Honda put an exclamation point on its domination of pre-season testing with the four quickest riders on the final day at Sepang. If the other teams aren’t worried, they aren’t paying attention. Casey Stoner and Dani Pedrosa both dipped under two minutes flat. Stoner led everyone with a lap nearly a full second quicker than the pole record/absolute lap record set by Valentino Rossi in 2009.
The first non-Honda was Ben Spies (Yamaha) with a lap more than a second behind Stoner’s best. Testing continues at Qatar on March 13. This gives the other teams a chance to play catch-up, but Honda has a huge gap right now. Ducati, quite frankly, looks like it is in trouble when its two factory riders (Valentino Rossi and Nicky Hayden) are nearly two seconds back from Stoner.
Didn’t Honda top the pre-season times last year? While Ducati’s GP09 terrorize the 2009 pre-season? But which bike won the ’09 & ’10 championships? C’mon guys the race ain’t started yet, sure Hondas are strong this season, but this is all just hype. Just like some 1 said Ben Spies gonna win races last year, which he didn’t, just like some 1 said Stoner will ‘dominate’ Rossi the year before, which he didn’t, just like some 1 said Hayden will continue his Championship winning form, which he didn’t as well. All hype, hype, hype
It’s all in good fun, isn’t it? To guess, and prod; to make wagers, predictions, projections on a sport some of us love very much? No one’s doing any harm. I think we all enjoy the hype, to be honest. It’s part of the carnival, part of the circus. It is an appetizer meant to get the juices flowing while we all waste away in the miserable winters with our bikes resting sadly in the garage while our heroes are out warming up their tires and their spirits, preparing for battle, posing, posturing. I think it’s just what the doctor ordered. (No pun intended)
Winning races isn’t the same as running fast in practice. In an actual race you have to be good off the starting line or you will get trapped in the pack in the first few turns. By then it’s too late. Pedrosa proves that point better than anyone with his rocket holeshots into the lead at many races. Then once you’re clear out front then you can run “practice style ” laps to the checkers. Coming out of the first turn in 8th or 9th means a really good rider can advance to 6th or 5th during the course of the race. There is only ONE rider who can come from mid pack to the front and that is Rossi. Anyone else that gets caught in the pack in the first turn can make up 1 maybe 2 spots before the front 3 (podium spots)are long gone. Being blocked by slower riders is the death knell to many who would run in the front. The start is nearly everything in Moto GP.
Lorenzo has shown his ability to move mid-pack to the front on more than one occasion. And I am not a fan of Lorenzo. At all.
On one occassion I remember Lorenzo moving up from 5th or 6th to second, I don’t ever remember him coming from 10th or 12th to podium, like I have seen Rossi do, but I could be wrong. I do miss watching some races due to other commitments but I try and catch every one. I’ll recind my comment and say there are two riders capable of moving to the front from mid pack for the sake of argument. The rest stay pretty much in the position they find themselves in after the third lap (unless someone crashes in front of them, then they get to move up a spot). A virtual box car train from lap 3 to the checkered flag. It’s is hard to argue in my opinion, how important the start of the actual race is, and how unimportant in the long run, how fast you can run practice laps during pre-season practice.
You’re right, Brinskee. I’m no fan of Lorenzo either, but he’s showed what he can do.
Lorenzo seems like a nice young man, a little in your face show boaty after he wins,
but he can definitly ride a MotoGP motorcycle very smooth and fast. I thonk this year he will try and prove last year was not a fluke, and will be in contention at every race.
repeat, this is a transistion year. don’t look for anything out of ducati or rossi in 2011. this will be in-season prep for 2012 and the new 1000cc bike.
Very good point, most factories are developing their 1000cc bikes right now (I know on computer).
So only the big budget companies (Honda, Yamaha) have put any effort into developing the current generation bikes.
We will see where this season goes
Disagree completely. Ducati cannot afford to have just “show up” year or . Not with the money they have tied in Rossi. The sponsors want to se their money at work, like when Stoner managed to put them on box consistently.
fair enough. i’ll be the first to say that’s an equally valid opinion. but one has to wonder what sponsors you speak of…? i mean if you squint, you can juuuuussst make out the presence of an AMG logo on the GP11’s. in short, where’s the money coming from…? where’s the money coming from to not only pay rossi and co’s (burgess, uccio, etc.) salary but ALSO simultaneously develop next year’s clean sheet bike…? car sales…? corporate jet sales…? keyboard sales…? atv sales…? sale of outboard motors…?
Norm, you havent noticed who is not sponsoring Yamaha – FIAT. They are putting a huge amount into this project. Ducati are spending so much on the MotoGP team this year, they have closed the Superbike team. Fiat have tried for years to get Rossi into F1, next best is onto an Italian bike. They will be hugely disappointed if the red bike isnt a podium regular. Anyone who thinks this is a transition year is kidding themselves. Ducati have a huge amount of $ to throw at this project. This year. If you didnt notice, Rossi had the 4th fastest long run time. Ducati are almost there already.
actually i noticed. i also noticed yamaha isn’t counting a pirates chest of spanish doubloons either as a result helping lorenzo defend his #1 plate this season in front of 5 (count ’em 5) home grandprixs. 🙁
you’re absolutely right about one thing, ducati ARE spending alot on the motogp team this year. just the same, the notion that ducati (the tiniest of tiny factorys btw) has a huge amount of $ to throw at this fails a logic test. don’t confuse the spending cuts (ie. suppo, terblanche, locke, tardozzi, wsbk) that happened in advance of signing rossi… with solvency. they are a reflection of an attempt to MAINTAIN solvency as they courted an individual(s) they knew going in, they’d be pulling teeth to afford.
but be sure, even if ducati HAD an inkling they might go all in for 2011…? that idea has offically been shelved. 🙁 the epiphany that honda has a new transmission has seen to that. that modified gearbox goes a LONG way at explaining why honda would suddenly decide to have the confidence to run 3 bikes albeit during the worst recession since the early 1900’s…? (UH-OH) i know how it works and so does Corse. and no it’s not a DCT, it’s something BETTER, and very much legal. not just the VP talking here.
in the words of warren buffet it offers what’s known in business as a “significant competive advantage”. a C/A that short of a honda crash or DNF…? cannot (and will not) be usurped as the competition currently sits. as we speak, i contend even yamaha is considering standing down. this gearbox is a “GAME CHANGER” and it’s just now hitting the paddock like a ton of bricks. that means all bets are off. 2011 is about to be a repeat of season 2007. only this time it’s HONDA who has caught everybody with their pants down.
Let’s see what Rossi can do with the Duc. You know that Ducati will pull out all the stops and with their new budget they should be able to get him whatever he needs. Stoner got on a developed bike and he WILL get to show what he’s capable of. Pedrosa will show what he’s not capable of. I hope everyone steps up but Yamaha doesn’t have development riders, very good riders but everyones gonna have to step up and there seems to be only one rider whos proven he can take a midpacker to the front.
Didnt the Duc win 2 out of the last 5 races last year? And on the podium 3 times. Some “midpacker” they got themselves.
Wow. This might not be an exiting season after all… looks like it’s stacked up to be The Honda Show. Nice to see Ben doing relatively well.
Practice results can differ significantly from race results. But -1 second per lap throughout an entire race is, um, way back there when the race ends.