It's over - take two (spoiler)

The MotoGP championship, that is. With a 50 point lead now, I don't
see how Rossi can lose this one.

 

So, what happened? I take it Stonah ate pie, or somethin' else unsavory..

Btw, if it's not a typo our beloved Speed Channel is only showing 250 today..

 

Stoner did his customary disappearing act, but Rossi was just reeling
him in (down to 1.2s) when he choked. Hard to say exactly what happened
but maybe he dug a footrest in, and/or lost the front and back together.
Whatever, his race was over. His previous lap was a lap record and he
was on lap record pace. The two of them were trading red and blue
markers on the timing screens.

Stoner has hardly put a foot wrong for 18 months now but that's twice in
2 races. Has Rossi got to him?

They said Doohan was doing the commentary for CBS in the USA.

 

Ahh, that's right CBS is doing some GP, hope the TIVO snags it...

 

BBC coverage (on iPlayer) showed Doohan interviewing Rossi whilst
holding a microphone with a CBS logo. The commentators speculated that he
might need some outside help to pay for the fuel costs of his private jet.

--
Ivan Reid, School of Engineering & Design, _____________ CMS Collaboration,
Brunel University. Ivan.Reid@[brunel.ac.uk|cern.ch] Room 40-1-B12, CERN
GSX600F, RG250WD "You Porsche. Me pass!" DoD #484 JKLO#003, 005
WP7# 3000 LC Unit #2368 (tinlc) UKMC#00009 BOTAFOT#16 UKRMMA#7 (Hon)
KotPT -- "for stupidity above and beyond the call of duty".

 

I agree. The fact that so many people at the front have fallen off
shows the pressure these guys have been under - they push each other
very hard, and it seems the young guns have been faltering there -
first Lorenzo (who now openly admits being afraid in the Spanish
media), then Pedrosa, and now Stoner. Rossi seems a cool hand, but he
is not immune to making mistakes when under pressure. And as soon as
one of those -somehwta predictably- happens, it'll be down to a more
manageable distance again.

The championship is not over. Rossi may be 50 points ahead - but he is
not on to ride for top 4 finishes as a rule.

 

it's over for Pedrosa though, who bitterly attacked Michelin in front
of media, calling them "arrogant" and accusing them of being unable to
admit to mistakes. he said he was ashamed of his performance, and
blamed Michelin squarely for it. i am sure he shall receive their best
support henceforth

 

SPEED had the brilliant idea to broadcast the 250GP race in the same
timeslot as MotoGP on CBS. It all depends on how your Tivo wishlists
are prioritized.

 

Stoner is right on lap record pace. Then he gets a pit board that shows
that Rossi has taken 0.3s out of him. On the immediate next lap he falls
off. What do you want to call it? But more to the point, what is Rossi
going to call it? oh, right, "I think I win this race in California".

Meanwhile, the rider's want
- A one make tyre rule
- no fly by wire throttle
- narrower wheels and tyres
- Either 990cc with top speed limit or
- extra weight to make the 800s less agile.
http://www.motogpmatters.com/news/2008/08/17/riders_ask_for_five_changes_
to_improve_s.html

 

One combination like that would leave Rossi 25 points ahead with,
what, 5 races to go? And why would Rossi crash - he won't be under
any pressure.

She's having her hair done.

 

I wasn't home, but I got 'um, such as they were...

 

That is what the Dish Dual DVR is for: It can record two program at once!

But I downloaded the Eurosport coverage instead.

 

Eurosport may have got it wrong or I did but I thought they said Rossi had
closed the gap from what was at one time 1.4 seconds to 1 second (flat) and
then Stoner fell.

 

There will never bee any evidence of what is really in his head. All we know
is Stoner made a few mistakes at Laguna (and I'm not even talking about
"crash") and then said a lot of immature things to the press and here we are
again with Casey making a mistake.

 

And after Stoner parks it in the gravel again, it really *is* over
now.

Pity Agostini wasn't there to celebrate Vale equalling his 68 premier
class wins. Tho perhaps that's *why* he wasn't there.

 

If you get a chance watch the 250s. best race of the day.

 

Nieto was a better sport about having his record broken, it seems. Or
maybe Ago Italiano didn't feel he needed the popularity infusion from
anyone else.

 

And Barbera acting out the Hulk Hogan part. He better not go to a
local bar tonight.

 

yeah, watched it later. I'd agree that Barbera needs a bit of a
talking too, tho I think the incident with Pasini counts as just a
'racing incident'.

 

Kallio out, Bautista winning and Simoncelli screwing up has tightened up
the championship. But yet again, Barbera screws up the racing with some
stupid block passes. That Pasini pass was scary because it's *so* fast
just there. Barbera got along side him, but not far enough past for
Pasini to actually see him.