MotoGP 2015

[Reckless]

Yeah but anyone that's had a nasty hand/finger injury will tell you the whole hand hurts to even use it

True Kudos to him if he gives it a go but he might make more points over the season if he doesn't aggravate it by racing in 4 days??
Sometimes lifes luck goes your way sometimes it doesn't he has a real excuse not to have to win the championship now.
Mind you who knows who's going to fall off over the next few races. Honda must be feeling it with two riders out?
Let him ride I say and bring back Casey that way they'll have two top 10+ riders as a patch up till MM and Pedro are fit.

That just put the ball squarely in Rossi and Dovi's Court at this stage of the season. Love to see him get 10 but that Duc worries me, it looks solid as

[Crasherfromwayback]

Yeah the diagonal spiral fracture of the thumb was dosey.
Fortunately the invention of bushbars saved more pain - I remember having to pull a half inch splinter out of thefirst joint of my stink finger. The relief when it came out was orgasmic...

LOl. I bet! I thought bark busters seemed like a great idea till a mate of mine that had them fitted went over the bars and snapped his forearm clean in half.

[Crasherfromwayback]

True Kudos to him if he gives it a go but he might make more points over the season if he doesn't aggravate it by racing in 4 days??
Sometimes lifes luck goes your way sometimes it doesn't he has a real excuse not to have to win the championship now.
Mind you who knows who's going to fall off over the next few races. Honda must be feeling it with two riders out?
Let him ride I say and bring back Casey that way they'll have two top 10+ riders as a patch up till MM and Pedro are fit.

That just put the ball squarely in Rossi and Dovi's Court at this stage of the season. Love to see him get 10 but that Duc worries me, it looks solid as

That's the sport of motorcycle racing for ya eh! And as much as I'd love to see Stoner ride/race a GP bike again...until he's done enough practice/training, I'd hate to see it. He belongs at the front not just inside the top ten. Long season though...only a fool would rule MM out this early.

[Reckless]

That's the sport of motorcycle racing for ya eh! And as much as I'd love to see Stoner ride/race a GP bike again...until he's done enough practice/training, I'd hate to see it. He belongs at the front not just inside the top ten. Long season though...only a fool would rule MM out this early.

True and when MM's going well he's still 1/4 to 1/2 Sec faster than anyone else

Secondly Stoners placing might be exaggerated by the placings of the likes of Crutchlow/Smith who are having some success with their rides atm.
He should he been doing some serious riding I reckon, not like he's not familiar with the Honda from his testing?
I'm not really a Stoner fan, I don't think he has the passion and he brings a tension to the paddock but I'd love to see him in the mix for his riding ability.
Mind you, he might find it a different atmosphere the way it has been the last couple seasons?
Honda should have given him a go but hindsight's always 20/20 Aye??

[BMWST?]

Had pins put into 3 of my finger bones on my left hand, ( Fukin car drivers in my road riding days) and it hurts like fuk, but a top 5 will still be reasonably easy for his talent

fixt 10chars

[pritch]

Marc Márquez: Valentino Rossi was my hero, now it’s a pleasure to fight with him

Marc Marquez
Even on a sleepy morning in Cardedeu, a village near Barcelona, Marc Márquez is on a roll. The MotoGP world champion and Valentino Rossi, his former idol turned rival, are set for one of the sporting stories of the year. A battle between Márquez, who has won the title in both his two completed MotoGP seasons, and the rejuvenated Rossi, a six-times championship winner, is fuelled by brilliance, charisma, controversy and drama.

Márquez finished 35 points clear of Rossi last year, having begun with 10 straight wins, but this season is different. The 22-year-old Spanish sensation trails The Doctor, the 36-year-old Rossi, by 30 points. In three GPs so far, Rossi has won two and Márquez one, with the last race marked by their collision as the young champion crashed on the penultimate lap in Argentina. This Sunday, at the Spanish GP, Márquez and Rossi, who regard each other as kindred spirits, are expected to ramp up the intensity of a simmering duel.

Yet last Saturday, a day after this interview, Márquez fractured the little finger on his left hand while training on a dirt track. Minor surgery followed, with a titanium plate being fixed on to the finger to give him the best opportunity of racing at Jerez. Stressing that his left hand is less important when riding, Márquez remains confident he will be fit enough to race.

In Cardedeu, Márquez jumps off a ridiculously tiny 100cc bike and removes his gloves and helmet. He runs a hand through his hair, to ensure he still looks cool, and grins at the admirers rushing towards him. Márquez then flips through a countless series of selfies with smitten girls and middle-aged men.

Some of the men have won a competition to share a karting track with their hero. Márquez starts each “race” near the back and flick-flacks his small bike through the field until he shares the lead with the best amateur, always allowing an ordinary man to take the chequered flag. Even the most grizzled spectators, old bikers who need a stick to walk rather than being allowed on a motorbike, are as besotted as the girls pleading for a photograph. Márquez slips into the same routine every time, wrapping an arm around his latest fan, using his other hand to offer a thumbs-up while flashing a smile. When supporters behind a fence chant his name, Márquez runs across to them. He climbs the fence and leans over so his face can beam into yet more mobiles.

Finally, we retreat to a roof terrace. Márquez grins again when I suggest that, deep down, he must feel numbed by all the fevered strangers and selfies. He looks like he has stepped out of a boy band but there is an intelligent agility to his reply. “Of course the worst place for the most attention, and the best place too, because you feel the support, is in Spain. It’s very strong. Very intense. You also get it in Italy, France, Argentina. If you have the supporters it means you are racing fast. I understand.”

Márquez has been called “arrogant” and “insufferable” for he is young, rich and outrageously gifted. Yet he applies himself to this interview with charm and thoughtfulness. He also does not sidestep the fact some people in Spain, where MotoGP is second only to football, have turned against him, accusing him of tax-avoidance. Their disdain has unsettled Márquez.

Rossi has been even more feted in Italy and yet he was also stung by criticism and huge demands for unpaid tax at the height of his celebrity. But before we reach this more complicated terrain Márquez remembers the innocent bond that first linked him to Rossi.

Marc Márquez became the youngest ever MotoGP world champion when he won the 2013 title aged just 20.
Marc Márquez became the youngest ever MotoGP world champion when he won the 2013 title aged just 20. Photograph: Heino Kalis/Reuters
“When I was a small boy I had many Valentino Rossi motorbike models,” Márquez says. “I was a big fan. I like the way he rides the bike, the way he is off the bike too. Valentino was my reference, my hero and it is now a pleasure to fight with him.”

Márquez and Rossi relish “the fight” as much as the thrill of racing. “Definitely,” Márquez says, “Valentino and me have a similar mentality. When you have a fight you enjoy the race. One of the most beautiful things on the bike is the overtaking and we both like that – and winning. That’s why this season is very interesting because Valentino [on a Yamaha] is at a good level and I will come back strong [on his previously dominant Repsol Honda]. The Ducatis are also there.”

The depth of Márquez’s talent is obvious but sceptics have wondered if his impudent romp through MotoGP had been due more to Honda’s overwhelming superiority. Now Yamaha have closed the gap, Márquez will be tested. In Argentina he was put under immense pressure by the Italian wizard who devoured Márquez’s initial lead. They swapped positions a couple of times and then, as Rossi moved to the right to set himself up for a slide to the left, Márquez misjudged the hairpin. He hit Rossi’s rear and tumbled across the track at speed – leaving his foe a clear winner.

“We took a different strategy using soft tyres,” Márquez shrugs, acknowledging his fault. “For some reason our bike was not using the hard tyres well. With the hard tyre it might only be possible to finish on the podium but my thinking does not change. I want to win. So we go with the softer one. It was working with two laps to go … but Valentino was faster at the end. I still tried to beat him.”

Márquez spreads his hands and smiles, like a kid caught out in a prank. “My mentality is always to win. I never think, ‘OK I might want to finish second.’ But I can improve and maybe in the race I can adjust better.”

This is the closest Márquez comes to admitting that, sometimes, a podium finish is preferable to a devilish tilt at an unlikely victory. He is brilliant enough to conjure up such wins but a renewed Rossi presents a new challenge. Will Márquez, fifth in the championship, feel under increased pressure at Jerez?

One of the most beautiful things on the bike is the overtaking and we both like that – and winning
Marc Márquez
“In one way I feel less pressure. I am 30 points behind so now the only thing I can do is improve and win. It’s the same if you are 30 or 80 points behind. You just have to win.”

There must be a chance the warmth between him and Rossi will turn icy as the season tightens? “I don’t think so,” Márquez says. “I definitely hope not. But of course if we’re fighting for the championship at the end then the relationship can have more tension. But last year I went to visit Valentino on his ranch. It’s good between us.”

His interaction with other riders can be spikier. A return to Jerez is a reminder of how, in his first Spanish GP, he collided with Jorge Lorenzo on the turn named after his countryman. Márquez was on his way to becoming the youngest MotoGP world champion. Lorenzo, who won the title in 2010 and 2012, is five years older than Márquez. He has not enjoyed racing the risk-taking tyro. Does Lorenzo actually dislike him?

“We were fighting for the championship and the tension was there,” Márquez admits. “He’s not like a friend. We don’t go for dinner or a drink. We do not have a very good relationship. But it’s OK, it’s professional.”

The last time Márquez was stretched was in 2011. In his first Moto2 season there was parity between the bikes and he lost the title by one point. “It was tough but you have to remember that after six races I was 83 points behind and I came back strong. Then I have a bad crash in Malaysia. It was a stupid crash on the first practice day. We arrive in one corner and it was the only wet part of the track. Normally they move the flags – but we four riders crash.

“I have five months with double vision. That was difficult because the doctors keep saying, ‘We are trying to manage this but we’re not sure you can continue with your career.’ I was worried and the feeling was strange. There was no pain. But every time you open your eyes you have double vision. We take a risk and have the operation. It worked well.”

Márquez rides a MotoGP bike like no one else. Mat Oxley, the motorsport journalist, has written eloquently about the way Márquez has his “bike jumping around, front and rear tyres leaving smears of rubber on the Tarmac, like a Morse code SOS. Meanwhile he is perched on top, muscles tensing and relaxing as he counteracts the forces by adjusting pressure through hands, feet and backside, all the while twitching his upper body this way and that to transfer load from one tyre to the other. It’s a delicate yet vicious show – Márquez is somewhere between ballet dancer and wrestler.”

Dani Pedrosa, his injured team-mate, suggests, “Marc always rides at the limit – it seems like he’s crashing all the time but he’s not crashing.”

Márquez uses his elbows as much as his knees to maintain his blurring balance. It was such a startling technique on the track he had to have special sliders made out of magnesium rather than plastic to strap to his elbows. “I shocked lots of people,” he says. “Before me no one use their elbows. Now everyone does. It’s incredible. You can go to a circuit like this and see children using their elbows. Maybe in seven years some kid will use their shoulder or helmet! If I’m enjoying racing the balance comes easily.”

He did not enjoy the disquiet last year when 50,000 people signed a petition urging his sponsors to withdraw after it was alleged he had moved to Andorra to avoid paying tax in austerity-ridden Spain. “I was hurt and for me the worst was people speaking without the right information. They imagine bad things about me but the only thing I did was buy a house and make the correct steps. The last four years I go to Andorra for winter conditioning. I used to stay in a hotel but now I buy a house. That’s all.”

So there is no truth in the story he is now domiciled in Andorra? “No, no. I am still living in Spain. That has not changed. I am still paying my taxes. Of course you never know in the future. If you asked me five years ago I could not imagine the life I have now.”

This might leave space for Márquez to move – just as other riders live in tax-friendly Switzerland but the experience was sufficiently scarring for Márquez to shed tears at a press conference. “I was also thinking about the double vision. It was the pressure of the moment but when I start thinking about my injury it was too much. I’m still learning on the track but also in life. We must remember I am only 22. I need to learn many things about life.”

He has learnt that assumptions and judgments will be made by people who have never met him. “Sometimes you would like it to be different but I still love this life. It was my dream when I was young. The circuit is what I expected but you don’t expect the life outside. I still keep the same friends but it’s impossible not to change your life.”

Márquez smiles with boyish charm; but he answers instantly when asked if he expects to win a third successive championship ahead of Rossi. “Of course,” he says before adding some more telling words. “I will believe that until the points say it is impossible. But Valentino will be very determined. He knows this could be his last chance. I will fight with him right to the end.”

[roogazza]

Marquez And Pedrosa To Try To Ride At Jerez?
Mon, 2015-04-27 12:28
It appears that both Marc Marquez and Dani Pedrosa will attempt to ride at Jerez this weekend. Dani Pedrosa will get his first chance to ride a MotoGP bike after having radical surgery to cure a persistent arm pump problem, while Marc Marquez has just had surgery to plate a broken proximal phalanx in the little finger of his left hand. Speaking to the Italian website GPOne.com, HRC Team Principal Livio Suppo said that he expected both riders to be present at Jerez, and to test their fitness during practice on Friday.

ps last minute thought,anybody been to Misano and can recommend nearby hotels they've stayed in ?

[pritch]

Pedrosa says he will not be at Jerez, he is not ready. Aoyama who will be there for Monday's testing will ride. Unless Honda or Stoner change their mind. At least Stoner knows Jerez, unlike CotA or Argentina.

[leenok]

Hi, does anyone know the Sky times for this weekend, I can't seem to find it on the Sky website?

Cheers

Lee

[puddytat]

Hi, does anyone know the Sky times for this weekend, I can't seem to find it on the Sky website?

Cheers

Lee

I think it clashes with the Indian cricket league, so isn't being shown 'till next Thursday....

[roogazza]

Ch 55. 8.45pm 3 May. Jerez.........

oh and BSB Monday night late,midnight or just after.

That's looking at the Skywatch mag , something I hardly ever bother with. (I tend to rely on the Elect program Sky button.)

[steveyb]

Lord help all you SKY subscribers when the Darts world series starts up in Auckland this year....

[pritch]

Hi, does anyone know the Sky times for this weekend, I can't seem to find it on the Sky website?

Cheers

Lee

If you go to the SKY TV Guide on the web and search "Moto GP" - with a space - you will find what they have. Whatever that is, I'm still working it out.

A search for "MotoGP" - no space - will give a "no results" answer.

[BMWST?]

Lord help all you SKY subscribers when the Darts world series starts up in Auckland this year....

no worries the have so many sport channels now,wont miss it

[BMWST?]

Hi, does anyone know the Sky times for this weekend, I can't seem to find it on the Sky website?

Cheers

Lee

sky sport 6(pop up chanel) saturday 2 may 10 25 pm Qualifying

sky sport 6 Sunday 8 pm Race.

There is also something showing up at 6 am on saturday morning...more qualifying?

http://www.skytv.co.nz/tv-guide-sear...arch=moto%20gp