Submitted by David Emmett on
The world's most expensive bike parking lot
Honda's MotoGP bike remains a thing of beauty
Star of the future: Marc Marquez
2nd in qualifying, 2nd on the grid, Scott Redding had a very successful weekend at Phillip Island
For a man who finished on the podium, Valentino Rossi was rather disappointed
His teammate was happier to be ahead of Rossi, but dumbfounded at Casey Stoner's incredible Island pace
Elevation makes for pretty pictures at PI. Kenny Noyes crests a brow
It also provides some spectacular vistas. The 125s head down towards Doohan corner
Marquez reigned supreme at PI
If Doohan and Gardner have parts of the track named after them, Rossi and Stoner should follow suit soon
Not getting any younger. But then again, Colin Edwards isn't getting much slower, either.
The weather at Phillip Island might generously be referred to as "inclement"
The miserable conditions raised discussions about whether the Australian MotoGP round shouldn't be moved
Alex Cudlin's Moto2 debut was tougher than the Australian had hoped
Comments
Full of beauty
Especially love the shot of Webb walking in the cold wetness of Phillip Island. As a reason to move the race forward in the calendar, that photo should be evidence enough...
Thanks muchos for sharing!
wet race
When was the last wet race? 5 years ago? thats not too bad.
It's not just about the rain
It's much more about the cold conditions, I think that's been the main reason for the riders to complain.
I was surprised not to see any cold tyre snafus at PI, but maybe the riders (and Bridgestone) were extra cautious because they knew the conditions could be treacherous in that regard.
The problem PI has is that
The problem PI has is that it's a Southern hemisphere track in a series dominated by a Northern hemisphere mindset and organisation. Everything is predicated around the European summer, with (for the most part) dates in other parts of the world being added in at the margins. This is understandable, as most of the riders, spectators and backers for MotoGP emanate from the Northern hemisphere.
Early October in PI equates to early April in northern Europe, and there's no way you'd run a motorcycle race there at that time of year by choice. The optimum time of year for a PI race would probably be in January or February (equivalent to July or August in the Northern hemisphere), but that is totally at odds with the way the season is planned at present.
So unless PI kicks the season off in February ("August" down under) or concludes the season in December ("June" down under) we're condemned to dodgy weather conditions at what is probably the finest circuit the MotoGP circus visits in the course of the year.
Rossi and stoner are really deserved
Rossi and stoner are really deserved to get their names on a circuit or track like doohan and gardner did.