MotoGp Qatar 12/04/09

Grim.

well coverage of the first free practice starts at 6:30pm Friday on British Eurosport and i cant wait

personally i think Stoner is going to be very strong this season along with Lorenzo and of coarse Rossi

thetyreman

Yea lets hope the few new changes make it a little closer this year,and some of the younger/newer lads get the podium more often.I would hate to see it going down the F1 route with to much dominance from the few top drivers,the WSB raceing is alot closer these days with like maybe 3/4 seconds between the first 7/8 bikes in a race.
What time is it on Eurosport at on Sunday is it 9pm do you know...

EdgarAllenPoo

Thought eurosport lost the rights to show the actually live race. Don't think RTE are showing it and I think it's stuck over on BBC3 too.

jonnner

yeah I can't wait either
I think Stoner will win the championship but my heart says Rossi
Stoner just needs to cut down on the mistakes during the race. I'm sure he'll be pole for most of the races.

Chopper888

Stoner is certainly the Championship favourite but Rossi raised his game last year and I expect him to do the same again. The Suzuki's have been quite impressive in testing so they could be the 'best of the rest'.

shamrock321

Eurosprt lost the rights to BBC but it seems Eurosprt have got them back!
Im only getting into bike racing and hope Stoner is strong this year

Grim.

oh very close between Rossi and Stoner so far apart from Stoners fast lap they were laping at around the same pace

wasn't expecting Rossi to be as close in Qatar but tomorrows practice and quali should tell us more

shezzie

have to admit it more than likely will be a stoner rossi race - though i am the biggest nicky hayden fan - my god what a highside - my heart was in my throat for him - i hope he can race even if he takes it handy and uses as more testing to keep his confidence..he is a great rider i think he could have it in him to be the champion again ...repsol honda treated him badly not giving him what he needed for the bike so hopefully now he will shine again

Grim.

quali was good Stoner on pole as i thought he would be i think Rossi would have been closer if his last lap wasn't interrupted but the race should be interesting Rossi saying the tyres wont last the race distance

this is the most recent report i could find on Hayden
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/74424

Grim.

Hayden was out on track for warm up but laping slow enough

only 0.050 between Rossi and Stoner but my money would be on Stoner to win but you never know with Rossi anything could happen

Grim.

125cc race has been red flaged due to rain

Grim.

125 race has been called after 4 laps half points awarded

shezzie

thanks grim for the updated message on hayden - fingers crossed for him and the race - love the guy great racer never gives up and has a great attitude to racing and life -

definately agree its stoner vs rossi though it would be nicer to have an upset like gibernau especially his and rossi previous crossings and it would definately ruffle a few feathers and make the whole racing more interesting than it being only a one/two bike race-

Grim.

hope the main race is as good as the 250's were

shezzie

poor pascini - a few exciting moments alright - i hope there are a few more on the main race really hope the barrel is shook

Grim.

poxy rain again ffs

Grim.

cant see this race going ahead now to be honest

6 days of rain per year and they all hit the motogp tests and race

EvilMonkey

It will take ages to dry now. :mad:
Who would have thought it could rain in the desert :rolleyes:

Grim.

still pissing down out there thunder and lightning heavy rain

toseland saying race could be run tomorrow

Grim.

rossi saying the race is off

Grim.

Qatar MotoGP cancelled, possible on Monday!

The season-opening Qatar MotoGP night race has been cancelled due to rain, but may now be run on Monday!

A storm earlier in the evening halted the 125cc race after just four full laps, while the following 250cc race was reduced to 13 laps after a delayed start. Heavy rain then returned just before the 11pm start of the MotoGP race and has continued ever since.

Racing at Qatar does not take place in the rain due to glare from the floodlights.

It is not known if the possible Monday re-run, which would cause logistical chaos but is 'under consideration', will take place in the day or night.

A more popular option is to return in September when the Hungarian Grand Prix was due to be held.

A further meeting to decide what will happen is to be held at midnight.
More to follow...

Grim.

Qatar MotoGP to be re-run on Monday
The season-opening Qatar MotoGP, cancelled due to rain on Sunday night, will now take place at 9pm on Monday night.

Sunday night's racing schedule began ominously when a storm halted the 125cc race after just four full laps, while the following 250cc race was reduced to 13 laps after a delayed start to allow the track to dry.

Continuous heavy rain then returned just before the scheduled 11pm MotoGP race start, prompting the event to be cancelled - but with 'postponement to Monday under consideration'.

Racing at Qatar does not take place in the rain due to glare from the floodlights causing visibly problems for the riders.

A meeting between the teams and Race Direction was held at midnight to decide if and when a re-run would take place. After a long wait, it was finally announced that the race will be held on Monday at 9pm, with a warm-up session taking place at 6.30pm.

It is assumed that Monday's weather forecast was checked in detail before selecting the new start time. Rain also fell during last month's Qatar pre-season test and again on Saturday night, but had previously never interrupted a grand prix track session.

The re-run means flights, hotels, freight - and TV coverage - will now need to be hastily rearranged.

Aside from simply scrapping the race (which may have had contractual implications) and reducing the 2009 world championship to 16 rounds, another option was to return in September, in place of the already cancelled Hungarian round, but that would have been even more costly than a Monday re-run.

Holding the race during the daytime on Monday would have reduced the amount of rescheduling required, but create tyre and set-up problems due to the much hotter temperatures.

The first (and so far only) MotoGP night race was held at Qatar one year ago. Singapore then held the first F1 night race later in the year.

Sunday's experience means it is doubtful that any other circuits will join Qatar in hosting a MotoGP night race, unless the problems associated with wet weather riding at night can be solved.

Racing at night in Qatar requires enough light to cover an area equivalent to 70 football pitches.

The last grand prix to be cancelled was in 1980 when the Austrian Grand Prix at the Salzburgring did not start because of heavy snow.

EdgarAllenPoo

Well on the bright side this means I haven't missed the race, downside for me is I've even less chance of getting to see it tonight.

Will it be on tv tonight?

Grim.

live motogp on eurosport2 at 6:46pm guessing thats it

jonnner

Grim. wrote: »

live motogp on eurosport2 at 6:46pm guessing thats it

I think thats the practice session. Delayed coverage of races only for Eurosport.
BBC3 might show it live, otherwise around 10PM on Eurosport.

Grim.

jonnner wrote: »

I think thats the practice session. Delayed coverage of races only for Eurosport.
BBC3 might show it live, otherwise around 10PM on Eurosport.

na bbc couldn't get a slot on their main channels (will be shown on red button) for it so are letting eurosport show it live

Grim.

found a quote from the bbc motogp editor

Sorry not to have posted sooner, lots to sort and the tiny team we have on site in Qatar means I am trying to sort it all.

Tonight's race is live on the red button and website. I am sorry but we just couldn't get a network slot at this time but I am chasing to get a repeat on BBC2 but being a Bank Holiday and the phones are playing up in Qatar I don't have any news on that right now but I'll get back to you as soon as possible.

We have also offered, on a one off basis, live rights for this race to Eurosport so that as many people as possible will be able to watch it. None of this is ideal I know but we are doing our best in a difficult situation.

Belinda Moore (nee Rogerson)
BBC

EdgarAllenPoo

It's on justin.tv.

http://www.justin.tv/playbeyond

Grim.

bit of a boring race and ended like i thought it would Rossi really needs to sort out his starts fair play to Casey he is unbelievable at this track

the more twisty circuits will be interesting though Qatar was always going to be a Ducati/Casey track if Casey can do the same at Motegi he will convince me his up for the championship but untill then those Yamahas look threatening and dont forget Rossi didn't win untill France last year

themilkyone

anybody know where i can get an english stream for this??everything is in German! :mad:

jonnner

Yeah it was quite boring. Dovizioso was impressive untill seemingly his tyres let him down.

Grim.

Grim. wrote: »

bit of a boring race and ended like i thought it would Rossi really needs to sort out his starts fair play to Casey he is unbelievable at this track

the more twisty circuits will be interesting though Qatar was always going to be a Ducati/Casey track if Casey can do the same at Motegi he will convince me his up for the championship but untill then those Yamahas look threatening and dont forget Rossi didn't win untill France last year

The same thing will happen as last year.
Stoners bike not his talent,although obviously he is talented gives him such an advantage on certain tracks usually through long straights.

Rossi will make him his bitch on the european/twisty tracks and win the title again.

Chopper888

Louisa Broad Wristband wrote: »

The same thing will happen as last year.
Stoners bike not his talent,although obviously he is talented gives him such an advantage on certain tracks usually through long straights.

I totally disagree thats its the Ducati bike that makes Stoner win. You have to take into consideration that none of Stoner's team mates during his time at Ducati have been able to match his pace( Capirossi, Melandri and most recently Hayden). Its clearly Stoner who makes the Ducati win and not the performance advantage of the Ducati.

EvilMonkey

Chopper888 wrote: »

I totally disagree thats its the Ducati bike that makes Stoner win. You have to take into consideration that none of Stoner's team mates during his time at Ducati have been able to match his pace( Capirossi, Melandri and most recently Hayden). Its clearly Stoner who makes the Ducati win and not the performance advantage of the Ducati.

Its clear that Stoner can get more performance out of the Ducati than his teammates but he dose rely on the performance of the ducati. If he doesn't ride off into the distance at the start of a race he never performs as good and nearly all his overtakes are on the straights. I think he relies heavily on the electronics in the ducati too. Having said that Rossi relies on the superior cornering and front end setup of the Yamaha so meh.

EdgarAllenPoo

I may be alone year but I'd be very very happy if Rossi never won another race, he's the michael schumacher of moto gp and I don't mean that as a compliment, continued dominance by any one rider decreases interest in the sport (and leads to rule changes which are an attempt to even things up for other riders).

EvilMonkey

GDM wrote: »

I may be alone year but I'd be very very happy if Rossi never won another race, he's the michael schumacher of moto gp and I don't mean that as a compliment, continued dominance by any one rider decreases interest in the sport (and leads to rule changes which are an attempt to even things up for other riders).

If Rossi wasn't there who would challenge Stoner?

shezzie

GDM wrote: »

I may be alone year but I'd be very very happy if Rossi never won another race, he's the michael schumacher of moto gp and I don't mean that as a compliment, continued dominance by any one rider decreases interest in the sport (and leads to rule changes which are an attempt to even things up for other riders).

i agree 100% rossi is an excellent rider but when he was winning all the time it was just taken for granted ah yeah its a rossi win there was no excitement left in looking at it....when the young riders like stoner, larenzo and dovitziozo and pedrosa it opened the field alot - to me this season i would say its a rossi and stoner though i would like it mixed up abit - larenzo and dovi have a season under the belt so maybe they will get a new confident lease on the bikes - and pls god my fav nicky hayden gets to grips with the ducatti that would be really great to see especially after that horrific high side on qualifying -

LadyTBolt

I don't agree that Rossis dominance in Moto GP diminishes interest.

He wins and loses very differently from many of the Moto GP riders. He is an amazing rider to watch and even Michael Schumacher is a big fan of his. Its because of the way he races, wins, loses, battles, crashes is why alot of people watch Moto GP.

Many people associate Moto GP with Valentino Rossi in that if Moto GP was being discussed in a pub some people only know the name Rossi. He has impacted Moto GP that much. No other rider, currently riding against him has matched his record in all the classes as he has. If you take Rossi out of Moto GP would it be as interesting, I don't think so. He appreciates every win like its his first and when he doesn't win he takes something positive from it to work with. Not all riders have that appreciation. He is a legend and we should enjoy him while we have him. I think once he stops racing Moto GP it will be a very long time before his boots are filled.

I do hope he wins this year to add to his record but at the same time I hope we the fans and viewers get as much enjoyment as we possibly can by watching him work every step of the way as he did last year. Last year was a good year and I'm hoping his year will be better. Got off to a simple start but wait til they hit Europe, then the fun starts!

dceire

Stoner + Ducati + Qatar + 1st place

The kid was always going to win here, i was glad to see Rossi get second.
I think its going to be tight again this year, its between Stoner and Rossi again i don't see anyone else getting close.

I liked the look of Dovizioso last season and think he'll be right up there with them in a season or two.

Rossi all the way of course, it'll be easy

frostie500

EvilMonkey wrote: »

I think he relies heavily on the electronics in the ducati too. Having said that Rossi relies on the superior cornering and front end setup of the Yamaha so meh.

I dont see whats wrong with using the bikes technology, you can only ride the bike thats given to you and Stoner does that pretty damn well.

EvilMonkey

frostie500 wrote: »

I dont see whats wrong with using the bikes technology, you can only ride the bike thats given to you and Stoner does that pretty damn well.

Well the question is weather its the bike or stoner that makes ducati win.
I think its the combination of the two, like i said Stoner relies on the electronics Rossi relies on the handling, who gives a ****.