MotoGP - Laguna Seca

Ah, these are the weekends that make a gearhead happy, F1 race and MotoGP race! Double the pleasure for sure, although the F1 race was more dramatic than the MotoGP race for a change. That was the kind of weekend it was.

Well, for only the second time, a non-American won the MotoGP race at Laguna Seca. Hayden and Hopkins hit each other after traveling about 500M, both were in a position to win and had good starts. That is what happens during the early laps though...

Casey Stoner extended his lead over Rossi and I think the Championship is his to loose. Six wins so far and his Ducati continues to work perfectly. He is running consistently at virtually every track he runs at, which bodes well for the title.

Vermulen, Rossi, Pedrosa, and Mlandri had no answer, although Marco did ride a good race. Pedrosa faded badly after the first few laps, which I suspect may be related to Michelin tire problems. Bridgestone rubber (Stoner, Vermulen, and Mlandri) seems to be the combination, only Rossi can consistently run near the front with the French tires.

One of these days I will need to make the trek out to Laguna Seca and watch this race in-person. The footage of the bikes going through the Corkscrew is something to behold, simply amazing. I liken it to Eau Rouge in reverse and at lower speed. Anyway, this is a great event, even if this race was not as compelling as others this year.

European Grand Prix

Holy smokes, that was an unusual race! Nothing like rain the mix things up a bit. When a Spyker leads a race, you know things are out of order. And Kimi has to be scratching his head, two wins in two races then this...

The pit crews certainly earned their money this race!

The BMWs disappointed on home soil, Kubica was a non-factor and Heidfeld ran a quiet race. Well, after they spun each other out at the beginning of the race. Good thing nosecones can be quickly replaced!

Red Bull Racing did really well, given all of their reliability issues they have experienced this season. DC even did some dirt tracking across the gravel...and managed to keep all the bits attached to his car. No small accomplishment that, no wonder they re-signed him for 2008!

But how about Alonso's pass on Massa? That was a MASSIVE move, it shows why Alonso is a two-time World Champion! The dying laps of a race, rain is falling, chaos everywhere, and the top spot on the line...and success. Years ago F1 Magazine had a section regarding the five up-and-comers (Alonso, Raikonnen, Webber, and Montoya). The verdict was the Alonso was not only quick but very calm under pressure, more like Michael Schumacher than any of his peers.

You saw the results today...he totally handled the chaos and pressure, overcoming all. Very well done. Oh, he is now only two points behind his teammate for the World Championship.

Speaking of Hamilton, he did well in the race, given his massive crash in qualifying. He may not have scored points but he made some great passes and reeled-off some FAST laps. Lewis is human but he did well in this race give the circumstances.

Massa looked like somebody ran over his dog on the podium. He should count his blessings though, he could have had a DNF like his teammate.

Ralf demonstrated once again why he will not be with Toyota next year. He closed the door on a slower car that was going to overtake him. Fight the battles you have to win may be a good lesson to take from this but in the end it won't matter for Ralf. Hope the German fans got a good look at him, next time he will be in this track will be in either the DTM car or a sports car of some sort.

Wow, that was a race!

Deutsche Motorrad Grosser Preiss

Very short post on the MotoGP race at the Sachenring.

Honda (the factory team that is) looks to be back with Pedrosa winning and Hayden in third. They needed this win to salvage their season. Right now they have some momentum going into Laguna Seca, which Hayden has a good shot of winning.

Rossi did not score points and is putting his Championship bid at risk. Stoner is strong at all tracks (much to my surprise) and not making mistakes, which means he will be tough to catch. Another bad result and Pedrosa will be in striking distance...

Not much else to say other than bring on Laguna Seca!

British GP - Short Post

I promised myself that I would blog about the British Grand Prix as soon as it ended.

That was almost two weeks ago now...

Well, a few things stuck out:

Hamilton had a light load of fuel, which enabled him to win pole but finish WAY behind the top two finishers. He never had a chance.

Massa would have been second had he not stalled on the grid before the initial start.

Alonso did as good as he could have hoped, his fuel strategy was perfect for this race. He did not have the pace to win but got some points back from Hamilton.

Kimi put in an AMAZING second stint! The extra laps he put in were simply bonkers, he really put the hammer down with a low fuel load...kinda like another Ferrari driver who recently retired. Those few laps (plus his pace in France) tells me Ferrari is back.

BMW looked strong again, Renault is going to have to fight hard to get back into 3rd place in the Constructor's chase. Kovy and Fisi are good drivers but they are not good enough to go up against an on-form Heidfeld and Kubica. I think BMW has also got a better car this year.

That is it on F1, for today that is.

French GP Observations

Just got done watching the (last?) French GP today on Fox. This was another fairly boring race at Magny-Cours which is typical for this event. I always thought the race at Paul Richard was much better, then again money talks in F1 and former socialist French PMs are not above speaking that language.

That is why we have been subjected to Magny-Cours since 1991. Good riddance I say!

*****Spoiler Warning*****

The French GP is normally a snoozefest unless there is rain. This race did not "disappoint" in that regard...

Kimi used speed and strategy to win, thereby salvaging his season. He needed this win BAD if he was to stay in contention. Massa did well but did not have the same strategy as his teammate, that second stint sealed his fate. Hamilton had a lonely ride to third after getting beat off the line by Kimi. He was never a factor but he continued his remarkable string of podiums (eight) and added to his points lead.

Alonso was in damage limitation mode for this race after mechanical failure in Q3. Not a bad run to collect two points but he is slipping further behind his teammate. As we head into the midway point in the season, Alonso's title defense looks iffy at best.

BMW did well, Kubica did great after his Canadian crash and Heidfeld did well to finish with bruised ribs. They remain ahead of Renault and have a good shot of remaining there. A win for either driver is not out of the question.

Honda scored a point, which means their ROI on their millions can now be calculated. Don't look for them to do well at Silverstone though, Magny-Cours is billiard table smooth and flattered the RA107. Without major changes, Honda is going to continue falling behind.

This is what happens when you get rid of Geoff Willis...

I think the winning formula for Honda and Toyota is to just supply engines and sponsor English racing teams. Both may be competent at producing normal automobiles but neither of them have figured-out how to run a decent F1 team. Well, at least they are recycling their profits into the European economy.

*****Spoilers End*****

On to Silverstone for the British GP. It should be a madhouse with Hamilton leading the WC and Ferarri back in front. If we add some of that wonderful English weather, it will really be a hoot!