Factory Yamaha had a good day at the Aragón circuit with Maverick Viñales qualifying on pole for tomorrow’s race, while teammate Valentino Rossi qualified in third position. Splitting the two Yamaha teammates was second quickest Jorge Lorenzo (Ducati). Rossi, of course, is just three weeks away from breaking his right leg, and undergoing surgery. Rossi openly questioned whether he will have the endurance to push hard through the entire race tomorrow, as he is experiencing some pain in the leg.
You can find full Q2 results here. Stay tuned for further race coverage on MD.
“…had he (VR) not…” Coulda, woulda, shoulda… VR caused his tires to overcome the coefficient of friction of his enduro bike, resulting in his broken leg.”
And at the end of the year the total is the sum of the parts…
re: “Rossi openly questioned whether he will have the endurance to push hard through the entire race tomorrow”
(yawn) don’t care, having missed a round you’re 42 points back with only 5 races left (ie. a snowball’s chance at title #10 even if perfectly healthy). you’ve now pulled a TDM on VDM (Total Dick Move) so get your gear/suit up, cause you’re racing pal.
There was no way Rossi wouldn’t race again as soon as he was able. He’s under contract to race the M1 for Yamaha, he’s the main economic engine driving not just the factory Yamaha effort but the entire sport, Yamaha is still in with a chance to win the Constructor’s title, and Rossi himself is still in with a very slim mathematical chance to win #10.
Oh, and given a choice between #46 and VDM, the entire planet (other than VDM’s immediate friends and family…maybe) would rather see #46 ride the #46 Yamaha. Certainly Lin Jarvis and Massimo Merrigali would, as would everyone else in the Yamaha garage.
Never mind the fact that there wasn’t a snowball’s chance in hell that VDM puts Rossi’s bike on the front row, which is what Rossi managed to do.
Also, it’s not as if Rossi lined up VDM to be his replacement. That was Yamaha’s doing, not Rossi’s. All Rossi did was get fit to race.
Norm-ally (kind of a cool pun there) you’re on the mark with your observations, but you couldn’t be more off on this one. If Rossi can race, Rossi will (and should) race.
Just, wow…
All of the MotoGP guys deserve the utmost respect. Virtually all of them were champions at some point. I’ve heard so many people trash Lorenzo, but I’ve never understood it. I’m happy to see him on the front row and hope things work out well for him this weekend. I think he’s demonstrated great bravery and commitment pushing his bike to the limit and beyond this season. The net result is Ducati is building a better bike, mostly demonstrated by Dovi who has a lot more seat time. These are the best of racing times for sure.
Dovi is not using the new fairing.
re: “I’ve heard so many people trash Lorenzo, but I’ve never understood it.”
no worries, people don’t understand the power of NATCORK…
good or bad this was always going to be development year for Jay, and as i said previously he’s been looking ever more “racy”. when we pay attention to his performances at home, we see he’s already there or thereabouts.
Rossi must need earplugs to quiet the “clank” when he walks!!
experiencing some pain? lol
I think Marquez would have had pole had he not thrown it away again. He had 3 red sectors and was flying when he tucked it. Loooooooooooong slide.
“…had he (MM) not…” Coulda, woulda, shoulda… MM caused his tires to over come the coefficient of friction, resulting in his second row start.
“…had he (VR) not…” Coulda, woulda, shoulda… VR caused his tires to over come the coefficient of friction of his enduro bike, resulting in his broken leg.”
And at the end of the year the total is the sum of the parts….
Alien? More like GOD! (or robot)
He’s made of different stuff than the rest of us geezers, that’s for sure!
Here, here, let’s keep this in perspective.