2011 MotoGP

[Klyntonius]

The first piece of the silly season puzzle has fallen into place with Casey Stoner confirmed as a Honda rider next year in the worlds worst kept secret.
http://wwos.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=7926942

This now clears the way for Ducati's dream team of Rossi and Hayden and the step up to the Yamaha factory team by The Texan Terror, Ben Spies.

 

[rednblacks]

In a way it's sad to see Casey parting ways with Ducati, together they have become an icon and thrown great challenges out to Valentino Rossi and Yamaha who were dominating before Stoner and Ducati came together. There were some of the best rivalries and battles seen on the track but clearly Casey has become frustrated with Ducati over the last 2 seasons and he wants to ride a genuine world championship contending bike.

Ducati seems to have lost it's way a little and Casey is still proving he can win podiums on it while leaving Hayden in his wake so for me I am excited to see him switch to Honda. I just hope we don't see an uneasy relationship between he and Pedrosa like we are seeing between Webber and Vettel in F1.

Gee the big 3 factory teams will be very strong if it all pans out that way. Exciting stuff!

 

[rednblacks]

It seems people have lost interest in the Moto GP this year? It was a credible second by Stoner this morning. He was a long way off Lorenzo and never really threatened him but he was miles in front of Rossi in 3rd place so lot's of positives for Stoner and Ducati in that race with Hayden also picking up 5th I think just in front of Spies. Stoner had the pace early but he was pushing real hard and that caused a couple of minor mistakes which cost him but give the year he's had he just treats these sort of results as a real positive.

It's a shame Pedrosa fell off in turn 5 while leading (in fact about 5 riders came off in turn 5). Pedrosa not getting any points has thrown what challenge there might have been to Lorenzo out the window and unfortunately takes a lot of interest out of the rest of the season as far as who is going to be champion is concerned. The interest now is who will finish 2nd, 3rd, and 4th. Stoner I reckon will be keen to pinch a couple of wins before he departs Ducati.

I'm really looking forward to next season already with Stoner going to Honda, Rossi expected to join Ducati and Spies to take Rossi's spot at Yamaha it should throw a lot of interest into next season.

 

[Tiger_Of_Old]

Will be interesting how Rossi goes at Ducati without his right hand man in Jeremy Burgess.

 

[JUBJUB]

Will be interesting how Rossi goes at Ducati without his right hand man in Jeremy Burgess.

I think all of Rossi's people are going to go with him to Ducati

 

[Tiger_Of_Old]

I think all of Rossi's people are going to go with him to Ducati

Not so sure about that.Watched an interview a few weeks ago with Burgess and he was quite content on staying at Yamaha.I got the feeling he wants a new challenge with either Lorenzo or Spies.

 

[JUBJUB]

Now confirmed that Rossi will ride for Ducati next year.
It looks like Ben Spies will replace Rossi and Cal Crutchlow from the WSBK will replace Spies.

 

[TheStinger]

Andreas Dovisioso is one lucky bloke after falling on the exit of the turn in front of most of the field. How no-one hit him or his bike I'll never know.

 

[JUBJUB]

Andreas Dovisioso is one lucky bloke after falling on the exit of the turn in front of most of the field. How no-one hit him or his bike I'll never know.

That did look like it was going to end nasty.He's probably lucky he did it where it wasn't a blind corner and it was on a very wide track.

 

[Klyntonius]

And the puzzle is starting to fall into place. Stoner confirmed at Honda, Rossi at Ducati, Spies is signed at Yamaha and will move to the Fiat (or more likely, Petronas) factory setup. Pedrosa, Hayden and Lorenzo should all be re-signed with their incumbent teams fairly soon. But after that, the rest of the field is fairly up in the air.

Starting with Dovizioso, he reportedly has a clause stating that if he's in the top 5 in the title at a particular point in the championship (a recent round just gone), then he would be retained as a factory rider. However, Honda's plan of running a third satellite factory rider have stalled after they couldn't secure expected Red Bull sponsorship. The most likely scenario appears to be to put him in the Gresini team with factory backing - not a situation Andrea would be happy with. Simoncelli, I believe, has a contract to remain with Gresini for 2011.
Tech3 is likely on the hunt for 2 new riders with Spies leaving for the factory team and Edwards set to return to World Superbike. Cal Crutchlow is very likely given his relationship with Yamaha, personal sponsorship with Monster and Dorna's desire to have a Brit at the top level. Oh, he's fast as well. The second seat is wide open. Tech3 would like to keep Edwards but Colin is sick of being mid-pack and would rather return to being a big fish in a small(er) pond. Leon Haslam is an option, for the same reasons as Crutchlow (except for the Yamaha link) and Andrea Iannone has shown plenty in Moto2 to suggest he is a bright future prospect. Randy DePuniet is also rumoured though this is primarily the nationality link between he and the team. He will most likely continue his relationship with the excellent privateer LCR team.

The Interwetten Honda team should remain as is with Hiroshi Aoyama who had a very solid beginning to the year before serious injury at Silverstone where he cracked vertebrae in a nasty highside.

Aspar Ducati should see Hector Barbera stay put in what has been a solid debut, at least until Julian Simon comes good in Moto2.

Next year will see a new privateer Ducati team in the form of Karel Abraham Jr and his Cardion AB team (bankrolled by his father). Whilst he's had a less than stellar career so far, he may not be the complete bust his history would suggest. He's had a few top 5 Moto2 results of late and also tested the Ducati to within a second of Stoner recently. He's also only 20 so should have plenty of improvement left.

The Pramac Ducati team is hard to know too. Loris Capirossi is said to be back on a red (actually white and green) bike next year. Espargaro has shown some good pace but crashed way too much and whilst Mika Kallio be out after a lacklustre 2010, Dorna would be keen to keep him for enhanced rider nationality distribution instead of yet another Spanish rider.

Rizla Suzuki will keep the fast but fragile Alvaro Bautista for next season and the only guy desperate enough to want the other ride is said to be Toni Elias for what is rumoured to be Suzuki's last year in MotoGP.

Whew! Hopefully this all adds up to a very competitive MotoGP series in 2011.

 

[Klyntonius]

A couple of days after the 2010 MotoGP season finished, the 2011 season began with it's first test. All the teams were present with their 2011 rider lineups and there were a few eyebrow-raising results:

Pos No. Rider Bike Time Diff Diff Previous
1 99 Jorge Lorenzo Yamaha 1:32.012
2 27 Casey Stoner Honda 1:32.066 0.054 0.054
3 11 Ben Spies Yamaha 1:32.322 0.310 0.256
4 58 Marco Simoncelli Honda 1:32.450 0.438 0.128
5 26 Dani Pedrosa Honda 1:32.497 0.485 0.047
6 69 Nicky Hayden Ducati 1:32.583 0.571 0.086
7 19 Alvaro Bautista Suzuki 1:32.738 0.726 0.155
8 14 Randy de Puniet Ducati 1:32.836 0.824 0.098
9 4 Andrea Dovizioso Honda 1:32.942 0.930 0.106
10 7 Hiroshi Aoyama Honda 1:33.105 1.093 0.163
11 40 Hector Barbera Ducati 1:33.168 1.156 0.063
12 5 Colin Edwards Yamaha 1:33.325 1.313 0.157
13 35 Cal Crutchlow Yamaha 1:33.483 1.471 0.158
14 65 Loris Capirossi Ducati 1:33.740 1.728 0.257
15 46 Valentino Rossi Ducati 1:33.761 1.749 0.021
16 17 Karel Abraham Ducati 1:33.793 1.781 0.032
17 24 Toni Elias Honda 1:34.800 2.788 1.007


That Jorge Lorenzo was fastest, wasn't a surprise.
That Casey Stoner was immediately fast on the Honda, wasn't a surprise. That he was within half a tenth of Lorenzo probably was.
Spies and Simoncelli continued their progression and heightened the expectations on them for next season.
Pedrosa was solidly quick with a bung shoulder and Hayden remained where he was for most of 2010.
Bautista continued to impress and the Suzuki was faster than expected in conditions that don't normally suit it.
Randy DePuniet was pleasingly fast first time out on the Ducati. As a hard charger, in a similar vein to Stoner, the Ducati may well just be the making of Randy.
Dovizioso and Edwards were disappointingly slow.
Aoyama and Barbera were solid, around a second off the leaders.
Cal Crutchlow had a decent start to his MotoGP career but found his boots to be a bit of a sloppy fit.
Loris Capirossi looked, well, like he did in 2007.
The maligned Karel Abraham ran at a commendable pace considering his debut on the Ducati and in a brand new team.
Toni Elias was a surprinsingly distant last place given he is a multiple MotoGP podium getter and race winner.
But the biggest news, and surprise, of all was Valentino Rossi finishing 15th out of 17 in his first run on his new steed for 2011. Whilst it means little for the 2011 season, it left him with egg on his face after saying Stoner wasn't winning because he didn't puish hard enough and Jerry Burgess assertion that they could sort the Ducati's front end 'in 80 seconds'. I've never seen Rossi so far down in anything and the team from Bologne must've been very disappointed.

Overall, whilst not completely meaningless, this initial tests results should really be taken with a grain of salt. There is a lot of water to pass under the bridge before the racing gets underway in 2011. I, for one, am quietly optimistic the the 2011 MotoGP season will be a competitive, close and hard fought championship. Can't wait!

 

[Klyntonius]

Rossi has finally been presented as a Ducati rider and can speak about his new bike now that he is no longer under Yamaha contract. He described his new ride as a true prototype, something you need to ride a bit 'dirty' to go fast and that it felt very edgy but was brutally fast.

He also unveiled the gaudiest set of leathers seen for years.

 

[roostersgal4eva]

its a shocker....rossi doesnt look like a duc rider

 

[Sman-21]

Will be suprised if Rossi makes the podium in more than 3 races.

The ducati throughout the years has been a very hard bike to ride, which makes stoners results even more impressive.
You just have to listen to ex ducati riders an see the results of stoners teammates to get an idea of just how difficult it is.

Stoner will kick ass on the Honda

 

[roostersgal4eva]

Testing Started in Sepang....

1 Hiroshi Aoyama San Carlo Honda Gresini 2:02.483 - - 0
2 Marco Simoncelli San Carlo Honda Gresini 2:02.488 +0.005 +0.005 0
3 Casey Stoner Repsol Honda Team 2:02.889 +0.401 +0.406 0
4 Colin Edwards Monster Yamaha Tech 3 2:02.899 +0.010 +0.416 0
5 Dani Pedrosa Repsol Honda Team 2:02.933 +0.034 +0.450 0
6 Andrea Dovizioso Repsol Honda Team 2:03.296 +0.363 +0.813 0
7 Ben Spies Yamaha Factory Racing 2:03.387 +0.091 +0.904 0
8 Jorge Lorenzo Yamaha Factory Racing 2:03.644 +0.257 +1.161 0
9 Kousuke Akiyoshi HRC Test Team 2:04.292 +0.648 +1.809 0
10 Hector Barbera Paginas Amarillas Aspar 2:04.510 +0.218 +2.027 0
11 Valentino Rossi Ducati Marlboro Team 2:04.794 +0.284 +2.311 0
12 Alvaro Bautista Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 2:04.901 +0.107 +2.418 0
13 Cal Crutchlow Monster Yamaha Tech 3 2:05.135 +0.234 +2.652 0
14 Nicky Hayden Ducati Marlboro Team 2:05.338 +0.203 +2.855 0
15 Toni Elias LCR Honda MotoGP 2:05.915 +0.577 +3.432 0
16 T2 Yamaha Test Team 2:06.005 +0.090 +3.522 0
17 T1 Yamaha Test Team 2:06.209 +0.204 +3.726 0
18 Karel Abraham Cardion AB Ducati 2:07.160 +0.951 +4.677 0
19 Loris Capirossi Pramac Racing Team 2:18.480 +11.320 +15.997 0
20 Randy De Puniet Pramac Racing Team 2:22.385 +3.905 +19.902 0

And his new ride...

 

[JUBJUB]

The season kicks off this weekend in front of 100 people [frees tickets] and 20 camels in Qatar.


For the 2nd year in a row the Japanese GP has been postponed.It's now on October 2 instead of April 24.

 

[Klyntonius]

Bit harsh on the crowd there Jubjub - each MotoGP team would have at least 20+ people who would be watching as well!

Well it's finally here. After a long pre-season of waiting in anticipation for one of the most intriguing seasons in years to start, we're finally underway. And 2011 promises to be an exciting new season indeed! Obviously the Stoner and Rossi moves are the headline attractions but the promotion of Ben Spies and to a lesser extent, Marco Simoncelli are also of significant interest. Also, Can Lorenzo back up his title or did things just go his way in 2010?

It would be an understatement to say that Casey Stoner's transition from Ducati to Honda has been impressive. Many are already writing him down as the 2011 champion but I wouldn't be so hasty. Yamaha will be strong. Sure Honda outpaced them at Sepang but Yamaha will be strong at plenty of other tracks, at least as strong as big red.
Jorge is the reigning world champ for a reason. He's super-hungry and made great strides in his race craft last year and will be even harder to beat his season. Ben Spies was impressive last year and is constantly improving and now has a factory Yamaha at his disposal. Time will tell if he can consistently challenge at the top but he will definately have a say in the overall shape of things at the top. Ditto for Simoncelli.
The Adjustment for the biggest series drawcard in Valentino Rossi has been less smooth. Shoulder surgery and illness have hampered development of the Bologne bullet and their testing pace has been disturbingly lacklustre. Vale has good reason to be very worried. More concerning for Ducati than Rossi's struggles are the regression of their other riders. This is the biggest proof of the lack of improvement for their GP11.
The other competition to Stoner for the title is Dani Pedrosa. Dani's chances, I believe, have been severely underrated. In the past he has been very fast but fragile. He'd always have a big crash that would injure him for a significant period. If he can stay healthy, with the extra motivation of having an equally fast teammate, then I think he has a great chance at becoming the MotoGP champion Repsol and Honda have invested such big dollars into.

Having said all that, my picks are as follows:
1. Stoner
2. Pedrosa
3. Lorenzo
4. Spies

I think Stoner will be too strong too often for the competition and his experience wrestling the Ducati beast around will hold him in good stead on the easier-to-live-with Honda. Pedrosa to have his career best year in MotoGP but to be pipped by a more aggressive teammate. This year, Jorge is the hunted, not the hunter. His title chances will hinge on how he handles the pressure of everyone out to get him. Spies and Simoncelli are both about equal on raw speed but I see Spies as a superior tactician and less reckless. In other words, he'll be more consistent. I can see at least the first third of the year being very difficult for Rossi and really, just for Ducati in general. Their testing, even though it's only testing, has be quite disastrous. Rossi's complaints at the end of 10 days of testing is still pretty much the same as what Stoner complained about 12 months ago. The big problem for them is that, unlike Honda, Ducati don't have the resources to bring out half a dozen new frames until they find the right solution.

Bring it on!

 

[Klyntonius]

The first three free practices have been run and Stoner has been fastest in all of 'em. Here's the results of the third one:

Pos No. Rider Bike Time Diff Diff Previous
1 27 Casey STONER HONDA 1'55.035
2 26 Dani PEDROSA HONDA 1'55.193 0.158 0.158
3 4 Andrea DOVIZIOSO HONDA 1'55.740 0.705 0.547
4 1 Jorge LORENZO YAMAHA 1'55.814 0.779 0.074
5 11 Ben SPIES YAMAHA 1'56.003 0.968 0.189
6 8 Hector BARBERA DUCATI 1'56.266 1.231 0.263
7 5 Colin EDWARDS YAMAHA 1'56.302 1.267 0.036
8 46 Valentino ROSSI DUCATI 1'56.306 1.271 0.004
9 14 Randy DE PUNIET DUCATI 1'56.362 1.327 0.056
10 65 Loris CAPIROSSI DUCATI 1'56.434 1.399 0.072
11 35 Cal CRUTCHLOW YAMAHA 1'56.437 1.402 0.003
12 7 Hiroshi AOYAMA HONDA 1'56.517 1.482 0.080
13 58 Marco SIMONCELLI HONDA 1'56.540 1.505 0.023
14 69 Nicky HAYDEN DUCATI 1'56.586 1.551 0.046
15 17 Karel ABRAHAM DUCATI 1'57.275 2.240 0.689
16 19 Alvaro BAUTISTA SUZUKI 1'57.601 2.566 0.326
17 24 Toni ELIAS HONDA 1'58.123 3.088 0.522


- Sadly, Alvaro Bautista had his second big crash in 3 days and snapped his femur so there will be no Suzuki on the grid for the race.
- Rossi started positively in 5th place in first free practice but really hasn't improved his times and has dropped down the order.
- Lorenzo has been bested by Ben Spies for much of the pre-season and first practices but he has very strong consistent pace.
- Honda has continued it's pre-season dominance with Stoner and Pedrosa heading all sessions so far.
- After the top two, the mid-pack is extremely tight with eight tenths covering 3rd to 14th. It should be one helluva fight!

 

[Klyntonius]

And Casey Stoner starts 2011 off with pole position in Qatar.

Pos No. Rider Bike Time Diff Diff Previous
1 27 Casey STONER HONDA 1'54.137
2 26 Dani PEDROSA HONDA 1'54.342 0.205 0.205
3 1 Jorge LORENZO YAMAHA 1'54.947 0.810 0.605
4 58 Marco SIMONCELLI HONDA 1'54.988 0.851 0.041
5 11 Ben SPIES YAMAHA 1'55.095 0.958 0.107
6 8 Hector BARBERA DUCATI 1'55.223 1.086 0.128
7 4 Andrea DOVIZIOSO HONDA 1'55.229 1.092 0.006
8 35 Cal CRUTCHLOW YAMAHA 1'55.578 1.441 0.349
9 46 Valentino ROSSI DUCATI 1'55.637 1.500 0.059
10 5 Colin EDWARDS YAMAHA 1'55.647 1.510 0.010
11 14 Randy DE PUNIET DUCATI 1'55.656 1.519 0.009
12 7 Hiroshi AOYAMA HONDA 1'55.724 1.587 0.068
13 69 Nicky HAYDEN DUCATI 1'55.881 1.744 0.157
14 65 Loris CAPIROSSI DUCATI 1'56.323 2.186 0.442
15 17 Karel ABRAHAM DUCATI 1'56.665 2.528 0.342
16 24 Toni ELIAS HONDA 1'57.992 3.855 1.327

- Stoner and Pedrosa swapped fastest times before Stoner finally set the fastest time, nearly one second faster than his pole time in 2010!
- Rossi improved him times but at a slower rate than the top runners and is 1.5 seconds from Stoner. He is also six tenths slower than Stoner was on the same bike in 2010.
- Lorenzo and Spies have been consistently improving but are a long way behind Stoner and Pedrosa. They will also be given the hurry-up from behind with 3rd to 13th covered by eight tenths of a second.
- Suzuki asked a couple of the Moto2 class riders to fill in for Bautista this round. Aleix Espargaro and Ant West were both asked as they have recent experience on the 800 machines with Bridgestone tires. Espargaro declined as he has aspirations of a Moto2 title. Wests chance was quashed by his team manager who said they need him to develop their MZ chassis. Given his 37th qualifying position, I don't think missing him for one race would make much difference...

 

[NSWCROW]

Go Adriana !!!!!!

 

[mattys123]

Casey for the World Championship now, nothing can stop him IMO.

You can just see how much easier the Honda is to control, especially during a race.

I expect Rossi to be competitive in a few races time, but he'll crash almost as much as Stoner did on the "beast" that is the Ducati.

3 riders are going to be competing for the title IMO, Stoner, his team mate Pedrosa and Lorenzo, who probably will be Casey's biggest challenger.

Anyway, great to see Casey win on debut for Respol Honda.

 

[roostersgal4eva]

I got up for that race. Casey looked so good and I think he could of pulled away more if he wanted to. It was like watching Mick Doohan out there

Jorge will be closer than we think though.

 

[Sman-21]

Knew that stoner would kick ass on the honda
The ducati even before the front suspension problems last year has always been a terrible bike to ride in motogp.
Stoners results were all due to immense talent.
Now hes on a much better handling bike like i said back in feb he will kick ass.

Stoner to win championship easy
An i still stand by what i said earlier Rossi wont make more than 3 podiums

 

[Klyntonius]

It was great to see Casey win first up and it's encouraging for him for the season. But he's a long way from home as Jorge was seriously impressive and if Dani's shoulder remains crook, it will be a tight battle in two between Stoner and Lorenzo.
Dovi and Simoncelli will be an entertaining sideshow as it is widely speculated that they are fighting for the same ride for 2012. It was nice to see Andrea show some fighting spirit.
Rossi is in for a tough season. His injured shoulder isn't helping but the fact is he hasn't gelled with the bike properly and Ducati's MotoGP track record of development is poor. As Sman alluded, podiums are going to be hard to come by and wins nigh on impossible.

Overall, Qatar was a pleasantly competitive first round and it bodes well for the season ahead.

 

[mattys123]

Casey has pole tonight, and with Pedrosa 3rd, it shows how strong the bike is.

Should be a race in 3 (again) tonight, I can't anyone other then Stoner, Lorenzo or Pedrosa winning, but the track is always fun to watch bike racing at, so this should be good.

GO CASEY.