JetBlack5OC

I saw that race live. I think it could be the best motorcycle race I have ever seen. Rossi is god on two wheels and no one rides the Ducati like Stoner. Laguna Seca can really put on some good races, especially with the bikes. MotoGP is fantastic to watch. It is hard to watch Hayden struggle so much, that Ducati was trying to kill him earlier in the season.

Motorcycle racing is most likely the most exciting form of racing to watch. Nothing like it, the guys are risking their life every lap.

I have also been watching World Superbike closely this season. I am a big Ben Spies fan. No one can match his speed on the superbikes. He has just had some bad luck in a couple races. Now with Haga taking a big spill last race, Ben could take over the championship.

Ben could easily be moving to MotoGP next season. But Yamaha has two of fastest riders on their team, Rossi and Lorenzo. May not be room for him.

Agree the F1 season this year is pathetic. Luckily the Red Bull team has made it somewhat interesting.

pigapumbu

Ah.. a man who loves his bike racing.

Too right about yamaha having two top racers. Young man Lorenzo and experienced Rossi. Rossi is God on the bike like you said and I love his attitude to racing. Always smiling, always a duel to the end, always loved by the crowd. No excuses but just gets the job done. Not like our prima-donnas over in F1 where some think they are Greatest despite a lack of skill.

I didn't realise Haga went down. Must swtich over and see whats happening in that series. Thanks for the mention about haga.

I feel even after Rossi leaves racing, there will always be thrills from the likes of Lorenzo. I think he has a good chance of spoiling Rossi's parade. Have you ever wondered what would it be like is Rossi was on a ducatti? Still can't understand the engine design of that bike.

I must put my hands up and say I haven't followed bike racing a lot but what got me into it was watching Freddie Spencer and Wayne Gardner. (eddie lawson too) The battles they had got me hooked then but F1 has always been my passion.... well until the rules killed it off for me.

cheers

PS: forgot to ask, have you watched any IOM TT races on the telly? Now thats just Incredible. [ ]

MiamiPhill

Alex Zanardi actually went from F1 (where he raced as Alessandro Zanardi) to CART, back to F1 (as Alex) then back to CART where he had the accident.
I am not sure I would put him these 2.....his aggression, skill, and relentless driving style is similar to what I see in successful F1 drivers, the pass above is an example. Equipment counts for a lot in F1.....this year is a prime example.

JetBlack5OC

I very much agree with you. Having the right equipment is huge when driving in F1. Put Schumi in the Arrows, Jordan, or Minardi. He would have never won a single race, let alone struggle to score any points. Some drivers do make the most of it, like Vettel last year in the Torro Rosso (which actually was a fairly quick package).

Zanardi was my favorite driver growing up, because of his aggressive nature. He was an animal on the track, but a great guy off the track. Frank Williams and Chip did a driver swap, which is actually how Montoya ended up in CART (I quickly became a Montoya fan, because he also has an aggressive driving style). Zanardi drove William's cars when they were terrible. It is a shame he didn't get to show case his true talents in F1. I still remember the day of Zanardi's wreck, when he lost his legs. What a terrible thing to happen to such a great person. He has never let his disabilities ever hold him back, he is still tearing it up with hand controls.

pigapumbu

Actually Schumi was in a car like the Arrows, Jordon or Minardi as you put it. Ask any F1 fan and they will tell you that when Schumi moved to ferrari, that was a bum of a car. Despite that handicap, MS used his skill to do the best he could with it... and we just have to check the points stats when he moved to ferrari that year (1996). I think you will see that if there was any driver that could nick a win here or there with a crap car, it would have been MS.

Also check the year when Schumi joined jordon and note the difference in positions between MS and the guy he replaced mid season. 1st race and qualifies 7th.

I give credit where its due.

cheers

swajames

In that case, you'll no doubt want to give due credit to your good friend Mr Hamilton who qualified fourth and finished third in his debut race

MiamiPhill

As I have said before in this thread, M.S. was one of F1's greatest drivers, this is fact.
The 1996 Ferrari was NOT 'a bum of a car'.......it was not the best car on the grid, but it was not a 'crap car'.....this is also fact.

In 1996 the Ferrari F310 was driven by Michael Schumacher & Eddie Irvine, it was an unreliable car but still quite quick. An unreliable car (if all goes well) can be massaged to the finish line, but a true pig wins nothing, no matter who is doing the driving.

Constructors' Championship:- 2nd (105 points behind the Williams but still 2nd)
Drivers Championship:- 3rd (by M.S. behind the 2 Williams drivers)
Poles:-3
Wins:- 3
Podiums:-9
Top 5 finishes:-13
Top 4 Qualifying:-18
Fastest Lap:-2

JetBlack5OC

Exactly. The Ferrari was never as bad as lets say the Minardi cars in early 2000's. Those cars were absolute trash. No one could win in those cars, not even the F1 god Senna.

pigapumbu

Yes. It was a quick car but not up to standard as the williams. That together with a car not so great in handling, heavy on the tyre wear and the reliability issue, ... MS managed to win and still excite. His advantage came in the wet though. Unlike Lewis who can't seem to capitalise in the wet with his "dog" of a car. Vettel is given his car two years ago would have made better use of it,... but thats my opinion.

Not to drag this on, the ferrari were mid players when schumi climbed into the seat. Granted it wasn't a minardi but it was easily a Jordon standard. To make up for the disadvantage, he gave us qualifying times in the race, unheard pitstop strategies, brialliant driving, which kept me at the edge of my seat without fail.

It was the greatest partnership.. Ferrari, Jean Todt, MS, Brawn, Engine designer (retired now), and Rory Bryne.

cheers

MiamiPhill

And all he did was match the 2 time & defending World Champion on points and was 1 point behind the winner.

Nor was it down to the standard of

McLaren-Mercedes
Jordan-Peugeot
Ligier-Mugen-Honda
Sauber-Ford
Tyrrell-Yamaha
Footwork-Hart
Minardi-Ford
Forti-Ford
as you would have us believe.

Also, in the 4 years prior to the arrival of Brawn, Bryne, M.S. & the core of Benetton's engineers in 1996, Ferrari never finished worst than 4th in the Constructors Championship, 3rd in 94 & 95 (with 'stellar' drivers Jean Alesi, Ivan Capelli & Gerhard Berger).....I think the boys at Jordan would have been shocked to know they were on par with Ferrari.
In 1995 Alesi & Berger finished 5th & 6th in the Championship behind Benetton & Williams.
They had:-
Poles-1
Wins-1
Podiums-11
Top 4 Qualifying-16
Top 5 Finishes- 17
Fastest Lap-3
So spin all you want, Ferrari of that time period was way above average.