2010 MotoGP Round 16 -- Philip Island (Spoilers)

[Spidey]

Free practice delayed b/c of rain.

[koko64]

They gotta change this race to after Qatar. At this time of year Barry Sheene called PI the 'gateway to hypothermia".

[Speeddog]

I bet Pedrobot is just chomping at the bit to go out in the rain.   

We've been treated well by the weather gods this year... didn't it rain every race last year? 

[koko64]

Now they're forecasting snow in the nearby hills on the outskirts of Melbourne . Better keep an eye on the bottom of Lukey Heights and MG corner .

[fastwin]

The weather sounds awful. Hard rain at night, soaked track, then came the gail force gusty winds. Yuck... I hate riding a faired bike in winds like that. North TX can have seriously gusty days sometimes, especially in the early spring riding weather. I can't imagine trying practice, qualify or race when you don't know if you'll be blown 5 feet off your line at the exit of a turn. Makes me think back to the first Indy MotoGP when the remainder of that hurricane blew through as a tropical depression. I couldn't believe how the hard rain was coming in sideways and you could see trash and debris blown across the track by 50-60mph gusts. Even Rossi was throwing his hands up wanting the race called. That says something.

Hope the weather at PI settles down over the weekend.

[koko64]

I kid you not, it snowed around Melbourne last night, and we are well into Spring here. A few days ago we had warm days of 24 deg C. But as they say in Melbourne you can have four seasons in a day.

[Speeddog]

Stoner's on another planet. 

FP2

1   Casey Stoner   Ducati Marlboro   Ducati   1:31.243
2   Colin Edwards II   Tech 3 Yamaha   Yamaha   1:32.000
3   Ben Spies   Tech 3 Yamaha   Yamaha   1:32.101
4   Jorge Lorenzo   Fiat Yamaha   Yamaha   1:32.168
5   Nicky Hayden   Ducati Marlboro   Ducati   1:32.209
6   Andrea Dovizioso   Repsol Honda   Honda   1:32.226
7   Randy De Puniet   LCR Honda   Honda   1:32.449
8   Valentino Rossi   Fiat Yamaha   Yamaha   1:32.667
9   Marco Simoncelli   San Carlo Honda Gresini   Honda   1:32.739
10   Marco Melandri   San Carlo Honda Gresini   Honda   1:33.092
11   Aleix Espargaro   Pramac Racing   Ducati   1:33.303
12   Mika Kallio   Pramac Racing   Ducati   1:33.742
13   Hector Barbera   Paginas Amarillas Aspar   Ducati   1:34.055
14   Alvaro Bautista   Rizla Suzuki   Suzuki   1:34.065
15   Loris Capirossi   Rizla Suzuki   Suzuki   1:34.454
16   Hiroshi Aoyama   Interwetten Honda MotoGP   Honda   1:34.718
17   Dani Pedrosa   Repsol Honda   Honda   1:34.804

[swampduc]

Poor Pedrobot 

[Speeddog]

Dunno WTF he's doing.

For some reason he's got to go out in the worst weather of the year.

-----------------

"Monster Tech 3 Yamaha's Ben Spies gets the third front row start of his career, setting his fastest lap in the middle of a race simulation."

http://motomatters.com/results/2010/10/16/2010_phillip_island_motogp_qualifying_pr.html

I like the second half of that sentence a lot.  [moto]

[fastwin]

Go Spies!!!! [moto]

[derby]

Poor Pedrobot 

http://www.motogp.com/en/news/2010/Pedrosa+decides+against+racing+at+Phillip+Island

[derby]

125s on track!

[Stinky Wizzleteats]

Who would have thunk it? Too bad for Nicky, I was hoping for a 3rd.
Well done Casey. 

[duccarlos]

Casey, dominant as always on his home track.

Lorenzo, nice solid ride.

Rossi, fought back and did his thing.

Nicky, finally rode aggressively and had a chance for a podium.

[koko64]

Stoney by 8.6 seconds! What happened to Spies? I was hoping he would be up there.
I am dissappointed that Nicky (my future Son-in-law) didn't get Rossi back at turns 7 and 8 (the Hayshed). He often rides right over 'em on the transition there. It's a big move he pulls off quite well.
Having ridden there I remember the front pushes easily. It must be crazy at their speed.