Africa GP Results

He had one!

when max was with honda he complained his honda was not as good as rossi's honda.

when he was with yamaha he complained the yam is not as good as the honda.

on sunday he complained the bike was not set up properly for one key section of the track.

it would be refreshing to hear him for once tell the truth: he is second fastest to "the doctor."

after watching rossi for several seasons now i think i know the reason for his success. he is The Master at riding at 95 percent of his maximum, conserving his energy, tires, and engine until the very end, when it counts. then he kicks in the afterburners, at which point no one can match his pace. it's crazy that his max is so much higher than everyone else's, and that his cruising pace is right at everyone else's max speed.

looks like a tough season for honda. "the doctor" is in. drop 'em & cough!

Re: Max's Last Chance?

Exactly. Gibernau was good last season, but I rate Biaggi's chances higher this year.

Barros can be very fast, but not on a regular basis. Hayden is talented but still young, and at the moment off the pace (losing almost a second per lap, ouch). Edwards isn't up there yet either, he will have the regular first-year-on-a-new-bike problems. They will need to work hard to improve in the next few races. Probably the new 16.5 inch wheels most teams are using take some getting used to as well. The thing is, to win the championship you need to be on the podium just about every every time, and it's hard to catch up during the season.

Of course, it's only the first race, but Biaggi and Rossi sure beat the hell out of the rest of the field.

And yes, it's a shame that it's limited that the coverage is limited during the race, but I wouldn't have missed a minute of the battle in front, incredible stuff. I really had the feeling I was watching a historic event ;-)

Oh, it's also a shame to see Ducati having problems with their new bike! It seems Bayliss can be taken off the list of contenders...

Mighty Max and Little Loris

I'm no Biaggi fan by any stretch of the imagination, but I have a renewed respect for him after watching the epic battle on Sunday. It's easy to tag him for whining because of his history. And sure, he tossed out a comment about his setup after the race, but then again so did Gibernau and Edwards, among many others I'm sure. The fact is that the GP guys are leather-clad gods of the apexes, and the small differences in setup or minute mental errors are sometimes the only difference between a podium and a DNF. So I'm willing to cut Max a little slack if he continues to hang around and push Rossi and this series to more thrilling finishes.

On a side note, hats off to Capirex for scoring 6th for a bike that is apparently two steps back on the development curve at the moment. As much as I'd prefer to see Bayliss rip up the field, you can't deny that the little guy can ride like stink. And right now, he's the best hope for breaking up the Yamahonda parade. Here's hoping that the desmosedici can shine at some of the faster tracks, and that the WSB guys get on track sooner rather than later.

Not since the Edwards-Bayliss battle in WSB have I witnessed such a good race! Incredible! So many factors made this race beyond intriguing. The race itself was amazing, I was actually thinking that once Rossi's tires started to go off Biaggi would get by him. I was thinking that while they battled, Gibernau could conserve his tires and get them both in the end. I have newfound respect for Biaggi. Though he came in second, he showed how good he actually is. Rossi blew me away. At about mid way through the race I really thought he was going to start going backwards. Amazing to watch both these guys.



I bet Honda is royally ticked off along with the Butcher and his Honda mag. It's too bad Edwards couldn't have done the same thing on the Aprilia.



Top speed on this track was about 160mph, it'll be interesting to see if the faster tracks will make a difference for the Yamaha. It seemed like the RCV was getting better drive off the corner before the straight, so maybe a longer straight at another track would give the Honda the advantage.



I really feel bad for Bayliss, I wish he was in a more competitive position. I rate him higher than Edwards or Hayden, plus I'd like to see Ducati up front.



By the way, the second WSB race yesterday was great. Perhaps it will be worth watching this year. What was the guy's name up front for most of the laps, Laconi? I could be wrong but it was fun watching him slide that Ducati all over the place.



Oh yeah, I wonder how Edwards took getting beat by Hayden?

Indeed, and in the end it's always the combination of rider and bike that wins, to greater glory for both. I do get the impression Yamaha has stepped up the development effort, of course directed by Rossi and Burgess.



That's the thing though, the Honda guys are suddenly finding themselves without this team

developing the RCV for them, they have to do it themselves now. Suddenly they have problems with grip, chatter, don't know what tyres to choose, yadi-yadi-yada.



Perhaps the few months old RCV parts developed by Rossi & Burgess weren't so bad, at least they had been further developed than the stuff that comes straight from the factory, and you could always complain about the fact that you got the new bits later.



Again, I do think the change to 16.5 inch wheels plays a role as well, apparently they take some getting used to, adding another factor to the equation.



Biaggi made a big impression on me though, I think he's the Honda man to watch at the moment.