The Final Race

So, we've had some highs and some proper lows, but it's all over. Stoner is MotoGP World Champion, mainly because he only failed to finish on the podium once, and that was also the only race that he failed to finish, thanks to Valentino Rossi.


Bradl is Moto2 World Champion, and deservedly so, although you'd have to think that if Marquez hadn't had his crash in practice in Malaysia, and had raced in the last race it might have been a different outcome. That said Bradl did the hard work, turned up, raced and won - and won well.


Terol walked the 125's, in a manner of speaking. He only seemed to have stiff competition in the last few races, when he actually started worrying about the championship. Even the last race of the year was a steady ride, with Terol running 6th, until his lap board informed him that Zarco had crashed, and then he put the pedal down and finished 2nd, after battling Vinales for 1st. A shame for Zarco, but for a rookie to finish 2nd in the championship is something to be really proud of, and is a name to look out for in the future.


World Superbikes went to Carlos Checa who just dominated. Much to his regret though he failed to turn up to Noddy's party in Portimao, so his life is much the poorer for that.


World Supersport is Chaz Davis. The fact that he's welsh shouldn't be held against him. Allegedly he's riding Cal Crutchlow's Championship winning bike from two years ago, although I suspect it's a bit like Trigger's broom, and we'd be hard pressed to find anything that Cal actually used. But, as always, the facts should never be allowed to spoil a good story.


BSB went to Tommy Hill. I don't think anything else can be added to what's already been said about the last lap of the last race of the year. 


As for the most important championship of all.....The Silver Knights Fantasy Racing Championship of the World (and Battlesbridge). The winner is...










not me. Bollocks.


Read the results yourself. I've lost interest.


See you next year.

Malaysian GP

Ciao Marco.

WSB Portimao & MotoGP Philip Island

WorldSuperbikes - Portimao, Portugal.

Lets start with WorldSuperbikes. I was there, where were you? Troy McLure had a retirement party, Noddy, Bel, Fluffy, Barry & Ez attended, as did Troy Corser, and much to his great joy he was introduced to Noddy who was described as a "great guy", well there's a first time for everything. Perhaps this means something else in Australian...

Leon: "I'm taller than you!".

Bel: "I really love you!".

Noddy: "I really love me!".

The Autodromo Nacional Algarve is a good spectator circuit, almost on par with Brands Hatch. Praia da Rocha, where we stayed, is lovely, sunny and warm, and apart from the bar Irish Eye, cheap. Happy hour generally started at about 9am, and went on till 9pm so a pint with breakfast seemed a sensible idea.

And there was some racing. And we were on telly, did you see us???

Noddy/Jamie: "I used to race."

Noddy/Jamie: "So did I."

Noddy/Jamie: "Let's talk about me."

Noddy/Jamie: "No, let's talk about me."

Noddy: "I really love me."

Unfortunately next year the last round is at Magny Cour, and Portimao is in September, so the plan at the moment is to go to Portimao and watch the last round on television. Sun, sea and s..beer in October can't be bad.

Noddy: "I used to race."

Troy: "So did I."

Noddy: "I'm a great guy."

Troy: "Really, keep you hands where I can see them!"

MotoGP Philip Island

Ten bikes finished the race. If I'd stuck a sticker on my bike that said "Prototype" I could have scored points, avoiding the sticky subject of actually qualifying within 107% of the Pole man. But Stoner proved that he is a worthy World Champion despite Jorge not being able to ride, all that did was bring the Championship result forwards, it seemed inevitable. A lot of people are now saying that Casey is the best rider in the World because Rossi can't ride the Ducati. I think this belittles his achievement this year, Casey has beaten Danni Pedrosa, Andrea Dovizioso and Marco Simoncelli, all of whom have had the same spec bike for the whole season, and it was his first year on the bike, the same cannot be said for any of the other HRC riders.

And did you see him drifting the bike? He has blurred the lines between sport and art.

Moto2 was interesting, with rat-faced little tosser Marquez deciding he didn't need to acknowledge the chequered flag at the end of qualifying by continuing to ride round flat-out. Despite every other rider riding slowly. He then, flat-out, rode into the back of an unsuspecting Ratapak Willairot, sending both of them to the hospital and just about writing off both bikes. He was put at the back of the grid for the race (38th) and then the young, handsome and debonair Spaniard showed that he is, and will continue to be, a riding god by finishing 3rd.

It did pose an interesting question. If this had been a different rider, let's say Marco Simoncelli (picking someone completely at random), would the punishment have been the same, or would he have been taken out at dawn and shot.

As for the race, apart from Marquez it was fairly standard, with Bradl unable to finish with a win, but we still have two championships left to be decided, or three if you include the SKBC Fantasy racing championship. Mathematically it's possible for Bel to be beaten, but unless I cheat (which is still a strong possibility) it's seems unlikely.

Next race is Sepang MotoGP, and Marquez is struggling to qualify. Could the championship be decided here.....

Noddy: "So what do you think of Josh Brooks?"

Sylvain: "I fink he eez a 'great guy', if you know what I mean!"

Motegi & Magny-Cours

Well, that's two championships decided. Carlos won the World Superbikes in the first race, with a t4rue champions ride by winning the race as well. And Chaz won the Supersport World Championship. A little known fact (or a very well known fact) is that this is the second world championship win for his bike, it was the bike Cal rode in 2009 - although I'd like to see what parts are the same....


Motegi, and the fear of radiation. A couple of Italian race engineers, who have decided to remain nameless, took a Gieger counter with them. They were very surprised to find that the back-ground radiation level at Motegi was not only lower than at their base in Italy, but lower than on the airplane that they flew to Motegi in.


As for the racing, Moto2 produced the usual excitement, so did MotoGP for the first 5 laps and then became a bit of a progression.  I must confess that I haven't watched the 125's yet so can't really comment.


And as for the important stuff... Bel may well be leading but there's still plenty of races left. Including this weekends Brands Hatch BSB Triple Header and Supersport Triple header. Anyone else going???

WSB Imola & BSB Silverstone

If wishes were horses, as the saying goes. I so, so wanted Chaz to win the championship, and with a huge lead all he had to do was finish. And then the bike went bang. Never mind, two more tries, one at Magny Cour and then at Portimao (I'll be there, will you?).

I so, so wanted Jonny to do the double. He had a healthy lead and all he needed to do was finish the race. And then the bike went bang, admittedly it was in a slightly less spectacular fashion than Chaz's, but just as effectively. Jonny's problem was a 50p battery connector.

I so, so wanted Ben Wilson to beat the Wee Wizard, but he suffered his first mechanical DNF of the year, the day after he suffered his first crash of the year. Two races left. He's now got a 14 point deficit behind Seeley.

Anyone fancy Brands Hatch in 2 weeks. BSB and BSS Championships to be decided there. I'm going Saturday and Sunday.

 

And BSB; Josh Brookes finally got a race win, although probably too late for the championship, Shakey had a bad weekend (by his standards) finishing off the podium in both races. It's going to be exciting at Brands. See you there?

Brno MotoGP

Casey Stoner's proved he's got spunk, in more ways than one - he completely crushed the opposition, wining by 6.5 seconds, and that's after taking it easy on the last lap. Perhaps we have seen this years world champion on action. And maybe next years dad of the year. I tried starting a rumour on Twitter that Rossi is the father, he's riding Casey's bike, so why not ride..... anyway, you get the picture, but nobody seemed to want to run with it, not even TwipGP.


The race itself was a complete shut-out by the Honda's with all three of the top spots being taken by one of their riders. They probably would have had the top four if Pedrosa hadn't fallen off. Rossi seemed reasonably happy, this time he managed to finish (almost) within sight of the winner, and definitely in sight of the podium, finishing only 12 seconds behind Stoner, but just as importantly only 2.5 seconds behind Spies. Perhaps they're starting to get there with the Ducati now. 


Again a line from Twitter, this time from MotoGPJules (Julian Rider), "BTW, on mature reflection I have come to the conclusion that Rossi's statement on Friday about moving the Duc's handlebars was bollocks". These technical journalists know how to thrown a phrase together.


The Moto2 race was almost as exciting as the second Supersport race from Brands Hatch, with the winner (one of a possible five) not being decided till the last corner. Bradley didn't fair to well. his qualifying was on a hard tyre due to a breakdown in communication in the pits, and just as he seemed to be going well, he fell off.


Noddy has the monster on the road, spitting 2-stroke oil looking like a proper tart, especially now he has a leather jacket that matches the bike. Something must be working though as he's closing the gap on Bel a bit, and Paul's closing the gap on Noddy.


Next racing is MotoGP from Indianapolis. Enjoy.

Brands Hatch BSB

The weather tried, but it couldn't ruin a good day. The rain, when it came, only lasted ten minutes, and didn't take long to dry out. It did however manage to stop the SuperStock race, but after two thirds were completed so it was declared a race - and I got sunburnt, it must be summer.


Lascorz and Parkes were a bit disappointing, considering they are on WSB machinery, but Byrne, Hopkins, Hill, et al produced some good racing, with a different winner in all three races.


Brooks got his first win of the season in Saturday's race, but came over all "James Bond" in the second race on Sunday by leaking a bit of oil on the exhaust to create a smoke screen - his words, not mine (you really should be using Twitter, you'd get these comments as well then!), which caused him to be black flagged.


Race of the weekend however has to go to Sunday's twice restarted Supersport race. With Ben Wilson (no, not Eelaine's son) and the Wee Wizard battling it out on every corner, for every lap. Honours going to Seally in the end.


Next races - MotoGP Brno 14th August.

Silverstone WSB

Silverstone, our very own home round, in perfect summer sunshine (for a change). Checa, yet again showed his class and won both races, but importantly , at least for race fans, did you see how genuinely ecstatic he was after each race. He is now also known as Mr Milestone having taken Ducati's 300th race win in the first race, some years after taking Honda's 100th.


If it wasn't for bad luck I don't think Leon Camier would have any luck at all. A bad start led to a fantastic progression through the field with the possibility of challenging for second place, if not for the race win, only to be let down by dodgy Italian electronics with the failure of a sensor. Race 2 was different though, he had a better start but was  beaten by a rejuvenated Biaggi, who was amazingly disappointing in the first race. Eugene did really well with two seconds, but, yet again, Checa was unstoppable.


At least we had a Brit winner - despite our Governments best efforts Wales is still part of Great Britain - with Chaz Davies winning the Supersport race. Gino Rea was riding like it was podium or bust, and bust he was he got, crashing on the last corner of the last lap trying to get past the ferret.


So, what's this done to our fantasy league? Bel's pulling away from Noddy, and Noddy's pulling away from Paul, whose pulling away from everyone else.


Next weekend is BSB from Brands Hatch, and it's a triple header, with a BSB  race on Saturday as well. Anyone going? I am..... see you there.

MotoGP - Laguna Seca

Whilst not them most interesting race in the world, it certainly had some highlights, and demonstrated why two of the riders out there have been World Champions, and will be again. Casey Stoner bade his time, running (by his standards) a has-been third for most of the race, and then, when  the bike was doing what he wanted after using most of the fuel, he overtook Pedrosa and then Lorenzo and then won by 7 seconds, truly a World Champion's ride. And Jorge, after a high-side almost as big as his China one, got back on, set pole, lead most of the race, and finished a safe second, all with an extra hole in his backside, as described by Ben Spies' mum (she being on the3 other side of the garage when Jorge returned from the crash, in case you think anything untoward has been going on there!)


Talking of whom, Ben was disappointed with qualifying, he (and me) expected a bit better, and come the race he entered the first corner on 97th - well, that's probably what it felt like to him! Although again, showing World Champion class, he kept on it and finished 4th, after a hard couple of laps behind the mobile chicane better known as Rossi.


Another fairly disappointing race yet again for the Ducati's. After the race, in an "exclusive" MCN interview, Rossi was asked if he thought he could win a race this year, to which he replied, "Yes, if the conditions allow it, unfortunately the conditions we need are snow." At least he hasn't lost his sense of humour. 


As for SKBC Fantasy Racing, Noddy's closed the gap a bit on Bel, and stretched the gap a bit on Paul. It's starting to get exciting.


Don't forget Brands Hatch BSB - August 7th


Ben Bostrom proved that he is a proper gentleman, obviously bowing to sponsors pressure to ride the Honda, during an AMA weekend as well, he admitted it was completely his fault for ending up off the track, and that the bike was a bit beyond him. He was probably being a bit harsh on himself, given a few more hours he would have done better, but no-one else that weekend was also taking part in two other races.

Motegi & the rider's refusal.

Have you read Toby Moody's Autosport report http://plus.autosport.com/free/feature/3685/why-motogp-has-to-go-to-japan/?
You should, if you have even the slightest interest in Motorcycle racing, you really should. Toby, quite rightly, has pointed out that the riders are employees, which is correct, but I think there is a caveat. Yes, they are employees, but they are employees that have been trained, for the greater part of their lives, and all of their careers, to believe that they are the best in the world. They are forced to make instant decisions upon which their very lives depend, and they are, by absolute necessity, supremely confident in their own abilities and opinions.


We will see if they are just employees when Honda sacks Stoner and Yamaha sacks Jorge. Hopefully it won't come to that, but I think if it does it will disprove Toby's point about them being employees. I suppose a small bonus for Ducati would be that if some of the Japanese employees don't go, they'll probably get a bike on the podium!


I absolutely agree with Toby when he's says that the whole paddock owe a debt of gratitude to the Japanese factories, without them there probably wouldn't be the motorcycle racing that we have today. But when you ask a racer a question, don't be surprised at his answer. Rossi seems to be playing his cards close to his chest, but then he is famous for using the media to his advantage, whereas Stoner, and to a lessor extent Jorge, are well known for wearing their hearts on their sleeves. I feel  that if they don't back-down, and they continue to refuse to go to Motegi, some of the fault should lie with the media for asking closed questions, knowing full well that these guys are not scientists or linguistic masterminds.


Hopefully, the independent report will come back saying that Motegi is safe, and that someone will explain to the riders what the report actually means. Toby provided some radiation comparisons in his article; I wonder if this had been presented to the riders before they were asked the question about whether they would go to Motegi, if their answers may have been a bit different?


I really don't want you to think that I consider Toby to be an idiot, he is far and away more knowledgeable about this subject than I will ever be (and can construct a sentence so much better than me as well). He demonstrates every race weekend his love of this sport, and every other weekend (if you follow him on twitter ) his love and knowledge of practically every form of motorsport, he is also a lot closer to all of the riders than I could ever hope to be, but I think on this occasion, unusually, he might have missed a point. Perhaps some of the lower order teams can afford to sack riders, I'm not convinced that the bigger teams will, especially when you consider the sponsors, who will be loving this whatever the outcome.

Sachsenring & Oulton Park

Sachsenring - what a circuit, even the MotoGP race was exciting, and well done to Danny, back on the bike back on the podium. If you've ever wondered how good Stoner actually watch the slow motion pictures of him taking one of the (many) left-handers, he has his own unique line going over the kerb, but he was actually drifting both wheels whilst still on the kerb.

Spies put in a good performance, despite being full of snot he managed to snatch 5th from Simoncelli on the last lap.

The 125's was fantastic, proper racing with loads of overtaking, as you would expect, but more so on the shortest GP circuit of the year. Moto2 showed that Scott Redding hasn't forgotten how to ride, and Bradley demonstrated that riding angry isn't always a good thing.

The next MotoGP round (no 125's or Moto2's) will be in Laguna Seca next weekend, where Ben Bostrom has a wild card ride on an LCR Honda, that might be designed to give Toni Elias a kick up the arse, or will it be his last ride?

Oulton park was a disappointment, more so for Hopper, but at least he walked away, unlike John Laverty who had a massive high-speed crash on Friday, dislocating BOTH shoulders, breaking BOTH ankles, and breaking some ribs. Apparently he's looking forward to racing again in a couple of weeks, although this will be wheelchair racing with Stuart Easton (and that's according to Eugene)!

The second race was cancelled due to concerns with the weather and oil on the track, but Brands Hatch (7th August) will be a triple header. I'm going, are you?

If you use Twitter, as I do, and follow Stuart Higgs (top man of BSB) has been tweeting some more American riders (after Hopper and now Zemke have joined) and has promised some interesting wild cards for the last round at Brands Hatch, he's also intimating that he is trying to reinvent the Transatlantic series, or something similar. This could be interesting.....

As for the SKBC Fantasy racing, a certain Noddy, currently in 2nd place, has been tweeting Jorge Lorenzo to advise him that he's part of the team and needs to put in a bit more effort, Bel appears to be running away with it at the moment, being 101 points clear of Noddy. Paul's only 65 points behind Noddy (sweating yet?) and then there's a another 100 point gap.

Assen, Mugello, Snetterton & Brno

Sorry it's been so long, I've been on holiday and hadn't seen any of the races. I have now....

Assen proved yet again why it's called the Cathedral. Ben Spies seems to like the place having now won his first MotoGP race, Dovi beat Stoner, which probably made for interesting politics in the Repsol Honda garage and Simoncelli took Lorenzo out (not on a date) - that pleased Jorge! It would appear that all of Ducati's might is not making a lot of difference to Rossi and Hayden, but I'm sure that will work out soon enough.

Bradley managed to get two 3rd's in a row and is starting to show some consistency, although it may already be too late for the championship - but you never know.

WSB from Brno was good, especially for James Toseland. He wasn't racing due to his wrist injury but he did show the world his new girlfriend, Katie Melua, which must come as a relief to Bel who up till now has been convinced that James is gay and fancies him. As for the racing, Melandri & Biaggi head-to-head was good, with clean racing and one win a piece.

Next round is MotoGP from Sachsenring on 17th July.

Bel seems to be gathering a head of steam and is now 108 points ahead of Noddy, however Paul's only 25 points behind Noddy so this game is a long way from over yet.

WSB Aragon & BSB Knockhill

Quote of the weekend has to come from Marco Mellandri after superpole. He saw Biaggi ahead of him, knew he'd been fast all weekend, so decided to follow him. "I would like to thank Max for this pole position." He even tried not giggling whilst saying it, but failed. Only to follow this up after Race one by thanking Max for his mistake, although this time he did keep a straight face.


Checa seemed to succumb to the pressure of a home race by trying too hard and crashing in Race 1, but got it back together for Race 2 with a 3rd place. It was also Haga's 300th WSB race, which seemed to pass without too much mention.


Chaz had a good WSS race, despite Szkopek trying to take him out in qualifying. When Chaz went to have a word in the pits it almost came to blows, each blaming the other. I've seen the video, if this had been MotoGP Szkopek would have been taken to a quiet place and shot. However, WSB seem to take a more reasonable approach and just ignored it. Sam Lowes, still coming back from injury, got 2nd and Salom was 3rd.


Tommy Hill showed his class at Knock Hill by doing his first double, but Shakey showed his class by qualifying badly (a crash in qualifying leaving him in 9th) and still managing to get on the podium. Hopkins showed his passion by faling off and then doing a Scottish jig across the grass, it would appear there was nothing wrong with his rear tyre, it was just a crap one!


As for the really important stuff. Bel's still leading, Noddy's still 2nd and Paul's still 3rd. At least Steve's no longer on 666 points!


This weekend we've got the Assen TT, don't forget it's on Saturday. The results of the Fantasy racing will be late next week as I'm on holiday. Try not to miss me too much!

WSB Misano & Fantasy Racing update

Ok, I agree that the WSB races weren't the most enthralling, but at least the Supersport race was interesting. Having said that, Haga was third in the second race, and if any of you weren't happy to see him on the podium again leave the room now, you should be ashamed!

Checa once again showed his class and why, at the end of the season, he will be World Champion;  I admit I may have to eat those words, but all things being equal I can't see him being beaten, when he doesn't win he's on the podium. Is it suspicious that despite winning on two occasions his bike's failed to make it to Parc Ferme, could he be running a supercharger that he doesn't want the scrutineers to see? At least Castrol Honda got a load of TV time, thanks to Xaus acting as taxi driver.

It's a shame about Johnny's crashes resulting in a broken wrist and no ride on Sunday. Haslam seemed to be running well, although the rear-facing camera showed huge amounts of chatter, just before he high-sided. In-case you haven't heard he's going to be a daddy, so congratulations are due there.

Rain seemed to be the equalizer at Misano as well as at Silverstone this weekend, helping Tom Sykes set pole position, but the sun came out for the races.

Foret showed why he has been WSS World Champion with a classy ride, only spoilt slightly by a couple of little mistakes. Do you remember when he used to constantly look over his shoulder, causing him to fall of on a couple of occasions? He seems to have cured that habit now. And now confession time; I've never really rated Broc Parkes, I could never understand how he managed to get such good rides. Yes, that's right, Broc Parkes, the guys whose leading the WSS Word Championship, just goes to show what I know. Sam Lowes was doing really well to catch Foret with 5 laps to go and then a back marker decided to hold the racing line, losing Sam 1 second on that lap, but he still managed to get third, which is fantastic considering he's just come back from injury, and this is his rookie year. Chaz managed 6th,

As for the SKBC Fantasy racing. Bel's still leading on 788 points, Noddy's second on 757 points, and Paul's third with 702 points. Only one to worry about is Stevie W on 666 points. Maybe we should rename him Damien. As for everyone else, you all losers (obviously not Steve, he seems to have contacts in low places!).

Silverstone MotoGP - No diving on the shallow end

Should London not be entirely ready for the Olympic swimming events in 2013 I think Silverstone could be offered as a substitute. It wasn't that long ago that I was taking the michael out of Miller for having a water feature, we've topped that by turning the whole race track into a water feature. Makes for bloody good racing though!


Unless you're name's Cal Crutchlow. Collar bone broken in four places, and then you see your team mate finish on the podium, one week after he broke his collar bone. Perhaps this means next time out Cal's going to be on the podium, who knows.


Colin entertained the troops on Saturday night, if you fancy a laugh watch this.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cdqTMPwjqR8

As for the race, Stoner dominated in style and truly deserved the win, especially when some of the best riders in the world either crashed (Lorenzo, Simoncelli & Spies to name three), or couldn't find the pace (Rossi). Dovi got second, also well deserved, and third.... Colin Edwards,  complete with plated collar bone and muscles seperated from ribs (apparently more painful than the collar bone).


Moto2 was far too exciting to describe, but I'll try anyway. Scott started really well, in-fact he lead for a while, but started to drop back. Bradl demonstrated why he should be World Champion this year. Apparently he can't ride in the rain according to the Eurosport's German commentary team. For someone who can't ride in the rain he still managed to finished in front of everyone else, proving that he can swim in the deep end. And then there was Bradley. He couldn't really have qualified any worse if he'd stayed at home. 28th. He finished 2nd. Herve Poncheral (Tech 3 Tea Boss) has probably never experienced such lows and highs in one week, In case you don't know he's team boss of Colin Edwards, Cal Crutchlow and Bradley Smith.


Yonny Hernandez did well (9th) considering his brother was meant to be riding this weekend, but didn't get a visa and was turned away by Customs. He should have tried speaking Polish or covering himself with boot polish (that's polish, not Polish).


Haven't seen all the WSB yet, so I won't comment yet.

IOM TT

Don & Steve take a break from watching the motorbikes to say hello to everyone.

Silverstone MotoGP - Bring it on

So, it's just round the corner, the Silverstone British GP. Here's some interesting (to me at least) numbers.

This will be (hopefully) Stoner's 150th Grand Prix.

If Stoner wins he will be the first Honda rider to win three races in a row since 2003, and that was Rossi.

Rossi has never raced at Silverstone - in fact he's only done a couple of laps on a Ducati road bike. Last year Nicky Hayden finished 4th.

And Cal? Well, this may be his rookie year, but last year he did the double at Silverstone on a Superbikes, so he knows the track probably better than any other he'll ride at this year. Could he improve on his season's best finish of 7th?

Spies finished 3rd last year, and he seems to have finished his run of bad luck, that could be interesting.

Randy de Puniet qualified 2nd last year, and was 3rd up till the last four laps, when his front tyre screamed "no more!".

As for Jorge, he likes Silverstone, and he can't really afford to let Casey keep winning. Could be a good race. Or it could be another boring procession, with the final result being decided by a four man jury called "Race Contol". Lets hope not.


And I almost forgot to mention: Jake Zemke is coming to BSB. He'll be riding the ex-Alex Lowes WFR Evo Fireblade. Do we need anymore confirmation that we have the best national series in the world?

MotoGP Catalunya

Another race weekend over, and when it comes to the supposed "premier class" the excitement seemed to be in qualifying rather than the race. Simoncelli eventually pipping Stoner to pole, who then demonstrated his appreciation of the Spanish crowd by waving to them as he wheelied the back straight. I've no doubt that really impressed the Pedrosa fans!

The race; someone won, someone else was second, and another bloke was third. Cal did a good, but lonely job finishing seventh and the only racing we saw was between 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th.

Moto2 was certainly good racing, but that's a product of control engines and tyres. Despite this Bradl is showing his true class, and so is Marquez coming from God knows where to finish second. Bradley wasn't doing too bad till he got hit Tahashi's bike, unfortunately finishing 19th and out of the points. Scott's at last got his name on the score sheet finishing 11th (his first points this season!). Simon was taken out by Sofuoglu and has broken tibula and fibula. Both riders were summoned to race control but weren't able to make it as they were in the medical centre. Simon won't be riding at Silverstone, and judging by other recent race control decisions I would expect them to take some form of action against Keenan. Soon overtaking will be banned, just so that it doesn't become too dangerous.

Talking of which.... Johann Zarco. An inspired last corner move helped him to his first Grand Prix win, only for race control to add a 20 second penalty for "pushing" Terol off the track. This is the same Terol that finished 2nd, or 1st after seasonal adjustments, note finished, didn't crash and still got 20 points. Ok, it was a tough move, even Jezza McWilliams, one of the toughest around, said it was a tough move (he told me on twitter), but a race should be decided on the track, not in the court room. Because someone has a hate campaign against Simoncelli a precedent has been set by race control leaving them no option but to flex their muscles again, or risk confirming that there is a hate campaign against Simoncelli. I think the same will happen with Sofuoglo/Simon, a race control decision will probably punish Soguoglo, one of the most exciting riders in that race. Anyone remember Capirossi/Harada? Capirossi's punishment for blatantly taking out his team mate and championship rival was ...... to become world champion.

And now for the really important stuff - Bel's leapt into the lead,16 points ahead of Noddy, who's 38 points ahead of me. Everyone else, look for yourself, I've done enough typing for one evening.

Next racing. 16th June. Our own Grand Prix at Silverstone. Come on the Brits..

WSB Miller & BSB Thruxton

So, ever wondered what it's like to come off a motorbike at 160mph? Ask Stuart Easton. During practice for the washed-out NorthWest 200 he clipped his team mate's bike and stopped very quickly without the aid of his brakes, or his bike. Result: Broken pelvis, broken femur (that's your thigh bone), another broken femur, burst bowel and a number of broken fingers. Gary Mason (Easton's team mate) was so convinced that Easton was dead he wouldn't go near him, until another competitor (Martin Jessop, I think) told him that Easton was actually moving. Good job it was his out lap otherwise he would have been going even faster!!!!!

As they say every cloud has a silver lining, and whilst this is probably not how he wanted to get the job, Alex Lowes was given Easton's bike this weekend. And got Pole Position for Race 1. Not bad for first time on a SuperBike. Ok, not brilliant races, 7th in the first and crashed in the second, but when he crashed he was chasing, and catching Shakey, so all in all he did a good job. He dedicated his Pole Position to Stuart Easton and acknowledged that Stuart had done all the work to get the bike to where it was. Can't help thinking if I was Stuart Easton, lying in a hospital bed, I'd be wondering why, after all my hard work, I couldn't get pole....

The weather made for interesting racing. Shakey failed to qualify, crashing out on his first qualifying lap, so he started bog-last. 9th row. And finished first. And set the fastest lap. Anyone surprised he won the second race from Pole Position? You shouldn't have been. And don't forgot Hopper. First time at Thruxton (he'd been allowed to do a couple of laps in a hire care a week or so ago), it rains,and he still manages a 4th and a 3rd. He certainly is world class. And dispelling all (well most) of the stereotypical myths, Steve Brogan proved that even a Scouser can be a true sporting gentleman, by pushing Alex Lowes back to the pits so that he could take part in race 2 after an electrical fault on his (Easton's) bike.

And then came World SuperBikes. Race one was interesting. It was held on a race track that had a water feature, which is novel, and brought back some good memories; of Haga when he used to race motorbikes; of Biaggi, when he used to be a tosser (that might not be just a memory); of Corser when he used to be a contender (although he did have the help of a very soft set of tyres, which lasted about four laps); and why Checa, for so many years, factory MotoGP bikes.

I have a feeling Johnny Rea might be taking Biaggi off his Christmas list. Although we didn't see it, Johnny described the crash as "...being Simoncelli'd" by Biaggi. Biaggi described it in his post race (2) interview as being crashed into by Rea. Who do you believe???? 

Race 2 was fairly boring, but did underline Checa's class. Are we witnessing this year champion? Today (Tuesday) is Leon Haslam's birthday, and some of the riders have stopped off in Las Vegas to help him celebrate. As Eugene Laverty posted on Twitter ".....Flying back to Vegas tonight, that race weekend really interrupted my holiday." Haslam also posted a comment about his race weekend on Twitter "Oh Well."

Next up, MotoGP from Catalunya, this Sunday. I wonder if Pedrosa will make it.

MotoGP Estoril & BSB Oulton

A busy weekend in the world of motorcycle racing. MotoGP on Sunday and BSB on Monday.

Side Show Bob seemed to be setting the world on fire, as well as Lorenzo's temper, but failed to produce after crashing again. Stoner, what happened there? Rossi's getting closer with the Ducati, but is it going to be enough for this years championship? Apart from one or two crashes not much actual racing though. However I have managed to pick up 9 new followers on Twitter after a comment to TwitGP was deemed funny, they'll learn.

A bit of MotogGP trivia for you. Who was the last non-alien (not Lorenzo, Stoner, Pedrosa & Rossi) to win a fully dry MotoGP race, and for an extra point can you name the year and the circuit? Barry, you already know the answer so don't try to be clever.

Terol walked the 125's. Thank God for Moto2, at least there was some good racing there, and a well deserved win for Bradl, a good second for Simon and an emotional 3rd for Takahashi, who's brother was killed the week before in a traffic accident in Japan.

And BSB. How good were both races? (and yes that is rhetorical). Alex Lowes may have a brilliant future, although for his sake I hope Bel never tips him for the top. And I for one think it's fantastic that Hopper won a race, it's really going to make the season interesting. Feel sorry for Tommy Hill, falling off on someone else's spilt oil, knackering his shoulder, tendons ripped and rotator cuff damaged, all in the same weekend that his brother broke his wrist.

As for the important stuff.... I'm sure you'll all be pleased to see that Noddy's made it into the top three, the best I can manage is 7th at the moment. Vicky's teams are 21 and 28 (which coincidentally is the sum of her actual age). Bel's 2 and 12, which proves he knows a lot or nothing (or both?!) about motorcycle racing.

The next race is MotoGP from Le Mans on 15th May.

BSB Brands Hatch

So, we're fully underway now, first round of BSB done. I almost went, but had to take Amelia and Olivia to the Southend Shake Down instead, were we met up with the Etchells clan, Noddy,Jordan, Heidi, Steve, Ashley and Ollie.

Have you seen the racing yet? No! Then you won't know that Shakey won the first race, and Tommy Hill won the second (even with a broken elbow). John Laverty lost the end of a finger, well, when I say lost I mean removed, he hasn't lost it, it's in a jar in his motorhome, and thanks to Twitter you'll be able to see it as well. Also thanks to Twitter Noddy, using the years of whit and the finely honed humour that we've become used to, asked him how he was now going to pick his nose. John Laverty, disappointingly, couldn't be bothered to reply, and to think if he had, Noddy would have advised him how to race a motorbike....

The good news is the results have shot one of my teams up the leader board to eighth position, we won't talk about my other team, and if you're worried about being last you're not alone - no really, in equal last place are Barry and Bob.

The next races are next weekend. MotoGP from Estoril on Sunday and BSB from Oulton Park on Monday.

WSB Assen

o, what have we learnt after another round of World Superbikes? Assen is still a brilliant race track, did anyone see, there was actually some racing going on, overtaking and everything......

Chaz Davies is faster than Casey Stoner - in a go-cart admittedly, but he still beat him, and apparently set a lap record, oh yes, and he won the SuperSport race. Sam Lowes had to get his brolly-dolly identical twin brother to drive him home, a massive high side landed him on his head, the term from the medical centre was "severe concussion" and a broken collar bone. Gino Ra threw it away from what looked like a safe second, however he did have clutch problems throughout all the races (2 red flags, that was interesting).

Johnny's back, three in a row at Assen, shame Checa had to shit in his tea-cup, and Biaggi, but a 1st and a 3rd are still good results and put him 4th in the championship. Checa, again top class, kept his head, used a tyre that can only do 9 laps, and took Biaggi on the last corner of the penultimate lap, could this be his year?

Yet again it looked like Haslam had to seriously over-ride the bike and managed to get a 12th and a 5th, and Corser managed to throw it away in the second race.

A good second race from Camier, and a flash of the old Haga, leading the race for a while - and then the money started to show, being out-paced by factory bikes.

For those of you interested (if you're not stop reading now) we've booked our flights and hotels for Portimao in October, at the moment it's Bel & Karen, Barry & Ez, John & Ev, Paul & Karen, Noddy (no mates) going. Flying out of Stansted 13th October and back on 18th October. If anyone else wants to go you better think about booking soon, the cheap flights are running out quickly.

And now for the important stuff.

Steve W is at the top, followed by Ez and then Bel. Noddy's dropped to 6th & 7th, has he peaked too early? James is 4th, which considering he's a self-confessed dunce when it comes to bike racing is pretty good (or pretty lucky depending on your point of view!), Vicky's managed to leave the bottom, which would be impressive if it wasn't for the fact that the team that's dropped below her is Barry's joke team..... And how am I doing?? Pretty crap actually, but I'm beating Karen, which obviously isn't important.

The next round should have been MotoGP from Motegi this weekend, but due to the earthquake it's been postponed, however to make up for it TwitGP2 took place this weekend, and was won by Colin "Colin" Colin (you may know him as Colin Edwards). The next real race is Brands Hatch BSB on Bank Holiday Monday, anyone fancy going?

Bored now, and I've got to do the washing up, I just can't put it off anymore. Bye

Donington

It's not time to start panicking yet, but Noddy's 4th & 5th (does anyone else think I'm picking on Noddy?)

A little known, nut interesting fact about Checa's win this weekend. You may have thought (if you'd seen him on the podium) that he was a bit more emotional than normal, well, 13 years ago, Carlos crashed a 500GP bike at Donington, and it was so bad he was read the last rites..... he's come back and beaten the track, and well done to him.

Next races are this weekend. MotoGP Jerez. Can Rossi get that Duc working any better? We shall see.

The Next One

So, are we all ready for tomorrow's racing? It's gonna be interesting.

Rossi could only manage 12th after loosing the front end, and a lot of qualifying time - but as we know, he's a racer, a good start and generous use of his elbows could make for an interesting race, however his team mate has out-qualified him, just, and the best Ducati is de Puniet, although he did manage to bin it as well.

Two Honda's on the front row, then two Yamaha's, then two more Honda's. Anyone going to bet against Stoner? Anyone going to bet at what point Dani's shoulder starts to cause problems, because despite qualifying 2nd he looked buggered in Parc Ferme, I don't think he can do a full race, even his home race, but we will see.

Colin out-qualified Cal, but only by 1/10th, and he binned it. And Hopper has got three riders behind him, don't forget he's only sat on the bike for the first time this weekend, so that's quite impressive.

Bradl's got an impressive pole in Moto2, Marquez is 4th after a get-off that made a bit of a mess of his bike. Scott's not done himself too many favours by falling off early in the session, the best he could do was 13th, however Bradley's 5th, if he gets a good start he could do quite well, we will see.

In the 125's Danny Webb struggled, and came close to being outside of 107%, fortunately he managed to qualify 19th, so some big work to do tomorrow. Danny Kent however managed an impressive 9th. Cortese leads, but Terol's right up his jacksy, could be another interesting race.

Bel's away at the MCN Butlins weekend, so it's almost certain he won't get up in the morning in time to see the first races, however his pipe and slippers bike did make 150BHP on the dyno, and still does 50MGP. Shame it looks like a Stanna Stairlift!

So, there we go. If I'm not too pissed tomorrow night, I might even update the Fantasy Racing and add my view of the racing - or I might just have an early night.....

First Race

So, the long winter is over at last, a civilised sport has returned to our lives (and it coincides with the 6 Nations - it doesn't get better than this!).

Please find attached the first set of results. Well done to Bel, Ez and Stevie W for 1st, 2nd and 3rd.

As you can see I've used my years of motorcycle racing knowledge, skill and judgement to rush into 7th and 20th - bollocks!

As usual I'll attempt to send out updates on raceday, but sometimes they'll be delayed (especially if I don't start getting more points).

It looks like Me, Noddy, Bel and Russell may have made an inspired choice of Sam Lowes. Only five people picked Checa, and only Bel picked Biaggi and Checa.

Whoever chose Toseland might have problems this year, however I thought I was on to a good thing with Guintoli, especially when he qualified on the front row, only to rush to zero points in both races. Serves me right for picking someone riding a mustard yellow bike, and he's French!!!

Haga did well, considering. I think Laverty was unlucky in the second race, some good things to come... Johnny Rae's riding with a nasty hand injury, and Camier has suspected Glandular Fever, so they both did quite well in the circumstances.

Pirelli need to be shot for their crap tyres in the SuperSport race.

Not sure if I can be arsed to provide this sort of commentary everytime, but it's been amusing this time. 

If you've got any comments, or just want to take the piss, there's nothing stopping you emailing the whole group just to see what kindd of response you get.....