MotoGP 2011 ~ Eventful and Emotional

I was really hoping for more of a fight for the championship with 14 previous world champions all racing in this years MotoGP.  Instead, Casey Stoner stole the show and did an amazing job at securing the Championship for 2011.  However, that does not mean it wasn't an intense year in MotoGP.  There were lots of great battles to watch and it was obvious that these highly skilled motorcycle racers were pushing these bikes to the very edge.  Jorge Lorenzo showed us all why he was the Champion that Stoner had to take the title from, being one of the very few that could run with Stoner aboard his very potent Honda package.  Honda definitely showed their might throughout the season with every rider having amazing lap times aboard their Honda.

Watching these "superheroes" push their respective equipment to the limits is what makes it so enjoyable to watch, but it has inherent risks that presented itself in a horrible way this year.  Last season during the 11th round of the Moto2 race, motorcycle racing lost a very young and rising star in Shoya Tomizawa and this was the first on-track fatality at GP level since Kato in 2003.  And this year we lost Marco Simoncelli who was sure to make great things happen.  He was such a character, from his hair style to how he dealt with people.  On track he was unforgiving and extremely determined and pushed 120% at all times.  Sure to be a legend on the race field he is a legend in our hearts.  SuperSic's death came during the 2nd to last race of the season with only Valencia left to race and his Team was unsure of participation in any category.  However, they decided that the best way to honor Simoncelli would be to race and what an honor it ended up being.  Michele Pirro won the Moto2 race, very first win for him in the Moto2 class and dedicated it to Simoncelli saying, “After setting pole yesterday I just had to do well today. The conditions were really difficult for the race but I tried to stay focused and then Marco did the rest from on high. He was with me throughout the race and on every lap I was asking him not to leave me alone. It was a long 27 laps and being out there riding alone isn't easy. This victory is dedicated to his family, who are suffering more than anybody right now, to his girlfriend and also to the guys in the team. It hasn't been an easy year for us but a victory at the end of it is a nice tonic. We had a tough time after Malaysia but we managed to convince Fausto to come to Valencia and I am sure it was the right choice because it is what Marco would have wanted. Racing was his life and this was the best way to honour him and remember him.” Whether your a fan like me or not, that is pure awesomeness.

Also, Loris Caparossi wrapped up his racing career this year.  After a 22-year career with 328 races and 99 podiums under his belt has decided to hang up the leathers and retire from racing.  Today, I heard that he will still be working with MotoGP but instead of as a racer, he will use his extensive experience as a racer to assist in matters of safety having been appointed in an advisory role for safety in the MotoGP World Championship.  Also, in recognition of his contribution to the sport throughout his career, it has been requested to retire his number 65 from use in the MotoGP World Championship.

Now, with new regulations and MotoGP going back to 1000cc motorcycles we wait with heavy anticipation for 2012 racing season to start.  I'm very excited and I know that you are too, just admit it.

James

Motorcycle News/Stories

There was a great article written up in one of the Motorcycle Mags (I have it around here somewhere) about an amazing character in the motorcycle racing world.  He's not popular outside of the motorcycle world but I can say his name and find out if a person enjoys motorcycle racing and if a person doesn't know him than it's a safe bet that they aren't really into motorcycles as much as they should be (in my opinion haha).

Who the heck am I blabbing on about?  Guy Martin!!  He's got a great personality and a great track record but he has not yet been able to win a race in his chosen race format.  Hopefully, as your reading this you read his name and already knew what race he participates in and possibly a bit more about him than that.  But if not I'll tell you.  Guy Martin races in the worlds oldest and most prestigious, dangerous, amazing, crazy road racing event in the world; Isle of Mann TT.  It's the same place they held the very first Electric Motorcycle race event TTXGP.

There is a movie coming out this month that I will definitely be getting a hold of about the Isle of Mann and stars Guy Martin.  A preview:

And also starting this month, Guy Martin will have another TV show (he's had one other TV Show before) on BBC (hopefully on BBC).

The other story that I've already talked about but there is continuously additional stories is that of Marco Simoncelli.  What an impact his unfortunate incident has had on the world.  There is a man in Italy that has put "graffiti" on a wall in remembrance of SuperSic and has left a blank area for others to "sign".  What a great artist he is too, the wall looks great.

Also, MotoGP has a large wall at the Valencia circuit (Final race of the season) with Marco's number (58) on it and a space for fans to write their own message during their visit.  Another aspect I personally find very cool is that Sic's dad Paolo requested not a minute of silence but rather a minute of noise making.  And per his request, MotoGP will have a one minute of everyone revving their bikes and making noise.  AWESOME!!

It's unfortunate that there are going to be a few racers not participating in this race due to injuries but it's nice to see another American taking the place of Colin Edwards in this weekend race.  Josh Hayes has had a great year and I'm sure he's ecstatic about being Colin's fill in for this very emotional final MotoGP race of the season in Valencia.

Stefan Bradl also has an amazing final race to be excited about.  As long as he finishes 13th or better he will be the Moto2 champion  his rookie year in that class.  Great job Stefan.

And I guess I will just stick to one more "Story".  The images released for the new MV Augusta F3 675 looks amazing and some of the information on the engine and tech advances are very interesting to me.  I really like it and wish for a chance to try it out.  Here is a shot of it and a link to more information:

Thanks a lot for listening to my rambling.

James

RIP Simoncelli MotoGP's rising star

It was so extremely difficult to watch Marcos crash and I can only imagine how horrific it is for both Colin Edwards and Valentino Rossi.  I got fairly emotional after seeing it and still have a hard time accepting that it really happened and wasn't just a bad dream.  Extremely unfortunate and definitely wish it didn't happen.

However, what really pisses me off is all of the talks and discussions of how it raises questions into the safety of Motorsports.  Many are saying that after the two separate deaths of both Dan Wheldon and Marco Simoncelli that safety is of great concern.  Are you FUCKING KIDDING ME?!?!?!  I can understand many of the discussions of the situation with Dan Wheldon referring to the fact that the specific race that had many "Noobs" racing because of a current lack of skill required in an open tire race at a full out 220 MPH around the entire track.  But the instance involving Marco in the MotoGP race is nothing like that.  I'm glad they will be reviewing the incident but it's pretty simple to see that it was a freak accident and very rare.

It is very rare for these types of things to occur and it would be nice if they never did but if it were me, I would much prefer to lose my life in a pursuit of my passion over many other options that I hear about much more often.  Let's see, walking across the street and not being noticed, heart attack because I was too fat and lazy to keep myself healthy, getting cancer and not discovering it till it was too late.  SHUT THE FUCK UP ABOUT THE SAFETY SHIT.  It was a horrible incident but safety in both of these cases and throughout the motorsports world is handled very well and should not be under such scrutiny.

RIP to both of you amazing gentleman and may I have the pleasure to one day have a fraction of the success that you had in yours in mine or my children's life.  You were both special and I definitely will always look up to you.

James  

The "Drama" MotoGP Race

This has been a tough year for a lot of great riders in MotoGP and has made for some interesting races but none so filled with drama as the Motegi race that occurred less than 9 hours ago.  Casey Stoner has been doing an amazing job this season on board the Honda machine that is a thorn in all other machines out there on the track.  I for one am a huge Yamaha fan and so this season has been a little painful watching Jorge Lorenzo ride absolutely brilliantly just to fall short of the current leader.  Also, being American, Ben Spies is my #1 racer to watch and he has been doing an amazing job as well but just shy of where I and I'm sure his entire team would like to see him.  Rossi on the Ducati is currently not working as well as they expected by this time in the season and appear to be more focused on next season which I believe is a good idea.

That all said, the Motegi race was a thrill ride of Drama led by "Dovi" who had the chance to lead the race after Casey Stoner managed to avoid crashing but ran off track.  I would have been thrilled and would have cheered him the whole way through if it weren't for the "false start" ride through.  Definitely feel for him for the way this whole season has gone for him.  Then add to his false start, Simoncelli and Crutchlow also had false start penalties to deal with.  That alone makes for a drama filled start.  Add to that the drama in Turn 2 where Rossi and Lorenzo come together and causes Valentino Rossi, who had a great pre race practice sessions, to crash out.  Rossi has had a very difficult season and after the practice sessions, this race seemed to be his best chance to do some real good racing.  Along with Rossi going out he brought along with him Ben Spies off track with him but Ben Spies managed to stay upright and rejoin the race in 17th position.  Barbera has a bad crash where he fracture his right collar bone.  Dovi has a beautiful run through the first few laps before he has to complete a ride through penalty which he follows with some great riding before crashing out later in the race.

Simoncelli manages to get back into 4th place, Dovi into 5th place and Spies into 6th place.  All making a great performance, after the horrible start, to finish in these positions.  Stoner gets up to 3rd place after his run off and Pedrosa manages the race beautifully to finish off the race as the winner with Lorenzo behind him not able to compete with his Honda.

If you haven't watched it yet, you should.  If you want, I will re watch the race with you here at Uncaged Motorsports. 

Have a Great day,  James