MotoGP starts tomorrow

[Lozza]

Well been long enough wait, seems it's all one ONE HD this year, QP2 is on at 9am then action begins 2.45pm tomorrow.
Stoner fastest in FP1 well under last years pole time.

[monaro308]

Yeah.....bring it on!...My TV guide shows 2.45AM..mon morn???

[mx250]

You Beauty

Go Casey. "Casey Stoner started on Saturday where he left off on Friday, firing to the top of the timesheets in the second session of free practice for the MotoGP class at Qatar and never relinquishing his spot. The Marlboro Ducati rider's chief opposition came from Valentino Rossi, but every time the Italian close the gap on Stoner, the Australian put in another fast lap and opened it back up. By the end of the session, Rossi had closed the gap from yesterday, though, cutting Stoner's advantage by two tenths to just 0.34 seconds."

http://www.motomatters.com/results/2010/04/10/2010_qatar_motogp_fp2_result_stoner_domi.html

Down the order is just as interesting.

Results of the FP2 session of the MotoGP class:
Pos    No.    Rider    Bike    Time    Diff    Diff Previous
1    27    Casey STONER    DUCATI    1'55.501         
2    46    Valentino ROSSI    YAMAHA    1'55.841    0.340    0.340
3    14    Randy DE PUNIET    HONDA    1'56.350    0.849    0.509
4    4    Andrea DOVIZIOSO    HONDA    1'56.569    1.068    0.219
5    99    Jorge LORENZO    YAMAHA    1'56.646    1.145    0.077
6    36    Mika KALLIO    DUCATI    1'56.664    1.163    0.018
7    11    Ben SPIES    YAMAHA    1'56.678    1.177    0.014
8    65    Loris CAPIROSSI    SUZUKI    1'56.713    1.212    0.035
9    26    Dani PEDROSA    HONDA    1'56.736    1.235    0.023
10    5    Colin EDWARDS    YAMAHA    1'56.776    1.275    0.040
11    69    Nicky HAYDEN    DUCATI    1'56.786    1.285    0.010
12    58    Marco SIMONCELLI    HONDA    1'56.796    1.295    0.010
13    19    Alvaro BAUTISTA    SUZUKI    1'56.972    1.471    0.176
14    41    Aleix ESPARGARO    DUCATI    1'57.024    1.523    0.052
15    40    Hector BARBERA    DUCATI    1'57.272    1.771    0.248
16    7    Hiroshi AOYAMA    HONDA    1'57.371    1.870    0.099
17    33    Marco MELANDRI    HONDA    1'57.513    2.012    0.142


Randy DE PUNIET  3rd. Marco MELANDRI last and 2 seconds off the pace. Mika KALLIO 6th, 2rd Duke and in front of  Nicky HAYDEN.

Early days, but all very very interesting . Either the questions will be answered tonight or a whole new round of speculation will begin .

[David Lahey]

The Moto 2 race should be interesting too, with a huge entry.
I had been holding out on setting up for HD TV for a while but finally relented (though only on the workshop TV so far - you have to get your priorities right)

[russvr4]

Can't believe it's not on FOXTEL this year my main reason for having it is for moto gp and AMA supercross just upgraded to iq 2 to be able to record them and now i can't I'll have to buy a HD pvr now 

[firko]

Like the V8 Supercars, F1 and just about any other 'made for TV' race series, the MotoGP to me is as boring as batshit. Thank f*ck its footy season.

[Tim754]

Agreed, yawn

[Lozza]

I bet Casey would have loved to dip into the 1:54's(1:55.007 pole time). If Melandri keeps going this will be his last in MotoGP, all of a sudden the Ducati doesn't look so 'unridable'.
Despite the long life engines they appear to be a few 10ths faster, Stoners fastest lap last year was 1'55.153.

[allan hughes]

FIRKO TIM
CASEY DOSENT FIND YOU GUYS BORING
FOOTY HOW ABOUT TITANS OVER MELBOURNE
BOTH TEAMS FULL OF QUEENSLANDERS
FIRKO  I AGREE ABOUT SUPERCARS

[firko]

FIRKO TIM
CASEY DOSENT FIND YOU GUYS BORING

I don't find Casey boring, just the hollow shadow of its former self series he rides in. I might say MotoGP is dull but I've just watched some of the Valencia Superbike round on Fox3 and now admit that the Superbikes are infinitely duller than the MotoGP. To me it was a drawn out procession of Neville Nobodies making awful television. You'd have to be the most biased superbike fan to say that it was quality racing. I switched it over to Underbelly.

[mx250]

The final practice shook thing back to somewhat normal (well at least Lorenzo is back to a close third . But still there's lots of sorting out further down the totem. It will be interesting - the bullshit stops when the flag drops .

Each to their own, but how anyone doesn't get caught up in the drama and contest of it all is beyond me . Bring it on .

Go casey !!!  

(Bloody hell, it's not been broadcast till 9am tomorrow. Whats the point of that. Whoes gonna watch that - some stay at home druggie dropouts ).

[Tim754]

Casey Stoner is a champion racer, absolutely no doubt there. I would willingly go and watch him race at any club ,interclub ,state or national title. My best wishes to him in his endeavours.    Moto GP is convoluted made for TV rights piffle, designed like F1 to make some undeserving rich con men richer and fark any sporting spectacle. Seriously is watching it on TV the highlight of your sporting life?  Sorry but to me Moto GP rounds, like V8 Supercars in Bahrain what a mind bending buzz that is,  like F1 anyforkinwhere  is a dreary waste of some enormously talented riders and drivers. Tim754
 I appear to have been typing this at the same time as Mark, not intentional on my behalf just coincidence. Thank you.

[Lozza]

Well did you watch the race? Could have thrown a blanket over the top 3(top 5 in the same shot) or all but 3 laps from the end. Some great charges through the field.Ben Spies will win a race this year and Nicky Hayden's hard work has paid off. Will be a season of who makes the least mistakes.

*NB no spoilers contained within

[Graeme M]

It was... well... mildly interesting yes. Hope Casey can make up ground over the rest of the series. Not sure Lozza - the race was close true, but not much really happened, did it. Just like F1, riders gaining ground by a few tenths every lap until there is a couple of overtaking moves and everyone settles down again. That said, it was good to see Spies on the pace and he will likely be a contender for race wins. Great effort from Hayden who finally showed some decent form, and a very good ride from Lorenzo.

The GP2 class was for me very yawnworthy - I'm not a big GP follower so didn't recognise most of the names, plus the bikes appear less exciting than the 250 2-strokes. They also fell over a lot it seemed. Good effort from the guy who won though.

By the way, I found watching it on One a big improvement cos I only get standard def Fox but high def on One, and on the big screen telly it was pin sharp and all that night lighting made for very dramatic visuals.

[tony27]

Formula Honda was exactly as you say Graeme, boring, slow & no passing.
I reckon the 125s were the race of the day as per normal with 7 riders going at it hammer & tongs for the wholr race, no wonder their days are numbered
Pity Casey fell off as I was looking forward to seeing how quickly he'd disappear, glad Nicky has finally gotten his head around the duke