On Tue, 2 Jun 2009 20:30:25 -0700 (PDT), Bruce Richmond





bsr3...@my-deja.com> wrote:
On Jun 2, 3:18 am, Champ <n...@champ.org.uk> wrote:
On Mon, 1 Jun 2009 20:56:38 -0700 (PDT), Bruce Richmond

bsr3...@my-deja.com> wrote:

Ducati

Actually I don't think the bike has been all that bad for a few years
now.  The riders have done reasonably well and the lack of better
finishes has been blamed on the bike.  But when those same riders
moved on to better places they have gone nowhere.

Uh? Are you kidding?  Can you give some examples?

Working from memory here ( don't keep all the race results for the
past 10 years on hand like some around here).  Randy De Puniet had a
lot of top ten finishes with Kawasaki.  Think he made the podium at
least a couple of times in the wet and once in the dry.  Don't think
he has ever done that well since switching to Honda.  Finished 8th at
Mugello and is currently 10th in the standings.  Shinya Nakano, also
went to Honda I think and did no better if even as good as he did on
the Kawi.  He got some 4th and 5th places, maybe a 3rd in the wet, but
mostly just inside the top ten on the Kawi.  After leaving it seems he
didn't do well enough to be kept in Moto GP.  

Ah, you were talking about the Kawasaki!  The paragraph you responded
to started talking about Kawasaki, but then went on to talk about
Hayden and the Ducati (which is why I put <Ducati> in my response).

I agree that the Kawasaki has been a 'nearly there' bike for some
time, and to get the next step in results was probably a 'team' rather
than 'equipment' factor.

"Mark N" wrote
Bruce Hartweg wrote:
Mark N wrote:

The WSS race was certainly a close one,
but I didn't find it massively compelling (in fact I made a run to my
car
during the race), although part of that is probably due to not knowing
the
riders and teams as well as in SB. But even with four guys at the front
there wasn't all that much passing. And the ending left me wanting as
well,
although I was pulling for Sofluoglu to win it - that pass was a
ridiculous
hail mary, sort of in the Rossi-on-Gibernau or Capirossi-on-Harada
school,
there was no legitimate passing opportunity there at all. So Laverty
got
screwed, and it's really the kind of thing that I think should result
in a
minor penalty, he was just a sitting duck there.

I have to disagree on that, Laverty left a little room, and Keenan
stuffed it
in, but it was nowhere near the crap the Rossi pulled. there was Contact
when
Laverty tipped in, but Keenan held hsi line and would have made that
corner
fine without the contact, in Rossi's case there was no way he could hold
his line
through the turn and it was the richochet off Gibernau that got him
around.

I don't agree with that - I was sitting in the stands right in front
of that corner, where I've sat for quite a number of races since they
started coming to Miller several years ago, and I have seen a number
of passing attempts in that corner, few successful. It's not a very
good passing spot because there's a left-hand kink on the straight
going into the corner, guys turn in at fairly decent speed and trail
braking, so getting up the inside sufficiently to claim the track
isn't easy at all. Down the straight I assumed Laverty had it won
because Kenan simply wasn't close enough, but then I saw him lay off
the brakes and just go for it, and I assumed he'd blow right by
Laverty and probably go right off the track onto the paved runoff
there, likely losing 2nd in the process. But instead he ran right into
Laverty, who got knocked off his line and nearly off the track, and
that contact was the only reason Sofuoglu was able to get it stopped
and turned, using him as a berm. It was clearly a desperation move and
something that shouldn't be allowed to go unpenalized, because it just
encourages that sort of thing, in my opinion. Not a DQ, but at least
something like a five-second penalty imposed, enough to take the win
away.

Laverty handled it pretty well in the post-race Q&A in front of the
fans, but I'm sure he hadn't seen footage of it yet, and had had some
time to cool off as well. Who knows if anything else will come of
it

Here's what Laverty said in an interview at motogpmatters.com:

"I exited the corner just before [Sofuoglu's pass] really well. I braked
fairly deep and protected the line a little bit, and was already in the
corner preparing to get on the gas again when Kenan came into the side of
me, maybe 10 kilometers per hour faster than me. So it was a bit of a
surprise, and when he hit me I thought we were both down because he hit me
with such force but thankfully we both stayed up. Nine times out of ten we'd
have both ended up on our backsides, so I was fairly happy that didn't
happen. But I think if I hadn't been there for him to use as a berm he was
going to run off the track for sure. He was able to bounce off me and that
kept him to his line."

Bruce Hartweg wrote:
Mark N wrote:

The WSS race was certainly a close one,
but I didn't find it massively compelling (in fact I made a run to my
car
during the race), although part of that is probably due to not knowing
the
riders and teams as well as in SB. But even with four guys at the front
there wasn't all that much passing. And the ending left me wanting as
well,
although I was pulling for Sofluoglu to win it - that pass was a
ridiculous
hail mary, sort of in the Rossi-on-Gibernau or Capirossi-on-Harada
school,
there was no legitimate passing opportunity there at all. So Laverty
got
screwed, and it's really the kind of thing that I think should result
in a
minor penalty, he was just a sitting duck there.

I have to disagree on that, Laverty left a little room, and Keenan
stuffed it
in, but it was nowhere near the crap the Rossi pulled. there was Contact
when
Laverty tipped in, but Keenan held hsi line and would have made that
corner
fine without the contact, in Rossi's case there was no way he could hold
his line
through the turn and it was the richochet off Gibernau that got him
around.

I don't agree with that - I was sitting in the stands right in front
of that corner, where I've sat for quite a number of races since they
started coming to Miller several years ago, and I have seen a number
of passing attempts in that corner, few successful. It's not a very
good passing spot because there's a left-hand kink on the straight
going into the corner, guys turn in at fairly decent speed and trail
braking, so getting up the inside sufficiently to claim the track
isn't easy at all. Down the straight I assumed Laverty had it won
because Kenan simply wasn't close enough, but then I saw him lay off
the brakes and just go for it, and I assumed he'd blow right by
Laverty and probably go right off the track onto the paved runoff
there, likely losing 2nd in the process. But instead he ran right into
Laverty, who got knocked off his line and nearly off the track, and
that contact was the only reason Sofuoglu was able to get it stopped
and turned, using him as a berm. It was clearly a desperation move and
something that shouldn't be allowed to go unpenalized, because it just
encourages that sort of thing, in my opinion. Not a DQ, but at least
something like a five-second penalty imposed, enough to take the win
away.

Laverty handled it pretty well in the post-race Q&A in front of the
fans, but I'm sure he hadn't seen footage of it yet, and had had some
time to cool off as well. Who knows if anything else will come of
it

Here's what Eugene said on twitter afetr he got home and watched the
race on TV:

"Watched the race back. That pass was worse than I'd thought, Sofuoglu
was out of control. He'll come to regret that little manouevre."

Max <m...@esatclear.ie> Mon, 8 Jun 2009 17:30:43

Here's what Eugene said on twitter afetr he got home and watched the
race on TV:

"Watched the race back. That pass was worse than I'd thought, Sofuoglu
was out of control. He'll come to regret that little manouevre."

You've got to love race reviews in 140 characters.

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