Lights, Camera, Stoner

March 10th, 2008 · No Comments

It comes as no surprise that Casey Stoner has won the first floodlit MotoGP in Qatar to reassert himself as the man and machine to beat in 2008. The Stoner, Ducati and Bridgestone combination lead the race from lap eight to the flag and was half the length of the straight ahead of second Jorge Lorenzo place. The race began with an amazing start by Danny Pedrosa who came from the third row and powered his way through the grid into the lead which he then held for the next four laps until Valentino Rossi hit the front for the next three.
For the early part of the race Stoner seemed to be on a par down the straight with the other leaders but then a step change saw him reel in the front runners. It was obvious that Ducati had turned down the fuel early on knowing that they would come good later once the fuel mapping had the data to increase the power while saving enough to complete the race. This strategy worked to perfection to the point where half way around the slow down lap Stoner was running low and his 21 litres finally ran out coming down the pit lane. The same thing happened to the third place Honda of Pedrosa but despite there good showing all the Yamaha’s made it back under power. The Yamaha team must now look at improving their fuel mapping as their is no rule to stop a team from tuning their bike to run dry as soon as it crosses the line. Over a 22 lap race a half lap of fuel in equivalent to a 2% advantage which is a huge advantage in anyone’s book.
Once Stoner had headed off into the floodlights with Lorenzo chasing the whole time but never looked like getting there with the Michelin shod Yamaha. After the race the GP rookie looked more than pleased at coming second perhaps knowing that he was really racing for second place from the start. The race behind these two turned in to a proper battle for third which by mid way in the race had been claimed by Pedrosa. Coming into this race their was a lot of messing around by Pedrosa trying the 2007 bike then back onto the 2008 for the race. This got Nicky Hayden in a fankle and he elected to go with the 2007 model and paid for it with a tenth place.
The race was then about fourth with Rossi, Dovisioso and Toseland, the three battled back and forth but it was the Jir Honda’s Dovisioso that pulled the rabbit from the hat. A fourth place in his first MotoGP on a customer Honda is an incredible achievement but then he’s used to competing with one arm tied behind his back after pushing Lorenzo in the 250’s despite his lack of bike power.
Rossi in fifth knew beforehand that he was really on a damage limitation excercise at Qatar and must now look forward to tracks where his Bridgestone shod Yamaha will go better. Once again he is troubled by tyre problems and it was obvious that he was tip-toeing into the bends as there was no confidence to be had in the grip. This makes you wonder how Stoners Ducati doesn’t chew it’s tyres and how his team mates can get the same out of the combination, I think there’s something more there.
Another customer bike revelation was James Toseland on the Tech 3 Yamaha who ended the race sixth. He could easily have pinched a place or two higher as he was right there for the whole race along with teammate Colin Edwards (seventh). If he can keep up this kind of performance throughout the year he must be rewarded with a Factory ride in 2009.
The Suzuki team who have been doodling along leading up to this race must be happy with Loris Capirossi who rode into eight with a consistent 22 laps. Teammate Chris Vermeulem had a nightmare and had to come in after only a few laps to change his Bridgestone tyres which were shot. He came out a lap down and really could only circulate until the finish.
Both the Alice and Kawasaki teams did not have a good time of it at this track and finished well down the order and half a lap away from the leaders and were all on Bridgstones. So commentators are trying to play down the difference between the the tyres but their is an obvious split here at the Losail circuit and Michelin has the upper hand. I don’t see that as a real problem as the Bridgstones work well else where but it does make for a less interesting race at times with half of the field unable to race properly.
One further point of interest has got to be Marco Melandri who got up to eleventh from sixteenth but has failed to adapt to the Ducati and unless there’s a significant improvement at Jerez must be looking a season of misery. This is compounded by the success of his teammate Stoner which once again begs the questions what going on with that. I can’t believe that Stoner is so good that he is the only one who can make the Ducati and Bridgestone work, there’s more at play than meets the eye.
The fact that this race was held under floodlight made no difference to the race as far as visibility was concerned and as a spectator it gave the race a more vivid appearance. The cold night air and the spectre of condensation settling on the track however was made for a harder riding conditions. As I had said earlier the cold air would make the bikes faster and this was bourne out by the race time being around a minute faster than last year.
Next venue is Jerez on march the thirtieth which should rumble up the order a bit and give us another good spectacle.


yep a good spectacle it was...hope to see more races like that!!!

I must say that i'm concerned (and impressed) how Stoner flew by the opposition in Qatar at the latter part of the race.

We expected problems for B'stone in colder conditions and it happened in Quali, but look at the race , I mean Stoner has that same rubber underneath his Ducati.

It would be easier to accept that only the tyres were the problem in Qatar, but I must say that Vale's Yamaha didn't look that impressive (again).

Also the situation is rather confusing:
1. Stoner- Bridgies- dominated the opposition
2. All Yamaha's exepct Vale's looked more up the pace and sharp (maybe only his tyres were more worn out, or the setup was bad ?????).

Stoner's domination won't last too long... !

I was really really upset after the race too, but then I relaxed! All other Yam's were running on Michelin tyres... and like Vale said all over that weekend : Yamaha has to find a right set up fpr 'stones tyres! He also said that his bike isn't the fastest one but it's faster than last year!

So if you put together Jorge's Yam + Stone tyres + VALENTINO ROSSI = 2008 WC?

Just wait for Jerez... warm conditions!

Gi

Well, velo, what can I say? We all here are more or less upsetted and dissapointed
by last race, cz we all expected for more from Vale's Yamaha and bridgestone.
The situation currently is very alike previous season
But still we have to count in such a calming point that Bridges weren't very
good in cold conditions and that not a proper tire choice was made just because
of luck of experience of working with new rubber manufacture. So, I guess
we have to stay positive and wait till next races

Judging by his free practice time, I'm sure the race will be difficult for him. It turned right and it's ok. We can make all kind of assumption and all that but give them some time like by Shanghai then?
I'm sure there will be a results by then.

p/s: just watch after the flag. Dovi cried when they asked him how he felt after overtaking Vale. Sweet........

"I am not worried. This is only the first race."

I tend to agree with you here Vale - I think you know what you are doing.

There is also an article in MCN about Toseland's stunning debut performance and he says that despite not having won a world crown since 2005, Rossi is still the benchmark against which every rider gauges themselves....I think he knows what he is talking about, too.

Thanks for the news, it sure bright up my day.

Thank you Jackie...you always keep us welinformed

Oh, that's just what i needed - a good portion of positive emotions!
Thanks, Jackie - IN VALE WE TRUST!

point iz...u shouldnt need a statement like that 2 feel better....(not blamin u guyz..mez feelin sad 2) but the sun and moon logo...that's the logic of life...moonz smilin right now..but sun's gonna shine again....and we r all gonna dance with Vale in ibiza watchin the sun rise....