MotoGP & petrolhead chit-chat

[bluenosey]

Podium today for Cal

Last time an Englishman made the podium I was studying for my A Levels

[bluenosey]

The Daytona 500 tomorrow and Danica has put it on pole

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/motorsport/21547878

She'll need some help though if she's to win it. NASCAR is a great spectacle but any newbies may note that not a fat lot tends to happen in the first 100 odd laps.

PS Always some good odds available each way for anyone fancying a flutter.

[murf]

The Daytona 500 tomorrow and Danica has put it on pole

Didn't know she was in the tin-tops

Should have all the rednecks dribbling

[Mystery]

The Daytona 500 tomorrow and Danica has put it on pole

Didn't know she was in the tin-tops

Should have all the rednecks dribbling

She's started a not-at-all-fake-attention-getting relationship with another driver too.

Any Indycar fans from four or five years ago will remember Danica-cam - an unofficial "feature" of every race where we got to spend inappropriate amounts of time watching the race for last-but-one just because Danica's there.

Suspect tomorrows coverage will be familiar to many.

[Mystery]

Developing story right now about 6-10 spectators injured in tonight's secondary series event at Daytona. Twitter reports of a fatality too after a car took off broke the catch fencing sending an engine and a wheel into the stands. Still very early sketchy news though

[Mystery]

Possibly as many as 15 injured now as some took themselves to get treatment. Reports of death seem off the mark

[Mystery]

Video taken about three seats away from where the wheel landed
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVW65Tyji_s" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Mystery]

Last update on this tonight for me.

28 people now believed to have been injured. 14 of them were taken to hospital. Between 1 and "several" critically ill and currently undergoing surgery. The race is currently planned to go ahead as planned tomorrow with fence repairs and one track access gate being removed.

[bluenosey]

Ugh, that's horrible.

Motor racing is a risky business but the saftey of the fans comes first.

It also goes to show just how close the fans are

Even though Daytona isn't used for IRL I bet the spectators are within the same proximity ? At least in F1 they are not usuually that close.

Lucky it seems no one has died.

Apparently a girl got covered in engine oil

I'll wonder what the driver of the car who used the blocking tactic thinks now....

[bluenosey]

Actually it wasn't that blatant a block by Regan Smith, per the official coverage.

Looks like NASCAR have also tried to keep the accident off You Tube.

[bluenosey]

The Daytona 500 tomorrow and Danica has put it on pole

Didn't know she was in the tin-tops

Should have all the rednecks dribbling

She's started a not-at-all-fake-attention-getting relationship with another driver too.

Any Indycar fans from four or five years ago will remember Danica-cam - an unofficial "feature" of every race where we got to spend inappropriate amounts of time watching the race for last-but-one just because Danica's there.

Suspect tomorrows coverage will be familiar to many.

Credit where credit's due though, she finished a fine 8th and mixed it up front for a while. Could well have been a podium at one point. I think she's proved her point. Mixing it with those Southern alpha males. OK, so there's better drivers....but there's worse too.

Sureley we must be getting closer to seeing a woman in F1 ?

Danica Cam. Sounds interesting. Do we get to see her take off her sweaty overalls ?

[Moist von Lipwig]

Credit where credit's due though, she finished a fine 8th and mixed it up front for a while. Could well have been a podium at one point. I think she's proved her point. Mixing it with those Southern alpha males. OK, so there's better drivers....but there's worse too.

She was third at the start of the last lap and dropped 5 places on it.

[bluenosey]

Credit where credit's due though, she finished a fine 8th and mixed it up front for a while. Could well have been a podium at one point. I think she's proved her point. Mixing it with those Southern alpha males. OK, so there's better drivers....but there's worse too.

She was third at the start of the last lap and dropped 5 places on it.

Danica and Biff (that's Greg Biffle, BTW ) were both caught out by Dale Earnhardt Jnr and Mark Martin choosing the inside line. That can easily happen in NASCAR, to anyone. I say anyone but Jimmie Johnson is usually there or thereabouts. Really would have been a travesty if Earnhardt Jnr would have won - an average driver living off his old man's name IMO.

On a happy note, it's good to see all spectators apaprt from two have now been released from hospital. Bit of a wake up call for all the motor speedways to get their saftey act together.

[bluenosey]

New Moto GP season starts at Qatar this weekend

Nice summary here http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/motogp/21876349

All British Tech 3 Team, NKOTB Marquez in for Stoner and Rossi back on a top ride.

[Mystery]

Marquez hasn't made a good impression on me the past couple of years. Quick but very very petulant and often disrespectful on track.

You'll see talk about how he drove from the backs of grids a couple of times and still wound up on the podium. They'll forget to mention that he was sent to the back for forcing it into gaps that weren't there in Free Practice or crashing into people after the chequered flag - again in practice.

I expect he'll greatly misjudge his own abilities straight from the start so fully expect him to a) cause a pile up, b) not keep speed all race long due to wearing out tyres or c) wear out physically.

My highlight of last season was watching Scott Redding beat him up in the final corners in one race. I'm hoping the likes of Jorge will show him similar this time.

Sorry just don't like the kid.

[Moist von Lipwig]

don't really know anything of him but if he's as you say I can't see him lasting long. With the exposure at this level I can't see him upsetting the big boys too often without sanction.

[Mystery]

Most of the organisers and sponsors are Spanish or Rossi fans. If he hits anyone else he'll be essentially fine. I think he'll most likely be Pedrosa / Bautista mk2 and be injured more often than not actually.

[Footy66]

Never been interested in Moto GP and don't think I ever will be. It doesn't compare to F1. I tried to get into it this weekend and saw the last 11 laps......

All I got out from it was....Crutchlow annoyed me sticking his leg out whenever a bend came up....it just looked very awkward and slightly dangerous, it was like he was using his foot as a brake or as if he was not in control or anxious. The other riders were keeping their feet on their bikes. Is was as if Crutchlow needed stableizers.

[bluenosey]

but Footy, Rossi was back

Cal did very well to put that bike up there. Not a factory machine and you could see him go literally backwards on the straight. He should have let Rossi go. Might have snatched fourth. Tough baptism for Bradley but hopefully he will get better.

Marquez impressed, Dani looked, well, subdued

Jorge may have won but The Doctor is back !!!

[Mystery]

Still don't like him

[Mystery]

I bring grim news.

The money grabbing promoters have chosen to discard the vast majority of British MotoGP fans by moving the coverage to BT Sport next season.

Great if you have BT broadband. Utterly pee poor if you don't (or like me, can't) have it.

I just don't know if I'm prepared to justify switching my subscription to Premier Sports (for NASCAR) to BTS/ESPN (for MotoGP, IRL and DTM). Hmmm put like that it's not a hard decision but annoyed I have to make it.

Might depend on who's doing the commentary. Even though the BBC have the live coverage of the top bike class I'll usually wait till Eurosport show it because I want to hear Toby & Jules.

[Moist von Lipwig]

yes, I just saw that on the BT Sports thread of Judios. Was in his OP from last sept so been agreed a while! Big shame.

[bluenosey]

Grim indeed.

In a way I can see BT are trying to break Sky's monopoly and good luck to them but as usual, the normal terrestrial TV customer will suffer

[bluenosey]

Great ride from Cal today - 2nd

[Mystery]

Great ride from Cal today - 2nd

...with a teensy little broken tibia too. Awesome

Speaking of which Scotty Redding finally got his first Moto2 win and now has a half decent championship lead. And for any speedway fans out there Tai Woffinden opened the weekend of Brit bike success winning the Czech GP.

[Moist von Lipwig]

Suzuki coming back to motogp in 2015

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/feedarticle/10841851" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[bluenosey]

Great ride from Cal today - 2nd

...with a teensy little broken tibia too. Awesome

Speaking of which Scotty Redding finally got his first Moto2 win and now has a half decent championship lead. And for any speedway fans out there Tai Woffinden opened the weekend of Brit bike success winning the Czech GP.

How is Tai ? He came a right cropper at Cardiff. Pity that, when he was leading the championship Must say I enjoy Eurosports coverage of the speedway

[Mystery]

How is Tai ? He came a right cropper at Cardiff. Pity that, when he was leading the championship Must say I enjoy Eurosports coverage of the speedway

I haven't seen the last round yet but Tai was in it and did ok considering.

[Mystery]

Actually Tai "did OK" turned out to be "made the final and came third".

Scott Redding still holding a championship lead of more than a race win but apparently has two MotoGP offers on the table. One presumably from his current team, maybe with a production based Ducati. Guessing the other is Pramac Ducati.

Been a sad few weeks in European motor racing actually. A very good Le Mans was spoiled by the rather bizarre death of Allan Simonsen. On the same day a German touring car racer had a heart attack at the wheel and last weekend saw a Lamborghini racer die in what sounds like a massive fiery pile up.

On every ticket for a motor racing event you're reminded "motor racing is dangerous". Quite true that. RIP Allan, Wolf and Andrea.

[Moist von Lipwig]

Cal agrees a 2 year deal and joins the elephants graveyard is replacing Hayden.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/motogp/23536326" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;