I knew that. NCRider sounds like RV was cooling it and riding for points. He just couldn't match Stewart for speed. Last week either for that matter.
he was approx -3 seconds at one point. good luck passing the fastest rider on the planet when he's got a 3 second lead.
RV was behind James the whole race he just never pushed it past his comfort zone to close the gap. James did ride good last night though.
When you consider the qualifying times, 10 riders within 1 second, when everyones going the same speed there isn't going to be much passing, as for James being faster than Villipoto, James was barely keeping up, just happened to be in front of him. Any time he opened the gap Villipoto instantly closed it up, as has been said there was no real reason to pass James. If you watch the CBS special on Villipoto he came right out and said they were riding too fast these days, any faster and you were guaranteed to get hurt. .
If he could have, Villopodium would have gained 5 points on Millsaps rather than 2. Didn't look like he could.
Exactly. Watch the race again, James had 20 laps to pull away and could not do it. He is extremely dangerous to pass, Villipoto has been hurt too many times. James has a long history of auguring in when he can't shake the guy behind him. Odds were he wasn't going to make it to the finish line, odds just didn't go in Villipoto's favor. .
James was picking up almost 1/2 a second on RV through the rhythm section, then RV would catch him on the rest of the track, mostly cornering speed. Its all about risk vs reward this year, and nobody it pushing it beyond their limits. After what happened last year I can't blame them. James is always good in the timing sections, watching him in practice at A3 he was consistently doing the double + table and landing on the downside, and most of the other riders where landing on top of the table. It wasn't the bike either cause I saw Short do it a couple of times with the stocker. James just has an incredible amount of talent.
This. Except it goes back 3 years, makes it hard to tell if someone can't catch and pass or if they just don't think it's worth pushing that little bit extra. They're doing the series point math as they race. .
So is it race what ya brung, hair on fire racing, everyone welcome or are they now running a point spreadsheet in their heads while whipping a triple to win the "series"? I can't keep up. Every one of those guys that lined up wanted to win. They are racers.
Looked to me that RV was a little off so he wasnt pushing it when Bubba pulled a lead, he knew where DM18 was and they all looked content to ride that way until the checkers. Why push it and take a chance of injury again when then guy in the lead is buried deep in the points and the guy you are chasing in point is behind you. Just smart racing. IMHO it was a snooze of a race. I really hoped there would be a lot of battling up front but once the top 5-6 spaced out it was boring as hell. Anyone know what happened to Short. 2nd in a heat and then 19th in the main? You could really tell Tomac wasnt pulling the trigger. Less room for error on the 450 and it looked like he was respecting the 450 regulars by taking his time making clean passes.
IMHO: Make 1st place 'pay' ten points over 2nd... second 'pay' 5 points over 3rd... Then I think you'd see more people willing to challenge for the lead. Otherwise it's too much risk for the reward.
If you watch the replay on the previous page. You'll see him wash out the front in one of the 180 turns at 5:29.
They are racers turned businessmen. Listen to them talk compared to how they were when they first got to the top level, they still want to win but it's not the driving force it was. I thought Barcia would be a motivator and win at all cost racer but the last few races he doesn't seem to have that. The top 7 guys are so good they know exactly where the edge is and can run right on it lap after lap. They have learned they lose big if they push past their edge. Still a great show but the ones still with a chance at winning the series are running the spreadsheet in their heads while riding on a different level than the second tier guys. .
The following was posted on another site. There was no source provided and I have no idea if there is any truth to it. Copy & Paste as follows: "I heard a rumour that the AMA put $100,000 to each rider that finishes in the top ten and finishes all ofthe races. I guess last year viewers tuned out after all of the stars were knocked out."
Barcia has slammed the ground often enough and hard enough this season to de-tune most anybody. Hitting one's face on a triple clamp will do that. These Supercross tracks can bite a guy quicker then quick,one false move and its jackhammer time. Gotta finish to win the thing,especially the Championship.
