Hayden - Rossi

It has been a lonely battle for Kallio this season. He has had to race
two Aprilia teams by himself. The other KTM riders have usually been
hiding in the slower groups. I'd say Kallio is as good as Bautista when
it comes to riding skill (2nd time for Kallio to finish 2nd in the 125cc
championship), but Bautista has had a really consistent and impressive
bike setup in all GPs so far.

Last year Kallio had a better chance to win the championship, but he
blew the easy points a few times by trying out the Rossiesque last lap
moves. This year he has succeeded in performing a few of them, but like
last year, the few DNFs and Bautista's marginal speed advantage gave
away the championship hopes.

Bautista showed out the new 125cc Aprilia bike in Estoril. The rest of
the grid couldn't challenge him at all, because he had ran away on a 15
second lead by the finish line. I don't think that KTM's 125cc bikes are
going to able to challenge Aprilia's dominance next year at all. Given
that, it's good for Kallio to move on to 250cc, because Aoyama has
proven that KTM is competitive there.

The only way Kallio can ever enter the MotoGP grid is to win the 250cc
championship. I'm hoping for him to do that.

 

I was about to ask where else could they race and you have just answered.
The only possible problem with another USA and possibly Canadian round would
be the exclusion of 125's and 250's, while missing 1 race in the season
isn't that big a deal missing 3 would be.
New Zealand is interested in hosting too but but I'm not sure if it's
economically viable to get any track to a GP standard although I believe
Mansfield is / has been considered.
Another round in Australia could be a possibility although having to travel
there twice in one season may prove too expensive.

When selecting venues over a season how much consideration is given to the
cost of travel, jet lag and all the other consequenses long distance travel
brings? Perhaps that is one reason they select so many Euro tracks to
minimise this.

Paul

 

It hasn't been that long since there were both a Japanese GP and a Pacific
GP (held in Japan) in the same year. There is a Far East trip in the Spring
(China), then again in the Fall (Malaysia, Japan, Australia). A second round
in Oz or one in NZ could be manageable.

 

Tom,

How much parity would it take for you to consider the championship to be
reasonably fair?

Also, has anyone heard Hayden (among others) to say that the current
circumstances _aren't_ fair, or is all this just ranting from the sidelines
(PI debacle notwithstanding)?

About the only sport I can think of that has anything close to true world
wide balance is soccer.

 

We have a saying: When the green flag drops, the bullshit stops.

There are a good many here who think that their opinions have a
bearing on the outcome of the race in Valencia. I really don't
see how that can be.

 

What I see more likely is not that the opinions matter to the race,
but more so that the outcome will have no effect on opinions.

Just about everybody here has a fixed opinion that will not change
no matter what the outcome is.

Bruce

 

You still didn't really answer the question. Then again, there really isn't
an absolute answer. But there isn't even parity here is the US. How often do
we hear about so and so getting the 'good' tires? Has Eslick has landed a
factory ride? You certainly (and rightfully so) asked the question often
enough this year.

You mean Kevin and Wayne saying that Honda was stoopid [sic] (wonder why
they didn't get a quote from a Honda man like Spencer?)? I mean, yeah that's
a part of it, but I thought we were talking about track familiarity,
location/proximity, and certain nationalities being groomed for MGP via the
125 and 250 GP series.

No worries. But with the background and experience I have, I'm not convinced
that the riders feel the physical circumstances of the MGP series are
unfair. Like the saying goes, "If you can't run with the big dogs, stay on
the porch."

I respect everybody here for their knowledge, but don't lose sleep over
these discussions, either.

 

Ok. Good answers. Has there been anything in print saying that Hayden
_couldn't_ go back to the evo machine during the season if he wanted to?

Let's not rehash that again.

 

Bollocks = balls.

 

Yep, Kallio is moving up. I couldn't find anything about it in English,
but it's acknowledged on his web site (in Finnish).

Indeed, 125cc is fun to watch when there aren't large gaps between
riders, it's a fiercy battle. Another major advantage is the lack of
North American riders. You can make a pass without asking the teammate's
permission beforehand. Just ask Kallio about Talmacsi's move in 2005,
which ruined Kallio's last hopes of winning the title. ;-)