Catalunya GP ( Spoiler )

[derby]

you know what i think rossi did to win the position here?  he fooled everyone, including stoner, as to where he'd make his move.  it really looked like he would have made it in the left-right transition where he kept taking a wider line, setting himself up for closing off stoner in the following turn (don't know the turn numbers, sorry).  OTOH he looked weak as a late-braker off the straight, lap in lap out. 

so what does he do?  outbrakes stoner and shocks the shit outta him, only to pour on the pace right after. 

rossi is the king of execution AND setup.  i think that's what makes him so good.

it's called racecraft. 

[Ash]

it's called racecraft. 

i dub thee, King of Footnotes

[NuTTs]

you know, this race really helped me retain faith in stoner as a rider. 

if he were second-rate, he would have cracked much much sooner under rossi's pressure.  and it really looked like his rear tire was made of marbles, too.

pedrobot was amazing... that kid can FLY.

My thoughts exactly. Stoner has more than proven that he has cojones on that Desmo-S&M-dici and is the only dude out there that can tame it.. sort of.

Asimo did a fab job, sorta reminds me of Doohan

[ZLTFUL]

Asimo did a fab job, sorta reminds me of Doohan

Exactly...only if you removed all semblance of a personality from Mick... 

[gm2]

http://www.superbikeplanet.com/2008/Jun/080609s.htm

some interesting catalunya notes & observations here.

[jswledhed]

Pedro can be blindingly fast as long as he's got clear track in front of him.  He seems to struggle when it comes to choosing passing points.

[gm2]

Pedro can be blindingly fast as long as he's got clear track in front of him.  He seems to struggle when it comes to choosing passing points.

you can say one thing about 2008: he has mastered getting away at the start.

guess that bike looping incident last year worked the final kinks out of his launch control.   

[jswledhed]

 

[sqweak]

meh

Pedro is boring and overrated.  I respect his pace and consistancy, but think he has no racecraft.  Interesting that people pregnant doged about stoner winning races like that as being boring yet pedro gets praised.

Nice ride by rossi.  Glad to see casey step it up and have a nice little battle with him for a bit.

[derby]

but think he has no racecraft. 

go back and watch his last two seasons of 125gp and his two years in 250gp and tell me you feel the same way.

Interesting that people pregnant doged about stoner winning races like that as being boring yet pedro gets praised.

yeah, let's have this argument again.  i'd hardly say those two situations are comparable.

[gm2]

...or at least pedro would have to do it that handily several more times.  like 5.. or 9.. several.

[sqweak]

go back and watch his last two seasons of 125gp and his two years in 250gp and tell me you feel the same way.

Go back and relive your glory days from little league and compare it to you struggling in the majors.

IMHO, Pedro can go like stink and do so consistently...as long as he has a clean track in front of him.  He qualifies well because it suits that exact riding style and now that he's got his starts down he is on the box pretty regularly.  Put him in traffic with a fighter, one who doesn't give him an opening via mistake, and he can't do shit.  He tries, fails, and resigns himself to the position.  He can't battle.  

When's the last time you saw him pull what Rossi did this w/e (starting from down on the grid and pick his way up the top) or what Stoner has done countless times this year and last (bad start/mid race screwup and fight his way back)?  They can _make_ a pass, Pedro needs it given to him.

yeah, let's have this argument again.  i'd hardly say those two situations are comparable.

Oh?  Rider takes off like a bat out of hell, gets a huge gap, and rides a consistent race to the finish with nobody in spitting distance.  You're right, not comparable at all.

[darylbowden]

Go back and relive your glory days from little league and compare it to you struggling in the majors.

But, he's not struggling.  He's had plenty of good battles.  Yeah, he's not the latest braker, he doesn't have the fastest bike, but he has plenty of racecraft.  Does he have the level that Rossi does?  No, I don't think anyone does.  But, to say he has none is simply silly.  How about Mugello last year, or Portugal, Qatar, or Catalunya last year where he and Rossi were the only 2 Michelin riders that did make the beast with two backs all?