Some new developments to review and report, regarding this weekends USGP: First off, Finnish Rookie Mika Kallio, who has impressed in his first year in the highest rank, will not be in attendance of the USGP, after suffering a severe abrasion to his left ring finger. Said injury occured during the last few laps of the Assen TT, while running in the 6th position. Joked the Finn, "maybe better to cut it off!". No replacement was made regarding Kallio's steed...but who would want to? The works Ducati itself is a total bitch, and I'm no expert, but I'd be willing to bet that the satellite Duck is even worse. Though, surely, if given the chance, and being that he is here in America anyway, Chaz"Nasty"Davies would give her twirl...
On the Honda side of the equation, it was annonced this week that JiR/Scot/Honda rider Yuki Takahashi would be "taking a break" and/or returning to the 250cc class, after the Italian satellite made the suprise addition of Gabor Talmacsi at the Catalan round. Though not offically confirmed, it is highly rumored to be because of Honda's inability to provide JiR/Scot with the extra two bikes needed to campaign two riders, and that Honda would be more than happy to see Takahashi carry the flag of The Land of the Rising Sun in the 250cc sector. Sounds to me like the real reason is that Gabor ponied up more coin than Takahashi did for the ride, therefore...politics reared it's ugly head once again in the motorsport arena, much like the F1 side of the business...but that is a whole 'nother story, on a whole 'nother blog...one I'm not interested in butchering...Hell, who knows, maybe Eccelstone would see it and sue me for using the names "F1" and "Formula One" without asking permission...Now THAT would be a story, folks...

That's enough of my banter, and, until next time, Keep It Fresh, Dogs!

Ciao!!

Bad-assen!

Well, how was the Saturday classic for all y'alls? It was the typical GP race, with one rider in particular running away from the field, and the rest falling back. It looked to be a repeat of Barcelona, with there being an actual dog-fight at the front, but, alas, twas not to be. Both Pedrosa and his teammate Andrea Dovizioso fell in the first turn of the TT Cucuit Assen. Rossi continued his dominance at the front, as Stoner and Lorenzo seemed to just not be able to match Rossi's god-like pace. After the falls of the Repsol-Honda duo, and the seeming lack of pace from the Red Dwarf and Por Fuera, Vale took his milestone 100th career GP win, in true convincing style. Post race reactions, said Rossi: “It’s a fantastic achievement. 100 victories is a great number. Thanks to all the guys who have helped me to reach this number –my teams over the past ten years, Jeremy Burgess and especially all my close friends and family for giving me motivation. We hope to win some other races though!” A great addition, no doubt, to Rossi's 2009 championship title bid. Second-placed jockey, Jorge Lorenzo, had this to say after his solid run on Saturday: “I am happy, because despite an awful start and there being some sections of the track where I lost a lot of ground, I pushed at my limit. Especially at the start of the race,” said the Loren-show.
“When I saw that my front tyre was starting to slide, I said ‘enough’ and settled for second place,” he added, showing the maturity needed in chasing points rather than the head-strong push for glory that has won many a rider the World Championship. “We had a great race with a fierce pace that dropped half a second, so I really couldn’t have done any more.” Casey Stoner, placed third in Saturday's spectacle, had these words for his fans after the race, explaining that he once again, was in no human shape to be on track. Fortunately, Stoner, like all racers, really isn't human, anyway. “I’ve been feeling fine all week but started to feel run down again on Friday and I’ve just got worse as the weekend has gone on. I’ve taken every kind of supplement and vitamin tablet you can think of but nothing seems to have worked, so it is obviously something we need to have looked at closer because I can’t keep going like this and it is costing us points.”
“Thankfully I had a fantastic bike underneath me again today and I owe the team for that. A big thank also to Dr Macchiagodena and our physiotherapist Freddie (Dente), who took good care of me both in Catalunya and here. Unfortunately we don’t have much time to get fit for Laguna but we’ll see what we can do.” Ducati Corse project director, Livio Suppo, had these words on Stoner's "Weekend Paddock Flu", that has been plaguing the firey Aussie the past two rounds: “There is something wrong with Casey’s condition and we are trying to understand what is wrong and trying to help. What we have done so far is not enough and we have to investigate more. Dr Claudio Macchiagodena from Clinica Mobile has done a lot to help after the race and he has some ideas for Laguna so let’s just hope.”

Thats it from me this week, folks, and expect a full-write up, AMA and MotoGP after next weekends first of two US rounds for the GP stars, at Mazda Raceway-Laguna Seca, in Monterrey, California.

Ciao!!!

Well, its been a while, but I'm puttin' down my horsesh*t opinions on the worlds best(and worst)racing series. The expected has occured since the last write up, with Rossi and Lorenzo being the majority of the winners. But, come Mugello, the tables were turned. Rossi didn't have the race he wanted, Pedrosa crashed(suprise, suprise!!), and that allowed the rest to pull away and have a decent battle in the dry-wet race. Both Dovizioso and Capirossi battled hard, in an attempt to win their home race, but neither of them could keep Stoner from what he does best, and that is, well, "Stone"in' the field! He proved once again that he is a sort of freak of nature, being the only man to regularily tame the Ducati into the race-winner it has the potential to be. On the subject of Ducati, the next highest finishing Duc in the ItalianGP was Niccolo Canepa's Pramac satellite machine, bringing him his best GP finish to date. Finishing the Ducati round-up, was Mika Kallio and Nicky Hayden. Mika is learning, but, damn, what is wrong with Nick? He went so well in pre-season but has floundered so far this season on the Duc. If he wants to stay a Duc factory rider, and keep possibly his last ever chance at a factory ride, the Kentucky Kid better step up his game. And, finally, the rider that consistently impresses me is Andrea Dovizioso. This kid has real, true potential, especially if Repsol Honda and HRC can shift their attention from Pedrosa to Dovi. Pedrosa is in a rut, and his spot is already being rumored to being up for grabs to another Spainiard, Alvaro Bautista, from the 250's. Till next round,

MO

Round One is(yawn)in the books...

How was that for ya, boys and girls? Looks like we left off right where we were at the end of the '08 season. Stoner and Rossi waaaaaaaaay ahead, with Lorenzo, Edwards and the rest of the gang half a lap behind. I'm a Stoner fan, a Rossi admirer, and BIG Edwards fan, and this is just a little dissapointing. Not that Edwards isn't anywhere near the podium, no, it's dissapointing that the racing is still not what it was ten years ago with the 500cc beasts, or even three years ago with the 990cc fire-breathers. But, still, the excitement and hype is still there, and it was a GP, none the less. Chris Vermeulen had an alright run in seventh, helping a little after his teammate Loris Capirossi bit the dust. Mika Kallio had an awesome debut on the Pramac Ducati, finishing 8th(I'm always happy to see my fellow scandinavian do well!). His teammate, Niccolo Canepa, well...yeah, finishing last, in a dead heat with Toseland in the end. He definitely has his work cut out for him. As well as JT, he's not looking good in his second year so far on the Tech3 Yam. Dani Pedrosa and Alex de Angelis(a rider, along with Dovizioso, who I feel has alot of potential), had a close call, with de Angelis as the latter took an opportunity to close a pass on Pedrobot in the corner. He earned a call-out from Pedro and a meeting with the stewards post-race. Andrea Dovizioso had a difficult race, missing the setup with the new spec Bridgestones, and finished a dissapointed 5th place(!). Dissapointed? Really...That's damn good for a second-year rider on a factory ride, others would kill to be in that position! It just shows the heart the kid has. Out of '08's rookie class, I think, personally, he'll go the farthest. As far as '09's rookie class...I don't know, we'll have to see...

Official Results-Commerical Bank Grand Prix of Qatar
1. C. Stoner AUS Ducati Marlboro Team

2. V. Rossi ITA Fiat Yamaha Team +7.771

3. J. Lorenzo SPA Fiat Yamaha Team +16.224

4. C. Edwards USA Monster Yamaha Tech3 +24.410

5. A. Dovizioso ITA Repsol Honda Team +27.263

6. A. de Angelis RSM San Carlo Honda Gresini +29.883

7. C. Vermeulen AUS Rizla Suzuki MotoGP +33.627

8. M. Kallio FIN Pramac Racing +34.755

9. T. Elias SPA San Carlo Honda Gresini +29.481

10. R. de Puniet FRA LCR Honda MotoGP +42.284

11. D. Pedrosa SPA Repsol Honda Team +48.526

12. N. Hayden USA Ducati Marlboro Team +48.883

13. S. Gibernau SPA Grupo Francisco Hernando +52.215

14. M. Melandri ITA Hayate Racing Team +56.279

15. Y. Takahashi JPN Scot Racing Team MotoGP +1'00.286

16. J. Toseland GBR Monster Yamaha Tech3 +1'14.978

17. N. Canepa ITA Pramac Racing +1'15.028

Not Classified
18. L. Capirossi ITA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 15 Laps

Championship Standings(after Round 1)
1. Stoner 25
2. Rossi 20
3. Lornenzo 16
4. Edwards 13
5. Dovizioso 11
6. de Angelis 10
7. Vermeulen 9
8. Kallio 8
9. Elias 7
10. de Puniet 6
11. Pedrosa 5
12. Hayden 4
13. Gibernau 3
14. Melandri 2
15. Takahashi 1

Well, looks like the Monday Wrap-Up will be delayed by a day for Qatar. They ran 4 laps in the 125cc event, with Andrea Iannone grabbing the W, and Julian Simon having a major get-off in the heavy rain. 250cc's went off without a hitch, apparently(according to deciphering the live timing on the MotoGP site...), with Hector Barbera grabbing only his second career win in the 250 class. Which, even though it was a known stat, was still suprising, considering him being Simoncelli's main competitor last year in the AAA division of GP. The main show will go off at 2100 hours, local time at Losail. Get ready, it'll be a barnburner!!!

So it begins...

Hey, ya'll...I hope you all reading this recognize me as MinnesotaOutlaw or MO from the CEII forum(Oooh, yeah...THAT jackass...)...anyway, I'll just write a opinion column and provide commentary and results stolen from other, more reputable sites to fill my own...I will normally write after all the events of a GP or WSBK weekend. We'll see how it goes...