MotoGP Blog

With everything decided apart from the Rookie of the Season, there was always a chance that the race at Valencia would be anti-climactic. Unfortunately this proved to be the case. The changeable conditions on Friday and Saturday led to a lack of opportunity to configure the bikes for the conditions on the day - dry with watery sun.

At lights out, Pedrosa got the drop on Stoner from the line, with Hayden slipping into third. Stoner and Hayden were determined not to let the Spaniard escape, and the Australian made his move as early as Turn 2 while Dani was still getting the feel of his Bridgestones. Hayden then tried to take advantage of Dani’s disturbed line but was unable to in T3 or T4.

Meanwhile Edwards made good his grid position to hold station for a couple of laps before being swallowed back into the pack, and Rossi began his customary progress through the bikes before him. With little incident we arrived at the finishing podium early on in the race as Rossi sliced past Hayden for third. Stoner gradually pulled away from Pedrosa, showing absolutely no sign of his wrist injury and indeed he was back to his robotic form of 2007 without a slip or mistake.

The last of the action came with Dovizioso seemingly justifying his new ride with the Honda factory team as he passed Hayden for 4th. At the end of the race, upon returning to his pit Dovi was greeted by a “Garage Closed for Dovizioso” sign and Yuki Takahashi was there ready to wheel away his bike to get it ready for the test tomorrow.

Dovi’s late rise in the order was not enough to surpass Lorenzo for Rookie of the Year, Jorge picking up a few point down in 8th to make sure of his title. Elsewhere, Melandri briefly challenged for 10th in his strongest and final run for Ducati, but faded back down the order by the end of the race. Hopefully the Kawasaki he’ll be on next year will be more suited to his style - let’s hope this year’s Green Machine is no guide.

Stoner deserved the victory this weekend, taking pole, the win, outright fastest lap and lap record. Rossi completed an amazing season with his 16th podium of 18 races, an awesome record and one which indicates how he won the title - speed and consistency.

They’ll party for the rest of the weekend at Valencia. Tonight (Sunday) are the FIM Awards (broadcast live on MotoGP.com at 8pm GMT) will be the start of it. It’s back to work on Monday testing with new tyres and for some, new bikes. There will be a hangover or two in the pit lane, but the mechanics and riders have earned it this year.

MotoGPBlog Man of the Weekend: Casey Stoner. He was untouchable in Valencia and back to his old self. If the GP9 is as awesome as it sounds with it’s revolutionary carbon fibre frame, Rossi’s work will be cut out for his 9th title.

The Twitter predictions were way off with nobody predicting Stoner’s win, although many of us picked Rossi and Pedrosa to be on the podium. Lorenzo-lovers (MotoGPBlog included) were, however, sadly disappointed.

The action started early in this session. The usual pre-amble of finalising race settings before we get down the the business of actually qualifying was skipped, with several of the riders using a qualifier from very early on. The threat of rain looming over the circuit driving the teams to get a banker lap in quickly.

One rider that did not manage any sort of a representative lap time was Lorenzo, who returned to the pit after a couple of laps complaining of no feel from the rear tyre. So bad was it that the Yamaha engineers removed and re-fitted the entire rear suspension of the Lorenzo #1 bike. At the other end of the scale, Hayden was sitting at the top of the timing sheets with a 1:34.0, the American showing his bike control skills and dirt track heritage, sliding his Michelins on the power and on the downshift.

The rain did arrive, but was light and intermittent, not affecting the progress of the session. To prove the point, Hayden bettered his own pole time by a further 0.8 secs with a 1:33.2, and then again for a 1:32.4. Nicky is on it this weekend, in an effort to leave Honda with a great result. He has a habit of changing the graphic on the butt of his leathers - this weekend it reads “9 unforgettable years, thanks folks” with “years” in the HRC logo font and backed by the Honda wing.

Guintoli, Edwards and Pedrosa nudged the upper reaches of the times, the contrasting styles of Hayden and Pedrosa producing remarkably close times. Edwards in particular came closest to matching Hayden’s time, just 0.003 seconds behind the pole.

With 15 minutes to go, Stoner showed his hand and used a qualifier, pushing the pole down to 1:31.9, and a few minutes and a qualifier later improved again to 1:31.5, the eventual pole.

Missing from proceedings was Rossi. Unable to find a fast set-up with race or qualifying rubber he struggled to maintain a second-row position. Indeed, having used his qualifiers with 5 minutes left, he held 9th place and would only move backwards from there, ironically when Lorenzo finally managed to find some speed to claim 7th position. Incredibly, this means both of the Tech3 Yamahas have qualified above the factory Yamaha team for the first time this season.

Hayden and Pedrosa would go out again, the Spaniard getting within 0.05 of pole, Hayden a little slower but the pole was Stoner’s, and rightly so. Whether Casey has the endurance in his injured wrist to maintain race-winning pace tomorrow is in doubt. However, he has proven he has the pace over a lap. With the Yamaha’s struggling, Stoner injured and the Repsol boys on the front of the grid, it could be a Honda win tomorrow. Which Honda will take it?

A few of the Twitter-friends of MotoGPBlog have disclosed their predictions for the race this weekend. Here’s what they think:

DaveMinella: Pedrosa, Rossi, Hayden
Bridget_Newgirl: Rossi, Lorenzo, Hayden
Jonthelam: Rossi, Lorenzo, Stoner
Jasidog: Rossi, a Spaniard, Stoner (see Jasidog’s comment below)
Kchaux: Rossi, Stoner, Lorenzo
Rumblestrip: Lorenzo, Hayden, Rossi
pintoffuc: Lorenzo, Pedrosa, Rossi
Rodeobiker: Rossi, Pedrosa, Stoner (see Rodeobiker’s comment below)

And here’s MotoGPBlog’s shout: Lorenzo, Pedrosa, Rossi

The mean prediction is Rossi, Lorenzo, and Hayden, with Pedrosa bringing up a close 4th. What’s your call for the podium places?

The Biker Gene has analysed close finishes and winning margins over the last decade, and come to the conclusion that MotoGP is at its most boring for a decade. His analysis is hard to refute - winning margins have grown and the gaps between podium finishers have also increased.

Why? When MotoGP was in the 500cc two-stroke technology cul-de-sac, innovation was hard-fought and incremental in nature keeping team performance broadly similar, the rulebook remained roughly the same, and here was also no real tyre competition: Michelin ruled the roost. When the rules allowed four-stroke engines, suddenly a world of research and development opened up. Plus we also gained the disruptive technology of Bridgestone tyres, adding another variable into the mix. Inevitably, some manufacturers adapted better than others - initially Honda’s four-stroke, five cylinder machine was without doubt engineering nirvana in the first year of the four-strokes. Then Ducati aced them with the move to 800cc with their Desmo valve actuation and awesome power - and Bridgestone tyres. Honda no longer dominate and even now, Ducati have been usurped as the class leaders by Yamaha - brilliant!

So The Biker Gene is right in that winning margins have widened. More boring? No! Maybe if you found Rossi circulating in second place and then taking the win in the last couple of laps exciting, or you were excited to see Mick Doohan win … again, you will agree. I for one love the fact that we have had different bikes and riders winning the title in recent years. A period of stability in the rules will see Kawasaki and Suzuki begin to close the gap and bring their own innovations along to the party. Perhaps the one-make tyre rule will also help, and perhaps it won’t, but one thing is certain: we need more stability in the rules.

One final point - the winning margin for Rossi at Laguna this year was huge, yet it was the best race I can recall in the ten years under consideration. The statistics, as always, do not tell the full tale.

Extraordinary heat and humidity turns this race into a feat of endurance as much as skill. Ice packs on rider’s necks are a common sight here, anything to keep body temperature down in advance of the start.

From the lights out, three riders got extraordinary starts. Elias at the back of the grid, Nakano (strangely unable to get anything out of the qualifiers yesterday) from 15th and Pedrosa from pole. Whatever Pedrosa has in terms of launch technique, it gives him 5 or 6 metres lead in the first 30. Nakano’s start brings him right into contention with the front group, while Elias is later penalised for a jump start.

A leading group formed from the front rows of the grid, following a trouble-free first couple of turns: Pedrosa, Dovizioso (who had a merely very good start from the second row!), Rossi, Hayden, Stoner, Nakano and Lorenzo. By the end of the first lap, Rossi is in second, having a close tussle with Dovizioso through the last turn and getting him down the finish straight. Pedrosa has taken advantage of the delay caused and has opened a gap. Hayden, Stoner and Nakano are nose-to-tail.

Over the next few laps, Rossi catches and holds station behind Pedrosa. It is not easy for Rossi however, he has to work hard to make up the time to Dani. As this happens, Dovi falls back into the clutches of the Hayden/Stoner/Nakano battle.

For a while, it is like days of old on the 500’s and 990’s for Rossi, playing his old game of cat and mouse, watching his prey, assessing strengths and weaknesses. Further back, Nakano is giving Stoner problems to solve - perhaps his injured wrist is causing the Aussie problems? Nakano takes Stoner, only to be immediately passed back by the Ducati power on the straights. This scrap in turn allows Lorenzo to close up.

The Hayden/Dovizioso race starts to heat up on lap 9. Hayden is clearly able to lap faster than Dovizioso but is struggling to find a way past Dovi. The Italian is riding smoothly, slightly defensively, and is using the track to his advantage. As Hayden tries a move at T1, he runs wide and Dovi calmly rides away from him.

Lap 10, and Rossi passes Pedrosa at T9, the last hairpin on the lap. He fends off Pedrosa down the two long straights, and starts to gap the Spaniard. Seconds later, the other side of the Fiat Yamaha team garage is in despair as Lorenzo loses the front and gently slides off the track. He would later retire.

Dovi and Hayden are still at each other’s throats, and Stoner has towed Nakano up to the back of their battle. Suddenly, Hayden needs to think about defending his position as well as attacking the Italian rookie in front of him. Just behind them, Capirossi and Edwards are also closing to make a pack of six riders from third to eighth position on the track. Such is the nature of the race that within another lap the pack of six has split into three packs of two, Nakano still worrying Stoner and Hayden showing Dovi a wheel every now and again.

On lap 15, race control shows the riders the white flags, indicating that rain is falling on T5 - T7, one of the more fast and flowing sections of the track. As Rossi completes his first lap under white flags, there is no significant change to his lap time. The flags may have induced some hesitation in Stoner’s mind, as Nakano finally finds his way past and immediately arrives at the back of the Hayden/Dovi battle. Capirossi also closes right onto Stoner and start to threaten a move on the Ducati.

On lap 17 the storm that has been brewing between Hayden and Dovizioso climaxes. Hayden, sideways in T1 passes under Dovi, but runs wide as Dovi holds his line. The outside of T1 becomes the inside of T2, and Hayden has managed to keep his momentum and passes Dovi again, running him right out to the outside of the kerb on T3. Dovi is not done yet though - he block-passes Hayden into T4 and takes a wide line into T5. Hayden sees an opportunity to go back inside him, but just does not have the legs to put his bike where he wants it to be. Around T8, Hayden runs wide and Dovi clears off into the distance.

Up at the front, Rossi has built a four second gap to Pedrosa and is seemingly cruising to victory. In the final couple of laps Hayden catches Dovi again and looks for a way past, but to no avail, the young Italian gets his first podium in the premier class.

Rossi has time to wheelie over the line as he takes the chequered flag, the victory and his 150th GP podium. Pedrosa gets a worthy second and to the great appreciation of his team, Dovizioso fights his way to the third step.

MotoGPBlog Man of the Weekend: Undoubtedly Andrea Dovizioso, for the Hayden battle on what should be an inferior bike, and for keeping his cool to take the podium in the extreme heat of Malaysia.

A couple of sources in the paddock have provided details of the Bridgestone tyre proposals for 2009 in advance of the formal announcement later today. The FIM have already pronounced Bridgestone as sole tyre supplier this morning in Malaysia, and these proposals were distributed to the riders on Friday night. MotoGPBlog understands the proposals are as follows:

- 20 tyres per rider per weekend.
- the 20 tyres available consist of 8 fronts and 12 rear tyres.
- there will be two compounds available, split evenly across the 20 tyres.
- seven compounds in all will be made by Bridgestone, but only two will be available at any single weekend.
- only one carcass construction will be available.
- there will be a limit on the number of tyres available for testing.

The initial response of the riders to the one-make proposals was positive, they agreed that they would not oppose the rule, and indeed there was a positive approach by many riders that they would finally be getting Bridgestones. Following the briefing this weekend, this mood has changed to one of dissatisfaction. This stems from the lack of options available to them each weekend in 2009 compared to their options now. It is very much a case of “be careful what you wish for”.

Secondly, the limit on the testing tyres will severely limit the number of testing sessions, and who can take part. MotoGPBlog believes this restriction may be as low as 150 tyres per manufacturer per season (as reported on Eurosport on Saturday) in which case only the factory riders in each team will get any testing of any significance whatsoever. Bridgestone may be forced to increase this limit, but this may indicate why Qatar and Sepang winter tests are likely to be axed, and why the Valencia test this year has been largely curtailed.

Why are Bridgestone making so few tyres available to the teams? It is a question of cost. Bridgestone will not receive any funding from the teams, the FIM or Dorna for the supply of the tyres, the tyres are supplied at Bridgestone’s cost entirely. There was no competing bid for the supply, so what Bridgestone offered is what the Grand Prix Commission have had to accept, and is what the teams must make do with.

It will be a brave new world for the riders and teams in 2009, and yet another year in which the ground rules have significantly changed. It will have a profound influence on the performance of the teams and the riders’ race results; the riders able to get the best out the rubber available through setting up their chassis and suspension will be the ones getting the results.

Mid-morning rain, between FP3 and qualifying practice, put the cat among the pigeons for the riders today. At the end of FP3, Kawasaki and Ant West put a move on the rest of the field by sending him out with a qualifier to head the timing sheets. Why? If the weather caused cancellation of the qualifying practice, the convention is to use the FP3 times to form the grid.

As it was, the rain was not severe enough to interrupt the session when it came, and had finished it’s work before the start of the session. As a result, the majority of the session was about finding the set-up for the likely rain for the race tomorrow. Nakano, Stoner, Rossi and Hayden looked good in the wet part of the session, but some did not bother seriously running in the wettest part of the session, the first 35 minutes. Hopkins, Pedrosa and Edwards all chose this route, taking a gamble that the race will be dry tomorrow. As this was the first wet session of the weekend, they may be right. If the rain comes again before 13:00 local time tomorrow, however, they will pay.

The track began to visibly dry in the final 20 minutes, and the times tumbled. It seemed like almost everyone had a turn at the top of the timing sheet, and a turn at the bottom. The real business of the session was completed in the final, frantic six minutes when each rider across the line seemed to set a new pole time. Rossi set the first of the real benchmarks with a 2:02.5, completing his fast lap as Lorenzo, Hayden, Pedrosa and Stoner were having their final qualifiers fitted.

Stoner mis-timed his pit and tyre change, and did not make it out in time to complete his out lap before the chequered flag, and as a result finds himself in 7th place.

When the flag is raised, around 14 riders are on a fast lap. The sector times point towards a battle between Yamahas and Hondas for the front row. Rossi is first back across the finish line on another hot lap and beats his own time with a 2:01.957. Did he make a qualifier last a full two hot laps, or was he running a very soft race tyre? Edwards bangs in an exceptional lap to take second, before he is punted from that spot by Lorenzo with a 2:02.1.

Then the Repsol Hondas come across the line. Hayden displaces Edwards in third with another 2:02.1 and all eyes turn to Pedrosa, two tenths up at the final split and increasing this advantage to four tenths over the line for a staggering fastest qualifying lap of 2:01.548 beating pole for last year. He seems to have mastered the transition to Bridgestones.

Sepang’s first two corners are crucial on the first lap tomorrow. The riders will arrive at speed with relatively cold brakes and rubber and attempt to get around a slow right hander of over 180 degrees, followed immediately by a switch to the other side of a cold tyre for a left-handed hairpin. The likelihood of some sort of a crash in these first two corners is exceedingly high, and as a result it is essential, more than any other circuit on the calendar, to be at the front of the grid to be clear of any trouble. Would you want to be on the outside of Lorenzo or Pedrosa given their recent propsensity for becoming airborne, let alone de Puniet? Roll on tomorrow.

This was a staccato session for the riders in the Malaysian afternoon. Threatening to rain throughout the session, the weather made good on it’s promise briefly, in the middle of the session, bringing everyone in to the pits for a few minutes. As a result the action, such as it was, was compressed into the latter 25 minutes of the hour.

Nakano held the fastest time for the the majority of the session, before Rossi took the lead within the last minute of the session. He held this position for all of 20 seconds before Stoner snatched the top position away from him. Stoner’s lap was slower than Rossi after the first two sectors, but ominously for the rest of the field, the Ducati rider made the time up and more in the third sector.

Edwards, having been knocking around in the top five or six places, popped up to the top of the charts, sufficiently fast to fend off Rossi’s last attempt before the flag went out, the final order being Edwards, Rossi and Stoner. Also surprisingly fast, Nakano looked like he meant business, not falling off the pace as usual but maintaining 4th position.

For those following the Honda debacle, Pedrosa 6th with Hayden 10th. For once, Melandri out-performed the satellite Ducatis in 14th, with Elias and Guintoli immediately behind him. Tail-end Charlie was wildcard Aoiki on the third Suzuki. Incidentally, the Suzuki’s are sporting a revised exhaust system this weekend, although it appears to be doing little to assist their relative performance.

In conclusion, Nakano looks to be determined to make the most of his last races on the Honda, and could be a contender for a podium this weekend. Aside from this Rossi, Stoner, Lorenzo are all up there as expected, with Pedrosa with work to do to be challenging the front runners. Edwards, despite his fast laps, is unlikely given his recent form to remain at the front. If you like a flutter, it may be worth a ten-spot for him to reach the podium, but you’d be braver than me to take that bet.