The 20th March 2016 will mark the tenth anniversary of the first post on what would become MotoMatters.com. Though I had started the blog almost a year earlier, intending to write about politics, philosophy, and all manner of lofty subjects, it remained terrifyingly blank until the 2006 MotoGP season started to draw near. At that point, out of something resembling sheer panic, I wrote a season preview for MotoGP, posting it on the Adventure Rider forum, and republishing it on the blog.
Much to my surprise, the preview met with an extremely enthusiastic response. Encouraged by the reaction, I started writing race reviews, then adding race previews, race news, some analysis, and more. The website morphed from the original Kropotkin Thinks blog, to MotoGPMatters.com, to the MotoMatters.com website along the way. It started as a personal effort, with just a few readers, and grew steadily. As the audience grew, the comments section grew to become a community, generating an incredibly high level of debate, with very little of the dissonance usually seen in what is disparagingly referred to as the bottom half of the internet. The creation of that community is perhaps the achievement of which I am most proud, and why I police the comments section so fiercely. Inside the paddock, the greatest compliments I have received have been about the quality of the comments, rather than the quality of my own work. I am immensely and deeply grateful to the readers of MotoMatters.com, especially those who have been with us since almost the beginning, and those who contribute to MotoMatters.com to make it such a vibrant community.
I could not have achieved all of this, making a living from writing about motorcycle racing, all on my own. There have been too many people along the way to do justice to everyone who deserves a mention, but I would single a few people out who quite literally changed my life, though they may not know it. The first of those was Robert Holcomb, who made me believe that maybe I could actually turn this into a living. He was right. Next came Chris Jonnum, at that time editor of the sorely missed Road Racer X publication, who gave me my first proper break and who I sold my first ever magazine story to. He, too, encouraged me to keep going. Dennis Noyes, veteran American journalist and expert commentator on Spanish TV, was a friend, mentor, advisor, and a man who taught me to look at the underlying structures and organization of racing. Paolo Scalera, Italian journalist and the powerhouse behind GPOne.com, was the first person who made me feel I was taken seriously in the paddock.
I was joined early on by Scott Jones, who is both an incredibly talented photographer, a good man, and someone I am proud to call a friend. Jensen Beeler of Asphalt & Rubber has also provided me with invaluable support and advice, and has also become a good friend. Andrew Wheeler, another great photographer, and his late wife Emily helped me survive the early days in MotoGP. There is also my regular gang in the paddock, who help make every weekend a joy. And the many friends and colleagues in the paddock who help me understand MotoGP and motorcycle racing, and who in turn help me explain to my readers what motorcycle racing is all about.
Above all, I am grateful to my wife. Without her, there would be no MotoMatters.com. Her unfailing support and patience made this possible. If you love the website, you too owe her a debt of gratitude.
If you appreciate what MotoMatters.com does, then please help keep us running. Financial support from readers is an important component in the funding of the website, and helps us to get to races to get you the news and background which, we hope, adds to your enjoyment and appreciation of the sport. You can join the vast crowd of people who have donated to the website through our Paypal donation page, or through our GoFundMe campaign. You can buy your 2016 MotoMatters.com Racing Calendar. Of course, the best way to support the website is to join our growing band of MotoMatters.com Supporters, and take out a subscription. The MotoMatters.com Supporters are the bedrock upon which the website is built.
So to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the start of what would become MotoMatters.com, I have reprinted the original very first post below. It is virtually unchanged from the original, with only some mild swearing removed, as is common policy on the website. It also uses the original British English spelling I wrote it with, predating the switch to US spelling, for which you have Chris Jonnum to blame. Looking back at the post after ten years, I am reminded that this started off very much as a fan blog, something I encourage aspiring writers everywhere to do. From a distance of ten years, I am mildly surprised at how little my own writing style has changed. I am a good deal less surprised at how very, very wrong I was in my predictions. As anyone who follows my pre-race predictions on Twitter knows, I never fail to get race predictions horribly wrong. This is no different. Almost none of the predictions in the piece turned out to be correct. The accuracy of my predictions has improved very little.
Of course, the main reason my predictions were wrong was because the 2006 MotoGP season turned out to be the greatest in living memory, at least until 2015 came along. The racing was superb every weekend, with surprises at every turn. There were seven different winners on three different bikes, and twelve different names on the podium. There was a season that went down to the last race at Valencia, a memorable incident in the penultimate race, and a surprise winner. I picked a very good year to start writing about MotoGP. I owe Nicky Hayden, Valentino Rossi, Loris Capirossi, Marco Melandri, Sete Gibernau, Troy Bayliss, Dani Pedrosa and so many more a deep debt of gratitude.
Thank you all. It's been quite the ride.
David Emmett
Photo courtesy of Steve English - another good man and good friend
Kropotkin's Wildly Inaccurate 2006 MotoGP Season Preview
Here's a phrase you'll have heard about a million times this preseason: "The 2006 MotoGP season sees a changing of the guard." Of course, the point about commonplaces is that they are commonly used because they are, to great or lesser extent, true. Several of the big names of the past few seasons have left, Barros, Xaus, Bayliss and Rolfo have moved to World Superbikes, where Bayliss is already having an outstanding season and is looking like a serious championship contender, and Biaggi has moved off into, well, Biaggi-land, a place where people pay huge sums of money to a talented racer to shout at them and blame them for everything that goes wrong. Hopefully he'll get a ride again next season, most probably in World SBK, but that'll only happen once he realises that you only get to act like the whole world revolves around you after you've won 3 or 4 titles in a row.
And a whole raft of new names have joined, mostly from the 250 class: Dani Pedrosa, Casey Stoner, Randy de Puniet, and from World Superbikes, Chris Vermeulen. So, does the retreat of the crowd of old losers and the coming of the new challengers mean that Rossi's days as Champion are numbered? The short answer to that question is: No. And the long answer is: No. Not this season. Does this mean that Rossi will be champion again? Well, duh, to use a popular phrase.
But does the championship being a foregone conclusion mean that this is going to be a boring season? Well, there are lots of reasons to think that it won't, as long as your idea of excitement isn't the title being settled in the last lap of the last race. Because with Rossi widely rumoured to be leaving to join Ferrari in F1 next year (heaven forfend), this season will see the motorcycling equivalent of primary season during a second-term presidency. Everyone will be attempting to position themselves as The Doctor's heir apparent (making them The Nurse, presumably), fighting to win the favour of Jeremy Burgess and his crew (arguably one of the greatest technical crew chiefs ever seen), and angling for the best ride in what looks like being one of the most interesting and exciting seasons for many years: The 2007 MotoGP season.
Indeed, this season feels strangely like foreplay, although a more apt simile might be some complicated and intricate 18th Century courting ritual. After all, next year, the 990cc bikes make way for 800cc bikes, and so most of the manufacturers will be focussing much of their development efforts this season getting the new bike ready for next year. The odd man out here being Honda, who only need to drop a cylinder from their well-tested 990cc V5 to comply with next year's regulations, a fairly simple option for the manufacturer with the most money, and the greatest motivation to win after Rossi leaves.
Because Honda are going to be really p***ed off next season, after they fail miserably again this season. Expect to see very senior people in the race department be moved on by the end of this year, for displaying a dismaying lack of direction again. During testing, the Hondas have performed terribly (considering that, for three seasons, they were the undisputed best bike on the grid), with the best Honda rider often being around 4th or 5th place, and Nicky Hayden, Honda's designated Works development rider (at least, this week), spending more time on the 2005 bike than on the new 2006 bike.
With Biaggi and Gibernau leaving, Hayden has been promoted to the main Honda rider. And after the many disputes last year about who was the number 1 Honda rider, and who got the new parts, with the riders' pecking order changing seemingly every other race, Honda are going with a single number 1 rider this year. But Nicky has shown little aptitude for bike development so far during preseason testing, and if he doesn't finish on the podium during the first few races, expect to see Honda lose their nerve and start the old switcheroo, with either everyone getting new parts, or a different rider being promoted every race.
The most obvious candidate to take Hayden's place will be the young Dani Pedrosa. Pedrosa has already beaten Rossi's record in the 125 and 250cc classes (though arguably, Rossi rode against tougher competition), and all eyes will be on him this year to push Rossi for the title. But Pedrosa faces significant problems: for a start (and it's plenty to be going on with), he is very small and light. He doesn't have the physical strength required to manhandle a 250+ hp four stroke around the track for a full race distance, and he has said that he will be spending a lot of time this year just on beefing up, and increasing his strength. But he is undoubtedly immensely talented, and has proved to be fast in testing. I would definitely put money on Pedrosa to clinch a few poles and lap records. And towards the end of the season, we may start to get a glimpse of what Pedrosa is really going to be like, as he builds up his strength and experience. Ironically, the races at the end of the season, long after the title has been settled, could be some of the best races of the season. It will also prove what a terrible loss it will be if Rossi leaves MotoGP at the end of this season, when next season he could potentially face a genuine fight for the title.
The other name on everyone's lips will be Marco Melandri, who looked like he could finally be the challenger to threaten Rossi last year, winning two Grand Prix towards the end of the season. The bad news for Melandri is that Honda has decided to appoint Hayden as their number 1 rider, meaning that Melandri is left with inferior material (or what passes as inferior in the stratospheric confines of MotoGP machinery). But Melandri is going to be the obvious candidate to take over development work if Honda feels Hayden isn't getting the job done. Melandri's team mate Elias looks promising, but is yet to show that he has what it takes at this level.
Another exciting new Honda rider is Casey Stoner. He is obviously a very talented rider, but the most exciting aspect about him is his tendency to chuck it up the road under pressure. He reminds me a little of the great Yoichi Ui, whose greatest talent was to crash out while leading two laps before the end. Now, Stoner learnt from previous seasons that you can't fall off all the time and win championships, and last year pushed Pedrosa for the title almost to the end of the season. However, the most memorable moment in last year's 250 season came at Stoner's home Grand Prix. Stoner was leading for a lot of the race, and needed the win to keep a shot at the title, but he crashed out in the second half of the race, and Pedrosa pipped Porto at the line to win the race and clinch the championship.
Ironically, Honda's best chance of showing decent progress is likely to be with washed-up old has-been, Kenny Roberts Junior, on the Honda-powered TeamKR bike, built by his dad. KRJR has been running well, way above previous showings by the TeamKR bikes, and putting a reliable, proven Honda V5 into TeamKR's excellent chassis looks like a great move. You'd almost suspect that TeamKR tried to build their own V5 with the intention of dropping it and buying in Honda power plants from the outset.
The rider looking most promising to take the runner up position this season is Colin Edwards. Yamaha have really got their bike sorted this season, though both Edwards and Rossi complained of chatter during late testing at Barcelona and Jerez, and for Edwards, this will be the first year he starts with the same bike and the same team for several seasons. After a low key start last year, he proved to be highly consistent, though he never came really close to a win. All that could change this season. And Yamaha would dearly love to take the two top championship spots, as well as the manufacturer's crown.
With the Yamahas performing so well, the Tech 3 team, Carlos Checa and James Ellison, on 2006 Yamahas, could cause a few upsets. It seems that the best thing that happened to Carlos Checa was being fired by Ducati, as he has shown little appetite for competition over the past few seasons, but he has been blazingly fast in testing, taking third fastest time at a couple of tests. The fact that the Tech 3 bikes are using Dunlops throws a little spice into the mix, as the Dunlops have been on unimpressive bikes for the last few seasons, so no one has any idea as to whether they are any good or not. Ellison is highly rated by paddock insiders, winning favourable comparisons to Fogarty and Toseland, but has failed to impress on the Yamaha so far. He has, however, made consistent improvement, and his lap times are starting to approach competitive.
Speaking of sacked riders, the other revelation has been Sete Gibernau. He has been really impressive during preseason testing, and looks like he's found his competitive fire again. Of course, whether that lasts beyond the first race if Rossi stuffs him into the gravel again remains to be seen. But it's encouraging to see him performing at the level one expects of a former runner up. So second place looks like being a three-way toss up this year between Edwards, Gibernau and lovable imp Loris Capirossi. I like Capirossi a lot, he combines pure joy at being able to race with huge talent. If it wasn't for his compatriot, Capirossi would have been World Champion a couple of times already.
Another big surprise during testing has been the progress made by the Kawasakis. They've changed the firing order, and added a balance shaft, and the bike has been transformed. It's a lot more controllable in and out of corners, meaning that the riders can get in to corners quicker, and on the gas out of corners earlier. And in my opinion, Shinya Nakano is the second most talented rider on the grid. If Nakano had been on the Honda, Rossi would have had a much harder time of his championship defences over the last couple of years. So far during testing, Nakano has consistently taken top 5 times. The key word here being "consistently", he's been at the front at nearly every test session. Even his team mate, Randy de Puniet, about whom everyone said "why him?" when they heard that Kawasaki had signed him, has run close to the front a couple of times. As De Puniet is coming up from the 250 division, he can't be expected to have a great season, but having a good bike is certainly going to help.
And so to another talented rider, and his promising newcomer team mate. I believe that John Hopkins is the best US rider on the grid. Unfortunately, he's on the worst works bike. Although the Suzuki has been improved over the winter closed season, it's still nowhere near as good as the other bikes, and it hasn't made the leap forward which the Kawasaki appears to have done. So Hopper's fortunes are at the whim of Suzuki's engineers, and the Great Mystery: If Suzuki can consistently build a class-beating (by a long way) 1000cc road bike, how come their MotoGP bikes suck so badly? Do they start their engineers off on the MotoGP bikes, and only let them progress on to the GSX-R 1000 when they've made a lot of huge blunders on the MotoGP bike? Chris Vermeulen's choice of going with full works support, rather than a client Honda, is not necessarily looking like a winning move. Vermeulen has shown immense promise in World Supersport and World Superbikes, and has also proven he can help develop a bike with the Honda CBR 600s and 1000s. So he may be able to move the Suzuki forward, especially as he's also ridden the Honda RC 211V at the end of last season. Indeed, one of the criticisms levelled at Hopkins is that he's only ever ridden the Suzuki, and that makes it difficult for him to provide development input, as he has no comparison material to help frame a direction to move in.
So, let the season begin, and let's look forward to possibly the last season we will get to enjoy the greatest motorcyclist ever: Valentino Rossi. And whilst we are enjoying the sheer depth and beauty of his skill, we can all look be secretly be looking forward to 2007, when the excitement will return to MotoGP, with new bikes, young riders with a season of experience under their belt, and, most importantly of all, no clear favourite.
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Comments
Awesome - and keep it going.
I don't think I was among the first followers, but I do remember your race report after the first 2007 race where Casey Stoner blitzed the field, and by then I was already following KropotkinThinks for a while so I wasn't that far off. Thanks so much for 10 insightful and highly entertaining years, hope you will go on untill forever.
A shining light in sports journalism
David,
I came to the MotoGP party somewhat later in my life than perhaps some do. I had never given motorcycle riding, or MotoGP, much more than a passing thought until I decided one day to sit my CBT - from there I was hooked. On motorcycling and all that it entails. Which, inevitably, led me to MotoGP.
With at least some comprehension of what it took to ride a motorcycle, I engaged with the sport in a way I never had before. But I could never really, truly classify myself as a true fan of the sport, because I just couldn't find out enough about it, about its intricacies and politics, scandals and wondrous feats of engineering. I'm an all-or-nothing type of guy, and after watching my first full season I figured I'd watch the next years races, but rather dispassionately. I enjoyed it, but couldn't learn more about it than what I could find by scouring over the scanty, patently bias viewpoints of MCN and other, equally vacuous motorsports magazines.
Then, the third race into my second season of watching, I flicked through Jensens A&R website and found one of your articles. Mind. Blown. Here it was! Here was the treasure of information, intrigue and intelligence I'd been searching for! As I went back through your older articles I realised this sport had so, so much more to offer.
Before finding your site, MotoGP was to me, much like having a conversation with a beautiful Spanish lady who spoke very little English; a pleasant enough experience, but one I could never real throw myself into and hope to gain anything from.
You my friend, are the Rosetta Stone of MotoGP journalism. Thanks to you, my love of the sport is now a really significant part of my life; it is passion and beauty and intrigue now, whereas once it was only eye candy.
Long may you continue your endearing and insightful approach to journalism. You inspire me to start my own blog - until I remember that it couldn't possibly hope to challenge your own!
Viva la MotoGP, and viva la MotoMatters.
Come pay day next week I will be a financial member of this community; small recompense for the few years of excitement I've had waiting for your articles after every race.
Cheers!
Heh
"So, let the season begin, and let's look forward to possibly the last season we will get to enjoy the greatest motorcyclist ever: Valentino Rossi. And whilst we are enjoying the sheer depth and beauty of his skill, we can all look be secretly be looking forward to 2007, when the excitement will return to MotoGP, with new bikes, young riders with a season of experience under their belt, and, most importantly of all, no clear favourite."
Got to give credit to Rossi for proving you wrong at least. But it does provide a nice insight into what some people call the golden years. I always liked the 990s but the Rossi domination in the early 2000s was not very fun to watch and the racing was pretty terrible. I'd argue the 800s improved that.
In reply to Heh by Firefly
800's ...
Were just the worst. Never seen such processional racing in my life. Barring 2 or 3 races from the whole era.
Wow...
... didn't realize I've been here since year 1.
Time flies!
Thanks David! Great work
Thanks David! Great work indeed; from a fan of your work from (near) the beginning.
Thanks David
Hey thanks David for giving it a go and improving MotoGP and World Superbike coverage for people like me. And thanks for mentioning above, my encouragement in the very beginning. Of course the truth is I was trying to help John Ulrich and his Roadracingworld publication! I had been writing race reports for the Loudon Road Race Series and JU published them. As I got to know him and saw how thin his MotoGP coverage was, I thought he should hire you to do what you are doing now. In fact I think he still should! Congratulations for becoming a force in the MotoGP paddock. -R
Much appreciated
I think I was trolling and hurling my fair share on crash.net back then.
Out of the blue someone on crash suggested having a look at motomatters.
It was a revelation.
I do not remember the year, but I guess it was about 2007/10 at the height of the Rossi/Stoner wars.
Many thanks for the effort and congrats on a job well done.
Back in the day I would watch the race, throw in my 2 cents worth and hit the + or - key based on partisanship.
Your efforts brought a sense of sanity and post race circumspection.
These days, I rarely comment prior to your post race roundup submission.
I guess many say 'thank God for that!'
Capirex was something else that fatefull 2006 year.
Things happen.
'We wuz robbed' did not apply in 2006, nor did it apply 2015.
Thx to your wife
As someone who owes most (all?) of his success to the support I get from my wife I appreciate you citing your wife as someone we all owe a debt of gratitude to David, so thanks to Mrs. Emmet. The support you give to your husband brings all of us joy. And gives us something to do when we should really be doing something else :)
Thank you
Thank you Mr. Emmet for providing such quality content. I visit your site 3-5 times a week, even in the off season, hoping you've posted something new. I really appreciate your thoughtful analysis and well informed opinions. You add another wonderful layer to this sport that I love so much. Congratulations on 10 years and thank you for sharing your passion with us.
Best in the business......
..... always a pleasure to see a new post pop up in my Twitter timeline or my email.
With the exception of the excellent April 1st post's, you know when you read MM you are getting facts backed up with more facts & an insight that is impossible to find anywhere else.
David (& current team), I doff my cap to you.
Wiggysan.
So Wrong!
Wow...I can see why you got away from making outright predictions in your articles, aside from making a deliberate choice to write articles from a more journalistic, neutral perspective. Then again, had you somehow predicted Hayden to win the championship in that pre-season review, you would have been the laughing stock of the internet!!! (even after he won!)
Sooooo....who will win the championship this year?? ;)
(I'm very much looking forward to your pre-season analysis for 2016 as well as those of all the readers here. I've got 5 guys on my list that could/should win the chip and I value my pennies too much to make such a stupid bet)
5th Alien
Joyful Tenth Anniversary Mr Emmett!
Qualitatively different.
Our community here is not separate from your awareness of and passion for motorcycle racing. You serve as a bridge between so many disparate insular entities. Your work changed my relationship with my greatest passion after women's loins. Which, given how much time I now spend immersed in Moto porn here, has become my greatest passion.
There is something qualitatively different about your work. You have enriched my relationship with motorcycle racing where I yearned for more. In 2005 racers and fans got together locally at a pub to watch the races here in Portland Oregon USA. I organized a betting pool trying to foster community, and the pub was forthcoming with financial support for a few of us club racers. It was fun, but left much to be desired for me.
Guess what I found that didn't leave much to be desired?
Yep.
You are my 5th Alien. And you give each and every one of us a great tow around the track. Everyone here connecting about our beloved sport, wide open throttle thanks as well. Look at what we have here.
Thank you thank you THANK you David!
Cheers Mate!
:)
We are lucky
To have you, and each other. To a great 2016
Now when will you explain the subhead? You allude to the philosopher...
Independent Coverage - a new paradigm (Part 2)
I couldn't find anywhere to contact you on this subject, and then this appeared.
It has long irked me that the daily press do not provide anything like the coverage I think they should of motorsport generally. Popularity has something to do with it of course, but.....
My favourite newspaper (The Independent) is going on-line only. I am wondering if that cloud has a silver lining? As one of the few newspapers offering reasonably impartial and quality coverage of many world events it struck me that you and they have many similar qualities. As an on-line-only publication would they syndicate or commission articles and race reports?
In reply to Independent Coverage - a new paradigm (Part 2) by motomann
The Independent
Thanks for the idea. I shall certainly contact them. However, as the move to online has been forced upon The Independent by budget constraints, I am not sure how eager they are to take on more content.
Thanks again anyway!
Thanks to everyone
Thanks to everyone for the exceptionally kind remarks. Thanks for coming along with me on the journey.
Echoing
Echoing others' positive comments here. I came around here in ~2012 I believe and this site has been such a consistent part of my life now that I think about it.
The subject matter covered on motomatters is of course the majority of the reason the readers come here, but David, it is you the writer that keeps us coming back. MM articles are a joy to read because they are well written; the information flows so well into your brain.
Thanks so much for your hard work. Here's to the next 10 years!
Congratulations on the anniversary
Congrats on the anniversary and a huge thank you (and your wife) for such ongoing enjoyable reading for the last decade.
Congratulations
I first found this site around 07 or 08 and I've been hooked ever since. Whenever I talk to fellow race fans I tell them they should read it. One of the highlights of Valencia 2011 for me was accosting David in the paddock and speaking to him for a few minutes. ;)
Congratulations on the last 10 years and long may you continue.
In reply to Congratulations by Irongut
I posted my previous comment
I posted my previous comment before reading the archive article. I've since done that, reading it out to my partner as I often do. We laughed throughout. Knowing how the season turned out the predictions, accurate and especially inaccurate, and the descriptions of certain riders are very funny.
Thanks for posting it David and thanks again for writing my favourite bike website.
I must have missed that first one ...
... or at least forgotten it after so many years of excellent coverage. Well done, sir. A tip of the hat and thanks for introducing me to the word "forfend". I confess I had to look it up. :)
-jim
MotoPod
Here I was in my second year
Here I was in my second year of college in 2007, feeling for some reason an attraction to two-wheel racing, even having never even been a fan of racing, but only of motorcycles. I soon found out about MotoGP and shortly and fortunately after, this site. Ever since I've watched every season pulled in by your insights as well as the high level of thoughtful discussion by readers not found easily around the net. I can thank you by finally registering today.
So, thank you for keeping my interest piqued and ready for the next eternal Spring of racing.
Taking race reporting to literaray excellence
motomatters has become the sine qua non of journalistic quality in motorcycle sport reporting, but it goes beyond that.
It is a pity that David cannot manage to achieve 7 x 35-hour day weeks, so he could in addition to everything else that is done so well, ALSO have time to write up race reports as he was able to do in the earlier years. Nobody else - that I have read, anyway - managed to get the tension, the craft, the feeling of being trackside from just words. The other two artists of motorcycle writing were, of course, L.J.K. Setright and Hunter S Thompson - and those three make a podium of sublime quality.
The motomatters report on THE race of the 800's era - Laguna Seca 2008 - remains in my estimation the finest piece of race reporting ever. I defy anyone to read it and not come away from that experience with a genuine emotional reaction to the written words.
https://motomatters.com/report/2008/07/22/2008_motogp_laguna_seca_race_…
I cannot recommend too highly that everyone read it. Perhaps millions of words have been written as a result of that race, but none bring the race before your eyes like this report.
In reply to Taking race reporting to literaray excellence by Oscar
Thanks Oscar!
I did as you suggested and (re)read that race report... spine tingling stuff indeed.
This stood out:
"Out of the final corner and across the line, Stoner was getting the better drive, and closing on Rossi, but each time they approached the gut-wrenching crest of Turn 1, Rossi would keep left, then drift right, leaving Stoner with nowhere to pass but the very edge of the track, on the scariest turn of the year. The pass was there, but only for someone who was prepared to boldly stride across the line from brave to foolhardy. Though Stoner is one of the bravest men on the grid, he wasn't prepared to risk that move."
True enough for Laguna 2008, but in 2011 Stoner went there : ) and that is still THE pass of the MotoGP era, for my money.
Anyway, off topic : ) Love this place, keep up the good work you guys!
Great achievement
I know very well what is like to run website about motorbikes with my own and even I have now few good guys whose are villing to help me time to time, most of credit goes to my family, which must be so patient with me ... :)
Keep going David, you doing great job.
Thanks.
Thanks!
Thanks to you and the active members of the MM community ! I love reading both the articles and discussion-threads about as much. ;-)
Here's to the next 10 years!
Thank you David
I will not reword all the previous well earned compliments. However, let it be said that this site and your articles were and remain a treasure to us enthusiasts of the minutia of MotoGP.
A sincere thank you David for keeping all us passionate readers in line from time to time. The comments section here is an example of what can be done with a little 'steering from the rear' (a little motorcycle racing inspired phrase seemed appropriate) :)
thank you
I just wanted to show my appreciation for all your hard work and insight,
you always give a great insight,
so much so that I have stopped reading the weeklies !!
thank you David,and Mrs David ,
long may you continue
Kudos and congratulations
It was around 2006 that I discovered Kropotkin Thinks... I've been hooked ever since. I commented as 'The Phantom' back then, that username was lost in a site crash.
MM is one of the four websites that I open on a daily basis - I'm a moderator or admin on the other three...
Furthermore...
... may I say thank you to the many readers who have taken what David writes and elevated it to the next level in the comments section.
You guys are so good that even Dennis Noyes saw fit to join you :)
Quality & Quantity
David,
Chapeau!
Ten great years of high quality and quantity on this website, not a combination easily created nor maintained over such a period. Many thanks to you and your good lady wife. This site represents the gold standard for any aspiring sites, here’s to many, many more years of the same please.
Oh, and nearly forgot, superb value for money too - anyone else thinking of subscribing, do it now! Worth every penny, and some more.
Bring on Qatar!
Happy Tenth!
Thank you David, from the bottom of my heart for all you do for what I love, motocycles and racing. Cheers to the Mrs. as well. I will read as long as you decide to post another article. Not just because I love what I love, but now because ı know who you are. Internet is a good thing, ocassionally.
Love the site!
I feel like a newbie compared to a lot of readers here. In 2006 I think I knew *of* MotoGP, but that was the extent, even though I was very into motorcycles (blame America's piss-poor television coverage). I only got here a couple years ago, but it's always my #1 source for MotoGP info along with your twitter account. Very entertaining to read your prediction for the 2006 season, but just goes to show that testing doesn't reveal it all! Maybe Honda will be the RCV sorted quicker than we expect this year too, yeah? Who knows, who cares, I just can't wait for the flag to drop in less than a week! Looking forward to another year here, and thank you for all you've done.