Mugello - almost there!!

This should be a good weekend of racing, Rossi will be determined to
win, Capirossi will be just as determined and desparate to improve on
his poor showing so far this season, then of course there is Stoner,
on form and hoping to keep the momentum going.

It would seem the Duc's will once again have an advantage on the long
straight but the circuit also has it's twisty sections which may
balance things out, unless of course the Ducs can hold the advantage
through the twisty bits too.

I really do think at this stage anyway it will be Stoner, Rossi and
Capirossi who will be the main contenders, if Melandri can get his
Honda working well he may be a factor too.

I'm holding my predictions untill at least Fridays practice.

Can't wait.

Paul

 

The thing is that the Ducs don't handle badly at all, and arguably handle
best when Bridgestone gives them the tires. Which they seem to do as a rule.

Top speed is huge in Mugello. I would not be surprised by a Capirossi-Stoner
1-2.

Pedrosa made some statements in El Mundo Deportivo which make it seem like
the team does not think Mugello is going to offer them a chance to turn the
season around and put and end to his winless streak( which has been *long*).

...pablo

 

Yeah Nicky is going to win, NOT!

A more unworthy *champion* [cough] u will not find....

Cheers

M/P

 

Give it a rest dickweed.
The new Honda's suck and the current Michelin's don't seem to be doing much
better.
How many races has Rossi won this year?
If you weren't on Bridgestone last week

 

Then came the rain that no one expected.

Surprisingly Pedrosa was fastest in the dry practice and Hoppers 3rd
fastest too!!! Rossi and Stoner 2nd and 4th. From the dry practice
it seems the Ducs top speed isn't giving them the advantage I
expected, but then this is just the first practice and teams, riders
and bikes will get up to speed and there will be a bit of reshuffling
I expect.

Not much can be concluded from the wet session other than Stoner,
Hoppers, Vermulen and Rossi are all potential podium material if it's
a wet race.

I just hope the rain clears and the next couple of days are fine and
dry.

I'll hold my predictions untill tomorrows sessions.

Paul

 

Yep they certainly are, considerably quicker too so they must be
losing time through the twisty bits. Pedrosa was 5th fastest and 8Kph
slower than Stoner but 0.6secs faster on fastest lap times so it seems
Ducati need to work on the handling to ensure competitiveness, of
course that was only the first practice so things will change by the
the final session on Sunday.

The new Suzuki engines aren't giving them any top speed though,
Hoppers was the fastest Suz but 13kph slower than Stoner while
Vermulen was 16kph slower, makes me wonder how Hoppers got 3rd fastest
time.

Paul

 

Maybe they just haven't felt pressured to push it through those with all
their might and are leaving that for later... I still see Ducati as the huge
favorite, their positions in the rain also indicate their handling isn't
that poor.

Kenny Roberts Jr... get a better bike. From the clip in MotoGP, it was
amazing to see how little he leant the bike over, yet still managed to do
well in the rain... fantastic hand on the brakes and throttle.

....pablo

 

Yahoo weather (http://weather.yahoo.com/forecast/ITXX0028.html) suggests
it will be wet up to Sunday morning:
# Today (Saturday): Rain showers early becoming a steady light rain by
the afternoon. High 72F. Winds E at 5 to 10 mph.
# Tonight: Thunderstorms this evening with a few showers possible
overnight. Low around 55F. Winds N at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%.
# Tomorrow (Sunday): Rain showers in the morning becoming more
intermittent in the afternoon. High around 75F. Winds NNE at 5 to 10
mph. Chance of rain 50%.

If it is a dry race it's going to be a bitch to choose dry race tyres if
only FP1 was dry!

Bummers

 

Yeah it was dry but also very cool.
With race time going to be about 8 degrees C (15 degrees F) warmer the data
gained is meaninglesss
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++8888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888883



























































































//++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
less