Istanbul Park Ends

MotoGP just ended minutes ago with Melandri winning a close, close 3 way race with Stoner and Pedrosa. Pedrosa leaned his bike a little too much on the last lap and fell, raising his arms in a why ?! why ?! gesture. Gosh, my heart fell for him.

Shinya ended the race with the goals I had set for him in my head intact. He ended the race not worse off than his starting 8th spot. And he finished ahead of Randy De Puniet. Not that I've given up on the loftier goals of the top podium, but it's good to stay with reachable benchmarks for now.

It was like watching the rise of the new guards just now. Rossi started way back, and then inched up front, finishing 4th in the end. Gibernau, still suffering the Rossi curse, was leading in the earlier laps and then dropped back, and further still. Probably ended way back in the end, didn't even notice. Sometimes I wish it was still the Rossi-Biaggi era.

Istanbul Park Starts

"This morning was a nightmare to start off with; I just didn't feel comfortable on the bike in these conditions. But, after discussing the problem with my crew, I went back out and just tried to ride as smoothly as possible, and that solved the problem. This afternoon I actually enjoyed for the first time pushing as hard as I could in the wet, and I'm satisfied with my starting position. I think we have a good wet and dry set-up for this circuit, so it doesn't matter what the weather does tomorrow. Having said that, like most riders, I would prefer the race to be a dry one."

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Quote source

Vermulen on pole. These newbies are on fire. Shinya's once again behind Stoner, qualifying eighth. The 250s on now, so it won't be long before the race starts.

1. Chris Vermulen AUS Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 2min 4.617 secs
2. Nicky Hayden USA Repsol Honda Team 2min 4.823 secs
3. Sete Gibernau SPA Ducati Marlboro Team 2min 5.003 secs
4. Loris Capirossi ITA Ducati Marlboro Team 2min 5.540 secs
5. John Hopkins USA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 2min 5.700 secs
6. Randy de Puniet FRA Kawasaki Racing Team 2min 6.102 secs
7. Casey Stoner AUS Honda LCR 2min 7.277 secs
8. Shinya Nakano JPN Kawasaki Racing Team 2min 7.294 secs
9. Colin Edwards USA Camel Yamaha Team 2min 7.344 secs
10. Kenny Roberts USA Team Roberts 2min 7.345 secs
11. Valentino Rossi ITA Camel Yamaha Team 2min 7.552 secs
12. Toni Elias SPA Fortuna Honda 2min 7.763 secs
13. Makoto Tamada JPN Konica Minolta Honda 2min 8.143 secs
14. Marco Melandri ITA Fortuna Honda 2min 8.939 secs
15. Carlos Checa SPA Tech 3 Yamaha 2min 10.322 secs
16. Dani Pedrosa SPA Repsol Honda Team 2min 10.956 secs
17. Alex Hofmann GER Pramac d'Antin MotoGP 2min 11.241 secs
18. Jose Luis Cardoso SPA Pramac d'Antin MotoGP 2min 11.456 secs
19. James Ellison GBR Tech 3 Yamaha 2min 12.298 secs

Source : crash.net

Qatar Missed

So I came back from a BBQ, all bloated and smokey stinky, thinkin what a fabulous start this is to a great MotoGP weekend. Then goddammit, I read that Shinya's already came in 11th. It was on live from 5pm on the telly. I would've stayed home and missed that overcrowded cook-off at Downtown East. For every room rented, the occupants must've invited at least 50 people. The place looks like one huuugge hawker centre, only with no one to clean up the mess. And now, all soaped up squeaky and shampooed, I have nothing. The highlight of my fortnight is gone. O, how empty everythin is. Sheesh.