MOTOGP » Stoner second but 'not that happy'

Racefan, You may be right about the Ducati being difficult to set up. But the set up was good enough to go fast for at least a few laps. At that point it is up to the rider to figure out how to go fast consistently, i.e. to practice going fast. Maybe that is why it is called practice. Seldom is one machine so dominant? Where you here doing the Doohan/NSR era, or the early days of Rossi and the RC211V? How about the Agostini/MV era? The Duke/Surtees/Gilera era? Actually, it seems to me that dominance of one marque may be more common than we'd like to believe. Interesting thing about those eras of dominant machines, they usually involve one or more dominant riders too.

MOTOGP » Stoner second but 'not that happy'

Stoner may have had the second fastest time but you have to look to deeper to find out why he is disappointed. Rossi ran 31 laps with 19 laps in the 1:31 range, including a string of 9 in a row during his last and longest run. Stoner ran 22 laps and only did 7 in the 1:31 range and only could string together a few at a time. Races are won by stringing together consistent fast laps, not by a single quick lap. I have commented on this before but Stoner consistently runs fewer practice laps than the other riders and rarely does the long practice runs that Rossi and Lorenzo do.

MOTOGP » Rossi wins, Lorenzo falls at Brno.

Rossi lucky? Please, he has won world championships on 6 different types of bikes in 5 different classes with 3 different manufacturers. One by one he has seen off all challengers. He races smart, never gets the red mist in his eyes and because of that he gets the best team and equipment. It isn't luck, it's hard work and he has done it consistently year in and year out. You can argue all you want about GOAT but surely, he is one of the members of the pantheon with Agostini, Hailwood, Roberts and a couple of others.

MOTOGP » Lorenzo dominates Brno practice.

Once again, Jorge is right there. In practice, he was able to string together laps in the .56 range, nobody else even got into the .56s. But we've seen Jorge do this before. If Pedrosa doesn't get into turn one with a lead and break away, he will not win. Two man race between the factory Yamswith Pedrosa a distant 3rd.

MOTOGP » Casey Stoner sidelined - Kallio, Fabrizio in.

Couple of comments. 1)What a shame, fine competitor, hate to see this happen. 2)How can Fabrizio possibly help Haga except by putting his brain in neutral and taking Spies out. 3)Fabrizio's only chance to take the title would be a total melt-down by Spies. Does anyone really imagine that will happen? 4)To all the manufacturers and riders, MotoGP is number one and WSBK is a distant second in importance. Why? One reason Valentino, everyone wants the chance to try and beat him. 5)Don't be surprised if Stoner never returns to the top level.

MOTOGP » Rossi happy in 'strange conditions'

This is practice, not the race, it's about figuring out how to go fast consistently. Pedrosa had one fast lap under 1:40. Rossi and Lorenzo both did numerous sub 1:40 laps and were able to string them together. Pedrosa and Stoner didn't.

MOTOGP » Lorenzo 'very fast'.

Just amazing, 20 laps with a long string of one 1:32 lap after another. He definitely has the race pace but he had it at Assen too. Should be a good race Sunday.

MOTOGP » Rossi targets hat-trick at Laguna

Just an observation. Of the 7 races this year, only 3 were undisturbed by rain. Rossi won them all. Laguna Seca means dry lake. It is highly unlikely that it will rain there this weekend.

MOTOGP » Rossi targets hat-trick at Laguna

Rossi prevailed in the nail-biter and followed it up with a dominating performance. The MotoGP field may be about to get a shellacking. In the past Rossi had formidable adversaries in Biaggi and Gibernau. He beat them, frustrated them and their careers went downhill from there. Is Stoner the next Rossi rival that will follow that same path? I suspect Pedrosa is already there.

MOTOGP » Valentino Rossi escapes to 100th victory at Assen.

What's wrong with Honda? Arrogance perhaps. They believe that the machine wins race and the rider is of secondary importance. They pissed off Rossi so he set out to prove, which he did convincingly, that riders win championships not bikes. The Yamaha is such a great bike because they get excellent feedback from excellent riders that they use to make a better bike. Honda obviously are not doing this.