2010 MotoGP Preview
Posted: Thu Mar 25, 2010 11:11 am
(Part 1.............)
Countdown to Qatar, Part 1
Speed's Dennis Noyes has an excellent article(linked above) concerning the start of the 2010 MotoGP World Championship...........(quoting the article)
Can FIAT Yamaha's Valentino Rossi hold off Ducati's Casey Stoner for series honors or will the Doctor win another MotoGP crown?
~~~~There are no points or trophies to be had in preseason testing and, unlike prior years, the world financial crisis has taken away the traditional Spring Shoot-Out with its BMW automobile as the prize for the fastest man on two wheels. But whenever the best riders in the world share a track there is ultimately a winner and a pecking order. Anyone who says these tests and these times don't matter doesn’t know motorcycle racers.
After three two-day sessions for the 17 permanent MotoGP riders there was one winner and one very pesky runner-up. Italy’s Valentino Rossi was fastest in five of the six sessions on his FIAT Yamaha M1, but was just edged in the final session at Losail in Qatar by Australian Casey Stoner, who left his best lap until late and took not only honors for the best time on Day 2 but also the best overall time for the two-day (actually two-night) session under the lights.
Stoner’s best time of 1´55.353 with the Ducati Desmosedici was not quite as quick as his fastest lap last year of 1’55.286, set en route to the win of the 2009 opener, nor as fast as Jorge Lorenzo’s absolute Losail lap record of 1´53.927 (on Michelin tires) set back in 2008 when he took his Yamaha to second back of Stoner in the young Spaniard’s MotoGP debut.
Based on each rider’s overall placing at the end of each of the six days of official testing, Rossi and Stoner are exactly where they were expected to be by most observers and fans, and Lorenzo’s slump to fourth can be explained by a training crash on a motocross bike that resulted in a broken thumb and caused him to miss the second Sepang outings.
But the results by the factory Honda riders have been disappointing, and Honda’s leader, Dani Pedrosa, has had a disappointing preseason as reflected in his average placing -- only good enough to put him ninth.
The following shows the riders relative placing at each of the three two-day tests. Rossi and Stoner stand clear of the rest with Andrea Dovizioso, Jorge Lorenzo (on the basis of only four days of testing), and Colin Edwards taking the next three places.
American Ben Spies, sixth overall in average placing, tied with veteran Loris Capirossi on the factory Suzuki, was only 12th on the first day of the first Sepang tests, and dropped to tenth on Day 2 of the Qatar tests, but was fifth three times and third once at the other tests -- results probably more in line with the rookie Texan’s true potential.
So what can we conclude from six days of closely observed tests? We have the luxury now to speculate before the points start being taken. This is what it looks like to me less than three weeks from the start of the 2010 season -- which will be the 26th season I have covered. Back in 1974 I remember we were speculating on whether the two strokes (Agostini and Lansivuori on the Yamahas and Sheene and Findlay on the Suzukis) would finally beat the red MVs of Read and Bonera. (They didn't, but in '75 they did.)
So, here we go again.
Rider-Sepang 1/Sepang 2/ Qatar / (Total Placings) / Average Placing
1- Valentino Rossi /1,1/ 1,1/ 1,2/ (7) 1.17
2- Casey Stoner /2,2/2,2/2,1/ (11) 1.83
3- Andrea Dovizioso /6,6/3,7/6,3/ (31) 5.17
4- Jorge Lorenzo /5,3/X,X,/7,6/ (21) 5.25*
5- Colin Edwards /3,7/6,4/4,8/ (32) 5.33
6- Ben Spies /12,5/5,5/3,10/ (40) 6.67
6- Loris Capirossi /4,10/4,6/11,5/ (40) 6.67
8- Nicky Hayden /7,8/11,3/8,4/ (41) 6.83
9- Dani Pedrosa /8,4/7,8/10,13/ (50) 8.33
10- R. De Puniet /13,13/15,11/5,7/ (64) 10.67
11-Mika Kallio /9,17/8,14/9,9/ (66) 11.0
12. M. Melandri /X,11/10,12/12,14/ (59) 11.8*
13. A. Espargaró /11,9/13,16/16,11/ (76) 12.67
14. H. Barberá /10,12/14,13/13,15/ (77) 12.83
15. A. Bautista /14,16/9,10/17,12/ [78] 13.0
15-H. Aoyama /X,17/14,12/14,16/ (86) 14.33
17-M. Simoncelli /X,15/X,17/15,X/ (47) 15.67*
* The riders indicated with asterisks did not take part in all six pre-season sessions. Lorenzo missed the second two-day test in Sepang because of an injury to his right thumb in a training crash on a motocross bike. Melandri sat out the opening session on a drying track at the first Sepang tests, and Simoncelli also sat out the day of Sepang and missed the second day of Sepang 2 and the Qatar tests due to a crash on Day 1.
(.........continued in next post)
Countdown to Qatar, Part 1
Speed's Dennis Noyes has an excellent article(linked above) concerning the start of the 2010 MotoGP World Championship...........(quoting the article)
Can FIAT Yamaha's Valentino Rossi hold off Ducati's Casey Stoner for series honors or will the Doctor win another MotoGP crown?
~~~~There are no points or trophies to be had in preseason testing and, unlike prior years, the world financial crisis has taken away the traditional Spring Shoot-Out with its BMW automobile as the prize for the fastest man on two wheels. But whenever the best riders in the world share a track there is ultimately a winner and a pecking order. Anyone who says these tests and these times don't matter doesn’t know motorcycle racers.
After three two-day sessions for the 17 permanent MotoGP riders there was one winner and one very pesky runner-up. Italy’s Valentino Rossi was fastest in five of the six sessions on his FIAT Yamaha M1, but was just edged in the final session at Losail in Qatar by Australian Casey Stoner, who left his best lap until late and took not only honors for the best time on Day 2 but also the best overall time for the two-day (actually two-night) session under the lights.
Stoner’s best time of 1´55.353 with the Ducati Desmosedici was not quite as quick as his fastest lap last year of 1’55.286, set en route to the win of the 2009 opener, nor as fast as Jorge Lorenzo’s absolute Losail lap record of 1´53.927 (on Michelin tires) set back in 2008 when he took his Yamaha to second back of Stoner in the young Spaniard’s MotoGP debut.
Based on each rider’s overall placing at the end of each of the six days of official testing, Rossi and Stoner are exactly where they were expected to be by most observers and fans, and Lorenzo’s slump to fourth can be explained by a training crash on a motocross bike that resulted in a broken thumb and caused him to miss the second Sepang outings.
But the results by the factory Honda riders have been disappointing, and Honda’s leader, Dani Pedrosa, has had a disappointing preseason as reflected in his average placing -- only good enough to put him ninth.
The following shows the riders relative placing at each of the three two-day tests. Rossi and Stoner stand clear of the rest with Andrea Dovizioso, Jorge Lorenzo (on the basis of only four days of testing), and Colin Edwards taking the next three places.
American Ben Spies, sixth overall in average placing, tied with veteran Loris Capirossi on the factory Suzuki, was only 12th on the first day of the first Sepang tests, and dropped to tenth on Day 2 of the Qatar tests, but was fifth three times and third once at the other tests -- results probably more in line with the rookie Texan’s true potential.
So what can we conclude from six days of closely observed tests? We have the luxury now to speculate before the points start being taken. This is what it looks like to me less than three weeks from the start of the 2010 season -- which will be the 26th season I have covered. Back in 1974 I remember we were speculating on whether the two strokes (Agostini and Lansivuori on the Yamahas and Sheene and Findlay on the Suzukis) would finally beat the red MVs of Read and Bonera. (They didn't, but in '75 they did.)
So, here we go again.
Rider-Sepang 1/Sepang 2/ Qatar / (Total Placings) / Average Placing
1- Valentino Rossi /1,1/ 1,1/ 1,2/ (7) 1.17
2- Casey Stoner /2,2/2,2/2,1/ (11) 1.83
3- Andrea Dovizioso /6,6/3,7/6,3/ (31) 5.17
4- Jorge Lorenzo /5,3/X,X,/7,6/ (21) 5.25*
5- Colin Edwards /3,7/6,4/4,8/ (32) 5.33
6- Ben Spies /12,5/5,5/3,10/ (40) 6.67
6- Loris Capirossi /4,10/4,6/11,5/ (40) 6.67
8- Nicky Hayden /7,8/11,3/8,4/ (41) 6.83
9- Dani Pedrosa /8,4/7,8/10,13/ (50) 8.33
10- R. De Puniet /13,13/15,11/5,7/ (64) 10.67
11-Mika Kallio /9,17/8,14/9,9/ (66) 11.0
12. M. Melandri /X,11/10,12/12,14/ (59) 11.8*
13. A. Espargaró /11,9/13,16/16,11/ (76) 12.67
14. H. Barberá /10,12/14,13/13,15/ (77) 12.83
15. A. Bautista /14,16/9,10/17,12/ [78] 13.0
15-H. Aoyama /X,17/14,12/14,16/ (86) 14.33
17-M. Simoncelli /X,15/X,17/15,X/ (47) 15.67*
* The riders indicated with asterisks did not take part in all six pre-season sessions. Lorenzo missed the second two-day test in Sepang because of an injury to his right thumb in a training crash on a motocross bike. Melandri sat out the opening session on a drying track at the first Sepang tests, and Simoncelli also sat out the day of Sepang and missed the second day of Sepang 2 and the Qatar tests due to a crash on Day 1.
(.........continued in next post)