MotoGP: another barn burner

[oddlycalm]

If you missed Sundays MotoGP race from Turkey you may have missed the best race of any kind so far this year. Didn't matter whether it was Pedrosa charging to the front from 13th spot only to fall on the last lap or 20yr old Aussie Casey Stoner taking 2nd spot in only his 3rd MotoGP race, there were more stories, passes and twists and turns in this one sprint race than most race series have in a season. After establishing a commanding lead for much of the race Sete Gibernau suffered rear tire problems and dropped off the pace.

US rider Nickie Hayden finished 3rd to make this his 8th consecutive race on the podium and he takes a slim lead in the series point total. :thumbup:

oc

[racer2c]

I was going to bring this up in that latest Grand Am pro/con thread, but MotoGP/World Superbike/AMA Superbike is consistantly some of the best racing on the planet bar none. You want passing? They got it. Beautiful machinery? They got it. The best road courses in the world? They're on em'.

And all done on two wheels. :thumbup:

[RichK]

What a great race at a great track! I think MotoGP post-Rossi is going to be just fine. The new blood (Stoner, Pedrosa, and my favorite - Vermuelen) have really stepped up quickly.

[G.]

MotoGP/World Superbike/AMA SuperbikeGreat racing, true dat.

For the n00b (me), which series am I supposed to hate? Which one is the DarkSide?

Can't have racin' without the hate. :p

[RichK]

Great racing, true dat.

For the n00b (me), which series am I supposed to hate? Which one is the DarkSide?

Can't have racin' without the hate. :p

They're all very cool for their own reasons. MotoGP is the tip-top like F1 (GP bikes are not allowed to share any parts with production bikes, they are full-on prototypes). World Superbike is production based machines (lots of mods, though), and AMA is also production-based.

The GP bikes are a few seconds a lap faster (at Laguna Seca, anyway). I think Mat Mladin (AMA champion) would've just barely qualified for last year's MotoGP field on his AMA bike.

They are all 1000cc four-strokes. Riders drift between series, but I think MotoGP is the understood "top" of the sport. This year, a few MotoGP guys got knocked "down" to World Superbike, but are getting it handed to them there too. The talent pool is deep!

I've really been enjoying the World Superbike season this year - the Troy Bayless/Troy Corser battles are epic. Corser is on an inline-4 Suzuki, while Bayliss is on a twin cylinder Ducati - their bikes are each good at some things and not others, but the lap times are somewhat equal. Makes for great racing.

[racer2c]

They're all very cool for their own reasons. MotoGP is the tip-top like F1 (GP bikes are not allowed to share any parts with production bikes, they are full-on prototypes). World Superbike is production based machines (lots of mods, though), and AMA is also production-based.

The GP bikes are a few seconds a lap faster (at Laguna Seca, anyway). I think Mat Mladin (AMA champion) would've just barely qualified for last year's MotoGP field on his AMA bike.

They are all 1000cc four-strokes. Riders drift between series, but I think MotoGP is the understood "top" of the sport. This year, a few MotoGP guys got knocked "down" to World Superbike, but are getting it handed to them there too. The talent pool is deep!

I've really been enjoying the World Superbike season this year - the Troy Bayless/Troy Corser battles are epic. Corser is on an inline-4 Suzuki, while Bayliss is on a twin cylinder Ducati - their bikes are each good at some things and not others, but the lap times are somewhat equal. Makes for great racing.

And no ugly bubble cars run by NASCAR to boot. Weeee!!!!!!!!! :thumbup: :cool:

[oddlycalm]

I've really been enjoying the World Superbike season this year - the Troy Bayless/Troy Corser battles are epic. Corser is on an inline-4 Suzuki, while Bayliss is on a twin cylinder Ducati - their bikes are each good at some things and not others, but the lap times are somewhat equal. Makes for great racing. Gotta agree with that. Bayliss and Corser are both great riders and the differences in the machinery make it really interesting. I really like the sound of the Ducati as well... :cool:

oc

[eiregosod]

The MotoGP race last Sunday was insane. At one stage there were 4 bikes line a stern for the lead. Nothing was decided until the checker flag dropped.