Quote:
Originally Posted by timn8er
Did anyone watch the Moto GP today? It was a pretty exciting race, with the opening laps reminding me of a World Super Sport race;super close racing & tight passing. Lorenzo cleared out early & looked to be returning to his dominating ways. Marquez & Pedrosa were buried back in the pack. Soon, though, Marquez got clear & went hunting for Lorenzo. He caught up to him & followed him till the ninth lap, when he passed Lorenzo & immediately started running away from him. To me the real surprise was Pedrosa, who after dicing with Rossi ran down Lorenzo for a last lap pass, making it a Honda one two finish.
I've got to wonder what's up with Lorenzo. His performance so far this season is uncharacteristic of him. Anyone have any Ideas?
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After having raced for Honda a long time ago; I can quite honestly say they have the bike set up that much better this year.
Couple this with the bike being tailored to Marquez, and Pedrosa is simply getting a very good riding bike- he is benefitting from his teammates' set up and the new design of the bike. (Much like Hayden benefitted from Rossi's setups.)
As to Lorenzo; he did pretty well today. This was a new track for all. He rode well, made no real mistakes, and was pretty smart to not push his luck at the end. Also, he is hampered more by the engine freeze than the others...... he has already killed off a motor, whereas the others are still at full staff. Put him back onto a track where he has had success, and he will be more competitive in the closing stages. He has not had great luck in Tx. and Qatar was a silly mistake, so he lost out there on what would definitely have been a good race for him. He was fast, maybe even fast enough....... but TOO FAST into the first corner off the line.
So long as he does nothing else wrong; he is still in the hunt. It's a loooonnng season.
I am impressed by Pedrosa. He's doing well, and taking well to the bike, not making mistakes. He rides that way; few mistakes, little drama. Rossi is an old gunfighter, still deadly but just not quite the same after the last few seasons with Ducati.
The real surprise is the Ducati guys. Dovi comes out like hell in qualifying, and then seems to have issues carrying the pace later into the game. And his teammate, the Brit did really well today, surprised everyone, including himself I think. Crutchlow is going to have to change his name to 'Crutchesslow' by the time he gets back on the bike. I feel for him, but then again...... he knew what he signed up for.
I was in Fontucky today watching the bikes. What a great time! Cheap, great access, interaction with riders and teams was superb. Racing was pretty good. Series will get better, it has support, and I hope it will either force the AMA to get their act together, or maybe the new series can take over from the AMA, which won't hurt me none.
Time to go weld the frame on my GSXR1k and get it ready for the streets of Willow someday soon......
Argentinian Moto GP *Spoiler Alert*
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