Recent comments

He was always going to get better but amazing how quickly - from struggling at the Jerez test to 2nd in the race and than at this test he did 37 sub 1:40 laps.

The gap to Rossi is more than .57 of a second in that he did a total of six sub 1:40 laps in testing.

Dani, Jorge & Cal ranged from 19 to 27 laps sub 1.40 to finish off the numbers.

Yamaha expected to dominate. Honda take the win.

Wonder how much the effect of finally a dry weekend at Jerez played into a surprise result. 2011 and 2012 both married by rain, and 2013 pre season the same.

data is all important. No one had any...

I figure that statement by the fact MM was in too hot and would have ran off/ran wide if he didn't have JL to push off (his berm, and the unwilling rider giving assistance).

Also, block passing has never been particularly popular with the majority of viewers, when it happens people get worked up.

You do find a way to prove yourself a huge VR fan with each story! I am not passing judgement as you don't come across as a blinded partisan , but it is noticeable!

The M1 has been built around George. Burgess and crew have been playing with weight distribution and balance trying to find a solution so Rossi can ride like he wants, hard on the brakes. They haven't found it yet. It usually takes them 4-5 races before they nail it but the clock is indeed ticking. Cal said if he or Rossi tries to do what Lorenzo is doing they crash. Neither one of them ride like Lorenzo, they have their own styles.

If Rossi hasn't challenged for a win by Catalunya then it's definitely Pete Tong. There won't be any acceptable excuses especially if Lorenzo bags another win by then. Rossi is still good enough to come up to speed on the M1 quickly. They have setup issues but time is running out. If you watch his interview post qualifying, post race, or especially after the test today Valentino is visibly irritated, annoyed, what have you. Another couple of results like this and the press is gonna start the doubt, old man, the younger guys have moved on, etc, business and with a decent bike there will be no where to turn.

Even if the Hondas' performance stayed constant, the drop off of Yamaha was significant. While i think it's crazy to have tipped Cal to win after his strong test, falling to 5th without at least one major mistake is surprising. Jorge tested well and Vale even led the time sheets for a quick spell. But that Yamaha was all over the track and it started early.

You can't overlook Dani's training methodology to become a better wet rider that David reported on last yesr - think it was said he rode on teack with sand. That training had to have paid huge dividends given poor traction available. A well deserved win.

Each time 93 had a near miss with 99 into a corner, my thoughts were 'brake check'. Lorenzo is known for corner speed, Marquez knows it too, so thought he could safely draft Lorenzo to the apex; Lorenzo however had clearly decided to mess with Marquez and see if he could force an error.

Marquez was not riding dangerously at all. And despite Lorenzo's antics, Marquez stayed cool, then repaid the favour in the final corner. Genius :)

This is the biggest story from the race that hasn't been really addressed so far:

"Jerez was the first track at which Rossi had hoped to show his true speed. If seven seconds down on Jorge Lorenzo is his true speed, then he will struggle to win another race. ..."

That question David posed after Qatar about mirages is starting to take on increasing significance ...

But I did forget Hayden's title in 06. That makes it 6 of the past 9 titles for Yamaha since they introduced the long stroke engine, with Honda nabbing 2 and Ducati just 1.. Over the full decade since 2003 It's Yamaha 6, Honda 3, Ducati 1, so Yamaha still have twice as many titles as Honda. Whether that fits your definition of Domination or not thats a very convincing lead to Yamaha.

P.S. Suzuki won the 2000 title too. Might want to check your own link there bro!

right up until race time when it got hotter than it had been all weekend, leaving them in no mans land with tyres, the soft too soft and the hard not having enough grip. In that particular scenario Jorge is at a disadvantage because you need to do the 'stand the bike up/square off the corner' thing which plays more to the strengths of Honda and its riders at present. It was interesting to see though that Jorge was giving absoluteley nothing away to Marquez in terms of acceleration onto the front straight at Jerez - if anything he pulled a bike or two on Marquez out of Lorenzo corner.

If temps had stayed the same as in practice Jorge would probably have own it, and everyone would be singing a very different tune. The Yam would have had more grip and Jorge would have been able to exploit it with huge corner speed. And lets not forget Jorge was only a fraction away from taking second. Its not like Honda finished 1-2-3-4 as has happened in the past. When we get to tracks like Mugello which rewards corner speed and has consistent grip levels I think we'll again see how good the Yamaha is.

His way of saying Rossi.

I agree with MikeAtCCC, in the fact it is getting harder and harder to defend Spies. He had a year that was so jacked last year from his own mistakes, to injuries and bike failing in ways I have not seen in a race in my entire life. But he is beginning to fall into the James "Bubba" Stewart area for me. Both have the talent and speed, but once they start crashing and being injured it seems like they cannot seem to climb over the problems and move forward anymore.

I wish the best for Ben because he has the talent, but I would be lying if I did not think he has lost a mental edge he used to have.