Canepa leads Indianapolis MotoGP test.

Not cool to brag about being faster than another rider, especially 0.05 sec faster when on machinery that is very familiar. We'll see how this hotshoe does today.

Canepa is smelling the dead meat of Melandri & Co and tries to present himself as an alternative.

You don't only need to be fast though, you must also know how to fight and this you learn only in the races.

Canepa knows how to race - he was World Superstock champion last year.
He is undoubtedly a star for the future and being groomed by Ducati.
I suspect he will go the WSB route first though.

Whoever said Canepa is 'smelling dead meat?' I'm sure he knows exactly what the situation is within Ducati, and is just doing his job. And I really dont think he was bragging, he just seemed pleased cos he respects Bens ability and achievements in the AMA recently.

Dunno why some of you read so much into things.

Whoever said Canepa is 'smelling dead meat?' I'm sure he knows exactly what the situation is within Ducati, and is just doing his job. And I really dont think he was bragging, he just seemed pleased cos he respects Bens ability and achievements in the AMA recently.

Dunno why some of you read so much into things.

If any of these guys were just up to "do their job" then they would be clerks in a bank or something similar. They are competitive and they want to always go for something better, otherwise they wouldn't be where they are in the first place. So, although I agree that Canepa might simply remind that he was faster than the local american, I'm quite sure he wouldn't object to try his luck onboard a satellite Ducati.

My phrase "smells Melandri & Co's dead meat" was harsh for sure but then again so is the racing world.

Canepa wants Marco's job. We all know that & Marco knows that.

Will Suppo give him an 09 ride ........... doubt it, but a full factory WSB ride. Yes.

Top 3 Bridgstone aswell. To early to say anything else.

Well Ben is down to 1:43.09 as of noon EST today. Jacque is next quickest almost a second back.

Canepa wants to keep his job thats all....
Marco - if he cant pull it together will be kicked to the curb after the the start of the summer brake - where Geb will fill in for the rest of the season - but only for the last half.... the Nicky for the full factory ride is done on a hand shake as of now they cant/wont announce until honda which will be at Laguna - geb (if he does good) will then go to alice for 09. as for marco well Grecini wants him back pretty bad, so keep an eye out for that...

Regardless, you have to give props. to Ben. He's doing a hell of a job on what is often considered to be "inferior" machinery. Makes me wonder what he could do on a factory Honda or Yamaha.
Check out live updates at: scoring.indycar.com/2008/?site=ims

Ben's already up to 70 laps and counting...

Go to this website and you will get live timing from Indy
www.scoring.indycar.com/2008/?site=ims

Possible to watch also on youtube,Indy Moto GP test

As of now (2:30 Eastern)Spies is 1.3 sec clear of the hotshoe.

Are the teams really interested in lap times at this test? I thought it was more of a get familiar and figure how the tires behave kind of test. These lap times seem slow to me and the trap speeds should be quite a bit higher given the length of the front straight.

How can the lap times seem slow if no one has ever raced around this circuit before?

Teams probably are not too interested in the lap times, I'm sure they'll be a couple seconds quicker in September. However to those of wondering how Ben Spies will perform, they are a good indication.

So you don't get how the lap times could seem slow but think they're be faster by about 2 seconds in September. Thanks for clearing that up for me!

Lap time can be good indicator but race day seems to be a different story. Some people just have that race speed when it comes to race day.

@5.17 eastern, Niccolo is out there pounding around, trying to be top dog. He's got it down to .3634 in arrears. Spies is in the pits.

Well its finished and Canepa tops the times again so get over it.

well Spies has now done around 200 laps in 2 days.
If he doesnt get a podium at the Moto gp race,then he wont deserve a 2009 ride in Moto gp.
Why is he getting all this practise and no other Gp riders are allowed,seems Dorna are desperate to have even more yankees in Moto gp. HEY DORNA

Posted by pagoda - Unregistered (101 days ago)