guys wht time is the race........and on which channel ???


errr sorry got it. its on zee sports......sad i dont have it on my tv

crap!!!! fastest lap by Ben Spies Beats Rossi's 06 fastest lap time on MotoGP and just .7 sec slower than Stoner's fastest lap last year.... HOLY CRAP!!! Again...

The new 2009 R1 surely looks promising.. with those huge exhausts, anyways what r the results?? how well the Honda did??

kudos to technology for the masses this 09 r1 is the *BOMB*
seriously, with the amount of money they put into motogp, you'd expect those 800cc things to be something special and yet these guys are right up there with them.

its not the R1 its Ben Spies. tom skyes din't do too bad either.. but someone who is "just learning" i say "WoW"

as for Honda..

7. Carlos Checa ESP HANNspree Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR 1min 59.090s
9. Roberto Rolfo ITA Stiggy Motorsport Honda CBR1000RR 1min 58.734s
12. Ryuichi Kiyonari JPN Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR 1min 59.055s
17. Jonathan Rea GBR HANNspree Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR 1min 59.713s

wow those times say a lot about competition in WSBK. look at those names...

u can't compare the GP bikes with the SBKs,the GPs are far more superior.. the only reason I see here are the skills of the SBK riders. Previous years Troy Bayliss was almost unbeatable even by Rossi's rivals like Biaggi and as Soulstation mentioned here.. it's BEN SPIES! this time to take Bayliss' place. Heck it's just the begining but I see Yamaha dominating this season.

what i ask here is.. are these SBKs easier to handle than the MotoGP bikes??

^I'm saying the same thing.

Even Spies was in motogp for sometime, albeit a short time. He couldnt pull off anything special there.

SPies raced as a wildcard for suzuki in the motoGP. in moto GP its not about who you are. its about what bike you ride.

this is the reason you only see 3-4 teams (not manufacture) take victories in moto Gp out of which 2 may win just a handful of races.

Ben Spies is did out number his regular motoGP team mates for 2 out of the 3 GP he raced in.

the only reason he din't take up moto GP is because he did not want to finish last in motogp races where bike could not challenge the front runners. so whats the point!!!!

Agreed. Its about the bike, but not exculsively.

The rider plays another important role. The bike is the synergy of the test riders and the developement team. I am not saying that Spies would have come out in the middle of the season and helped Suzuki win everything. That would be expecting too much of him. But retrace a little and look at how the M1 was the product of so many people working for it. Even Biaggi at some point worked on it. Infact, when Rossi signed that epic contract, and moved with Burgess and company to Yamaha, he was was being touted as having taken up a project which'd have been too much for him. And he proved them wrong, and thats partly the reason he is considered so great today. To say that motogp is all about the bike is to take credit away from the riders. Its not just what they do on the track, but also much of what they help build.

In my earlier post , I was trying to reiterate the competence of these riders, who ride motorcycles that are possible harder to turn than the motogps and yet score lap times close to the tech marvels. Period.

hey guys!just wanted you to know that im in qatar right now...i was here last year as well for the motogp night race...i'll be coming to india later this month...so i dont think i'll be here for the motogp event this year...

sheesh...with the racing started...Good God.

I think the new super hot races will be in SBK...all thanks to the new Yamaha's, good old Honda, voo lala Aprillia and what else...BMW's...

Ben Spies and so much and so more...

i missed the awesome two rounds...Ben Spies rocked them all from nowhere...

poor me...dont have Zee Network here...

ABSOLUTELY INCORRECT... ONLY the bike doesn't matter.

Rider is equally as important, He's the soul for the development of a bike.

-This is the reason why Rossi won in his first year of riding M1, a bike which was not even a dark horse for last 11 yrs or so.
-Stoner won on a Desmo 800 in his 1st yr, which Cappirossi was riding so well forever, and stoner was strong last year too.
-This is the reason why NO ONE has been able to dominate with RC211V & RC212V since Rossi left honda !! The development hasn't been the same with Nicky & Pedrosa. And no one could use RC211 & M1 like Rossi did....

The same reason why WSBK Champs like Bayliss (2yrs in MotoGP & wasn't a title contender), Edwards (not even a single race win in 6 yrs, after two WSBK titles back to back!!) Vermulen etc are / were not even serious title contenders.

Talking about race victories, MotoGP needs far more investment & development to win races, Title is far fetched. Thats why we see only 2-3 teams taking wins, the ones who can invest in development & hire top riders. The reason why Kawasaki pulled out.. Investment, though their over all sales played a major part too.

then how am i incorrect????

Coz its the rider who helps develop the bike & its the rider who uses it!

If the bikes were all that matters, then why no one could dominate on RCV like rossi did, why Stoner could win & why Colin hasn't won a race on M1 even when he was a factory rider.

Just like in WSBK, in MotoGP too... The rider matters more, its all about his talent & his development of the tool he uses.

what are you stoned or something???

Colin hasn't won on anything since coming to MOTOGP... reason... he is MR. NO2. he came close twice but no cigar.. do you remember where colin was before yamaha and before that what team did he ride...

Stoner on Ducati: how many victories did Loris have on ducati... then when did he have an accident. then when did sete fall.... then when did bayliss last won a motogp race and on what bike..

my point!!! QUOTE " 3 teams that can challenge on the front on a regular basis" name it. and now tell me... if you were BEN SPIES and you had to pick Yamaha in Superbike and the not the winning teams in MOTOGP what would you pick..????? (oh that's if you want to win and challenge for championships, not about grid girls)