Qatar 2013 *may have results*
 

Comes round quick.
I am thinking perhaps not the only one to wonder if Andrea Dovizioso will be in front of a certain former world champ.:rolleyes:
Dovi has always been underated in my view and I think he could be a dark horse.

Re: Qatar 2013 *may have results*
 

The Doctor is back :)

Re: Qatar 2013 *may have results*
 

Great race. He is back on form.

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Hahaha, fail! I've waited so long for VR to show that he is the best. There are only two predictions I will make. Firstly, Pedrosa is finished. He will not win the title. If you put money on DP you've already lost because MM is a better rider. End of.

Second, this is gonna be very close. Had VR not been sandwiched between MM and DP causing him to run wide, he would have given JL a run for his money. MM will improve and probably win a race. As much as I want Rossi to win, I think Lorenzo might just get it, but rejuvenation for Rossi!

Re: Qatar 2013 *may have results*
 

oh my it just get better and better..stoner who?

I think stoner would have had a lot of fun out there today.. sets up well for the next race. Maybe the wall will go up in the honda garage. :)

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Brilliant race. What a performance from Rossi. Going to watch it again on Eurosport!

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Stoner and Marquez on the Hondas with DP relegated to satellite would have made it an amazing season.

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can someone explain what satilite bikes are?

Re: Qatar 2013 *may have results*
 

Quality race, I was begging MM to do it with that last dive, but still good to see competitive racing again, shame Lorenzo got away. Lets hope thats not always gonna happen.

Re: Qatar 2013 *may have results*
 

The rules only allow 2 "factory supported bikes" e.g. Lorenzo's Yamaha and Pedrosa's Honda. But they also support teams who buy a package (chasis and engine etc) and run it independently. However, some satellite teams like the Pramac get almost full factory support. So this means latest engine and chasis development throughout the season, possibly even data sharing. This obviously gives an advantage over the full private teams who have to develop their own machines throughout the year.

The factory teams also get some benefit because they can use the satellite teams to test parts and innovations which can then benefit the full factory team.

Re: Qatar 2013 *may have results*
 

Rossssssssiiiiiiiii!!!!

He is back and I am happy! Shown class today and shown he is still world championship material.

Wouldnt write of Pedrosa so fast but it does look like Marquez isnt here to make up numbers.

Shame for Cutchlow but 5th maybe for the best. At least he kept it on the tarmac.

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So good to see Rossi back. Not only his riding but even his interviews and he presence just brings something else to the sport!!

Going to be a brilliant season!! Lorenzo...what a brilliant ride!
And Marquez is going to grow and grow. Can't wait.

MotoGP for me has been so dull for the last 2 years.
And in one race it already feels different.

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Sums it up nicely. I started paying more attention to Moto2 last year so am mad looking forward to what crazy man Marquez can do this year.

Still wouldn't write Pedrosa off. I think i'd still put him top two in the championship now. It'll change.

Re: Qatar 2013 *may have results*
 

Going off topic slightly but did anyone catch the moto2 race? Fantastic ride from Scott Redding, a decent dual between him and Pol Espargaro right till the end.

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Completely forgot about Scott Redding!! Yes brilliant ride. Looks like a two horse race this year between those two. I thought Scott had Pol but some clever positioning from Pol meant Scott had to get out of the gas and lost momentum!

Moto3 was a bit 'whoever gets the slipstream'

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Not his biggest fan,but admire the guy so much. I bet Valentino was laughing inside his helmet during the latter stages of the race. Marquez will fear and respect no-one,the kid is a real threat although sadly I think he might have the odd fall as the season goes along.

Dani had a woefull start to last season but finished the strongest of all.He was not happy all weekend and complained of a lack of traction in the race. He will be there or there abouts all season and I do think it could be his season.

Scott Redding was ace,just wish he could finish the job off more often.

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If Rossi hadn't made his mistake early on he would have dropped the Hondas in time and may have even got within 1-2 seconds of JL, who was absolutely faultess for the whole race.
From the first corner it was clear that the race win was a forgone concluesion, however the battle for 2nd, 3rd & 4th was fantastic. Not a bad way to open the championship!

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I was watching this last night with Mrs Jambo (who decided quite early on that she was only rooting for good looking riders despite the fact you can't see their faces when they're on a bike).

We both got quite animated during the race, and my assertion that "he won't catch that lot" turned out to be complete cobblers.

I'd not write DP off at all, he won 6 of the last 8 races of 2012, and is a very, very good rider. Perhaps not as charismatic as some, but I'd expect him to do better at other tracks.

MM did amazingly well for his first GP, I felt bad for Crutchlow, but there was nothing unfair about the pass and he got back on with it and placed very well for someone who'd been to the shops at part distance.

More of that please, but competing for the first 5 slots not 2nd - 5th

Jambo

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Jambo, I agree with you about DP. He may be the grumpy little Spaniard but he is by no means a slouch. It may take a couple of races for him to warm up & really kickstart his season.

Maybe he should just smile more :p

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so happy for rossi, i bet his adrenaline is still flowing like mad, he will definately be in for a good run with lorenzo, hopefully gets better Q times so starts better on the grid i.e pole position :) will be there in september rooting for him at silverstone and will go see the bike in the pits :)

Re: Qatar 2013 *may have results*
 

I absolutely loved that race, but ominously awesome was the talent of Lorenzo once again. I hope the other A listers can get closer to him. Thought this was a great photo!

http://i1217.photobucket.com/albums/...ps8f54c2d2.jpg

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I'll admit to shouting at the telly when Scott Redding tried to make that pass on Pol.

He needs to get the consistency this season.

Boy got character too.

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Pedrosa "hmmm I thought I heard a Yamaha behind me?!"

Crutchlow "oi dani, over here!"

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It won't be long before he gets his first win.

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Maybe some of you extolling DP haven't realised what happened. MM is known for lining people up for the kill and then taking them at will. He did this time and again in Moto2. Its his race ability that is his true talent. This was clear to see when he absolutely would not give VR a moment of peace after the pass. But then race ability is also VR's strength.

JL can mix it but IMO VR is a better racer. And I think MM is the same. This is why DP is in trouble. He is best when he doesn't have to mix it up. But the early signs are that Marquez has marked his card and in a fight between them I would go MM every time.

Its not to say DP isn't a great rider. He's just not a great racer in comparison to those two. JL will readily admit that he works best by being consistently fast and smooth. Whilst I think he can handle himself in a tear up with the other two I don't think it would suit his race, whereas MM and VR just love that sort of racing.

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I see what you mean, I think this will really shake DP up now. MM is an all out guts n' glory rider which makes him very impressive to watch. If DP isn't careful I think he could find himself ousted from being #1 at Honda next year, or moved to a satelite machine.

Re: Qatar 2013 *may have results*
 

Thought that was already the case - Dani only has a job in Repsol because Casey left. He was clearly thought of as third best (at best) and would have been shunted off to LCR/others without much of a goodbye.

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Now that definitely isn't the case. DP is not a bad rider. Far from it.

Re: Qatar 2013 *may have results*
 

Having thoroughly enjoyed watching VR struggle on the Ducati for the last 2 years, I have to say his return to Yamaha made some enjoyable watching.
Even though I knew the results, looking at the 6s gap at one point I thought "no frekin way!".
Yeah, right :D

Next thing you know, people will say he can win on any bike he's got :lol: ;)