Testing Results, Day 1, Jerez, Spain

This is the last gasp of actual racing related activities for 2008, and it looks like we have picked up a few more folks that are interested in this type of thing (FINALLY!), Here are the results of Day 1 from the MotoGP test in Jerez, Spain. Chime in with all of your thoughts and let's get more race talk going around here!

Copied Without Permission, From MotoGP.Com :redface:

Pos Rider Team Fastest lap Gap Laps
1 Dani Pedrosa Honda Repsol 1:39.525 - 41
2 Valentino Rossi Fiat Yamaha Team 1:40.135 +0.610 39
3 Jorge Lorenzo Fiat Yamaha Team 1:41.163 +1.638 51
4 Colin Edwards Tech3 Yamaha 1:41.390 +1.865 49
5 Alex De Angelis Team San Carlo 1:41.468 +1.943 53
6 James Toseland Tech3 Yamaha 1:41.539 +2.014 50
7 Andrea Dovizioso Honda Repsol 1:41.655 +2.130 48
8 Toni Elias San Carlo Honda Gresini 1:41.679 +2.154 75
9 Niccolo Canepa Alice Team 1:42.074 +2.549 50
10 Nicky Hayden Ducati Marlboro Team 1:42.098 +2.573 69
11 Mika Kallio Alice Team 1:42.837 +3.312 64
12 Sete Gibernau Grupo Francisco hernando 1:42.943 +3.418 40
13 Vitto Guareschi Ducati Marlboro Team 1:43.642 +4.117 36
14 Yuki Takahashi JiR Team Scot Honda 1:44.360 +4.835 64

 

Pretty tight group. Hayden at number 10, huh?
3 Hondas in the top ten.
Like him or not, Pedrosa has skills.

 

Skills that might turn out to be worth $50.00 and a free lunch :tongue:

 

You keep on hoping NCB. It's just the beginning...

 

Pedrosa has the skills to lick my ass after a serious case of assplosion.

Let me make a little prediction about the Spanish midget. He's good, no question, but he's arrogant and pretty much every arrogant sports figure reigns for a very short time...then they fade to obscurity because people remeber the arrogance not the championship.

Nobody likes an asshole for long.

...and Norcal may win 50 bucks LOL!

BZ

 

Ahhhhh its so good to be among fellow haters.


I honestly dont know how much of a prick the little smurf really is, for all I know he may be well loved by his Mommy.

And Spaniards

Damn, hating can be soooo much fun.

He probably got to be so fast on a bike running from 98lb. girls threatening to kick his little ass

I'm gonna send my daughter to Spain to whip his butt

Oh hell, I crack myself up sometimes.........

You guys should have heard the Indy race crowd boo him every time his name came over the PA system.

C'mon, Norcal, pick a guy that's an underdog and back him. Or a California rider, Hopkins?.......oh ........never mind.

Spies for WSBK Champ!!!!!!

Sigh........what happened to the days of Spencer, Lawson , Rainey, Roberts?

Things change every day, and Lorenzo will probably challenge Rossi for the crown this year, if Lorenzo can stay upright.

Rossi decides what happens in Moto Gp, everyone else races for second..

But Nicky's still my boy

I've got a Fifty right here with your name on it Norcal, you passionless mercenary, but you can't have it just yet.


MUAHHHH

 

"I give you my word as a Spaniard!"
"No good, I've known too many Spaniards."
Princess Bride

 

The reason I like Dani is, beyond the negative hype, and the emotional reactions of Americans, he's a cold, determined, hardcore warrior. I have the ultimate respect for someone who is so driven to achieve their personal goals, that they are willing to do whatever it takes to be the best at their chosen endevour. I don't think torpedoing Nicky was a great demonstration of judgement, it happened, but it didn't amount to anything in the final outcome - non issue. But Americans are that way, they live in the past and have a great propensity for the dramatic. Suck it up buttercup, nice is for puppies and kittens......

This isn't a popularity contest, it is the cutthroat reality of racing in the premier series of two wheeled motorsports. I've heard all the complaining, "Nicky wasn't treated good by Honda", "Honda built the bike for Pedrosa", "Honda treats Nicky like crap".....too fuckin' bad, if you don't like your situation change it. The thing is, deep down inside, I believe, Nicky knew he wasn't gonna get anything better outside of the Honda garage and his results just didn't warrant any special treatment by Honda. He hasn't been able to run at the front consistantly for a couple years now, and I don't see him doing it this year. If it wasn't for the disastrous year for Marco Melandri, he probably wouldn't even have a factory ride this year.

I know that nobody in the US wants to believe it, but let's just imagine the blasphemous idea that what Dani speaks of Nicky is true. I feel bad for Nicky, he works twice as hard as anybody in the paddock and still can't generate the results. There is something to be said for effort, but at the top tier of motorcycle racing the race results are the yardstick by which you are judged.

People hate the truth, especially when it goes against what they want to believe. I have no problem supporting Dani, I actually enjoy the firestorm it generates. If you have ever raced, even at the amatuer level, you know that results talk and bullshit walks. Nicky will always be the forgotten champion. My heart wants to see him win because he is an American, but my head says I'm going to be dissappointed.

 

I really don't think it was Honda that dictated what happened in the paddock. Repsol had more to do with how Hayden was treated; Hayden himself states this on his website. The little Spanish troll is just jealous that in 2006 it was Hayden at the top while he couldn't handle the 990 bike. if GP had stuck with the 990 I think the results would have been a lot different the last 2 years. There's no doubt that Hayden is a contender and with the right set up and proper backing he will be on top again. I think he will struggle with the new Ducati the first half of this year but will start gaining results by the time Laguna comes around. We won't have to worry about the troll by then because he will have crashed out or torpedoed himself out of the running for the championship.

 

It really sucks when you know you've been had......:tongue: Pedrosa, FTW!



Nothing tastes better than a free lunch!

 

I forget, who took Hayden's place at Repsol?

 

One does not have to have raced on any level to understand that results and money talk and bullshit walks........the beauty of professional sports at most any level is it leaves room for all of us to enjoy. From the "Yankee fans" of the world that follow closely and enjoy rooting for the top dogs,and know all the inside dope, to the casual fan, to the aesthetics that enjoy it as an art form of sorts. Moto Gp is indeed the top of the game in two wheeled sports, and those of us that ride appreciate the work, talent, and fearlessness it takes to even compete at that level, much less win. We know that if it were easy, we'd all be doing it, and we could probably never do what they can, anymore than getting in a dozen fistfights in your lifequalifies you to beat Oscar de la Hoya's ass.

There is something for everyone in Moto GP, and Americans certainly dont own the franchise on rabid fan reaction......or any franchise at all in anything Moto Gp any more, sadly I think.


When I attend a race, and I see the last guy in the field go by, I think man, he sucks, but I also know that he's faster than every single one of us watching him, and in racing, theres always the chance that the guy ahead crashes...... that's why we watch, and thats why we root for our guys.......

If one wants to be a pure cutthroat purist about it, lets not even have a podium, cause who cares about second or third? No, those spots are for the fans, and of course to sell advertising.....because even though results talk bullshit walks......money rules the world.

As important in this life is how you handle things when they go well for you and how you handle things when life goes bad. Sports have no shortage of stellar athletes that no one likes and if Pedrosa wants to be the Barry Bonds of Moto Gp.....so what?

When he grows up a little, he may change his mind.

 

Very nicely done, Bear!

Now where are all the Pedrosa crash pictures and hate rants?.....darn, goin' all intellectual and stuff on me

 

Andrea Dovizioso

 

Results Session 2 from Jerez:

Pos Rider Team Fastest lap Prev. Gap Lead. Gap Laps
1 Valentino Rossi Fiat Yamaha Team 1:39.429 - - 54
2 Dani Pedrosa Repsol Honda 1:39.447 +0.018 +0.018 47
3 Jorge Lorenzo Fiat Yamaha Team 1:40.426 +0.979 +0.997 58
4 Toni Elias San Carlo Honda Gresini 1:40.448 +0.022 +1.019 56
5 Alex De Angelis San Carlo Honda Gresini 1:40.486 +0.038 +1.057 49
6 Nicky Hayden Ducati Marlboro Team 1:40.486 - +1.057 70
7 Mika Kallio Alice Team 1:40.564 +0.078 +1.135 54
8 Colin Edwards Tech3 Yamaha 1:40.604 +0.040 +1.175 39
9 Sete Gibernau ONDE 2000 Ducati 1:40.856 +0.252 +1.427 48
10 Andrea Dovizioso Repsol Honda 1:40.966 +0.110 +1.537 46
11 Niccolo Canepa Alice Team 1:41.077 +0.111 +1.648 48
12 James Toseland Tech3 Yamaha 1:41.740 +0.663 +2.311 45
13 Vitto Guareschi Ducati Marlboro Team 1:42.906 +1.166 +3.477 46
14 Yuki Takahashi Scot Racing Team 1:42.918 +0.012 +3.489 60

OK, let's see here...hmmmm

Gresini Honda's showing some strength; Andrea Dovizioso in 10th on the Factory Honda... WTh is going on there? Mika Kallio strong in 7th on the Alice Ducati; Nicky in 6th, only a little more than a second of the top lap time, good test for the K Kid; hmmmm...James Toseland in 12th....that's not very promising..........

Biggest news....Suzuki and Kawasaki decide to slink off and hide at PI instead of testing side by side at the last test of '08.

Worst thing? No on track fun until the first week of February.....

 

Dovisioso, that's right.
If I recall, he had some good races towards the end of the season.

Hayden has improved and Pedrosa fallen a smidge into second place.

Ha! Wouldn't that be a kick in the pants if they tied?! Ha ha haha.

 

But Rossi has improved even more.
I predict a lot of Rossi/Pedrosa races in 09.

 

It's hard for me to predict anything at this point (other than what has been beatin' up concerning pedrosa and hayden), we'll see what happens at the Sepang test. That test will be a better indicator, as the teams will have the next 2 months to finalize their chassis and engine configurations for what they intend to start the season with. If you don't perform well at Sepang and Qatar, it won't bode well for your early season results.

The one thing that I'm interested to see is what happens with the Duc, as Nicky will have been the only rider other than the test riders to provide feedback...Casey Stoner is at a disadvantage already, as he has missed the critical first 2 days of testing to set his baseline settings and is going to have to rely on Nicky.....If the Ducati doesn't come out of the box strong at Sepang.....Mr. Puig's previously voiced assessment of Nicky's setup abilities will be blogged to death.

The only thing we have to look forward to is 2 months of speculation.....

 

The sun is setting, the woods are on the horizon...another opportunity to turn off the headlamp.