Welcome back race fans! Well this weekend came and went much in the way I thought it would. This cat and mouse points championship is coming right down to the end with Reed still leading by eight. Stewert rode sharp all night and despite a few near misses he came away showing he is still the man to beat.
In the Lites division Christophe Pourcel capped off a championship run with a huge exclamation mark. He rode hard and determined all night, while his other potential title contenders crashed or started slow. This has to be one of the better comeback stories of all time. I am really happy for Christophe.
The real story through out the whole night seemed to be what the track was going to do. You could see that the Lites guys had a little better time at it early in the night, but the Supercross guys were tiptoeing by the end of the night. The question I kept asking myself is how does this still happen. Is it really that hard to find better dirt for a top-notch race like a Supercross?
Now the series turns to the south and we can see if we get some good sun block racing as I like to call it. The series comes to a new venue in Jacksonville and right in the heart of spring break. I am hoping we see some good dirt, good racing and most importantly a continuing championship battle when it is all said and done.
Good job to Josh Hill for really pushing hard this weekend. I have always liked him and it is great to see him up front. This year has proven that sixth through twelfth can be a real toss up.
I will finish with a back up statement to how I felt last week in terms of the championship. If Reed waits for James to make a mistake and hand it to him again he will lose. Chad must finish ahead of James at least once to win it. He doesn't have to win, just finish ahead of him in one of the remaining races.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Nitro to an M-80 in a Single Night.
Wow what a weekend! First the expected unexpected mistakes of James, wild Pastrana riding, a great track and best of all an exciting race. Chad Reed came into the race with the point’s lead and left with a bigger one. Stewert who struggled to keep it on two wheels all night all but handed the win to Reed falling in the lead of the main event. Not to take anything away from Chad, but James still gave it to him by making silly mistakes playing right into Reed's strategy.
But can this really be a good strategy for Reed? On one Chad has the lead of the majority of the series even thought James has shown his superior speed to Reed's by easily accumulating more wins. Still every time we come to the weekend I feel the series is James to win or loose.
James on the other hand is riding as if he is fifty points down every lap and unfortunately this has really bitten him this year and dumped a bag full of points in Reed's lap. If James can wise up and realize the pressure is still on Reed he will win the championship. If Reed sits back and waits for it to come to him, I believe he will lose. Either way we will see the true colors come through starting this weekend in Toronto.
If James (385) wins the rest if the races and Chad (381) gets second Stewert every time he will lose four points. At least at this point we know they are racing for four points and I myself can't wait.
Once again Jason Lawrence rode a smart race and put his bike in the top five again. There is no question at this point he is here to stay in Supercross on a big bike. The real question is the most fundamental one and that is can he stay on the right track. This is going to be interesting to see what the factories do after this summer and budgets continue to shrink.
As for this weekend all one can hope for is the same racing we have been treated to for the last month. Track looks good aven though the Toronto dirt always plays a wild card. It if ruts up bad it could still resemble the Nitro Circus just minus Travis and his pet monkeys.
But can this really be a good strategy for Reed? On one Chad has the lead of the majority of the series even thought James has shown his superior speed to Reed's by easily accumulating more wins. Still every time we come to the weekend I feel the series is James to win or loose.
James on the other hand is riding as if he is fifty points down every lap and unfortunately this has really bitten him this year and dumped a bag full of points in Reed's lap. If James can wise up and realize the pressure is still on Reed he will win the championship. If Reed sits back and waits for it to come to him, I believe he will lose. Either way we will see the true colors come through starting this weekend in Toronto.
If James (385) wins the rest if the races and Chad (381) gets second Stewert every time he will lose four points. At least at this point we know they are racing for four points and I myself can't wait.
Once again Jason Lawrence rode a smart race and put his bike in the top five again. There is no question at this point he is here to stay in Supercross on a big bike. The real question is the most fundamental one and that is can he stay on the right track. This is going to be interesting to see what the factories do after this summer and budgets continue to shrink.
As for this weekend all one can hope for is the same racing we have been treated to for the last month. Track looks good aven though the Toronto dirt always plays a wild card. It if ruts up bad it could still resemble the Nitro Circus just minus Travis and his pet monkeys.
Friday, February 27, 2009
MotoGP goes to Bulgaria
The following is from Dorna...
The new five year deal, which will take MotoGP to Bulgaria from 2012 to 2016, was signed in Sofia by Dorna Sports CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta and the President of the Bulgarian Motorcycle Federation Bogdan Nikolov, in the presence of the Chairman of the Bulgarian Grand Prix Organizing Committee Rumen Petkov and the President of the Bulgarian State Agency for Youth and Sports Vessela Letcheva. Following the press conference, an additional meeting was held between Carmelo Ezpeleta and the Bulgarian Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev to further discuss the project.
Dorna CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta commented, "This is the first step in bringing MotoGP to Bulgaria, which is an exciting project for us. The Bulgarian government demonstrated great interest in bringing a Grand Prix here and it will be an important development for us, having never staged a race here before. We are highly confident in Bulgaria's ability to host and organise Grands Prix efficiently and safely."
The meeting in Sofia also saw the announcement that Bulgarian free-to-air national broadcasters BNT will have exclusive live television rights to the FIM MotoGP World Championship from 2009, which will see all MotoGP races broadcast live in Bulgaria.
The new five year deal, which will take MotoGP to Bulgaria from 2012 to 2016, was signed in Sofia by Dorna Sports CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta and the President of the Bulgarian Motorcycle Federation Bogdan Nikolov, in the presence of the Chairman of the Bulgarian Grand Prix Organizing Committee Rumen Petkov and the President of the Bulgarian State Agency for Youth and Sports Vessela Letcheva. Following the press conference, an additional meeting was held between Carmelo Ezpeleta and the Bulgarian Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev to further discuss the project.
Dorna CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta commented, "This is the first step in bringing MotoGP to Bulgaria, which is an exciting project for us. The Bulgarian government demonstrated great interest in bringing a Grand Prix here and it will be an important development for us, having never staged a race here before. We are highly confident in Bulgaria's ability to host and organise Grands Prix efficiently and safely."
The meeting in Sofia also saw the announcement that Bulgarian free-to-air national broadcasters BNT will have exclusive live television rights to the FIM MotoGP World Championship from 2009, which will see all MotoGP races broadcast live in Bulgaria.
First Practice from WSBK and guess who is on top
Pos. Rider Team Bike Time
1 Ben Spies Yamaha World Superbike Yamaha YZF R1 1:32.752
2 Max Neukirchner Suzuki Alstare Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1:32.813
3 Leon Haslam Stiggy Racing Honda Honda CBR1000RR 1:33.015
4 Yukio Kagayama Suzuki Alstare Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1:33.077
5 Laconi Regis DFX Corse Ducati 1098R 1:33.140
6 Noriyuki Haga Ducati Xerox Team Ducati 1098R 1:33.239
7 Shinya Nakano Aprilia Racing Aprilia RSV4 1:33.280
8 Michel Fabrizio Ducati Xerox Team Ducati 1098R 1:33.371
9 Roberto Rolfo Stiggy Racing Honda Honda CBR1000RR 1:33.433
10 Broc Parkes Kawasaki World Superbike R.T. Kawasaki ZX 10R 1:33.496
11 Ryuichi Kiyonari Ten Kate Honda Racing Honda CBR1000RR 1:33.508
12 Jonathan Rea HANNspree Ten Kate Honda Honda CBR1000RR 1:33.695
13 Tom Sykes Yamaha World Superbike Yamaha YZF R1 1:33.747
14 Makoto Tamada Kawasaki World Superbike R.T. Kawasaki ZX 10R 1:33.835
15 Tommy Hill HANNspree Honda Althea Honda CBR1000RR 1:33.845
16 Jakub Smrz Guandalini Racing Ducati 1098R 1:33.901
17 Max Biaggi Aprilia Racing Aprilia RSV4 1:33.909
18 Shane Byrne Team Sterilgarda Ducati 1098R 1:33.991
19 Carlos Checa HANNspree Ten Kate Honda Honda CBR1000RR 1:34.012
20 Troy Corser BMW Motorrad Motorsport BMW S1000 RR 1:34.201
1 Ben Spies Yamaha World Superbike Yamaha YZF R1 1:32.752
2 Max Neukirchner Suzuki Alstare Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1:32.813
3 Leon Haslam Stiggy Racing Honda Honda CBR1000RR 1:33.015
4 Yukio Kagayama Suzuki Alstare Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1:33.077
5 Laconi Regis DFX Corse Ducati 1098R 1:33.140
6 Noriyuki Haga Ducati Xerox Team Ducati 1098R 1:33.239
7 Shinya Nakano Aprilia Racing Aprilia RSV4 1:33.280
8 Michel Fabrizio Ducati Xerox Team Ducati 1098R 1:33.371
9 Roberto Rolfo Stiggy Racing Honda Honda CBR1000RR 1:33.433
10 Broc Parkes Kawasaki World Superbike R.T. Kawasaki ZX 10R 1:33.496
11 Ryuichi Kiyonari Ten Kate Honda Racing Honda CBR1000RR 1:33.508
12 Jonathan Rea HANNspree Ten Kate Honda Honda CBR1000RR 1:33.695
13 Tom Sykes Yamaha World Superbike Yamaha YZF R1 1:33.747
14 Makoto Tamada Kawasaki World Superbike R.T. Kawasaki ZX 10R 1:33.835
15 Tommy Hill HANNspree Honda Althea Honda CBR1000RR 1:33.845
16 Jakub Smrz Guandalini Racing Ducati 1098R 1:33.901
17 Max Biaggi Aprilia Racing Aprilia RSV4 1:33.909
18 Shane Byrne Team Sterilgarda Ducati 1098R 1:33.991
19 Carlos Checa HANNspree Ten Kate Honda Honda CBR1000RR 1:34.012
20 Troy Corser BMW Motorrad Motorsport BMW S1000 RR 1:34.201
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
An note from Nathan Woods!
WORCS-Adelanto, CA Round 2
Going into Round 2 I was excited and feeling good after my Round 1 finish. My goal this season is to be consistent. Saturday Pro practice went well. I went out and did a couple hard laps and had some fast times. The course was really rough after all the racing that had taken place before our practice. It felt like RG3 gave me a pretty good set up and the bike was working well. I couldn't wait for the gate to drop Sunday afternoon.
On the line it started to sprinkle and it was looking like it wanted to rain. When the gate dropped I got a descent jump and rounded the first corner in 3rd. From there it went into the of road, and everyone was pushing hard and going for it. I made a little mistake and a few guys went around me. I then started to work my way back up as the race progressed. At about the half way point I felt really strong, my training is paying off. I continued to push and when the white flag came out I was in 3rd. I didn't have enough time to catch the 2 other bikes in front of me, so I road a smart race and crossed the finish line in podium position.
This was a great way to finish the race. I am currently 4 points back from the points lead. Thanks to my team, trainer, mechanic and great sponsors and family, all of your support is greatly appreciated. I look forward to Round 3 in Lake Havasu, AZ. Hope to see you there.
Keep a look out for my new web site which is coming soon. Also, check out the
ISDE 2008 International Six Days Enduro Greece DVD which can purchased online at www.isde.tv.
More race highlights at...
www.cyclenews.com
www.dirtbikemagazine.com
www.dirtrider.com
www.suzukicycles.com
www.worcsracing.com
Going into Round 2 I was excited and feeling good after my Round 1 finish. My goal this season is to be consistent. Saturday Pro practice went well. I went out and did a couple hard laps and had some fast times. The course was really rough after all the racing that had taken place before our practice. It felt like RG3 gave me a pretty good set up and the bike was working well. I couldn't wait for the gate to drop Sunday afternoon.
On the line it started to sprinkle and it was looking like it wanted to rain. When the gate dropped I got a descent jump and rounded the first corner in 3rd. From there it went into the of road, and everyone was pushing hard and going for it. I made a little mistake and a few guys went around me. I then started to work my way back up as the race progressed. At about the half way point I felt really strong, my training is paying off. I continued to push and when the white flag came out I was in 3rd. I didn't have enough time to catch the 2 other bikes in front of me, so I road a smart race and crossed the finish line in podium position.
This was a great way to finish the race. I am currently 4 points back from the points lead. Thanks to my team, trainer, mechanic and great sponsors and family, all of your support is greatly appreciated. I look forward to Round 3 in Lake Havasu, AZ. Hope to see you there.
Keep a look out for my new web site which is coming soon. Also, check out the
ISDE 2008 International Six Days Enduro Greece DVD which can purchased online at www.isde.tv.
More race highlights at...
www.cyclenews.com
www.dirtbikemagazine.com
www.dirtrider.com
www.suzukicycles.com
www.worcsracing.com
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