2009 MotoGP Round 17 - Valencia (Qualifying spoilers)

[Spidey]

If I remember rightly, "The dork" qualified and finished higher in his first Moto GP that the "The Ben" on definitively second tier equipment, and he's won two WSBK championships.

P.S. That's one more than you know who. Let's give him break huh?

Dork rhymes with stork.  You got a better one?  I guess I could call him the fork because the Monster symbol looks like tines?  Or Mork cuz he's from another planet?  Or torque?  Cork?  Pork? 

I'm going with dork.  Cuz he was teh suck this year. 

[derby]

If I remember rightly, "The dork" qualified and finished higher in his first Moto GP that the "The Ben" on definitively second tier equipment, and he's won two WSBK championships.

P.S. That's one more than you know who. Let's give him break huh?

you'll also remember that he had a full off-season of testing on said bike. i'd say ben did pretty well for for only having 3-4 hours on the m1.

but hey, since you're feelin' frisky, how about a bet for 2010: ben betters toseland's 11th place overall in his first full gp season.

[Spidey]

You should offer him some championship positions as the spread.  That'd make it interesting.

[tufty]

lI gues

you'll also remember that he had a full off-season of testing on said bike. i'd say ben did pretty well for for only having 3-4 hours on the m1.

but hey, since you're feelin' frisky, how about a bet for 2010: ben betters toseland's 11th place overall in his first full gp season.

I suppose it would be charitable to ignore Ben's previous wildcard runs on the Suckzuki as not any kind of experience with GP bikes...

as far as the bet.... hmm, I'm thinking of an addendum.

[gm2]

Er Ben's "satellite Yamaha" was actually a full factory test bike with more trick bits and a supposedly stronger engine than Vale's.

http://www.motomatters.com/news/2009/11/09/2009_valencia_post_race_test_day_1_stone.html

Spies also reiterated that the bike he had ridden during the race was identical to the one ridden by the Tech 3 team, the only physical difference being the color of the paintjob.

[ducpainter]

http://www.motomatters.com/news/2009/11/09/2009_valencia_post_race_test_day_1_stone.html

Spies also reiterated that the bike he had ridden during the race was identical to the one ridden by the Tech 3 team, the only physical difference being the color of the paintjob.

Yeah...

he also said he was staying in WSBK.

[tufty]

http://www.motomatters.com/news/2009/11/09/2009_valencia_post_race_test_day_1_stone.html

Spies also reiterated that the bike he had ridden during the race was identical to the one ridden by the Tech 3 team, the only physical difference being the color of the paintjob.

I'm not buying it, everyone else said it was Yamaha's test model and judging by the number of Japanese Yamaha execs and engineers in his pit I'd have to agree.

At the very least he had a fresh engine.

[derby]

I'm not buying it, everyone else said it was Yamaha's test model and judging by the number of Japanese Yamaha execs and engineers in his pit I'd have to agree.

At the very least he had a fresh engine.

i'll give you the engine, but if you've been reading, you've also seen that ben pretty much hadn't touched a dial on the bike all weekend and monday (working on changing his style vs the bike).

colin, on the other hand, was down on the timesheets monday working on major chassis/geometry settings.

i'd tend to think that the 2010 bike didn't get rolled out of the shipping containers until monday cause i doubt they would've wanted ben to race on a blank-slate chassis with no baseline.

much like his post-season test on haga's bike last year, go do some laps on the old bike with the old settings and see how we ran the thing during the season.

[mitt]

It is funny to speculate as a fan, but really what do we know?  There are probably just a hand full of people at Yamaha that really know what that bike was made of, and I doubt any of them have given an interview.  And, I still don't see why it matters.  What is to say the '10 bike will be better than the '09?  Teams go backward all the time. 

mitt

[derby]

It is funny to speculate as a fan, but really what do we know?  There are probably just a hand full of people at Yamaha that really know what that bike was made of, and I doubt any of them have given an interview.  And, I still don't see why it matters.  What is to say the '10 bike will be better than the '09?  Teams go backward all the time. 

mitt

http://ducatimonsterforum.org/index.php?topic=31738.msg552314#msg552314

[mitt]

http://ducatimonsterforum.org/index.php?topic=31738.msg552314#msg552314

That is what we are reading, as reported by motogp.  There is probably a lot of gray area what are 09 and 10 parts, and I am guessing only the engineers and technicians that are building the bikes really know, not the PR guy that is reciting information to the reporters or the rider. 

mitt

[gm2]

I'm not buying it,

man.. you're really chapped about this JT thing, huh?  

[El Matador]

man.. you're really chapped about this JT thing, huh?   

I'm just wondering who the Eurosport commentators are gonna give obnoxiously undeserved praise to next year without a brit on the grid. 

[tufty]

man.. you're really chapped about this JT thing, huh?  

A bit.   

[tufty]

I'm just wondering who the Eurosport commentators are gonna give obnoxiously undeserved praise to next year without a brit on the grid. 

My guess is one of 3 mid-pack finishing Americans.