2012 Grand Prix motorcycle racing

[Jay Adgie]

Stoner takes first pole of 2012

Another cracking 3rd for Cal...

By MCN -
MotoGP

Repsol Honda rider Casey Stoner has taken his first pole position of the 2012 season at Estoril today, beating team-mate and title rival Dani Pedrosa.
Tech 3 rider Cal Crutchlow continues his impressive start to the 2012 campaign with third place on the grid, completing the front row.
The second row comprises Factory Yamaha riders Jorge Lorenzo and Ben spies with Alvaro Bautista sixth.
Valentino Rossi qualified ninth ahead of factory Ducati team-mate Nicky Hayden in 10th.
Aleix Espargaro is the top placed CRT rider in 12th. Brit James Ellison qualified 19th, less than five seconds behind Stoner.
The session was ended early after Randy de Puniet crashed, taking out Colin Edwards who suffered a broken collarbone.

1 1 Casey STONER AUS Repsol Honda Team Honda 1'37.188
2 26 Dani PEDROSA SPA Repsol Honda Team Honda 1'37.201 0.013 / 0.013
3 35 Cal CRUTCHLOW GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 1'37.289 0.101 / 0.088
4 99 Jorge LORENZO SPA Yamaha Factory Racing Yamaha 1'37.466 0.278 / 0.177
5 11 Ben SPIES USA Yamaha Factory Racing Yamaha 1'37.723 0.535 / 0.257
6 19 Alvaro BAUTISTA SPA San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 1'37.917 0.729 / 0.194
7 4 Andrea DOVIZIOSO ITA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 1'37.943 0.755 / 0.026
8 8 Hector BARBERA SPA Pramac Racing Team Ducati 1'38.006 0.818 / 0.063
9 46 Valentino ROSSI ITA Ducati Team Ducati 1'38.059 0.871 / 0.053
10 69 Nicky HAYDEN USA Ducati Team Ducati 1'38.253 1.065 / 0.194
11 6 Stefan BRADL GER LCR Honda MotoGP Honda 1'38.265 1.077 / 0.012
12 41 Aleix ESPARGARO SPA Power Electronics Aspar ART 1'39.353 2.165 / 1.088
13 17 Karel ABRAHAM CZE Cardion AB Motoracing Ducati 1'39.398 2.210 / 0.045
14 14 Randy DE PUNIET FRA Power Electronics Aspar ART 1'39.586 2.398 / 0.188
15 68 Yonny HERNANDEZ COL Avintia Blusens BQR 1'40.029 2.841 / 0.443
16 51 Michele PIRRO ITA San Carlo Honda Gresini FTR 1'40.225 3.037 / 0.196
17 54 Mattia PASINI ITA Speed Master ART 1'40.387 3.199 / 0.162
18 5 Colin EDWARDS USA NGM Mobile Forward Racing Suter 1'40.964 3.776 / 0.577
19 77 James ELLISON GBR Paul Bird Motorsport ART 1'41.394 4.206 / 0.430
20 9 Danilo PETRUCCI ITA Came IodaRacing Project Ioda 1'41.486 4.298 / 0.092
21 22 Ivan SILVA SPA Avintia Blusens BQR 1'41.490 4.302 / 0.004

 

[Travis]

As far as Ducati goes,they need to listen to Rossi but being Ducati they will again build the bike THEY think should win and say "We pay you to ride it" just like Honda does.

Ducati have been listening - I urge to read GPOne or MotoMatters and review the vast amount of changes Ducati have made (and continue to make) for Rossi. Hayden has been quoted stating the current Ducati is the best he's ever riden.

 

[Gary Lennon]

Never worry about the mighty Jorge always challenging Casey!, biggest whoop of the afternoon i let out when Cal hit the top for a while ........sour note was good old boy Edwards getting torpedo'd badly when Randy threw his bike down the road at him , any news on that.

 

[Travis]

Broken collarbone for Edwards, he tweeted something rather funny too:

'Thanks for the well wishes from all of ya, total bummer wrong place wrong time & we were looking good for pole Position too LOL'

It'll be a sad day when Colin hangs up his leathers; he's been a great rider and an even better human being

 

[Jay Adgie]

Stoner victorious

By MCN -
MotoGP

Current MotoGP champion Casey Stoner dominated at Estoril today to take his second victory in a row onboard his Repsol Honda and his first ever win at the Portugese circuit.
Stoner lead from start to finish, leading second place finisher Jorge Lorenzo comfortably. Stoner's team-mate Dani Pedrosa finished third.
Brit Cal Crutchlow again had a batte with Tech 3 team-mate Andrea Dovizioso, this time losing out to the Italian and finishing fifth, with Dovizioso fourth.
Gresini Honda rider Alvaro Bautista finished sixth ahead of Valentino Rossi in seventh - his best result of the 2012 season so far.
Brit James Ellison retired for the second race in a row after suffering problems with his CRT Aprilia. Aspar Aprilia rider Aleix Espargaro was the top CRT rider in 12th.

1 25 1 Casey STONER AUS Repsol Honda Team Honda 154.0 45'37.513
2 20 99 Jorge LORENZO SPA Yamaha Factory Racing Yamaha 153.9 +1.421
3 16 26 Dani PEDROSA SPA Repsol Honda Team Honda 153.8 +3.621
4 13 4 Andrea DOVIZIOSO ITA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 153.2 +13.846
5 11 35 Cal CRUTCHLOW GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 153.1 +16.690
6 10 19 Alvaro BAUTISTA SPA San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 152.8 +21.884
7 9 46 Valentino ROSSI ITA Ducati Team Ducati 152.5 +26.797
8 8 11 Ben SPIES USA Yamaha Factory Racing Yamaha 152.1 +33.262
9 7 6 Stefan BRADL GER LCR Honda MotoGP Honda 152.0 +35.867
10 6 8 Hector BARBERA SPA Pramac Racing Team Ducati 151.0 +53.363
11 5 69 Nicky HAYDEN USA Ducati Team Ducati 150.5 +1'02.630
12 4 41 Aleix ESPARGARO SPA Power Electronics Aspar ART 149.6 +1'20.736
13 3 14 Randy DE PUNIET FRA Power Electronics Aspar ART 149.4 +1'23.483
14 2 51 Michele PIRRO ITA San Carlo Honda Gresini FTR 148.7 +1'37.905
15 1 9 Danilo PETRUCCI ITA Came IodaRacing Project Ioda 147.2 1 Lap

 

[Travis]

Let the internet whining begin (I know there is an irony to my post!).

Back in the 90's when Rainey would clear off on Dunlop tyres that were brilliant when cold or Doohan would decimate the field it was considered fantastic riding, nowadays when a rider leads from the front and never relinquishes the lead its 'dull'

Great rider by the top 5 riders, Rossi and Ducati still have a lot of work to do despite a 7th place and Spies had another disappointing race.

Moto2 race was excellent too.

 

[David Ignjatovic]

For me, Doohan is the master, I've never seen anyone so consistently fast and composed, ie, when he attempts an overtake, you're done, whereas others sail by trying to outbrake him.
Doohans racing stats are crazy good as well.{I still have a handful of 94-98 motoGP races, but started watching Doohan from 95 onwards.

I lost interest when Doohan retired, so can't say too much about Rossi.

Both Stoner and Jorge are great riders, never count Jorge out, but Stoner seems like another one of the greats, recovering from arm pump, recovering from the flu and still wins at a circuit he's never won on GP before....he also typically embarrasses his teamates.

 

[Travis]

For me, Doohan is the master

That is why mighty Mick is my avatar!

Stoner is a huge Doohan fan, that is why he always wanted to ride a Repsol Honda. Stoner's stats on the Honda is 20 starts, 12 wins (60%), 19 podiums 19 (95%) and 1 DNF thanks to Rossi knocking him off in a racing accident last year.

Rossi needs to win a few races this year to keep ahead of Doohan's wins per race percentage.

 

[Randy Wagner]

Win lol he cannot even beat the CRT bikes. Mick is the man and like Stoner grew up on dirt FIRST then went to the pavement. Lawson was in his league as well Rainey was smooth and fast but really had few to race with. Kocinski was one of the most naturally gifted but his attitude killed his talent and almost Bubba Shoberts as well.

To bad about Colin. My god only knows the first time he broke one of those was when we were kids dirt tracking in Texas and that was a LONG LONG TIME AGO and for him to still be doing it at the level he's at say's a lot for his talents.

The whole darn Edwards family is salt of the earth people. Back in those days I mentioned above the Edwards pits were the best place to be in the summer for the food they had was well to die for. Good point in mentioning his personality on the grid will be missed. One Class Act.

 

[David Ignjatovic]

SStoner's stats on the Honda is 20 starts, 12 wins.

His stats over the last few yrs would be even more interesting if he had a decent bike and wasn't sick a lot...granted, many of the GP riders nurse injuries, but Wayne Gardner apparently rode one of Stoners Ducatti GP bikes and then said how good a rider he must be to keep it upright....

It wouldn't have taken much for Stoner to have another 2 WDC...

 

[David Ignjatovic]

To bad about Colin.

Tough ole bird that one, he'll be back....

 

[Randy Wagner]

His stats over the last few yrs would be even more interesting if he had a decent bike and wasn't sick a lot...granted, many of the GP riders nurse injuries, but Wayne Gardner apparently rode one of Stoners Ducatti GP bikes and then said how good a rider he must be to keep it upright....

It wouldn't have taken much for Stoner to have another 2 WDC...

I think it's funny that after he got married and had his the baby he slowed down and got faster and quit crashing as much. As I have posted b4 Ducati is known for NOT listening to their riders when it's development time. For them (Ducati) to have had Rossi for almost 2 years now and seemingly taking 1 step forward and 3 steps back kinda makes ya wonder. Yes Rossi is getting to the point in his career to where age will force him to ride over his head but for him to step off the best handling motorcycle in the paddock (Yamaha) and then jump on a cow and 2 years later STILL getting beat by CRT teams leaves little to the imagination when you see the result sheets on Monday's.

 

[David Ignjatovic]

As I have posted b4 Ducati is known for NOT listening to their riders when it's development time. .

I almost think Stoner is more dexterous on the bike, whereas Rossi seems very smooth, so if you give him a balanced bike with good power, he should be able to place with it.
Ducati sound like Ferrari pre 97..

 

[Travis]

From what I understand from reading GPOone, MotoMatters and a few other websites Ducati have thrown everything at making the Ducati work. Rossi famously stated that Stoner didn't ride the Ducati hard enough in his last season with the team to ascertain what it's weak points were and his crew chief Jeremy Burgess stated they'd fix the problems in '80 seconds'.

When Burgess realised that Stoner was indeed riding the wheels off the Ducati, he reversed his earlier opinions stating that Ducati had spent too much time celebrating the victories rather than trying to improve their bikes deficiencies (I'm paraphrasing here so excuse me if I get this slightly wrong).Rossi has one podium in the wet and not much else to crow about up to now - only Caparossi, Bayliss and Stoner have recorded wins on the Ducati which means either only these riders could adapt to riding a Ducati when others couldn't or Ducati can't build a decent MotoGP bike.

I'm not into bashing any rider as they are all heros as far as I am concerned, but the serious kicking Stoner recieved from 2007 onwards from the fans and press regarding his 2007 WC being down to having the best bike and the best tyres really grates.Only now does the press seem to acknowledge Stoner is a damn fine rider. I believe only Lorenzo is his equal right now.

Rossi has done S.F.A in comparison to Stoner's first two seasons and yet it's all Ducati's fault for Rossi's lack of success. In better times with Honda and Yamaha, victory was all down to Rossi and Jeremy Burgess's bike development brilliance!

Another world title in 2011 has proven Stoner can ride anything while Rossi and Burgess have been average (to be kind) in the last 2 seasons at Ducati and this year looks like it'll be no different. I hate seeing former champions go out this way...

 

[David Ignjatovic]

Another world title in 2011 has proven Stoner can ride anything ..

Yup, I'm glad he got that, as he nearly won in 08, and had illness and ducati's to deal with after that, however the way he slayed Hayden in 09 should have silenced some people.

 

[Randy Wagner]

You simply do not run a carbon fiber frame for as long as they did then switch to an aluminum frame after everything else you tried failed. They (Ducati) were told the bike would not work the FIRST time he rode it but yet he is forced to TRY and make it work and as all this time has gone on it has not. To think Rossi was not acquired to raise the market value of the company before it was recently sold a few weeks back means we have all forgotten that the interest in it's purchase was NOT even thought about until AFTER he was signed.

Now understand me here Stoner is god like on 2 wheels but Rossi has 9 Championships. Sure you can maybe win one by default like Nickey did but to get 9 of them you need to know things and he does and has demonstrated it his whole career until now.

So all I'm gonna say is this. EVERY team that has had Rossi on it's bikes with in 2 years was a threat. Now at Ducati into year 2 they are getting worse and he has not been on the box in a long time so either Rossi forgot how to communicate or he's talking to the wall?

OR

Valentino Rossi and Nicky Hayden have suggested that the Ducati is currently incapable of making use of all the power its 1000cc engine delivers, and that a reduction in power would actually make the bike easier to handle and therefore more competitive.

2 years for this? Please Now maybe 1 1/2 years of we'll fix it and 6 months of what do we do now? Thats all I'm trying to say and it's sad to see. You got the resources of Ferrari right across the road and after 2 years you still cannot make your Duck turn. BAH

 

[Ross Balfour]

Moto 3 and Moto2 races were both brilliant, shame MotoGP is such a bore this year (as it has been since 2010), the junior classes are the only thing I look forward to in a MotoGP weekend now, they are the best racing series in the world for entertainment at the minute in my opinion.

 

[Randy Wagner]

Time will tell Ross but I think the Outdoor Series will be interesting with Bubba Stewert on a Suzuki now. He simply QUIT in Supercross after his last crash when you saw his little punk butt throw off his helmet and walk away leaving everything on the track. That's wrong and you simply do not do that no matter how darn fast you are.

But the IRL is looking night and day compared to last year now that Randy's arse is gone. It cost us Tony and Dan to do it but that's what happens when you marry into a job.

 

[Travis]

Now understand me here Stoner is god like on 2 wheels but Rossi has 9 Championships. Sure you can maybe win one by default like Nickey did but to get 9 of them you need to know things and he does and has demonstrated it his whole career until now.

So all I'm gonna say is this. EVERY team that has had Rossi on it's bikes with in 2 years was a threat. Now at Ducati into year 2 they are getting worse and he has not been on the box in a long time so either Rossi forgot how to communicate or he's talking to the wall?

The Honda's Rossi rode were the best in class by miles (they turned Sete from an average rider into a race winner FFS!) and the Yamaha wasn't the POS much of the media made it out to be. I agree that Rossi and Burgess alongside the engineers at Yamaha made the bike a consistant race winner.

As for the Ducati saga I'm sort of 'on the fence'. In 2006 and 2007 Ducati made a very decent machine and from 2008-2010 Stoner won races but these bikes were very difficult to ride. Historically, Ducati has made bikes that will win but not consistently like the Yamaha and Honda.

Then there is the Rossi factor. Vale and Burgess came to Ducati thinking they were going to do for Ducati what they'd done at Yamaha except it hasn't panned out. There is no doubt the team faces an uphill battle and every other week we hear commentators talking about Rossi being deflated etc.

Jeremy Burgess stated on Aussie TV last weekend that Rossi is fast but not as fast as the top two riders. During the same broadcast, Mick Doohan stated Vale's age dictates he won't push like the younger riders do to make up for a bikes deficiencies - former 500cc GP winner Darryl Beatie agreed. Both men stated 7 MotoGP means Rossi has little to prove.

Nobody outside of Ducati really knows what is going but everyone has an opinion on the subject!

shame MotoGP is such a bore this year (as it has been since 2010), the junior classes are the only thing I look forward to in a MotoGP weekend now, they are the best racing series in the world for entertainment at the minute in my opinion.

I don't believe anyone who is a racing purist would find watching the 2 best riders in the world going head-to-head boring to watch. But then I grew up watching Lawson dominate, then Rainey for 3 years, then Doohan for 5 years and now Rossi for 5 years before splitting titles with Hayden, Lorenzo and Stoner.

I'm guessing Rossi is your favourite rider Ross.

 

[Ross Balfour]

I don't believe anyone who is a racing purist would find watching the 2 best riders in the world going head-to-head boring to watch. But then I grew up watching Lawson dominate, then Rainey for 3 years, then Doohan for 5 years and now Rossi for 5 years before splitting titles with Hayden, Lorenzo and Stoner.

I'm guessing Rossi is your favourite rider Ross.

I wouldn't call a constant second to 2 second gap "head to head". if there were overtakes (Laguna 08, Barcelona 10 etc) I would have loved it, but there was no overtaking.

Hayden is actually I am used to him not scoring highly so that is not why I don't enjoy MotoGP as much this season as previous years.