Results and summary of the MotoGP race at Jerez:
Jorge Lorenzo has won the Spanish Grand Prix at Jerez for the second year running. And just like last year, he did so after a battle with Dani Pedrosa, the Repsol Honda rider losing out. But there, all resemblances end. The riders had already complained that the track was slippery, but the rain made the situation much worse, and the race was decided in the end by a series of crashes.
Pedrosa got away from the line fastest, with Casey Stoner following in his wake, but Pedrosa's lead would not last very long. Jorge Lorenzo and Casey Stoner were soon past, and were quickly joined by Marco Simoncelli and Andrea Dovizioso. Some semblance of order shook out at the end of the first lap, with Stoner leading Lorenzo, followed by a big chasing group with Marco Simoncelli at the helm.
Shortly afterwards, the madness began. By lap 4, Simoncelli had caught Stoner and Lorenzo, and two laps later, the San Carlo Gresini Honda rider was past. Simoncelli was in a hurry, and quickly pushed to build up a sizable lead. Meanwhile, Valentino Rossi had forced his way forward, climbing up through the field to hitch on the back of Jorge Lorenzo. Rossi had revenge on his mind, stuffing his Ducati up the inside of Lorenzo to take over 3rd to start lap 7.
Emboldened by his success, Rossi tried it again on Casey Stoner on the following lap. But Rossi was a little bit too optimistic this time round, starting from further behind Stoner, and the front folded as he tried to turn the bike for Turn 1. Unfortunately for Stoner, the Australian was right on the outside of Rossi's shoulder, and Rossi's bike wiped out the Honda of Stoner. To add insult to injury, the marshals helped Rossi pick his bike up to rejoin the race, but only one marshal came over to try to bump start Stoner's bike, leaving him stranded. After dominating much of the weekend, Stoner was out after a front end crash. This time, though, it wasn't his own fault: instead he was the victim of another rider crashing.
Four laps later, and it was Simoncelli's turn. Riding on his own, with a his first MotoGP victory in view, Simoncelli kept pushing, this time a little too hard. The San Carlo Gresini rider folded the front going into Turn 1, the same place as Rossi, crashing out of the lead and out of the race.
While all this action going on in front of them, the two Spaniards had been remaining calm. Their reward came when Simoncelli crashed out, with Lorenzo inheriting the lead. A victory was far from certain, however, as behind him, Dani Pedrosa was slowly closing him down. For the next three laps, it looked like Pedrosa might catch the Yamaha man, but tires and fatigue meant it was not to be. Lorenzo upped his pace, and went on to take a win in front of the Spanish crowds.
Pedrosa was in trouble from behind, however, as Lorenzo's teammate was starting to close on the Repsol Honda. Ben Spies had been slowly inching forward, and was starting to reel Pedrosa in. It took Spies the best part of 8 laps, but eventually he caught the Spaniard, and a lap later finally managed to barge his way past. His triumph was to be short-lived, however, as a couple of corners later, Spies was also laying the gravel. The treacherous conditions - changeable from one lap to the next - had caught Spies out, denying the Texan his first podium of the year, and Yamaha a 1-2 victory.
With Pedrosa sure of 2nd, attention now turned to the final spot on the podium. This looked to be securely in the hands of Nicky Hayden, but the Monster Tech 3 Yamaha team had other ideas. Cal Crutchlow was the first to get close, but he too crashed out, on lap 20. Colin Edwards had more luck at first, catching and passing Hayden, but on the last lap, the fates conspired against Edwards too. His engine cut out, leaving the Texan frustrated at the trackside.
A delighted and relieved Nicky Hayden crossed the line to take the final podium, though he was chased very hard all the way to the line by Hiroshi Aoyama, the Japanese rider saving the race for the San Carlo Gresini Honda. Valentino Rossi, having remounted and ridden hard, grabbed 5th, a remarkable result under the circumstances, but made much easier by the bike having more grip in the wet.
Karel Abraham and Randy de Puniet also hit the gravel, and Andrea Dovizioso pitted for new tires, after the original front gave out on the Italian.
Results:
Pos. | No. | Rider | Manufacturer | Time | Diff |
1 | 1 | Jorge LORENZO | YAMAHA | 50'49.046 | |
2 | 26 | Dani PEDROSA | HONDA | 51'08.385 | 19.339 |
3 | 69 | Nicky HAYDEN | DUCATI | 51'18.131 | 29.085 |
4 | 7 | Hiroshi AOYAMA | HONDA | 51'18.597 | 29.551 |
5 | 46 | Valentino ROSSI | DUCATI | 51'51.273 | 1'02.227 |
6 | 8 | Hector BARBERA | DUCATI | 51'57.486 | 1'08.440 |
7 | 17 | Karel ABRAHAM | DUCATI | 52'03.166 | 1'14.120 |
8 | 35 | Cal CRUTCHLOW | YAMAHA | 52'08.156 | 1'19.110 |
9 | 24 | Toni ELIAS | HONDA | 52'31.952 | 1'42.906 |
10 | 21 | John HOPKINS | SUZUKI | 52'37.441 | 1'48.395 |
11 | 65 | Loris CAPIROSSI | DUCATI | 52'40.922 | 1'51.876 |
12 | 4 | Andrea DOVIZIOSO | HONDA | 51'39.633 | 1 lap |
Not Classified | |||||
5 | Colin EDWARDS | YAMAHA | 49'17.289 | 1 lap | |
11 | Ben SPIES | YAMAHA | 45'04.399 | 3 laps | |
14 | Randy DE PUNIET | DUCATI | 30'15.977 | 11 laps | |
58 | Marco SIMONCELLI | HONDA | 20'17.285 | 16 laps | |
27 | Casey STONER | HONDA | 12'53.841 | 20 laps |
Comments
Lunacy
Utter lunacy.
I feel bad for Stoner, Simoncelli and Spies. All the marshals helping Rossikaze (Kamirossi?) instead of Stoner was infuriating, but Rossi is Dorna's baby so it makes perfect sense, gotta keep those ratings up.
David, think the rubber is to blame for a lot of today's carnage?
In reply to Lunacy by grue
Tire carnage
Did you see the shots of the rear tires of the podium finishers? Those were no longer rain tires by the end of the race...they were just badly worn slicks. It's a wonder any of those guys were able to keep the bikes upright.
Marshals
Disgusting display by Rossi, the Marshals and Race Control.
He should have been penalised for that, and the action (or lack of) by the marshals was bordering on corruption.
Crazy race - looks like the rubber was to blame.
We certainly won't be forgetting this one in a hurry.
In reply to Marshals by Damo
Oh, come on! Lets not start
Oh, come on! Lets not start screaming out to the heavens. Yes he was pretty dumb but the crash was a typical race crash. The only party at fault play where the guys who ignore poor poor Casey (I didn't catch why he abandoned the race ¿Did the bike not start again?)
Don't worry about him he will bounce back on.
In reply to Marshals by Damo
disgusting is a bit too
disgusting is a bit too strong word i think,..
maybe he's just over confident. entering the corner with too much speed and forcing to slid into such tiny space, at the corner famous for dropping riders during the weekend.
despite this is typical race accident, rossi is at fault here i think.
Fine Race...
The year has started off with 2 great races.
Congrats to Jorge, Dani and Nicky. It takes a real pro to make the podium in those conditions.
What a carnage.
For everybody else... if, if, if,... yadda, yadda, yadda,...
Odd
Why is MotoGP the only form of racing where you can take another competitor out and not be penalised?
That Rossi can earn points from that race is a disgrace. He was never going to make that pass stick, he wasn't even close to Stoner when they reached the braking area
Shame
Shame about the crash... Rossi looked desperate there. Shame also that Stoner couldnt accept the apology with more grace. That would have really given him the moral high ground. But you cant blame him for being pissed off, that was a dumb move from Rossi.
Looks like Stoner has some mongrel in him though... very calm in seeing Rossi and delivering what sounded like a rehearsed line.
The really interesting thing is seeing these dramas played out in the privacy (?) of the pits but in front of the worlds cameras. This just after the Biaggi/ Melandri handbag episode.
I'd rather thay stay upright and keep up the close racing.
In reply to Shame by deskjet
What nonsense
Shame also that Stoner couldnt accept the apology with more grace.
Apparently you did not see how Rossi hurried over to the Honda garage just after the race to apologize to Stoner, TV cameras in tow. Just observing the scene via TV, I fail to see how Stoner could have showed more "grace".
One caveat: I have not seen or heard of any post-race comments by Stoner. But no one could blame him if he was upset.
Again, just watching on TV it was not clear why Stoner was not able to re-enter the race, while Rossi was. However it was clear Stoner was not happy at the scene. But like I said...who could blame him?
I'd gladly have it rain for
I'd gladly have it rain for every race if it produces as much fun as that was to watch. I fell asleep watching Qatar.
I can't get to a reasoning
I can't get to a reasoning why should Rossi be penalized? It was just a racing incident and poor judgement in the heat of the competition.
Does anyone really think Rossi did it purposefully? Had that incident not happened and with the way Rossi was still riding decent till the end of the race, I bet he would have been standing on the podium (who know may have won the race).
In the "other form" of racing the penalty was due to bringing disgrace to the sport with the rider's intentional actions and gestures...
Two similar incidents happened in this weekend (a rider taking out another one due to poor judgement on track), one with Marquez/Cluzel in moto2 and second with Stoner/Rossi in motoGP. In both the incidents the culprit walks into the other's paddock and apologizes. But the way it was received was very different.
One with humility and other with arrogance...
In reply to I can't get to a reasoning by sumit
Nope
That wasn't a "racing incident". That was just a dumb move that was never going to come off. He was nowhere near Stoner when they entered the braking area, let alone being beside him as you would usually be if you were going to pull a move like that. Rossi would have known he was putting another competitor in danger with that move, yet he still took the risk. That is not a racing incident, it is just a plain dumb mistake. Badly timed passing manoeuvres that result in damage to other competitors are penalised in other forms of motorsport... so I was wondering why it is Ok in MotoGP to put other people at unnecessary risk with moves like that one.
In reply to Nope by fanatic
You are just too angry
Dumb cocky MISTAKE, You bet! Sin against racing, not so sure.
In reply to Nope by fanatic
I disagree. Stoner already
I disagree. Stoner already commented that he backed off to let Rossi through at that point. Rossi didn't expect this as he ran too hot into the corner. In combination it landed Rossi in the wrong spot coupled with his front end washing out. That was great racing and you have to give Rossi credit for coming back and finishing fifth after what happened. I'm a Stoner fan, but you can't fault Rossi for the fact that the Honda (with the magical gearbox) is hard to re-start regardless of the action by the marshals.
It was still very exciting racing in exceptionally tough conditions!
In reply to I can't get to a reasoning by sumit
That's not a fair comparison...
> One with humility and other with arrogance...
That's not a fair comparison...you're talking about an immature kid who's only 18 years old vs. a grown man with many years of experience...oh wait...
In reply to I can't get to a reasoning by sumit
Arrogance, or justified?
I would argue that calling Stoner's comments arrogant is not only too harsh, but a little naive - no offense intended.
These guys have everything to play for at the pinnacle of the sport, and you expect the one who has(d?) a very real chance of winning the title this year to not feel totally pissed off after being taken out by one who doesn't have a chance in hell of winning it?
Those two have been there before, remember...
I think if it was me in that position, I'd have a picture of Rossi up on a punching bag in my trailer and I would be making pretty short work of it, but Stoner at least had the guts to face him straight after the race, which was big.
Crazy race in all though. Hard luck to Colin for what appears to be an engine seizure...the rest took themselves out.
In reply to I can't get to a reasoning by sumit
what do you think ?
Why should'nt Stoner be pissed off :
1) He's taken out in an incident for no fault of his.
2) All the marshals push Rossi back onto the track whereas Stoner is asked to retire.
3) Rossi escapes a certain drive through penalty.
4) And to rub salt into Stoner's wounds, Rossi finishes 5th & scores good points.
In reply to I can't get to a reasoning by sumit
Unless recklessness is
Unless recklessness is penalised, then it is effectively given tacit approval.
Rossi's move was both reckless and unnecessary, which should have resulted in a ride-through penalty.
Unfortunately, the MotoGP stewards are reluctant to act, and prefer to turn a blind eye to such incidents.
Eventually, this attitude is going to bite them hard... it’s all good fun until someone gets hurt.
Incorrect sumit, in F1 you
Incorrect sumit, in F1 you can be penalized for making a moronic move whether it was intentional or not. The usual being either a drive through penalty or a grid demotion for the next race. And Rossi's move was moronic. MotoGP seems far less professional at times & this was one of those times. The marshalls help one rider & not the other. The perpetrator goes on to score points without penalty, while the victim retires.
Well, Immature kid or a
Well, Immature kid or a seasoned rider nobody wants to crash another rider and crash himself in the process.
As said by everybody it was a poor judgement in the heat of the moment.
Yeah probably it was a move which was meant to off-balance Stoner (something similar to Laguna Seca '08) which went worse and they ended up in the gravel.
The marshals did a blunder but the fact that victim couldn't get back on the track cannot be blamed on the culprit. It was just luck that Rossi could get back on the bike and could score points.
Angrier and angrier
Looks like our chances of discussing the race with some class are fading away
In reply to Angrier and angrier by javi
Yep.
Yes... the Rossi fans struggle to admit that he has frailties. He is human after all and can make stupid decisions like anyone else. He made one today. And Stoner was far more pleasant to him than Rossi has been in the past to those that have taken him out.
In other news.... very, very good ride by Lorenzo. This is a great result for the championship... Casey has to go chase him now.
In reply to Yep. by fanatic
Very true for Jorge
And Great result for Dani, after the first race I wasn't so sure about the whole stretch nerve thing but it really seams that its not in his head.
Hope the operation fixes him well enough to fight for the championship
In reply to Very true for Jorge by javi
yes
Indeed. It will be great to have the three of them fighting it out for the title. It will take a lot of DNF's from the top three for Rossi to figure in the title, but I'll be happy if we can have Lorenzo, Stoner and Pedrosa fighting it out.
bashings from crashnet
it seems more and more participants from crashnet are logged here ; I feel more sorry for them , than for both Rossi and Stoner today
I'm getting worried
I'm starting to get a little worried about some of the comments on this site David.
It is starting to feel like some CRASH.NET forum members are migrating to this fine little gem of a site. Oh, well, hits are hits I suppose.
Any way.....
Very interesting race today, a little sad for MotoGP as a top tier spectacle though, it must be said. Twelve bikes completing a race is quite a disappointing prospect if I do say so myself. Shame on DORNA for allowing the grid to shrink to such a number.
I must say, Rossi's little mistake will make the championship race much more interesting. Without todays DNF for Stoner, I feel he may well have waltzed away with the title in the first half of the season. Now it'll take the Aussie until then just to catch Jorge.
In reply to I'm getting worried by mullta02
I am afraid....
....they are here to stay.
But nevertheless the comments will go down in quality but David posts will always be great.
(and when the comments become insults to the riders he wipes them off).
In reply to I am afraid.... by briga
Oh I see
I was unaware he was going to wipe off bad comments.
Thats definitely a plus for me. I must agree, Davids reporting will continue to be fantastic I'm sure.
Ducati front end
It would seem that Casey Stoner still has a problem with the Ducati front end!
a bit of RED MIST on Rossi's part methinks trying to win the race in one corner.
In reply to Ducati front end by jezza90
clever!
Thanks for injecting a bit of levity into the proceedings!
In reply to Ducati front end by jezza90
Karma is a b...h
How ironic how Ducati's front end comes back haunting Casey after all the good he said about his new bike compared to his old bike...
It's a shame he got wiped out of the race because of Rossi's mistake while Rossi still got to score big points. It's a race incident for sure, nothing intended, but one that could have been easily avoided.
Anyway class act from Rossi to offer his ex teammate a 25 points advantage over Stoner.
And what a race by an injured Pedrosa, slow start but then what a fight to overcome 6 riders in a few laps and big battles expexially with Spies and Hayden.
Lorenzo si definitely a very clever rider, he matured a lot last year and will make the most of whatever situation he is in.
Yep
Lorenzo is having a great year. The bike is not the class of the field but he continues to grind out great results. A world champion, indeed.
Pedrosa must be delighted, 11 points up on Stoner & with 4 weeks for his shoulder to heal after surgery.
Looking like a close fight this year.
Twice?
I thought Rossi's attack on the first corner in Qatar was over impulsive as well and could have had a similar outcome.
The Marshal's performance was even worse than Rossi's - Stoner had dragged his bike off Rossi's, stood it up on the edge of the track and was looking for help and they all went to the Ducati still lying on it's side. It seems to be very hard to bump start MotoGp bikes, let alone on a a wet track but Rossi's "luck" continued in that it restarted and nothing fundamental seemed to be broken and they went to good points.
Why didn't Rossi take his helmet off when he went to apologise? - It would have made it much more human and believable with some unimpeded eye contact.
Finally Colin Colin Colin I was so pleased and then so sad for you!
In reply to Twice? by rick650
Rossi's engine never stopped.
Rossi's engine never stopped. So it wasn't a restart.
On the other hand Stoner used his kill switch in order to preserve his engine - clever move that proved poisonous.
Also if you look back to the videos after some cooling-off time, marshalls went for Rossi first indeed, but they did come to Casey afterwards. They failed to restart him - and judged better to evacuate the track.
Maybe they should have tried harder but their job primarily focus on safety and there was actually a race going on.
I would add that Rossi was stuck under two bikes while Stoner was on his feet - that probably counts when marshalls have to decide who they are helping in the first place.
Sorry for Casey.
But I doubt his insulting gesture towards marshalls just after he got on the other side of the rail will get him more sympathy among them should similar events occur.
In reply to Rossi's engine never stopped. by Grolik
From how I remember it Rossi
From how I remember it Rossi had nearly pulled himself free before the marshalls had even intervened. With Stoner already being on his feet wouldn't it make sense that out of all the marshalls in that corner a few could have helped Stoner instead of what seemed like 8 or 9 all helping Rossi.
In reply to Rossi's engine never stopped. by Grolik
I am halfway down the page
I am halfway down the page and here is the first reasonable comment on the matter. Sure all but one of the marshalls went to Rossi first but after Stoner yelled at a few he got a group together to push him. He just couldn't get the Honda going. Rossi was pinned, Stoner was fine so go to Rossi first.
Are the marshalls somewhat bias? I would have to think so, but I would bet it is more against Casey (the only real threat to their favorite Spaniards) than it is for Rossi. If I was working a corner at Laguna and the same thing happened I would have gone to Rossi first. If I was the 5th or 6th guy to get there I would have had the sense to see why Stoner wasn't gone already considering his bike was up and he was fine. Then I would have pushed. I don't know if you have noticed but for the most part, these corner workers aren't real big on pushing bikes.
Was it a racing incident? Yes, but not a smart move by Rossi. He should have just shot through and gone to the outside or off track. Stoner gave him room to do so.
Did they handle themselves well afterward? No, not really but it wasn't terrible.
It killed my fantasy points for MotoGP.com but it will definitely make for a more interesting 2011 season, no doubt about it.
In reply to I am halfway down the page by Ed
Basically a marshall is a
Basically a marshall is a racing enthusiast that makes a part-time job out of his / her passion. Those people keep watching over sunday riders all year long, some national racing and that's it. They have one GP a year where they can see legends racing, and this year some of them had the "chance" to approach and even help VR46.
For myself I can't say how professional i would have been in this case... but that red & yellow bike would have been tempting for sure... :)
So was it really something against Stoner ?
Saw it coming
Rossi was always going to crash in this race. I just thought he would do it in the first lap trying to recover from his terrible qualifying. Rossi has been embarassed by his 2011 performance to date and every time Stoner smiled it was a knife in his face.
Stoner was ripe for the picking in that corner. Rossi was way too hot for that corner and he knew it ! If it was RDP, no issue, but a 7 time World Champion? Come on. This was a payback of sorts.
That move was a manifestation of a guy who can't stand his demise in Motogp. Rossi will never be the same in our minds, or his.
what a terrible 'race' / great spectacle.
In reply to Saw it coming by tonyfumi
Not sure I understand
payback? Are you saying that he crashed in purpose?
Weird move from the rider holding the race lap record fighting for 2nd place
In reply to Saw it coming by tonyfumi
When he put 2 seconds into
When he put 2 seconds into Casey in one lap he didn't look overly demised...
Depends on who you cheer for
All of the reactions following this race have gone exactly to plan.
1) Rossi apologises
2) Stoner accepts, but makes a remark
3) Rossi fans claim that "it is one of those things" and Stoner is being arrogant.
4) Stoner fans want Rossi banned (exactly the reaction that you would expect from the Rossi fans if it were role reversal)
5) Arguments ensue; no-one's opinion is ever going to be changed. Insults are exchanged.
Firstly, the actions of the marshals has nothing to do with either rider or the sport's governing body - unless you think that Ezpeleta made an address to the track that staff prior to the weekend that in the event of a wet race and Rossi and Stoner falling off, they should only help Rossi. Or that Rossi has mind control powers. More likely is the possibility that they correctly thought they should free the rider trapped under two bikes; rather than assist the one that clearly wasn't injured.
That said, considering that there is a fair chance that a number of them are likely to be Rossi fans; once up, they wanted to help him get going. This is probably more to do with the fact that they're Rossi fans and were too exited about meeting him than consciously trying to handicap Stoner.
If you support Rossi, you will point to the fact that Rossi was charging through the field and had he stayed on; had a real chance of winning the race.
If you support Stoner, you will claim that Stoner was taking stock and would have planned a late charge and that Rossi has damaged his championship chances (for the more hardcore fans, probably deliberately).
Personally, I think that the incident was a shame and it was definitely Rossi's fault; however he didn't exactly gain much out of it did he? He went from lapping the fastest and being in with a real shout from winning the race to a distant 5th place. Giving that he has very little chance of winning the championship this year, all that black flagging would have achieved would be to deprive him of championship points that probably won't mean much to him and reduce the already small rider count even further. Interestingly, when the BBC interviewed Cal Crutchlow and showed him the Rossi incident he said that Rossi "absolutely had to go for it" as "this is racing".
The biggest loser was the fans as it robbed them of having something akin to a race and at that point it was looking a real possibility. Once Rossi took out Stoner, the race settled down to it's usual format with minimal overtaking and nothing approaching the toe-to-toe battle that all racing fans long to see in the premier class.
Hopefully the drama of the next race will be because of close racing; not because of wet tracks, marshals and tumbling riders. And if Lorenzo could rack his brain for a new and/or interesting celebration on the off chance of him winning; it would be to everyone's benefit
In reply to Depends on who you cheer for by Black Knight
I would agree with everything
I would agree with everything there, but make two points.
1. A black flag would be too harsh, a ride through penalty or 20 seconds added to Rossi's race time, would have made him think twice the next time. I would have settled for race control just looking into the incident. But what we got was nothing.
2. I agree the marshals action was simply human error, but it should be looked at. No outside help restarting your bike would be fairer to all.
In reply to Depends on who you cheer for by Black Knight
Some good sense
I am not so sure that Rossi'd have had the strenght to the end and Lorenzo played conservatively up to that point (he is showing some cleverness that puts him on top of everyone else for the time being). But I agree it's a pity we couldn't see and discover it!
And of course Cal is right that's racing. But it's mor enjoyable when everyone stays up. I believe they are lucky (and so us as watchers) that nobody got injured.
In reply to Depends on who you cheer for by Black Knight
Rossi gained ~20 championship points on Stoner
"Personally, I think that the incident was a shame and it was definitely Rossi's fault; however he didn't exactly gain much out of it did he?"
Not bad for one corner's work. And then Rossi got to pass most of the field, which he always loves doing.
@ javi
Not on purpose but reckless. Very slight difference.
ie: if i pass cleanly then good, if i crash i don't care because of the guy I'm passing.
Racers around the world are doing this on a daily basis. Just not world champions.
In reply to @ javi by tonyfumi
You mean like a Senna moment?
You mean like a Senna moment? not exactly new occurrence. I understand what you mean but stepping on to the podium would have been monumental for him, crashing out, extremely bad. He just got caught up in the moment. Certainly his fault but every day racing (at least for me).
In reply to @ javi by tonyfumi
"if I crash I don't care..."
"if I crash I don't care..." - clearly sir you have not spent time on a racetrack, or if you have you've forgotten what it's like!
Every move these guys make, they first believe they can make it. They are human, and sometimes they are wrong. Rossi made a mistake, had an "oh sh*t" moment, which he admitted.
Sure he was aggressive, if he wasn't aggressive on the track he never would have turned from an unknown Italian kid into ROSSI. But to say that he passed Stoner not caring if he would crash??? Well that's just silly.
lots af anger here
No doubt it was a bad move by Rossi - had he been more patient he might've been able to get around Stoner in another part of the track.
You an argue that Stoner should've sucked it up and just took Rossi's apology, but he got the shit end of the stick in the incident - he was taken out of the race while Rossi was able to continue and finish 5th, and after the incident he was totally ignored by the corner workers - and it's not like there were only 1 or 2 corner workers at the scene, there were at least 6 that I remember seeing.
helmet etiquette
Also, if you walk all the way to the guys garage and deliver an apology with your helmet on you're not genuine !
This is helmet etiquette rule #8
The other rules will be in Rossi's upcoming sequel :
"What if I didn't take out Casey"
2nd time unlucky for Rossi
Poor Stoner, he was looking good for at least a podium & had nicely settled down in preserving his tyres. Simoncelli in any case would've not made it to the finish as he was destroying his tyres in search for a big lead at the front. Ducati's pace was looking surprisingly good but it was all thanks to the wet weather.
Kudos to Stoner for giving Rossi a piece of his mind. Lorenzo would've done the same thing if he was in Stoner's place.
Thinking of the incident now & recalling the wheel banging Rossi had with Lorenzo at Montegi last year, Rossi would've taken out Lorenzo too in that race if he was on the Ducati.
And I also expect the moderator to again delete my post. lol............
In reply to 2nd time unlucky for Rossi by Nick McCullum
You speak sense! lol on the
You speak sense! lol on the perceived censorship! I believe David was just tidying up a string of comments started off by rvm46 or whatever his name was that was taking us off topic. A few of mine went bye bye as well, but ive no problem with that, the thread looks all the better without them.
Cruchlow
Cruchlow might say it is a racing accident as he is a big Rossi fan. Yeah… it is a racing, but it does not mean the riders can do whatever they want to do intentionally or unintentionally. Considering the conditions of the race, it was one desperate move that a rider of especially premier class should not make. If he clashes alone not taking out anyone, it is different story. He can go as fast as he can at his own risk. But, if there are great risks of taking out other riders, you simply should not attempt it. If it is allowed, it is not a racing anymore. And, if you are a professional rider, you should be able to judge.
slow down fella
What Rossi did was dodgy, reckless, cynical and tempestuous
BUT he shouldn't be black flagged or penalized. This is racing.
He knows, unlike many watching on TV, that the other racers and the wider riding community will have lost some respect for him.
One thing Rossi has over champions like Biaggi is respect. That move on Stoner is the first step to becoming an unloved champ.
but let's not talk of penalizing him.
Perspective from F1
To be clear upfront, I have nothing against Rossi or Stoner.
That said, Rossi's move seemed reckless to me, and between this and his aggressive start at Qatar, he looks like he is desperately trying to convince the public (and perhaps himself) that the switch to Ducati wasn't a disaster.
Meanwhile, I have to wonder if some of the posters here who wanted (or expected) to see a penalty for Rossi are also F1 fans. I think F1 goes too far in the other direction in penalizing drivers for what appear to be racing incidents, but a similar move in F1 would almost certainly result in a drive-through, as happened when Vettel lost traction and speared Button's radiator last year, also in the rain.
The real insult to injury for Stoner is obviously that Rossi was able to restart and finish so high. Given the lack of pace at the back of the field, it was almost a forgone conclusion that Rossi would regain quite a few positions. A drive-through would at least have mitigated that somewhat.
In any event, as Hayden fan, I guess I should hope it rains more often!
In reply to Perspective from F1 by Endaar
Blather all you want . . . .
. . . . . . about Rossi, Stoner, et. al. My pleasure in the race was watching Nicky ride steadily and professionally and end up with a podium. And yeah, I want downpours in all the remaining races!!!
In reply to Blather all you want . . . . by sykerocker
Comparison
Racing incident means that blame cannot be easily assigned. For instance, Simoncelli vs. Lorenzo at Valencia last year. If Lorenzo had actually fallen, it would have been a racing incident b/c both were dicing fiercely for the same piece of pavement, and both were over the line. It wouldn't have affected the championship outcome either. Racing incident is not used to describe an incident in which one rider is clearly at fault.
If the fans don't understand basic tit-for-tat game theory, the governing body will not act, and we will be forced to witness more miserable muggings like Checa on Neukirchner, Cluzel on Marquez, Guintoli on Hoffman, or DeAngelis on [insert name of any GP rider]. If the FIM do not DQ riders, they encourage sloppy riding, confrontation, and retaliation.
Rossi should be DQ'ed, but I suspect it won't happen b/c Dorna and the FIM want to keep Rossi happy, and Dorna are trying to court Ducati (and other manufacturers) to sway MSMA votes.
As far as F1 is concerned, they don't do enough! Barrichello took out Rosberg last weekend, but he was allowed to continue. How many millions might that move end up costing Mercedes when it's Concorde time? I suspect Barrichello was allowed to continue as a thanks to Frank Williams who remained loyal to F1 during the FOTA row.
Don't throw around the term "racing incident" unless it applies. If you misunderstand the concept, you allow the governing body to play politics and you encourage piss-poor racecraft on the track.
In reply to Comparison by phoenix1
While race control look into
While race control look into it, its a "racing incident." Whether 50% or 90% of the blame lays with one or other rider, it still needs to be investigated, you cant just make an arbitrary decision. Granted in this case the decision would have/should have been swift. And Rossi should have been penalized.
"Incident involving bikes 27 & 46 is being investigated" should have popped up on screen on lap 9, followed within a few laps by "(Whatever penalty) for bike 46, causing an avoidable accident."
But as usual the golden goose gets off scot free.
In reply to Perspective from F1 by Endaar
"he looks like he is
"he looks like he is desperately trying to convince the public (and perhaps himself) that the switch to Ducati wasn't a disaster"
I don't understand this attitude. Was Rossi only supposed to switch factories if he could win right away? Is it not worth going to Ducati if it takes more than the offseason to make the bike competitive? Suppose Rossi doesn't win a title at Ducati? Then what?
So a 7th place and a 5th that could easily have been a podium had he not messed up is a disaster? He is improving, the bike is improving and the season has barely started. Had he thought he would be winning right away he would have had surgery ealier so that he could have been healthy sooner. But he knew the bike was a mess so he stuck it out with Yamaha so they would let him do the test at Valencia, knowing that the factory would need long lead times on new developments.
In reply to "he looks like he is by Ed
*I'm* not saying it's a
*I'm* not saying it's a disaster; actually things have gone pretty much as I expected them to. Nor do I particuarly care one way or another if Rossi wins or loses.
I disagree though that Rossi knew the bike was a mess. Let's face facts...the Ducati, for as tempermental as it is, was a race-winning bike last year with Stoner and a fairly consistent podium contender with Hayden. Clearly at least JB though they could fix whatever problems might exist in '80 seconds.' That hasn't happened, and it doesn't seem as if Rossi is prepared to take things slow and develop the bike as probably needs to happen.
Again, to be clear, I'm not saying the move to Ducati has been a disaster. But I do think Rossi expected an easier time of things, as did many of his fans. So for those who expected him to hop on the bike and win (and that may include Rossi himself), it has been a disaster.
Bad Race for Honda
the results for honda is bad, even pedrosa was able to get second the archenemy yamaha now is leading by a low margin.
Was impressive looking how simoncelli was taking a lead and build an advantage, unfortunately the wet track have is treacherous features.
For stoner better for him is get over it and in overall Honda to revert the bad results than have get in jerez, in estoril the conditions will be different and am sure than him will be again directly to victory.
For pedrosa is better to him to be in the hospital and fix that leftover of motegi, is limiting him in doing all of his best to put Honda again leading the championship, the difference against lorenzo are 9 points.
For dovizioso, for him is better to try to improve or soon we will be watching being kicked out from honda., if Andrea Iannone jump to leader class maybe he would replace dovi for his lazyness, Iannone is getting better and better, starting behind the leaders and taking lead and winning, that guy is taking huge steps to get in the leader class.
In reply to Bad Race for Honda by Taerkasten
Iannone replacing Andrea.....No.
The rookie rule would not allow Iannone to take Dovi's ride in a Factory Team.
"What if" theory says it is possible that Sic could get Dovi's ride and Iannone can ride in Gresini next year, but that's a long shot.
I've watched this a few times
I've watched this a few times and this was seriously nothing more than bad judgement by Rossi, talks of conspiracy, deliberate moves is total nonsense... You think that Rossi took Stoner out and decided to get 5th place? Ridiculous and insulting to premier class racers... that posture across the line was a man very unhappy with what happened, as he knew he could run with everyone's pace and even win.
Talk of penalising him... I think people just want this rivalry to escalate. This type of race crash (IN THE WET) happens all the time in all classes of racing.. Don't forget how many people went down in the race...
I'm not a Stoner fan, but I am genuinely gutted by what happen, he is an awesome talent and he is entitled to be mad about it, but he always speak from the heart with millions watching and makes himself look bad...
Go back a number of years, when Hayden got taken out by Pedrosa on the way to winning the title... Watch that footage Casey and see what professionalism is all about.
In reply to I've watched this a few times by Potential
Many riders crashed
but actually only one rider crashed during a dangerous overtaking maneuver taking the other rider with him.
And as someone said earlier it would not have been a shock if it came from De Puniet, Elias etc...but it came from a 9 times world champion.
Looking at everything that happened (incident and post-race reactions) I wonder how one can say that professionalism was not on Casey's side.
I hope not...
I hope MotoGp never adopts the penaties from F1, I've never understood the point.
Interesting
Clearly it was Rossi's mistake. But, dodgy, reckless, cynical and tempestuous and all other stuff mentioned here? Too ambitious for sure, but he almost made it. The problem is not even that it was only almost and not that he crashed, but that he picked someone else in the process of making a mistake. Had he just taken a tumble on his own, there wouldn't have been so much furor.
Take it easy. It's not the first and for sure not the last incident in which someone took some one else out . Remember 2006 Jerez? Tony Elias took out Rossi at exactly the same corner. No black flag, no penalty... Should we lose respect for Elias? Didn't think so. Pedrosa that same year took out Hayden in Portugal...his own team mate at the time and almost cost him the championship. Should we lose respect for him? Punish him? Didn't think so.
All of them had their fair share of mistakes and that's it. Racing at the top level is not a precise science and trying to find a limit is in the essence of racing. And this was Rossi's first outing on a Ducati in wet. Not so bad for the old man. Too bad the two of them didn't have a race all the way to the end.
Stoner should be upset and has every right to be, but his comment was some way off. And then when you hear this from Stoner (Official MotoGP website): ”For sure, I would prefer if Valentino did it away from the cameras and would say something to me quietly without always having to have proof,” commented Stoner. ”For sure Valentino doesn’t do this for himself, he just wants to show to everybody that he has apologised. Yes it’s a nice gesture, it’s very good, but it still doesn’t change the result today, so we’ll see what happens in the next races.”
So, I would have preferred Rossi did it privately but I made sure I told him he is not so talented in front of cameras because I prefer it away from cameras... Right. And we'll see what happenes in the next races? Is he saying he expects Rossi to crash into him in upcoming races also? Strange tactics from Rossi if he plans on fighting for the points.
Of all the people Stoner should know better. Should someone have talked about his talent after his crash in Valencia in 2009...during a warm up lap. Should we lose respect when the pole sitter loses control of his bike during the warm up lap. Didn't think so.
Can't wait for Portugal. Hope they behave like champions. To quote Gardner after last year's race in Japan: "It is MotoGP, not club racing."
In reply to Interesting by serceg
Not in front of the cameras?
Given Rossi's popularity, do you think he'd even get a chance to apologise away from the cameras? We're talking tabloid feeding frenzy, folks. There's no way he'd have been left alone by the media until they got that story.
In reply to Interesting by serceg
Totally agreed! Rossi just
Totally agreed! Rossi just made a mistake, in a very difficult corner under those conditions. Really I would expect he's being a bit careful NOT to crash, given his injuries which are still healing!
Supergenius, thanks for
Supergenius, thanks for nailing it! It was a pure racing incident, like Elias's and Dani's (and I'm a Stoner fan w/a big bet on this years WC!). The major disappointment was the type of race we WOULD have had if Rossi had not taken Stoner out! W/everyone's tires going off, it would have been quite excitting!
Stoner does have a very legimate bitch about the corner workers! It was very obvious that their 'excitment' was much higher pushing Rossi's bike then Stoner's! That issue needs to be addressed very quickly, as 'fanboys' shouldn't have a hand in determining who gets back on track and who doesn't!
In reply to Supergenius, thanks for by 3B43
Supergenius...
Great comments, very well said.
It's a shame incidents like these overshadow the racing too often. Hopefully the excitement of the upcoming races will soon put this all behind us.
In reply to Supergenius, thanks for by 3B43
@sykerocker: Great comment.
@sykerocker: Great comment. Tabloid media would have been stalking both of them to record the moment of apology. I was wondering if he was going to do it immediately after the race. Catch22 situation. Go in front of everyone to the lion's den, the one you left eight years ago, and apologize to one of your biggest rivals in front of cameras, after your own bad, bad move in a race that might cost him the championship and risk a public humiliation by Stoner, Honda and a big number of fans claiming you did it for the show. Or wait and do it afterwards and risk a public humiliation by everyone that you are a bad sport. I guess this was lesser of the two evils. But, you are spot on that there was no way this was ever going to remain behind the scenes.
@3B43 It is a huge shame for the organizers. It is one thing when marshals in Malaysia ask Rossi for autographs but to help out only Rossi and influence the race and perhaps the championship by ignoring any other rider let alone championship leader and an ex champion is way, way too much. And there were six or seven of them out there...
@Backmarker61 I hope Portugal is going to be the start of the real on track show. I'm just afraid Lorenzo will spoil the show since it is his track. Can't wait.
A note on moderating
To ensure that tempers remain relatively restrained, I am moderating comments here heavily. I have to say that the vast majority of commenters are absolutely fantastic, posting thoughtful comments. But I'm erring on the side of caution to ensure everything stays in hand. If your comment gets removed, please don't take it personally, I may be removing it more because of the responses which I expect rather than the comment itself.
In reply to A note on moderating by David Emmett
Thanks for the moderation
I've just seen the race some 20 hours after it happened and all I can read are respectful comments, it's an impressive job that you do, thanks.
Disgusting? Stoner has had
Disgusting?
Stoner has had his fair share of crashing others out of races, or careers in the case of Gibernau
Track staff shoulda helped them both out at the same time. I am sure rossi spent his time before hand bribing all of the staff because he knew that he was going to crash right on that corner. Somebody should do something.
What a race
Well we always moan about the boring races. Can't say that about this race. I am no Stoner fan, but really felt for him when he could not restart. About Rossi's move? He's a racer that is what they should do. Lorenzo seems to have reached a new level this season. No rash moves just keep chipping away. I really believe that JL will take the title again this year.
Great to see Dani having a good race, he seemed in real trouble at first, but the last lap is the only one that counts. Certain people seem to be saying tha Lorenzo was going slow! Well if going faster means binning the bike, who had the best tactic? Looked like a Yamaha 1-2 was on the cards for a while. Spies was another victim of a treacherous track today. Colin Edwards was so unlucky, podium in sight and your engine expires!
One fact that really impressed me. All the regulars were crashing left, right and centre. Hopkins kept it upright and got to the flag. Respect deserved I think.
What a race but not how you'd
What a race but not how you'd think. The move Rossi tried to make on Stoner shows his desperation on the Ducati I think. Rossi is the complete opposite of a rookie but that was almost a rookie move.
I was so excited about the possibility of two fellow Texans getting a possible 2nd and 4th and within a couple laps that all went wrong. What a huge let down for Spies to not be able to just nurse the bike around for a couple more laps. Well now we're in for a long break until the next race. Seems that this one will leave everyone talking though.
Rossi crahes well
Iam a motogp fan and also a Stoner fan.
But Rossi has always crashed well, he never lets go of the clutch! watch it. it keeps running. and that keeps the attention of the marshels.
Honda will have to make there bike more push startable! would have helped Stoner and Simoncelli
We should just re run the race.. haha
Marshels and penalties
The move was poor for sure. But its the marshals reaction that really annoyed me. There were 6-8 marshals helping Rossi get up while Stoner was up and needed a push. Rossi wasn't pinned either, he was standing by the time the marshals got to him. If Stoner got away and Rossi was left, he may have been 5th instead of Rossi. So, theres a 22 point swing depending on the marshals reactions.
The race was entertaining but its a real shame when championship points are decided by track marshals instead of the racers themselves. Thats not "a racing incident" anymore, its a shambles.
Going back to the crash, Dorna should also look at handing out ride-throughs for moves like that. Biaggi got one last week for leaving the line 1/2 a second early. He dropped several places before the first corner. Yet he still got the penalty. Now I agree that jump-starts are punishable, But looking at todays incident, why wasn't Rossi punished in a similar fashion? He didn't mean to take Stoner out with him, but he still did it. Biaggi didn't mean to drop the clutch, but he still did it. Let the riders know they have a responsibility to practice clean racing and there'll be cleaner/safer moves in future. I don't especially enjoy watching riders take each other out stupidly even though some "fans" will say its part of the "Spectacle" and "Thats racing".
When I race my kart and get taken out by some late-braking a-hole who is able to continue, I don't think to myself "Well, thats racing I suppose. Its all good. What a great spectacle that must have been". I get back to the pits and tell him to cop on. If he tries something like it again, I'll do everything I can to make sure his race is ended too. Its not any fun. Stoners comments were fully justified IMO.
Also, great, champions ride by Lorenzo, kept his head when all around were losing theirs. Also well done Hopper, hope he stays on for Estoril. He belongs in Gp racing, not banging elbows at Mallory park!
Don't applaud mediocrity
It was a gutsy move by Rossi and on a dry track with him having full use of his shoulder and a reliably behaving bike, it would have been called a classic. On a wet track with a still unpredictable bike, renowned for losing the front end, and with a dodgy shoulder it was just overly ambitious and as talented as he is, his talent doesn't extend to pulling off miracles. ie his ambition exceeded his talent (today). Given what happened to him Stoner has every right to vent his spleen. If it was, for example, Barbera that made the same mistake and took out Rossi what would all the fans be saying?
The officials did the right thing initially to help a trapped Rossi. The back slapping afterwards and the delay in assisting Stoner was certainly questionable but these guys are in the main volunteers and not necessarily aware of the implications of what they have done. Give them better training so this doesn't happen at other tracks as well!!! Again it would appear Stoner had every right to vent his spleen.
I am definitely not a JLo fan but my hat goes off to him, and Pedrosa, for showing why control and consistency are probably the two most vital attributes to have if you want to be a world champion. That was a patient and calculated ride that gave him a deserved result.
Everything has been said, now
Everything has been said, now at the end we do have a better season me thinks! Watching Stoner ride into the distance may be nice for the Honda VP, but it sucks for the rest of us.
Poor Simo, but I was kind of expecting it at any moment.
Poor Stoner for having the carpet pulled from him, and poor Rossi for having to burden that for the months to come...
Poor Spies, I was jumping like crazy when he overtook Pedrosa, couldn't believe it when I saw the blue mess tumbling in the gravel, but why didn't he remounted?
Poor Colin!!!
Inevitable
When was the last time we saw a wet race in Jerez ? Inevitably this was a lottery for all the riders and Bridgestone. Rossi had a Jules Cluzel moment and thats it. Were I in Stoner's boots, I would have been livid, as he was, but at the end of the day, a racing incident.
George once again shows why he is #1 and great to see the plate. Superb performance by Dani. Good on Nick for surviving to the podium.
Good on Casey for asking Valentino how his shoulder was before giving him a piece of his mind.
I had to laugh.It reminded me of Doohan once telling Criville that his perception of racing needed a little 'fine tuning'.
The big plus of the day is that in spite of some horrendous looking offs in 125,Moto 2 and GP,it appears that everyone came through generally unscathed.
In reply to Inevitable by PIT BULL
Looked more like Creville
Looked more like Creville trying to tell Doohan he has no talent.. hard to take seriously but good for laugh.
like it or not
That was a race!!! I love the rain;) hate the haters, that was your little bubble popping moment, when you think two races are good enough to decide a championship you really aren't watching the series for what it should be. Congrats to all podium finishers, they all worked hard with adversity as the passenger.
My complaint; where were those corner workers when after lunch and a beer with the wife, she stalled her F650 leaving the joint and the battery was too low to restart. I had to push start her bike on a full stomach with no help, RDP you got nothin on me!!
So now that I have gotten to
So now that I have gotten to the end...
That was a greatly entertaining race. Real shame about the tires being destroyed so early, hopefully Bridgestone can come up with a better solution. Good job to all who finished and even some who didn't. I hope no injuries are discovered resulting from this weekend.
Stoner and Edwards
The two riders I feel for the most in this race are Stoner and Edwards. Both missed out on a very likely podium because of something out of their control.
Edwards keeps plugging away, and has missed out many times by very small margins. I'd really like to see him up on the podium again, it's been too long.
Stoner is seen as the bad guy by many for expressing his disappointment at being taken out of the race. When did they pass a rule about only being allowed to show emotion if you're happy? These guys are incredibly driven to win, so naturally the high of a win is matched by the low of a loss, especially if that loss is not because of something you did.
Great race and many great
Great race and many great rides. No question Stoner was unlucky but it was a racing incident nothing more. It's a pity because it overshadowed what was till then, a brilliant performance from Rossi. From 12th to 4th by lap 8 and lap 7 being the fastest lap of the race at that time, considering the duke doesn't work around Jerez. Also I didn't see any evidence of Casey romping anything, a podium going off what he had done in the race to lap 8 was very optimistic..He was a second up on lap 2 and by lap 8 was about to be relegated to 4th place.
We can only pray that the next few races will hold such excitement.... Brilliant.!!
ps Casey should have got going again no question. Honda need to dissect why he didn't, with Rossi finishing 5th it is entirely conceivable that Casey could still have attained the same result as not falling..
In reply to Great race and many great by Hugelean
"Also I didn't see any
"Also I didn't see any evidence of Casey romping anything, a podium going off what he had done in the race to lap 8 was very optimistic..He was a second up on lap 2 and by lap 8 was about to be relegated to 4th place."
Because he was preserving his tyres for the end of the race - as David has highlighted in his Strategies article. Did you see Dani's tyres? They were far better than those of Hayden and Lorenzo, so with Stoner nursing his in the early stages he would have been set to go through to the lead while everyone else crashed. As someone else said, Rossi was always going to crash in that race. Just a pity he did it in front of Stoner when Stoner was coasting.
Stoner himself said he was taking it easy to save his tyres.
And Lorenzo himself said after the race that he was lucky that Stoner DNF'd.
That race was Stoners, but no problem, he will win plenty more this season. He'll probably break the record for the longest string of pole positions too. If Rossi/JB do get the Duc up to winning potential then Rossi is simply going to take points off Pedrosa and Lorenzo all year, because he won't beat Stoner again.
Wowee, what a sensational
Wowee, what a sensational race! There really was action at every corner, even with such a tiny field.
Lorenzo rode a particularly masterful race. Paced himself and kept out of trouble. Pedrosa did the same, slow to start and did a good job of getting strong points. Was happy to see Hayden rewarded with a podium, even if it was somewhat fortunate. I was really stoked to see Colin Edwards set for his first podium in a while only for his bike to stop. Very disappointing. Was very happy with Hiroshi though, he's the consumate professional and he so nearly snuck a podium finish. All of Spies, Crutchlow and Abraham rode very well and it was disappointing that small mistakes caught them out.
And then of course there was 'that' incident. It was clearly all Rossi's fault and Stoner was an innocent bystander but it was just an (significant) error of judgement, no malice in it that I could see. As Stoner described it, a racing incident. I guess the thing that annoyed me most was that it was only about 7 weeks ago that Rossi criticised Stoners cunning and racecraft, then, in the second race of the year, he rode like a complete rookie trying to win the race on the 8th lap of a 27 lap race. Need to be calmer than that Vale. Also, about the 'apology', how serious was Casey supposed to take it when Valentino didn't even have the courtesy to take his helmet off and speak to him face-to-face? And his "ambition greater than your talent" quip is very much an Australianism, much in the vein of "eyes too big for your stomach" and it was for nothing more than this particular incident.
I only got to see the final handful of laps of the Moto2 race after wasting my time seeing my footy team get flogged. Anyway, Iannone really seemed to be riding beautifully smoothly and Luthi is continuing to impress after his surprising strength last season. I'm just not sure if Tomas has that extra edge to take him to the title. And I read somewhere here that it was Mika Kallio who had that amazing save - that was just miraculous! And then he eyeballed the guy behind him as they went around the corner! Exciting stuff!