Round 2: Motegi Japan Official Thread

[DooberRoni]

http://i282.photobucket.com/albums/kk279/DooberRoni/MotoGP-JAPAN-Post.png
© images & logos property of their respective owners - graphic composition © DooberVille.com

Can Casey Stoner dominate like in Qatar? Will it be a gaggle of Yamaha's behind him? Hang here in DooberVille for the whole scoop. Post like mad fools, Doobers. Remember, a contest bonus point is available for quality posts in our official thread (this one!).


Previous history at the Twin Ring Motegi:
http://i282.photobucket.com/albums/kk279/DooberRoni/motegiHistoryjpg.jpg
results courtesy of wikipedia.org (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_motorcycle_Grand_Prix)

Lest we forget, get your predictions in for Motegi. Pick for Pole votes close at the start of qualifying. Predictions for the race and fastest lap close immediately prior to race time.


http://i282.photobucket.com/albums/kk279/DooberRoni/contestPostLink.png (http://www.dooberville.com/forums/showthread.php?p=6770#post6770)

[ÜberDoober]

Oh man! I can't wait! Between MotoGP and Formula 1, it looks like I won't get much sleep this weekend. :ack2: I'm not complaining, though!

Sure hope this race is a bit less of a parade than Qatar? Stoner will be fast, no doubt but I don't see that he has any wins here. Capirossi, on the other hand, has won three friggin times! Too bad he fell off in Qatar while running third. Let's just hope that at least Yamaha has more of a clue this race. With only one race so far, it's pretty hard to recognize a trend but I'm hoping for a big pack battling at the front.

I am also hoping for no goddam rain! :blink:

[ÜberDoober]

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g223/EKron/YAMbanner.jpg

Fiat Yamaha heads to happy hunting grounds
Twin Ring Motegi

Fiat Yamaha riders Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo head to Japan this weekend for the second Grand Prix of 2009 at Motegi. In the past the race has always come close to the end of the season and last year it was the scene of victorious celebrations for the squad as Rossi wrapped up the World Championship with a stunning race win and Lorenzo finished fourth, helping to secure the Teams' and Manufacturers' titles to give Yamaha the coveted Triple Crown.

With just one race run so far this season there will be no repeat of last year's championship-winning party, but the Italian and the Spaniard will be keen to keep the momentum high after finishing second and third under the Qatar floodlights. The pair were happy to open their season account with a podium apiece but will be hoping for an even better result in Yamaha's home country. Both riders will make a stop in Tokyo on the way, where they will be helping Yamaha to launch a new R1.

Prior to last year's winning bonanza, Rossi had taken just a single victory at the Twin Ring Motegi, back in 2001 before the advent of four-stroke MotoGP machinery. Lorenzo has scored only one podium before at the track with a third in 2006 on the way to the first of his two 250cc titles. MotoGP tyre suppler Bridgestone has traditionally been very strong at the circuit and with all the riders now on the Japanese rubber, hopes are high for an entertaining race.

Designed in 1997 as a test venue, Motegi features a somewhat geometric track layout. The surface offers good levels of grip without being overly abrasive but the proliferation of second gear turns, linked for the most part by mini-drag strips, means braking and acceleration are the main prerequisite to a fast lap time.

Valentino Rossi - "Incredible memories"
"My memories of last year at Motegi are incredible, because it was such a special victory after two year's without the championship. This year of course will be very different, it's only the second race and it will be quite strange going there so early in the championship. In Qatar we had one or two small areas that could have been better, so we will be trying hard to improve our setting during the practice time so that we're able to run at the front on Sunday. I expect that Stoner will be strong again, so we just need to reduce the gap to him so that we can put up more of a fight. In the past Motegi hasn't been a great track for me and I've had some bad races there, but I think last year cancelled that all out so I hope it can be successful for us once again this year."

Jorge Lorenzo - "Hoping to close the gap"
"This is my second year with Yamaha in MotoGP and the second time going to our home! I feel very motivated about racing in Japan. Qatar was a huge beginning for us although I couldn't keep the same pace as Valentino and Casey. I will try to be much closer to them in Motegi; that is the main aim for this race. Last year I took my last pole position of 2008, but in the race I was fourth after a nice battle with Pedrosa, fighting until the last lap. I hope that this year I will be fighting right at the front."

Davide Brivio - "The target is to remain consistent"
"This year Motegi comes at the start of the season, so it will be a very different race to last year, when we had the chance to achieve all of our season goals there. Of course we did that and we have wonderful memories in our team of that race. This year we go there with different targets and the first one will be to improve our setting in order to allow us to remain consistent for the whole race, which wasn't possible in Qatar. We will work hard in practice and hopefully we can give Valentino the tools to fight on Sunday."

Daniele Romagnoli - "Building on a good start"
"We were very happy with the result from the first race, because to start the season with a podium shows that we are strong and have a good package, now we need to build on this. The gap to the leaders showed that we have some work to do to further improve Jorge's setting, so this will be our target in Motegi. Hopefully we can make some more steps forward and be at the front in the race. Japan is a very important race for Yamaha and we're looking forward to putting on a good show."

Valentino Rossi : Information
Age: 30
Lives: Tavullia, Italy
Bike: Yamaha
GP victories: 97 (71 x MotoGP/500cc, 14 x 250cc, 12 x 125cc)
First GP victory: Czech Republic, 1996 (125cc)
First GP: Malaysia, 1996 (125cc)
GP starts: 210 (149 x MotoGP/500cc, 30 x 250cc, 30 x 125cc)
Pole positions: 51 (41 x MotoGP/500cc, 5 x 250cc, 5 x 125cc)
World Championships: 8 Grand Prix (1 x 125cc, 1 x 250cc, 1 x 500cc, 5 x MotoGP)

Jorge Lorenzo: Information
Age: 21
Lives: London, UK
Bike: Yamaha
GP victories: 22 (1 x MotoGP, 17 x 250cc, 4 x 125cc)
First GP victory: Brazil, 2003 (125cc)
First GP: Jerez, Spain, 2002 (125cc)
GP starts: 111 (17 x MotoGP, 48 x 250cc, 46 x 125cc)
Pole positions: 30 (4 x MotoGP, 23 x 250cc, 3 x 125cc)
World Championships: 2 x 250cc

Motegi: Record Lap
C. Stoner (Ducati) 2008, 1'47.091
Motegi: Best Lap
J. Lorenzo (Yamaha) 2008, 1'45.543

Grand Prix Results: Motegi 2008
1. V. Rossi (Yamaha) 43'09.599
2. C.Stoner (Ducati) +1.943
3. D.Pedrosa (Honda) +4.866
4. J. Lorenzo (Yamaha) +6.165

[HeadDoober]

JUST ANNOUNCED!
Second place in our predictions contest will win their very own copy of:

http://i282.photobucket.com/albums/kk279/DooberRoni/Motocourse.jpg

[ÜberDoober]

And now it's the Honda boys turn!

Repsol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa said: “I’m looking forward to this weekend in Japan. My leg is improving all the time and the knee is gaining a little bit more mobility every day. I don’t have the full range of movement yet, but I think that by the time we get to Motegi I’ll have about ten degrees more of movement than in Qatar, which should make quite a big difference. My elbow is also getting better after the hit De Angelis gave me in Qatar - there’s still some pain and stiffness but I hope it won’t be a problem in Japan. My priority is still to reach full fitness so that I can ride at 100 per cent, and then we must focus on the machine, because I missed out on quite a lot of winter testing and we’re still not at the level we’d like to be. It’s a case of taking things one step at time - first to get full fitness and then improve the bike step by step. Motegi is a track I like though, and I’ve won races there in the past so I’m looking forward to getting the best result possible at Honda’s home track”.

Repsol Honda’s Andrea Dovizioso said: “It’s important to arrive in Japan after the experience of one race. I’m happy we raced in Qatar as we have understood more about the bike. During the race some new issues arose and so we have had the time to analyze them. I think during the race we could have done a bit better. We have collected important data and we had time to do auto critica (to analyze the issues in a critical way) and for me it was an important experience. I look forward to the Japan GP. The GP of Japan is the home Grand Prix for Honda HRC, so I’d like to have a good result there. I like the atmosphere on Sunday; there are many Japanese fans supporting Honda and the Honda riders so I look forward to going there. This year Honda celebrates their 50th anniversary of involvement in motor racing and it’s an honour for me to race for the HRC factory in this important year”.

San Carlo Honda Gresini’s Alex De Angelis said: “Motegi is quite a technical circuit and I like it a lot. The section after the tunnel, which is a series of fast corners, is my strong part. Over the years in 250cc I made so many passes there. It won’t be an easy race for us because there are so many hard acceleration points coming out of slow corners and last year we had a really tough weekend, struggling to find a comfortable setting despite the best efforts of the team. We had a good start to the season in Qatar two weeks ago, so hopefully the base setting is useful here too. If we can work well from the first session and make quick progress with the set-up then we should be able to put in a strong performance”.

San Carlo Honda Gresini’s Toni Elias said: “I have always loved Motegi and to race there for HRC gives you an extra motivation to do a good job. We have to be realistic and keep our feet on the ground in terms of our expectations, because the situation we’re in at the moment demands it. But hopefully we can get a little bit of help and with it being a track I like so much we can improve on the performance from Qatar – this is the principal objective. Motegi is a circuit with lots of heavy braking and I have always been good on the brakes, which I think is why my record is so good there, but this is an area we’re struggling with at the moment. So it is fundamental we fix that particular problem because good braking is a weapon we really need here”.

LCR Honda’s Randy De Puniet said: “Despite the delay of the race I think that our first round at Losail was not so bad. Basically, I expected a better result-maybe between 5th and 8th places-but the top ten is an amazing start for us. We still have to fix the problem with the front tyre, but I do not want to lose too much time on it. We must focus our efforts on the next round. I like the Japanese track and think is more suitable to my riding style. Despite last year’s result due to my wrist injury, I still have good memory about this circuit: I obtained my first MotoGP podium here! Thanks to the base set-up we developed in Qatar, I am sure I will enjoy racing there. The straight is shorter than at the Losail race track and the I like the stop-and-go braking points”.

Scot Racing Team MotoGP’s Yuki Takahashi said: “Motegi is my home race and I have my fans here. So you can imagine how important a good race will be for me. We used to come to Japan later in the season when it is warmer. I hope the meteorological condition will be good - not too cold. In Qatar I understood several things about my Honda. If you add to it the fact that I know very well this track, you can understand why I'm confident of having a good race”.

[Gary]

Don't mention rain!

[ÜberDoober]

Don't mention rain!

I won't mention it but tell it to Nick Harris. 125 FP1 is just underway. It is dry but very cloudy. The last two Formula 1 races were wet and very wet and then there was Qatar. I would really like to see some racing in the dry but it's a toss up at this point. :blink:

[ÜberDoober]

Crap! I had the session order on the schedule. Good thing I was watching.

Very good practice with some surprising results
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g223/EKron/JapanFP1.jpg

Valentino Happy!
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g223/EKron/RossiSmile.jpg

I'm too pooped to comment much. More tomorrow. I think I'm probably gonna go with Stoner for my pick for pole but think I'll wait until FP2 times are out. Yamaha may have something for him this week?

[ÜberDoober]

Here's the top 10 in the 250's. Nice to see Simoncelli fit.

POLINI GRAND PRIX OF JAPAN
250cc Free Practice 1
Pos. Num. Rider Nation Team Motorcycle Lap time Km/h Gap
1 58 Marco SIMONCELLI ITA Metis Gilera Gilera 1'53.093 259.117
2 4 Hiroshi AOYAMA JPN Scot Racing Team 250cc Honda 1'53.695 257.326 0.602
3 19 Alvaro BAUTISTA SPA Mapfre Aspar Team Aprilia 1'53.836 259.241 0.743
4 75 Mattia PASINI ITA Team Toth Aprilia Aprilia 1'53.940 257.633 0.847
5 40 Hector BARBERA SPA Pepe World Team Aprilia 1'54.497 259.552 1.404
6 35 Raffaele DE ROSA ITA Scot Racing Team 250cc Honda 1'54.584 255.077 1.491
7 28 Gabor TALMACSI HUN Balatonring Team Aprilia 1'54.594 254.837 1.501
8 63 Mike DI MEGLIO FRA Mapfre Aspar Team 250cc Aprilia 1'54.595 255.500 1.502
9 15 Roberto LOCATELLI ITA Metis Gilera Gilera 1'54.757 255.198 1.664
10 6 Alex DEBON SPA Aeropuerto-Castello-Blusens Aprilia 1'55.103 257.142 2.010

[ÜberDoober]

FP2 is underway and it is wet. :ack2: Stoner at the top with a 2:02. Argh!

More later.

One way to look at it as they got their dry setup yesterday, will get their wet setup today and be prepared for whatever on race day tomorrow. I guess that's better than two dry days and a downpour on Sunday?

<edit>
It's 50º, raining with a 6mph wind. It's nasty, at least by Arizona standards.
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g223/EKron/weathJap.jpg

[ÜberDoober]

Oh man! FP2 just finished.

Show some love for CEIII! He ran in the top group in the session and as the clock ran down, put in a burner. I was preparing to write something about how heartbreaking it was to see Nicky's Melandritis but he pulled out a good lap at the last click of the clock to come out 6th. Speaking of Melandri, it looks like he only did 9 laps so I'm guessing he had an off. Toseland was doing good early then sank like a stone as others picked it up. 5 seconds from the front to the back. Yikes!

Now I don't know what to do for my pick for pole vote? Maybe I'll try to check the weather radar for Motegi...

Okay, just did that and don't know much? I'm going to toss a coin and make my pole vote.

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g223/EKron/FP2Jap.jpg

Don't know what it's going to do for qualifying but it looks better for tomorrow.
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g223/EKron/forecastJapan.jpg

And a special thanks to Gary for lending a hand. I don't know what it takes but I'll keep looking for it. :winky:

[DooberRoni]

Handy voting link!
http://i282.photobucket.com/albums/kk279/DooberRoni/contestPostLink.png (http://www.dooberville.com/forums/showthread.php?p=6770#post6770)

[gonickygo]

Nicky's rain riding has improved over the years. He was dead last for quite some time, but like Uber stated, he put in 2 "fast" ones to move up to 12th, then 6th. He's probably wishing it would rain every race...

My prediction is qualifying will be dry(ing) conditions.

http://www.weather.com/outlook/travel/businesstraveler/map/interactive/JAXX0113?from=weekend_topnav_business

[ÜberDoober]

Holy cripes! 125 qualifying has been postponed. Too much standing water on the track. :realMad:

[ÜberDoober]

Crap. That sucks ass.

[ÜberDoober]

Hahaha! Boobs at MotoGP.com!
http://www.motogp.com/en/videos/2009/Playboy+Honda+LCR+Photo+Session+The+making+of

NSFW attachments!

[ÜberDoober]

Got a minute so wanted to post up the 250 grid for those that may be interested. Like the big boy class, position is based on practice times due to rained out qualifying.

I have got to say that the 125 champ and 250 rookie, Mike Di Meglio has started off strong. I'm impressed. Super Sic on the pole so IF this is a dry race, it should be a cracker.

250 GP Starting Grid
Pos Rider Bike Time Gap
1. Marco Simoncelli Gilera 1m53.093s
2. Hiroshi Aoyama Honda 1m53.695s + 0.602s
3. Alvaro Bautista Aprilia 1m53.836s + 0.743s
4. Mattia Pasini Aprilia 1m53.940s + 0.847s
5. Hector Barbera Aprilia 1m54.497s + 1.404s
6. Raffaele De Rosa Honda 1m54.584s + 1.491s
7. Gabor Talmacsi Aprilia 1m54.594s + 1.501s
8. Mike Di Meglio Aprilia 1m54.595s + 1.502s
9. Roberto Locatelli Gilera 1m54.757s + 1.664s
10. Alex Debon Aprilia 1m55.103s + 2.010s
11. Lukas Pesek Aprilia 1m55.158s + 2.065s
12. R.Wilairot Honda 1m55.208s + 2.115s
13. Thomas Luthi Aprilia 1m55.453s + 2.360s
14. Jules Cluzel Aprilia 1m55.538s + 2.445s
15. Hector Faubel Honda 1m55.588s + 2.495s
16. Karel Abraham Aprilia 1m55.724s + 2.631s
17. Shuhei Aoyama Honda 1m55.929s + 2.836s
18. Alex Baldolini Aprilia 1m56.017s + 2.924s
19. Kazuki Watanabe Yamaha 1m57.274s + 4.181s
20. Imre Toth Aprilia 1m58.727s + 5.634s
21. Axel Pons Aprilia 2m01.044s + 7.951s
22. Vladimir Leonov Aprilia 2m01.447s + 8.354s
23. Bastien Chesaux Honda 2m01.953s + 8.860s
24. Aitor Rodriguez Aprilia 2m03.437s + 10.344s
25. Shoya Tomizawa Honda 2m03.878s + 10.785s

While I'm at it, guess I should go ahead and post the MotoGP grid.

MotoGP Starting Grid
Pos Rider Team Time Gap
1. Valentino Rossi Yamaha 1m48.545s
2. Casey Stoner Ducati 1m48.601s +0.056
3. Jorge Lorenzo Yamaha 1m48.965s +0.420
4. Chris Vermeulen Suzuki 1m49.382s +0.837
5. Colin Edwards Tech 3 Yamaha 1m49.697s +1.152
6. Loris Capirossi Suzuki 1m49.980s +1.435
7. Andrea Dovizioso Honda 1m50.030s +1.485
8. Marco Melandri Hayate Kawasaki 1m50.123s +1.578
9. Toni Elias Gresini Honda 1m50.209s +1.664
10. James Toseland Tech 3 Yamaha 1m50.342s +1.797
11. Dani Pedrosa Honda 1m50.391s +1.846
12. Nicky Hayden Ducati 1m50.393s +1.848
13. Yuki Takahashi Scot Honda 1m50.404s +1.859
14. Sete Gibernau Hernando Ducati 1m50.538s +1.993
15. Alex de Angelis Gresini Honda 1m50.601s +2.056
16. Randy de Puniet LCR Honda 1m50.669s +2.124
17. Mika Kallio Pramac Ducati 1m51.643s +3.098
18. Niccolo Canepa Pramac Ducati 1m51.929s +3.384

[ÜberDoober]

Live video for final practice. That's unusual! They seem to be slightly behind schedule 15 min or so?

Oh shit! IT IS FRAKKIN' POURING

[ÜberDoober]

Capirossi into the pits and shaking his head no.

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g223/EKron/rain1-1.jpg

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g223/EKron/rain1.jpg

Sounds like all the bikes have come in. Timing shows only 7 riders with a time in the session.

[ÜberDoober]

The good news is that it is just coming up on 10:30am in Japan and the race isn't until 3:00 in the afternoon. It was supposed to clear today and I'm keeping a positive mood that the race will go off on schedule.

If I stay up until midnight listening to the boys filler material like in Qatar when everyone was waiting on the decision and the race is postponed, I'm going to be really pissed when I have to get up at 4:30am to watch Formula 1.

Right now, nothing is happening on track. The video and the timing screen have about a 10 minute discrepancy. Uh Oh! I hear a bike going out on track.

[ÜberDoober]

Wow! That was an exciting session! Everybody was in until about 10 to go then almost everybody came out on track.

Capirossi is one that didn't go back out and only did 3 laps. Toseland didn't go out at all until the last two laps and that's all he did. Edwards did four. Rossi looked like he was going back out but is only shown with four laps too?

The sky seemed a little lighter maybe? It was still pretty wet though.
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g223/EKron/rain2.jpg

Guess we won't see more until the 125's kick off in a few hours. I'm going to review my predictions, not that they mean a damn thing if the weather clears up in the next five hours?

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g223/EKron/FP2results.jpg

[ÜberDoober]

Great news! Look at that sky!

Less than 10 minutes to go and some of the 125'ers are running slicks, cut slicks and full wets.

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g223/EKron/125grid.jpg

[ÜberDoober]

Tough luck for Simoncelli getting a flat but good luck he didn't just crash.

250 Final Results
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g223/EKron/250FinalJapan.jpg

Main event coming up next! Still nasty streaks of water running across the track in a few spots that caused a few crashes. Hope it dries up more in the next 45 minutes and that none of the MotoGP guys go down because of it. I know it must take some cojones to hit the wet spots.

[ÜberDoober]

Exactly the great race I wanted. Whoa! Where the hell did Repsol Honda come from?

I took a few notes during the race:

+ Horns sound to clear the grid
+ Hi-Res package engaged and nominal
+ Bikes are fired - mechanics running off
+ Riders grid
+ Hayden gambling on tire strategy
+ Hayden & Takahashi apparently crashed out
+ Pedrosa? Crap.
+ Hayden replay - he was speared
+ Rossi, Pedrosa, Lorenzo
+ Melandri in 5th ahead of Stoner
+ Edwards out with a mechanical
+ Vermeulen & Stoner dicing
+ Melandri bobbles, loses 2 spots but catches up to Stoner again
+ Lorenzo is closing on Rossi
+ Pedrosa fast lap
+ Stoner & Melandri around Vermeulen
+ This could be a four-way battle
+ Elias down
+ Lorenzo takes fast lap
+ 17 laps to go. Stoner up to 5th
+ Lorenzo pressuring Rossi hard
+ Pedrosa closes on the fight at the front
+ Lorenzo by but runs wide
+ Lorenzo to the front again
+ Pedrosa has Rossi in his sights
+ Dovizioso in 4th still in touch
+ Dovi with fast lap
+ Dovizioso stalking Pedrosa - looks like he'll get by
+ Gibernau crashes out from 12th
+ Lorenzo and Rossi open a gap over Pedrosa and Dovizoso
+ Strange to see two Repsol Honda's fighting with each other
+ Rossi has a moment! Lorenzo gaps
+ Dovizioso dropping back. Pedrosa hot on Rossi's butt
+ Pedrosa and Rossi swap positions
+ They do it again! Insanity
+ Pedrosa makes it stick and into 2nd
+ Just under 6 laps to go
+ ROSSI BACK THROUGH ON PEDROSA
+ Gap to Lorenzo shrinking
+ 4 to go. Melandri holding down 6th
+ Stoner closing on Dovi for 4th
+ Stoner through!
+ Looks like things will stay the same
+ Lorenzo, Rossi, Pedrosa, Stoner, Dovizioso
+ Now THAT was a race! Exactly what I've been wanting

I am very happy and off to bed for an early morning. Update on Hayden - banged his head and is very angry. I feel really bad for him. What was Kawasaki's best finish in 2008? I bet Melandri is on cloud 9.

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g223/EKron/JapanMGPfinal.jpg