Corkscrew it up! Moto GP Round 11

[bestfit]

Well you have Rossi, Perdrosa and Nicky on Michelins, and you have Edwards, Nakano, Checa and Kurtis Roberts as the only other Michelin runners.
Of the second group, who do you think would be consistently near the front if they had a better Michelin?

My answer would be none of them.

[Gerben24]

Originally Posted by bestfit

Well you have Rossi, Perdrosa and Nicky on Michelins, and you have Edwards, Nakano, Checa and Kurtis Roberts as the only other Michelin runners.
Of the second group, who do you think would be consistently near the front if they had a better Michelin?

My answer would be none of them.

I really believe Edwards would be able to run as he did in Jerez this year if he had good tyres. Nakano has proven his talent as well. With a good tyre and the same Honda parts as Nicky and Dani he would be up there. Checa and Roberts... nah.

[bestfit]

I've always been a big Edwards fan but to be honest I've given up waiting for him to be a consistent contender in MotoGP. Too many excuses and not enough results for mine. If he hasn't got there after 5 years (3 on a full factory bike), it aint gonna happen IMO. Similarly I put Shinya in the same boat. He has had some good results in MotoGP but I don't see him being a consistent front runner. I would like to be proven wrong on this.

Bridgestone have the advantage of having Ducati, Suzuki and Kawasaki all providing valuable feedback from teams who have all taken a big step forward with the introduction of the 800s. Michelin have had Fiat Yamaha and Repsol Honda providing most of their feedback, but the Honda was pretty ordinary in the first part of the season. They needed to get the bike sorted before they could get the most from the tyres.

[djb]

Originally Posted by Gerben24

Had the reason they went wide also something to do with Stoner going wide in the first corner??? I can't recall.

I just had another look at the start, and that's exactly what happened, Stoner went in a little bit late and going a little bit wide, pushing or rather moving Hayden off his intended line, ie going out more than he intended, Meanwhile, Hopkins was late braking but not overly (following Hayden I'd say, both in control though) and so when Hayden did that cutting back in move, he didn't realize that Hopkins was right in there and bang, end of story.

gotta love being able to replay stuff and modern day slow-motion coverage of sporting events, it really does help us appreciate the action more, and better understand boo-boos like this.

[jhansen]

I watched the TV footage last night. I think it's as djb and Gerben have said. Nicky was along side Stoner and even ahead at one point. I think Nicky thought he had cleared Stoner and went to take his normal line. But Hayden saw Stoner and sat up a tad to avoid him. Stoner went wide a touch as well along with Hayden and Hopkins. Hayden had no idea Hopkins was there. Hopkins assumed Hayden knew he was there. They touched. Meanwhile, Stoner clears Pedrosa, who is the one that perhaps completely botched the corner.

If Pedrosa could have led the first two laps or so, then perhaps the race could have been a tad more interesting. It would have bunched Stoner and Vermuelen up a bit more. Mind you, I don't think the outcome would have changed, but it would have looked a little better.

[jhansen]

Here's a blog entry from Chaz Davies. Long read, but pretty entertaining.

http://www.crash.net/news_view~cid~6...2011~pid~0.htm

[jhansen]

Originally Posted by jhansen

Here's a blog entry from Chaz Davies. Long read, but pretty entertaining.

http://www.crash.net/news_view~cid~6...2011~pid~0.htm

They closed that link. Here's a link to Part 1:

http://www.crash.net/news_view~cid~6~id~152105.htm

[Gerben24]

Marco Melandri has been diagnosed with a broken ankle caused by his crash at Laguna Seca.

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/61236

Respect! Still finishing on the podium

[jhansen]

Part 2 from Chaz Davies:

http://www.crash.net/news_view~cid~6~id~152205.htm

And a blog from Roger Lee Hayden:

http://www.superbikeplanet.com/2007/Aug/e/n070801g.htm