I thought as much ! :lol:

I didn't think, should have known better :)
Bloody snooker is still only 3-3 in a best of 11 match :(
I like snooker but I really do need a bike "fix" today.

i too are waiting for the bl@@dy snooker to finish :cry:

Snooker interrupting bike coverage? :shock: Jeez if that happened here in Spain there would be riots! :lol: 8)

Kwak,,,,Possibly those couple of extra ponies that the Suzuki has could ultimately be it's undoiung come the races. Tyres are going to get eaten big time and possibly the harsher laying down of power from the big 4 cylinder could see Corser struggling more than Bayliss as the races reach their latter stages. :wink:


(Of course that could all be B.S. from me who obviously wants the Bologna Beauty to romp home in first!) :P

Worth the wait :D
Promises to be some good racing tommorow.
Anyone staying up to watch to live ?

Tricky...Me.me.me! If I can prevent myself from behaving like a nodding dog I shall sit up and enjoy live. kicks off at 2.00am for me! :?

1am british eurosport!! :D

Sky+ :thumbsup:

I really really want to, but have a funny feeling I shall be a bit to drunk to enjoy it properly. :oops:
Plus I do get rather animated watching racing and tend to shout encouragement to the riders, which might not go down to well the neighbors at that time of the morning !

:D

just watched the wsb phillip island round! think its gonna be a good season! i would love to see toseland win just to stick two fingers up at ducati and david tardozi(?). i do rate lanzi but i had a smile when he crashed out of race two! come on toseland!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

tyres,tyres,tyres save those tyres.

Well yet again , two blinding races ! :lol: This season is shaping up to be one of the best for for a while , certainly since the amazing Edwards / Bayliss battle of 2002 and THAT race at Imola :riding: :lol: =D> . I can feel a trip or two into Europe to catch the action coming on :shock: :lol: .

Two absloutely stonking races.....................I was jumping out of my seat at the performance of my favourite nutter!

So your a Rueben Xaus fan then :shock: :lol: :lol:

:thumbsup:

I keep telling myself that the sore and red eyes that I have today are well worth it! You know I think that is true as they really were 2 excellent races. :shock:

Interesting testing in motogp.

Roberts and Ellison going well, though it was wet.

The Suzuki is flying, the fastest bike and Hopkins doing well.

The Dukes and Hondas look like having a quiet season.

Looks like Yamaha and Rossi again...plus Edwards and Checa.

Pleases to see Edwards going well, should give Rossi a bit more of a run for his money this year

Looks like a few need a bit more cornering practice, Melandri, Rossi, KR Jnr and then Checka. Pity about KR it would have been nice to see him post a good time

Basket......If anyone should be worried at the moment it is HRC. The reason being that Hayden just cannot ride the 2006 RCV anywhere near as hard as he could last year's bike. The smoke screen being issued by Honda is that the bike is packed with "potential" yet the season starts in just 3 weeks.

Ducati on the other hand have lots of power and handling but all of this needs a lot of setting up for each individual track. Sete Gibernau has been working hard with Bridgestone and Ducati's engine software boys to try to put together a consistant "base" package that would require less input per race weekend,thus allowing both himself and Loris more time to concentrate on doing fast lap times as opposed to constantly pit stopping for adjustments. Sounds a good policy to me.

Sete had announced that the trying to win the Z4 would actually be too much of a diversion from the job in hand and so he remains happy with the Beemer he won for being top average qualifying rider last season!

Poor old Loris is still suffering from a bout of the err sh*ts!

Yamaha look very,very strong though and the odd showing from both Suzuki and Kawsaki should not be ruled out this season. 8)

An interesting approach Peter.

It follows therefore that the Duke boys will not be race ready from the first lap at Jerez. Playing catchup when the Yamahas, Kwaks and Suzukis...even the Roberts Team are full throttle is going to make it harder.

I'm sure Sete will be ready for his home GP though.

Basket...Maybe I mislead you mate. they could set the Ducati up for jerez no problem and be competitive from the off. What they are trying to achieve is a base package that does not need a major overhaul from track to track as is common with all teams presently.

One thing is for sure, this is going to be one interesting season!

Tim....They all fell more or less at the same place which was under braking before entering the corner. Odd that so many should suffer the same fate at exactly the same spot? :?

I sat and watched the WSB races today, and it really is an enetrtaining series.

I would just like to state that I have, on a number of occaisions, said "do not under estimate JT". He has really taken to the Honda and looks not only competitive, but seems to have a different sense of determination this year.

Corser, Baylis, Haga and Barros all look good as well, so it's not going to be the 1 horse race it was last year. I think one or two trips to European meetings is in order......

.

I never been one to follow the paddock gossip or politics (I'm sure someone will set me straight if I'm talking ********) I always got the impression last year that as well as lacking confidence in the bike, there was a lot of friction between JT, Laconi and the team, plus the normal Ducati "must win or sleep with the fishes" pressure.

I delighted to see JT doing so well, we just need to get Stalker on the rostrum as well and I'll be \:D/

Well impressed with Barros as well so far, he's put in some cracking rides.

Corser took a wallop...glad he got up though...good job too as he would have been squashed!!!

Don't mess with Barros...beat him in a race and he'll run you over.

Tricky...You are correct.Unfortunately in a very "Italian" kind of way Ducati were a little p*ssed when Toseland actually won the title as he was in the team as a back up rider really! I think that was made too clear to him which was totally wrong. Based on Toseland's age they could have had someone that could have won many more titles for them.

Great to see him going well on the Honda. :wink:

I think I'll frame that :shock:

.

Come to think of it I remember watching on telly when JT won the title and thinking how the team where rather subdued, rather than going bonkers like you'd expect.

He is a Yorkshireman... We never get overly excited about anything :roll:

"It only the bloody world title lad, when I were a lad I won 15 world titles standin' ont' 'ead :roll:"

:lol: :lol: :lol:

Have to say that both WSB rounds were some of the best 2 wheeled racing I've seen.

I just hope Troy Bayliss doesn't run away with it which does seem likely...The depth of the field in WSB is amazing...when Chris Walker comes tenth then you know that there are racing to be had.

Top stuff.

In MotoGP, Edwards and Rossi look very calm and relaxed...happy...Hmmm

I was at Magny Cors that year, and the British contingent went mad, but you could see that the team boss wasn't happy. They never thought it would happen, JT was 5 points adrift and up against a Frenchman, in France, who had the Managers full support. Well done JT I say..... He should have walked then.

And where's Laconi now ? (oh and while I think of it), what about Ducati's "great white hope" Lanzi.... Lanzi who ?

C'mon JT, stick it to them...

.

its always good to see the union jack flying above the podium "well done jt"

Watched the last World Suberbike rounds again on TV last night as there was nowt else on. I actually enjoyed as much as the first time even though I knew what was going to happen.

One thing I did notice was how sombre and dull the Japanese national anthem is, thats why I like to see the Ducatis win once in while, cos you get a good lively tune on the rostrum :wink: :D

Well boys and girls I was fortunate to be at Phillip Island for the weekend and it was bloody marvellous.

TB just took off in that first race, pity the tyres didn't hold up but he smashed that lap record that had stood for so long. The last race was a more calculated effort, you could see JT getting anxious and spinning up the rear regularly while TB was just smoothly following him around.

TC was so lucky with his off, nice shoulder roll to get off the track too.

It's going to be quite a season folks. :D

PeterM....What is Phillip Island like as a spectator track? I know all of the riders love it but just wondered what it was like for the track side public? Are there places where you can get a pretty much all around view ? Or is it more just sections of the track you would see from any vantage point?

I tend to sit near turn one. From there you can see the last bit of the straight, the start of turn one, the run into the fast turn 4 & Honda hairpin, round Siberia and the run up to the Hayshed. You then lose the bikes until they crest over Lukey Heights & run down to MG corner.

The good thing is that large screens get placed around the track so you can see what's happening out of your vision. The track is pretty undulating in some places, but not as bad as some. A great track to ride, certainly, and pretty good to view at.

peter henry this might be your year, just finished reading mcn and the ducati boys seem happy with the package this year, they may just lauch a surprise attack while the yamahas are complaining about chatter and the hondas well :roll: cant do anything with the 06 bike.

what do you all think about bayliss complaining about the lack of power? he has new lap records, race wins and is leading the championship? should ducati be allowed to run a 1200cc version? for years WSB were running 750 IL4s while ducati had it all there own way running the 996 they wasnt complaining then when the series was dominated buy duc's.

Kwak,

All very interesting isn't it? I have just finished reading the 134 page Moto GP guide provided in Motociclismo magazine here which was crammed with excellent info.

But oddly this led me to go and dig out last year's version also. Guess what? After Jerez pre season last year...Rossi was not at all happy with the Yamaha! The Honda boys too were doing plenty of grumbling!

Therefore much as I would love those Bologna Beauties to win lots of races,(I am convinced they can win several) Yamaha is still the machine to beat and with an unbelievable main rider.

However if studied carefully, each race should prove enthralling with other riders playing a lot more than bit parts this year. I am very excited and can't wait to jump on the bike to head over there next friday morning!

Some interesting snippets for you:

Did you know that HRC never wanted Nicky Hayden? They took him purely to appease America Honda who felt they needed a home boy in the Moto GP category.

The V4 Suzuki is a massive 20bhp down on both the Yamaha,Honda and Ducati!

With a quickly designed and crafted frame for their RCV the Proton team could provide egg on faces for some of the other teams. This is the first time the team has had a competitive motor and even Honda are said to be impressed with the KR team's frame design!

Just a week away and although the best performer in pre season for Honda, Dani Pedrosa has still not simulated a full race distance. He also is still not comfortable with both the handle bar settings or foot rests.

The GP6 Ducati has shed 4kg for this season, the frame has been stiffened to aid curve stability at the loss of some straight line speed. They have also worked big time to reduce engine friction in order to get more of the generated power on the track.

Did you know that Kawasaki's long term plan was always to have a competitive bike for the 2006 season? They look on target at the moment! :wink:

rossi is going to be hard to beat evan with square wheels! but the ducati boys will be there this year and if sete can keep a cool head who knows.

i hope the KR team do well this year, they need some good luck.