2012 MotoGP Round 1 - Qatar

[RatsMC]

Commercialbank Grand Prix of Qatar

...And here we go!


Losail Circuit


First GP : 2004
Length : 5400m
Longest Straight : 1068m
Rank: 2nd Longest Straight
Lefts : 6
Rights : 10
Width : 13m
TimeZone : GMT+3
Wet Races: 0.0%

Track Map:

Weather: http://www.myweather2.com/Motor-Racing/Qatar/Losail-Circuit.aspx
Google Earth File: http://www.mototheory.com/kmz/Qatar.kmz

Results by Season
>

Rider Last	2011	2010	2009	2008	2007	2006	2005	2004	2003	2002	2001	2000
Abraham	13	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X
Barbera	12	12	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X
Bautista	X	0	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X
Crutchlow	11	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X
DePuniet	0	6	10	9	0	0	X	X	X	X	X	X
Dovizioso	4	3	5	4	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X
Edwards	8	8	4	7	6	9	4	2	X	X	X	X
Ellison	X	X	X	X	X	13	15	13	X	X	X	X
Espargaro	X	0	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X
Hayden	9	4	12	10	8	2	3	5	X	X	X	X
Lorenzo	2	2	3	2	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X
Pedrosa	3	7	11	3	3	6	X	X	X	X	X	X
Rossi	7	1	2	5	2	1	1	0	X	X	X	X
Spies	6	5	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X
Stoner	1	0	1	1	1	5	X	X	X	X	X	X

AVG for Current Riders
>

AVG Finish	Rider	Finishes	Crashes	Entries
1.8	Stoner	5	1	6
2.3	Lorenzo	4	0	4
2.7	Rossi	7	1	8
4.0	Dovizioso	4	0	4
5.5	Pedrosa	6	0	6
5.5	Spies	2	0	2
6.0	Edwards	8	0	8
6.6	Hayden	8	0	8
8.3	DePuniet	3	3	6
11.0	Crutchlow	1	0	1
12.0	Barbera	2	0	2
13.0	Abraham	1	0	1
13.7	Ellison	3	0	3

Top All-Time Riders
>

AVG Finish	Rider	Finishes	Crashes	Entries
1.8	Stoner, C.	5	1	6
2.3	Lorenzo, J.	4	0	4
2.7	Rossi, V.	7	1	8
4.0	Dovizioso, A.	4	0	4
5.5	Spies, B.	2	0	2
5.5	Pedrosa, D.	6	0	6
5.8	Gibernau, S.	4	0	4
6.0	Biaggi, M.	1	0	2
6.0	De Angelis, A.	1	1	2
6.0	Edwards, C.	8	0	8
6.6	Hayden, N.	8	0	8
7.0	Abe, N.	1	0	1
7.3	Barros, A.	3	0	3
7.5	Capirossi, L.	4	2	8
8.0	Kallio, M.	1	1	2
8.0	Simoncelli, M.	2	0	2
8.3	DePuniet, R.	3	3	6
8.5	Xaus, R.	2	0	2
8.7	Melandri, M.	6	0	7
9.0	Checa, C.	2	1	4

[DJH]

Oh god yes. Finally.

Press releases out, riders and teams ready to roll.. first race thread of the year..

Bring it on!

[Zaphod]

going by that first graph, and a calculation I just made up in my head, Rossi should get 3 or 4th going on trend.

[CLX]

I'm in Los Angeles.
What bars/TV stations show the GP here?

[Squidpuppet]

I'm in Los Angeles.
What bars/TV stations show the GP here?

Speed TV.

[chc-pr]

Well, there is now no doubt the Yamahas are strong this year

Cal looks like he is going to really surprise this year

Hayden has proven not much wrong with the Ducati now

Pedrosa - wtf?

And Rossi - least said ...

[phil]

Nicky and cal. Thank you. Hope for the season.

[CLX]

I'm in Los Angeles.
What bars/TV stations show the GP here?

Speed TV.

Awesome, I have Speed in the hotel. =D

[Squidpuppet]

Nicky and cal. Thank you. Hope for the season.

What would Cal do with factory electronics and a swarm of factory technicians looking at his data.

[Gustav O]

What would Cal do with factory electronics and a swarm of factory technicians looking at his data.

I wish he would stop with his complaining act about the stuff he hasn´t got. Very tiring.

[Tourn46]

And Rossi - least said ...

Indeed, but come Sunday I have all the confidence in the world he will still finish the race as first Ducati.

[Tourn46]

Exciting to see the bikes back out on track... Was nice to see a few people take the top spot throughout the session, although it was just the first session of course.

Last year Stoner had a 0.6s gap in FP1, this year a 0.1s gap... I just want to see a show!

[chc-pr]

And Rossi - least said ...

Indeed, but come Sunday I have all the confidence in the world he will still finish the race as first Ducati.

Maybe, either way there are no excuses left now ISTM. What does seem clear though is that the Yamaha has a clear advantage this year. I know it is FP1, and all that, but for nearly the whole session it was Yamaha 1, 2, 3 and none were Lorenzo. I think only Dovi failed to lead the board for Yamaha at any point. That suggests a fundamentally sound base to me.

[Nachlauf]

I think only Dovi failed to lead the board for Yamaha at any point.

Actually all Yamahas lead the board at least once this session. (link)
If this is indicating anything this year will be closer. Nice to see Ben up there for most of the session. Hope he has some more of it in his sleeves. Go Ben!

Oh, and RdP leads Colin by only 0.059 secs. Didn't expect that.

[Squidpuppet]

And Rossi - least said ...

Indeed, but come Sunday I have all the confidence in the world he will still finish the race as first Ducati.

At current pace Rossi will finish 31.68 seconds behind the leader. If he erases half of that gap by end of QP it will be a .59 improvement over last year. Rugged days man.

[motomania]

Interesting first FP for the year. Spies, Stoner, Lorenzo and Crutchlow were all changing places at the top for quite a bit of the session. Tomorrow night will probably be much more accurate as the track should have less sand on it then.

I don't think the Yamahas have the disadvantage they had last year, at least at this point. Time will tell who built the best bike to match the tires, especially since the tires used here are quite different than the "normal" BS tire.

Awesome, I have Speed in the hotel. =D

I'll warn you up front that they'll probably go to their first commercial on about the start of lap 3, just when X makes a daring dive on Y in turn ??. Please remember that throwing that ugly lamp into the flat screen will impress nobody but your wallet. If I hear a faint scream, I'll know it's you on the other end of this state of denial, commonly referred to as California letting SPEED know impressed you are.

[Faster1]

~
waaaay too early to start celebrating anything for Yamaha just quite yet.

I don't remember when any FP1 especially the first FP1 revealed anything about the race ,, or the season,, but I hope you optimists are right. I wouldn't be surprised that the usual suspects have a lot more in reserve.

The only surprises that I noted was:
Nicky - probably had a 1000cc grin underneath that helmet.
Cal - I wrote elsewhere that I thought it was un-just to declare Dovi number 1 at tech3 and Cal agrees, maybe riding with a chip.
Dani - I still think that he has more in the tank.

and,
, it doesn't look like a CRT is going to challenge the Satellite Ducs

[Tourn46]

Not sure whether or not it's meaningful, but Rossi is said to have spent the whole session on a single set of hard tyres... I definitely saw Nicky on soft tyres at one point (the white band).

Edit: Spies also used the same set of tyres for the whole Practise - maybe I was wrong about Spies in the past... he looks decent! Well as decent as only seeing FP1 allows me to think... if you know what I mean.

[Gustav O]

Rossi on harder tyre all session while Hayden on the soft for his fastest lap, all according to Twitter feeds. From same source Rossi has problem with under steer when the rear slides, believes he could go a second faster with soft tyres.

[Gustav O]

Stoner and Pedrosa with huge chatter problems at full lean angle. Pedrosa had to use softer tyre to solve it while Stoners crew got rid of most of it.

[Squidpuppet]

Stoner and Pedrosa with huge chatter problems at full lean angle. Pedrosa had to use softer tyre to solve it while Stoners crew got rid of most of it.

Chatter at lean? Weird. Usually on brakes, aint it?

[Grahluk]

Rossi on harder tyre all session while Hayden on the soft for his fastest lap... believes he could go a second faster with soft tyres.

Thinking he should probably test that belief pretty soon.

[Grahluk]

Stoner and Pedrosa with huge chatter problems at full lean angle. Pedrosa had to use softer tyre to solve it while Stoners crew got rid of most of it.

Starting to feel Gabbarini & crew are the new kings of the pit lane just as #27 is the current king of the grid. They seem to be able to take the toughest challenges (Honda chatter, infernal Ducati) & serve their rider up something he can at least wade into battle with.

[lebowski]

I'm surprised how down on horsepower the CRT's must be when you look at the top speeds!

[Squidpuppet]

I'm surprised how down on horsepower the CRT's must be when you look at the top speeds!

Came Ioda is down 50 kph