More motorcycle racing from the glorious 500cc Grand Prix era. This is the 1993 Dutch TT (Dutch Tourist Trophy) race from the Assen circuit in Holland.
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
1993 Dutch TT
More motorcycle racing from the glorious 500cc Grand Prix era. This is the 1993 Dutch TT (Dutch Tourist Trophy) race from the Assen circuit in Holland.
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Moto 3: Australia
Here are the highlights of the Moto 3 race from Philip Island.
Danny Webb is a guest commentator. He had an engine issue with his Mahindra bike. Maverick Vinales missed the Malaysia round, but he's back for Australia. He has apologized to everyone for missing the Malaysia round. 23 laps are scheduled. On the pole will be Sandro Cortese (the World Champion in Moto 3). He won the 125cc race last year. Arthur Sissis is running in his home race. The bikes set off on their formation lap.
At the start, Zulhfammi Khairuddin leads and a few riders get shuffled down the order. Maverick Vinales and Sandro Cortese both drop down the order as the bikes go through Lukey Heights and MG corner. Zulhfammi Khairuddin leads down Gardner straight into Doohan corner. Nikolas Ajo is up to seventh. Jack Miller is starting to move up, too. The bikes enter the Honda hairpin and Sandro Cortese fends off the challenge from Miguel Oliviera. Luis Salom has also made a good start in this race.
Arthur Sissis passes Nikolas Ajo as a bike clips a seagull. What a mess! Alessandro Tonucci is real fast as Ricardo Moretti pits. Into Siberia corner, Maverick Vinales moves up. Zulhfammi Khairuddin still wants a win in his 50th start. Roberto Moncayo and Arthur Sissis are running well. Jonas Folger is right behind Khairuddin now. Sissis tries to pass Oliviera for sixth out of the Southern Loop. Sissis defends his spot into the Honda hairpin. Cortese is right where he wants to be and pounce when it's right.
There's a long way to go yet. Five riders will be penalized for jumping the start. Alberto Moncayo, Jonas Folger, Louis Rossi, and Luis Salom, are all going to be sent to the sin bin. Jack Miller will be, too. Louis Rossi has gone off the road in the Honda hairpin. That might just negate his penalty. Maybe. Sissis and Cortese are going to be in a battle. Louis Rossi has served his penalty. But the others still need to do it. Luis Salom is serving his penalty with 17 laps to go. Salom resumes in the race as Sandro Cortese takes over the lead with Miguel Oliviera. Jack Miller serves his ride through penalty, too.
This is Miller's home race. He'll be gutted. But he needs to get it done. Jonas Folger has fallen behind significantly. Folger also has to serve his penalty. He must come in to avoid being black flagged. Cortese and Oliviera are pulling away. Danny Kent is also back there. Alex Rins has come from sixteenth to fourth. He was last year's Spanish Moto 3 champ. The bikes comes over Lukey Heights and Niklas Ajo slides his bike off into the gravel trap and he fortunately stays on the bike! But, man, did he have to wrestle it! That incident was in turn eleven.
Ajo slowed up some of the riders. Oliviera is ahead of Alex Rins by two seconds. Brad Binder will be penalized. He needs to serve it before he's black flagged. Miller still needs to serve his penalty. He does. Maverick Vinales is up to third. Miguel Oliviera is right behind Sandro Cortese. This is the lead battle. Fourteen laps remain. Sissis takes over third into the Southern Loop. He tucks in behind Alessandro Tonucci. Sissis is forced wide and Vinales passes as Tonucci gets right onto the ripple strips separating the track and the grass. Nicolas Ajo has another fall. Cortese is pulling away, but, Oliviera is coming.
Miguel Oliviera wants his first Moto 3 win and didn't ride at Philip Island last year. Alex Rins and Romano Fenati battle back in the pack. Maverick Vinales is catching up and so is Jonas Folger. Folger runs 18th. This happens when a rider is penalized. They lose on track time, and track position. There's a yellow flag. Someone has crashed. It's probably Nikolas Ajo. He's been taken to the medical center for a checkup. Arthur Sissis could get on the podium. But he must pass Rins and Vinales in order to do it. Ten laps now remain.
Zulhfammi Khairuddin is now tenth. Salom, Folger, Rossi, and Moncayo have all been penalized. More battling for position in the last ten laps. Arthur Sissis is now third. He's behind the lead duo of Cortese and Oliviera. Maverick Vinales has crashed! He's back on the bike now. But, he crashed in the Siberia corner. The bike is back in pit lane and will have the bodywork changed. However, it's game over for Vinales. Vinales' bike has had the ECU ripped off the engine. Whoa. Romano Fenati passes Arthur Sissis.
Miguel Oliviera makes a move on Sandro Cortese for the lead. Fenati and Tonucci are up to third and fourth. Arthur Sissis is down to fifth. But he's still in contention. Luis Salom languishes in 17th place. Oliviera is gapping Cortese slightly. Can he close up? Danny Kent is beginning to come into the picture, slightly, as Sissis makes a pass into fifth again. Cortese is going really well, but, Zulhfammi Khairuddin is having issues with his KTM. He tried to pull off the road but ditched the bike and fell, hard, in the process. There's a huge battle as Cortese and Oliviera continue to scrap for the win.
Cortese stretches his lead. Sissis is third as Fenati passes Danny Kent into Doohan corner and Stoner corner. Will the Aussie get on the podium? He'll be the first on the podium in Moto 3/125cc since Casey Stoner in 2004. It looks like Cortese will win the race. The battle remains for the remaining spots. There are four bikes in a battle as Danny Kent passes for third. Danny Kent holds on into Siberia over Sissis. Into Hayshed, and Lukey Hights, into MG corner. There's swapping all over the place. Sandro Cortese wins it! It's his fifth win. Oliviera is second and Sissis gets on the podium!
#11 Sandro Cortese GER KTM
One race remains in Moto 3 as well as the other classes for the season. It's in Valencia, Spain, in less than two weeks.
Danny Webb is a guest commentator. He had an engine issue with his Mahindra bike. Maverick Vinales missed the Malaysia round, but he's back for Australia. He has apologized to everyone for missing the Malaysia round. 23 laps are scheduled. On the pole will be Sandro Cortese (the World Champion in Moto 3). He won the 125cc race last year. Arthur Sissis is running in his home race. The bikes set off on their formation lap.
At the start, Zulhfammi Khairuddin leads and a few riders get shuffled down the order. Maverick Vinales and Sandro Cortese both drop down the order as the bikes go through Lukey Heights and MG corner. Zulhfammi Khairuddin leads down Gardner straight into Doohan corner. Nikolas Ajo is up to seventh. Jack Miller is starting to move up, too. The bikes enter the Honda hairpin and Sandro Cortese fends off the challenge from Miguel Oliviera. Luis Salom has also made a good start in this race.
Arthur Sissis passes Nikolas Ajo as a bike clips a seagull. What a mess! Alessandro Tonucci is real fast as Ricardo Moretti pits. Into Siberia corner, Maverick Vinales moves up. Zulhfammi Khairuddin still wants a win in his 50th start. Roberto Moncayo and Arthur Sissis are running well. Jonas Folger is right behind Khairuddin now. Sissis tries to pass Oliviera for sixth out of the Southern Loop. Sissis defends his spot into the Honda hairpin. Cortese is right where he wants to be and pounce when it's right.
There's a long way to go yet. Five riders will be penalized for jumping the start. Alberto Moncayo, Jonas Folger, Louis Rossi, and Luis Salom, are all going to be sent to the sin bin. Jack Miller will be, too. Louis Rossi has gone off the road in the Honda hairpin. That might just negate his penalty. Maybe. Sissis and Cortese are going to be in a battle. Louis Rossi has served his penalty. But the others still need to do it. Luis Salom is serving his penalty with 17 laps to go. Salom resumes in the race as Sandro Cortese takes over the lead with Miguel Oliviera. Jack Miller serves his ride through penalty, too.
This is Miller's home race. He'll be gutted. But he needs to get it done. Jonas Folger has fallen behind significantly. Folger also has to serve his penalty. He must come in to avoid being black flagged. Cortese and Oliviera are pulling away. Danny Kent is also back there. Alex Rins has come from sixteenth to fourth. He was last year's Spanish Moto 3 champ. The bikes comes over Lukey Heights and Niklas Ajo slides his bike off into the gravel trap and he fortunately stays on the bike! But, man, did he have to wrestle it! That incident was in turn eleven.
Ajo slowed up some of the riders. Oliviera is ahead of Alex Rins by two seconds. Brad Binder will be penalized. He needs to serve it before he's black flagged. Miller still needs to serve his penalty. He does. Maverick Vinales is up to third. Miguel Oliviera is right behind Sandro Cortese. This is the lead battle. Fourteen laps remain. Sissis takes over third into the Southern Loop. He tucks in behind Alessandro Tonucci. Sissis is forced wide and Vinales passes as Tonucci gets right onto the ripple strips separating the track and the grass. Nicolas Ajo has another fall. Cortese is pulling away, but, Oliviera is coming.
Miguel Oliviera wants his first Moto 3 win and didn't ride at Philip Island last year. Alex Rins and Romano Fenati battle back in the pack. Maverick Vinales is catching up and so is Jonas Folger. Folger runs 18th. This happens when a rider is penalized. They lose on track time, and track position. There's a yellow flag. Someone has crashed. It's probably Nikolas Ajo. He's been taken to the medical center for a checkup. Arthur Sissis could get on the podium. But he must pass Rins and Vinales in order to do it. Ten laps now remain.
Zulhfammi Khairuddin is now tenth. Salom, Folger, Rossi, and Moncayo have all been penalized. More battling for position in the last ten laps. Arthur Sissis is now third. He's behind the lead duo of Cortese and Oliviera. Maverick Vinales has crashed! He's back on the bike now. But, he crashed in the Siberia corner. The bike is back in pit lane and will have the bodywork changed. However, it's game over for Vinales. Vinales' bike has had the ECU ripped off the engine. Whoa. Romano Fenati passes Arthur Sissis.
Miguel Oliviera makes a move on Sandro Cortese for the lead. Fenati and Tonucci are up to third and fourth. Arthur Sissis is down to fifth. But he's still in contention. Luis Salom languishes in 17th place. Oliviera is gapping Cortese slightly. Can he close up? Danny Kent is beginning to come into the picture, slightly, as Sissis makes a pass into fifth again. Cortese is going really well, but, Zulhfammi Khairuddin is having issues with his KTM. He tried to pull off the road but ditched the bike and fell, hard, in the process. There's a huge battle as Cortese and Oliviera continue to scrap for the win.
Cortese stretches his lead. Sissis is third as Fenati passes Danny Kent into Doohan corner and Stoner corner. Will the Aussie get on the podium? He'll be the first on the podium in Moto 3/125cc since Casey Stoner in 2004. It looks like Cortese will win the race. The battle remains for the remaining spots. There are four bikes in a battle as Danny Kent passes for third. Danny Kent holds on into Siberia over Sissis. Into Hayshed, and Lukey Hights, into MG corner. There's swapping all over the place. Sandro Cortese wins it! It's his fifth win. Oliviera is second and Sissis gets on the podium!
#11 Sandro Cortese GER KTM
One race remains in Moto 3 as well as the other classes for the season. It's in Valencia, Spain, in less than two weeks.
Monday, October 29, 2012
FIM e-Power International Championship
There's a championship exclusively for electric motorcycles called the FIM e-Power International Championship. Four rounds have been run. There was a race at Magny Cours, France. Here are the winners of the first four races for the e-Power championship. This series has been in existence since 2010. It's for bikes powered by alternative energy sources, specifically, battery power, and electricity. Very small fields of three to four riders compete.
Round 1: France (Magny Cours) Matthias Himmelman GER
Round 2: Hungary (Hungaroring) Katja Poensgen GER
*Round 3: U.S. (Laguna Seca) Michael Barnes USA *Laguna Seca featured a much larger field, of eleven bikes which included star American riders like Eric Bostrom, Steve Rapp, Steve Atlas, and Michael Barnes.
Round 4: Germany (Oschersleben) Race 1: Matthias Himmelman GER
Race 2: Yu Tang CHN
Round 5: France (Le Mans) Miguel Duhamel CDN
Former AMA championship winning rider, Canadian, Miguel Duhamel, wins the season finale for the FIM e-Power International Championship as a guest rider in their race that was a support event for the 24 Hours of Le Mans motorcycle race. So ends the championship season for the electric motorcycles of the FIM e-Power International Championship.
This review of the race winners was compiled sporadically for a while with the list above. More racing action to come from other motorcycle racing series sanctioned by the FIM before the end of the season. As for the e Power series, time will tell where it goes and how successful it is in the future.
Round 1: France (Magny Cours) Matthias Himmelman GER
Round 2: Hungary (Hungaroring) Katja Poensgen GER
*Round 3: U.S. (Laguna Seca) Michael Barnes USA *Laguna Seca featured a much larger field, of eleven bikes which included star American riders like Eric Bostrom, Steve Rapp, Steve Atlas, and Michael Barnes.
Round 4: Germany (Oschersleben) Race 1: Matthias Himmelman GER
Race 2: Yu Tang CHN
Round 5: France (Le Mans) Miguel Duhamel CDN
Former AMA championship winning rider, Canadian, Miguel Duhamel, wins the season finale for the FIM e-Power International Championship as a guest rider in their race that was a support event for the 24 Hours of Le Mans motorcycle race. So ends the championship season for the electric motorcycles of the FIM e-Power International Championship.
This review of the race winners was compiled sporadically for a while with the list above. More racing action to come from other motorcycle racing series sanctioned by the FIM before the end of the season. As for the e Power series, time will tell where it goes and how successful it is in the future.
Sunday, October 28, 2012
Moto 2: Australia
Here are the highlights of the Moto 2 race from Philip Island in Victoria, Australia.
Marc Marquez could become champion after this race. 25 laps are scheduled. If Marquez scores two points, or, if Pol Espargaro doesn't win, he'll be champion. Pol Espargaro has pole position. Scott Redding is second. Alex de Angelis will not start. He is having an operation on his hand after a crash in practice and will have to wait to compete in the season finale in Spain.
At the start, all the front row gets away cleanly and Marc Marquez takes the lead into Doohan corner and the Southern Loop. Toni Elias and Taki Nakagami are going for it. Taki Nakagami takes the lead. Tom Luthi, Pol Espargaro, Scott Redding, and Johann Zarco round out the top six. Scott Redding has Mika Kallio all over him and Dominik Aegerter nearly took him out! Wow! Marc Marquez leads. He wants the title, now, before going to MotoGP next year. Scott Redding passes Johann Zarco. Anthony West is ninth and coming quick. Pol Espargaro follows Nakagami over Lukey Heights, into MG corner. Marquez twitches the bike, allowing Pol Espargaro to get the lead.
Redding is now third. Dominik Aegerter and Tito Rabat are in a battle. Tom Luthi has sunk from third to ninth. Anthony West tries Tito Rabat, but can't get by. Pol Espargaro runs a 1:34 flat. He's quickest on track, in the lead. He has to win to stay in contention. Dominik Aegerter is all the way up to fourth after starting twelfth. Into Doohan corner, Espargaro stays straight and true through the corner, on the same line, trying to mess with Marquez a little bit. If Scott Redding wants to win, he must get by Marquez and chase down Pol Espargaro.
Espargaro is running laps in the 1:43 bracket. Redding continues to close on Marc Marquez. Redding tries to get by Espargaro. Andrea Ianonne has mechanical problems. He runs off at Honda hairpin with a blown motor. Redding has passed Marc Marquez with 20 laps to go. Anthony West is fourth. It seems all these bikes are evenly matched. Espargaro runs a 1:33.745 which is a second faster than the rest of the field, and near his pole time. Pol Espargaro sets fast lap in the 1:33.7 bracket, just as he has consistently done so far. Anthony West fends off Dominik Aegerter, Tito Rabat, Simone Corsi, and others. Espargaro has to manage his gap. He's growing a lead, like Casey Stoner did in the MotoGP race.
Seventeen laps left to run. Anthony West is still competitive in fourth after finishing second in Malaysia last weekend. Marquez runs third and will be world champ if he stays there. Tom Luthi languishes in tenth position at the moment. Bradley Smith crashed in qualifying and has had a bad time this weekend. Toni Elias and Julian Simon battle each other. These two have been rivals before, back in the old 125cc class. Fifteen laps left as Pol Espargaro works his way through Lukey Heights again. Scott Redding really likes this track. He's doing well running at the sharp end of the order.
The race is nearing halfway. West trails Marquez with Dominik Aegerter running a strong fifth. West is 2/10ths behind Marquez. Randy Krummenacher passes Tom Luthi and Mika Kallio is also coming quickly. Pol Espargaro is still keeping up a good pace as Anthony West is going quickly, too. Marquez is third, behind Redding. Anthony West wants a podium in this race. Ten laps left to run. Tom Luthi is out of this race. He's crashed out. He will get back into the race but has no chance of winning.
Bradley Smith and Toni Elias both move up. Gino Rea is languishing in 23rd spot. He is not having the same kind of race he did in the monsoon conditions in Malaysia last weekend. Marquez is still chasing Scott Redding. Pol Espargaro has virtually disappeared and is ahead by a country mile. Marquez is getting really close to Scott Redding and this gives a further advantage to Anthony West. Tom Luthi packs it in. He's a retirement from this race. Pol Espargaro flies down Gardner straight. Tito Rabat, Claudio Corti, Taki Nakagami, and Randy Krummenacher have had good racers today.
There's a whole pack that just can't quite catch the top three. Eric Granado is passed by the leaders. He's a backmarker, down the order. Catching Marquez is one thing for Redding, passing is another, going through Hay Shed corner. Only four laps remain. West is just behind Marquez. Anthony West is really getting close behind Marquez and Redding now. Redding knows he's there down the Gardner straight into Doohan corner. Anthony West is on the podium. The crowd is cheering their hero. Just two laps to go. Marquez will win the Moto 2 title.
Anthony West made his debut in Grand Prix motorcycle racing at Philip Island in 1998. Mika Kallio ditches his bike just before the race ends. One lap remains as Pol Espargaro is on his way to a race win, while Marc Marquez is on his way to a championship. Marquez wants to pass West to get on the podium. That might not sit well with the fans. He's going to clinch the title nonetheless. He's sitting there. Anthony West has made it to second! He almost slides the bike. Can Redding pass at Hay Shed? No. Through Lukey Heights. Pol Espargaro wins it in dominating style!
Marc Marquez gets nipped by West right at the end. But, that doesn't matter. He's third, and is 2012 Moto 2 World Champion!
#40 Pol Espargaro ESP Kalex Granollers
Champion:
#93 Marc Marquez ESP Suter Cervera
Marquez is champion! He's ready to make his move to MotoGP in 2013. There is one race remaining for Moto 2 in Valencia, Spain, coming up in two weeks.
Marc Marquez could become champion after this race. 25 laps are scheduled. If Marquez scores two points, or, if Pol Espargaro doesn't win, he'll be champion. Pol Espargaro has pole position. Scott Redding is second. Alex de Angelis will not start. He is having an operation on his hand after a crash in practice and will have to wait to compete in the season finale in Spain.
At the start, all the front row gets away cleanly and Marc Marquez takes the lead into Doohan corner and the Southern Loop. Toni Elias and Taki Nakagami are going for it. Taki Nakagami takes the lead. Tom Luthi, Pol Espargaro, Scott Redding, and Johann Zarco round out the top six. Scott Redding has Mika Kallio all over him and Dominik Aegerter nearly took him out! Wow! Marc Marquez leads. He wants the title, now, before going to MotoGP next year. Scott Redding passes Johann Zarco. Anthony West is ninth and coming quick. Pol Espargaro follows Nakagami over Lukey Heights, into MG corner. Marquez twitches the bike, allowing Pol Espargaro to get the lead.
Redding is now third. Dominik Aegerter and Tito Rabat are in a battle. Tom Luthi has sunk from third to ninth. Anthony West tries Tito Rabat, but can't get by. Pol Espargaro runs a 1:34 flat. He's quickest on track, in the lead. He has to win to stay in contention. Dominik Aegerter is all the way up to fourth after starting twelfth. Into Doohan corner, Espargaro stays straight and true through the corner, on the same line, trying to mess with Marquez a little bit. If Scott Redding wants to win, he must get by Marquez and chase down Pol Espargaro.
Espargaro is running laps in the 1:43 bracket. Redding continues to close on Marc Marquez. Redding tries to get by Espargaro. Andrea Ianonne has mechanical problems. He runs off at Honda hairpin with a blown motor. Redding has passed Marc Marquez with 20 laps to go. Anthony West is fourth. It seems all these bikes are evenly matched. Espargaro runs a 1:33.745 which is a second faster than the rest of the field, and near his pole time. Pol Espargaro sets fast lap in the 1:33.7 bracket, just as he has consistently done so far. Anthony West fends off Dominik Aegerter, Tito Rabat, Simone Corsi, and others. Espargaro has to manage his gap. He's growing a lead, like Casey Stoner did in the MotoGP race.
Seventeen laps left to run. Anthony West is still competitive in fourth after finishing second in Malaysia last weekend. Marquez runs third and will be world champ if he stays there. Tom Luthi languishes in tenth position at the moment. Bradley Smith crashed in qualifying and has had a bad time this weekend. Toni Elias and Julian Simon battle each other. These two have been rivals before, back in the old 125cc class. Fifteen laps left as Pol Espargaro works his way through Lukey Heights again. Scott Redding really likes this track. He's doing well running at the sharp end of the order.
The race is nearing halfway. West trails Marquez with Dominik Aegerter running a strong fifth. West is 2/10ths behind Marquez. Randy Krummenacher passes Tom Luthi and Mika Kallio is also coming quickly. Pol Espargaro is still keeping up a good pace as Anthony West is going quickly, too. Marquez is third, behind Redding. Anthony West wants a podium in this race. Ten laps left to run. Tom Luthi is out of this race. He's crashed out. He will get back into the race but has no chance of winning.
Bradley Smith and Toni Elias both move up. Gino Rea is languishing in 23rd spot. He is not having the same kind of race he did in the monsoon conditions in Malaysia last weekend. Marquez is still chasing Scott Redding. Pol Espargaro has virtually disappeared and is ahead by a country mile. Marquez is getting really close to Scott Redding and this gives a further advantage to Anthony West. Tom Luthi packs it in. He's a retirement from this race. Pol Espargaro flies down Gardner straight. Tito Rabat, Claudio Corti, Taki Nakagami, and Randy Krummenacher have had good racers today.
There's a whole pack that just can't quite catch the top three. Eric Granado is passed by the leaders. He's a backmarker, down the order. Catching Marquez is one thing for Redding, passing is another, going through Hay Shed corner. Only four laps remain. West is just behind Marquez. Anthony West is really getting close behind Marquez and Redding now. Redding knows he's there down the Gardner straight into Doohan corner. Anthony West is on the podium. The crowd is cheering their hero. Just two laps to go. Marquez will win the Moto 2 title.
Anthony West made his debut in Grand Prix motorcycle racing at Philip Island in 1998. Mika Kallio ditches his bike just before the race ends. One lap remains as Pol Espargaro is on his way to a race win, while Marc Marquez is on his way to a championship. Marquez wants to pass West to get on the podium. That might not sit well with the fans. He's going to clinch the title nonetheless. He's sitting there. Anthony West has made it to second! He almost slides the bike. Can Redding pass at Hay Shed? No. Through Lukey Heights. Pol Espargaro wins it in dominating style!
Marc Marquez gets nipped by West right at the end. But, that doesn't matter. He's third, and is 2012 Moto 2 World Champion!
#40 Pol Espargaro ESP Kalex Granollers
Champion:
#93 Marc Marquez ESP Suter Cervera
Marquez is champion! He's ready to make his move to MotoGP in 2013. There is one race remaining for Moto 2 in Valencia, Spain, coming up in two weeks.
Saturday, October 27, 2012
MotoGP round 17: Australia
The penultimate round of the 2012 MotoGP World Championship is the Australian Grand Prix at the Phillip Island Grand Prix circuit in Phillip Island, Victoria, Australia.
This is a very picturesque area with much farmland surrounding it. If Jorge Lorenzo wins today's race, he'll win the title. But, if native son Casey Stoner wins, he'll have six wins at his home track. Stoner will give 110% for sure and loves this track. Turn three has been named after Casey Stoner. Stoner's countryman, Chad Reed (U.S. Supercross champion) is in attendance at the race this weekend. Ben Spies is out after his crash. He won't start this race and may not start the season finale.
In practice, it was very cold, and here are the qualifying results. Rain came just before the end of the session. Casey Stoner set pole at 1:29.623 with Jorge Lorenzo second, and Dani Pedrosa, third. Randy de Puniet qualified ninth just ahead of Nicky Hayden. Colin Edwards qualifies sixteenth. Cal Crutchlow qualified well, but has been suffering from bronchitis and a fever this weekend. Ivan Silva starts caboose on the field.
The bikes set off on their warmup lap. Philip Island is a unique track according to riders. There are twelve turns with just two slow ones. It will be called Stoner Curve.
At the start, Jorge Lorenzo does a wheelie but gets the lead going into the Southern Loop. Coming thorugh Stoner Curve and Honda Corner, Dani Pedrosa takes the lead away from Jorge Lorenzo. This race will be 27 laps. Coming over Lukey Heights and into turn ten, the bikes fly on the straight. Stoner is up to second. Stoner is reeling in Pedrosa. However, it's over for Pedrosa! He falls down! He's out of this race! Jorge Lorenzo will be champion. Pedrosa is back on his bike, but pushed too hard and ditched his bike. The race enters it's third lap with Stoner running fastest lap at 1:30 and a half.
Pedrosa went too deep and low sided the bike. Casey Stoner is trying to gap Jorge Lorenzo right now as Pedrosa retires. There's a three way battle for the podium. It's the satellite Yamaha's and Honda's. Cal Crutchlow, Andrea Dovizioso, Alvaro Bautista and Stefan Bradl all scrap. Crutchlow wants a podium after failing to finish in Japan and Malaysia. Stoner wiggles the bike big time, but he holds on. Jorge Lorenzo has to ride his own race. Next year, he'll team with Valentino Rossi. The train of the Tech 3 Yamaha's and the two Honda's continues to chug right along.
Casey Stoner is a full second faster than Jorge Lorenzo. Crutchlow, Dovizioso, Bradl, and Bautista, are all faster in lap time than Lorenzo. Cal Crutchlow runs a 1:31 flat and is 7/10ths quicker than Lorenzo. Colin Edwards is out of this race. Meanwhile, Alvaro Bautista is battling Andrea Dovizioso. Lorenzo is matching Stoner's lap times but is still three seconds behind. Stoner, Pedrosa, and Lorenzo all have 44 wins in various Grand Prix level motorcycle races. Stoner could make it 45 today.
Valentino Rossi leads a train with Karel Abraham and Nicky Hayden. Aleix Espargaro and Randy de Puniet battle for CRT honors. de Puniet is running well, but CRT bikes can't keep up with the prototype bikes. It's just like the old two stroke vs. four stroke battle in the 500cc days. Sixteen laps to run yet. Stoner runs across the whole of the curb in turn three named after him and is going very well. Stoner, (like Mick Doohan, and Barry Sheene, before him), will be another great Aussie motorcycle rider.
Cal Crutchlow is now in third, but Alvaro Bautista gets shocked by Stefan Bradl into Doohan corner, after the bikes come down Gardner straight (named for another Aussie motorcycle champ, Wayne Gardner). The bikes fly through Lukey Heights and into MG corner. Nicky Hayden set the lap record at Philip Island in 2008 and Stoner could break it, maybe. That was back in the days of 800cc MotoGP bikes instead of 1000cc machines. Twelve laps left to run now. Valentino Rossi and Nicky Hayden scrap for seventh. Randy de Puniet, Alvaro Bautista, and others, are running between ninth and twelfth spots.
Casey Stoner is having a great send off in his home race and still could win it. Alvaro Bautista is still chasing Andrea Dovizioso in this battle for fifth. Roberto Rolfo is out of the race. Rolfo has won at Philip Island, in the old 250cc class. Seven laps left to run. Alvaro Bautista is great on the brakes. Former World Champion Alex Barros was also a master at braking technique. Aleix Espargaro has passed Randy de Puniet, and is now tenth, leading among the CRT bikes. Bautista is trying to pass Dovizioso. But, it's doubtful he will.
Stefan Bradl is doing point and squirt maneuvers more than his pursuers. With tire wear, riders will square off turns and have to manage the front tire. Jorge Lorenzo passes Ivan Silva. Four laps left in the race. Jorge Lorenzo is on his way to a MotoGP championship title. Dovizioso and Bautista have passed Bradl with four laps left. Coming into Lukey Heights, this battle is far from over. Stoner will get his 40th win in top level motorcycle racing. Danilo Petrucci is 13th and he'll get a good finish in his first race at Philip Island.
Will Petrucci run next year? We'll see. Casey Stoner is mastering this track. Michele Pirro gets loose but continues. The scrap between Dovizioso, Bradl et al is hot and heavy just before the end. Randy de Puniet and Aleix Espargaro continue trading spots for CRT honors. Bautista passes Dovizioso and so does Bradl, on the last lap. Casey Stoner will win this race, and Jorge Lorenzo will be champion. Dovizioso is flying, and his bike begins to shake. Did Stoner's knee hit the dirt? Yes. But he holds on. He comes through Lukey Heights again.
Jorge Lorenzo is going to win another MotoGP championship. Casey Stoner wins it! He earns his sixth straight win at Philip Island. Meanwhile, Jorge Lorenzo is the champ!
#1 Casey Stoner AUS Honda
World Champion:
#99 Jorge Lorenzo ESP Yamaha
This is Lorenzo's second title! He had sixteen top two finishes in seventeen races, making him champion for the second time, also winning the title two years ago, in 2010. Lorenzo and Stoner are both enjoying the admiration of the crowd. Lorenzo is parading his bike around the track. Will he wear the #1 plate in 2013? It's his choice if he wants to or not. He does a burnout in celebration. He ios ecstatic and his crew surrounds him as he's on the bike, standing on the fuel tank.
Jorge Lorenzo earns 350 points in clinching his title. There are still positions to play for, headed into the final race. Honda wins the teams title and could win the constructors title. Just one more race remains in MotoGP in 2012. It's going to be in Valencia, Spain, coming up in two weeks.
This is a very picturesque area with much farmland surrounding it. If Jorge Lorenzo wins today's race, he'll win the title. But, if native son Casey Stoner wins, he'll have six wins at his home track. Stoner will give 110% for sure and loves this track. Turn three has been named after Casey Stoner. Stoner's countryman, Chad Reed (U.S. Supercross champion) is in attendance at the race this weekend. Ben Spies is out after his crash. He won't start this race and may not start the season finale.
In practice, it was very cold, and here are the qualifying results. Rain came just before the end of the session. Casey Stoner set pole at 1:29.623 with Jorge Lorenzo second, and Dani Pedrosa, third. Randy de Puniet qualified ninth just ahead of Nicky Hayden. Colin Edwards qualifies sixteenth. Cal Crutchlow qualified well, but has been suffering from bronchitis and a fever this weekend. Ivan Silva starts caboose on the field.
The bikes set off on their warmup lap. Philip Island is a unique track according to riders. There are twelve turns with just two slow ones. It will be called Stoner Curve.
At the start, Jorge Lorenzo does a wheelie but gets the lead going into the Southern Loop. Coming thorugh Stoner Curve and Honda Corner, Dani Pedrosa takes the lead away from Jorge Lorenzo. This race will be 27 laps. Coming over Lukey Heights and into turn ten, the bikes fly on the straight. Stoner is up to second. Stoner is reeling in Pedrosa. However, it's over for Pedrosa! He falls down! He's out of this race! Jorge Lorenzo will be champion. Pedrosa is back on his bike, but pushed too hard and ditched his bike. The race enters it's third lap with Stoner running fastest lap at 1:30 and a half.
Pedrosa went too deep and low sided the bike. Casey Stoner is trying to gap Jorge Lorenzo right now as Pedrosa retires. There's a three way battle for the podium. It's the satellite Yamaha's and Honda's. Cal Crutchlow, Andrea Dovizioso, Alvaro Bautista and Stefan Bradl all scrap. Crutchlow wants a podium after failing to finish in Japan and Malaysia. Stoner wiggles the bike big time, but he holds on. Jorge Lorenzo has to ride his own race. Next year, he'll team with Valentino Rossi. The train of the Tech 3 Yamaha's and the two Honda's continues to chug right along.
Casey Stoner is a full second faster than Jorge Lorenzo. Crutchlow, Dovizioso, Bradl, and Bautista, are all faster in lap time than Lorenzo. Cal Crutchlow runs a 1:31 flat and is 7/10ths quicker than Lorenzo. Colin Edwards is out of this race. Meanwhile, Alvaro Bautista is battling Andrea Dovizioso. Lorenzo is matching Stoner's lap times but is still three seconds behind. Stoner, Pedrosa, and Lorenzo all have 44 wins in various Grand Prix level motorcycle races. Stoner could make it 45 today.
Valentino Rossi leads a train with Karel Abraham and Nicky Hayden. Aleix Espargaro and Randy de Puniet battle for CRT honors. de Puniet is running well, but CRT bikes can't keep up with the prototype bikes. It's just like the old two stroke vs. four stroke battle in the 500cc days. Sixteen laps to run yet. Stoner runs across the whole of the curb in turn three named after him and is going very well. Stoner, (like Mick Doohan, and Barry Sheene, before him), will be another great Aussie motorcycle rider.
Cal Crutchlow is now in third, but Alvaro Bautista gets shocked by Stefan Bradl into Doohan corner, after the bikes come down Gardner straight (named for another Aussie motorcycle champ, Wayne Gardner). The bikes fly through Lukey Heights and into MG corner. Nicky Hayden set the lap record at Philip Island in 2008 and Stoner could break it, maybe. That was back in the days of 800cc MotoGP bikes instead of 1000cc machines. Twelve laps left to run now. Valentino Rossi and Nicky Hayden scrap for seventh. Randy de Puniet, Alvaro Bautista, and others, are running between ninth and twelfth spots.
Casey Stoner is having a great send off in his home race and still could win it. Alvaro Bautista is still chasing Andrea Dovizioso in this battle for fifth. Roberto Rolfo is out of the race. Rolfo has won at Philip Island, in the old 250cc class. Seven laps left to run. Alvaro Bautista is great on the brakes. Former World Champion Alex Barros was also a master at braking technique. Aleix Espargaro has passed Randy de Puniet, and is now tenth, leading among the CRT bikes. Bautista is trying to pass Dovizioso. But, it's doubtful he will.
Stefan Bradl is doing point and squirt maneuvers more than his pursuers. With tire wear, riders will square off turns and have to manage the front tire. Jorge Lorenzo passes Ivan Silva. Four laps left in the race. Jorge Lorenzo is on his way to a MotoGP championship title. Dovizioso and Bautista have passed Bradl with four laps left. Coming into Lukey Heights, this battle is far from over. Stoner will get his 40th win in top level motorcycle racing. Danilo Petrucci is 13th and he'll get a good finish in his first race at Philip Island.
Will Petrucci run next year? We'll see. Casey Stoner is mastering this track. Michele Pirro gets loose but continues. The scrap between Dovizioso, Bradl et al is hot and heavy just before the end. Randy de Puniet and Aleix Espargaro continue trading spots for CRT honors. Bautista passes Dovizioso and so does Bradl, on the last lap. Casey Stoner will win this race, and Jorge Lorenzo will be champion. Dovizioso is flying, and his bike begins to shake. Did Stoner's knee hit the dirt? Yes. But he holds on. He comes through Lukey Heights again.
Jorge Lorenzo is going to win another MotoGP championship. Casey Stoner wins it! He earns his sixth straight win at Philip Island. Meanwhile, Jorge Lorenzo is the champ!
#1 Casey Stoner AUS Honda
World Champion:
#99 Jorge Lorenzo ESP Yamaha
This is Lorenzo's second title! He had sixteen top two finishes in seventeen races, making him champion for the second time, also winning the title two years ago, in 2010. Lorenzo and Stoner are both enjoying the admiration of the crowd. Lorenzo is parading his bike around the track. Will he wear the #1 plate in 2013? It's his choice if he wants to or not. He does a burnout in celebration. He ios ecstatic and his crew surrounds him as he's on the bike, standing on the fuel tank.
Jorge Lorenzo earns 350 points in clinching his title. There are still positions to play for, headed into the final race. Honda wins the teams title and could win the constructors title. Just one more race remains in MotoGP in 2012. It's going to be in Valencia, Spain, coming up in two weeks.
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
24 Hours of Le Mans motorcycle race
Well, there likely will not be coverage of the 24 Hours of Le Mans motorcycle race as a month has passed since it's completion. It was billed as the finale for the 2012 FIM World Endurance Championship. But, apparently, it has also gone back to being a stand alone event in a way, with the other 24 hour race (the Bol D'or) being the main event. That was highlighted on this blog months ago.
SRC Kawasaki takes the win, giving Kawasaki a three-peat in terms of triumphs at the Bugatti motorcycle circuit at Le Mans. Julien Da Costa, Gregory Leblanc, and Freddy Foray, were the winning riders. No real need to highlight all class winners within the blog. The story was covered by www.lemans.org with all of the news of the class winners. Direct your attention, motorcycle racing fans, to the following link for the whole story.
http://www.lemans.org/en/races/24-heures-moto/updates/victory-for-kawasaki-and-title-for-suzuki_8711.html
Thus concludes the endurance motorcycle racing season for 2012. So long until next year. But, there will be plenty more about worldwide motorcycle racing. Two more rounds of MotoGP still to come this season, and other snippets of news will be shared. Stay tuned for further details as they arise.
SRC Kawasaki takes the win, giving Kawasaki a three-peat in terms of triumphs at the Bugatti motorcycle circuit at Le Mans. Julien Da Costa, Gregory Leblanc, and Freddy Foray, were the winning riders. No real need to highlight all class winners within the blog. The story was covered by www.lemans.org with all of the news of the class winners. Direct your attention, motorcycle racing fans, to the following link for the whole story.
http://www.lemans.org/en/races/24-heures-moto/updates/victory-for-kawasaki-and-title-for-suzuki_8711.html
Thus concludes the endurance motorcycle racing season for 2012. So long until next year. But, there will be plenty more about worldwide motorcycle racing. Two more rounds of MotoGP still to come this season, and other snippets of news will be shared. Stay tuned for further details as they arise.
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Moto 3: Malaysia
Zulhfammi Khairuddin has pole for the Moto 3 race
At the start, Jonas Folger takes the lead as Sandro Cortese loses places. Zulhfammi Khairuddin comes out of the blocks well. Romano Fenati is also moving up. Danny Kent gets a good start. Luis Salom is ninth. Coming into turn nine, Efren Vazquez is pressing Khairuddin. Louis Rossi is now fifth. Sandro Cortese moves past Khairuddin onto the back straight. Miguel Oliviera is coming up, too. Folger is gapping the field already with two laps completed. Dark clouds loom over the raceway. Jonas Folger is streaking away from everyone else.
At the start, Jonas Folger takes the lead as Sandro Cortese loses places. Zulhfammi Khairuddin comes out of the blocks well. Romano Fenati is also moving up. Danny Kent gets a good start. Luis Salom is ninth. Coming into turn nine, Efren Vazquez is pressing Khairuddin. Louis Rossi is now fifth. Sandro Cortese moves past Khairuddin onto the back straight. Miguel Oliviera is coming up, too. Folger is gapping the field already with two laps completed. Dark clouds loom over the raceway. Jonas Folger is streaking away from everyone else.
Sandro Cortese doesn’t want Efren Vazquez behind him as he
knows he’ll be pressured as Ricardo Moretti has crashed. Zulhfammi Khairuddin wants a win, but he’s
also got a chance for the podium. The
physical difficulty of this race as well as focus is becoming evident. 18 laps are scheduled. Louis Rossi is now fourth. Khairuddin runs a fast lap in the 2:15
range. He wants by Folger and has more
power down the back straightaway. Efren
Vazquez is shuffled down to seventh.
Louis Rossi passes Sandro Cortese, but Cortese will come back by.
Jonas Folger is favored for this race because he was quicker
than anyone else in practice and qualifying.
Khairuddin tries Folger, but can’t get there. Cortese and Rossi follow. If you are too careful as a motorcycle rider,
you will have issues. Jonas Folger got
taken out last weekend in Japan. But
he’s ahead now. Sandro Cortese is in the
right spot and has continued his streak of running well all year. Louis Salom is still in this battle. He has to win. Maverick Vinales is not in this race as he’s
chosen not to race in the final three races.
He’s got issues with his team.
Louis Rossi ditches his bike right in front of Luis
Salom. Fortunately, Rossi was the only
one involved, and he did pick up his bike.
He couldn’t quite hang on to the bike.
Three laps to halfway. Sandro
Cortese is still running behind Jonas Folger and Zulfahmmi Khairuddin. Khairuddin runs better than Cortese through
the slower parts of the track. Luis
Salom has nothing to lose, even if he uses up his tires to catch the rest of
the front pack. Romano Fenati and
Nicolas Ajo battle. Danny Kent passes
Miguel Oliviera.
The front group is pulling ahead. All this is doing is helping Sandro
Cortese. Luis Salom patiently reels in
Cortese even though Cortese is really in this battle. It’s a four way scrap at the front. Cortese blocks Salom. But he still gets by. Danny Kent is 1.6 seconds behind this group
at the front. Rain could approach. It probably won’t be there for this
race. Ten laps remain now. Both Mahindra bikes are out. Those are Danny Webb and Ricardo
Moretti. Luis Salom has to win if he
wants to beat Cortese. But Cortese wants
the race and the championship in one fell swoop.
Three more laps will be run should the rain comke for the
race to be official. John McPhee is
nowhere near the leading group but is still running well. Cortese has caught the leaders. It’s Salom that is a concern after he’s been
locking the front brake. There are spots
of rain on track. It seems to be at the
back of the track as it’s dry on the front straight and in pit lane. Rain signals have gone out and the riders
will need to step up the pace. Two more
laps before it’s a full race, otherwise the distance will be reduced as
Zulhfammi Khairuddin tries to make a move.
If this race is stopped, you want to be in front.
Rain is still not there yet.
Can Zulhfammi Khairuddin battle Folger?
Yes! He passes Jonas Folger. If he can lead this lap and then lead the
next lap, the race is very well over.
One more lap to go to have it declared an official race. He’s the first Malaysian to start from pole
in Moto 3. Could he win his home
race? Everyone would have to complete
this lap to be scored. It’s
possible. Jonas Folger is really going
after Khairuddin as Danny Kent passes Luis Salom for fourth.
Sandro Cortese will be champion. But, Cortese tries passing Andrea
Tonucci. Arthur Sissis and Jack Miller
are also there. Khairuddin runs
wide. It’s Folger vs. Khairuddin for the
lead. They’re side by side and
Khairuddin takes the lead. Folger wants
this. The rain is starting to come
down. Cortese will win the
championship. But, who wins the
race? Folger takes the lead back. No.
Khairuddin hangs on. He wants his
home race win! Folger is back in the
lead. The race should be red flagged
very soon. Who is going to win this?
The scoring will go back a lap. Folger slides but keeps the lead. Who is going to win? Folger leads the way. Khairuddin has to take the lead and he does
it! Can he hook up into the last corner? Yes.
The fans go bonkers! Five laps
remain. No red flags. Luis Salom passes both Miguel Oliviera and
Danny Kent. Sandro Cortese’s parents are
watching. They’re understandably
nervous. Can Khairuddin be the first
Malaysian to win a motorcycle Grand Prix at his home race? Five laps remain now. If the red flag comes out, Khairuddin is the
winner.
Khairuddin and Cortese are team mates. Cortese passes Jonas Folger for second. He
wants to seal the title in style. He’ll
be the very first Moto 3 champ. Four
laps remain. Who does it? The Germans are tussling. Zulhfammi Khairuddin still leads. He’s at his home race, turning 21 last
Saturday. The track is just ten
kilometers from where Khairuddin lives.
Three laps remain. The rain is
here, but it’s a very light drizzle.
This race might go to the end.
Will Cortese get the victory and the title? He wants to get both at the same time.
Khairuddin holds off Cortese again. Cortese is in a decent spot. The sky is totally black at one point on the
track. Cortese is trying to pass
Khairuddin. Folger is third. But he’s a ways behind. Don’t take your team mate out. Jack Miller is up to thirteenth. Arthur Sissis is in ninth. John McPhee is 21st. Danny Kent is now sixth behind Luis Salom and
Miguel Oliviera. Khairuddin and Cortese
have 2/10ths of a second between them.
There’s still rain imminent. But
it will hold off for the Moto 3 race.
The crowd is going berserk.
Just one lap to go in the Moto 3 Malaysian Grand Prix. Zulhfammi Khairuddin is being cheered
home.
Cortese is trying to protect
Khairuddin. Will he make a move? Cortese might be trying to take the lead, or
will he let Khairuddin win? Everything’s
crossed. Take a deep breath. Cortese is powering down back in the lead,
down the straight. Khauiruddin comes
by. But Cortese gets the win and is Moto
3 World Champion!
#3 Sandro Cortese
GER KTM
Champion:
#3 Sandro Cortese
GER KTM
The next race for Moto 3 will be the penultimate round at
Philip Island in Australia, for the Australian Grand Prix, this weekend.
Monday, October 22, 2012
Moto 2: Malaysia
Here are the highlights of the Moto 2 race in Malaysia.
The track will be wet for Moto 2. There might be some sunshine expected for the latter part of this race. On pole for Moto 2 will be Pol Espargaro. This will be a wet race, for a distance of 19 laps. Marc Marquez can clinch the title unless Pol Espargaro wins from pole. The bikes set off on their warmup lap. There's a local Malaysian rider in this race who has been fast. Hafizh Syahrin is that rider, who qualified 27th.
This is round 15 of the Moto 2 championship. Two rounds left to go. At the start, Scott Redding gets a good start and so does Taki Nakagami. Marc Marquez gets a slow start. Nakagami leads but falls. Bradley Smith leads with Julian Simon now fourth. Xavier Simeon is coming up as Marquez drops back. Alex de Angelis is right up there, too. You have to be very careful. Johann Zarco falls and Mika Kallio slides off into the gravel trap. Xavier Simeon is in there, too. Pol Espargaro gets passed by Thomas Luthi. Johann Zarco is OK, but, it's game over. Gino Rea is up to sixth spot. Anthony West gains ten spots from 22nd to 12th. The track is beginning to dry out. Julian Simon had a podium at Indianapolis. But, he hasn't been as successful this year.
Taki Nakagami has resumed in the race, but has lost time. Julian Simon and Alex de Angelis are 1-2 with Rea, Redding and Luthi, the top five. Pol Espargaro wants by Marc Marquez. Tito Rabat and Mike DiMeglio are up there. So is Andrea Ianonne. A Malaysian wildcard rider is also going well. Anthony West is flying. Tom Luthi is up to fifth as the track is drying out with two laps complete. Scott Redding gets passed by West. Takaaki Nakagami has another crash. He collides with Eric Granado who tries to chop across in front of his bike, sending him to the pavement, hard.
The track is beginning to dry, but there are more black clouds coming. Will riders need to change tires? The rain tires will heat up, and begin to chunk. They need water to work. Rtthapark Villarot ditches his bike. Julian Simon might be in the catbird seat here. Leading right now is Alex DeAngelis, with fifteen laps left. Simone Corsi serves a ride through penalty for starting in front of the control line. Julian Simon tries to pass but can't. Wildcard rider Hafizh Syahrin is running well.
Pol Espargaro runs twelfth. He needs to move forward if he'll try to stop Marc Marquez's effort to win the title. Gino Rea is trying to close on Anthony West. Thirteen laps to go. Syahrin has fast lap. Not sure what the lap time is. Pol Espargaro passes Mika Kallio and Mike DiMeglio. Eric Granado is also out of this race after being involved in the crash with Nakagami. Gino Rea passes Alex de Angelis. Gino Rea actually takes the race lead. This is a great race, seeing these different contenders up at the sharp end.
Gino Rea and Julian Simon run really fast laps. But, up to third, it's Hafizh Syahrin! That will make the home fans happy. With eleven laps to go, Julian Simon resets fast lap as Syhrin goes for second! Wow! Could a wildcard rider win? Syahrin leads the race, going inside on Rea! Rea was like, "who is this guy?" This is only Syahrin's second race appearance! Can he win? He's opening a gap up over Rea and De Angelis. Wow! The team is going berserk! What a performance! Anthony West is fourth and he might still have a chance.
It's been a long time since a wildcard rider has won one of these races. Syahrin sets another fast lap at 2:23.7. Bradley Smith is ninth with Mika Kallio tenth. Rain is getting heavier with nine laps left. Gino Rea passes Alex de Angelis. It will be a battle between Syahrin and Rea. Will Anthony West make a move? Not yet. Rain is starting to fall another time. This won't be declared a wet race. Marc Marquez will be world champion at the end of this race. Syahrin twitches. Rea is right on top of him. West wants third and gets it from Alex de Angelis.
It's a four way battle for the win. It's Syahrin vs. de Angelis. Anthony West gets the door shut on him by Rea. de Angelis takes the lead back. Syahrin is battling with riders who have won in MotoGP before. Marc Marquez crashes! He won't be champ unless he gets going! Can he get it refired? Andrea Ianonne was pushing him. He still has to wait to win this title. Espargaro is 12th. Marquez is out of it. Anthony West is now second. Marc Marquez is distraught. Could he still be champ here? If Espargaro finishes lower, Marquez can still win the title. Espargaro's team mate Tito Rabat is his rival. If Rabat passes, Marquez is champ.
Alex de Angelis is running in the 2:26 bracket. Six laps remain. Mike DiMeglio falls and resumes. But, this puts Pol Espargaro up further in the order. Alex de Angelis wobbles, but he has a sufficient gap. Tom Luthi is closing up on the second group. Five laps left now. Thomas Luthi drops his bike now. Pol Espargaro will still have a chance at the title going into the next race in Australia at Philip Island. Nico Terol also crashes out. The rain has really become a factor. It's starting to bucket down. It's really getting heavy. The weather will indeed be monitored, especially for standing water.
Gino Rea takes the lead from Alex de Angelis. Anthony West is now second. Three laps to go. West comes back past Rea. Wow! This isn't over yet. The rain is getting worse. Can Gino Rea win this? The red flag is out. Has Gino Rea won? Andrea Ianonne drops his bike. It will go back a lap. Will Alex de Angelis win this race? Alex de Angelis wins it! Rea thinks he has, but no. Rea is third. This is the third career win for the San Marino native.
#15 Alex de Angelis RSM FTR Rimini
The next Moto 2 race is at the Philip Island circuit in Victoria, Australia, next weekend.
The track will be wet for Moto 2. There might be some sunshine expected for the latter part of this race. On pole for Moto 2 will be Pol Espargaro. This will be a wet race, for a distance of 19 laps. Marc Marquez can clinch the title unless Pol Espargaro wins from pole. The bikes set off on their warmup lap. There's a local Malaysian rider in this race who has been fast. Hafizh Syahrin is that rider, who qualified 27th.
This is round 15 of the Moto 2 championship. Two rounds left to go. At the start, Scott Redding gets a good start and so does Taki Nakagami. Marc Marquez gets a slow start. Nakagami leads but falls. Bradley Smith leads with Julian Simon now fourth. Xavier Simeon is coming up as Marquez drops back. Alex de Angelis is right up there, too. You have to be very careful. Johann Zarco falls and Mika Kallio slides off into the gravel trap. Xavier Simeon is in there, too. Pol Espargaro gets passed by Thomas Luthi. Johann Zarco is OK, but, it's game over. Gino Rea is up to sixth spot. Anthony West gains ten spots from 22nd to 12th. The track is beginning to dry out. Julian Simon had a podium at Indianapolis. But, he hasn't been as successful this year.
Taki Nakagami has resumed in the race, but has lost time. Julian Simon and Alex de Angelis are 1-2 with Rea, Redding and Luthi, the top five. Pol Espargaro wants by Marc Marquez. Tito Rabat and Mike DiMeglio are up there. So is Andrea Ianonne. A Malaysian wildcard rider is also going well. Anthony West is flying. Tom Luthi is up to fifth as the track is drying out with two laps complete. Scott Redding gets passed by West. Takaaki Nakagami has another crash. He collides with Eric Granado who tries to chop across in front of his bike, sending him to the pavement, hard.
The track is beginning to dry, but there are more black clouds coming. Will riders need to change tires? The rain tires will heat up, and begin to chunk. They need water to work. Rtthapark Villarot ditches his bike. Julian Simon might be in the catbird seat here. Leading right now is Alex DeAngelis, with fifteen laps left. Simone Corsi serves a ride through penalty for starting in front of the control line. Julian Simon tries to pass but can't. Wildcard rider Hafizh Syahrin is running well.
Pol Espargaro runs twelfth. He needs to move forward if he'll try to stop Marc Marquez's effort to win the title. Gino Rea is trying to close on Anthony West. Thirteen laps to go. Syahrin has fast lap. Not sure what the lap time is. Pol Espargaro passes Mika Kallio and Mike DiMeglio. Eric Granado is also out of this race after being involved in the crash with Nakagami. Gino Rea passes Alex de Angelis. Gino Rea actually takes the race lead. This is a great race, seeing these different contenders up at the sharp end.
Gino Rea and Julian Simon run really fast laps. But, up to third, it's Hafizh Syahrin! That will make the home fans happy. With eleven laps to go, Julian Simon resets fast lap as Syhrin goes for second! Wow! Could a wildcard rider win? Syahrin leads the race, going inside on Rea! Rea was like, "who is this guy?" This is only Syahrin's second race appearance! Can he win? He's opening a gap up over Rea and De Angelis. Wow! The team is going berserk! What a performance! Anthony West is fourth and he might still have a chance.
It's been a long time since a wildcard rider has won one of these races. Syahrin sets another fast lap at 2:23.7. Bradley Smith is ninth with Mika Kallio tenth. Rain is getting heavier with nine laps left. Gino Rea passes Alex de Angelis. It will be a battle between Syahrin and Rea. Will Anthony West make a move? Not yet. Rain is starting to fall another time. This won't be declared a wet race. Marc Marquez will be world champion at the end of this race. Syahrin twitches. Rea is right on top of him. West wants third and gets it from Alex de Angelis.
It's a four way battle for the win. It's Syahrin vs. de Angelis. Anthony West gets the door shut on him by Rea. de Angelis takes the lead back. Syahrin is battling with riders who have won in MotoGP before. Marc Marquez crashes! He won't be champ unless he gets going! Can he get it refired? Andrea Ianonne was pushing him. He still has to wait to win this title. Espargaro is 12th. Marquez is out of it. Anthony West is now second. Marc Marquez is distraught. Could he still be champ here? If Espargaro finishes lower, Marquez can still win the title. Espargaro's team mate Tito Rabat is his rival. If Rabat passes, Marquez is champ.
Alex de Angelis is running in the 2:26 bracket. Six laps remain. Mike DiMeglio falls and resumes. But, this puts Pol Espargaro up further in the order. Alex de Angelis wobbles, but he has a sufficient gap. Tom Luthi is closing up on the second group. Five laps left now. Thomas Luthi drops his bike now. Pol Espargaro will still have a chance at the title going into the next race in Australia at Philip Island. Nico Terol also crashes out. The rain has really become a factor. It's starting to bucket down. It's really getting heavy. The weather will indeed be monitored, especially for standing water.
Gino Rea takes the lead from Alex de Angelis. Anthony West is now second. Three laps to go. West comes back past Rea. Wow! This isn't over yet. The rain is getting worse. Can Gino Rea win this? The red flag is out. Has Gino Rea won? Andrea Ianonne drops his bike. It will go back a lap. Will Alex de Angelis win this race? Alex de Angelis wins it! Rea thinks he has, but no. Rea is third. This is the third career win for the San Marino native.
#15 Alex de Angelis RSM FTR Rimini
The next Moto 2 race is at the Philip Island circuit in Victoria, Australia, next weekend.
Sunday, October 21, 2012
MotoGP Round 16: Malaysia
Twenty eight points separate Jorge Lorenzo and Dani Pedrosa, coming into the race in Malaysia at the Sepang Circuit. Marco Simoncelli lost his life in a crash here a year ago. His memory will be honored by the competitors running in today's race. The heat and humidity will be a factor. Rain has started near the end of the Moto 2 race, which will be highlighted here in an upcoming post.
On Thursday, there was a tribute paid to Marco Simoncelli. Simoncelli won the 250cc world championship in 2008. He could have been a future MotoGP World Champion. May Marco Simoncelli Rest In Peace. Marco, we will never forget you.
In qualifying, it was a barnburner, figuratively and literally. Jorge Lorenzo starts from pole with a new all-time circuit record at 2:00.334. Aleix Espargaro is the fastest CRT bike. Yonny Hernandez will not start after being injured in Japan last time out. The riders set off on their warmup lap on this very wet race track. This track is long, and wide. It has two long straights. The track is bumpier than usual. The race will be 20 laps. Will a new champion be crowned after this race?
At the start, Jorge Lorenzo gets the lead over Dani Pedrosa. Valentino Rossi shoots from eleventh up to fifth! Casey Stoner is third. Stefan Bradl is fourth. Andrea Dovizioso got swamped! He's ninth, passing Nicky Hayden. Pedrosa tries closing on Lorenzo. The bikes are headed for turn nine. Valentino Rossi moves inside another rider. Not sure who. His next target is Stefan Bradl. Andrea Dovizioso is coming,fast, as Lorenzo leads into turn fifteen. Bradl was forced around the inside. Valentino Rossi has won in Malaysia six time and Casey Stoner has won in all divisions including 125cc, 250cc and MotoGP, at Sepang. Lorenzo runs a soft tire while Pedrosa is on a hard compound rear tire.
Alvaro Bautista crashed in qualifying. But he seems to be running well now. It's Dovizioso, Rossi, Bradl, and Bautista, battling. Pedrosa sets fast lap in the 2:18 range. Both Lorenzo and Pedrosa know what they need to do to stay in contention for this championship. There's a lot of spray coming from the rear wheel of each bike even though the track might be drying out. Lorenzo leads Pedrosa, still. The gap is 7/10ths of a second rigt now. Three laps are complete.
Pedrosa stays right with Lorenzo. Nicky Hayden closes up on Stefan Bradl. The water lies in turn three right now, where it's puddling. Another fast lap has been set. It's hard to read the numbers on the MotoGP world feed graphics. Stoner is third with Andrea Dovizioso being overtaken, or at least hounded by Valentino Rossi. On the start, it looked like Andrea Dovizioso almost hit Ben Spies. Randy de Puniet leads Hector Barbera. Colin Edwards and Karel Abraham along with Michele Pirro and others, are down in the lower half of the field of 20 bikes. There will be a big fight between third and sixth place.
Randy de Puniet and Aleix Espargaro are scrapping for CRT honors. Ben Spies has crashed again! He's in pain. Dani Pedrosa closes on Jorge Lorenzo. Spies' bad luck continues. Hayden is fifth with Bradl now sixth, Casl Crutchlow seventh, and Alvaro Bautista, eighth. Eleven laps left. Ben Spiees had a vicious high side. He may have hurt his right shoulder. The Lorenzo/Pedrosa battle continues in the heat and humidity of Malaysia. Cal Crutchlow is now sixth as Bradl drops a spot. Andrea Dovizioso also drops his bike. The riders are really pushing hard.
Dovizioso went down in the same corner on the track that Ben Spies did. Dani Pedrosa slides around Jorge Lorenzo for the lead! He left Lorenzo hanging, and got around him. The fans go crazy! There are many pro Pedrosa fans in the crowd at this race. Colin Edwards is dropping back. Pedrosa has really come into his own in battling for this championship. Will he win three races in a row? Colin Edwards retires from this race. The "Texas Tornado", his race is run. Andrea Dovizioso has resumed in the race in 17th spot. Cal Crutchlow crashes. He'll be OK. Randy de Puniet falls, too.
The rain isn't any heavier, but it's slick out there. This is now a race of survival Casey Stoner is closing the gap. Stefan Bradl crashes and so does Ivan Silva. Silva is pitched off his bike and is out. Meanwhile, Jorge Lorenzo has a problem. Casey Stoner is closing up a gap. Lorenzo wants this race stopped. He barely hangs on in the wet! He almost fell down! This race will be stopped. Dani Pedrosa is going to win,
He does not do a cool down lap. He comes into the pits. Now, maybe, this race could be restarted. Is Pedrosa actually the winner? Will they have to run a five lap shootout to end it? The rainfall is getting worse. There's standing water on the track. We are waiting. The visibility is going to get worse. It's getting dark. There's lightning on the track. That's probably going to end things as they stand. The race director says there might be a chance to restart the race and complete seven more laps.
But, pit lane is a river. Everyone will need dinghy's down there. It's going to get dark. There's no visibility. There's no time frame set. It will get dark. Michele Pirro is confused. So is everyone else. Casey Stoner could get a podium, two races before his retirement from MotoGP. The race has been called off. It's over. Get to the podium, guys. with 15 of the 20 laps completed. Dani Pedrosa is the winner!
#26 Dani Pedrosa ESP Honda
He has now won five of the last six MotoGP races. Wow! The next race in the championship is the Australian Grand Prix at Philip Island in Victoria, Australia, next weekend.
On Thursday, there was a tribute paid to Marco Simoncelli. Simoncelli won the 250cc world championship in 2008. He could have been a future MotoGP World Champion. May Marco Simoncelli Rest In Peace. Marco, we will never forget you.
In qualifying, it was a barnburner, figuratively and literally. Jorge Lorenzo starts from pole with a new all-time circuit record at 2:00.334. Aleix Espargaro is the fastest CRT bike. Yonny Hernandez will not start after being injured in Japan last time out. The riders set off on their warmup lap on this very wet race track. This track is long, and wide. It has two long straights. The track is bumpier than usual. The race will be 20 laps. Will a new champion be crowned after this race?
At the start, Jorge Lorenzo gets the lead over Dani Pedrosa. Valentino Rossi shoots from eleventh up to fifth! Casey Stoner is third. Stefan Bradl is fourth. Andrea Dovizioso got swamped! He's ninth, passing Nicky Hayden. Pedrosa tries closing on Lorenzo. The bikes are headed for turn nine. Valentino Rossi moves inside another rider. Not sure who. His next target is Stefan Bradl. Andrea Dovizioso is coming,fast, as Lorenzo leads into turn fifteen. Bradl was forced around the inside. Valentino Rossi has won in Malaysia six time and Casey Stoner has won in all divisions including 125cc, 250cc and MotoGP, at Sepang. Lorenzo runs a soft tire while Pedrosa is on a hard compound rear tire.
Alvaro Bautista crashed in qualifying. But he seems to be running well now. It's Dovizioso, Rossi, Bradl, and Bautista, battling. Pedrosa sets fast lap in the 2:18 range. Both Lorenzo and Pedrosa know what they need to do to stay in contention for this championship. There's a lot of spray coming from the rear wheel of each bike even though the track might be drying out. Lorenzo leads Pedrosa, still. The gap is 7/10ths of a second rigt now. Three laps are complete.
Pedrosa stays right with Lorenzo. Nicky Hayden closes up on Stefan Bradl. The water lies in turn three right now, where it's puddling. Another fast lap has been set. It's hard to read the numbers on the MotoGP world feed graphics. Stoner is third with Andrea Dovizioso being overtaken, or at least hounded by Valentino Rossi. On the start, it looked like Andrea Dovizioso almost hit Ben Spies. Randy de Puniet leads Hector Barbera. Colin Edwards and Karel Abraham along with Michele Pirro and others, are down in the lower half of the field of 20 bikes. There will be a big fight between third and sixth place.
Randy de Puniet and Aleix Espargaro are scrapping for CRT honors. Ben Spies has crashed again! He's in pain. Dani Pedrosa closes on Jorge Lorenzo. Spies' bad luck continues. Hayden is fifth with Bradl now sixth, Casl Crutchlow seventh, and Alvaro Bautista, eighth. Eleven laps left. Ben Spiees had a vicious high side. He may have hurt his right shoulder. The Lorenzo/Pedrosa battle continues in the heat and humidity of Malaysia. Cal Crutchlow is now sixth as Bradl drops a spot. Andrea Dovizioso also drops his bike. The riders are really pushing hard.
Dovizioso went down in the same corner on the track that Ben Spies did. Dani Pedrosa slides around Jorge Lorenzo for the lead! He left Lorenzo hanging, and got around him. The fans go crazy! There are many pro Pedrosa fans in the crowd at this race. Colin Edwards is dropping back. Pedrosa has really come into his own in battling for this championship. Will he win three races in a row? Colin Edwards retires from this race. The "Texas Tornado", his race is run. Andrea Dovizioso has resumed in the race in 17th spot. Cal Crutchlow crashes. He'll be OK. Randy de Puniet falls, too.
The rain isn't any heavier, but it's slick out there. This is now a race of survival Casey Stoner is closing the gap. Stefan Bradl crashes and so does Ivan Silva. Silva is pitched off his bike and is out. Meanwhile, Jorge Lorenzo has a problem. Casey Stoner is closing up a gap. Lorenzo wants this race stopped. He barely hangs on in the wet! He almost fell down! This race will be stopped. Dani Pedrosa is going to win,
He does not do a cool down lap. He comes into the pits. Now, maybe, this race could be restarted. Is Pedrosa actually the winner? Will they have to run a five lap shootout to end it? The rainfall is getting worse. There's standing water on the track. We are waiting. The visibility is going to get worse. It's getting dark. There's lightning on the track. That's probably going to end things as they stand. The race director says there might be a chance to restart the race and complete seven more laps.
But, pit lane is a river. Everyone will need dinghy's down there. It's going to get dark. There's no visibility. There's no time frame set. It will get dark. Michele Pirro is confused. So is everyone else. Casey Stoner could get a podium, two races before his retirement from MotoGP. The race has been called off. It's over. Get to the podium, guys. with 15 of the 20 laps completed. Dani Pedrosa is the winner!
#26 Dani Pedrosa ESP Honda
He has now won five of the last six MotoGP races. Wow! The next race in the championship is the Australian Grand Prix at Philip Island in Victoria, Australia, next weekend.
Saturday, October 20, 2012
In memoriam: Gines Guirado
Former MotoGP crew chief Gines Guirado has passed away. He worked for such riders as Jorge Martinez Aspar, Alberto Puig, and Champi Herreros as a chief mechanic (also known as a crew chief). Here's the full story.
http://www.motogp.com/en/news/2012/Gins+Guirado+passes+away
Rest In Peace, Gines Guirado.
http://www.motogp.com/en/news/2012/Gins+Guirado+passes+away
Rest In Peace, Gines Guirado.
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Moto 3: Japan
Here are the highlights from the Moto 3 race at Motegi in Japan.
This is round fourteen of the championship. There could easily be a World Champion crowned in this race. Sandro Cortese needs to win if he wants the title with Luis Salom and Maverick Vinales both having trouble. On pole, for the first time, is Danny Kent. The race is scheduled for 20 laps. The Mahindra bikes are really having trouble this weekend. But, for some of the top riders, they will be fighting for a championship that is likely to be decided in this race.
At the start, Danny kent and Zulfammi Khairuddin get good starts. Luis Salom and Jonas Folger file into third and fourth as Luis Salom takes the lead. Folger and Khairuddin had issues, but Khairuddin comes into third. Jakub Kornfeil will race with Danny Kent and he takes the lead into the s curve. The KTM bikes have good acceleration. Alessandro Tonucci is coming up. Danny Kent pulls out a slight lead. Jonas Folger passes Luis Salom into the 90 degree curve. Danny Kent leads lap one. Sandro Cortese passes Alessandro Tonucci. Efren Vasquez is also up at the sharp end.
Jonas Folger makes a pass. But, it seems like Sandro Cortese had a real bad start. He's coming up through the order as Jonas Folger leads the way. There are straight sections between the corners, to allow for more overtaking opportunities under braking, going back into the 90 degree corner as Arthur Sissis is also moving up. Alan Techer jumped the start and will need to serve a penalty. Someone ran wide. Sissis passes Efren Vasquez. Techer will indeed need to serve a penalty according to the marshals. Jonas Folger continues to lead.
Danny Kent is the one to watch as the race continues though as Zulfahmmi Khairuddin is also up there. Cortese, Vinales, and Tonucci battle each other. But, Maverick VInales cannot push Sandro Cortese right now. Alex Rins is beginning to make a move now as Vinales and Tonucci move by Cortese. Danny Kent runs fast lap in the 1:59 bracket. There is a bike that has crashed but the rider will continue. Not sure who had the incident. Riccardo Moretti is out of this race. He's been injured, and is just returning to the Moto 3 series scene. But, his race in Japan, has been run.
Right now it's Folger, Kent, Salom, and Khairuddin, the top four. Danny Kent drops the pace by a second. Some are running 1:59 laps and other riders, right at the two minute mark. Sandro Cortese passes Maverick Vinales. Very few incidents have taken place so far. But, you can never tell in a Moto 3 race. Alex Rins falls slightly behind Maverick Vinales. Cortese isn't moving past Tonucci, well, until now. Tonucci holds him off. Louis Rossi, Miguel Oliviera, Arthur Sissis, and Romano Fenati all battle. Kent leads with Folger coming. Vinales sets his personal best lap, right behind Cortese. This battle will heat up, very soon.
Well, now it seems that the championship will not be decided at this round in Japan. There have been no real incidents. A few laps until halfway. Jonas Folger passes Danny Kent. Folger runs a 1:59.5, as he chases Danny Kent. Sandro Cortese battles Zulhfammi Khairuddin. Cortese runs wide, falling to sixth. Maverick Vinales also passes Danny Kent, in this string of eight bikes at least. Tonucci makes a pass on Khairuddin. It's halfway through this race now. Alessandro Tonucci passes Luis Salom for third. Alessandro Tonucci is up at the sharp end now. His best finish is tenth. So, he could improve on that dramatically.
Tonucci sets new fast lap with Folger and Kent close by. Tonucci's lap is a 1:59.111. Jonas Folger retakes the lead from Danny Kent. Danny Kent is running smoother through the corners than Folger is. Kent has just one podium in 2012. That was at the Dutch TT at Assen, in Holland. Danny Kent tries to overtake, but can't make it work. Former rider Roberto Locatelli is team manager for Alessandro Tonucci, and says he's not expecting anything until the end of the race. Just seven laps to go now. No one has made a banzai move yet. Zulfahmmi Khairuddin runs slightly wide. Could we have a first time winner, fans? We'll see.
Sandro Cortese wants by his team mate Danny Kent. Tonucci is on top of Folger now. Five laps to go now. Sandro Cortese is now second. Two Germans lead this race. Alessandro Tonucci and Danny Kent battle. Kent passes Tonucci. Can Kent make a challenge? Tonucci is the only rider who has nothing to lose, at least in this group. Bide your time through the 90 degree corner. This race has been simmering. Will it heat up? It's been a bit cool so far. Arthur Sissis is ninth behind Alex Rins. Sandro Cortese might just take the lead. Tonucci is coming. Salom passes Vinales.
Cortese is trying Folger, but he can't quite get there. Brad Binder is out of the race with mechanical woes. But, Danny Kent is being hounded by Luis Salom. Tonucci is still trying Cortese. But, Cortese is holding his own. Cortese and Tonucci scrap, giving Folger a slight advantage. Behave yourselves, guys. Jonas Folger extends his lead. Cortese is 3/10ths of a second behind Folger. Two laps to go. Sandro Cortese does pass Folger. Folger retakes the lead. There's a chain for five or six bikes. Vinales wanted to pass, but, he loses ground. Tonucci passes Danny Kent. Cortese wants by Folger.
This is the final lap. Can all these riders get through one more lap? Folger, and Salom crash! Cortese is the leader! If he wins, he'll be 2012 Moto 3 World Champion! Vinales is off the podium. Does he know that he'll win? Danny Kent is second. He's Cortese's team mate. Can he win the race? Vinales tries to pass Tonucci. He can't. Even if he does, he will not win the title. Danny Kent is there. Can he pass? Yes! Tonucci crashes into Cortese? Cortese will not win the title. Danny Kent wins it!
#52 Danny Kent GBR KTM
The next race is in less than a week in Malaysia, at the Sepang circuit. The championship may just be decided then. But, wow! What a race this was!
This is round fourteen of the championship. There could easily be a World Champion crowned in this race. Sandro Cortese needs to win if he wants the title with Luis Salom and Maverick Vinales both having trouble. On pole, for the first time, is Danny Kent. The race is scheduled for 20 laps. The Mahindra bikes are really having trouble this weekend. But, for some of the top riders, they will be fighting for a championship that is likely to be decided in this race.
At the start, Danny kent and Zulfammi Khairuddin get good starts. Luis Salom and Jonas Folger file into third and fourth as Luis Salom takes the lead. Folger and Khairuddin had issues, but Khairuddin comes into third. Jakub Kornfeil will race with Danny Kent and he takes the lead into the s curve. The KTM bikes have good acceleration. Alessandro Tonucci is coming up. Danny Kent pulls out a slight lead. Jonas Folger passes Luis Salom into the 90 degree curve. Danny Kent leads lap one. Sandro Cortese passes Alessandro Tonucci. Efren Vasquez is also up at the sharp end.
Jonas Folger makes a pass. But, it seems like Sandro Cortese had a real bad start. He's coming up through the order as Jonas Folger leads the way. There are straight sections between the corners, to allow for more overtaking opportunities under braking, going back into the 90 degree corner as Arthur Sissis is also moving up. Alan Techer jumped the start and will need to serve a penalty. Someone ran wide. Sissis passes Efren Vasquez. Techer will indeed need to serve a penalty according to the marshals. Jonas Folger continues to lead.
Danny Kent is the one to watch as the race continues though as Zulfahmmi Khairuddin is also up there. Cortese, Vinales, and Tonucci battle each other. But, Maverick VInales cannot push Sandro Cortese right now. Alex Rins is beginning to make a move now as Vinales and Tonucci move by Cortese. Danny Kent runs fast lap in the 1:59 bracket. There is a bike that has crashed but the rider will continue. Not sure who had the incident. Riccardo Moretti is out of this race. He's been injured, and is just returning to the Moto 3 series scene. But, his race in Japan, has been run.
Right now it's Folger, Kent, Salom, and Khairuddin, the top four. Danny Kent drops the pace by a second. Some are running 1:59 laps and other riders, right at the two minute mark. Sandro Cortese passes Maverick Vinales. Very few incidents have taken place so far. But, you can never tell in a Moto 3 race. Alex Rins falls slightly behind Maverick Vinales. Cortese isn't moving past Tonucci, well, until now. Tonucci holds him off. Louis Rossi, Miguel Oliviera, Arthur Sissis, and Romano Fenati all battle. Kent leads with Folger coming. Vinales sets his personal best lap, right behind Cortese. This battle will heat up, very soon.
Well, now it seems that the championship will not be decided at this round in Japan. There have been no real incidents. A few laps until halfway. Jonas Folger passes Danny Kent. Folger runs a 1:59.5, as he chases Danny Kent. Sandro Cortese battles Zulhfammi Khairuddin. Cortese runs wide, falling to sixth. Maverick Vinales also passes Danny Kent, in this string of eight bikes at least. Tonucci makes a pass on Khairuddin. It's halfway through this race now. Alessandro Tonucci passes Luis Salom for third. Alessandro Tonucci is up at the sharp end now. His best finish is tenth. So, he could improve on that dramatically.
Tonucci sets new fast lap with Folger and Kent close by. Tonucci's lap is a 1:59.111. Jonas Folger retakes the lead from Danny Kent. Danny Kent is running smoother through the corners than Folger is. Kent has just one podium in 2012. That was at the Dutch TT at Assen, in Holland. Danny Kent tries to overtake, but can't make it work. Former rider Roberto Locatelli is team manager for Alessandro Tonucci, and says he's not expecting anything until the end of the race. Just seven laps to go now. No one has made a banzai move yet. Zulfahmmi Khairuddin runs slightly wide. Could we have a first time winner, fans? We'll see.
Sandro Cortese wants by his team mate Danny Kent. Tonucci is on top of Folger now. Five laps to go now. Sandro Cortese is now second. Two Germans lead this race. Alessandro Tonucci and Danny Kent battle. Kent passes Tonucci. Can Kent make a challenge? Tonucci is the only rider who has nothing to lose, at least in this group. Bide your time through the 90 degree corner. This race has been simmering. Will it heat up? It's been a bit cool so far. Arthur Sissis is ninth behind Alex Rins. Sandro Cortese might just take the lead. Tonucci is coming. Salom passes Vinales.
Cortese is trying Folger, but he can't quite get there. Brad Binder is out of the race with mechanical woes. But, Danny Kent is being hounded by Luis Salom. Tonucci is still trying Cortese. But, Cortese is holding his own. Cortese and Tonucci scrap, giving Folger a slight advantage. Behave yourselves, guys. Jonas Folger extends his lead. Cortese is 3/10ths of a second behind Folger. Two laps to go. Sandro Cortese does pass Folger. Folger retakes the lead. There's a chain for five or six bikes. Vinales wanted to pass, but, he loses ground. Tonucci passes Danny Kent. Cortese wants by Folger.
This is the final lap. Can all these riders get through one more lap? Folger, and Salom crash! Cortese is the leader! If he wins, he'll be 2012 Moto 3 World Champion! Vinales is off the podium. Does he know that he'll win? Danny Kent is second. He's Cortese's team mate. Can he win the race? Vinales tries to pass Tonucci. He can't. Even if he does, he will not win the title. Danny Kent is there. Can he pass? Yes! Tonucci crashes into Cortese? Cortese will not win the title. Danny Kent wins it!
#52 Danny Kent GBR KTM
The next race is in less than a week in Malaysia, at the Sepang circuit. The championship may just be decided then. But, wow! What a race this was!
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Moto 2: Japan
This is round fourteen for Moto 2. The track and weather conditions are perfect. Marc Marques holds the championship lead. On pole will be Pol Espargaro. He won the most recent Moto 2 race. Toni Elias is back. There are a couple substitutions. It could be that Anthony West replaces Claudio Corti, but that's not too certain. Andrea Ianonne is back in 18th. He crashed in qualifying and in the warmup. But, he could still contend. The bikes set off on their formation lap.
At the start, Marc Marquez stalls on the grid! Who gets the lead? It's Pol Espargaro. Johnny Torres crashes as Scott Redding leads. Marc Marquez will have to go for it. Marquez passes Johann Zarco, passing six riders. Holy smokes! He's tenth now. Redding is in P1. This race will be 23 laps. Redding leads over Espargaro and Tito Rabat. Pol Espargaro ran wide. Rabat is now second. Dropping to tenth is Marc Marquez. He had the bike in neutral right at the start of the race. Marquez follows Mika Kallio. The Redding/Rabat battle for first, continues as Pol Espargaro slides.
Tito Rabat leads and Toni Elias (former world champ) is up to third. Marc Marquez passes Mika Kallio. Pol Espargaro is running well, as Rabat continues to lead. Taki Nakagami is coming up quickly. Rabat runs very well out front at this point. Taki Nakagami pleases his home crowd, passing Johann Zarco for seventh. Tom Luthi passes Marc Marquez. Marquez tries passing Luthi, but can't make it work. Rabat sets fast lap in the 1:51 bracket. Pol Espargaro is now second, chasing his team mate, Tito Rabat. Four laps are complete.
Bradley Smith crashed in practice and is now out of this race. Marc Marquez sets fast lap as Redding goes wide and Marquez makes an easy pass. Marquez passes Toni Elias. Toni Elias might drop back. Coming into the 90 degree corner, Espargaro is just a second behind Tito Rabat. Taki Nakagami and Mika Kallio battle. Marquez runs a 1:51.4. He doesn't need to win this race to get decent points. Pol Espargaro wiggles, getting the bike very loose, and fortunately, saving it! Redding and Elias battle, but Toni Elias brakes late, sliding wide.
Can Tito Rabat hold off Marc Marquez? Rabat is not letting Marquez pass and get away. Marquez can pick his moment to pounce. Marquez has passed Tito Rabat. But, Pol Espargaro might also catch Rabat as Marquez is the leader now. Toni Elias and Tom Luthi battle with Scott Redding. One of the wildcard riders is black flagged. Not sure who. It's a Japanese national rider. Rabat stays with Marquez. Espargaro is back there, too.
Mika Kallio is having mechanical issues with his bike, or not. Hmmm. Kallio slides into the gravel trap. Marquez extends his gap at the front. Just eleven laps remain. Espargaro and Rabat are second and third. Rabat can only focus on getting onto the podium now. Tom Luthi and Taki Nakagami battle and Dominik Aegerter follows. That's eight, ninth, and tenth. Pol Espargaro is not letting Marquez get away. Anthony West is twelfth and Johann Zarco is having issues. Gino Rea and Alex de Angelis are farther down the order. Espargaro sets new fast lap and a new track record at 1:51.3.
Nicolas Terol falls down the order after sliding off course. The track is fully covered in clouds. So, it's cooled off. Pol Espargaro is even quicker, running a 1:51.275. Just seven laps remain in the Moto 2 race. Espargaro closes on Marquez. He has to catch Marquez a tenth of a second a lap for the last laps. Taki Nakagami battles Simone Corsi for seventh. Scott Redding is closing up on Tito Rabat. Anthony West has made it from 20th to 12th. Marc Marquez knows Pol Espargaro is there. When will Espargaro make his move?
Marquez twists the throttle as if to say, "come on, bike! Give me more!" It's Marquez vs. Espargaro. Marquez can win this race, and if he wins next time out in Malaysia, he's champion for Moto 2 for 2012. Five laps left. Pol Espargaro is having some slight brake issues. The Suter chassis is not quite as good on the brakes as the Kalex chassis is. Scott Redding runs wide again. That could be the line he's trying to use. The battle continues between Taki Nakagami and Claudio Corti. Andrea Ianonne is really languishing in this race. He's 18th. Tom Luthi passes Toni Elias, and Elias is out of the race. Elias, crashed.
Johann Zarco and Dominik Aegerter round out the top ten. Two laps remain now. Can Espargaro go for it? No. He runs wide. That's too much time lost. Espargaro will have to settle for second. Even after putting the bike in neutral at the start, Marquez could win another race, coming to the end of his Moto 2 career, preparing for the jump to MotoGP in 2013. This is the last lap. Marquez sets a new fast lap, too. Not sure of the time. Marquez will have a 53 point cushion before the next race. Espargaro is not giving up.
Espargaro won't quit. This race will be decided in five seconds. Marquez blocks. Marquez wins it! He's on his way to the Moto 2 title. Tito Rabat gets third.
#93 Marc Marquez ESP Suter
The next race in Moto 2 is the Malaysian Grand Prix at the Sepang Circuit, this coming weekend.
At the start, Marc Marquez stalls on the grid! Who gets the lead? It's Pol Espargaro. Johnny Torres crashes as Scott Redding leads. Marc Marquez will have to go for it. Marquez passes Johann Zarco, passing six riders. Holy smokes! He's tenth now. Redding is in P1. This race will be 23 laps. Redding leads over Espargaro and Tito Rabat. Pol Espargaro ran wide. Rabat is now second. Dropping to tenth is Marc Marquez. He had the bike in neutral right at the start of the race. Marquez follows Mika Kallio. The Redding/Rabat battle for first, continues as Pol Espargaro slides.
Tito Rabat leads and Toni Elias (former world champ) is up to third. Marc Marquez passes Mika Kallio. Pol Espargaro is running well, as Rabat continues to lead. Taki Nakagami is coming up quickly. Rabat runs very well out front at this point. Taki Nakagami pleases his home crowd, passing Johann Zarco for seventh. Tom Luthi passes Marc Marquez. Marquez tries passing Luthi, but can't make it work. Rabat sets fast lap in the 1:51 bracket. Pol Espargaro is now second, chasing his team mate, Tito Rabat. Four laps are complete.
Bradley Smith crashed in practice and is now out of this race. Marc Marquez sets fast lap as Redding goes wide and Marquez makes an easy pass. Marquez passes Toni Elias. Toni Elias might drop back. Coming into the 90 degree corner, Espargaro is just a second behind Tito Rabat. Taki Nakagami and Mika Kallio battle. Marquez runs a 1:51.4. He doesn't need to win this race to get decent points. Pol Espargaro wiggles, getting the bike very loose, and fortunately, saving it! Redding and Elias battle, but Toni Elias brakes late, sliding wide.
Can Tito Rabat hold off Marc Marquez? Rabat is not letting Marquez pass and get away. Marquez can pick his moment to pounce. Marquez has passed Tito Rabat. But, Pol Espargaro might also catch Rabat as Marquez is the leader now. Toni Elias and Tom Luthi battle with Scott Redding. One of the wildcard riders is black flagged. Not sure who. It's a Japanese national rider. Rabat stays with Marquez. Espargaro is back there, too.
Mika Kallio is having mechanical issues with his bike, or not. Hmmm. Kallio slides into the gravel trap. Marquez extends his gap at the front. Just eleven laps remain. Espargaro and Rabat are second and third. Rabat can only focus on getting onto the podium now. Tom Luthi and Taki Nakagami battle and Dominik Aegerter follows. That's eight, ninth, and tenth. Pol Espargaro is not letting Marquez get away. Anthony West is twelfth and Johann Zarco is having issues. Gino Rea and Alex de Angelis are farther down the order. Espargaro sets new fast lap and a new track record at 1:51.3.
Nicolas Terol falls down the order after sliding off course. The track is fully covered in clouds. So, it's cooled off. Pol Espargaro is even quicker, running a 1:51.275. Just seven laps remain in the Moto 2 race. Espargaro closes on Marquez. He has to catch Marquez a tenth of a second a lap for the last laps. Taki Nakagami battles Simone Corsi for seventh. Scott Redding is closing up on Tito Rabat. Anthony West has made it from 20th to 12th. Marc Marquez knows Pol Espargaro is there. When will Espargaro make his move?
Marquez twists the throttle as if to say, "come on, bike! Give me more!" It's Marquez vs. Espargaro. Marquez can win this race, and if he wins next time out in Malaysia, he's champion for Moto 2 for 2012. Five laps left. Pol Espargaro is having some slight brake issues. The Suter chassis is not quite as good on the brakes as the Kalex chassis is. Scott Redding runs wide again. That could be the line he's trying to use. The battle continues between Taki Nakagami and Claudio Corti. Andrea Ianonne is really languishing in this race. He's 18th. Tom Luthi passes Toni Elias, and Elias is out of the race. Elias, crashed.
Johann Zarco and Dominik Aegerter round out the top ten. Two laps remain now. Can Espargaro go for it? No. He runs wide. That's too much time lost. Espargaro will have to settle for second. Even after putting the bike in neutral at the start, Marquez could win another race, coming to the end of his Moto 2 career, preparing for the jump to MotoGP in 2013. This is the last lap. Marquez sets a new fast lap, too. Not sure of the time. Marquez will have a 53 point cushion before the next race. Espargaro is not giving up.
Espargaro won't quit. This race will be decided in five seconds. Marquez blocks. Marquez wins it! He's on his way to the Moto 2 title. Tito Rabat gets third.
#93 Marc Marquez ESP Suter
The next race in Moto 2 is the Malaysian Grand Prix at the Sepang Circuit, this coming weekend.
Sunday, October 14, 2012
MotoGP round 15: Japan
Japan and the Motegi circuit is the site of the latest MotoGP race.
Jorge Lorenzo wants a second championship, and Dani Pedrosa is also in this hunt. But, Casey Stoner, has returned from injury, and could be a major threat, too, after he had to recover from a big crash earlier this year at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. This is the first of three races in Asia, that take place consecutively at Twin Ring Motegi, in Motegi, Japan.
Carlo Ezpeleta has taken over control of both MotoGP and World Superbike. There's a move afoot to set up two championships that will both keep going despite the economic issues around the globe. Also, a universal ECU unit will be used. Dani Pedrosa is the defending champion of this race. Alvaro Bautista will be back next year and so will Aleix Espargaro and Randy de Puniet. IN qualifying, Cal Crutchlow put in a new lap record and will start third. Dani Pedrosa was number one for a while. But, Jorge Lorenzo snatches pole with a 1:44.969.
Ben Spies fell down in qualifying. But, he wants to get on the podium. Nicky Hayden is tenth with Colin Edwards sixteenth. Lorenzo gets his 50th world championship pole. Nicky Hayden has a fractured hand and wrist. Ivan Silva is back and Roberto Rolfo replaces Mattia Passini. Katsuyuki Nakasuga (who has made a name for himself on the endurance racing motorcycle scene recently) is a wildcard entry for this race. The bikes are on their warmup lap. This circuit is just about three miles and has four long straightaways, and many slow corners. It's a very physical race track. 24 laps scheduled.
At the start, Lorenzo gets the jump from pole. Dani Pedrosa takes the lead and runs wide. Lorenzo comes back with Ben Spies, Cal Crutchlow, and Casey Stoner behind. Alvaro Bautista is seventh. Ben Spies got a good start. Stefan Bradl, Valentino Rossi, and Nicky Hayden round out the top ten. The bikes go through the hairpin, onto the back straight into a 90 degree turn. Randy de Puniet drops his bike on lap one. But, he'll rejoin, after falling in the hairpin. Ben Spies runs off and hits the wall!
Cal Crutchlow is now third. Nakasuga is up to ninth place. Pedrosa and Lorenzo will be battling each other through this race. Ben Spies' crash just ran into the wall and couldn't stop before hitting the wall. These bikes are fast. Moto 3 and Moto 2 bikes can stop. Not a MotoGP bike. Yonny Hernandez also crashes. He may have something wrong with his collarbone. Stoner tries passing Crutchlow, two laps in. Alvaro Bautista passes Stoner. Can he come back by? No. Bautista gets the spot. Andra Dovizioso had a bad start. Jorge Lorenzo sets fast lap at 1:45.727.
He's quicker than Pedrosa. They are in a high speed game of cat and mouse. The bikes go through the V curve and into another turn. The gap is two seconds between Lorenzo and Pedrosa. Alvaro Bautista sets his personal best lap at 1:46.1. Many of the riders are close together on time. Aleix Espargaro is the top CRT bike. Dani Pedrosa is a very smooth rider. Seven laps now complete. Dani Pedrosa can match Jorge Lorenzo at this point. But, you need to ride your own race. The leaders are into the 1:45.9 range going through the third and fourth corners, through a tunnel that has the oval track on top of it. The bikes run through the S curve, the V curve, and the hairpin.
Casey Stoner is hounding Alvaro Bautista. The brakes on these bikes are red hot. Motegi is the toughest track on brakes for these bikes. Eight laps complete. Four laps to halfway. The performance of the brakes will drop off even though they are extremely hot. Every rider, depending on their style, is affecting the brakes. They are carbon discs, just like a Formula One race car. Dovizioso chases Stefan Bradl. He passes Bradl and the two bikes run in lockstep. Dani Pedrosa takes the lead away from Jorge Lorenzo. Can Lorenzo fight back?
Crutchlow and Bautista are only separated by 8/10ths of a second. Twelve laps remain. This race is half over. The championship points will see a twenty some odd point gap between Lorenzo and Pedrosa with three rounds left. Lorenzo has a 33 point lead. But, he had two big issues in the last few races, and he needs to stop the bleeding, even though it's minimal. Pedrosa flies down the back straight. Yonny Hernandez is out and does have a broken collarbone. The battle persists between Cal Crutchlow and Alvaro Bautista.
Pedrosa is opening his lead up. Cal Crutchlow is still being hounded by Bautista. Ten laps remain. Cal Crutchlow slides and manages to save the bike! Yikes! Bautista is right on Crutchlow right now. This is the battle to watch on track. Pedrosa looks to win his fifth race of 2012 and his second consecutive event at Motegi. He's dropping back into the 1:45 bracket. Randy de Puniet is out of this race. Andrea Dovizioso passes Casey Stoner. Stoner takes a tighter line, but can't quite get there. Dovizioso is fifth, Stoner sixth, Bradl seventh, Rossi eighth, Hayden, ninth, and Nakasuga, tenth.
Someone dropped their bike. It might have been de Puniet. He's out. Pedrosa races to the 90 degree corner and continues serenely on in the lead. Just four laps left. Alvaro Bautista is now on the podium. Bautista does a brilliant move on the brakes, Crutchlow tries to pass. But, Bautista makes his aggressive move stick. These guys are all over each other. Crutchlow picks up his pace. Bautista defends. Into the hairpin, Crutchlow loses ground.
Dani Pedrosa is in cruise mode. He'll easily get another win. The Bautista/Crutchlow battle is the big one. Hayden and Nakasuga battle for ninth. But that one isn't important. Crutchlow passes Bautista. They come into the V curve and up to the hairpin. Bautista slides back around. The two riders touch knees! Bautista is pushing. Crutchlow's wheelie, slowed him down. Both these guys just have one podium apiece in MotoGP. Pedrosa is ahead of Lorenzo and he will win five races in the season. He can be the tenth most successful rider in MotoGP, passing on the list, Max Biaggi, and Tony Mang.
Crutchlow closes on Bautista again. A lap and a half remains. It's the last lap. Pedrosa will get back-to-back wins at Motegi. Crutchlow runs wide. Can he close on Alvaro Bautista? Who gets second place? Dani Pedrosa has this race won. Crutchlow loses ground. He's run out of fuel! Oh no! Crutchlow predicted it was going to be close on fuel. Andrea Dovizioso gets fourth. Dani Pedrosa has now won four of the last five races, making it two in a row in Japan!
#26 Dani Pedrosa ESP Honda
Pedrosa becomes the only rider to win in all three classes at Motegi (125cc, 250cc and MotoGP). The next race is the Malaysian Grand Prix at the Sepang circuit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, next weekend.
Jorge Lorenzo wants a second championship, and Dani Pedrosa is also in this hunt. But, Casey Stoner, has returned from injury, and could be a major threat, too, after he had to recover from a big crash earlier this year at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. This is the first of three races in Asia, that take place consecutively at Twin Ring Motegi, in Motegi, Japan.
Carlo Ezpeleta has taken over control of both MotoGP and World Superbike. There's a move afoot to set up two championships that will both keep going despite the economic issues around the globe. Also, a universal ECU unit will be used. Dani Pedrosa is the defending champion of this race. Alvaro Bautista will be back next year and so will Aleix Espargaro and Randy de Puniet. IN qualifying, Cal Crutchlow put in a new lap record and will start third. Dani Pedrosa was number one for a while. But, Jorge Lorenzo snatches pole with a 1:44.969.
Ben Spies fell down in qualifying. But, he wants to get on the podium. Nicky Hayden is tenth with Colin Edwards sixteenth. Lorenzo gets his 50th world championship pole. Nicky Hayden has a fractured hand and wrist. Ivan Silva is back and Roberto Rolfo replaces Mattia Passini. Katsuyuki Nakasuga (who has made a name for himself on the endurance racing motorcycle scene recently) is a wildcard entry for this race. The bikes are on their warmup lap. This circuit is just about three miles and has four long straightaways, and many slow corners. It's a very physical race track. 24 laps scheduled.
At the start, Lorenzo gets the jump from pole. Dani Pedrosa takes the lead and runs wide. Lorenzo comes back with Ben Spies, Cal Crutchlow, and Casey Stoner behind. Alvaro Bautista is seventh. Ben Spies got a good start. Stefan Bradl, Valentino Rossi, and Nicky Hayden round out the top ten. The bikes go through the hairpin, onto the back straight into a 90 degree turn. Randy de Puniet drops his bike on lap one. But, he'll rejoin, after falling in the hairpin. Ben Spies runs off and hits the wall!
Cal Crutchlow is now third. Nakasuga is up to ninth place. Pedrosa and Lorenzo will be battling each other through this race. Ben Spies' crash just ran into the wall and couldn't stop before hitting the wall. These bikes are fast. Moto 3 and Moto 2 bikes can stop. Not a MotoGP bike. Yonny Hernandez also crashes. He may have something wrong with his collarbone. Stoner tries passing Crutchlow, two laps in. Alvaro Bautista passes Stoner. Can he come back by? No. Bautista gets the spot. Andra Dovizioso had a bad start. Jorge Lorenzo sets fast lap at 1:45.727.
He's quicker than Pedrosa. They are in a high speed game of cat and mouse. The bikes go through the V curve and into another turn. The gap is two seconds between Lorenzo and Pedrosa. Alvaro Bautista sets his personal best lap at 1:46.1. Many of the riders are close together on time. Aleix Espargaro is the top CRT bike. Dani Pedrosa is a very smooth rider. Seven laps now complete. Dani Pedrosa can match Jorge Lorenzo at this point. But, you need to ride your own race. The leaders are into the 1:45.9 range going through the third and fourth corners, through a tunnel that has the oval track on top of it. The bikes run through the S curve, the V curve, and the hairpin.
Casey Stoner is hounding Alvaro Bautista. The brakes on these bikes are red hot. Motegi is the toughest track on brakes for these bikes. Eight laps complete. Four laps to halfway. The performance of the brakes will drop off even though they are extremely hot. Every rider, depending on their style, is affecting the brakes. They are carbon discs, just like a Formula One race car. Dovizioso chases Stefan Bradl. He passes Bradl and the two bikes run in lockstep. Dani Pedrosa takes the lead away from Jorge Lorenzo. Can Lorenzo fight back?
Crutchlow and Bautista are only separated by 8/10ths of a second. Twelve laps remain. This race is half over. The championship points will see a twenty some odd point gap between Lorenzo and Pedrosa with three rounds left. Lorenzo has a 33 point lead. But, he had two big issues in the last few races, and he needs to stop the bleeding, even though it's minimal. Pedrosa flies down the back straight. Yonny Hernandez is out and does have a broken collarbone. The battle persists between Cal Crutchlow and Alvaro Bautista.
Pedrosa is opening his lead up. Cal Crutchlow is still being hounded by Bautista. Ten laps remain. Cal Crutchlow slides and manages to save the bike! Yikes! Bautista is right on Crutchlow right now. This is the battle to watch on track. Pedrosa looks to win his fifth race of 2012 and his second consecutive event at Motegi. He's dropping back into the 1:45 bracket. Randy de Puniet is out of this race. Andrea Dovizioso passes Casey Stoner. Stoner takes a tighter line, but can't quite get there. Dovizioso is fifth, Stoner sixth, Bradl seventh, Rossi eighth, Hayden, ninth, and Nakasuga, tenth.
Someone dropped their bike. It might have been de Puniet. He's out. Pedrosa races to the 90 degree corner and continues serenely on in the lead. Just four laps left. Alvaro Bautista is now on the podium. Bautista does a brilliant move on the brakes, Crutchlow tries to pass. But, Bautista makes his aggressive move stick. These guys are all over each other. Crutchlow picks up his pace. Bautista defends. Into the hairpin, Crutchlow loses ground.
Dani Pedrosa is in cruise mode. He'll easily get another win. The Bautista/Crutchlow battle is the big one. Hayden and Nakasuga battle for ninth. But that one isn't important. Crutchlow passes Bautista. They come into the V curve and up to the hairpin. Bautista slides back around. The two riders touch knees! Bautista is pushing. Crutchlow's wheelie, slowed him down. Both these guys just have one podium apiece in MotoGP. Pedrosa is ahead of Lorenzo and he will win five races in the season. He can be the tenth most successful rider in MotoGP, passing on the list, Max Biaggi, and Tony Mang.
Crutchlow closes on Bautista again. A lap and a half remains. It's the last lap. Pedrosa will get back-to-back wins at Motegi. Crutchlow runs wide. Can he close on Alvaro Bautista? Who gets second place? Dani Pedrosa has this race won. Crutchlow loses ground. He's run out of fuel! Oh no! Crutchlow predicted it was going to be close on fuel. Andrea Dovizioso gets fourth. Dani Pedrosa has now won four of the last five races, making it two in a row in Japan!
#26 Dani Pedrosa ESP Honda
Pedrosa becomes the only rider to win in all three classes at Motegi (125cc, 250cc and MotoGP). The next race is the Malaysian Grand Prix at the Sepang circuit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, next weekend.
Friday, October 12, 2012
unsportsmanlike riding
Now, there is a video of this you can check out if you subscribe to SPEED2 online. But, in the XR1200 season finale at New Orleans Motorsports Park, Michael Barnes and Tyler O'Hara were going for the win. But, on the front straight, approaching the checkered flag, O'Hara did a VERY unsportsmanlike thing, actually, physically holding back Michael Barnes, by placing a hand firmly onto his shoulder while the two were still speeding for the finish line! Never have I seen (in my short time following motorcycle racing), ANYTHING so blatant in terms of blocking! Wow! Go to this link to see the video for yourself.
http://www.autoblog.com/2012/10/12/watch-these-motorcyclists-duke-it-out-in-hand-to-hand-combat-to/#continued
http://www.autoblog.com/2012/10/12/watch-these-motorcyclists-duke-it-out-in-hand-to-hand-combat-to/#continued
Monday, October 8, 2012
AMA Pro Racing Round 11: Triumph Big Kahuna New Orleans presented by Dunlop Tire & LeoVince (season finale)
The last round of the 2012 AMA Pro Racing championship takes place at New Orleans Motorsports Park (NOLA Motorsports Park), in "The Big Easy". New Orleans, Louisiana.
First up it's the season finale for the Daytona Sportbike division. Racing is for pride and rides for next year, since the championship has been won. At the New Orleans Motorsports Park, there is an out of bounds line between the front straight and the pits that they cannot cross. Tommy Hayden is back in the paddock at an AMA Pro race after his horrific wreck with Cameron Beaubier at New Jersey Motorsports Park. Jake Gagne has his first ever Daytona Sportbike pole position. This is a new racetrack. The bikes are on the grid, ready for the Daytona Sportbike race.
Tommy Hayden still has a sore shoulder after that big wreck at New Jersey. He'll need to adapt during the race. At the start, Martin Cardenas gets the jump. Tommy Aquino comes to fourth. Bobby Fong takes over the race lead into the first series of corners, but, Cardenas comes back by. J.D. Beach, Jake Gagne, and others, are running pretty well. Gagne won last time out at Homstead-Miami Speedway. The bikes are ridden hard into turn thirteen, into the braking zone, and then, set up for the final sweepers. Tommy Aquino tries passing another rider. This will be an 18 lap event.
Michael Beck ditches his bike. He might be out. He slides hard into turn one and falls down. Meanwhile, there's a four way fight. Aquino, Fong, Gagne, Cardenas. Not in that order though. Cameron Beaubier passes J.D. Beach. Gagne hangs onto second over Bobby Fong. J.D. Beach is Gagne's team mate. Oh! Big wreck! Bobby Fong runs up into Jake Gagne, launching the bike in the air! The bike absolutely got obliterated! This race has been red flagged for obvious reasons. Both bikes went down, spiraling through the air!
Gagne is OK. Fong is moving, but he might be hurt. Well, he stands up. But, his shoulder must be hurt. Gagne's motorcycle looked to just get vaporized! Another savage crash. Fortunately, Fong should be fine as well. The bikes are back on track, running slowly under yellow, ready for a restart. On the restart, Tommy Aquino gets a good start. But, Cardenas leads over J.D. Beach. Jake Zemke passes Dane Westby. Zemke is fifth. Martin Cardenas is already beginning to open a gap up. J.D. Beach is also running very well.
Dane Westby passes Cameron Beaubier. Tommy Aquino tries passing Westby, but Westby has none of it. Four of 18 laps complete. Aquino passes Beach into turn eight. Turn eight is a "commitment" corner, meaning, make your move, right here, right now. Westby passes Beach, too. Cameron Beaubier is drafting J.D. Beach, making a pass, and Westby pushes past Aquino. Aquino cuts back inside. Martin Cardenas will extend his lead since these guys are scrapping so. Aquino needs to move away from Westby. Dane Westby runs inside Aquino. He's a very confident rider.
Who has the legs on the front straight? Use the draft. Beaubier flies past both bikes in the draft! Wow! Beaubier runs a lap at 1:44 flat. He's coming for Cardenas, fast. Beaubier takes 2/10ths of a second off of Cardenas' lead. The Chuck Graves Yamaha team is going very well. Cardemas knows that he's being chased down. The tires are working OK. The rear wheel on these bikes might be a concern. But, watch out for the front tire on the Superbikes, in the next race.
Jason DiSalvo, and other riders, hold down the bottom part of the top ten. DiSalvo, Huntley Nash, and Glen Gaviria, are not having the races they want. Ten laps to go now. Beaubier has the speed over Cardenas in a way. Corey West, Jason DiSalvo, and others battle. Beaubier wants to draft by Cardenas. He can't make the inside line work. Six laps remain in this first race. Cardenas finishes off the corners with the rear of the motorcycle. He wiggles, and that also forces Beaubier to sit up.
Beaubier tries again on the outside. No dice. Beaubier should just ride for a bit. He's got a cushion over third place. Tire combinations for both riders are hard/hard. Beaubier looks on the inside again. This is a two horse race, even though Cardenas is already the champion. Corey West battles David Gaviria and
others. Beaubier passes Cardenas. Martin Cardenas takes over the race lead now. He was behind Beaubier for a while. In turn six, Cardenas runs slightly into the dirt, and by the straightaway, he outbrakes Beaubier. Three laps to go. There will be a second race. Read about it further down in this blog entry.
Martin Cardenas crashes! He gave it everything. He doesn't need to worry, though. He's got the title. Yet, he knew he was on the knife edge. He turns in and loses grip. It was a low side crash instead of a high side. So, with two laps left, Beaubier has an eight second lead over the three battling for second (Westby, Beach, and Aquino). There is a huge scramble. West, Gavidia, Hayden, DiSalvo, and others. Jake Zemke is in it, too. This is for about sixth through tenth. Zemke runs alone, in fifth place.
Gavidia is the sixth place bike. But, on the last lap, Cameron Beaubier looks to be headed for a win. Bring it around the final corner. Beaubier wins it!
#6 Cameron Beaubier Yamaha YZF R6
Coming up, it's the first of the Superbike races. Josh Hayes has pole for the first race. This new track is located in a suburb of New Orleans, called Avondale, Louisiana. Front tire wear, on the Superbikes, will be a big issue, as opposed to the rears on the 600cc machines. At the start, it's Josh Hayes on the outside. Geoff May also gets a really good start. If he pushes too hard, that could be trouble. Ben Bostrom is third, Danny Eslick, fourth. These are the fastest vehicles to hold a race since it opened. These guysa re flying in top gear through the esses. Run in about fourth gear on the 1000cc bike. Robertino Pietri, Chris Fillmore, Geoff May, and Steve Rapp all battle.
Roberto Pietri tries to pass Geoff May and he does. Danny Eslick slides wide, coming in front of Chris Fillmore's KTM. Larry Pegram's BMW is right behind. This race will be 18 laps, just like the 600cc race. Chris Fillmore goes inside Pegram. The EBR's of Eslick and May run in formation. Blake Young and Ben Bostrom run behind Hayes. Rapp, Eslick, and May follow. Steve Rapp almost crashed on the Kawasaki. Rapp has won the Daytona 200 before. Hayes is really fast. He'll have fifteen wins if he can hang on.
With Rapp, he out-drives Eslick on the straight. Larry Pegram passes Geoff May for seventh place. Josh Hayes is amazingly dominant as he earns another #1 plate. Ben Bostrom has passed Blake Young. We'll see what Jordan Motorsports is going to do. Michael Jordan wants to win the title. Yes, as mentioned before, it is the basketball superstar who owns that team. Thirteen laps left. Hayes is running the 1:40 flat range in terms of lap times. Chris Fillmore is hounding Danny Eslick. It's EBR vs. KTM. Robertino Pietri is also doing real well.
What will EBR become in years down the road? Eric Buell really knows what he wants. Fillmore passes May. The KTM is now eighth. One lap to halfway. The tire wear is changing to the rear tires, and riders feel the fronts beginning to move. Robertino Pietri makes a pass on Eslick. He must pass Rapp before the tires really go south. On the defensive end, take a guy into the corner deeper, and outbrake your competitor. This is the unknown. Everyone will learn from now until the end of this race. The race is half over. Larry Pegream slides in and pushes Danny Eslick onto the grass!
Eslick gets back on the road, but, he's dropped down the order. Hayes continues to lead. Steve Rapp chases Roger Hayden. Chris Fillmore and Larry Pegram are also back in contention. Fillmore gets around Pegram with seven laps remaining. Robertino Pietri has to serve a penalty for crossing that white line on the front straight, just out of turn sixteen. If you cross the line three times, you are out. There are five and ten second penalties for first and second offenses. Pietri got caught out on the rules. Too bad. Blake Young is the sole holder of second over Ben Bostrom, and Roger Hayden.
Five laps remain in race one for Superbike. The riders have reached that unknown area on their tires. Will they hold? The lap times are falling off by a second, over what was run in qualifying. The leaders have been running in the 1:41 bracket. Ben Bostrom has a problem. Is it tires or mechanical? Roger Hayden is on the podium on the sister Jordan Suzuki. Danny Eslick went off in turn five. Aaron Yates stuffed him up the inside. David Anthony runs behind Yates' bike. Yates ran in MotoGP a couple times. Three laps left. Yates will not give Anthony the spot. In the tests, tires were being shredded constantly. So, when the teams came back for the race, to NOLA Motorsports Park, they changed the strategy.
That happens with new race tracks. This is the first pro motorsports race at this track. Chris Fillmore sets his best lap time with two laps to go. Josh Hayes leads Blake Young. Young had a good ride in the first race today. It's the last lap. Josh Hayes is going to win his fifteenth race of the year, tying, Miguel Duhamel for second on the all-time win list, with 32. If Hayes wins the Sunday race (read on), he'll be in sole position of second on the all-time AMA win list.
#1 Josh Hayes Yamaha R1
Race two, on deck for both classes. First, Daytona Sportbike, then, Superbike. These are the last rounds for the season. Jake Gagne has ligament damage in his knees after that huge crash in the Saturday race. He will not race today (Sunday). Jake Gagne is a spectator for the race today. The bikes are lined up on the grid, ready to race.
At the start, Cardenas looks to get the jump, but the bikes fan out. Beaubier and Fong give chase. Jake Zemke runs tenth and got a good start. Cameron Beaubier chases Cardenas through turn seven as Tommy Aquino is up to third. Dane Westby passes Bobby Fong. Aquino is going for it but can't quite get by Beaubier, who runs wide. Martin Cardenas opens a gap. Tommy Aquino wobbles and Dane Westby is trying to reel him in.
Beaubier goes inside Fong. He can't make the pass. J.D. Beach battles Jake Zemke. Jason DiSalvo and Cory West follow. Bobby Fong is finding a match with Meen Motorsports. Meanwhile, Beaubier and Westby scrap, just ahead. Westby gets the best of Beaubier for now. The battle on the bayou is intensifying. Jake Zemke is out of the racing. He's crashed his Ducati 848. Bobby Fong is down, too. Zemke down in turn five. Fong down, in turn 13. His front Dunlop tire lost grip. Martin Cardenas runs a 1:43.1 compared to Tommy Aquino at a 1:43.4.
Aquino gets passed by two more riders. Cameron Beaubier is reeling in Dane Westby. Tommy Aquino only could go so far before the tire said, "enough!" Cory West misses a turn and gets on the grass. But, he blows a motor, too, on his Suzuki. There was a boom, and large plume of smoke from the motor. Cameron Beaubier drops 1.3 seconds behind Cardenas. J.D. Beach is fifth with Jason DiSalvo, sixth, on his Triumph Speed Triple. Cameron Beaubier is closing. Westby and Aquino continue to swap positions, coming to the halfway point in the race.
Tommy Aquino is on the inside. But, Westby outbrakes him. Jake Zemke is out of the race on his Ducati 748. Cameron Beaubier is charging after Cardenas again. Cardenas ran a 1:42.9, while Beaubier gets fastest lap at 1:42.6. Cardenas' bike is beginning to slide again. The Yamaha lays down the power better than the Suzuki does. Cardenas loses grip every so often. The manufacturer's cup is up for grabs. Suzuki and Yamaha want to sell motorcycles. Who will win? It's the old adage in racing, "win on Sunday... sell on Monday."
Beaubier ran wide! He should recover. Cardenas runs a 1:43 flat. What's the gap now? They are 1.3 seconds apart with six laps left in the season. There's a bigger gap back to third and fourth, (the Westby and Aquino battle). Aquino runs a 1:43.792. There's a four way fight for eleventh with Huntley Nash leading the group ahead of Austin Dehaven and Joey Pascarella who won the Daytona 200. This is the fight for seventeenth. Pascarella and Nash are a part of it. Huntley Nash makes the pass. He runs a shade wide. Just in front of Nash is #86 Ben Young.
Cardenas steps out on the bike and fortunately stays in it. He is pushing the rear tire. Beaubier has passed Martin Cardenas. Diving into turn eight, Beaubier gets by Cardenas as Cardenas loses traction, just a shade. The #6 bike is faster. Three laps remain in the 2012 Daytona Sportbike season. Beaubier will be back in Sportbike next year. Not sure what will happen with Cardenas. Will he be in Sportbike, or Superbike? He's a hot commodity. Beaubier had a light front end, switching direction between turns 14 and 15.
A lap and a half remains. This is for the win in the last race of 2012 for Daytona Sportbike. Aquino and Westby fight for the podium, banging handlebars! Westby shuts the door for the last podium spot! Who does it? Cardenas passes Beaubier. Beaubier is trying hard to get back by! Get to the inside. Right there, he can't quite get it. Cardenas wins it! The fight for third, it's Aquino vs. Westby and Aquino does it!
J.D. Beach holds off Jason DiSalvo for fifth and Austin Dehaven ditches his bike, right at the end!
#36 Martin Cardenas Suzuki GSXR600
Martin Cardenas is the champ! We'll see what happens, next year, in 2013.
Coming up, this is the last race of the year. Superbike, race two!
Josh Hayes believes he is past his prime as far as going to race in Europe. That's why he probably won't do it. He's near 40 already. He's watched the legendary riders like Scott Russell, Mat Mladin, Miguel Duhamel, and Aaron Yates. Hayes has won on every track on the AMA schedule in 2012.
At the start, Josh Hayes seems to get the jump. But, Danny Eslick also gets a flyer! Eslick runs wide though. He drops to fourth place. Fifth now. Chris Fillmore's KTM also is red hot here. Blake Young, Ben Bostrom, and Roger Hayden and second, third, and fourth. Larry Pegram's BMW is being hounded by Aaron Yates, Steve Rapp, and Geoff May. Can Ben Bostrom take advantage of Blake Young bobbling? This race will be 18 laps. Hayes already is checking out.
Young runs wide and Bostrom ducks back in. Who will be second? Hayes doesn't care. He's got the lead. He'll let the Suzuki's fight it out. Steve Rapp runs behind Chris Fillmore. Rapp is auctioning a helmet off to help someone who is dealing with leukemia. Great gesture by Steve Rapp. He scraps with Larry Pegram on the BMW S1000RR. Aaron Yates is back in AMA Superbike. He's riding a BMW and is used to running Suzuki's which he's done in the past. He's a former team mate to Mat Mladin. Four laps are complete. Danny Eslick is trying to gain on a group of three bikes. The twin cylinder EBR is slightly underpowered, but, he almost gets by Roger Hayden.
Geoff May and Danny Eslick will be back with Eric Buell Racing next year. Roger Hayden comes to third, after winning last time out at Homestead-Miami Speedway. This first pro event at New Orleans Motorsports Park, has gone very well. Bostrom and Eslick have lost touch with Hayden and Young. Hayden is hounding Young. Josh Hayes ran a 1:39.487 setting quick lap of the race. Eslick wobbled, and fortunately saved the bike! Yikes! Two Suzuki's battle. It's Yoshimura vs. Jordan. Bostrom and Eslick continue their battle for fourth.
Danny Eslick is using the single disc braking system of the EBR to his advantage. Robertino Pietri is buried in the field, trying to make his way up to another good finish. He's battling Aaron Yates who passes Larry Pegram. Chris Fillmore and Taylor Knapp are also back there. There's a battle for sixth through twelfth spot. Yates passes Rapp. Pietri tries passing Pegram. But it didn't work. Blake Young falls down, hard! Another rider is also involved. It's Young and Roger Hayden. Roger gets into the corner too hot, and they tagged each other! A gnarly crash to be sure.
Hayes continues to lead. Eight laps remaining. One of the SPEED golf carts has been heisted. Catch that dude with the golf cart! Roger Hayden had the door shut, leaning on the front brake hard, and got moved over by Blake Young, looking at the replay in real time. Wow! The rules still apply that you cannot cross the white line between the track and the pits at turn sixteen. Danny Eslick will get a penalty for crossing the line. He needs to beat Ben Bostrom by five seconds to get on the podium. There's no way for the team to tell him, "push, push, push". Robertino Pietri got the same penalty and didn't feel it was fair.
They need to alternate the color of the line, or put cones there. Larry Pegram and the BMW S1000RR are out of this race. He brings the bike to the pits with five laps left in the race, and the season. Geoff May's EBR is also out. No worries for Josh Hayes. He's got a ten second lead, or more. Taylor Knapp crashes. He had a lowside in turn four. It's easy to overstep the boundary, slam the bike down, and go out of the race. Larry Pegram is out of the race, as the transmission on his BMW went out. He'll be back next year, and have to see what brand of bike he'll ride.
Danny Eslick is second. He's third due to the penalty. Hayes might want to change the record book. He could go to Europe and run World Superbike. There are 40-year-old veterans in WSBK like Carlos Checa and Max Biaggi of course, the newly crowned champ. Read the previous post to see about that. Josh Hayes of course is now a three-time champion. Scott Russell, Doug Polen, Miguel Duhamel, and Mat Mladin have dominated the series. Josh Hayes' name can be added to this group. He wins! He's the #2 all-time AMA road race winner with 33, behind the huge number of 82 wins set by Mat Mladin.
#1 Josh Hayes Yamaha R1
He's also the champion of course. There were other races run at NOLA Motorsports Park, specifically for the XR1200 class which had their own race covered on this blog at Indy, back in August. In Pro Supersport race one, there were many crashes. Hayden Gillam won. In race two, Jason Rispoli and Garrett Gerloff got off to a good start. Garrett Gerloff won it.
Race 1: #69 Hayden Gillam Yamaha YZF-R6
Race 2: #96 Garrett Gerloff Yamaha YZF-R6
In XR1200 competition, it was a battle between Tyler O'Hara and Michael Barnes. O'Hara was disqualified. Michael Barnes wins the title after racing in AMA for 25 years.
#34 Michael Barnes Harley Davidson
So ends a great season of AMA National Guard Superbike Racing. We'll see what happens in 2013. So long for now.
First up it's the season finale for the Daytona Sportbike division. Racing is for pride and rides for next year, since the championship has been won. At the New Orleans Motorsports Park, there is an out of bounds line between the front straight and the pits that they cannot cross. Tommy Hayden is back in the paddock at an AMA Pro race after his horrific wreck with Cameron Beaubier at New Jersey Motorsports Park. Jake Gagne has his first ever Daytona Sportbike pole position. This is a new racetrack. The bikes are on the grid, ready for the Daytona Sportbike race.
Tommy Hayden still has a sore shoulder after that big wreck at New Jersey. He'll need to adapt during the race. At the start, Martin Cardenas gets the jump. Tommy Aquino comes to fourth. Bobby Fong takes over the race lead into the first series of corners, but, Cardenas comes back by. J.D. Beach, Jake Gagne, and others, are running pretty well. Gagne won last time out at Homstead-Miami Speedway. The bikes are ridden hard into turn thirteen, into the braking zone, and then, set up for the final sweepers. Tommy Aquino tries passing another rider. This will be an 18 lap event.
Michael Beck ditches his bike. He might be out. He slides hard into turn one and falls down. Meanwhile, there's a four way fight. Aquino, Fong, Gagne, Cardenas. Not in that order though. Cameron Beaubier passes J.D. Beach. Gagne hangs onto second over Bobby Fong. J.D. Beach is Gagne's team mate. Oh! Big wreck! Bobby Fong runs up into Jake Gagne, launching the bike in the air! The bike absolutely got obliterated! This race has been red flagged for obvious reasons. Both bikes went down, spiraling through the air!
Gagne is OK. Fong is moving, but he might be hurt. Well, he stands up. But, his shoulder must be hurt. Gagne's motorcycle looked to just get vaporized! Another savage crash. Fortunately, Fong should be fine as well. The bikes are back on track, running slowly under yellow, ready for a restart. On the restart, Tommy Aquino gets a good start. But, Cardenas leads over J.D. Beach. Jake Zemke passes Dane Westby. Zemke is fifth. Martin Cardenas is already beginning to open a gap up. J.D. Beach is also running very well.
Dane Westby passes Cameron Beaubier. Tommy Aquino tries passing Westby, but Westby has none of it. Four of 18 laps complete. Aquino passes Beach into turn eight. Turn eight is a "commitment" corner, meaning, make your move, right here, right now. Westby passes Beach, too. Cameron Beaubier is drafting J.D. Beach, making a pass, and Westby pushes past Aquino. Aquino cuts back inside. Martin Cardenas will extend his lead since these guys are scrapping so. Aquino needs to move away from Westby. Dane Westby runs inside Aquino. He's a very confident rider.
Who has the legs on the front straight? Use the draft. Beaubier flies past both bikes in the draft! Wow! Beaubier runs a lap at 1:44 flat. He's coming for Cardenas, fast. Beaubier takes 2/10ths of a second off of Cardenas' lead. The Chuck Graves Yamaha team is going very well. Cardemas knows that he's being chased down. The tires are working OK. The rear wheel on these bikes might be a concern. But, watch out for the front tire on the Superbikes, in the next race.
Jason DiSalvo, and other riders, hold down the bottom part of the top ten. DiSalvo, Huntley Nash, and Glen Gaviria, are not having the races they want. Ten laps to go now. Beaubier has the speed over Cardenas in a way. Corey West, Jason DiSalvo, and others battle. Beaubier wants to draft by Cardenas. He can't make the inside line work. Six laps remain in this first race. Cardenas finishes off the corners with the rear of the motorcycle. He wiggles, and that also forces Beaubier to sit up.
Beaubier tries again on the outside. No dice. Beaubier should just ride for a bit. He's got a cushion over third place. Tire combinations for both riders are hard/hard. Beaubier looks on the inside again. This is a two horse race, even though Cardenas is already the champion. Corey West battles David Gaviria and
others. Beaubier passes Cardenas. Martin Cardenas takes over the race lead now. He was behind Beaubier for a while. In turn six, Cardenas runs slightly into the dirt, and by the straightaway, he outbrakes Beaubier. Three laps to go. There will be a second race. Read about it further down in this blog entry.
Martin Cardenas crashes! He gave it everything. He doesn't need to worry, though. He's got the title. Yet, he knew he was on the knife edge. He turns in and loses grip. It was a low side crash instead of a high side. So, with two laps left, Beaubier has an eight second lead over the three battling for second (Westby, Beach, and Aquino). There is a huge scramble. West, Gavidia, Hayden, DiSalvo, and others. Jake Zemke is in it, too. This is for about sixth through tenth. Zemke runs alone, in fifth place.
Gavidia is the sixth place bike. But, on the last lap, Cameron Beaubier looks to be headed for a win. Bring it around the final corner. Beaubier wins it!
#6 Cameron Beaubier Yamaha YZF R6
Coming up, it's the first of the Superbike races. Josh Hayes has pole for the first race. This new track is located in a suburb of New Orleans, called Avondale, Louisiana. Front tire wear, on the Superbikes, will be a big issue, as opposed to the rears on the 600cc machines. At the start, it's Josh Hayes on the outside. Geoff May also gets a really good start. If he pushes too hard, that could be trouble. Ben Bostrom is third, Danny Eslick, fourth. These are the fastest vehicles to hold a race since it opened. These guysa re flying in top gear through the esses. Run in about fourth gear on the 1000cc bike. Robertino Pietri, Chris Fillmore, Geoff May, and Steve Rapp all battle.
Roberto Pietri tries to pass Geoff May and he does. Danny Eslick slides wide, coming in front of Chris Fillmore's KTM. Larry Pegram's BMW is right behind. This race will be 18 laps, just like the 600cc race. Chris Fillmore goes inside Pegram. The EBR's of Eslick and May run in formation. Blake Young and Ben Bostrom run behind Hayes. Rapp, Eslick, and May follow. Steve Rapp almost crashed on the Kawasaki. Rapp has won the Daytona 200 before. Hayes is really fast. He'll have fifteen wins if he can hang on.
With Rapp, he out-drives Eslick on the straight. Larry Pegram passes Geoff May for seventh place. Josh Hayes is amazingly dominant as he earns another #1 plate. Ben Bostrom has passed Blake Young. We'll see what Jordan Motorsports is going to do. Michael Jordan wants to win the title. Yes, as mentioned before, it is the basketball superstar who owns that team. Thirteen laps left. Hayes is running the 1:40 flat range in terms of lap times. Chris Fillmore is hounding Danny Eslick. It's EBR vs. KTM. Robertino Pietri is also doing real well.
What will EBR become in years down the road? Eric Buell really knows what he wants. Fillmore passes May. The KTM is now eighth. One lap to halfway. The tire wear is changing to the rear tires, and riders feel the fronts beginning to move. Robertino Pietri makes a pass on Eslick. He must pass Rapp before the tires really go south. On the defensive end, take a guy into the corner deeper, and outbrake your competitor. This is the unknown. Everyone will learn from now until the end of this race. The race is half over. Larry Pegream slides in and pushes Danny Eslick onto the grass!
Eslick gets back on the road, but, he's dropped down the order. Hayes continues to lead. Steve Rapp chases Roger Hayden. Chris Fillmore and Larry Pegram are also back in contention. Fillmore gets around Pegram with seven laps remaining. Robertino Pietri has to serve a penalty for crossing that white line on the front straight, just out of turn sixteen. If you cross the line three times, you are out. There are five and ten second penalties for first and second offenses. Pietri got caught out on the rules. Too bad. Blake Young is the sole holder of second over Ben Bostrom, and Roger Hayden.
Five laps remain in race one for Superbike. The riders have reached that unknown area on their tires. Will they hold? The lap times are falling off by a second, over what was run in qualifying. The leaders have been running in the 1:41 bracket. Ben Bostrom has a problem. Is it tires or mechanical? Roger Hayden is on the podium on the sister Jordan Suzuki. Danny Eslick went off in turn five. Aaron Yates stuffed him up the inside. David Anthony runs behind Yates' bike. Yates ran in MotoGP a couple times. Three laps left. Yates will not give Anthony the spot. In the tests, tires were being shredded constantly. So, when the teams came back for the race, to NOLA Motorsports Park, they changed the strategy.
That happens with new race tracks. This is the first pro motorsports race at this track. Chris Fillmore sets his best lap time with two laps to go. Josh Hayes leads Blake Young. Young had a good ride in the first race today. It's the last lap. Josh Hayes is going to win his fifteenth race of the year, tying, Miguel Duhamel for second on the all-time win list, with 32. If Hayes wins the Sunday race (read on), he'll be in sole position of second on the all-time AMA win list.
#1 Josh Hayes Yamaha R1
Race two, on deck for both classes. First, Daytona Sportbike, then, Superbike. These are the last rounds for the season. Jake Gagne has ligament damage in his knees after that huge crash in the Saturday race. He will not race today (Sunday). Jake Gagne is a spectator for the race today. The bikes are lined up on the grid, ready to race.
At the start, Cardenas looks to get the jump, but the bikes fan out. Beaubier and Fong give chase. Jake Zemke runs tenth and got a good start. Cameron Beaubier chases Cardenas through turn seven as Tommy Aquino is up to third. Dane Westby passes Bobby Fong. Aquino is going for it but can't quite get by Beaubier, who runs wide. Martin Cardenas opens a gap. Tommy Aquino wobbles and Dane Westby is trying to reel him in.
Beaubier goes inside Fong. He can't make the pass. J.D. Beach battles Jake Zemke. Jason DiSalvo and Cory West follow. Bobby Fong is finding a match with Meen Motorsports. Meanwhile, Beaubier and Westby scrap, just ahead. Westby gets the best of Beaubier for now. The battle on the bayou is intensifying. Jake Zemke is out of the racing. He's crashed his Ducati 848. Bobby Fong is down, too. Zemke down in turn five. Fong down, in turn 13. His front Dunlop tire lost grip. Martin Cardenas runs a 1:43.1 compared to Tommy Aquino at a 1:43.4.
Aquino gets passed by two more riders. Cameron Beaubier is reeling in Dane Westby. Tommy Aquino only could go so far before the tire said, "enough!" Cory West misses a turn and gets on the grass. But, he blows a motor, too, on his Suzuki. There was a boom, and large plume of smoke from the motor. Cameron Beaubier drops 1.3 seconds behind Cardenas. J.D. Beach is fifth with Jason DiSalvo, sixth, on his Triumph Speed Triple. Cameron Beaubier is closing. Westby and Aquino continue to swap positions, coming to the halfway point in the race.
Tommy Aquino is on the inside. But, Westby outbrakes him. Jake Zemke is out of the race on his Ducati 748. Cameron Beaubier is charging after Cardenas again. Cardenas ran a 1:42.9, while Beaubier gets fastest lap at 1:42.6. Cardenas' bike is beginning to slide again. The Yamaha lays down the power better than the Suzuki does. Cardenas loses grip every so often. The manufacturer's cup is up for grabs. Suzuki and Yamaha want to sell motorcycles. Who will win? It's the old adage in racing, "win on Sunday... sell on Monday."
Beaubier ran wide! He should recover. Cardenas runs a 1:43 flat. What's the gap now? They are 1.3 seconds apart with six laps left in the season. There's a bigger gap back to third and fourth, (the Westby and Aquino battle). Aquino runs a 1:43.792. There's a four way fight for eleventh with Huntley Nash leading the group ahead of Austin Dehaven and Joey Pascarella who won the Daytona 200. This is the fight for seventeenth. Pascarella and Nash are a part of it. Huntley Nash makes the pass. He runs a shade wide. Just in front of Nash is #86 Ben Young.
Cardenas steps out on the bike and fortunately stays in it. He is pushing the rear tire. Beaubier has passed Martin Cardenas. Diving into turn eight, Beaubier gets by Cardenas as Cardenas loses traction, just a shade. The #6 bike is faster. Three laps remain in the 2012 Daytona Sportbike season. Beaubier will be back in Sportbike next year. Not sure what will happen with Cardenas. Will he be in Sportbike, or Superbike? He's a hot commodity. Beaubier had a light front end, switching direction between turns 14 and 15.
A lap and a half remains. This is for the win in the last race of 2012 for Daytona Sportbike. Aquino and Westby fight for the podium, banging handlebars! Westby shuts the door for the last podium spot! Who does it? Cardenas passes Beaubier. Beaubier is trying hard to get back by! Get to the inside. Right there, he can't quite get it. Cardenas wins it! The fight for third, it's Aquino vs. Westby and Aquino does it!
J.D. Beach holds off Jason DiSalvo for fifth and Austin Dehaven ditches his bike, right at the end!
#36 Martin Cardenas Suzuki GSXR600
Martin Cardenas is the champ! We'll see what happens, next year, in 2013.
Coming up, this is the last race of the year. Superbike, race two!
Josh Hayes believes he is past his prime as far as going to race in Europe. That's why he probably won't do it. He's near 40 already. He's watched the legendary riders like Scott Russell, Mat Mladin, Miguel Duhamel, and Aaron Yates. Hayes has won on every track on the AMA schedule in 2012.
At the start, Josh Hayes seems to get the jump. But, Danny Eslick also gets a flyer! Eslick runs wide though. He drops to fourth place. Fifth now. Chris Fillmore's KTM also is red hot here. Blake Young, Ben Bostrom, and Roger Hayden and second, third, and fourth. Larry Pegram's BMW is being hounded by Aaron Yates, Steve Rapp, and Geoff May. Can Ben Bostrom take advantage of Blake Young bobbling? This race will be 18 laps. Hayes already is checking out.
Young runs wide and Bostrom ducks back in. Who will be second? Hayes doesn't care. He's got the lead. He'll let the Suzuki's fight it out. Steve Rapp runs behind Chris Fillmore. Rapp is auctioning a helmet off to help someone who is dealing with leukemia. Great gesture by Steve Rapp. He scraps with Larry Pegram on the BMW S1000RR. Aaron Yates is back in AMA Superbike. He's riding a BMW and is used to running Suzuki's which he's done in the past. He's a former team mate to Mat Mladin. Four laps are complete. Danny Eslick is trying to gain on a group of three bikes. The twin cylinder EBR is slightly underpowered, but, he almost gets by Roger Hayden.
Geoff May and Danny Eslick will be back with Eric Buell Racing next year. Roger Hayden comes to third, after winning last time out at Homestead-Miami Speedway. This first pro event at New Orleans Motorsports Park, has gone very well. Bostrom and Eslick have lost touch with Hayden and Young. Hayden is hounding Young. Josh Hayes ran a 1:39.487 setting quick lap of the race. Eslick wobbled, and fortunately saved the bike! Yikes! Two Suzuki's battle. It's Yoshimura vs. Jordan. Bostrom and Eslick continue their battle for fourth.
Danny Eslick is using the single disc braking system of the EBR to his advantage. Robertino Pietri is buried in the field, trying to make his way up to another good finish. He's battling Aaron Yates who passes Larry Pegram. Chris Fillmore and Taylor Knapp are also back there. There's a battle for sixth through twelfth spot. Yates passes Rapp. Pietri tries passing Pegram. But it didn't work. Blake Young falls down, hard! Another rider is also involved. It's Young and Roger Hayden. Roger gets into the corner too hot, and they tagged each other! A gnarly crash to be sure.
Hayes continues to lead. Eight laps remaining. One of the SPEED golf carts has been heisted. Catch that dude with the golf cart! Roger Hayden had the door shut, leaning on the front brake hard, and got moved over by Blake Young, looking at the replay in real time. Wow! The rules still apply that you cannot cross the white line between the track and the pits at turn sixteen. Danny Eslick will get a penalty for crossing the line. He needs to beat Ben Bostrom by five seconds to get on the podium. There's no way for the team to tell him, "push, push, push". Robertino Pietri got the same penalty and didn't feel it was fair.
They need to alternate the color of the line, or put cones there. Larry Pegram and the BMW S1000RR are out of this race. He brings the bike to the pits with five laps left in the race, and the season. Geoff May's EBR is also out. No worries for Josh Hayes. He's got a ten second lead, or more. Taylor Knapp crashes. He had a lowside in turn four. It's easy to overstep the boundary, slam the bike down, and go out of the race. Larry Pegram is out of the race, as the transmission on his BMW went out. He'll be back next year, and have to see what brand of bike he'll ride.
Danny Eslick is second. He's third due to the penalty. Hayes might want to change the record book. He could go to Europe and run World Superbike. There are 40-year-old veterans in WSBK like Carlos Checa and Max Biaggi of course, the newly crowned champ. Read the previous post to see about that. Josh Hayes of course is now a three-time champion. Scott Russell, Doug Polen, Miguel Duhamel, and Mat Mladin have dominated the series. Josh Hayes' name can be added to this group. He wins! He's the #2 all-time AMA road race winner with 33, behind the huge number of 82 wins set by Mat Mladin.
#1 Josh Hayes Yamaha R1
He's also the champion of course. There were other races run at NOLA Motorsports Park, specifically for the XR1200 class which had their own race covered on this blog at Indy, back in August. In Pro Supersport race one, there were many crashes. Hayden Gillam won. In race two, Jason Rispoli and Garrett Gerloff got off to a good start. Garrett Gerloff won it.
Race 1: #69 Hayden Gillam Yamaha YZF-R6
Race 2: #96 Garrett Gerloff Yamaha YZF-R6
In XR1200 competition, it was a battle between Tyler O'Hara and Michael Barnes. O'Hara was disqualified. Michael Barnes wins the title after racing in AMA for 25 years.
#34 Michael Barnes Harley Davidson
So ends a great season of AMA National Guard Superbike Racing. We'll see what happens in 2013. So long for now.
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