Feel the Serenity

Well, after much deliberation we have now purchased our little piece of paradise. Without giving away the exact location, the family and I have bought 10 acres just over an hour north west of Melbourne.

We have wanted to do it for a while now and excitedly our dream became a reality last Wednesday. With Australia in the grip of a drought, the recent rains have done wonders for the area.

We traveled out last Sunday to soak up some serenity. We have big plans for the site and will start with a simple dwelling so we can begin to enjoy weekends out there in relative comfort. 

For those who are interested I will post here updates from time to time.  

Dave

MotoGP USA – Another Aussie 1-2

Australia‘s Casey Stoner was able to shake the 2007 hoodoo of not winning from pole to claim the Laguna Seca MotoGP. He dominated the race to further extend his lead over Yamaha’s Valentino Rossi.

Rewardingly fellow Aussie and Suzuki pilot Chris Vermeulen scored a dry race podium to finish over 9 seconds behind a blistering Stoner, riding his Ducati.

Marco Melandri, on a Honda, was a distant third, 25.641 seconds behind the Kurri Kurri Kid (Stoner).

In post race interviews Stoner said “I felt really comfortable sitting on the grid, I felt good about the tyres and bike. I just had to go and do the job.”

Surprisingly for most of the race the Ducati was faster than the 990cc lap record for the US track, set last year by Pedrosa on a Honda. Obviously engineering has won over the rule makers, with the introduction to 800cc an attempt to slow them day.

Nicky Hayden’s recent run of good luck ended on the first lap when he was involved in a collision with Suzuki rider John Hopkins. He was able to rejoin the race but had to retire with 10 laps to go. The result will surely hit the Kentucky Kid hard as he (and the parochial crowd) was expecting a good weekend after his solid run of podiums in the last few races.

Yamaha’s Valentino Rossi finished fourth, five seconds behind Melandri and 30 seconds behind Stoner, who now tops the standings at 221 points to Rossi’s 177.  The pressure is well and truly on the Italian to recapture the consistency that has seen him dominate the championship in previous years.

Ant West, riding for Kawasaki put in another solid result after qualifying 12, he climbed to finish 7^th. Surely the formal offer for 2008 from Kawasaki is forth coming for the plucky Australian, who has again proven his undeniable talent.

German MotoGP – Stoner Slips and Pedrosa Pounces

Once again the MotoGP pole position hoodoo claimed its latest victim, with Casey Stoner (Ducati) finishing 5^th in the German MotoGP race, after qualifying on pole for the race start. 

Dani Pedrosa (Honda) pounced on Stoner early on in the race and went on to finish almost 10 seconds ahead of second place getter, and Stoner’s team mate Loris Capirossi.

Pedrosa’s team mate Nicky Hayden claimed another podium in what looks to be a better second half of the season for the plucky kid from Kentucky. Pedrosa’s victory was his first victory since the British GP in 2006. in 2007 he has been outshone by the super quick Stoner, his arch enemy from the 250cc category.

Colin Edwards once again showed his consistency to claim the points for 4^th position.  The big news was the heat for this race, with track temperatures of up to 47 degrees, playing havoc with tyres. Stoner’s rear tyre was at melting point but was able to hang on for his 5^th to extend his lead to 32 points over Valentino Rossi for the championship.  

Once again Rossi made a mistake whilst overtaking Randy De Puniet (Kawasaki) to record his first, and hopefully last, DNF for the 2007 season. 

Aussies Anthony West and Chris Vermeulen finished 8^th and 11^th respectively. This solid result for West should surely cement his ride in MotoGP for 2008. He has shown that he can mix it with the best.  

The season now moves to the US of A where Hayden should be able to continue his recent form and with the right set up, he will be hard to beat. 

Top 10 finishers for the race: 1^st: Dani Pedrosa – Repsol Honda2^nd: Loris Capirossi – Ducat Marlboro3^rd: Nicky Hayden – Repsol Honda4^th: Colin Edwards – Fiat Yamaha5^th: Casey Stoner – Ducati Marlboro6^th: Marco Melandri – Gresini Honda7^th: John Hopkins – Rizla Suzuki8^th: Anthony West – Kawasaki Racing9^th: Alex Hoffman – Pramac D’Antin10^th: Michel Fabrizio – Gresini Honda

Dutch TT – Rossi chases down Stoner for victory

In the 2007 Dutch TT, the race started as a lot of them had this year. Casey Stoner (Ducati) blasted off to create a large lead which looked to be unsurmountable by the other racers. Valentino Rossi (Fiat Yamaha) however forgot to read the script and was out to reassert his dominance in the MotoGP paddock. 

Stoner, who qualified next to compatriot Chris Vermeulen in second place, rocketed to the lead from the start and quickly established a lead over the rest of the pack. Rossi who started well down the grid on 11^th was the predator to Stoner the prey.  

The Ducati had obviously made a softer choice of front tyres, with the Yamaha set up going for a medium compound, and this was a telling fact at the end of the race.  It took Rossi quite a number of laps to get comfortable on the bike and that was when he began to shine. 

Stoner lead for 22 of the 26 lap race, but he freely admitted after the race that he was able to see the Italians run through the pack on the large TV screens around the track. Rossi was on a mission and deserved the victory. After the race he himself admitted to a confidence problem, in an admission I would have never expected Rossi to make, he stated that he had to convince himself that he could beat the young Australian. I

n other results, once again the pole sitter did not win the race, creating somewhat of a hoodoo for superstitious racers in the field. Unfortunately for Vermeulen he was collected by Kawasaki’s De Puniet whilst in 7^th place. He recovered to claim 16^th.  

Good news however for Kawasaki’s other rider, Ant West, who claimed a top 10 finish. This result hopefully bodes well for his dream of getting a full time MotoGP ride in 2008. 

Good news also for Honda’s Nicky Hayden. The 2007 champion recovered from a poor final qualifying to claim a podium place, in 3^rd position. It was a great result for the American and I for one was glad to see him get a result he thoroughly deserved. Unbelievably it was his first podium for 2008. All weekend he hadn’t been lower than 3^rd in the results and was bitterly disappointed to qualify in 13^th.   

Stoner now leads the championship on 185 points, with Rossi on 164. With the series now in its second half, I look forward to more exciting racing. 

The top ten race results were: 

1^st – Valentino Rossi (Yamaha)

2^nd – Casey Stoner (Ducati)

3^rd – Hayden (Honda)

4^th – Pedrosa (Honda)

 5^th– Hopkins (Suzuki)

6^th – Edwards (Yamaha)

7^th – Barros (Ducati)

8^th – Hofmann (Ducati)

9^th – West (Kawasaki)

10^th – Melandri (Honda) 

Dave

Stoner shines in wet at Donnington

As Australia is gripped with the effects of a drought, it is interesting that the Australians competing in the 2007 MotoGP are reveling in the wet conditions that have been presented to them in the 2007 season. 

Once again, Casey Stoner (Ducati) and Chris Vermeulen (Suzuki) showed that they feel right at home in the wet conditions. In his 2007 debut race Anthony West (Kawasaki) showed that he can mix it with the front runners. Unfortunately for Ant he ran wide in a corner, and after a valiant fight to keep the bike moving and upright, had a small fall. He was in 5^th position at the time, even overtaking Rossi to get there. He was able to salvage a credible 11^th in the race. 

After some thrilling races this year, this years Donnington round was a little more pedestrian. The Texan Tornado (Colin Edwards) on the Fiat M1 Yamaha, raced to an early lead, followed closely by the pack, including Dani Pedrosa on the factory Honda. Both Stoner and Rossi mysteriously dropped well back in the pack after lackluster starts. 

Edwards held on to get a solid second place, and once again Vermeulen showed his class in the wet with a great 3^rd place, in what is becoming a good championship season for him.

This race proved two things… 

1. Casey Stoner continues to defy his critics – I hope that this race finally puts to rest the opinion that he is only winning due to the horsepower advantage of the Ducati
2. Valentino Rossi is human – This year (Donnington included) has seen Valentino make mistakes and suffer the consequences.

 All through the beginning of this season pundits have expressed that Stoners victories have been simply due to the speed of the Ducati. It implies that he is not as good as the other riders in the field, but his recent strong performances in the wet and on the tighter European tracks show that it is not just the bike. The Kurri Kurri Kid has undeniable talent. The powers to be at Ducati must be rubbing there hands with glee after they literally ‘stole’ Casey’s signature late last year. 

And yes Valentino is human. He has made many little mistakes this year. More often than not this has seen other riders take advantage of these mistakes. At Donnington he looked to make a wrong tyre choice. Whilst it performed well in the mid part of the race, he faded quickly towards the end. So much so that when Vermeulen out braked him to take 3^rd place it showed the importance of getting the choice right especially with the new tyre rules in 2007.  

Rossi is not making huge mistakes and is still only 26 point behind Stoner in the championship race, but what is doing is showing the other riders that he is beatable. Last year people put his loss in the championship down to Hayden down to equipment failure, this may be correct. Maybe it also planted the seed in his (Rossi’s) mind that he is not infallible. It has also planted the seed in other racers mind that he can be beaten. 

Full race results where: 

1. Casey Stoner AUS Ducati Marlboro Team
2. Colin Edwards USA Fiat Yamaha Team
3. Chris Vermeulen AUS Rizla Suzuki MotoGP
4. Valentino Rossi ITA Fiat Yamaha Team
5. John Hopkins USA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP
6. Randy de Puniet FRA Kawasaki Racing Team 
7. Alex Barros BRA Pramac d’Antin MotoGP
8. Dani Pedrosa SPA Repsol Honda Team
9. Alex Hofmann GER Pramac d’Antin MotoGP
10. Marco Melandri ITA Gresini Honda
11. Anthony West AUS Kawasaki Racing Team
12. Toni Elias SPA Gresini Honda
13. Kurtis Roberts USA Team Roberts
14. Shinya Nakano JPN Konica Minolta Honda
15. Makoto Tamada JPN Dunlop Tech 3 Yamaha
16. Sylvain Guintoli FRA Dunlop Tech 3 Yamaha
17. Nicky Hayden USA Repsol Honda Team

Stay tuned for my report on the next round…the Dutch TT next week

 Dave