MOTM rnd 18 Valencia *Spoilers*

[Faster1]

,,for over and above

MOTM
THE BEN ! ! ! MR SMOOTH ! ! ! Riding that gutless motor Yamaha with surgical precision
&
Josh Hayes – At 37?,, first time ?,, ahead of regulars?

Honorable Mention
Loris Carpirossi – good ride, good tribute, good end to a very good career
&
Marco Simoncelli – for being the first thing on everyone’s minds and hearts all weekend

DOTM
Yamaha (final rant) - shame on you for bringing a dull butter knife to a gun fight. Your riders are better than that and they deserved better. I’ve been bitching all year and I’ve never felt stronger,, that engine is Supersport weak. Forget the last lap embarrassment,, it couldn’t keep up with the Hondas on the straight in the dry, all race, (and all year)

Dishonorable mention
Elias – bested by Josh on the last race of the year ?

[phil]

Dull butter knife LOL!

MoTM: Crutchlow, he needed a good result to finish the season I was worried about his confidence for next year. Or perhaps more fittingly Michele Pirro for giving Gresini a win.
HM: Dovi and Stoner for using their heads.

DoTM: Disapointment for Bautista and Spies.

[Oscar]

M(en)OTM: Vinales, Spies for the races. The entire paddock for the Simoncelli tribute.

HM(s): Dovi, Westy, Stoner for showing he can trench-fight as well as run away - in the same race!

DOTM: Pedrosa - just not on it all weekend, really.

TFTM: (Thanks For The Memories): Capirex.

CUDA: (Curl Up and Die Award - for the season): Ducati. A new category at the FIM Awards night, to the strains of 'Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out"

[Dayle88]

MOTM: Spies

DOTM: Spies!

We were due one exciting finish and we finally got one.

(Nobody Knows You When Your Down and Out, Clapton's version, what a song!)

[CLX]

I didn't watch Moto2 or 125cc, so...
MOTM: podium trio, definitely. They were all remarkable in fighting for their ground and keeping it upright.

DOTM: first corner crash. The race wold have been even better with thr 4 of them.

[JanBros]

MOTM : Spies undoubtly ! I never thought he would be able to compete the full race at a decent pace, but to do it up front for the win realy was the surprise of this WE for me.

[Cam D]

MOTM - Casey for riding to the conditions and then "taking a risk" on the last turn to get the better drive.

Source: I thought to myself, we haven't been able to take any risks all season, this is the time to take one and see what we can do. I knew I had a better exit line out of the final turn and I kept my head down and went for the line.

HM: Ben... simply a great ride in trying conditions.

DOTM: Bautista and Karel. At least Karel can claim lack of experience, he's probably the rider I would most like to see on some decent machinery next year.

[Richo]

MOTM - Pirro, great ride and an emotional result.

HM - Stoner for not just settling for 2nd, surprised everyone, including me. Also to Hayes for a great first up ride.

DOTM - Hard one this, was going to give it to Bautista but not sure he could have done a lot about it, was disappointed that the Ducatis didn't get to compete. So dotm to the dodgy weather conditions.

[Nachlauf]

MOTM - Ben Spies for me. To come back from injury like that was very impressive. Who would have predicted him getting that close to a victory today?

HM - Crutchlow and Pirro. Beating Dani Pedrosa to 4th and finishing only a few seconds behind the race winner is a fantastic result for Cal. And taking your first win in such difficult conditions and circumstances is a very impressive and memorable achievement for Pirro. It also provided some lovely display of emotions.

[Rusty Bucket USA]

MOTM : Spies undoubtly ! I never thought he would be able to compete the full race at a decent pace, but to do it up front for the win realy was the surprise of this WE for me.

+1

[gco0307]

MoTm - Lorenzo ............. for being there (given the history)

HM - Spies/Stoner - great performances from both, Spies for taking the opportunity and Stoner for the control of the race, both made one error - good race



DoTM - Elias/Pedrosa ......................

[TwoStroke Institute]

First ever MOTM split decision for me, Dovi for giving 110% , Spies for taking the fight to Stoner and Stoner for adding 'crafty' to his impressive CV.

DOTM Hard to find would like to be able critise Sandro Cortese for binning it and losing 3 rd in the title to Vinales but I'm sure he'll be kicking himself enough.

Would be remiss of me not to mention

R.I.P the 2 Stroke engine

[Gustav O]

MoTM: Spies for making the race happen.

DoTM: The first corner crash.

Otherwise I am with TSI:

R.I.P Two strokes...

[Pantah]

So much going on inthe last 2 weeks....
West and Noyes did it for me....pure action....

[RedJet]

Missed it by that much...

MOTM goes to Spies. Period.

[Gustav O]

Forgot my HM! Has to go to Josh Hayes for doing a very solid job in all sessions and ending 7th in the race, even if the crash hadn´t been in the first corner he would have been a solid 11th!

[lebowski]

MOTM - 3 way dead heat - Spies, West and Pirro. Outstanding rides by all.

DOTM - first corner pile up.

[motomania]

MOTM - Pirro for an excellent race and first win! Team Gresini for racing this weekend despite the pain they must still be in. Seeing Fausto's reaction to Pirro's win was truly priceless.

HM - Josh Hayes for an excellent outing in very trying conditions. There were many that just knew he wouldn't do well. He definitely proved why he's a champion and great racer. I know he'll never get a shot in MotoGP but a big thumbs up to Yamaha USA and Tech3 for giving him the shot.

DOTM - Dovi for causing 4 bikes to hit the tarmac. I'm sure he's proud of that move, he left himself nowhere to go except into the pack and hope for the best. Very bad judgement.

I too will miss the two strokes, it won't be the same without them.

[dmelb]

Missed it by that much...

MOTM goes to Spies. Period.

Great pic. Nice to see sportsmanship and respect from the new generation. Though tensions and bitter rivalries always make for more interesting reading - maybe this is one of the reasons Rossi is so popular, he's had scornful relationships with many rivals/team mates over the years.