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Indy!!! (spoiler)

Hogboy

Street Cruiser
Wow, haven't seen a last gasp move like Hayden's since following KrumMeister on the Chisasibi Road when he drained a full Connie tank in 45 minutes.  Great racing and great coverage by Fox Sports 1 (qualifying last night for 1 hour and 4 hours today).

Here's my totally unbiased, scientific observations.

1. Marquez is the new Kenny Roberts as he looks like he will be F1 champ in his 1st season.  Kid is 20 and seems unstoppable when he puts his head down - note 3 wins in the 3 USA races this year - that will be a record for quite a while.

2. Lorenzo still grabbed 3rd on a track that he, and Rossi, and Yamaha clearly don't like.  Might be able to pull back if we see DNFs from MM and Pedro-the-Hayden-Slayer though.

3. Pedrosa must be wondering why God has it in for him.  Looks like yet another season of finishing 2-3 - must be Puig.

4. Rossi had a great come back and grabbed last alien position (4th) after finally running down Crutchlow.  Hope he has a few wins left in him but I don't think so - least not with the big 3 around.

5. Crutchlow seems to be good at shooting himself in the foot and will be lucky to get on the podium again this season.  Mouthing off about a sub-standard Yamaha yet again doesn't do your career prospects any good.  He'll be lucky to get a few top 6-7's next year on the Ducati.

6. Both Bradl and Bautista are great talents on tier 2 bikes.  Love to see them on one of the factory Hondas or Yamaha.

7. Spies is pretty consistent in the last 2 years if you count misery, bad luck, and horrid happenings on his bikes.  Doubt he'll be back which will be a shame.

8. The fact that Bradley Smith got a Monster ride this year puzzles me.  Nice kid but no chance against the big boys.  Compare his rookie season with MM to see what I mean.

9. Never knew that Ducati has designed some mX capabilities into the MotoGP bike but Dovi and Hayden sure showed us a great side-by-side supercross jump at the end eh?  Never seen anything like that.

Hoggy
 
I waited until I watched the whole race before I read this thread. But I have to agree. Good post Hogboy. I agree in it's entirety. For the most part though, the race was pretty much a snoozer until the last lap.
 
OMG!!!  What an awesome day of racing at Indy!

As much fun as the GP race was (in the last few laps, the first 2/3 was a bit of a yawner) I think the Moto3 race might've had the most solid racing action- if you have it on your dvr be sure to watch it as well.

Incredible how Marquez' patience and strategic thinking improves with each race this season.  He was clearly holding back the first 1/2 of the race, letting Lorenzo and Pedrosa think he was really after them- then when Pedrosa nodded off, he quickly made his moves on both leading riders and ate both their lunches within, what, two laps?  Amazing work for a 20 yr old in his first campaign on these incredible bikes.  I have to believe Lorenzo's reign is now over.  However, I have to say that after that it was almost all Rossi show.  He looked like the old Vale, turning what had to be the fastest lap times of all riders for at least the last 1/3 (maybe 1/2?) of the race.  Watching him close the huge gap between himself and the front seven was magical and really got the crowd fired up.  One can only wonder how this race might've turned out had he qualified better and had a better start.

Also worth noting, not only for the gonzo move in turn 16 (not 50 yards from my unbelieving eyes!) was the race-long Hayden/Dovisioso/Smith battle.  These three could seemingly not come unglued from each other for the entire race, all three taking turns with the (group) lead at times, but Nicky holding it mostly.  But I have to say, that move at the end on Dovi brought tears to my eyes and the crowd in the H/J stands to their tiptoes, screaming at the top of their lungs.  Huge points to the young Brit Smith for hanging with these big dogs, he has great potential.  Hope Nicky gets a good ride with somebody next season; at 32 he obviously is still riding very well, and wringing the neck of that Duc better than anyone else has- including Rossi and Dovi.  I know, I know, Stoner campaigned for Ducati hugely successfully- but I don't think he was on the same frame at the time of his rides, to honest- but that's just my speculation.  I think that CF frame (that they can't seem to let go of) should go right in the !@#!@%^-ing dumpster.

FIM and IMS might've saved the coolest, and most prophetic, race for the very last.  At 4:30pm, the electric bikes rolled out for 8 laps of impressive racing.  This was racing like the old days, with well-funded Brammo bikes going up against home-brewed Zero's and others with no restrictions!  (Notoriously missing was an entry from Motoczysz- wonder where they were??  The well designed and obviously polished Brammo's took the day- but what was most surprising were the 130+ mph traps on the front straight and speed in the big Indy sweepers!  Clearly, there is a bright future for these bikes, based on what I saw in the race yesterday, as well as in chatting with the racers in pits during the day.  The technology is improving almost weekly, that much is clear- and at that pace it won't be long before there will be many more on the streets and in homes!  As others have said, the quiet of this race was truly unusual- to the point that the pirates on their obnoxiously loud HD's on Georgetown Rd behind the stands were louder than the PA and eBikes!!  But there was no mistaking the speed and torque of these cutting edge machines.

Edited to add link: http://www.roadracingworld.com/news/turpin-runs-away-with-fim-eroad-racing-electric-motorcycle-race-victory-at-indy/


Guys, you've got to experience these bikes and riders at one of the three US races if you haven't- words truly cannot describe the sounds, vibes and excitement.  Luckily for us Midwesterners, it was announced over the weekend that the race will be back again for 2014, and that talks for a new, long-term contract are also in the works.  I heard that the Nascar race (at IMS) only drew 40,000 this year, but that attendance for MotoGP was up to 60,000- which is also better than the last couple years!  The city is really embracing this international event, with all motorcyclists given center stage- that much is obvious.  Good great news, for sure!
 
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