Round 4: French GP @ Le Mans

[DooberRoni]

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

Don't forget! Get your predictions in for France!
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=7147#post7147)

2008 Top 5
http://i282.photobucket.com/albums/kk279/DooberRoni/france2008top5.jpg

Previous Race Winners
http://i282.photobucket.com/albums/kk279/DooberRoni/fraHistory.png
stats courtesy of wikipedia.org (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_motorcycle_Grand_Prix)

http://i282.photobucket.com/albums/kk279/DooberRoni/contestPostLink.png (http://www.dooberville.com/forums/showthread.php?p=7147#post7147)

[KingKenny]

http://resources.motogp.com/files/images/xy/2009/MotoGP/n498183_AW0H4725.preview_big.jpg
:realMad: Nicky: I ain't the only one with setup problems - Jerez Lap 1

[KingKenny]

http://www.motogp.com/en/news/2009/Juan+Martinez+new+support+for+Hayden+in+Ducati

Highlights
Bayliss is testing a new electronics package for Hayden and the other satellite teams.
Juan Martinez returns to Ducati from Kawasaki to undertake a new approach with the electronics setup of the GP9 and will be Haydens NEW CREW CHIEF.
Livio Suppo believes this is the "right time" to introduce some new technical electronic ideas on the infant GP9 and plans to coordinate all data analysis work under Cristhian Pupulin who will be solely dedicated with this new alignment.
Hayden is happy to be at LeMans stating the bike is stable under hard braking, straight line acceleration is great, and LeMans has plenty of that. [Now if we could just corner the darn thing - LOL]. Having a lot more practice time is going to help me and everybody on the team and satellite riders as well. But mostly I hope it helps me the MOST!

Hayden seems genuinely enouraged by these developments. My advice is have a case of Jose Quervo ready as props for the new crew chief upon winning your 1st race on a Ducati [before Summer Holiday?]. Ya think?

[Gary]

Hayden seems genuinely enouraged by these developments. My advice is have a case of Jose Quervo ready as props for the new crew chief upon winning your 1st race on a Ducati [before Summer Holiday?]. Ya think?

He needs to finish top 10 before he can win.

[KingKenny]

He needs to finish top 10 before he can win.
Well Duh. But I thnk his expectations are much higher. Don't you?

Kinda hard to finish top ten when your taken out in the first lap! See Caption photo.

btw: Thank Peter Lenz's dad [ I think it was him] for helping me load Saturday at LVMS. I hope he gets funded for GPSRU at Highplains Raceway in June. I'm struggling with my own "race funds" but as they become available, I will probably make a contribution. He was "fast" but not fast enough. The kid on the blue bike was solid. I hope he keeps up the good work and he'll make his own luck someday. If I can secure a radiator for the 125GP bike, and the funds, I will attempt to compete with him in June. A lot of if's there. I am feeling better in the leg and hope to be at Miller next weekend. I'll make a point of saying hi to Peter and Ekron's friend! :thumbup1:

He and the kids he competes with restore my faith in America again. They are all so cool. It's great to be back making the racing scene again. I think it was Peter who came up to me right away when I ran out of gas. He asked "What happened" as I had just had a track run off as well. The sparkle in his eyes was killer. Just so cool I can't get over these kids. Wish they lived in my neighborhood.

btw: The green bike behind me in the avatar and photo album is Elena Myers. She wasn't there long.... :realMad: I got my work cut out for me to hang with her. [14 yrs old].

[ÜberDoober]

Caption: Takahashi Torpedo sees red!

So, FP1, if you can call it that just completed and once again our old friend Mr. Rain has followed us to France after a short break in Spain. It hit with about 25 minutes left in the session. Most of the riders went back out for a lap or two but certainly not enough to work much on a wet setup. It maybe wasn't wet enough?

As far as Hayden and the Ducati, I'm not sure if throwing Bayliss on the bike will result in measurable development results or if it is more for morale and PR at this point? At least they are somewhat acknowledging that Stoner is the only one that can ride it but do you really think they are going to make changes to the bike that might slow him down, even if it benefits Hayden, Pramac et al? I will say that Nicky's performance so far makes me cringe for him and let's hope the new crew chief or something can give him a hand?

Here's one for you - not that I much care for the aesthetics of it - the emerging new style at the front of dangling legs and feet going into corners. Spies even made a big pass at Monza with this technique. Has anybody ever seen Nicky do this? I can't say I have but there must be something to it? I swear, some of the riders doing this make me think they're going to hit the apex supermoto/flattrack style and you'd think Hayden would have incorporated some of this balancing act into his riding? Is it further confirmation that he may never adapt to the 800's or is he scared for his life in the seat of the red bike? Food for thought. If the Nickster gets any video time this weekend, take note and compare.

There's more on my mind but I have to get ready for work. :winky:

Gary, please go edit your vote and add a prediction for pole and fast lap, it you haven't already! Hate to see you give up 2 potential points.

I was bored the other day playing around with graphics and had the idea to make up signatures for people that might want them. I wanted them smaller and both are just rough drafts but here's two I came up with for you. I'd be happy to change them to your liking if you were interested in using one or something similar? Or not? Offer is open to anyone reading this that might want me to make a sig pic. Tell me what you want and I'll try to make it.

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g223/EKron/Lenz4.png

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g223/EKron/lenz3.png

Whoa, those are kinda big? Happy to make smaller or whatever.


And finally before I dash off the shower, results of FP1 which mean absolutely nothing at this point.

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g223/EKron/FraFP1.jpg

[Gary]

Kinda hard to finish top ten when your taken out in the first lap!

Hayden has finished 2 races, 11th and 15th as I recall. I hope he does better but I'd put money on zero wins this season. I will say the odds-makers had him at 150-1 to win this weekend, with Toseland at 400-1. Personally I would reverse that, but neither will win so that is a little pointless!

As far as Peter Lenz's father (Michael, I believe), yes, he seems to be a very nice person - as is his mother. I'm a little surprised that he was racing out there last weekend as Pete was working with Keith Code at NJMP Monday and Tuesday.

[KingKenny]

I remain optimistic. This weekend I pick him for 11th on MotoGP Fantasy league. Fast improvement would be Summer Holiday. End of season I honestly believe you'll see my cousin/nephew on the box. I "bust his chops" on the speed board and he busts mine occasionally [see race report - actually I think that was Roger with a new ID].

Now I have been banned at SpeedTv because of our tiff I guess. I can't get Repose to respond. I have been emailing everyday hoping. If your willing to PM her/him for me I'd appreciate it. I will have to call Earl and let them know to read my stuff here instead for now. :realMad: Along with Rossi [blew me away with the porto potty celebration in response to "Instead of crapping himself he had the presence of mind to keep racing"], Houseworth, Hacking, Halverson, Hayes, and many others! They don't post they read which is why some of my posts don't make any sense to posters.

I was roughly a charter member at SpeedTV since May 2003. Unbelievable chain of events. New management like DMG! :smilielol5: I may just stay here instead except there is no one to "talk to" yet :cheers2:

If you would have Hi-Zoot email me at ken_thornhill@yahoo.com. I would like him to PM some people to notify them of my where abouts. I think he would be willing. If not try JohnnyP and BCM440. They will for sure. thx for you assistance with this matter. :thumbup1:

Gary, can I tell ya something, you have run off a lot of regular posters at SpeedTV. They got tired of your BS. Try and chill a little will ya. You'll enjoy talking with the older members if they come back. They are really cool. :winky:

[Gary]

RePose isn't going to listen to me, KK - he wants the board dull and he is getting his way. LJB is banned to, I still talk to him elsewhere - he is confident that they are perma-bans.

[ÜberDoober]

Wow guys! Bad little boys, I see. :winky: LBJ-OCD banned too? Oh my!

KK, BCM440 is actually a registered Doober. I don't think he's ever posted but he did visit as recently as two weeks ago so you might try PM'ing him here. Not that I want any knockdown bitchfests to deal with, but feel welcome to invite anyone you want to DooberVille. You'll get some worthless reputation points and one point in the MotoGP contest for each referral.

I would like everyone here to remain somewhat civil toward one another but don't expect much moderation from this side. I don't like cleaning up shit. Please do refrain from personal attacks. Ok to disagree and attack comments or ideas in posts but not the poster. 'Nuff said.

So, has De Puniet come out a smarter rider this year? Should we expect him to do anything at his home race that we weren't? Overall, the Honda squads haven't been totally sucking. Will Melandri continue to improve? Maybe he'll never podium on the Hayate Kawate but if he keeps riding like he has been, surely he'll get a better ride again next year. I thought he was gonna kick ass on the Ducati but we all know how that worked out. I think he's podium material on a good bike.

As far as Nicky? I really don't expect to see any improvement until later in the season. Stoner is saying today that everyone but him should just shut the electronics off.

I'm not getting up at 2:00 am to watch FP2 but I will be up at 4:30 to check the results and make my predictions before the pick for pole closes at 4:50am Pacific / 7:50am Eastern. I'll then make my picks for the race and fastest lap.

[Gary]

I'm not sure if DePuniet is smarter or just lucky so far, but if he finishes another couple of races I will assume the former.

Maybe a combination of the Honda and Bridgestones was what needed (he wasn't on 'stones last year, was he? I know he was at Kawi, but the bike was a little funky).

[KingKenny]

RePose isn't going to listen to me, KK - he wants the board dull and he is getting his way. LJB is banned to, I still talk to him elsewhere - he is confident that they are perma-bans.
Ok if you would pm my email to Hi-Zoot I would love to stay in touch. The SpeedTV forum was my only means for 6 yrs.

Yes, I agree with LJB's assessment and yours. It's a shame but, that's life. For the record, I never BF'd anyone on the board. The moderators insisted that I "report" people rather than chat with them mano de mano. I refused. I am banned. Watch your back friend. I also want to be sure both you and LJB understand I had no problem with heated discussions on topic either. I think we'll be fine here and keep it chilled. No problem that I can percieve. I got an email notification that you had tried to PM but, my box was "full". That means there were more than 50 email notifications I didn't recieve. I relied on that mechanism to check PM's. I would have been more than happy to PM with you instead. Never got a chance to respond??? :cheers2: Funny shit. Wonder if "REPOSE" sent me like 50 pm's and I didn't answer them... heheheheh... justice! :thumbup1:

Wish ya the best over there.

Oh.. btw... Ben Spies stated that he didn't use a qualifier until SP3 and then only used ONE. My observaton was accurate... not tryin to rub it in but, sometimes I know my shit. Sometime I don't express it well when I have pulled 3 days of all nighters with racing in both time zones, then 3 days with a seriously grieving friend in ABQ, and then 3 more days of SERIOUS RACE FACE with cars and motorcycles racing all hours of the day. I am still catching up on my rest. Like 4 hrs awake and 4 hours sleepin for tha past 4 days. When it comes to people I have known since they were children it is more than just a guess most of the time. It would be like knowing your own kid and what their upto despite appearances. You get inside their head a bit. Just sayin... not tryin to start an arguement with you or anyone else. Let's just keep it clean here and try and build out this sight. I think this may actually be a blessing in disguise. Take care bud. :thumbup1:

Tell LJB that the mylaps are goofy and anyone with admin. privileges can alter them. For example, they don't reflect all the laps I ran in 30 minute practice sessions. If you can delete laps, you can edit lap times. I didn't try and make a big deal out of it because it truly doesn't matter to me at this point. Next race, Lourdes is coming with me carrying a stop watch and laptime form on a clip board. Will be playing Earl Hayden ! :smilielol5: Will have to get some photos of that. LOL.

I genuinely liked everyone at SpeedTV MGD and will always miss them and the good times we had for the past 6 yrs.

[KingKenny]

Thx Uber. I caught BCM & MrMega on the community list and sent them a "friend request". They're "Old Friends" from way back. They'll both help me contact others for sure. BCM is good friends with Pegram [I think - memories going] and Houseworth as well. MrMega is just a plain old motorcycle enthusiast "rock muscian/producer" and I thought he and JoeB and JohnnyP [Tejas Bro's] would really hit it off with each other. Somethin about musicians that is like racing competitiors I guess.. LOL.

[Gary]

I do not want to go over the old arguments. Every word I said was accurate, and you DID respond - I was responding to you when the thread was deleted. I couldn't figure out why I couldn't post and initially thought that I was banned.

As far as Spies, you cannot use a Q in every timed period of Superpole - there are 3 and you get 2 Qs. Spies has saved both for the last on occasion if he feels comfortable with his race tire pace, I know that. That was not the point.

[ÜberDoober]

Any chance they might allow quallifiers in MotoGP next year? I sure miss that last 5 minutes when everybody is going for broke. The single tire rule seems to be okay enough. Giving the teams 3 qually tires for the weekend would sure spice things up a bit.

I heard during FP1 this morning that the two compounds that Bridgestone brought are very close to one another? In Formula 1, they've specified that Bridgstone make the two compounds they bring to be significantly different to "add excitement".

I remember last year discussing which race was at a Michelin track and which was a Bridgestone track. That was fun but did end up with some wildly lopsided racing since Michelin mostly sucked ass.

I also think I heard this morning that Rossi has 98 wins and if he wins in Le Mans, he could pick up his 100th win at Mugello. I can only imagine how crazy that would be since Mugello is usually pretty nuts anyway. Wasn't it at Mugello last year that Rossi debuted the famous helmet with his face on it. Wonder what the boy may be up to this year? :winky:

[Gary]

I don't think qualifiers will be back any time soon. At some tracks I have thought that even just throwing on a soft tire and going for it at the end was pretty interesting, but my understanding is that this weekend a soft may be a race tire so that is out!

I think tracks temps are expected to 70-75F so tire wear won't be too much of an issue. And it's Le Mans, so a wet race is entirely possible. It snowed when I went there for the French GP in '83, lol.

[KingKenny]

Snowed.. damn.... That's cold! :smilielol5:

[KingKenny]

125 FP2 Results - Conditions Really wet to almost dry by end of session

1. Bradly Smith
2. Gadea
3. Simon
4. Redding
5 Aegerter
6. Bradl
The British are coming ! I have a feeling Smith is going to check out again.

MotoGP FP2 - Conditions started dry. At approx. 20 min to go in the session it started raining possibly windy first then wet.

Dry Times

1. Edwards 1:34:9 - only 2 hot laps
2. Pedrosa 1:35:443
3. Lorenzo 1:35:466 - most consistent
4. Stoner 1:35:498
5. Dovizioso 1:35:724
6. Vermeulen 1:36:1
7. Capirossi 1:36:221
8. DePuniet 1:36:251
9. Toseland 1:36:3
10. Melandri 1:36:503
11. Rossi 1:36:534
12. Kallio 1:36:7
13. Hayden 1:36:9 - 1:36:820 in the wet
14. De Angelis 1:37:1
15. Gibernau 1:37: 1
16. Elias 1:37:3
17. Canepa 1:37:9
18. Takahashi 1:38:5

Wet Times:
1. Vermeulen
2. Pedrosa
3. Lorenzo
4. Edwards
5. DePuniet
6. Hayden

[bcm440]

Ok, my first post, and no uber you won't catch me in a bitchfest
KK, sorry to hear about the boot from the other place
I'll stop in here from time to time
have a blast everyone, and enjoy the racing
BCM

[ÜberDoober]

Gibbers has broken his collarbone AGAIN and is flying back to Spain for surgery. Poor guy. I'd honestly be surprised if he comes back at all. Can't they just give him a carbon fibre bionic one and be over it?

Bikes are rolling out for qualifying. Not raining at the moment but it looks like there are a few slick spots. Gonna watch and chug my morning quart of coffee!

[Gary]

I will be stunned if Gibernau is in the series at the end of the year - he is a shadow of his former self.

I really hope Edwards can pull off a podium. I'm not deluded enough to expect a win, but on the box would be great. It will probably be heartbreak as usual :ack2:

[ÜberDoober]

Forget what I said about the excitement of the last few minutes of qualifying. It was nuts today!

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

Wow! This could be a pretty good race if it stays dry. This isn't usually one of my favorite tracks but potential seems high that we could have a ding dong battle!

For what it's worth, Hayden was the fastest non-Stoner Ducati. I though/hoped that Capirossi would be strong here but the Suzuki's are mid-pack. It is too bad that Edwards didn't have the best session. I picked him for pole (and lost!). So much for De Puniet not crashing too. Eight minutes into the session, he tossed it but did get back out on the second bike. Melandri binned it hard too. Wasn't hurt but tore the crap out of the Hayatesaki.

6:05am here, quart of coffee has kicked in. Think I'll watch the 250's then track down my grandson and see if he wants to go see Star Trek. That should be easy enough? :winky: (he's 12)

[KingKenny]

Just woke up from my last post. LOL. Dosed off in the chair. What a surprise. I was going for Lorenzo after FP2. See ya all soon again ... same time same place. Gotta go. :coolshades:

[ÜberDoober]

And now for the 250 qualifying which at times looked more like a race. Did anybody catch Locatelli's shoving move on the straight? That was cool! Another decent showing by 125 champ, Di Meglio too. Bautista 4/10ths quicker in qual but I don't think he'll have an easy race, by any means.

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g223/EKron/Fra250Qual.jpg

[Gary]

I stupidly forgot 250 qualifying was after the 4 strokes and forgot to watch...

[KingKenny]

Have fun with the "grandson". I haven't got any yet but, I'm old enough. My kids I'll tell ya....

Ya the qual looks nuts and from what ya describe... geez ... I was struggling to pick pole because it was weather dependent. THen I feel asleep and missed posting. I decided that Lorenzo was the guy. So it didn't matter. LOL.

The race is equally hard to predict because it is weather dependent so I am just going to go with a "dry race" fingers crossed and hope for the best. If your a Hayden fan, hope for rain. For some reason he runs as well in the rain as the dry and is among the top 6 consistently so far on the Duc when it rains.

I'm still picking Hayden for 11th place. It seems about right and would be a good showing all tings considered [pun intended]. This whole Ducati thing is the darndest equipment issue I have ever heard of in the history of the sport. Really crazy shit ya know? What's so weird is how Stoner seemingly can pin the throttle and the TC does it's job. Nicky just gets a big highside. Could it be the suspension? What? I think his most significant issue with the bike is "throttle control" which is dominated by TC electronics. Why wouldn't Stoner's setting work the same for Nicky, Melandri, and the rest? Baffling?

Anybody have any thoughts?

Dani is seriously improving. Even though he says "I dunno" when you ask him why he is doing so well. Could this just be another Rossi head game tactic?

I think if it is a dry race we'll see the same as usual settle in with Lorenzo fast and winning when he doesn't bin it. Rossi is still the man to beat this year. Stoner is hot but, having "braking" issues and this is a track demanding serious braking. Got to put him in 3rd. Hoping Depuniet don't bin it in the race.

[Gary]

My only thought is '80% chance of rain'. If the race is wet and the warm-up is dry it will be a total crap shoot. Almost anyone could end up on the podium.

[KingKenny]

125GP
Lap 1 Ianonne crashes on lap one and reenters 13 seconds in last place.
Bradley Smith can take the points lead if he finishes with more than 1 point plus any that Ianonne can score.

They are dropping like flys in the wet. Slippery slope. Redding does a 360 on lap 14 and no he didn't save it. Smith wisely lets others pass and keeps it safe for the points. At the rate of crashers, Smith may finish 2nd out of 6-8 finishers. This is scary for the MotoGP race if it's wet.

Lap 15 - only 8 bikes left on lead lap and only a total of 18 bikes left ... geez....

Lap 20 - Terol crashed twice and got back in. Still running 10th !

[KingKenny]

125 GP Results:
1. Simon
2. Folger
3. Gadea
4. Smith
5. Nakagami
6. Aegerter
7. Iannone
8. Vazquez
9. Terol
10. Zanetti
11. Rabat

^ Only riders on lead lap in intensely wet & slippery conditions. Bradley ran a smart race for points allowing his team mate to pass with a few laps to go.

[KingKenny]

250 Results: WET & only 14 bikes finished per live timing.

1. Simoncelli [chkd out]
2. Faubel
3. Locatelli
4. Bautista [smart race]
5. Wilairot

It appears at present that the MotoGP race will begin somewhat wet and potentially dry during the race. How much? Who knows! Gonna be a difficult race for all if this is the case.

[ÜberDoober]

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g223/EKron/Fra250Final.jpg

Not pretty at all. :mad:

No telling if it will dry out in 45 minutes or if MotoGP will be equally as screwy. I'm not changing my predictions because it's a crapshoot anyway.

[ÜberDoober]

I wish they'd kick in the Hi-Res a little sooner. I think the production values of the package have come up in the last year. Some of the segments and features are well done and some of the editing is actually professional.

About 25 min before race time. It doesn't look like it's pouring but it doesn't look dry at all either. :ack2:


BTW, it's now about 4:40am here now.

[KingKenny]

Yep. It is going to be a difficult race. Could actually be completely dry by the end of the race and may still just be wet.

I got my updates on picks in for WET RACE. Have a surprise pick for the WET Race.

Also posted update on Regis in the SBK thread. Very very good news as of this am.

Keep an eye on the humidity in the weather tab. It has just dropped 14% and the track will now begin drying slowly. If it gets to less than 65% it will dry very quickly.

They are discussing bike swaps. My advice swap sooner rather than later. You can run slicks in the wet. You CANNOT run rains in the dry. Period. Like 3 laps tops.

Well ... lap 6 Rossi did what I was execting Lorenzo to do.. go figure!

[ÜberDoober]

Hi-Res Engaged!

It's anybody's guess at this point and I hardly see how it can be more than that? Thanks for the SBK updates, KK. I caught them earlier.

[Gary]

I didn't bother to update my picks, this will be a guessing game, and probably a crash fest.

Was the warm-up wet?

[ÜberDoober]

Wasn't that interesting, mostly? Amazing!

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

Race Notes
+ Possibility of switching bikes discussed on the warmup lap
+ Weather does look to be clearing
+ Definite dry line showing in a few spots - Argh
+ Through the first bends safely through
+ Pedrosa, Stoner, Lucky Boy Lorenzo
+ Lorenzo to the front - great racing
+ Edwards back in 16th
+ Melandri flies by Stoner who is dropping like a stone
+ Melandri around Pedrosa !!!!
+ Lorenzo with a gap
+ ROSSI IN THE PITS - PEDROSA IN
+ ROSSI CRASHES
+ Lorenzo stays out on shagged tires
+ Chaos and insanity
+ Rossi with a drive through for speeding
+ Lorenzo should have come in - Dovi, Stoner & Vermin switch
+ Melandri unbelievable
+ Rossi in again and switches back to repaired bike
+ 10 to go - Stoner around Vermeulen to 5th - things otherwise calm
+ Lorenzo looks to have it
+ 6 laps left. So much for the racing - everyone spaced out
+ Edwards with fast lap!
+ 3 to go - Pedrosa closing on Dovizioso for 3rd
+ Pedrosa around Dovi
+ Lorenzo wins!
+ Marco Freakin' Melandri finishes second!
+ No points for Rossi - Lorenzo leads championship
+ Lorenzo Land!

Wow!

[ÜberDoober]

My, how things change.

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

[KingKenny]

:cheers2: :rofl:

Melandri is only 23 pts out of a Championship on a Kwacker. How come Hopper couldn't do that?

[HeadDoober]

Prediction Contest Results Are Up!

Congratulation to all our Nostradamus Doobers! :thumbup1:

RESULTS THREAD HERE! (http://www.dooberville.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3898)

Thanks for playing! See everybody in two weeks for Mugello!

[Gary]

:cheers2: :rofl:

Melandri is only 23 pts out of a Championship on a Kwacker. How come Hopper couldn't do that?

Because this years bike looks good, whereas last years was flawed. In pre-season testing (before Kawasaki pulled out) Hopkins said they seemed to have fixed some of the bikes problems (based on Hopkins' input).

A decent bike and equal tires are all Melandri needs - but keep in mind, this race was an aberration. Wet/dry races lend themselves to strange finishing orders.

[KingKenny]

Did you notice Locatelli's finish in the 250's? That is his 1st podium finish since his near death crash 2 years ago[?] . Very cool. Hopefully he can regain the form he once had as a championship contender. :thumbup1:

Lorenzo acknowledged missing the pit board. It was shearly an accident that he made the right call on tire change. I originally thought he was "brilliant". Appreciate his honesty. I think he may very well be the 2009 MotoGP champion. It's a long season. If he stops crashing... well he's hard to beat. :coolshades: