I think Lorenzo will do it again, i'd like to see Valentino on the top spot though..

And i predict Hayden will finish 9th

And Ant West last poor westy

Unless it shits down rain again like in 2005 - then Westy could be in the top ten!

But if its dry Westy will have Marco for company (sorry Marco )

I hope Vale does well (we've all been waiting so long for a win) but if he can't he just needs to get a good amount of points to keep him up there for the championship.

And unfortunately, I think all of you writing off Stoner will be wrong........I am expecting a good race from him this weekend.

BTW speaking of the weather:

Seems Sunday is supposed to be showers/rain!

BBC - Weather Centre - 5 Day Forecast in Celsius for Shanghai, China

10 Day Weather Forecast for Shanghai, China - weather.com

No rain, NO RAIN! That just sucks. Hate wet races... though liked em better watching Mick Doohan... they didn't slow him down.

If you had to say Rossi had one real weakness, it does seem to be wet weather racing. Yes, I know, it evens out the field for everyone, but I just wish he knew how to still kick ass in the wet. If Ant West can do it... then hell, Rossi should, right?

Yeah, and I'm with ya, Mel. KC is about to embark on his strong part of the season... only thing that will put the kybosh on him is if under his riding, Ducati have gone backwards in their development. BUT, having said that, these are the races Valentino switched tyres for. And the Yam's more juiced up these days... and the electronic issues of last year are meant to be sorted (you know, so he's not fighting his own bike)... can't wait can't wait...

Nothing ever slowed Mick - not even with half his body held together with metal!!!!!!

I think Vale is ever improving in the rain (forget last year and those shite fichelins)

He did win Shanghai in the wet. I remember that race well - with Jacque closing lap after lap I was continually shouting abuse at the poor guy!

It's so true that Vale isn't so good in the wet race, I agree with you too. But it doesn't mean he never won anything in wet before.
It's raining in the evening here but Shanghai is different. Just hope that the rain will come here and let them race in PEACE...

Times, they have changed... Valentino can't afford to be hindered by rain. What would we do if it rained all year? It COULD happen...

At least in the Jerez test/qualifier before the first race this year he was 2nd in the wet.

Plus he wasn't bad at Estoril either (well if you don't count binning it on a drying track!)

Rossi pinpoints Shanghai for first Bridgestone victory

Tuesday, 29 April 2008
After a long winless streak in the premier class, the five-time World Champion expects to reassume his mantle in China.


May 1st, 2005. The heavens open in Shanghai, and the first ever MotoGP race in China is a wet affair. At the height of his form, Valentino Rossi shows his mastery of the 990cc Yamaha M1 to take a memorable victory from wildcard Olivier Jacque and continue his leadership of the MotoGP World Championship.
Jump forward three years, and things look very different for the Italian star. Rossi is now on his longest winless streak in the premier class since his maiden victory in 2001, and has seen rookie teammate Jorge Lorenzo outshine him thus far in the present season. The five-time MotoGP World Champion is, however, still a potent force as proved by his first Bridgestone-assisted podiums in Jerez and Estoril, and the Fiat Yamaha package is assumed by many to be favourable to the odds of victory in Shanghai.
One of those predicting a Rossi resurgence is the rider himself, who came close to taking the win last year in a jaw dropping battle with Casey Stoner. Another Bridgestone rider, John Hopkins, completed the rostrum.
`Last year in China we weren´t quite able to win, but this year our bike is working very well and, together with our tyre package, I think we should be fighting for the victory,´ proclaims Rossi. `The race in 2007 was very exciting I think, a long battle with Stoner; this year I hope for a similar battle with my rivals but with a different outcome!´
The 29 year-old´s decision to switch from Michelin rubber to his current associates brought him in for some flack, and the jury is still out over the success of the change as the French manufacturer post some impressive results in early 2008. Rossi, who experienced a freak front tyre problem in the 2006 Chinese visit, is hopeful that the critics can be silenced this weekend.
`After Estoril we had a test and the primary focus was tyre testing with Bridgestone, working on material for Shanghai. We found some good things and I hope that we´ll be starting in good shape. We´ve had three races together now and I think the last two podiums, especially in Estoril which isn´t such a good track for Bridgestone, have shown that we´re making good progress in our relationship,´ continues Rossi.
`I hope that Shanghai is going to be the place where it finally all comes together. We´re not in such a bad place in the championship and there is a very long way to go, but our rivals are very strong so we can't afford to make mistakes and we need to try to take as many points as possible from now on.´

If I get a mug, he gets a stay in hospital!!

Shanghai: Technical information



Get the lowdown on the Hermann Tilke-designed Shanghai circuit ahead of this weekend's Chinese MotoGP.
The Shanghai Circuit is one of the most recent additions to the MotoGP calendar, having only held its first race back in 2005. The entire circuit complex, with its imposing modernist design, is probably the most spectacular on the calendar.





The layout of the track itself was inspired by the shape of the Chinese symbol 'shang', which stands for 'high' or 'above'. It features two long straights, which put huge emphasis on horsepower, but also hosts a mixture of slow corners and hard braking zones which make for a compromised set-up - particularly regarding suspension.
Combining fast straights and hard braking zones with a series of slow and difficult corners, Shanghai is not dissimilar to Estoril in terms of bike set-up, with the engineers required to find a compromised balance between nimbleness and straight-line speed.
As at any Hermann Tilke-designed circuit, horsepower is a crucial factor and Shanghai is no exception, boasting the longest straight on the calendar at an incredible 1202 metres.
Podiums: 2005 - 1-Valentino Rossi (Yamaha), 2-Olivier Jacque (Kawasaki), 3-Marco Melandri (Honda)
2006 - 1-Dani Pedrosa (Honda), 2-Nicky Hayden (Honda), 3-Colin Edwards (Yamaha)
2007 - 1-Casey Stoner (Ducati), 2-Valentino Rossi (Yamaha), 3-John Hopkins (Suzuki)
Lap Record: Dani Pedrosa (Honda - 2006) 1'59.318 - 159.335 km/h
Best Pole: Valentino Rossi (Yamaha - 2007) 1'58.424 - 160.583 km/h
Fastest Speed: Makoto Tamada (Honda - 2006) 343.7km/h
Circuit Length: 5.281 km.
MotoGP Race 2008: 22 laps (116.182 km)
MotoGP 2008 time: 8am UK time
Livio Suppo, Ducati Project Director
"On paper the Shanghai circuit is one that should suit our package quite well so I'm sure that we'll be strong. Vittoriano (Guareschi) has spent three days testing some new things at Mugello, in particular with the electronics, and we're satisfied with how the GP8 is continuing to evolve. Bridgestone are also putting a lot of hard work in. Casey had a really good test himself after the race at Estoril and I think we'll also see some encouraging signs from Marco soon."
Davide Brivio, Fiat Yamaha Team Director
"Normally in China we have always been competitive but last year we couldn't win, we finished second. This year we'll try again but the competition will be much stronger because it is not only Stoner who is capable of fighting for victory, there are other competitive riders too. We were very pleased with the results in Jerez and Estoril because we knew they were tracks that weren't the most favourable for us so it was a case of going there to defend. Now we hope that China is the first of the tracks where we can go and attack."

Hey, one of my favorite wins is Donington 2005 and that was really, really wet! He did it then, he can do it now too! Besides B/stone should definitely outperform Michelin in these conditions. Which is a great advantage of course.
Am I not right?