Hello again to all the MotoGP'ers..almost that time again:thumbup:

No doubt those with ManU syndrome will be jumping on the Alan Carr, oops Valentino Rossi bandwagon again this year............:P, can't really see anyone doing anything other than him and Stoner again, however there are a few unknowns such as Hayden on the Ducati and Pedrosa who as we know has previously been a bit too inconsistent to make a real challenge....mind you, Dovioso could be a dark horse:thumbup:

I hear Rossi is running a Pet Shop Boys paint job this year, is this right? (said fred)

I reckon the real action this year in bike racing is gonna be in WSBK:thumbup: New bikes, teams and riders....can't wait.

Bring it on

Bring it on

deffo cant wait , this announces the spring for me tbh. first race cant be that far away now ? .

wonder if we're gonna get a night race , enjoyed that.

Should be a interesting year alright.

Btw the Man U syndrom is getting a bit old in the tooth now........it's all about the racing

Definitely the most entertaining form of motor sport on TV - especially if we get a few more races like Laguna Seca last year - what was Casey Stoner whingeing about after that one ? Doesn't he like a bit of hard hand to hand combat ?

Definitely the most entertaining form of motor sport on TV - especially if we get a few more races like Laguna Seca last year - what was Casey Stoner whingeing about after that one ? Doesn't he like a bit of hard hand to hand combat ?

laguna seca was a bloody epic, edge of seat stuff genuinely

I've booked the next bed to yours :eek:

Man U syndrome would have had someone supporting Vale, Nicky, Stoner and then Vale again over the last 4 seasons; most of the Vale fans stuck with him in 2006 and 2007.

I'm hoping Jorge's got his mojo back, Nicky will prove that he never actually had one to get back, and Stoner will continue his copying of Careless Chucker when under pressure!

Kawasaki have dropped out of MotoGP this year, due to the economic melt down. So Melandri hasn't got a ride any more. Shame really, as he's a top rider - just didn't get on with the Duke.

Shame also, that Eurosport won't be covering the MotoGP. :(

Totally agree - can't wait - although WSBK and WSS is gonna be even more epic than normal.

Must say I don't agree with the Nicky Hayden comment above - first full seaon in AMA Superbike was just 6 points of winning the championship and thats no mean feat against people like Matt Maladin and the likes over there in the states.

1999 AMA Supersport Champion - The youngest ever

2002 AMA Superbike Champion - The youngest ever

2006 World Moto GP Champion

I just hope they are all on their game this year and give us some great races. - Roll on the first race - just a pitty we lost some factory teams this year.

I've always liked Troy Corser in WSB so am going to be keeping an eye on what the BMW's doing with him as a development rider. Should be good, MotoGP will be a shoot out between Rossi, Stoner, Lorenzo and Pedrosa, but I am going to love watching Hayden "sticking it" to Honda on the Ducati.

With the note that I'm talking about comparisons at similar levels, not how the AMA guys would go in, say, a BEMSEE series, I've always thought that the AMA usually contained one or two exceptional riders, and a lot of very average ones. Contrast that with, say, BSB where, in the WSB "open tyre" era, there were 7 or 8 riders who might show the WSB guys the way home as wild cards, and think just how well BSB riders usually go in MotoGP.

Speaking of Vale......it's his birthday today......So HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!

Below from Yamaha release.

Check out Edwards...The GOAT

News - 16/02/2009

Happy birthday, Valentino!

Valentino Rossi turns 30 today, 16th February 2009. The Fiat Yamaha

rider has had an immensely successful career to date, winning eight

world championships, 97 races and becoming the most successful

premier-class rider of all time. As he enters his 14th season in the

world championship, his sixth with Yamaha, he is still the dominating

force in the sport, having recaptured the title in typically exciting

style last season.

Below is a collection of quotes

from colleagues, fellow riders, family and a few of his more famous

fans. Some are recollections of favourite moments with Valentino,

whilst some are simply messages for him on the day he turns 30. All are

different ways of saying ‘Happy Birthday, Valentino!'

Davide Brivio

(Fiat Yamaha Team Manager)

"I don't really have a

favourite memory of Valentino, or at least it's difficult to choose the

‘absolute best!' The first one that comes to mind however is just after

the Welkom race in 2004, his famous first MotoGP race with Yamaha.

Before Valentino finally joined Yamaha, during one of the meetings the

previous September, he said that he wanted to win his first race with

Yamaha! This immediately created a lot of pressure for me and for

Yamaha, but anyway I promised him that we would all try all our best.

Honestly at that time I felt that it was going to be a very difficult

thing to achieve! During the final few pre-season tests the chances of

doing it began to look better and better, but in a race itself anything

can happen. Incredibly, he won that race in Welkom and just after it,

after the technical meeting had finished, we were alone in his changing

room. Somebody had left a bottle of wine in the fridge and we opened it

and raised a toast to that day way back in September, when he had first

said that he wanted to win this race. "We did it!" I said to him. It

was a very emotional moment for me because it was the moment we

achieved our very first target together. Happy Birthday!"

Cesare

Cremonini (Singer and friend)

"Vale is a fighter,

but armed with a smile. I've never seen him lose his humanity, even in

the most difficult moments. One time I found him making gags and jokes

as if he was at home with friends, when in fact he had just a couple of

minutes to go before a decisive race. While he was putting on his

leathers, ready to go out and challenge the world, he transmitted a joy

for life, listening to a song on his ipod. "Ciao Ragazzi! See you

later!" He said. Then came a sweeping victory at the limits of

possibility and a long night of partying together! Happy Birthday,

Vale!"

Tom Cruise (Actor and Rossi Fan)

"Valentino, You are a true champion. You keep raising the bar,

relentlessly pursuing the next race, the next challenge, the next

championship. I also know that the victories don't necessarily become

easier. You have to dig deeper, work even harder, become more focused

to overcome the distractions. That's what you do. And I, like countless

others, know that when you're on that track anything is possible. It

was my great pleasure to be there at Laguna Seca and see you take that

victory. I can honestly say I've never seen anything like it! You

certainly don't disappoint! Thank you for all the great races you have

given us, and for all the great races yet to come. Happy Birthday."

Daniel-Day Lewis (Actor and Rossi Fan)

"Every

race, every win, every championship! Vale the kid in the portaloo is an

old favourite, always irresistible in victory and gracious in defeat

(not that he had to prove it very often!) But the all-time favourite

memory for me would be him at Laguna Seca going inside Stoner through

the dirt. Death or glory; the whole race an answer to those daft enough

still to have a question. And to have shaken the hand of that man -

that I won't forget either."

Aldo Drudi (Designer and Rossi Fan)

"Cattolica, August 1996, 2pm, very hot. I'm travelling

by motorbike on a deserted road towards the sea, when a small and

colourful outline appears from an intersection ahead, going very fast.

A young boy on a scooter ‘closes' the corner, accentuates the bend,

runs around the pavement, straightens up and pulls a wheelie... he

holds the wheelie on the aqua-green Zip for more than 200 metres, still

on the gas. I accelerate and catch him up. The boy lets go of the left

handlebar and lifts the left hand in a sign of victory. I recognise him

and follow him. Finally he lowers the wheel and with his feet on the

footrests he throws embraces and salutes all around the road to his

imaginary fans. He notices me, right beside him, and smiles. Happy

Birthday Vale!"

Colin Edwards (Team-mate 2005/06/07 and now Tech3

Yamaha rider)

"I have a few fond memories of Vale

starting from 2000. Our 2002 victory at the Suzuka 8-Hour was something

special, but I'd have to say my one memory that stands out is Laguna

2005. Basically, we were both healthy and fighting for every inch. I

did have a slight advantage knowing the track since 1992. As I can

recall, it was the first time we were together on track racing close;

as most would confirm, he was usually ten seconds in front of me

leading by this point in the race! Then he mounted a charge on the last

two laps that came up just short...I was happy we didn't have one more

lap! Haha!!!! It's not really a memory that I beat him, it's more of a

memory of racing side by side with what I consider "The Goat", which

translates as The Greatest Of All Time. Happy birthday, you old man!"

Carmelo Ezpeleta (CEO, Dorna Sports)

"My

favourite "Valentino moment" is remembering the unique human quality

that he showed after his battle with Nicky Hayden for the 2006 MotoGP

Championship. It is very easy to behave like a champion when you win,

but Rossi's attitude after losing was admirable and impressive."

Lin

Jarvis (Managing Director, Yamaha Motor Racing)

"It's difficult to think of a single moment but I guess one of the most

memorable moments was during the 2003 season when Valentino had his

first meeting with the Yamaha YZR-M1. We had started our secret

discussions earlier that year for a possible future move to Yamaha.

Vale said he wanted to have a real look at the Yamaha M1 bike so we

agreed to organize a secret rendezvous in the paddock at the Donington

GP. To keep it secret we arranged to meet on Saturday night in the

Yamaha Factory Team pit box. After midnight Vale arrived in a dark

parka jacket with the hood up. He looked like a burglar coming to steal

our stuff! Once inside he greeted everybody there and introduced

himself and then took his time to look at Carlos Checa's M1 from every

angle before asking our permission if he could sit on the bike. We were

so surprised by his humility and modesty and even more surprised when

he paid a complement to us by stating that it was "not so bad" after

all. His attitude on that first night time meeting said a lot about the

man. Since then I have seen a hundred more examples... Happy Birthday,

Vale!"

Jorge Lorenzo (Fiat Yamaha Team-mate, 2008/09)

"I want to say Happy Birthday to my team-mate Valentino. It is

great for me to be racing with a legend like him, but maybe now he's 30

he might slow down a little bit!"

Marco Materazzi (Inter Milan

football player and friend)

"We met thanks to

Inter, but we became friends thanks to motorbikes: our two great

passions! Now the stadium and the circuit are occasions to be fans for

one another and to try to bring good luck; you for me and I for you.

But the moment in which we feel the truest friends is when we're having

dinner together at my house, sitting together at the same table. There

we are just Marco and Valentino, two who for many reasons see life in

the same way. Today I am just like you, when you put your number on to

race it is the double of me when I put mine on to play, because I have

23! For your 30th I give you ‘double' greetings. And one more special

thing to remember, to succeed in keeping our ‘secret' promise, the one

which we can only tell when we've achieved it! Happy birthday Vale!"

Guido Meda (Italian TV commentator and friend)

"The end of testing, the slow-down lap. Valentino sees you from the

track and goes to wave at you. It's a quick movement and it seems

trivial, but it's a sign, a sign of how he focuses his attention; on

the bike while he needs to, on the man when he can. He separates the

moments, detaches them, changes and reasons. This is why everyone

always wants him as their poster boy. The Valentino I know above all

defeats what is normal while the legend grows. Now he turns 30, what

can I say? As before, he still has his feet on the ground. He is

ruthless and very much a perfectionist. He is easy-going and always

curious with his own taste for an interesting life, but he is normal.

After eight titles and 97 victories, I would like to be sure that I

tell the story in the right way and, although the legend continues to

grow, I can always find simple words."

Stefania Palma (Mother)

"I have thought about what to tell you through the media

for your 30th birthday... I could have dealt with sun, stars,

mountains, love and happiness... but I feel it is more right to say,

simply... HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"

Carlo Pernat (Journalist and friend)

"How could I not love you, Valentino? The champions know

exactly what they have to do, instinctively. I remember in 1997, when

we were making your first TV advert. You had to endure a day with a

fussy and long-winded director, who couldn't finish and had to adjourn

until the next day. You left and, with your friend Uccio you called to

warn that you were already home at your house, and where you were

staying also the next day! Straugurissimi, Legend!"

Wayne Rainey

(World Champion with Yamaha 1990/91/92)

"Happy

30th birthday Valentino! I love to watch when the odds are against you,

the battle is on. Your passion to win is visible and I respect that

very much. 30 years old...life is just beginning for you!"

Kenny

Roberts Senior (World Champions with Yamaha 1978/79/80)

"Valentino, when I first saw you ride at the ranch in Barcelona...

I thought Kevin Schwantz was tall and skinny! You were very impressive

then as you are now! Good luck and Happy Birthday!"

Graziano Rossi

(Father)

"Simply... I would like to wish him to

get to 40 without growing up anymore and then after 40... let's see!"

Rino Salucci (Friend and president of official fan club)

"Am I asking too much if I ask for 30 more years of excitement?

Well, I can live with half!

Uccio Salluci (Best friend)

"I hope that for the next 30 years Vale will be as fast as he has

been in the previous 30 and that he gives us more passes and excitement

like we had at Laguna Seca 2008. 30 more Corkscrews, Vale!"

Marco

Simoncelli (250cc World Champion and friend)

"Happy Birthday, Bomber! Although you are now 30, try to give us as

much excitement as you have given to us until you were 29! Auguri!

Sic58"

Gigi Soldano (Official photographer and friend)

"I know that every time I work with him something different will

happen once again. One more time his image is in front of my lens and

once again I have a different feeling and taste to be working with him.

His little wrinkles, his determined gaze with his piercing eyes, which

look right through you if you are not quick to change the shot. We play

a game and by now he knows what expression I want before I have even

asked, just like a team-mate in a match. The expressions stay in my

mind as memories. This is what having Vale in front of the camera

means, every time. I am always happy that I have the good fortune to

work with him. Today he is posing for me with a chocolate cake to

celebrate his 30th birthday. I shoot it as simply as possible; It's not

necessary to have anything else to make it a unique shot. A white

background is enough, and once again we relax into the ‘groove'. A song

comes into my head: "When you have a sunny day in December, you can say

that summer is already here! Congratulations, Vale!"

James Toseland

(Tech3 Yamaha rider)

"30 is a big milestone for a

racer because, even though you're not really old as a person, you're

starting to be one of the older ones in professional racing and you

start to feel that you can't go on forever! I don't think it's a

problem for Valentino however, he seems to still feel 25 so as long as

that continues he'll be just fine! Happy Birthday and have a great

party!"

Yamaha Racing Communications

Hoogte Kadijk 61 HS / 1018 BE Amsterdam / The Netherlands

T. +31 (0) 20 330 2709 / F. +31 (0) 20 420 9470

E. [email protected] W. Homepage - Yamaha Racing

Hi Lance,

See you have the same rose tinted view of life then .

If Vale wins then it will be because he is the best, if someone else wins then it means they were are best, simple as.

Lets hope for some good races again (you only get one Laguna Seca in a lifetime :eek:)

Looking forward to a great season :thumbup:

ps Happy Birthday Vale (The GOAT).

Kawasaki have dropped out of MotoGP this year, due to the economic melt down. So Melandri hasn't got a ride any more. Shame really, as he's a top rider - just didn't get on with the Duke.

Shame also, that Eurosport won't be covering the MotoGP. :(

Could never understand last year how a person of Melandri's quality struggled so much with the Ducati. He was near the top of the GP's quite a while before Stoner came good, and yet Stoner could take seconds out of him on nearly every lap.

Loved the commentary on Eurosport, but hated the regularity of the adverts, and the length of them, oh, and the fact that nearly every advert was the same as the last one.

It's one of those things about Ducati; when they get it right, everything about a bike is mega, but if they get it wrong they get it very wrong. If they've got it wrong this year, I'm prepared for it to be a mid or back field disaster, even in Stoner's hands*. :(

*I still don't like Stoner, but that doesn't stop me being a Ducati fan!

Could never understand last year how a person of Melandri's quality struggled so much with the Ducati. He was near the top of the GP's quite a while before Stoner came good, and yet Stoner could take seconds out of him on nearly every lap.

Totally agree, I think thats also what frustrated Marco as he didn't understand it either. Maybe Nicky's loose/wild riding style might be more suited to the Ducati.

What price any of the Brits coming good in the 125's this year ?

More cost cutting measures due to the economic crisis!!

BBC SPORT | Motorsport | Motorbikes | Practice times cut for new season

The thick plottens.

The thick plottens.

:rofl::rofl:

WSBK this weekend!!! WOOHOO!!!!

Cant wait. Whats everyones predictions for 2009 in this then??

Ben Spies is def one to watch i think, after all hes beat Matt Maladin which is not easy:eek: Many top class riders have stated just HOW GOOD he is. I think its the money thats stopped him coming to the World Championship.

On paper it looks llike Haga is the one to beat but as a few people have already asked, can he find the consistency over the full season to pull it off?? The pressure must be HUGE for him this year.

Then we've got Shakey. Excellent calibre of rider but i think being in the non-factory squad will become harder as the season progresses, he wont get Factory spec bits towards the end if he keeps beating the Factory boys, you can bet your Mortgage on that!!

Could be wrong but i cant see the BMW or Aprillia squad doing much this year but it would be great to see them do well.

Theres a few other riders that are going to be in the mix this year too so i think WSBK is going to be alot more entertaining than Moto GP this year. Like Lance has already said, its between Rossi and Stoner yet again, the rest will be fighting over the last podium step!

Ian:)

so i think WSBK is going to be alot more entertaining than Moto GP this year. Like Lance has already said, its between Rossi and Stoner yet again, the rest will be fighting over the last podium step!

Personally I think that even with Rossi & Stoner being 1 - 2, it still doesn't make it any less interesting.

Btw have you got yourself into the brisky fantasy league?

:iagree: - It's often said, and I offer Laguna Seca 2008 in evidence, that it only takes 2 equal machine/operator combinations to make a race. (let's face it, who was that bothered about what going on 2 Zip codes back down the trrack?)

Yeah, i agree it only takes 2 bikes to make a good race....but.....why not just pay the rest of then?? I think every race this year in Moto GP will be decided against Rossi and Stoner, so for me, WSBK will be alot more entertaining as there is potentially about 6,7 or even 8 race winners.

Yeah Gaff, i've joined the Briskie League:thumbup:

I'd be much happier though if Ben Spies didnt get punted of in the first race!!:P

Ian:)