Grand Prix of Japan

[Dani Filth]

so Casey's back
doesn't seem to be 100% yet . will he be at Philip Island?
Lorenzo got pole but Pedrosa might be stronger in race
Cortese can be champion .. and fairly sure he will be .. but not this race
go go Espargaro .. or anybody but Marquez

[gomick]

Cortese's sook was pretty ordinary - hope he dnf's next race & Vinales wins...
Marquez took 6 riders in 1 corner on that 1st lap the commentators said - is he that good or are midfield Moto 2 riders poo?
Moto GP - Spanish podium, awesome

[Dani Filth]

Cortese's reaction rather poor wasn't it .. but i'm pretty sure we can express that in a more "polite" way .. yes . i'm looking a you chunder

[cg7aa]

It's interesting when circumstances force the mask people put on to slip so publicly, Cortese seems to have some sort of sense of entitlement, expecting Danny to play the subordinate. I loved Danny 'come on then' reaction and his cool demeanour afterwards. I suspect Sandro is regretting his actions.

The quote 'I always regret my speech never my silence' comes to mind.

Anyway, as one of the commentators said, we can forgive him this one, we all make mistakes and it's the first we've seen all season so cut the young man some slack this time.

It's interesting to contrast Sandro's outburst with Folger's though, I guess Salom apologising so quickly and a in seemingly sincere manner diffused matters a little between those two.

[cg7aa]

Originally Posted by gomick

Marquez took 6 riders in 1 corner on that 1st lap the commentators said - is he that good or are midfield Moto 2 riders poo?

I don't think it's anything to do with the midfield rider being poor, if they are all bunched on one side of the circuit and you go down the other side, of course you are going to pass a lot of them, to me that was nothing extraordinary, the line was crowded with people tripping over each other so he went where there was room. Seems like the obvious thing to do, I didn't understand why they were hailing him as such sort of genius for that.

[ArnageWRC]

Cortese is a prize winning prat – who is behaving like he is owed something. After his antics at Assen he can’t accuse anybody. And, what is he still doing in the lower class? How long has he been in it?

[chunder]

People have been lauding Marquez as a genius for years, he did very little on a Honda in 125 or a KTM, he was the quickest KTM, but of a very bad bunch he was!!

He is the quickest guy out there by some way, but last year Bradl had him for pace until Suter built a bike for him and only him, and this year Pol has had him for pace at times.

So, he is not going to dominate GP, he will be like Pedrosa, blindingly quick at times, decent podium pace at times.

What is different is he more aggressive than Simoncelli was! He takes no prisoners and that WILL get him into trouble with guys like Lorenzo and Dani.

[jhansen]

Originally Posted by chunder

What is different is he more aggressive than Simoncelli was! He takes no prisoners and that WILL get him into trouble with guys like Lorenzo and Dani.

And Iannone, on a Ducati?

[Dani Filth]

that would mean ducati being competitive .......

[gomick]

With Dovi on the bike - they will be

[chunder]

Not a chance, Dovi couldnt ride a Honda better than Dani or Casey, so what makes anyone think he can sort out that turd!!

[EGG]

Actually it will be interesting to see who does better out of Hayden and Dovi. Quote from Hayden on Soup:

"It's always hard to say how someone will get on with the Ducati," Hayden told British media. "Some riders gel with it, and others don't.

"European bikes are stiffer, and if you don't have any other experience, it could be easier to get used to it. It took me quite awhile. The main thing is to get on it and not adjust it more than you have to so it fits you OK."

[gomick]

I am trying to be positive about season 2013 Chunder...

[chunder]

Sorry to be harsh but Nicky has hardly set eh world alight on that bike!

So not likely to agree with him too much!!

[Schummy]

I think Cortese had a sort of meltdown with the last lap's hiccups. He has been polite along the season. Perhaps he is a guy with a short fuse that has worked hard to be polite. It is ok for me. Who I don't stand is people in idiotic mode the day after the incident.

About Marquez, I just will use a Larry Bird's kind of phrase:

"Marques is God disguised as Marquez"

[jhansen]

Originally Posted by chunder

Sorry to be harsh but Nicky has hardly set eh world alight on that bike!

So not likely to agree with him too much!!

He has been quicker than Rossi many times this year, and might have more points if not for some poor luck.

[chunder]

OK fair point, but he has not been a regular podium man or looked anything like as quick as Stoner did on it.

But if you want to take some US pride in this then off you go, enjoy your for some ungodly reason 3, yes 3 GP's next year.

Hilarious decision

[jhansen]

Originally Posted by chunder

OK fair point, but he has not been a regular podium man or looked anything like as quick as Stoner did on it.

But if you want to take some US pride in this then off you go, enjoy your for some ungodly reason 3, yes 3 GP's next year.

Hilarious decision

Speaking of hilarious...

National pride? Really? Nothing of the sort. Hayden is barely deserving of a spot these days in my opinion. But facts are simple, with Rossi sulking his way around ever since he threw his leg over the Duc, Hayden has been more diligent. It's too bad Rossi never decided to put his all into the Duc. We'll never know if he could have been faster on it.

As for three GP's over here, it is quite pathetic. But with Laguna bringing back WSBK, I'm wondering if they will keep GP much longer. As for pride, I am quite chuffed about WSBK at Laguna, seeing as it's not far from me.

[EGG]

I'm pretty sure we've all accepted no-one is going to be as fast as Stoner on the Duc until someone finds the Italian Harry Potter of racing-chassis development.

I can think of 5 good reasons to go to the US:
-1st world population 3/5's the size of the entire EU
-Market largely untapped by F1
-Italy and Spain are going broke
-The three races are located fairly far apart within the country. For reference it costs me a couple of grand to get from one side of Aust to the other to watch the racing in Melbourne (read: sit in a muddy field in the cold and get deafened by Stoner).
-7 world champions from the US, being the 3rd-highest race winning country. I have no idea why FIM/Dorna didn't capitalise on this market earlier, currently team sponsors are about as illustrious as Spanish oil companies and Italian snack-food manufacturers.

edit- Although I guess I should say the FIM are about 30 years late in getting to the US. They should have been building up support there back when there were numerous world-beating US racers...

[chunder]

I have no idea why MotoGP are so utterly obsessed with the USA, sports bikes are not a big seller there, but maybe they could be if marketed properly, there certainly is not a giant surge in interest.

There never was when they utterly dominated the sport in the 80's and 90's, so not sure why there might be no.

The best way to manage it would be to involve the Monster/Rockstar skate generation, that mnight get a few kids into it.

The reason why MotoGP didnt try and get into the market is that there is no market to get into! Sportsbikes dont sell that well in US compared to Europe or Japan, they are only interested in cruisers and off road, hence why motocross is huge there coz of the space and availability of land to use them on.

Roberts tried in the 80's to switch Americans on to bikes but like F! they dont really give a damn, in comparison to others, I agree that theya re going there as its untapped, but I dont think you can tap it its that simple.

[Schummy]

Big Market + Sponsors = Magnet

Sport wise rationale is not required (look F1).

[jhansen]

Originally Posted by chunder

I have no idea why MotoGP are so utterly obsessed with the USA, sports bikes are not a big seller there, but maybe they could be if marketed properly, there certainly is not a giant surge in interest.

Maybe not as a percentage of the population, but I would guess that the total number of sportbikes sold in the U.S. is not rivaled by any other nation. Motorcycles are most common in eastern countries, but they are not sportbike sellers either. The manufacturers want to be there for brand exposure. It is not simply about selling sportbikes.