UN-Official MotoGP Thread

[itschris]

Seeing the popularity of the F1 thread, I figured I'd see who here digs MotoGP. I've been a big fan for about 6 years or so.

So with the French LeMans coming up, I'm wondering if Pedrosa can maintain the momentum from his win at Estoril. I'm not a big fan of Dani, and really cut him off when he crashed Hayden out during his championship run, but I cannot deny the skill. He's gotten better of the years as far as his personality goes and has become a bit more likable. I do think he's going to win the championship this year. The Honda is so strong and I'm just not sure Casey Stoner can catch him after his incident with Rossi.

There's a lot of racing left though, and if you've ever watched MotoGP, you know that the entire world can change in one race. We'll see.

 

[Warpdrv]

I take my bike up to Superbike at Road America every year - its a great time and spectacular track to watch and enjoy the race..... I haven't really spent much time following the entire circuit, I do like taking my machine on track days at road america, although its somewhat of a tank, but still exhilarating and alot of work - I can usually push a hard 150 miles on that track for the day - but I walk away exhausted...

http://www.roadamerica.com/Races/RaceInformation.asp?id=240


I know its not the same circuit as MotoGP, but I love motorcycle racing...

World Superbikes and MotoGP

The two major worldwide motorcycle racing championships are the World Superbikes and MotoGP.

The major difference between the two is that the Superbikes uses modified road-going motorcycles, whereas MotoGP has a grid full of prototype machines. Either way, there’s a huge amount of action to be seen at some of the best motor racing circuits all over the world.

As awesome as it Forumla 1 is - I think it takes a man to a whole new level to race as hard as these GP and Superbike guys do...

PS: I picked up my Bushmaster ACR enhanced with an EO TECH XPS2 , totally diggin this machine... very happy I went with it...

 

[itschris]

I'm an avid fan of all the series. WSBK is probably some of the best overall racing. AMA Superbike (or whatever they call it now these days) is a lot of fun to watch too, but it's not the same without Maladin. I dig MotoGP because it's represents the no holds bar type of racing... the absolute cutting edge of technology like F1.

I never got to my track day that I had planned. I got in a wreck about 4 years ago and after 3 shoulder surgeries, I don't know if it'd hold up to the riggors of a track day.


That's an awsome rig! I'm still waiting on my latest optics for my AR... still backordered.

 

[Warpdrv]

Agree with you on all points - I really should start seeing if I can record some of those events - check them out.... thanks for the heads up...

Sorry to hear about your wreck and the subsequent injuries - not cool....

I laid my first bike down at 100 mph, high speed wobble on my souped up silver Yamaha RD400 (2 stroker) I was very lucky I didn't really get hurt at all...

Def lovin the ACR - put about 500 rounds down range so far, not a single hitch - very happy with it, a bit heavier then some custom AR/M4's but I'm ok with it, gunna go for a SBR / can setup with it when they come out with the other promised barrels - or should I say if - LOL

 

[itschris]

Agree with you on all points - I really should start seeing if I can record some of those events - check them out.... thanks for the heads up...

Sorry to hear about your wreck and the subsequent injuries - not cool....

I laid my first bike down at 100 mph, high speed wobble on my souped up silver Yamaha RD400 (2 stroker) I was very lucky I didn't really get hurt at all...

Def lovin the ACR - put about 500 rounds down range so far, not a single hitch - very happy with it, a bit heavier then some custom AR/M4's but I'm ok with it, gunna go for a SBR / can setup with it when they come out with the other promised barrels - or should I say if - LOL

It's just flat out scary to crash. My first wreck happened after riding all morning on my own. My sister just got a bike and wanted me to take her. Of course we had to stop 100 times in the first 5 minutes... coffee, gas, air, etc. She was a bit anal but it was okay. She asked me if I wanted her to check my tire pressure... a bit frustrted... I just said sure as I walked in to get a drink. Well... she inflated my tires to the sidewall spec of 55 pounds. Being a sportbike, i kept my pressure at 29 or 30. After we took off, I notice a lot of virbration, but just thought it was the road. We got to our first long sweeping corner... I went up ahead going about 45... just started to lean the bike and the front end just went out in a split second. I just had zero grip since my tire was inflated so much. I low-sided and hit pretty hard on my right shoulder. I cracked my shoulder blade, but the docs said it should heal if I kept still and rested for a few weeks. After I healed up and got the bike fixed, I rode it to my office one Friday... my first ride since my wreck. I went out to lunch and had a lady on a cellphone pull out right in front of me. I tried to avoid her, but cliped the front end at about 30... got all squirrely and ended up high siding and cartwheeled over my arms. I ended up breaking my shoulder and tearing the cuffs and ligaments in both. So... after 2 surgeries on one, and one on the left, I'm not a 100% and do have some issues. I don't really ride anymore, but I still like to look at my bike. My daugter is just dead set against it and she like to say "I'll give you three reasons", and she'll touch the 3 scares I have from surgeries. It's kinda hard to argue with her.

This weekend is the race in France, LeManns, the old F1 circuit. It should be a fairly technical race so there shouldn't be some lone breakaway that makes it overly undramatic. Lorenzo won there last year, but Dani Pedrossa just seems to have the momentum. Stoner is also itching to get back in the hunt.
It should be a good race.

Here's the schedule for Sunday. AMA is at Infineon as well.
http://www.speedtv.com/schedule/filter/date/2011-5-15

 

[Warpdrv]

Holy Cr@p..... thats just a bad luck deal...

So hard to stand back and look at something you have so much passion for and not be able to do it...

Needless to say I'm somewhat exuberant on my bike, but I am extremely aware of my surroundings and paranoid as hell of all the cagers around me... Put 150 miles on the FJR yesterday and only had a couple of cager incidents that I saw coming a mile away, so I was prepared... Young girls on their freakin cell phones are the worst... One time I was a stop light and as always I have it in gear just in case, some young girl on a cell phone was just about to rear end me - saw it coming in the rearview had to punch it out of there and run the red to keep from getting killed.... head down typing away she was !!!!!

She ended up in the middle of the intersection and I stopped pulled over after - the cop that was there saw me run the red and pull over - he figured it out dam quick when I walking directly at her in the middle of the intersection and pointing and wrote her a ticket, and came to talk to me and settle me down... Ugh...

Thanks for the link to the race - I got it set to record !!

If you can find them, there was a good series on Discovery Channel - "Twist the Throttle", awesome collaboration of the different manufacturers. Really cool to see the grass roots to current date info on them...

 

[itschris]

Holy Cr@p..... thats just a bad luck deal...

So hard to stand back and look at something you have so much passion for and not be able to do it...

Needless to say I'm somewhat exuberant on my bike, but I am extremely aware of my surroundings and paranoid as hell of all the cagers around me... Put 150 miles on the FJR yesterday and only had a couple of cager incidents that I saw coming a mile away, so I was prepared... Young girls on their freakin cell phones are the worst... One time I was a stop light and as always I have it in gear just in case, some young girl on a cell phone was just about to rear end me - saw it coming in the rearview had to punch it out of there and run the red to keep from getting killed.... head down typing away she was !!!!!

She ended up in the middle of the intersection and I stopped pulled over after - the cop that was there saw me run the red and pull over - he figured it out dam quick when I walking directly at her in the middle of the intersection and pointing and wrote her a ticket, and came to talk to me and settle me down... Ugh...

Thanks for the link to the race - I got it set to record !!

If you can find them, there was a good series on Discovery Channel - "Twist the Throttle", awesome collaboration of the different manufacturers. Really cool to see the grass roots to current date info on them...

Here in Florida, we have the added bonus of the elderly and just stupid people in general. The kid/smartphone thing... the smartphone thing while driving in general has totally gotten out of hand. My daughter just got rear-ended about an hour ago by a kid from her school who was texting. It wasn't bad.. she's okay, but it shook her up The kid has already called me pleading with me not to call his parents. It's not just kids though. Every morning I see it. People going 15 miles per hour slower than everyone else because they're texting... forcing people to scoot around them... that's what causes accidents. I wish we'd pass a law here and more importantly enforce the **** out of it and make the penealties harsh.

I've gotta look for the show. I haven't seen it. I don't get to watch too much TV so I'm pretty much out of the loop on anything worthwhile.

 

[Warpdrv]

Sorry about your daughter - glad there was no injury, but at least it becomes a learning experience for her, as to how bad things can get out there and to always - always pay attention both in FRONT and BEHIND, and that CELL PHONES are not good for driving PERIOD !!!!

 

[itschris]

Did anyone watch the races yet? If you haven't watched them yet from your DVR, I'll give the requisite

SPOILER ALERT! SPOILER ALERT!

HOLY CRAP! What a race! The crazy thing about MotoGP is that it's so unpredictable... that crashes are a very real part of the season. Dani Pedrosa had come into the LaMansns with a lot of momentum... Casey Stoner came in with something to prove having been knocked out by Rossi. I had a feeling it was going one of those to leading the way, and Stoner did get by Pedrosa and wasn't going to give the lead back.

But what bad luck for Pedrossa. Simoncelli takes him out and Pedrosa leaves with a broket collar bone. He just recovered from surgery from another crash and now Marco pulls yet another **** move and takes out a rider. It's just ridiculous.

 

[Warpdrv]

I had a busy weekend, but I plan to chill out and watch some of it this evening....

Were you able to check out those "Twist the Throttle" shows... ?

 

[itschris]

I had a busy weekend, but I plan to chill out and watch some of it this evening....

Were you able to check out those "Twist the Throttle" shows... ?

Not yet... I didn't get to watch the races until about 5am this morning. I actually got up a bit early so I could watch them. It was my daughter's birthday on Friday... but whenever her or the wife have a b-day, it's more of a b-day week.

 

[Warpdrv]

Finally got the chance to sit and watch the race yesterday... that was a good one... That win was really sketchy with the way Simoncelli took out Pedrosa.....

Good race, and I see that Lorenzo is still leading the pack for Team Yamaha by 12 points....

Race winner at France.... Stoner Repsol Honda Team

All in all a good race to watch....

 

[itschris]

Simoncelli has been known to be an overly aggressive rider in his days Moto2. He's continued that rep in MotoGP. Lorenzo in particular has had major issues with him... now so will Pedrossa. Dani is one of the major players in MotoGP so now that Marco took him out, they will be some serious backroom discussions with race control about how Marco rides.

 

[Warpdrv]

Yeah I'm wondering what there going to say about the way he cut him off from the outside, causing that crash....

Bad racing there IMO...

 

[jeffsg4mac]

Those guys have a HUGE set of balls is all I can say. I admire their skill more than formula 1 drivers.

 

[itschris]

Those guys have a HUGE set of balls is all I can say. I admire their skill more than formula 1 drivers.

Yeah...no kidding. Unlike NASCAR where they postpone, even "call" a race if there's a drop of water falling from the sky within a 250 mile radius of the track. F1, and yes... MotoGP race in the pouring rain. Try braking from 190mph to 75mph into a chicane in the rain... on a motorcycle.

That's why I stopped watching NASCAR. Too many puss moves out there. I think the last I ever watched was maybe 3 years or so ago when Michael Waltrip won Daytona. It was raining and after numerous delays they called the race... so at the time... he was in the lead so he won. Of course he jumped up and down, did the champagne and all that. I looked on in astonishment. Is that how you want to win? Whatever. My racing hours are spent on F1, World Superbike, AMA Superbike, and MotoGP.

 

[Warpdrv]

It was raining and after numerous delays they called the race... so at the time... he was in the lead so he won. Of course he jumped up and down, did the champagne and all that. I looked on in astonishment. Is that how you want to win? Whatever. My racing hours are spent on F1, World Superbike, AMA Superbike, and MotoGP.

Right - bunch of over idolized pu$$y's IMO....

Well I suppose ya gotta let the Wee Haa's have somethin to booze it up too... all that driving around in circles is hypnotizing to the weak minded !!!

MotoGP race in the pouring rain. Try braking from 190mph to 75mph into a chicane in the rain... on a motorcycle.

Gotta have alot of faith in your tires... Never, Never go cheap on the tires...