MotoGP: Assen (spoilers)

[Davi5678]

http://www.motogp.com/en/news/2012/Y...+Assen+preview
Free practice already started and no thread yet?

[Davi5678]

Lorenzo 1:35.106
Pedrosa 1:35.126
Stoner 1:35.181
Spies 1:35.555
Hayden 1:35.841
Bautista 1:35.867
Barbera 1:35.970
Dovizioso 1:35.995
Crutchlow 1:36.031
Rossi 1:36.084
Bradl 1:36.737
de Puniet 1:37.187
Espargaro 1:37.365
Pirro 1:37.771
Abraham 1:37.850
Pasini 1:38.642
Hernandez 1:38.649
Edwards 1:39.076
Petrucci 1:39.385
Ellison 1:39.495
Silva 1:39.530

[advNZer?]

WOW ten riders within 1 sec

Lorenzo 1:35.106
Pedrosa 1:35.126
Stoner 1:35.181
Spies 1:35.555
Hayden 1:35.841
Bautista 1:35.867
Barbera 1:35.970
Dovizioso 1:35.995
Crutchlow 1:36.031
Rossi 1:36.084

[Turder]

Remember, races are on saturday.

[Moronic]

Originally Posted by Turder

Remember, races are on saturday.

Yes, and I always wondered why ...

... until I learned yesterday from motomatters that racing on Sunday is against their religion

But maybe not for much longer.

[yooperbikemike]

FP2

1. Ben
2. Cal
3. Nicky
5. JLo
10. Stonah

top 11 w/in a 1/2 second. Stoner did less than 10 laps, only rider not to improve on FP1.

[Davi5678]

Spies 1:34.866
Crutchlow 1:34.872
Hayden 1:34.968
Bautista 1:35.008
Lorenzo 1:35.057
Pedrosa 1:35.080
Dovizioso 1:35.257
Rossi 1:35.296
Barbera 1:35.304
Stoner 1:35.304
Bradl 1:35.337
Espararo 1:36.615
de Puniet 1:36.871
Pirro 1:37.057
Hernandez 1:37.572
Abraham 1:37.628
Pasini 1:37.657
Edwards 1:37.973
Ellison 1:37.973
Silva 1:38.297
Petrucci 1:38.373

[yooperbikemike]

[Pantah]

Like last week Nick has impressive speed early. Hopefully he will have the pace deeper into the actual GP. He's going to get another couple seasons in the show for sure. Maybe even get another win. Very excited for his progress in fixing that turnip truck.

Now is when we need Jinx to chip in with his thoughs.

[Moronic]

FP2 lap chart here (pdf).

Lorenzo looks best to me. Lap after lap in the very low 1:35s, and from very early.

Spies looking very good too, tho. If he was on a harder tyre or had a full tank of fuel early on, then very, very good. Heaps of laps in the mid 1:35s.

Hayden, Rossi, not so much, especially Rossi. That fast lap at 1:35.3 was his only trip into the 1:35s.

Stoner? Went out three times, recorded three flying laps, including a consecutive 1:35.47, 1:35.30 in his third go. Went out a fourth time, recorded a single lap. Only 1:35.79. Okay, no point trying that again.

[Skowinski]

Any weather to influence the results? Great to see Spies doing well, he must remember last year. And, in FP2 Crutchlow right there nipping at his heels. Kinda curious to see all the aliens back a bit.

Go Nicky!

[Motodisiac]

Really interesting 2nd session. Looks like Stoner is so confident in his ability to win, he didn't even bother to put any effort in "practice". Can't wait for tomorrow's qualifying.

[TTTom]

Originally Posted by Motodisiac

Really interesting 2nd session. Looks like Stoner is so confident in his ability to win, he didn't even bother to put any effort in "practice". Can't wait for tomorrow's qualifying.

From his comments I think it was more like "Damn, that obviously didn't fix the chatter, back to the pits"... "Damn, THAT didn't fix the chatter either, back to the pits again"

Going fast isn't Stoner's problem, it's getting the bike to be rideable over race distance & not destroying the tires.

[Crisis management]

I pick a Lorenzo race, maybe Cal second then Ben or Dovi.

Nicky will compete for 10 laps then have stuffed tyres, Vale will sit around 7th.

Hondas could be anywhere dependant on settings.

Should be a good race then as long as Jorge doesn't run away too far and Cal is actually fit enough for a race distance, bring on the fairing banging!

(just to annoy Pantah... )

[Pantah]

Originally Posted by Crisis management

I pick a Lorenzo race, maybe Cal second then Ben or Dovi.


(just to annoy Pantah... )

Nah, I like all your boys. In fact I like every rider on the grid.

Naturally I'd like Nick to prosper since we all know he's a great person and a top racer. We just want a little more from him and for longer too! I like Ben and am hoping he fills. But I think he's kind of a Loris. I loved Loris too!

#65 will never be replaced in my mind. I think Crutchy has a really racer's edge about him. I mean he is fuck-all (pardon my Spanish...)

We have really great riders on the grid right now and they are showing stuff. On the other hand, it's pretty obvious to me that Casey has already retired. He'll probably win again, but I wouldn't bet on it. Such a shame for me because Casey was my man.

But this is motorcycle racing and not theater (or ballroom dancing as Max once said).

We all drive on and try to interpret the evolution as it unfolds. Fun stuff.