MotoGP - Phillip Island

[NinjaMaster]

Seeing as since there hasn't been a thread started on this :eek: , especially since half of this board are Aussies, I figure I will try give a bit of a preview to this round.

MotoGP
Phillip Island is a picturesque, flowing riders track that allows a lot of riders to overcome their bikes deficiencies. The racing is usually tight and fierce with the weather being a real wildcard given the track is situated on the Southern Coast of Victoria. With such a deep field in MotoGP, probably two-thirds of the grid are a realistic podium chance if things go their way. Following is a bit of a rundown on the protagonists:

The main contenders
Obviously if we're talking the main men, newly crowned World Champ and 07 season dominator, Casey Stoner, has to be first cab off the rank. Casey has been supreme all year and with the weight of the title now off his back, he is free to go for broke. Conversely, crowd favourite Valentino Rossi also now has nothing to lose and wins to gain so he can race at or past his very limit. The Hondas are becoming stronger as the season progresses and both Nicky Hayden and Marco Melandri have done well at the seaside circuit in the past and should figure up the front again. Dani Pedrosa has had a solid second season and should never be discounted but Phillip Island hasn't always been kind to him. Suzuki have been the real find of MotoGP in 07 and Chris Vermeulen has proven to be very quick, wet or dry, if he knows the circuit. His teammate, John Hopkins, has had a very impressive season to date securing his first podium positions. Will the Anglo-American be able to snare his first win this weekend at a place that hasn't seen his strongest performances.

The outsiders
Loris Capirossi and Alex Barros two are old warhorses that haven't had the best of seasons. Both are fast at the Island and on their day are still capable of springing the odd surprise. The Kawasaki Racing Team are much improved this year, earning their first podium of the year at the last round in Japan via Randy de Puniet. Randy was very fast in qualifying last year in Aus and will be keen to turn that into a fast race pace this year. Ant West is a real dark horse and will be really pumped to come to his home round on competitive machinery for the first time. Japan saw his strongest qualifying result and had it not been for a ride through penalty for a jump start, he may well have got his first podium. Colin Edwards has raced the Island on many occasions and knows all the tricks and even though his year has been less than stellar, he has a solid record there and is certainly capable of giving the top guys the hurry-up. Toni Elias could do absolutely anything this weekend. If all clicks he will really add some spice to the race and is highly entertaining to watch.

Bringing up the rear
The Tech3 Yamaha boys of Sylvain Guintoli and Makoto Tamada have had a trying year on underperforming Yamaha's and inferior, though improving, Dunlop tyres. Veteran, Carlos Checa will be keen to do well in his final Australian GP but recent form says he will struggle. Keep an eye on these three though if rain falls which is a high possibility. Chaz Davies has the opportunity of a lifetime in replacing the sacked Alex Hofmann at Pramac Ducati for the rest of the year. He will be up against it but was superb in his fill-in ride for the team at Laguna earlier this year and may surprise. Shinya Nakano has been most disappointing this year, struggling on an under-developed Honda and finding it difficult to come to terms on Michelin tires again. Unlikely to feature very high. Finally, bringing up the rear for team KR is Kurtis Roberts. KR are really struggling in every facet and Kurtis will be doing well to make the qualifying cut-off and not get lapped in the race.

Well, that's my MotoGP preview. If anyone wants to do a 250 and 125 one then feel free. I gotta go pack ready to leave tomorrow. Ciao! :)

[ShiftingGears]

Nice review there... whats the weather meant to be like down there?

[tha_jackal]

Nicely done mate :) Ill just make my predictions.. Better do wet and dry..

MotoGP:

Wet-
1. West
2. Vermeulen
3. Melandri

Dry-
1. Stoner
2. Rossi
3. Hayden

250:

Wet-
1. Dovizioso
2. Kallio
3. DeAngelis

Dry-
1. Lorenzo
2. DeAngelis
3. Aoyama

125:

Wet-
1. DiMeglio
2. Smith
3. Pasini

Dry-
1. Pasini
2. Faubel
3. Pesek

Cant wait, bring it :D

[ozrevhead]

I am busting with excitment atmo :D :D :D :D

I dont know if its too ambitious to go for an all-aussie podium but hey a girl can dream cant she :p

Casey been the fastest in the two practice sessions to date and unless something drastic happens he wont be caught on Sunday

[JETFX...]

If its an all wet race Sunday. I reckon it maybe just a fair bet to go with Aussie 1,2,3... Melandri is pretty good also in the wet and will be up there amoungst it too.

If its Dry!!! its going to be pretty hectic at the pointy end. Casey will be damn hard to run with in the dry I predict, let alone catch... and maybe Loris will go hard with him also to if he can get up the grid during qualifying... Iam waiting to see how Chris and Ant do in final qualifiying also, team green are looking a little dangerous too should be fun....

Go the Aussies :s mokin:

[The Phantom]

I've started getting the annual phonecalls from my 'mates' at PI - I answer the phone to hear the bikes howling past, bastages :)

[ozrevhead]

I've started getting the annual phonecalls from my 'mates' at PI - I answer the phone to hear the bikes howling past, bastages :)
thats what my mate did when he was working @ the F1 GP in Melbourne :p

[tha_jackal]

Isnt it a sign Phantom, that you should get your arse down there :D

[osg]

I've started getting the annual phonecalls from my 'mates' at PI - I answer the phone to hear the bikes howling past, bastages :)

+1, but replace mates with bike obsessed uncle.

[tha_jackal]

Stoner is damn fast on race tyres, really quick, alot quicker than the others anyway.. Good quali laps from Pedders and Rossi but still unsure about their race pace..

Westy was in the top five on race tyres, just struggled with his qualy rubber, both Kwaks should be strong for the race with DePuniet looking damn quick on qualy tyres, as usual.. Suzook = wtf? Hope the race is dry, bring it on

Davies is about where its to be expected but im sure he'll hope for a better race..

[osg]

Stoner is damn fast on race tyres, really quick, alot quicker than the others anyway.. Good quali laps from Pedders and Rossi but still unsure about their race pace..

Westy was in the top five on race tyres, just struggled with his qualy rubber, both Kwaks should be strong for the race with DePuniet looking damn quick on qualy tyres, as usual.. Suzook = wtf? Hope the race is dry, bring it on

Davies is about where its to be expected but im sure he'll hope for a better race..

agreed on all the above jackal....... and definately WTF with Suzuki indeed. Decent slap on the tarmac for Casey this morning too.....

[tha_jackal]

All ill say is.. sheeeite :eek:

Westy:

"I thought I was going to be able to put in a faster time on my last qualifying tyre but I nearly lost the front at turn 10," confirmed Ant. "My foot came off the peg as I was trying to save it and nearly went in to the back wheel. It smashed the rear mudguard though, so I was just lucky to stay on the bike. One of those near misses… Anyway, the set up's looking pretty good now: I did about ten laps on a race tyre, and felt quite strong, so as long as no-one else goes too fast it'll be alright!"

What could have been :)

[osg]

What could have been indeed....... he could have repeated Daryl Beattie's efforts from quite a few years ago.... :eek:

[tha_jackal]

I was going to say, what could have been, in many respects :D :s

[Ranger]

Unfortunate for Nicky, but great work for Casey today! :D :up:

Drive of the day goes to Lorenzo though. TWENTY seconds over 2nd place on a bone dry track in a series where half the grid is Aprilias and all on Dunlops. :up:

[Corny]

what a circuit PI is.. amazing

[osg]

Awesome from Stoner again..... my man Vale just doesn't have the guns to hang with Casey.

Great ride by Hayden until the 212V dropped a valve, he was hanging tough big time......

Finally, even though it hurts to say, that was an astonishing ride by Lorenzo, and hopping onto the push bike to ride to parc ferme was funny, the first time i've chuckled at his post race celebrations.

[osg]

what a circuit PI is.. amazing

It's a cracker isn't it Corny..... best circuit in MotoGP for mine.

[JETFX...]

Ah how good was that then. Casey is the man, he was just to good for em again! pretty funny seeing Little Nickys Honda go into melt down just trying to hang with him though :s mash:

Also interesting to watch the Kawasakis steadily on the improve...08 will be Ants year no doubt!

[tha_jackal]

Also interesting to watch the Kawasakis steadily on the improve...08 will be Ants year no doubt!

Umm.. Actually Ant was pretty dissapointed with his weekend at P.I.. Mainly because two weeks before at Motegi he qualified sixth in the dry and had the pace to stick it out on race tyres..

It was clear he/his team couldnt make the rear tyre last for more than 5 laps on race rubber around the Island, which is killing your race virtually before it's started.. Anyway, he fought pretty well and had an entertaining stoush with CV, Edwards, Checa etc.. He'll be looking forward to Sepang im sure..

Back onto the racing, 125s were easily the pick of the bunch, fantastic, nail biting stuff :up: .. In all honesty, the 250 and MotoGP races were snooozefests, sure, Stoner is a freak at the moment and nothing more can be said about him, but everyone would rather see a close race, especially considering the championship is decided..

Im looking forward to Malaysia now and hopefully a better race..

[The Phantom]

It sure was a whitewash by Ducati. Amazing! World riders title, world constructors title, and world teams title - all from a little factory with half the budget of Honda/Yamaha (and probably a fair bit less than what Suzuki and Kawasaki spend too).

Congratulations to Stoner, a win at home beats 8 wins abroad. Icing on the cake.

Good runs from Vermeulen and West considering their set-up woes. Nice work by Barros who is always a factor at PI. Rossi - well, you expect him to finish on the podium. Speaking of, I've never seen the podium girls copping the champagne like they did at PI! Every race, they got soaked... must be the PI party atmosphere.

Stacey McMahon looked hot on the 125 podium ;) Great race from those guys.

And Jackal you're right, I need to get there, but this year was out as my third child was due on first practice :) Still waiting, luckily he/she knows their dad well and didn't decide to put in an appearance during the race - there'd have been a tv in the delivery room :)

[tha_jackal]

Thats a fair enough excuse Phantom, just.. :D :laugh:

Back onto the racing..

P1 Casey Stoner Ducati 41m12.244s Winner Slick Soft Slick Hard
P2 Loris Capirossi Ducati 41m19.007s +6.763s Slick Soft Slick Hard
P5 Alex Barros Pramac d’Antin 41m31.719s +19.475s Slick Soft Slick Hard
P6 Randy de Puniet Kawasaki 41m39.557s +27.313s Slick Soft Slick Hard
P7 John Hopkins Suzuki 41m41.487s +29.243s Slick Soft Slick Hard/Medium
P8 Chris Vermeulen Suzuki 41m47.077s +34.833s Slick Soft Slick Medium
P10 Marco Melandri Honda Gresini 41m49.215s +36.971s Slick Soft Slick Medium
P12 Anthony West Kawasaki 41m50.670s +38.426s Slick Soft Slick Hard (16’&#8217 ;)
P15 Toni Elias Honda Gresini 42m22.715s +1m10.471s Slick Soft Slick Medium (16’&#8217 ;)
DNF Chaz Davies Pramac d’Antin 18m45.841s +15 laps Slick Soft Slick Medium

Westy and Elias were the only riders using the 16" tyre and were worst of the Bridgestone runners, any correlation there? Anyone have an idea why they've been making Westy do the testing for the 16" rear? Noticed him using it for most of his races in GP..

[edlalu]

Gotta say that as I watched Rossi and Pedrosa duke it out a Phillip Island I longed for a battle akin to the days of Rossi vs Sete vs Biaggi. The current group of riders are all very competative, but a little dirty nasty outright dislike and on/off track battling was kinda fun.

And what kind of stat is there on Loris' pass of two top 5 riders in 2 turns? Not riders under mechanical distress. Just straight up spanking them in two successive turns!

[JETFX...]

Umm.. Actually Ant was pretty dissapointed with his weekend at P.I.. Mainly because two weeks before at Motegi he qualified sixth in the dry and had the pace to stick it out on race tyres..

It was clear he/his team couldnt make the rear tyre last for more than 5 laps on race rubber around the Island, which is killing your race virtually before it's started.. Anyway, he fought pretty well and had an entertaining stoush with CV, Edwards, Checa etc.. He'll be looking forward to Sepang im sure..

Back onto the racing, 125s were easily the pick of the bunch, fantastic, nail biting stuff :up: .. In all honesty, the 250 and MotoGP races were snooozefests, sure, Stoner is a freak at the moment and nothing more can be said about him, but everyone would rather see a close race, especially considering the championship is decided..

Im looking forward to Malaysia now and hopefully a better race..

Yes team green are on the improve most definetely without any doubt performance wise! Maybe you did not see qualifying on Saturday? the rubber science can be sorted for them given a little more time by the green tyre boffins as they seem to have good speed and reliability now....
Ant is just a typical Aussie after the race and pissed off with anything less than with at least a step oo the podium. I dont see his performance as disapointing at all really, he was going great guns till his tyres went off very impressive potential ala Casey a season or so back ;)

[JETFX...]

Umm.. Actually Ant was pretty dissapointed with his weekend at P.I.. Mainly because two weeks before at Motegi he qualified sixth in the dry and had the pace to stick it out on race tyres..

It was clear he/his team couldnt make the rear tyre last for more than 5 laps on race rubber around the Island, which is killing your race virtually before it's started.. Anyway, he fought pretty well and had an entertaining stoush with CV, Edwards, Checa etc.. He'll be looking forward to Sepang im sure..

Back onto the racing, 125s were easily the pick of the bunch, fantastic, nail biting stuff :up: .. In all honesty, the 250 and MotoGP races were snooozefests, sure, Stoner is a freak at the moment and nothing more can be said about him, but everyone would rather see a close race, especially considering the championship is decided..

Im looking forward to Malaysia now and hopefully a better race..



Snooze fest eh??? hmmmm, NO WAY personally seeing an extremely talented young Aussie rider coming of age winning his home GP so convinsingly is about as far from boring as I can think of.
Mind you I have been around this sport for a long time now and thouroughly appreciate the intricacies and engineering invloved that it takes to produce a consistant winning performance package such as with Ducati and Casey. Granted the racing this year has only been close when Casey has had a minor problem as such..... No and watching Mick streaking the field during the 90's was not 'boring' to me either.....
Personally I like to see Aussies kicking butt especially Rossi by as big a margin as possible every time, I cant get enough of that..... :D

Yes team green are on the improve most definetely without any doubt performance wise! Maybe you did not see qualifying on Saturday? the rubber science can be sorted for them given a little more time by the green tyre boffins as they seem to have good speed and reliability now....
Ant is just a typical Aussie after the race and pissed off with anything less than with at least a step on the podium. I dont see his performance as disapointing at all really, he was going great guns till his tyres went off very impressive potential ala Casey a season or so back ;)

[burger]

It's a cracker isn't it Corny..... best circuit in MotoGP for mine.
Have to agree, it's a great track.

[Crypt]

Another awesome race from MotoGP. Rossi and Capirossi dueling it out to the very end, to good!

Stoner, what can you say, he earned his title and showed it on his home turf. Bravo!

[The Phantom]

Something for the 'Stoner is just on the best bike/tyre/jockstrap' crowd.

At the start of 2006, Stoner was riding a privateer Honda (LCR), in his first ever MotoGP race. At Qatar, he took pole, with an outright lap record, after having spent two days in airports and airplanes, and with a stomach bug.

He beat Capirossi on the Ducati 990 to do so.

I think Stoner will take the last two rounds as well. 2008 can't come soon enough for the other guys!

[JETFX...]

Something for the 'Stoner is just on the best bike/tyre/jockstrap' crowd.

At the start of 2006, Stoner was riding a privateer Honda (LCR), in his first ever MotoGP race. At Qatar, he took pole, with an outright lap record, after having spent two days in airports and airplanes, and with a stomach bug.

He beat Capirossi on the Ducati 990 to do so.

I think Stoner will take the last two rounds as well. 2008 can't come soon enough for the other guys!

:eek: Aint that the truth...

Maybe he had another "unfair" advantage and was wearing Ducati/Bridgestone non-skid undies?

Looking forward to 08 just the same for the ultimate salt rub Stoner show :beer:

07 will prove to of been tame compared to 08 for team Ducati. The only serious threat to the 'Casey Show' I can envision 'maybe' possibly will come from 08 team mate Marco, he impresses me a lot and just consider how he did this year compared to the factory Hondas!! and he can ride in the wet unlike most of the other Europeans.

Team Red- Stoner/Melandri #1 are a safe bet prediction for 08 ;)

[NinjaMaster]

Sorry for the delay, here is my Phillip Island MotoGP review.

Had a fantastic weekend. Was rapt that race day was fine and sunny and even more stoked with Caseys performance.

The 'weekend' started for me at the Melbourne Motorcycle show the previous weekend where I got to meet Chris 'the gentleman' Vermeulen. He was fanstastic. Signed my t-shirt and shook the hand of everyone he met. Just a really nice guy.
We left on Friday morning and it hosed down on us as I started my bike. :down: We called in at the local Maccas for breakie and took off during a clearing of the skies. The rest of the weekend consisted of a few showers and doing our best not to get blown of the Island but we rugged up and survived ok.
The support acts at Phillip Island were fantastic as usual. Stunt riders doing stupid things on bikes that I wish I was good enough to do. The expo was good with plenty of models (mechanical and human!) from each manufacturer to look at. The local racing classes were of a high standard, though the disappointing thing is that they get bumper grids in front of a large MotoGP crowd that aren't there for the regular rounds. I got to do a grid walk which was terrific to be able to wander passed and view inside of the teams pitboxes. It was really interesting to see Jorge Lorenzo enter his pit just after claiming pole and seeing the whole team clap him. And of course, the highlight of all the non-GP entertainment was the FA-18 Hornet display. It doesn't matter how many times I see those awesome things, they just amaze me.

And then there were the Grand Prix races. The 125's were absolutely sensational. For the most part there was a leading group of about 11 which would segregate into smaller groups and look like breaking up but then everyone would close up again. Was stoked Pesek won as I thought he really deserved it with the race he ran and we had a Pesek fan in our stand complete with Lukas Pesek t-shirt and Czech flag. The Lukas did a burnout for us. Hooray! :)

The 250 race, whilst a non-event for the win, was a fantastic battle for 2nd. I was really hoping for Dovi to get the better of Bautista but it was clear that his horsepower disadvantage just wasn't quite going to allow him to do so. Jorge was in a complete class of his own all weekend and his clearing out wasn't a particular surprise, but the rate at which he did was a bit more unexpected. And as much as I hate Lorenzo's arrogance, I do like his showmanship.

And then there was the main event. Stoner had been fastest in all sessions until final qualifying but he had also taken a couple of tumbles, most notably on Saturday where he had a fairly substantial highside. The big question was who could give him a run for his money? Given that Nicky made a last second jump to qualify 4th, he didn't appear the strongest candidate but then he does have good form at the Island and really put up a fantastic fight. I was real disappointed to see his Honda break down but that sympathy lessened a bit when he carried on like a pork chop. Dani and Vale were never really in the battle for the win but Capirossi's ride to second was fantastic. DePuniet and Hopkins fought back from poor positions for strong finishes. West's Kwak clearly looked to be handling poorly, constantly wheelying under power between southern loop and entering the turn 3 sweeper. It was a shame to see him fade backwards but on the flipside it was encouraging to see Vermeulen pushing forwards after an extremely trying weekend on his Suzuk, resplendent in it's fantastic Barry Sheene tribute livery.

Overall, it was a thoroughly enjoyable weekend that (as always) disappeared too fast. The turnout at the track was really good though not as strong as I was expecting. The only downside is that it is now 12 months til it comes back again. :( Oh well. It won't be that long and WSB will be back and 2008 is looking very promising. I took a bunch of photos and will try post some of 'em when I can.

Cheers.

Clint.

[tha_jackal]

Glad to see you had a great time Clint :)

Ill be there next year, allready counting down! :D