Sunday, March 11, 2007

MotoGP Round One: Qatar

FINALLY. The off-season actually went pretty fast. I'm glad to say that the wait is over, and worth it.

Some changes in the off-season took place. The bikes are now down to 800 cc's. Seven time World Champ Valentino Rossi is still on the Yamaha, with different sponsors/bike color, and 21 year old Australian Casey Stoner is on a new bike this year: the Ducati.

Watching the race, it was Stoner in first, with Rossi fighting right behind him the whole way. A brief lead change late in the race could not stop the powerful Ducati in the straights, and Stoner took his first ever MotoGP 1st place finish, followed by Rossi, and Dani Pedrosa.

Reigning World Champ Nicky Hayden finishes 8th.

March 24th takes the racers to Spain, and Hayden is going to be looking for a stronger finish if he wants to be able to contend again this year. It's very difficult to catch up if you get down too far with these riders. MotoGP is the Formula One of Motorcycle racing, and there is no room for error.

Ducati is off to a great start in Stoner. Of course, with the power of the bike, along with the fact that the main straight in Qatar is over a kilometer in length, the Yamaha was just outmatched.

Hats off to Stoner for an impressive win.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

There were a lot of changes this year! Will this blog talk about some of those?

Steve said...

Lorisfan2007,

Bummer about Loris Capirossi during the race. He will still have a strong season, I believe.

I don't do a lot with this blog, but I plan on doing these light recaps after the races. I'd be happy to talk more about 2007 vs 2006 changes if there is interest!