2011 MotoGP pre-season trash talk thread
 

2 weeks from today, the MotoGP season officially begins with practice 1 at Qatar, so let's hear your thoughts...

Here are mine...I'll start with the riders...
--Lorenzo is the returning champ, and has the #1 plate with his initials making the number...He dominated last year, and should be a contender again this year
--Pedrosa seems to have recoved from his injury, and is always a contender for the title
--Stoner looks like the man to beat this year...When he didn't crash last year, he was always at the front or not far from it...He seems to be taking to the Honda with ease, and at the end of the year, I see him as the champ
--Rossi is the GOAT, and for me to pick against him is crazy...But I think his injuries are still holding him back, thus making it harder for him to develop the Duc...The beginning of the season might not yield the results were used to seeing from him
--Spies gets a factory ride...So just like Hayden, no more excuses
--Hayden is done in GP...He's a top 10 rider, and having Rossi and Burgess to tune his bike will help, but I don't see him in the top 5...
--Dovizioso will show some life, but I don't see him being a contender
--Simoncelli - see above
--the rest are irrelevant

Intangibles that are sparking my interest...
--Lorenzo and Spies will be developing the Yamaha without Rossi and Burgess...This could be huge
--Rossi seems to be struggling to get the Duc up to his standards, but time will tell
--Pedrosa and Stoner seem to be ahead of the curve going into this 1st race

Your thoughts?

Here are your riders...

http://img146.imageshack.us/img146/2962/33261686.jpg
http://img143.imageshack.us/img143/7127/71019680.jpg

The Doctor is faking it and will come out of nowhere to destroy the opponents, both psychologically AND physically.

He probably has the best time in his life right now...pitting against some really competitive peers.

Yup

I have one thought when I look at that rider list... They REALLY need to stop giving points at 10th from now on... Basically, if you start you'll almost assuredly get a point. That's sad. I remember when it was a big deal to just score points in MotoGp.

Hrc is now officially backing aoyama. For anyone keeping count that's five factory bikes by honda...with at least three riders who can fuck off into the sunset.

Yamaha has no sponsorship. Here, in wsbk, or in wss. I suspect their abilities will fall as the season progresses if no changes occur.

If valentina is sandbagging how come everyone else is slow as balls on the ducati? I thought him and JB would hop on and have it sorted in seconds :rolleyes:

I honestly enjoy Moto2 far more than MotoGP...don't get me wrong...I still buy a hi-rez subscription from MotoGP.com every season...but MotoGP races are just BORING...3 or 4 riders have competitive machinery and the other 12 or 13 riders are only out there to make the grid look less sparse at the start....they have NO chance to win....or even be competitive....and EVERYONE knows it.

It's definitely going to be interesting with all of the team changes. I'd love to see Spies outperform Lorenzo but sure wouldn't bet on it.

I can't bet against Rossi taking the title though.

Stoner on the Honda...humm...I don't care for him but wouldn't be surprised to see him take it either.

Thanks for that helpful post :?:

HRC is gonna ROLL. They is gonna own and the majority of the tracks. Spies will outspeed Lorenzo, but probably wont out finish him consistently to place higher in the points. Humble Pie served twice a day for Ducati. Bautista will destroy enough bodywork to fund a satellite team.

Here...have a tissue....

If you need your hand held to determine that a factory Honda/Yamaha/God on 2 wheels on a Ducati have the only real chances to win a title I'll take either of those options. :lmao:

See post #9...

I actually think bautista will surprise us now that capisaurus rex has left the paddock. Don't be surprised if the zook squad fields hopkins as a wildcard. They've been making some not so subtle motions towards 2012 lately

I heard that too....I wonder if Hopper got his personal life together after that big flame out....essentially fired from Suzuki for jacking up a race week-end due to fighting with his wife and getting shit face and too hung over to ride...then the massive crash and leg injury while riding the Kawasaki.

I rooted for him when he first broke into MotoGP....but...it just didn't seem to work out. :idk:

Sounds like things are calmer now. He's signed with samsung cresent as half of the bsb team

1 week until FP1, fockers!!

Rossi ran his mouth in an interview the other day. Wouldn't be surprised if somebody socks his ass again

Umm, wut?

:cheers::cheers:

Thanks for the link.

The article had me cracking up.

Rossi on Lorenzo:

:lol

Great link, but when did Rossi ever get "socked" by someone?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E83jhS1HK2s

Rossi said he got "bit by a mesquito" :lmao:

Figures, I got that altercation backwards :lol: max should bring a length of pipe next time

I remember Max delivering the mosquito comment in the post-race interview. Did Rossi back it up? :lol:

I'm gonna pick Stoner, though I'd really like to see Rossi or Spies take it. It's only Spies' second year, and maybe he's got what it takes, but I'm just not convinced that Rossi can overcome both injury and the cantankerous Ducati. (Or maybe the shoulder is all good, and it's all down to the Ducati at this point.)

He gets to test this weekend at Losail? Wonder what the BSB buyout agreement would be if Alvaro Albailso and gets injured?

Hopkins is the official stand in if ab gets hurt

So now melissa paris and cal crutchlow can be finger buddies

HRC RC212V - The Empire Strikes Back! Rossi complaining about his shoulder over long stints, never put on his softs and is back on the time sheets. Spies in 3rd but says he wasnt pushing it.

This weekend should be fun!:boobs:

Heh you notice the shoulder was good last week when he was closer to the top. All of a sudden it hurts again when he's in the back :lol:

Pulling for Spies to win it but not betting on it. Voted for Lorenzo to take it just because nobody else has. Come to think of it...I don't even like Jorge but as long as I ride a Yammi I'll pull for em' :lol:

Hopkins almost got to start this weekend as well. Alvaro attempted a low earth orbit but came down ok.

Rossi may be playing games with his shoulder, not having pushed on soft tires for a lap time yet, so I am not counting him out. Still if the Honda's are that fast, especially the sat teams, it will make pulling up to the front from a bad Q or start almost impossible.

I'll watch P2 before I call my podium!

Hondas may be fast, but it takes a true artist to win.

Hondas were fast too when Rossie went to Yamaha and proceeded to wipe everybody off the map with an "inferior" bike.

Ducati ain't yamaha and rossi ain't stoner

LOL. He's not as wounded as he wants us to think...At least until that Desmo can't place on the podium, then he'll be injured still. Knowing how Lorenzo and Spies will push each other this year, and how fast the Honda's have gotten over the winter, even the satellites, Rossi has his work cut out. If he and Burgess pull it off, it will take some great sorcery and probably everything they can muster.

I'm REALLY curious to see if Rossi is sand bagging in testing....my shoulder...my shoulder....to try to some kind of weird mind effect on the opposition....lull them into thinking he is wounded and slow and then pouncing on them in the first race to "shock" them.....but....

I think the truth is he is older...his aura of invincibility battered by the broken leg and shoulder....and he's on a bike that is NOTORIOUS for being difficult to ride FAST. I honestly think he made a big mistake by falling for the "dream team, Italian rider on an Italian bike!!!" hype.

First race is coming up....and we'll get our first indication as to where the truth REALLY lies.

There's only one sattelite honda this year. Everyone else is on full factory equipment. You are also assuming ducati listens to their input and effectively develops new parts.

If his shoulder is so bad why'd he race at vroom? Why'd he do stand up wheelies at the superbike test? Why hasn't he acted impared anywhere besides the back of the gp11?

I don't disagree with you....read the second paragraph of what I wrote initially.

I did, it wasn't really pointed at you, just adding to it

So that is why they are so fast...HRC went full monty. Remember when Rossi switched to Yamaha and Gibbers was carrying the HRC flag with about 6 other Hondas in the field? They tripped themselves up more often than not and split the factory teams points up pretty badly. Rossi and Yamaha swooped in for the kill. I DON'T think that will be the case here. That many fast Hondas should make it hard for the Duc to come thru all the traffic. Not to mention 2 really fast Yamahas. And I dont think they have the magic to completely reinvent the Duc like Yamaha did for them after Max left. They will try but after seeing last years Desmo fuel consumption and handling issues I am not betting on it. Make it faster sure, make it fast enough to win poles and break away, no. Over race distance, no.

Just my 2 cents.

Mistake, or just itching for a shot at proving he can take a under-performing bike and make it a winner (again)? Tough call.

If I had to wager, I'd guess that riding a GP bike at race pace (especially the Duc) is a whole lot harder on his shoulder than either of those two events.

He might be sandbagging, but like y'all said, we'll see at the first race.

Yeah, Ducati actually has a fast bike. Of course Rossi ain't Stoner. He's a 9-timex world champion. Stoner is a one-shot-wonder.

If ford prefect were to describe the gp11, he'd say it looked like a fish moved like a fish steers like a cow. My comment was first pointed at the factory, you know that small, funds limited, shop with an adversion to change? The other half is at the rider, as I have serious doubts stick boy can muscle the bike around like stoner had to.

This comment on crash cracked me up

Stoners bike - 80%

Rossi's shoulder - 78.2345% (minute-by-minute update apparently)

JB's blood pressure 185/98

Suppo Livio's hard-on - 100%

Rossi's desperate grab for attention from mid-pack - 150%

Another Trophy in Stoners cabinet?

Priceless. Posted by Damo - Unregistered (50 minutes ago)

If "muscling" the bike around is all it took, then Nicky would have been winning.

Maybe Stoner wasn't good enough of a racer to convince Ducati to change, but Rossi seems to.

stoner didnt need the ducati changed. he was the only one who could win on it. he wont have to change the honda and should be twice as dangerous since he doesnt have to ride around the front end chatter

Denial ain't just a river in egypt bro

never count out Rossi.

Casey will dominate if he cant stay upright. that dude is fast and when his bike is right, nobody will touch him.

He won ONE season. Then Rossi proceeded to whip his ass for the next two and then Lorenzo whipped his ass last year.

Can't argue with that :catout:



But this year, Casey appears to be holding the belt :spank:


And BTW, not only will I be rooting for Stoner, I'm defending him :hss:

Adjusted

Stoner always went fast and scored high on pole. Can't seem to finish the job though.

We shall see, but then even without Lorenzo and Rossi, there's still Pedrosa. And Puig who goes to great length to make sure that Pedrosa is the Honda boy wonder.

Pedrosa got mindfucked in Qatar. He won't see straight for weeks.

Stoner was fast eons ago on the LCR Honda. I think the HRC Honda will see him improve his consistency. He adapted well to the Duc winning races in all the seasons you refer to above. No one else came close.

Now can Rossi adapt himself that well? Or can Preziosi and Burgess tune it to Rossi's style?