Round 6: Mugello, Italy

[DooberRoni]

GRAN PREMIO D'ITALIA ALICE
http://i282.photobucket.com/albums/kk279/DooberRoni/MugelloCIRCUIT.jpg
track map: © mugellocircutit.com (http://www.mugellocircuit.it/english/index.htm)


At 5.245km the Mugello circuit is one of the longer contemporary MotoGP circuits, in no small part due to the fact that it has retained its original length and layout. Running across two sides of an impossibly scenic Tuscan valley, Mugello differs from other fast circuits in its frequent changes of gradient and the speed of its chicanes. There is a mix of slower and high-speed corners, although even the slowest corners are wide, allowing several 'ideal' lines and putting the emphasis on rider skill as well as chassis set-up precision.

Mugello is a very technical track and chassis set-up is very important thing but riders also need a good engine for the straight as there is around 950m with the throttle fully open. The gearing is also important at this point and they need small gaps between fourth, fifth and sixth gear to get the most out of the engine. Generally it is a very complex track and the rider can make the difference.

There is very hard braking into turn one, where the riders go from around 330km/h to just 85km/h and this is followed by a sequence of 'esses' where it is important to have a bike that has good turning capabilities and agility. There are some quick changes in direction, with uphill and downhill turns, so riders need a good compromise with the set-up to make it turn well in both types of corner.
Courtesy of: automoto365.com (http://motogp.automoto365.com/circuits/index.php?lang=en)

Previous winners
2007: V. Rossi (Fiat Yamaha)
2006: V. Rossi (Camel Yamaha)
2005: V. Rossi (Gauloises Yamaha)
2004: V. Rossi (Gauloises Yamaha)
2003: V. Rossi (Honda Repsol)
Best lap 2006
S. Gibernau - 01:48.969 (Ducati, 2006)
Pole position 2007
C. Stoner - 02:00.359 (Ducati)

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g223/EKron/STVlogo.jpg (http://www.speedtv.com/)
10:00pm Eastern
7:00pm Pacific
Schedule info courtesy of (clicks)
http://www.dooberville.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=6&pictureid=52 (http://www.racefantv.com/USTV.htm)

Valentino Rossi is undefeated at Mugello in the MotoGP Series!
Will this race be the end of his streak?

[Hoofhearted]

I think Rossi will win. He's back on form and seems to have Dani's head. The only fly in the ointment I see is Lorenzo. He's riding good despite two busted ankles. But I do have the feeling that Ducati may try to regain some cred.

[ÜberDoober]

Mugello is Italian mania in action. Who cares unless it comes from or was made in Italy.

Rossi and the Pope are on equal standing at Mugello but a win by Melandri on the Ducati would be an acceptable substitute and even Stoner on the Duc wouldn't totally disappoint. The pressure on Valentino must be intense with his undefeated record at stake at his home race and leading the points. I've read the discussion elsewhere about Rossi "choking" and if he has reason to all, he has it at Mugello.

Now imagine if Lorenzo or Pedrosa, the rivaled Spainiards, break Rossi's streak or worse, tangle with the former curly haired boy? Riots will break out. :ack2:

It should be clear who to pick as the favorite at Mugello but I'm going to think about it a few more days before I vote! What's the scoop on the tire performances at Mugello?

[Gary]

Rossi beat the unstoppable Stoner there last year, he'll do it again.

[gonickygo]

Rossi... hell, I'd give points against the field @ Mugello.

[ÜberDoober]

Race previews are starting to filter out. Here's a few snippets from Soup (http://www.superbikeplanet.com/2008/May/080527u.htm) this morning?

"Bridgestone has never seen a rider on its tyres win at Mugello"

"We have never experienced a race win in Mugello, but we hope to rectify this situation this weekend."

"To cope with such a demanding circuit for the tyre, we will bring some new spec tyres, which are specifically tuned for Mugello, and we will bring new rear qualifiers based on the results in the post Le Mans test."


Guess that answers my question about tires? :)

[Gary]

Since Rossi has won the last 5 or 6 that would explain Bridgestone not having won, lol. I think they have a win coming.

[ÜberDoober]

Holy Schnikes! I need to get signed up on the MotoGP package. Been so darn busy, there hasn't been time. Hoping to be ready to catch qual for the first time. Woot! :willy_nilly:

[ÜberDoober]

I just woke up to practice times from a WET Mugello! Cool!

This is the weirdest looking timesheet evar! Ant West in 3rd - that's too funny. I do see Tad Okada has the pneumo out.

Pos. Rider Team Bike Time
1 John Hopkins Kawasaki Racing Team Kawasaki 1:54.053
2 Loris Capirossi Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki 1:54.520
3 Anthony West Kawasaki Racing Team Kawasaki 1:55.021
4 Alex De Angelis San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 1:55.141
5 Shinya Nakano San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 1:55.528
6 Andrea Dovizioso JiR Scot Team Honda 1:55.718
7 Chris Vermeulen Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki 1:55.774
8 Dani Pedrosa Repsol Honda Team Honda 1:55.805
9 Casey Stoner Ducati Marlboro Team Ducati 1:58.618
10 Valentino Rossi Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha 1:58.672
11 Randy De Puniet LCR Honda MotoGP Honda 1:59.240
12 Nicky Hayden Repsol Honda Team Honda 1:59.436
13 James Toseland Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 1:59.899
14 Jorge Lorenzo Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha 2:00.004
15 Marco Melandri Ducati Marlboro Team Ducati 2:00.162
16 Sylvain Guintoli Alice Team Ducati 2:01.718
17 Tad Okada Repsol Honda Team Honda 2:02.810
18 Toni Elias Alice Team Ducati 2:03.305
19 Colin Edwards Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 2:03.774

Now including results of practice 2

Pos Rider Team Time Laps
1. Chris Vermeulen Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 2:01.500 19
2. Nicky Hayden Repsol Honda Team 2:02.010 + 0.510 21
3. Casey Stoner Ducati Marlboro Team 2:02.305 + 0.805 17
4. Valentino Rossi Fiat Yamaha Team 2:02.327 + 0.827 16
5. James Toseland Tech 3 Yamaha 2:02.412 + 0.912 18
6. Jorge Lorenzo Fiat Yamaha Team 2:02.562 + 1.062 25
7. Andrea Dovizioso JiR Team Scot MotoGP 2:02.569 + 1.069 20
8. Randy De Puniet LCR Honda MotoGP 2:03.568 + 2.068 18
9. Colin Edwards Tech 3 Yamaha 2:03.586 + 2.086 17
10. Dani Pedrosa Repsol Honda Team 2:03.699 + 2.199 21
11. Alex De Angelis San Carlo Honda Gresini 2:03.765 + 2.265 19
12. John Hopkins Kawasaki Racing Team 2:03.950 + 2.450 19
13. Loris Capirossi Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 2:04.049 + 2.549 19
14. Anthony West Kawasaki Racing Team 2:05.397 + 3.897 22
15. Shinya Nakano San Carlo Honda Gresini 2:05.634 + 4.134 17
16. Tadayuki Okada Repsol Honda Team 2:06.103 + 4.603 11
17. Sylvain Guintoli Alice Team 2:06.257 + 4.757 19
18. Toni Elias Alice Team 2:08.980 + 7.480 17
19. Marco Melandri Ducati Marlboro Team 2:14.112 + 12.612 11

[ÜberDoober]

All signed up with the hi-res package for €85! Ready to watch qually live at frakkin' 4:55am in the frakkin' morning! :ack2: (pretty excited, really!)

Any tips for using MotoGP.com?

[Gary]

Any tips for using MotoGP.com?

Pray a lot, lol.

Not really, if you try to watch the races prior to MotoGP the high rez may not be on so you'll need to log out and in, but it's pretty self explanatory. I like to keep live timing up too so I can reduce from full screen and see where people are although I rarely do it.

4:55 - ugh - one of very few advantages of being on the East Coast is a little more sleep.

[ÜberDoober]

Crikey! :ack2: Almost missed my first paid for qualifying. Woke up with 50 minutes to go, but that's when it really counts anyway.

Have the video on one computer and timing on the other. Very cool!

Six minutes to go...Rossi has broken Giveupnau's track record with a 1:48:130. Capirossi still in second. Three to go and Pepe tosses on another Q along with Stoner. Wow! This is cool! Rossi does a nac-nac wheelie! :)

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g223/EKron/mugelloQualResult.jpg
Melandri
West (last!)

Nice dry session. Rossi's new helmet is a hoot! Ugh! I'm skipping the 250 session. Stayed up until 2:00, it's 20 after 6:00 and I've been up almost an hour. Back later!

[ÜberDoober]

Ok, so another noob motogp paid subscription sucker question...

Is the high resolution stuff greyed out for qualifying?

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

I watched happily in "high quality" and it was pretty decent. The colors were a little washed out but it was silky smooth otherwise. Should I be able to get Hi Res for the race tomorrow or did they mess up and not give me something I paid for?

Thanks!

[ÜberDoober]

This just cracks me up.

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g223/EKron/ValentinoHelmet.jpg
snagged from: © motogp.com (http://www.motogp.com/)

[ÜberDoober]

W00t! Up early for my first live race on MotoGP.com! :) I answered my own question about the high resolution thing and it looks great. Weather looks great and the race is gonna be great.

Where'd everybody go, anyway? :ack2:

[ÜberDoober]

20 to go and Valentino to the front. Capirossi putting in a good show but holy smokes, everybody is flying!

[ÜberDoober]

Du Puniet takes Melandri out. :ack2: Lorenzo is coming on strong and Dovi and Lorenzo on the gas. Rossi isn't breaking Stoner and Pedroboy is still right there. The three leaders and starting to gap.

OH NO! Hopkins out. Damn. Lorenzo is down! Holy shit! :eek::eek:

[ÜberDoober]

Toseland making some moves up into 5th with 12 laps to go. Rossi starting to get away. Stoner starting to pressure Pedrosa again after running wide and giving up second. Nicky down to 11th after being high as 5th.

De Angelis having a great run too. Looks like Rossi is away at the front. Stoner not giving up. He does it back into second! :ack2:

[ÜberDoober]

Fantastic race! Rossi trying to dodge fans swarming the track! Very cool!

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

Good run my Colin but embarrassing for Hayden. Ant West proves how consistent of a rider he really is. :)

[ÜberDoober]

Rossi looks genuinely happy on the podium and is playing the fans for all it's worth. He's truely the king of the era and probably will be remembered as the GOAT.

The crush of people is amazing and they got what they came for.

Only a week to go before Barcelona and we're into the part of the season where the races come fast and furious. I'm quite pleased with the MotoGP.com subscription package, so far anyway and will poke around later to see what options I have.

[Hoofhearted]

I am an unashamed Rossi fan. He has that something the rest of the field lacks. It was great to see him ease away and win. I was surprised to see Stoner in second place. Ducati must have done something special for Mugello. And how about Tolseland? Its too bad Roberto Rolfo didn't come over. We could have had a truckload of excuses for the real RR in WSB and a bunch of reasons why Toseland is only "average" Delighted to see a solid 6th.

[ÜberDoober]

I'd have to agree about Rossi. From the outrageous helmet to his runaway win, the weekend was his from the beginning. Seeing him stand on the podium with 96,000 fans at his feet was really pretty cool and I have no regrets spending the $130 to get the MotoGP package.

One of the biggest surprises this race was the emergence of Alex De Angelis on the Gresini Honda. He may be a sleeper although the customer Honda's aren't on par with the Tec-3 Yamaha's. I expect all the guys just up from the 250's, Dovi, Lorenzo & De Angelis to give the regulars a run for their money by the end of the season. Maybe not Rossi though? :)

It is disappointing to see Nicky run so poorly and I don't think the pneumatic motor will be the cure to what ails him. He needs to get out of the Honda garage, period.

I've got more to blabber about but have a work appointment. :mad: Having RR here would spice things up a bit! :) (Gary and KK have been MIA too)

[Gary]

Not MIA, just lazy!

I think De Angelis will return to his old form, he had the home boost there, but I have no problem if I'm wrong! The bigger the battle for the front the better.

I had a feeling Stoner would be strong there, the Ducati seems very fuel efficient and that's a big concern these days. I am disgusted to no end to not see the rear end of these bikes move at on the corner exits. I HATE TC. I'm glad to see Rossi back to his winning ways - 06 was bad luck and Ducati and Bridgestone took the world by surprise last year (no disrespect to Stoner, he took what he had and dominated), but Rossi is back to being Rossi.

1 week to next GP - thank God!

[Gary]

Oh, Uber - yeah, high rez is for the race only - qualifying and practice is normal rez, and when they leave Europe practices, other than final qualifying, are sometimes not televised.