[pdad13]

Quite a ride by Jacque. He's gotta lose that white rainsuit, though. Yeech.



And for a few laps KR Jr. looked like he was still riding in MotoGP. Unfortunately, his bike couldn't take the shock.



Sete...ugh. Enough said.



And where, oh where, was Nicky? He claimed electrical problems. Wouldn't surprise me with all the rain, but jeez, how dissapointing so far.



On a related note, did anybody catch Biaggi's p*ssing and moaning after qualifying? What a quiff.



Um, yeah, first post...ahem. Should I be excited?

 

[Pgbexr]

Indeed! The greatest victory today is your first post.

 

[Pinkslip]

Gibernau had to be pissed... Imagine settling for 3rd to get podium, then bamb!- two laps left and your bike starts to crap out!



Hayden isn't doin so hot. At this rate, next season he'll be one of those back-of-the-packer's the commentators only mention when he is getting lapped.



Rossi looked a lot more confident in the rain this week compared to his performance last week (although he still did pretty darn good last week too).



It was interesting to see how much the Kawi (Jacque) gave up to the Honda (Biaggi) on the straights. What is the HP handicap there? 20-30 hp? And yet he still pulled away from Biaggi hard! Good show.

 

[edward44]

Milandri looks to be the real comer in the field. He is very consistent and you don't hear a lot of excuses re can't find good setup. Los Americanos just aren't getting it done and won't I will be willing to bet. I am really glad it was not a Rossi/Geberniau/Biaggi finish. And how did Edwards blow his engine 8 laps from the finish and still end up 8th?

 

[jungkvist]

Seeing that he's one of the all-time-great wet track racers, Kenny Roberts had to be spitting nails after this one. And with Kawasaki coming in second to Rossi, someone in the Honda garage probably had to commit sepaku. BTW, what the hell's a Moriwaki?

 

[jungkvist]

Be Excited! Be Excited!

Congratulations!

As a new memeber of the FPC, you will be receiving a rubber chicken and a case of Tab. Also, to assure that this is one of the most forgetable events in you life, you will also be getting a lifetime supply of Ramen possim-flavored noodles (valued at ablsolutely nothing).

Enjoy

 

[pplassm]

I was great to see two Americans up front for a lap or two.



This race points out a couple of things that are wrong with AMA racing. See the hairball straights on that course? Can't have those on an AMA superbike racetrack. Gotta keep those speeds down.



And racing in the rain? When was the last time you saw that in the US?

 

[36755]

I watched the race and was pretty excited to see Kenny lead the first couple of laps. I kinda doubt he could 've help up with Rossi bearing down on him, but a podium finish was definitely possible until his bike crapped out. So typical of a Suzuki Moto GP effort.



It's obvious that Hayden is not ever going to be a winner at this level. I predict that next year he'll be demoted and Melandri will take his slot. In a few years he'll be back in the AMA.



Olivier Jacque was quite impressive. It's funny how a guy with a supposed horsepower deficit was able to easily pull away from many more powerful bikes. I really think if he wouldn't have diced with Sete for those few laps, he would 've easily caught and probably passed Rossi.



I still think Sete can win races, but looks like Rossi is still "The Doctor".

 

[seruzawa]

Heh heh. Honda in 3rd place. I guess money can't buy everything.

 

[xseal]

Club racers race all the time in the rain ... did it at Summit Point, WV myself this weekend, along with a bunch of other enthusiasts.

 

[schizuki]

"It's obvious that Hayden is not ever going to be a winner at this level. I predict that next year he'll be demoted and Melandri will take his slot. In a few years he'll be back in the AMA."



In an ideal world, both he and Matt Mladin would go to WSB next year.

 

[Nplateau]

Moriwaki

As far as I know, the Moriwaki is based off of the Honda RC211V, but with some different body work and components. I think the guys at Moriwaki believed they could take Honda's world beater and make it better.

 

[Nplateau]

Does anyone know what the difference in speed is riding in the rain versus dry weather? These guys still looked to be going scary fast in the downpour. Hats off to them for that. I hate riding in the rain. Too damn scary for me. Heck I felt tension just watching these guys do so.

 

[Steven_Verschoor]

I briefly held out hope for Hopkins and Robers. The way Hopper stormed inside to take the lead had me out of my seat.



It was amazing the way everyone was dragging knees in the rain. Rossi and Robers where exciting up front, but the guys who really impressed me were "OJ" and VDGoorbergh.



In hind site, I think it would've been awesome of Roberts and Rossi had slowed each other down by dicing and "OJ" had caught them!

 

[Abe_Froman]

Quite frankly that is the one thing I don't fault the AMA for doing. Rain sucks. I don't like riding in the rain, racing in the rain, or watching it on TV. A wet race means it is ruined and doesn't count as far as I am concerned. They should postpone the race for as many days as is required to get one that is sunny and warm and run it then.

 

[Pinkslip]

If I heard correctly, the lap record established in qualifying was 1:59 and change (on dry ground), and during the wet race, they were still pulling 2:16's. If that is accurate, it is freakin NUTS that they only give up 17 seconds +/- to a soaking wet track!



The first race was still more exciting. But hey, we've got a bunch of races to come.

 

[SeanAlexander]

No way. Racing in the rain is awesome and tends to seperate those with true riding skill from those who run near the front because they are merely decent riders with a ton of ca$h for tuning and exotic parts. The rain doesn't care what you are riding, as long as you have the skill. -Sean

 

[SeanAlexander]

The speed difference is entirely dependent on surface condition and the depth of the standing water. Rain times can be as close as +8 seconds a lap from a good dry time, to as far off as +45 seconds, depending on the above factors. -Sean

 

[edward44]

Checa's fasted speed was 342 kph in QP while in the race it was 313 kph. Rossi's best was 330 kph in QP and he hit 320 kph on his 20th lap in the race. No doubt because he was aware he was being overhauled. Check MotoGP site for analysis .

 

[23063]

Don't judge Hayden based on the China race. He is notoriously bad in the rain. When I first turned it on and saw that it was pouring there I knew we'd see Roberts up front and Nicky somewhere in the rear.



Rossi never surprises me.