Must Watch GP Races: Last 20 Years

[yooperbikemike]

Originally Posted by yooperbikemike

2003 -- It was a 10 second penalty and Rossi won the race by 15 seconds.

edit: Rossi beat Capirossi to the line by 15.2 seconds of which the 10 second penalty was subtracted, which gave him a winning margin of 5 seconds.

[spezjag]

Originally Posted by Joe

Donington Park 2005

Yeah, that one was pretty special.

[bluebye]

Originally Posted by yooperbikemike

Jerez 2005: Rossi &. Gibernau duke it out on the last lap with hard but fair passes from both riders until the last corner where Rossi forces Gibernau into the kitty litter and takes the win. Gibernau is a broken man, never winning another GP.

Estoril 2006: Pedrosa skittles Nicky Hayden, putting a big dent in his title hopes. Rossi, Elias and KRJR battle it out, with KRJR thinking the race end was a lap earlier than it was. Elias beats Rossi at the stripe by .002 seconds, depriving him of 5 points, the exact number that he eventually loses the championship by.

Sachsenring 2006: Valentino Rossi at his finest. Starting in 10th position, the Doctor was in the lead by mid-race. The lead pack of Rossi, Melandri, Hayden and Pedrosa had a close ding-dong battle in the German countryside the remainder of the race. How close was it? 4th place Pedrosa finished 3/10 of a second behind race winner Rossi.

Laguna Seca 2008: Sometimes it's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's more the size of the fight in the dog. After dominating practice and qualifying, Ducati mounted Casey Stoner looked to run away with the race. Too bad an obstacle named Valentino Rossi would stand in his way. Every time Stoner would get by Rossi, Rossi would counter; including probably the most breathtaking pass in MotoGP history, a miracle move through the dirt in the Corkscrew. Frustration oozing from every pore, Stoner eventually ran off track and toppled over like a 2-year-old on a tricycle, ending the battle.

Barcelona 2009: Yamaha "teammates" Rossi and Lorenzo beat on each other the entire race. Lorenzo takes the lead going into the final lap. After a couple of brief passes by Rossi for the lead that are rebuffed by Lorenzo, The Doctor teaches the kid that it ain't over 'til its over with an "impossible" pass in the final corner to take the win.

Rossi, Rossi, Rossi, Rossi.
Yeah, He was pretty good, wasn't he?

[mdubya]

Aragon 2011, Moto 2.

[HoneyBunz]

Sachsenring 2012
Jerez 2011
Estoril 2010
Malaysia 2010
Qatar 2010

Just by coincidence, all Stoner DNF's.

[K0m4]

Yay, they have Suzuka -93 in full!

Damn, I miss that track!

[Moronic]

I seem to remember Kyalami Sth Africa in 2000 was pretty special, watching Gary McCoy drift his way around that circuit all the way to the win.

Another not yet mentioned that I would love to see again but can't remember the race or the year. Believe it was somewhere in Europe, and 500cc two-stroke and Rossi was dominant so must have been 2001. I swear I watched Rossi emerge from the final corner onto the straight, look around for arch-rival (then) Biaggi, recognise he was well behind, and then as he approached the chequered flag lift his right leg over the bike and sit side-saddle on the seat, also releasing his hands from the 'bars and waving with both to the crowd, his whole body facing the grandstand as he crossed the line.

I even believe I saw a picture of this finish run big the next day in a local mainstream newspaper. But have never found one on the net, nor the video. Did it happen?

Okay just did another search and confirmation: it was MotoGP after all, Donington 2002. Can't remember what the race was like but won't be forgetting the ending. And he was on the tank, not the seat: there's a figurine available for the fans.



And people wonder why other champs aren't as popular ...


Edit: okay there is a pic at crash.net, just need the right search terms:

[Joe]

Originally Posted by Moronic

I seem to remember Kyalami Sth Africa in 2000 was pretty special, watching Gary McCoy drift his way around that circuit all the way to the win.

Another not yet mentioned that I would love to see again but can't remember the race or the year. Believe it was somewhere in Europe, and 500cc two-stroke and Rossi was dominant so must have been 2001. I swear I watched Rossi emerge from the final corner onto the straight, look around for arch-rival (then) Biaggi, recognise he was well behind, and then as he approached the chequered flag lift his right leg over the bike and sit side-saddle on the seat, also releasing his hands from the 'bars and waving with both to the crowd, his whole body facing the grandstand as he crossed the line.

I even believe I saw a picture of this finish run big the next day in a local mainstream newspaper. But have never found one on the net, nor the video. Did it happen?

Okay just did another search and confirmation: it was MotoGP after all, Donington 2002. Can't remember what the race was like but won't be forgetting the ending. And he was on the tank, not the seat: there's a figurine available for the fans.



And people wonder why other champs aren't as popular ...


Edit: okay there is a pic at crash.net, just need the right search terms:

I always had a suspicion that Honda chose Nicky Hayden over Colin Edwards for the factory squad due to Gary Mccoy's success winning races, given their similar riding styles.

[BeeCeeGS]

Just watched Estoril 2006. The drama with Dani and Nicky makes it easy to forget that an incredible race developed after the crashes. Elias was exceptional.

[tHEtREV]

1998 Philip Island.

Not close at all, but one of my favorites just because Doohan gave everyone a big lesson on how to ride a 500GP bike.

[MODNROD]

Assen in the late '80s with Gardner, Lawson, Rainey, Schwantz etc.

Assen in the early '90s superbikes - Ducaci vs VFour vs Suzuki vs Kwaka everywhere.

Before they took out the cambers.

[CSI]

Originally Posted by spezjag

Catalunya, 2009, when Rossi pulled off that last minute pass on Lorenzo. As good as Schwantz's pass on Rainey at Hockenheim in 1991 (if you can get that one, do it; otherwise, it's available on You Tube).

I was there for that.....sitting at turn one.....awesome race. Had a friend (German) that was a member of the Formula Ford Club, and I could get in to just about any race I wanted to, for free.

That morning, my wife got to take a lap around the track with him in his race prepped VW Golf turbo diesel, while I followed on my Ninja 600R......I could not keep up with that car. I like to blame it on the fact that the track still had some dew on it, but fact is that car was faster than my angel could fly....

[Turder]

Phillip Island 2000. Huge leading group within couple of seconds. Oh those 500s

[Thumpermeister]

Assen 2006. Hayden vs. Edwards. Soooo close!

[Joe]

Originally Posted by Thumpermeister

Assen 2006. Hayden vs. Edwards. Soooo close!

I was so pissed when Colin choked.