Valencia MotoGP Thread

Chatters · 16 Oct 2006, 13:43 (Ref:1739353)

Only 13 days now, and the final round of the MotoGP season is underway at the wonderful Valencia circuit. Hayden and Rossi, the underdog versus the master, are set to go down fighting as they both try to secure the championship. With many other riders switching teams in '07, they will be looking to leave on a high, with Stoner moving to Ducati. Danny Pedrosa will be looking to make up for his blunder at Estoril and will be hoping to make things up to his team mate and championship contender Hayden.

So, any thoughts/ predictions?

Silk Cut Jaguar · 16 Oct 2006, 16:07 (Ref:1739446)

I'd love to see Hayden take the title somehow, although I wouldn't mind if Rossi added another championship to his CV either.

My head says Rossi is going home with the gold. I'd be over the moon if the other Camel Yamaha won the race though.

2112 · 16 Oct 2006, 16:35 (Ref:1739470)

I would love see Pedrosa try to pass Rossi

just kidding.

I wish there was a way for Hayden to get back into it....but I fear Rossi would have to have a mechanical problem for things to work out for him now.

Bleu · 16 Oct 2006, 17:47 (Ref:1739517)

It is very interesting situation. Note that Rossi hasn't really had fight for the World Championship earlier (he has won all seven titles at least earlier than in final race).

Hopefully both Rossi and Hayden are succesful in qualifying so we can probably see real fight.

Don't forget 250 title fight either!

jhansen · 16 Oct 2006, 18:05 (Ref:1739528)

Well it's a tall order indeed, but I'd love to see Hayden take the win with Dani kissing his a$$ all the way to the line and Rossi left scratching his head in third! It wont happen, but I can hope.

Peddler · 16 Oct 2006, 23:07 (Ref:1739724)

Quote:

Originally Posted by jhansen

Well it's a tall order indeed, but I'd love to see Hayden take the win with Dani kissing his a$$ all the way to the line and Rossi left scratching his head in third! It wont happen, but I can hope.

From a little gossip i have got from a mate in the scene... there is a lot more than kissing going on between Dani and Nicky! Yes they did apparently shake hands after Dani visited Nicky's trailer after the race but it seems that not all is well within the team which may result in our boy Stoner, waiving his Ducati ride options goodbye and teaming up with Nicky next season

I simply can not wiat to watch this next race, Rossi has the ball in his court but Nicky will be riding like a man on a mission. I wonder if Dani will have the balls to return the favour and take Rossi out to give Nicky the title???????

Personally, i am a huge Rossi fan and would love to see him win another title but i also know that Rossi would love to infact race Nicky to win the title and not have it handed to him.

chunder · 17 Oct 2006, 23:24 (Ref:1740716)

There is absolutely, categorically no way that Dani will not be on the Repsol Honda next year mate!
Repsol are the sports biggest sponsor,, they have waited a long time for anotehr Criville and now they have him, if anything Nicky will be the one to leave (he cant coz he has signed a contract!).
Honda are the ones to blame here for not making Dani ride under orders as he should have done, his championship chance was unrealistic and he was just having a go back at Hayden after Nicky muscled his way past earlier.
As said before Pedrosa has been moaning a lot about forceful riding in 06 and his attepts to be forceful are the most embarrasing thing I ahve seen in motorsport in years!
At least Prost and Senna did it properly!

mayhem · 17 Oct 2006, 23:52 (Ref:1740728)

Is Pedrosa definitely racing at Valencia?

Peddler · 18 Oct 2006, 11:05 (Ref:1741055)

Quote:

Originally Posted by chunder

There is absolutely, categorically no way that Dani will not be on the Repsol Honda next year mate!
Repsol are the sports biggest sponsor,, they have waited a long time for anotehr Criville and now they have him, if anything Nicky will be the one to leave (he cant coz he has signed a contract!).
Honda are the ones to blame here for not making Dani ride under orders as he should have done, his championship chance was unrealistic and he was just having a go back at Hayden after Nicky muscled his way past earlier.
As said before Pedrosa has been moaning a lot about forceful riding in 06 and his attepts to be forceful are the most embarrasing thing I ahve seen in motorsport in years!
At least Prost and Senna did it properly!

Understand... also my sediments although contracts in motorsport arnt worth **** when emotion is involved. My comments are as stated, "from what i have heard"

There is sooooo much money flying around in the motogp game it isnt funny. I also know that from a marketing perspective Nicky is the man in the USA which "from what i have heard" Honda have banked bigtime with Nicky!

I suppose it is something that we will have to wait and see, although i know my contact is a great person for info in motogp.

Yes Mayhem, Pedrosa is going to be racing at Valencia

Gerben24 · 18 Oct 2006, 11:51 (Ref:1741110)

I hope there will be another cracking battle and eventually Rossi taking the title. He is the one that deserves the title, just as Repsol Honda deserved the manufacturs title (which they have already won).

If Hayden does win the title, I will always remember this season that the 4th best rider of the field has won the title... I know people are going to say that he's been the most constant rider, etc, which he has been, but he's also been very lucky (apart from last weekend).

f1manoz · 18 Oct 2006, 15:36 (Ref:1741297)

Heart says Nicky.

Head says Rossi.

Although I do like Rossi (how can you not!), I'd like to see someone else win it for a change, just this one time!

chunder · 18 Oct 2006, 16:20 (Ref:1741349)

How on earth has Hayden been lucky for the whole year exactly mate!

Yes I agree with tou he probably isnt the fastest but he isnt 4th ffastest as you say, on average he is at least close to Vale and AN Other, maybe Loris who Vale would never have caught in his wins and Pedrosa who has only truly been quick a few times.
He has been unlucky if anything being forced to ride a bike fitted with different parts to all other Honda's, and therefore having no data really to help him with setup.
He has tried his best to combat this and has only sufferedr a few times at Donington and Brno I think, the rest of the time he has been the best of the rest!

Vale has been unlucky and some of that was his own doign crashing at Assen!

jhansen · 18 Oct 2006, 17:11 (Ref:1741399)

Sigh, I don't think Rossi has been unlucky at all. I posted in another thread that in racing you make your own luck. Opening race of the season at Jerez, Yamaha had not gotten to grips with the M1 and Rossi couldn't ride around it. End result, Rossi qualifies mid-pack and gets punted by Elias. Guess what, that can happen when you qualify mid-pack.

In Assen Rossi bins it in practice and hurts himself resulting in a last row grid spot and a well earned 8th place finish (which in my mind may be the true championship decider).

As for his DNFs, well that comes down to Yamaha and Michelin in my mind. They're the ones responsible for making the M1 reliable. Maybe even Rossi gets a little blame for over riding the M1 to get the results needed.

But same thing goes for Hayden. He has by his own admission chosen to ride the development bike. HRC have dropped the ball and not given him a reliable ride. And Nicky himself has not delivered when a win may have been possible. Not to mention, his teammate took him down. But that's all just racing as well.

The point total at the end of the season doesn't lie. The one on top at the end of the season deserves the title. Everyone else do not deserve it and must come back next year for another try. That's racing. Geeze I'm getting tired of that phrase.

Pro Racer · 19 Oct 2006, 04:39 (Ref:1741774)

Rossi all the way no Aussie in contension so behind Chris,and Casey (in that order) Rossi is my favourite rider so i would like him to win,but i'm a bit divided i would like someone different to win so in IMO who ever wins i will be happy but probably a bit more happyer if Rossi wins.

Gerben24 · 19 Oct 2006, 14:09 (Ref:1742144)

Quote:

Originally Posted by chunder

How on earth has Hayden been lucky for the whole year exactly mate!

Yes I agree with tou he probably isnt the fastest but he isnt 4th ffastest as you say, on average he is at least close to Vale and AN Other, maybe Loris who Vale would never have caught in his wins and Pedrosa who has only truly been quick a few times.
He has been unlucky if anything being forced to ride a bike fitted with different parts to all other Honda's, and therefore having no data really to help him with setup.
He has tried his best to combat this and has only sufferedr a few times at Donington and Brno I think, the rest of the time he has been the best of the rest!

Vale has been unlucky and some of that was his own doign crashing at Assen!

Lucky that he hasn't been involved in an other rider crashing into him and getting injured that way. His main competitors have been injured this season (Capirossi, Melandri and Rossi, although this was own fault) and therefore lost a lot of points.

I don't think he's been unlucky to ride the Honda. They have given him the most reliable bike in the field. I do agree that Honda have treated him badly, but he has not always been forced to ride with different parts. Before Donnington for example Hayden was screaming for new parts. He got them and it didn't work. What I like about him is that he has admitted it was a mistake to go with the new parts.

Still, I have never been convinced with Haydens capabilities. I think Honda hired him just for the American market.

In my opinion Pedrosa also hasn't just been quick a couple of times. Between him and Hayden it has been 50-50 I think, and don't forget Dani is still a rookie. Pedrosa has also been more convincing in my book.

In the current Motogp field I rank Hayden under Rossi, Capirossi, Pedrosa and maybe Melandri.

BootsOntheSide · 19 Oct 2006, 16:47 (Ref:1742257)

Agreed Gerben, and for long-term potential you could put Vermeulen and maybe Stoner and Hopkins at least equal to Nicky. He'll never have a better chance to win a title. Capirossi has been the truly unlucky rider this season.

All the same, it would be nice to see someone other than Rossi win the title, especially if it's via a Repsol Honda 1-2, which would be pretty close to a picture-book ending. I still think Rossi has been the better rider this year, but he's been unchallenged for so long, and seeing him work for it has generally brought out the best in him.

Considering Montoya's successes at Monaco and Monza, maybe Valé will be successful at Valencia this time?

Knowlesy · 19 Oct 2006, 17:59 (Ref:1742327)

I get the distinct impression you were dying to get that one in Boots!

Hazza · 20 Oct 2006, 04:00 (Ref:1742680)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gerben24

Still, I have never been convinced with Haydens capabilities. I think Honda hired him just for the American market.

Colin Edwards said something to the effect of "I was working with Honda [Japan] to get the HRC ride, but Honda [America] gave the ride to Hayden. I was sucking up to the wrong guys."

DavidStHubbins · 20 Oct 2006, 15:54 (Ref:1743255)

Come on, how many times on one hand can you count when Hayden has had the best of Rossi?

Not many.

Points system is there and, well, serves its purpose I guess but there is only one champion. One guy routinely wins more races than anyone else combined and until someone else comes along and challenges Rossi every race, beating him consistently in those final few laps I will not even contemplate anyone else being a champion.

The bummer is that Pedrosa will probably be that person. He is the new Biaggi - except silent. Utterly silent. The silent assassin. Rossi's potential conquerer.

2007- will be WAR. Until Rossi retires he will have the Spanish dwarf to deal with. Everyone else will be cameos.

jhansen · 20 Oct 2006, 16:25 (Ref:1743297)

Would Hayden have stood a better chance during the 500 era? Just wonder if that would have suited his style better. Or are you all convinced that he is just an also ran regardless.

Knowlesy · 20 Oct 2006, 16:30 (Ref:1743302)

To be honest, I think the current generation bikes suit him better than the 500's would have. They are closer to Superbikes in characteristics (relatively speaking).

ASCII Man · 22 Oct 2006, 21:23 (Ref:1745482)

The current era bikes suit him better as knowles said because they're closer to the superbikes than the 2 stroke 500's, which had a much narrower powercurve, which is like balancing on a knifes edge sometimes.

Peddler · 26 Oct 2006, 08:39 (Ref:1749734)

I just have to say, i am BUSTING for this last race between Vale and Nicky!

2 more sleep... hehe

Knowlesy · 26 Oct 2006, 16:40 (Ref:1750199)

And then the long wait until next April.

Hazza · 26 Oct 2006, 20:55 (Ref:1750455)

Isn't it usually May?

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