MotoGP ASSEN Spoiler Thread...

[TLR67]

First Practice session in Holland about to begin.... Should be good considering Spies won Both SBK Races there last year!!

[TLR67]

Looks to be a Barn Burner Again!!!

1 99 Jorge LORENZO SPA Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha 290.6 1'35.169
2 27 Casey STONER AUS Ducati Team Ducati 297.3 1'35.180 0.011 / 0.011
3 69 Nicky HAYDEN USA Ducati Team Ducati 297.9 1'35.686 0.517 / 0.506
4 5 Colin EDWARDS USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 283.9 1'35.699 0.530 / 0.013
5 4 Andrea DOVIZIOSO ITA Repsol Honda Team Honda 290.5 1'35.868 0.699 / 0.169
6 26 Dani PEDROSA SPA Repsol Honda Team Honda 292.0 1'35.922 0.753 / 0.054
7 41 Aleix ESPARGARO SPA Pramac Racing Team Ducati 299.7 1'35.927 0.758 / 0.005
8 11 Ben SPIES USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 296.1 1'35.942 0.773 / 0.015
9 58 Marco SIMONCELLI ITA San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 278.1 1'36.002 0.833 / 0.060
10 33 Marco MELANDRI ITA San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 302.1 1'36.269 1.100 / 0.267
11 14 Randy DE PUNIET FRA LCR Honda MotoGP Honda 298.8 1'36.294 1.125 / 0.025
12 40 Hector BARBERA SPA Paginas Amarillas Aspar Ducati 283.6 1'36.735 1.566 / 0.441
13 65 Loris CAPIROSSI ITA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki 281.8 1'36.786 1.617 / 0.051
14 36 Mika KALLIO FIN Pramac Racing Team Ducati 297.1 1'37.261 2.092 / 0.475
15 19 Alvaro BAUTISTA SPA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki 281.8 1'37.384 2.215 / 0.123
16 64 Kousuke AKIYOSHI JPN Interwetten Honda MotoGP Honda 271.3 1'41.332

[TLR67]

FP2 Melandri had a wicked Highside in a run off in 7.. Dislocated should and he is out... You have to atch the video... He almost saved it then BAM to the Moon he went.. Spies up to 4th... Qualifying in a couple hours!!

1 99 Jorge LORENZO SPA Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha 295.3 1'34.769
2 27 Casey STONER AUS Ducati Team Ducati 298.6 1'35.088 0.319 / 0.319
3 26 Dani PEDROSA SPA Repsol Honda Team Honda 291.0 1'35.451 0.682 / 0.363
4 11 Ben SPIES USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 303.1 1'35.518 0.749 / 0.067
5 69 Nicky HAYDEN USA Ducati Team Ducati 309.2 1'35.576 0.807 / 0.058
6 14 Randy DE PUNIET FRA LCR Honda MotoGP Honda 304.2 1'35.598 0.829 / 0.022
7 4 Andrea DOVIZIOSO ITA Repsol Honda Team Honda 289.6 1'35.626 0.857 / 0.028
8 41 Aleix ESPARGARO SPA Pramac Racing Team Ducati 299.7 1'35.640 0.871 / 0.014
9 58 Marco SIMONCELLI ITA San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 286.9 1'35.965 1.196 / 0.325
10 65 Loris CAPIROSSI ITA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki 284.4 1'36.177 1.408 / 0.212
11 5 Colin EDWARDS USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 298.1 1'36.224 1.455 / 0.047
12 33 Marco MELANDRI ITA San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 312.3 1'36.297 1.528 / 0.073
13 40 Hector BARBERA SPA Paginas Amarillas Aspar Ducati 286.6 1'36.388 1.619 / 0.091
14 36 Mika KALLIO FIN Pramac Racing Team Ducati 297.9 1'36.944 2.175 / 0.556
15 19 Alvaro BAUTISTA SPA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki 292.6 1'37.190 2.421 / 0.246
16 64 Kousuke AKIYOSHI JPN Interwetten Honda MotoGP Honda 285.8 1'39.379 4.610 / 2.

[dzone]

Jorge on pole.

1 Jorge Lorenzo Fiat Yamaha Yamaha 1:34.515
2 Randy De Puniet LCR Honda Honda 1:34.797
3 Casey Stoner Ducati Marlboro Ducati 1:34.803
4 Ben Spies Tech 3 Yamaha Yamaha 1:34.926
5 Nicky Hayden Ducati Marlboro Ducati 1:34.999
6 Andrea Dovizioso Repsol Honda Honda 1:35.015
7 Dani Pedrosa Repsol Honda Honda 1:35.162
8 Marco Simoncelli San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 1:35.283
9 Colin Edwards II Tech 3 Yamaha Yamaha 1:35.393
10 Aleix Espargaro Pramac Racing Ducati 1:35.593
11 Loris Capirossi Rizla Suzuki Suzuki 1:35.664
12 Alvaro Bautista Rizla Suzuki Suzuki 1:36.344
13 Mika Kallio Pramac Racing Ducati 1:36.502
14 Hector Barbera Paginas Amarillas Aspar Ducati 1:36.569
15 Kousuke AKIYOSHI Interwetten Honda MotoGP Honda 1:38.198
16 Marco Melandri San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda DNQ

[jkhonea]

Ben and Nicky are looking to have one helluva year. Now we just need Edwards to pick it up. I'm tempted to call another podium for Ben.

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[dzone]

BTW bears to point out this race is saturday not the usual sunday and @ 9:30 am on speed. Yes I know there are other ways to watch it.

[wallypiper]

Yep. Moto2 set to go right now.

38 bikes on the grid

[wallypiper]

Another 1st place runaway but another good battle for the podium. Watch out for Tom Luthi. He's climbing into the points race and Tomizawa is fading. Iannone has matched Elias two first place finishes and would be near the top if he did better in the races he didn't win. One of the great things about this class is that you don't know from week to week who will be in the top group. Last week, Elias was mid pack and Iannone was behind him. This week, Iannone disappeared in first. And then there's turn 1. Turn 1 is always a great show.

[wallypiper]

I'm sold. Time to give Spies a shot on Rossi's bike. He's riding with the aliens on a satellite bike. I think he'd be on the podium every week with the factory Yamaha. Amazing. But I don't think he'll beat Lorenzo. Lorenzo puts seconds on the pack but looks like he's hardly trying. The guys behind him are sliding an bucking to catch up and Lorenzo just seems to be cruising. Is the bike that much better or is he?

[Mongo]

He is that much better on that bike :D I know it's a non answer but it's the combo that has to be working right for it to look that easy. Ben is fine where he is right now. Everything he does on a satellite team just adds to his draw and he can relax a little more because he knows his bike just can't hang with those guys.

[wallypiper]

It's true but that other Fiat Yamaha is just sitting, parked, waiting for His Highness to come back. Why not let Ben have a go on it for a couple of rounds while the champ heals up? At Silverstone, I though "yeah he did great but the track was an equalizer because none of the other riders had been there before." This time, Assen, most of the grid has ridden Assen dozens of times, some of them probably thousands of laps in one class or another. Spies was there last year on a superbike but as far as I know that's the only time he's ridden there. Of course, Assen looks a little like a jackrabbit running across the prairie. Maybe Ben likes jackrabbit shaped tracks.

[jkhonea]

And Mongo can correct me if I'm wrong, but by the newer rules, Ben still can't ride a factory bike yet, can he? Was trying to remember if he had to ride a full season or set amount of races before being allowed to ride a factory bike.

[wallypiper]

I think they should make an exception. I just would love to see him on a top of the heap machine at Catalunya. I'd be willing to bet he'd qualify on the front row and be the leader of the chasing pack. I don't know that he could pass Lorenzo, but I bet he'd be ahead of everybody else. It'd just be great to see, rules, rider development, career management etc be damned.

[jkhonea]

I think they should make an exception. I just would love to see him on a top of the heap machine at Catalunya. I'd be willing to bet he'd qualify on the front row and be the leader of the chasing pack. I don't know that he could pass Lorenzo, but I bet he'd be ahead of everybody else. It'd just be great to see, rules, rider development, career management etc be damned.

Completely agree, I'd love to see him on the full factory machine. But I do think I get what Mongo is saying. A season on a lesser machine and pulling excellent results will only make him that much better when he does move on to a full factory ride. Lorenzo really does show himself to be developing into a force to be reckoned with. Spies will have his hands full.

[Mongo]

I think he's on the bubble for legality but when Yamaha looked like they were going to bring it up with the FIM the other teams kind of freaked. That and he really has something going with Tech 3 so it would be bad to mess that up for a temp ride in the middle of the season. The other teams arguing against it just on rumors in the paddock does reinforce my wanting to call it the Ben Spies rule :D

I definitely think he'll be ahead in the mind game next year because of his results on what is obviously a slower machine. Looks very likely it'll be him and Lorenzo on Fiat with Rossi going to Ducati.

[wallypiper]

That's the scuttlebutt. Do you think Rossi would stay at Yamaha if they want him to? What's Spies deal with them? Does it go beyond this year? He might get some pretty good offers if he's free to move.

[Mongo]

Ben has a contract with Yamaha already for next year, it was a 2 year deal so he's riding for them already and will next year. Which team hasn't been said yet but it's pretty obvious he'll go to Fiat even if it's a 3rd bike deal. His deal is different than Colins since Colin is contracted to Tech3

On Rossi - no idea. All I know on that is what I've read but it seems like money wouldn't be a motivation (although evidently Marlboro said name your price) and loyalty to country, a challenge with a new bike, things like that would be more to it. Overall, he does seem pretty loyal but it's not like he's been a one brand his entire career kind of guy so his loyalty is on a smaller scale. He's an interesting kid for sure.