MotoGP 2013 Hassen Netherlands GP of Holland

[JetMech]

This was an amazing race. If you haven't watched it yet, you need to.

Spoiler.......



So it only took Rossi 5 laps to take the lead from his 4 qualifying spot and never look back. Rossi looked like his old self. He hit was hitting his marks and never looked like he was under durress or pushing his bike. He looked very smooth. Unlike Marquez who looked like he may have missed the setup by only a small fraction, but you can tell he was pushing his bike to the limits by the way the the way the buke was sliding around. Squeezing every bit out of his tires paid off though and he placed second. Pedrosa struggled (finished 4th) and Cal Crutchlow took advantage to score his first podium.

The big story here is Jorge Lorenzo. This guy is a true die hard. On Thursday after noon he suffered a crash during practice and broke his left collar bone. Thursday night he flew to Barcelona and had surgery at 2 am Friday morning. They inserted a titanium plate fastened by 8 screws. Friday afternoon he flew back to holland and qualified 8th. On Saturday, he raced and placed 5th. I couldn't imaging the kind of pain he was feeling during the race but more do after when the adrenalin wore off. I have a whole new respect for Lorenzo. For the first half of the race he was on pace with the leaders and moved up to 3rd for a few laps but then his pace fell off a bit and slipped back into fifth where he rode the last half of the race after being passed by Crutchlow. A good day for Yamaha.

[R3K]

Definitely a great race, and Rossi looked great, but I'll need to see more before I'll be convinced that he's "back". Lorenzo, Marquez, and Pedrosa all had pretty good crashes during practice/qualifying, and even though Marquez and Pedrosa didn't break any bones like Lorenzo did, they were still banged up, and I think that affected them during the race. So, the question in my mind is, would Rossi have still won the race if the other three (specifically Lorenzo) had been healthy and not nursing any injuries, soreness, or stiffness? As much as I'd like to say he would have, I'm not so sure he would have won. Maybe second place, but I'm not sure about the win.

Crutchlow has proven, once again, that he is ready for a factory ride though, and if Rossi can't ride like that race after race, Cal may find himself on Rossi's bike in 2015

[JetMech]

(07-02-2013 12:58 PM)R3K Wrote:  Definitely a great race, and Rossi looked great, but I'll need to see more before I'll be convinced that he's "back". Lorenzo, Marquez, and Pedrosa all had pretty good crashes during practice/qualifying, and even though Marquez and Pedrosa didn't break any bones like Lorenzo did, they were still banged up, and I think that affected them during the race. So, the question in my mind is, would Rossi have still won the race if the other three (specifically Lorenzo) had been healthy and not nursing any injuries, soreness, or stiffness? As much as I'd like to say he would have, I'm not so sure he would have won. Maybe second place, but I'm not sure about the win.

Crutchlow has proven, once again, that he is ready for a factory ride though, and if Rossi can't ride like that race after race, Cal may find himself on Rossi's bike in 2015

I think Rossi and Lorenzo would have been fighting for the win. Rossi was pulling away from Marquez. He was on a mission.