Thread: Moto GP 2010

Any fellow Moto GP fans out there? Season kicks off on April 11 in Qatar.

Will Rossi remain the champion on his Yamaha? Will Casey Stoner stay healthy through the season and challenge for the title on his Ducati? Will Ben Spies give us a new American to cheer for? Will Dani Pedrosa continue to dissappoint on Repsol Honda? Can American Nicky Hayden reclaim his former glory for Ducati? Can Jorge Lorenzo challenge his teammate Rossi?

How will the new 6- engine limit for the season affect the standings. With 18 races each engine needs to last about 3 races. Which engines will prove more reliable?

Hungary dropped out so there is a new track in Spain, Aragon and it has some heavy elevation changes. Take a look at the profile and a video of a lap around.
http://www.motomatters.com/news/2010...kenny_noy.html

It will be very interesting which riders will change teams after this year. Unless Pedrosa challenges for the title, I can see Repsol Honda tiring of the dissapointment and going hard after Lorenzo. I can also see Lorenzo accepting to get out from under the shadow of Rossi. There is always talk of Rossi going to Ducati to unite the iconic Italian bike with the iconic Italian rider. How far will Yamaha go to keep Rossi in the fold? I think it may be Stoner's year but at the very least I hope it stays tight through the end of the season.

Qatar will begin at 1pm Pacific on SpeedTV on Sunday April 11th. I am STOKED!!

Rossi's helmet
Fotos de los cascos de los pilotos de MotoGP | Fotos

Luv Spies' design

Fotos de los cascos de los pilotos de MotoGP | Fotos

Capirossi's pretty sweet too
Fotos de los cascos de los pilotos de MotoGP | Fotos

This is an excellent piece on the upcoming season.

http://www.motomatters.com/report/20...w_golden_.html

The field in MotoGP may be deep, from the front of the grid just about all the way to the rear, what makes the 2010 season special is the fact that the title race is so open, and almost impossible to predict. Valentino Rossi is close to confirming his status as the best motorcycle racer of all time, while both Casey Stoner and Jorge Lorenzo are making him work harder to preserve that status than ever before. Even Dani Pedrosa cannot be written off yet: On his day, he can still beat Rossi, Stoner and Lorenzo with relative ease, and if Honda give him the bike he needs, his day may come more often. And Ben Spies may just turn out to be another alien, transforming the Fantastic Four into a Fantastic Five. As Mike Scott says, we truly are living in a Golden Age.

"Alien" is a nickname for the group of Rossi, Stoner, Lorenzo and Pedrosa, who dominate the podium.

Rossi out for a morning jog

A couple of my favorite pics

Quatar was fantastic. Normally not my favorite track but this was a tight race with some surprises. 1) Casey Stoner was leading early on but crashed out a little after mid way. Rossi led most of the rest of the way but never opened the lead. Nicky Hayden was in 3rd for most of the post-Stoner race and looked like he could challenge until the very end. Lorenzo made an incredible late push to come from 5th to 2nd. Dovisioso, who outclassed his teammate Pedrosa, edged Hayden out of a podium spot for 3rd by .011 seconds. Newcomer American rider Ben Spies was a solid 5th and looked like a veteran throughout the race. Stoner had a history of winning in Qatar and giving up 25 points to Rossi while earning none will hurt him in the points race.

Check out Motomatters for some excellent photos:

http://www.motomatters.com/photos/

Pos. No. Rider Manufacturer Time Diff
1 46 Valentino ROSSI YAMAHA 42'50.099
2 99 Jorge LORENZO YAMAHA 42'51.121 1.022
3 4 Andrea DOVIZIOSO HONDA 42'51.964 1.865
4 69 Nicky HAYDEN DUCATI 42'51.975 1.876
5 11 Ben SPIES YAMAHA 42'54.002 3.903
6 14 Randy DE PUNIET HONDA 42'59.421 9.322
7 26 Dani PEDROSA HONDA 43'06.607 16.508
8 5 Colin EDWARDS YAMAHA 43'09.966 19.867
9 65 Loris CAPIROSSI SUZUKI 43'10.992 20.893
10 7 Hiroshi AOYAMA HONDA 43'11.199 21.100
11 58 Marco SIMONCELLI HONDA 43'21.737 31.638
12 40 Hector BARBERA DUCATI 43'22.672 32.573
13 33 Marco MELANDRI HONDA 43'30.879 40.780
Not Classified
19 Alvaro BAUTISTA SUZUKI 41'25.290 1 lap
41 Aleix ESPARGARO DUCATI 13'53.062 15 laps
27 Casey STONER DUCATI 9'48.964 17 laps
36 Mika KALLIO DUCATI 4'08.133 20 laps

This Sunday's Moto GP at Motegi in Japan has been postponed due to the Iceland volcano. Here is the statement from FIM:

The recent vulcano eruption in Iceland has resulted in an ash cloud cover infiltration. Air traffic space over Europe has stopped all international travel in and out of Europe.

This case of ‘force majeure’ has obliged the Grand Prix Permanent Bureau composed of the FIM President Vito Ippolito and Dorna C.E.O. Carmelo Ezpeleta, with the agreement of the Grand Prix Promoter, Mobilityland Corporation, to postpone the Grand Prix of Japan planned on 25 April 2010.

The Grand Prix Permanent Bureau proposed equally to the FIM to reschedule the Grand Prix of Japan on 3 October 2010.

Spanish Grand Prix at Jerez is this Sunday, May 2, at 1pm on Speed TV. Also shown at 5am.
MOTO-RACING - MOTOGP: Jerez Hosts Round Two - SPEEDtv.com

Lorenzo would love to win this one in front of his hometown fans. Stoner will want to atone for his early departure from Qatar. Hopefully Hayden can continue his Qatar success.