required a lot of skill, no one would be doing it. The luge one was very sickening and it had a bit more detail as well, it was right in front of the camera.

I reckon rossi will do one more season. Fellow countryman etc, he would want to try and win it for him so to speak.

[TourFit]

Hmmm, not so sure. What's he got to prove. Sic was a friend of his too, actually more like little brother type thing!

[KristianJ]

I don't know if any of you guys saw it, but the death of that young luge rider in Vancouver was also one of those sickening moments you never forget...out of the chute and slammed back first into a pylon. I saw some pics of the crash and it's just horrific. Another is footage of Gilles Villeneuve's death.

There are so many when you stop and think about it, but I guess that is the nature of those types of sport.

Yep, I can think of a few that were just so horrifying and sickening that they remain burned in my memory. Greg Moore in Champ Cars in 99, Zanardi's crash where he lost his legs, a couple of the fatalities in the Indy 500 back in the 70s...certainly emphasises how risky motorsport can be.

[Veefore]

The last few posts are really digging up some horrible memories. Villeneuve being basically thrown from his Ferrari, Greg Moore in what was a really innocuous crash until the tyres bit into the grass and flung the car top first into the wall.


Since we are mentioning others, the one that stays with me the most, and I feel terrible because I can't remember his name, was a 250GP rider at Wanneroo back in the 80's. It was a combined race with 250 proddies and 125GP bikes on the grid. This rider starting from the front row collided with another bike and went down right on the start finish line. As the field came around they red flagged the race and gridded us all back up on the start straight. We sat there for about 5 minutes watching the first aiders working on him before they carted him off on a stretcher. They then restarted the race and it wasn't until a couple of races later that they announced they were abandoning the rest of the race meeting because he had died. For that whole time we were waiting on the grid, I was no more than 20 or so metres from him, on the same side of the track watching their desperate attempts to revive him.
We lost another rider about 6 months later at a street race at Mingenew, but thankfully I wasn't at that race.
When I look back to my racing days, there are quite a few who aren't around anymore. :(

[Ferrins]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZ35A_H3AwA&feature=related

[virge666]

He may have bashed himself on a ripple strip... the track was dry - the white lines are fine in the dry.

If it was wet - he would still be alive.

[Veefore]

He may have bashed himself on a ripple strip... the track was dry - the white lines are fine in the dry.

If it was wet - he would still be alive.

I don't really need to post anytime after Virge when it comes to bikes. Unless it's just to say "what he said" again. :)
It didn't really look like he caught much of the white line anyway, unlike Stoner who constantly cross them on the inside.