PH2: MotoGP Australia
Stoner goes out in style with a Phillip Island masterclass in MotoGP
The view most had of a dominant Stoner
Dani on the floor, title chances over and the leash was off Stoner - not that it was really on him anyway. The predictable win came with a nine-second advantage over Lorenzo - Stoner's sixth Phillip Island win and if you watched the slow-motion shots during practice you couldn't help but marvel at the Aussie's talent and machine control. Like him or loath him, the guy is spectacular on a bike and will be missed in MotoGP next year.
Lorenzo crosses the line in style
Another well deserved podium for Cal, a swansong win for Stoner and a second championship for Lorenzo - you can't argue with that as a result. Unless you are Dani Pedrosa...
Meanwhile in Moto2...
Moto2 and Dani's 2013 team mate only needed two points to be crowned champion - but would the Spaniard back off? Would he hell! Marquez took the lead on lap two but was then demoted by championship rival Pol Espargaro. You can't accuse Marquez of trying to stay out of trouble, but third place with Pol over 10 seconds ahead in first place probably wasn't his best ever rider. Never mind, a deserved championship won.
Further celebrations for Lorenzo in the pits
Moto3 mayhem
Moto3 and the return of Isaac Vinales added a bit of spice to an already decided championship. Khairuddin has been knocking on the door of a race win this season and after taking the lead things were looking good for the Malaysian rider in the opening few laps. He was probably still pissed off about last week'sresult...
A few jump starts (and a bit of a wild overtake) soon split up the leading pack with Khairuddin slipping back and Sandro Cortese taking up the challenge with Miquel Oliveira on his heels and Vinales in the gravel! Cortese took the win from Oliveira with third place going to local boy Arthur Sissis after a fierce six-bike scrap which included Danny Kent who finished a close fifth.
I used to think the same of Lorenzo but he's certainly grown into himself I think, and however bad he was, he was never as bad as Stoner.
I'm hoping that Rossi can bring it on the Yamaha next year...
I used to think the same of Lorenzo but he's certainly grown into himself I think, and however bad he was, he was never as bad as Stoner.
I'm hoping that Rossi can bring it on the Yamaha next year...
What will we be left with next year, two Spaniards who are hardly the pinnacle of entertainment (off track), an Italian whose post race antics are something i would expect to see from a child or at a pantomime and Marquez, the unknown quantity
Although not finished, the highlight in what i thought was a very dull year of MotoGp was Crutchlow, great to see a Brit up the sharp end, if only he had a full factory bike, MotoGp might be worth watching next year, i can only hope Marquez mixes it up with the all too familiar Lorenzo, Pedrosa and probably Rossi battle next year!
Best rider out there at the moment - be good to see Rossi back on a competitive machine though.
As for this weekends race - Stoner around Philip Island...man he was quick!...and Stoner around...er...Stoner....was just awesome - drifting / squaring the corner off at those speeds arooud there was stunning to watch!
I wasn't a fan when he first it the scene, but he's proved time and again that he is world championship material and not many of the current crop of riders can touch him.
I think next year could be very interesting and I'll be expecting to see Cal improving his race finish's, competing for the title and winning his share of races!!.
Also Scott Reading's showing some real promise.
Well done guys!...
I assume those same people go to club race meets (haha, as if they'd do that, you can't buy a t-shirt to say you were there. But anyway...) and walk around the paddock interviewing all riders before watching the race?
I don't give a monkeys what he's like off the bike - I'm not looking to marry the fella I want to see some good, entertaining riding and racing. How anyone can be glad Stoner's leaving is beyond me.
ETA; there's a big ol' thread already running on the PI GP in Biker Banter
Stoner makes 120% of the normal racing look easy, absolutely awesome rider, he can put power down like none of the rest - thats how he achieves the gaps.
Dont care if he is as miserable as a possum off track - but he looks happy with his wife etc, good luck Casey, enjoy whats next and thanks for the visual lessons in absolute bike control on the absolute limit.
They'll be lost . . .
I would prefer Casey saying how it is, considered whinging or not, that some pr media spin you get from the others!
Reveal no emotion, don't tell it how they see it, make sure to be seen drinking from the correctly sponsored energy drink cup, never say anything derogatory about the bike, team, competitor etc etc etc
Stoner was different to this and was the antithesis of the Rossi era celebrations, now we've lost a real talent and people say they are happy, happy for what? Why do you watch it, for the post race interviews or the racing?
After this season MGP will be poorer without Stoner until the next talent fills his shoes, it will carry on, but I hope we still have someone in the pitlane who doesn't feel the constant need to satisfy some fans view of how they 'should' behave.
And we're left with what? Lorenzo, great rider, who now plays the percentages, which is fair enough. Team mate Rossi, has h still got it? But 2 boring identikit Spanish racers, in the same Repsol-Honda team - marvellous! Just what Dorna and Ezpeleto wanted.....
They should rename it the Spanish/ Mediterreanean MotoGP Championship....
Unfortunately i can no longer find the video on the BBC website, but if you saw his crash in qualifying, he gets up and walks away perfectly normally, no limp, nothing! The video briefly goes to his pit crew, then as the video goes back to him he is now limping badly again!
Gassing Station | General Motorsport | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff