Rossi has been bitching that he's not going to get enough time on the Duc' before 2011 season begins?
(Yamaha is struggling to release him to test the Duc' at Valencia).

He apparently has had a sling at Stoner concerning his commitment to the current bike, and it's development.

Apparently Rossi thinks Stoner doesn't make the most of practice, and that's why the Duc' lacks...

Stoner in reply, has mentioned Rossi is 'already making excuses', and when he gets his arse on the Duc', he'll understand that the bike is difficult to ride.

What's the guff?

Let's be nice.:D

Oh yeah... Hayden rides that bike as well but has not been mentioned.

OK so I avoided the tv and Internet all day so I could enjoy the MotoGP race. As many of you know it aired at 8pm tonight after the speed report. Knowing that the speed report would have a story on the race I avoided it and watched a bit of mind rot leading up to the race. Next thing I know it is 8pm so I switch the channel to Speed.

So the speed report was finishing up the credits. There was about 15 seconds left of the program and you know what these ass clowns show for the last 3-5 seconds of the damn show leading into MotoGP coverage:

Dani taking the checkered flag.

Now who the hell in their right mind thought it was a good idea to show the winner of a race that their viewers were about to see?!?

I think this is the last straw. I just got pushed to buy a membership to the MotoGP site.

I know a bunch of us have vented about speed in the past. This is just another reason to hate them.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2010...to2-san-marino

race in peace. :(

Seventeen year old American Jake Gagne just clinched the Red Bull MotoGP Rookie championship! :yeah:

http://www.superbikeplanet.com/2010/Sep/100904g.htm

Congratulations, Jake! Y'know, if some people had their way, you wouldn't even be allowed to ride a motorcycle at your age, much less compete for an international championship. Thank god America is still America... for the time being, at least!

First Practice:
1 Dani Pedrosa Repsol Honda Honda 1:34.772
2 Andrea Dovizioso Repsol Honda Honda 1:35.384
3 Jorge Lorenzo Fiat Yamaha Yamaha 1:35.444
4 Valentino Rossi Fiat Yamaha Yamaha 1:35.539
5 Colin Edwards II Tech 3 Yamaha Yamaha 1:35.834
6 Ben Spies Tech 3 Yamaha Yamaha 1:35.892
7 Nicky Hayden Ducati Marlboro Ducati 1:36.028
8 Casey Stoner Ducati Marlboro Ducati 1:36.072
9 Marco Melandri San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 1:36.126
10 Loris Capirossi Rizla Suzuki Suzuki 1:36.277
11 Hector Barbera Paginas Amarillas Aspar Ducati 1:36.293
12 Randy De Puniet LCR Honda Honda 1:36.454
13 Marco Simoncelli San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 1:36.533
14 Aleix Espargaro Pramac Racing Ducati 1:36.716
15 Hiroshi Aoyama Interwetten Honda MotoGP Honda 1:37.001
16 Mika Kallio Pramac Racing Ducati 1:37.697
17 Alvaro Bautista Rizla Suzuki Suzuki 1:37.900

It is interesting how the front half of the field has grouped itself. I think it shows how good each particular machine is when they are grouped like this.

First Practice:

1 Max Biaggi Aprilia Racing Aprilia RSV4 1000 1:56.571
2 Michel Fabrizio Ducati Xerox Team Ducati 1098R 1:56.626
3 Carlos Checa Althea Racing Ducati 1098R 1:56.699
4 Noriyuki Haga Ducati Xerox Team Ducati 1098R 1:56.897
5 Shane Byrne Althea Racing Ducati 1098R 1:56.967
6 Jonathan Rea HANNspree Ten Kate Honda Honda CBR1000RR 1:56.973
7 Cal Crutchlow Yamaha Sterilgarda Team Yamaha YZF R1 1:57.083
8 Leon Haslam Team Suzuki Alstare Suzuki GSX-R1000 1:57.225
9 Troy Corser BMW Motorrad Motorsport BMW S1000 RR 1:57.250
10 Lorenzo Lanzi DFX Corse Ducati 1098R 1:57.413
11 Jakub Smrz Borciani-Guandalini Racing Ducati 1098R 1:57.418
12 Sylvain Guintoli Team Suzuki Alstare Suzuki GSX-R1000 1:57.728
13 Luca Scassa Supersonic Team Ducati 1098R 1:57.745
14 James Toseland Yamaha Sterilgarda Team Yamaha YZF R1 1:57.831
15 Ruben Xaus BMW Motorrad Motorsport BMW S1000 RR 1:57.835
16 Leon Camier Aprilia Racing Aprilia RSV4 1000 1:57.919
17 Tom Sykes Kawasaki Racing Team Kawasaki ZX 10R 1:58.097
18 Max Neukirchner HANNspree Ten Kate Honda Honda CBR1000RR 1:58.542
19 Roger Hayden Team Pedercini Kawasaki ZX 10R 1:59.551
20 Ian Lowry Kawasaki ZX 10R 1:59.78

Ducati is four out of the top five positions. Hard to lobby for rules changes in your favor when the time sheets look like this...

In today's paddock chatter, Greg White mentioned Ducati may be pulling their support for Pegram's AMA superbike team. He didn't say what kind of bike Pegram might switch too. The field really needs another Suzuki...

So the math equation is something like this:
Rossi = Ducati - WSBK - AMA :mad:

I hate to be the cynic, but they're supposed to be holding the first F1 race in Austin in 2012, and here's what they have so far...



Now, that's great and all, but they sure have a long way to go to make this a reality. Good luck!

If it DOES happen, it certainly looks like a fun track for bikes. Nice little wheelie hill coming off T11, 133 feet of elevation change, uphill hairpin for T1, plenty of corners. (Though I'm not sure where an F1 car is going to hit 200 mph on this track, unless my sense of scale is way off!) I'd love to see a MotoGP race there....

But let's see some dirt get moved first. :rolleyes:

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I just saw that 13 year old young gun Peter Lenz died at Indy during his USGP warmup lap. How heartbreaking for his family and friends. I have been able to follow his young career from afar and thought he may be one to carry the torch for the US. My thoughts and prayers go out to all of his family and friends.

More info is at roadracingworld.com.

Ps. I am shocked there wasn't any mention of this on the Speed broadcast.

Didn't see this posted anywhere else, taken from Speed website;

PROGRAMMING NOTE: The Red Bull Indianapolis Grand Prix will air LIVE on SPEED today at 3:00pm EST with coverage of the Moto2 race to follow at 7:00pm EST.

Qualifying

1 Ben Spies Tech 3 Yamaha Yamaha 1:40.105
2 Jorge Lorenzo Fiat Yamaha Yamaha 1:40.325
3 Nicky Hayden Ducati Marlboro Ducati 1:40.336
4 Andrea Dovizioso Repsol Honda Honda 1:40.559
5 Dani Pedrosa Repsol Honda Honda 1:40.637
6 Casey Stoner Ducati Marlboro Ducati 1:40.664
7 Valentino Rossi Fiat Yamaha Yamaha 1:41.005
8 Marco Simoncelli San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 1:41.092
9 Colin Edwards II Tech 3 Yamaha Yamaha 1:41.232
10 Loris Capirossi Rizla Suzuki Suzuki 1:41.512
11 Alvaro Bautista Rizla Suzuki Suzuki 1:41.534
12 Marco Melandri San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 1:41.623
13 Hiroshi Aoyama Interwetten Honda MotoGP Honda 1:41.631
14 Aleix Espargaro Pramac Racing Ducati 1:41.649
15 Mika Kallio Pramac Racing Ducati 1:41.856
16 Hector Barbera Paginas Amarillas Aspar Ducati 1:41.896
17 Randy De Puniet LCR Honda Honda 1:41.923

I decided to buy a few Duke video's of BSB championships. Man is that series great! One I have is the 2005 BSB w/ Lavilla hopping on the Airwaves 999 just before the start of the season due to Haydon's injury. The racing is fierce! no quarter given, none taken-get the fuck out of my way I'm coming thru type racing. They are always bumping and pushing on each other-just so incredibly entertaining. The tracks are tight, like walking paths over here...well that's extreme, but they are narrow, rolling tracks and the camera's are right next to the track catching the action. Extremely well edited and covers the entire 14 round series, 3 hrs worth! I can't believe the amount of fans they have over there in the UK compared to the amount we get here......they love their motorcyce racing over there for sure!
It's a shame but our AMA series pales in comparison to the UK series..but our guys look like a bunch of girly men compared the the UK guys! To say thier passionate for motorcycle racing in the UK and Europe would be an understatement! Well worth a few bucks.

I was reading an article in Asphalt & Rubber regarding the possibility of Ducati taking a year off of WSBK(2011) due to the enormous amount of money it took to sign Rossi??? Wow!

I'm kidding Rainman, kidding :D