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MotoGP Catalunya 2013 Results

June 16, 2013

by Bruce Allen.  An edited version of this column will appear on Motorcycle.com.

Jorge Lorenzo Repeats; Championship Tightens 

Factory Yamaha #1 Jorge Lorenzo won a number of battles today at the Gran Premio Aperol de Catalunya.  He beat challengers Dani Pedrosa and Marc Marquez to the finish line for his second consecutive win of 2013 and his second in a row at Montmelo.  He beat the Spanish summer heat that had a number of riders seeing stars.  He beat the racing surface itself, which was hot, greasy and abrasive.  So why does he seems destined to finish second in 2013? 

Race weekend 2013 in greater Barcelona was sunny, warm and confusing.  There was a different leader in each of the free practice sessions leading up to Saturday’s qualifying, in which series leader and Repsol Honda #1 Dani Pedrosa took the pole—his first ever here—in his 200th grand prix start.  The front of the starting grid today was weirdness itself:

  • a first row comprised of Pedrosa, Yamaha Tech 3 overachiever Cal Crutchlow and Lorenzo.
  • a hilarious second row featuring satellite Honda jug head Alvaro Bautista, factory Ducati #2 Nicky Hayden and Repsol Honda rookie phenom Marc Marquez; and
  • an all-Italian third row of factory Yamaha #2 Valentino Rossi, satellite Ducati comer Andrea Iannone and factory Ducati #1 Andrea Dovizioso.

One of the areas in which Lorenzo has improved his game over the past few years is starting races.  Back in 2010 and 2011, he would routinely qualify brilliantly, only to enter the first turn of races in, like 6th place.  This, in comparison to rival Pedrosa, who generally started races as if he had been launched by the catapult on an aircraft carrier.  Again today, in a repeat of his performance at Mugello two weeks ago, Lorenzo entered Turn 1 aggressively ahead of polesitter Pedrosa, a critical move that would make his win today possible.

25 Laps of High Anxiety

By the end of the first lap, the top five consisted of Lorenzo, Pedrosa, Marquez, Crutchlow and a frisky-looking Rossi, who appeared capable of a podium, if not a win.  Rossi has enjoyed six career wins here, but another poor qualifying practice, in a season full of them, consigned him to a fifth consecutive off-the-podium finish after his triumphant second-place result in Qatar.  More on Rossi later.

The next 24 laps reminded me of playing Bingo in a church basement, which offers players a unique combination of boredom and anxiety.  The only change in the top four positions occurred when Cal Crutchlow, heavily jinxed by me in last week’s preview, slid off the track and out of the race on Lap 6 for his first DNF of the season.  As in Mugello, Lorenzo desperately fended off the determined Pedrosa until his fuel load dropped, at which point he was again able to breathe, while not actually “breaking” Pedrosa until the last three laps.

What broke Pedrosa today was less Lorenzo than teammate Marquez, who spent his entire day in third position.  Late in the race, when it became clear Pedrosa was not likely to overtake Lorenzo, the rookie decided to make a run at him.  He spent most of the last three laps of the race attached to Pedrosa’s pipes, like a terrier on a pants leg, until the last lap, when he had a “MotoGP moment” during a last-gasp move on Pedrosa that forced him to stand the bike up and concede second place (by 6/100ths of a second).  Marquez is a baller, with five podiums and a DNF in six rookie starts.  He will file today’s race under “Lessons Learned in 2013”.

Don’t be surprised if this is the last time Pedrosa ever tops Marquez in Catalunya.

Elsewhere on the Grid

Alvaro Bautista, onboard the FUN&GO Gresini Honda for what has to be the last season, once again exhibited his low racing IQ for the world to see.  Dude qualified fourth and had an outside shot at a podium.  But, heading into Turn 10 on Lap 1, he seemed to take aim at Rossi, went in hot, lost the front, and slid out, barely missing the Italian’s rear wheel and a repeat of their conjoined debacle in Mugello last time out.  Another bonehead move on cold tires, reminiscent of Assen last year where he almost wrecked Lorenzo’s season.  I join Fausto Gresini in wondering what the hell is up with this guy.

Riders enjoying a productive day today included LCR Honda sophomore Stefan Bradl, who salvaged 11 points after starting in 10th place, and Tech 3 Yamaha rookie Bradley Smith, who held on for sixth place in his best outing of the year.  Andrea Dovizioso managed seventh today despite running on the rims as he crossed the finish line.  Aleix Espargaro was again the top CRT rider, ending the day in eighth place.

Normally we ignore much of what happens in the lower tranches of MotoGP, but today we make two exceptions.  We congratulate Colin Edwards, on the NGM Forward Racing CRT, who, in 9th place, managed his first top ten result since finishing 5th at Phillip Island in 2011.  And we salute 10th place finisher Michelle Pirro for his versatility.  So far this season, he has been a test rider for Ducati.  He has been a wildcard on the Ducati “Lab Bike.”  He has been a substitute rider for Ben Spies on the Ignite Pramac Ducati.  Today, though, he was onboard the Lab Bike wearing Pramac colors, the third, and hopefully last, permutation of a second-stringer for Ducati Corse.  Will we ever again see Ben Spies in MotoGP?

As The Sun Sets on Valentino Rossi

Barring rain at a layout like Aragon, it’s possible Valentino Rossi has won his last race in the premier class of MotoGP.  The guy who defined the sport for most of a decade has lost a step, as was clear today.  Sitting alone in 4th place after Crutchlow’s crash, The Doctor was unable to mount any kind of challenge to Marquez over the next 19 laps.  He appeared to be hoping for something bad to happen to one of the leaders, which would have elevated him to a cheap podium.  As we’ve said here before, most knowledgeable MotoGP observers say it’s 80% rider, 20% bike in this league.  If you buy that reasoning, you may also buy the idea that Rossi is done as a championship contender.  The following graph shows Rossi’s wins per season since joining the premier class in 2000.

Rossi Wins per Year Since 2000

The Big Picture 

After six rounds, Dani Pedrosa still leads Jorge Lorenzo by seven points.  Marquez trails Lorenzo by 23, with Crutchlow 22 points behind the rookie.  Barring crashes, which is like barring respiration, it is a two man race again this year.  Pedrosa’s lead is actually larger than it looks, for two reasons:

  • There are only a couple of Yamaha-friendly circuits remaining on the 2013 calendar.
  • Lorenzo is currently working engine #4, while both Pedrosa and Marquez are on their second powerplants.  With a statutory limit of five engines for the season, the likelihood that Lorenzo will have to start from pit lane in several races cannot be denied.

True, Lorenzo’s primary gift is his consistency, supplemented by his patience and tire management skills.  Scrawled on his helmet today was his mantra “Constant as a Hammer”.  He’s a polished professional at the top of his game, getting everything possible from his Yamaha M-1.  But the smart money is saying it’s not going to be enough in 2013.

Top Ten after Six Rounds

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MotoGP News: Pedrosa Wins at Le Mans

May 19, 2013

This article is now published on Motorcycle.com.

Dani Pedrosa Wins Shocker in the Rain 

At the start of the 2013 French Grand Prix, the Alien with the faintest prospects had to be Repsol Honda minuteman Dani Pedrosa.  Since joining the premier class in 2006, he had never finished higher than third here.  Though his free practice sessions were good, he crashed in qualifying, putting him back in the 6 hole for the start.  He was eighth in the wet morning warm up practice.  But when the red lights went out, it was Pedrosa who dropped the hammer on his rivals, won the race, and put himself in the lead for the 2013 world championship.  Bravo, Dani! 

80,000 soaked French spectators received more shocks today than a nun in a cucumber patch:

  • Andrea Dovizioso led more laps on his factory Ducati than Valentino Rossi did in the last two years, before fading to fourth place.
  • Cal “It’s Only a Flesh Wound” Crutchlow drove his Monster Tech 3 Yamaha to an exhilarating second place finish, providing his French team with its best result in years, with a cracked shinbone and too many contusions to count, courtesy of yet another hard fall on Saturday.
  • Rookie sensation Marc Marquez finished third—not a surprise—after driving his Repsol Honda all over the park, skirting the gravel more than once, and spending a good part of the day in eighth place.  Marquez is very good.  He also seems to be very lucky, a powerful combination.
  • Valentino Rossi, who struggled all weekend, started eighth on his factory M-1 and was looking strong, running third on Lap 14 when pressure from a streaking Crutchlow forced him into a lowside and an eventual 12th place finish.  Rossi can ill afford more disappointment at Mugello.  In the words of Satchel Paige, he’d best not look backwards, ‘cause something may be gaining on him.
  • Even Nicky Hayden had a good day, moving up from the 10 hole at the start to finish fifth, putting more Ducatis than Yamahas in the Top Five.
  • Yamaha #1 Jorge Lorenzo will, at some point, tell us what the heck happened to his race today.  As our deadline looms, we’re left to wonder.  See below.

For the second year in a row, the race was run in the rain.  Last year, Lorenzo ran away from the field to win for the third time in four tries in France.  The Mallorcan started well today, dogging race leader Andrea Dovizioso and his red Ducati for two laps before dropping like a stone for a dozen laps to as far back as ninth place on Lap 17.  He would ultimately finish seventh behind Fun & Go Honda slacker Alvaro Bautista, for God’s sake.  Was it water vapor inside his visor?  A slow leak in his rear tire?  The heartbreak of psoriasis?  Whatever it was, it left him with a nine point day, buried in third place for the year.  Not exactly a momentum booster heading to Mugello in two weeks.

A Quick Word about MotoGP Qualifying

Across the board in motorsports, everyone makes a big deal about how important it is to qualify well.  MotoGP, buying heavily into this theory during the offseason, decided that it needed two qualifying sessions to sort out the finer points of determining who starts where.  Granted, the 15 minute qualifying sessions are a hoot, resembling a Chinese fire drill, especially at the longer circuits, where coming up with a single fast lap can be a challenge.

Today was a good example of the folly of such thinking.  The first three qualifiers were Marquez, Lorenzo and Dovizioso.  By the midpoint of the first lap, your race leaders were Dovizioso, Lorenzo and Pedrosa, who had started sixth, while Marquez was dawdling in 10th.  On the silliness scale, this ranks just behind the National Basketball Association, where teams play 82 regular season games to secure homecourt advantage in the playoffs, then go out and lose the first game in the series.   Just sayin’.

Elsewhere on the Grid

LCR Honda’s Stefan Bradl crashed today for the third time in four outings in his rookie season onboard the Honda RC213V.  After winning the Moto2 title last year and tearing it up during offseason testing, young Stefan and Company must be shaking their heads, trying to get the taste of ashes out of their mouths.  The six points he earned today by finishing 10th are but cold comfort.

Perhaps the best eighth place finish of the year was turned in today by Michele Pirro, subbing for Ben Spies on the Ignite Pramac Ducati.  Pirro, called up two rounds ago when Spies’ physical problems put him on the shelf for Jerez, started in 14th place and moved steadily up on the field all day.  It must be said that Le Mans, especially in the rain, is a Ducati-friendly circuit.

Today’s race put the vast difference between the prototypes and the CRT bikes in clear perspective.  All 12 of the prototypes finished today, occupying the top 12 spots at the flag.  Five of the 12 CRT bikes failed to finish, including homeboy Randy de Puniet, whose Lap 17 crash left him with six (6) points for the season, as compared to teammate Aleix Espargaro’s 20.  De Puniet confirmed this weekend that he will be in Japan this coming week testing the 2014 Suzuki prototype, causing me to wonder who’s in charge of the racing program at the Hamamatsu factory, and what’s in his medicine cabinet.

The Big Picture

Today’s race shuffled the Top Ten standings for the year, elevating Crutchlow and Dovizioso at the expense of Bautista and Rossi, respectively.  The Repsol Honda team must smell blood with Mugello, historically a very Yamaha-friendly circuit, next up.  Everyone expects Yamaha to do well in Italy, with its wide, sweeping curves, thousands of Rossi supporters, and eight wins (plus two seconds) in the past 10 years.  But if Pedrosa and Marquez end up on the podium in suburban Florence, the 2013 constructor’s trophy is likely to go to Honda for the third year in a row.

2013 Champ Standings after 4 Rounds Top Ten

Next Up:  Mugello

MotoGP makes its annual pilgrimage to Tuscany in two weeks, to the legendary Mugello circuit outside Florence.  Ground Zero for the Renaissance is always one of the favorite stops on the MotoGP calendar.  This year, the pressure on Lorenzo and Rossi is enormous, as the season is starting to get away from them.

In our Le Mans preview last week, we compared the premier class battle between the factory Honda and Yamaha teams to the fable of the Tortoise and the Hare, and found ourselves leaning toward the tortoise.  Perhaps we’ve been misled by this story for generations.  Perhaps, indeed, young and fast beats consistent and experienced.  We’ll find out in two weeks.

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MotoGP Le Mans 2013 Preview

May 14, 2013

An edited version of this article, complete with hi-rez photos, is now available at Motorcycle.com.

Team Yamaha Ready to Rumble in the Rain 

As the fastest sport on two wheels heads into France for Round Four, one thing is certain—the stakes for the 2013 championship are higher than they’ve been in years.  The Repsol Honda team of Dani Pedrosa and rookie sensation Marc Marquez has youth and speed going for it.  The factory Yamaha duo of defending champion Jorge Lorenzo and prodigal veteran Valentino Rossi has consistency and experience in its corner.  And while it’s not quite the fabled Tortoise and the Hare, the analogy works. 

Sure, rookie Marquez has been setting the world on fire thus far.  And sure, Dani Pedrosa came through in Jerez when he really needed a win, aided by an assist from his young wingman.  Lorenzo, though, is a double world champion, and Rossi, who is still getting used to the factory M-1 on which he dominated the game for years, has another seven premier class trophies lying around his man cave back in Italy.  It’s just too early in the season to suggest that this is Marquez’s year, or Pedrosa’s year, or even Honda’s year.

In 2013, He Who Remains Upright will win the title.

Take a look back at the last four champions.  Rossi won in 2009 despite a comical wet/dry 16th place finish in France and crashing out in Indianapolis.  In 2010, Lorenzo didn’t crash all year, but won the trophy by 140 points and could have easily absorbed a few lowsides without damaging his championship prospects.  Casey Stoner in 2011 crashed out early in the season at Jerez and won the title convincingly.  And last year, Lorenzo repeated despite getting de-biked by Alvaro Bautista at Assen and falling unassisted in Valencia.

Let’s pile on a little.  Here is the spread in points between first and third place, by year since 2009, after three rounds:

Year            Leader/points     Third place/points       Spread 

2009               Rossi – 65          Lorenzo – 41                 24

2010             Lorenzo – 70        Dovizioso – 42              28

2011             Lorenzo – 65          Stoner – 41                   24

2012              Stoner – 66          Pedrosa – 52                14

2013           Marquez – 61             Lorenzo – 57                 4 

All of which is a rather long way of saying that a DNF this season, by any of the top four riders, will put him squarely behind the eight ball.  If Rossi can find a way onto the podium at Le Mans, surprising no one, it will make things that much tighter at the top of the class.  And, judging from Marquez’s comportment in Jerez, I would say that he is the most likely of the four to get separated from his machine in the first half of the season.  Even at 320 kph, slow and steady wins the race.

Recent History at Le Mans

2009 was the epic flag-to-flag affair that saw Lorenzo run away from the field, joined sometime later on the podium by one Marco Melandri on the Hayate Racing Kawasaki— I know, right?—and third place finisher Dani Pedrosa.  The following excerpt from that day’s coverage remains one of my all-time favorites:

The first rider to pit was Valentino Rossi, who was busily watching Lorenzo lengthen his lead until, on Lap 4,he couldn’t stand it anymore, and pitted to swap his wet bike for the dry.  Thus began one of the worst days of his premier class career.  In chronological order, he immediately executed a rousing lowside, limped back to the pits, traded his tattered dry bike for his original wet bike, got flagged for speeding on pit row, took his ride-through penalty, turned a few slow laps, pitted again, traded back his wet bike for his now-repaired dry bike, returned to the track and finished 16th, two laps down. He might as well have gone to Baltimore to watch the Preakness.

In 2010 it was Lorenzo again, joined onstage by Rossi and Dovizioso.  Stoner’s early crash left the door open for the Mallorcan.  At the end of the day Lorenzo led the Australian by 59 points, and Stoner’s dream of a title in 2010 lay in ruins.

Two years ago, Casey Stoner took his first career win at Le Mans with an easy stroll past Dovizioso and Rossi.  This was the race in which the late Marco Simoncelli undercut Pedrosa in one of the lefthanders and sent him flying off his bike and out of the 2011 championship race.  For Rossi, the 2011 French Grand Prix podium would be the high water mark in a brutal inaugural season with Ducati.

Finally, in 2012, Lorenzo again led the way, this time in a driving rainstorm, while Rossi enjoyed one of his two podiums last year, finishing second, ten seconds behind Lorenzo and two seconds in front of Casey Stoner, who had announced his impending retirement only days earlier.

Having enjoyed three wins out of his last four outings in France, in the wet, the dry and in-between, Jorge Lorenzo should be the favorite going into the weekend.  With weather conditions expected to be cold and damp, it’s not that hard to envision Rossi on the podium and Marquez in the gravel.  And with but one third place podium finish at Le Mans since 2007, not to mention his season-ruining crash in 2011, Dan Pedrosa’s expectations for the weekend are bound to be fairly modest.

Ben Spies MIA Again

As was the case last time out in Jerez, Ben Spies will be reclining in Texas this weekend, nursing his shoulder, chest and ego.  Michele Pirro will again be riding a Ducati on Sunday, this time as a substitute rider for the Ignite Pramac team.  Last time out he was a wildcard.  The difference being, this time he’s into Spies’ engine allotment, which can’t make Ben all too happy.  According to SpeedCafe.com, “After a medical check in Dallas, American Spies was advised that it was in his best interests to delay his comeback.”  Um, perhaps until 2014, in World SuperBikes, running around with Nicky Hayden and becoming relevant again.  Everyone’s pointing to Mugello, but we’re taking a wait-and-see attitude.

Quick Hitters

Hectic Hector Barbera received a bit of community service as his punishment for getting beat up by his ex-girlfriend a few weeks ago in Jerez.  One wonders what the sentence might have been had he WON the fight…

Most of the CRT bikes are getting a software upgrade for their ECU units this weekend.  The exceptions are the ART entries of Espargaro, de Puniet, Abraham and Hernandez.  (No one seems to know, or actually care, whether Bryan Staring will be getting new software or not.)  One of the upgrades to the package is referred to as “anti-jerk”, which came along too late to be of any use to James Toseland…

The rumors of Cal Crutchlow’s impending demise at Monster Tech 3 Yamaha just won’t go away.  Stunning, in my opinion, that Pol Espargaro is being groomed to take the place of the gutsy Brit.  This could mean, of course, that Nicky Hayden is toast at Ducati, and that he will be consigned to promoting the Ducati brand in WSB, while Crutchlow will get his long-awaited factory ride.  (You gotta be careful what you wish for, Cal.  Ask Andrea Dovizioso.)  Following the dominoes, it suggests the brass at Yamaha corporate see the end of the Rossi era approaching, especially if Espargaro signs a one year deal with Tech 3.

The cool part will be watching the Espargaro brothers go at each other next season.  Recall 2011 when both were working in Moto2, as older brother Aleix punked Pol by a single point for the season.  Take that, bitch.

It’s a pretty good bet that last sentence won’t make it past the editors.  J

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MotoGP Jerez 2013 Preview

May 1, 2013

Look for an edited version of this story on Motorcycle.com on Thursday.  Until then, enjoy the raw copy.

The Spaniards Return Home for Round Three 

When it comes to grand prix motorcycle racing, Spain and her favorite sons own the sport.  Across the three classes—MotoGP, Moto2 and Moto3—eight of the nine top riders are Spanish.  (The exception, Brit Scott Redding, who leads the Moto2 contingent, should actually be struggling for Tech 3 Yamaha this year, having been curiously passed over last season in favor of countryman Bradley Smith.)  With the first of four Spanish rounds on tap this weekend, the fastest riders on Earth are hungry for some home cooking. 

Repsol Honda rookie Marc Marquez turned the moto racing world on its ear in Austin with his first premier class win, barely breaking a sweat in the process.  Defending world champion and Yamaha mogul Jorge Lorenzo sits tied with the Catalan cherub in this year’s championship battle, which must come as a bit of a downer after his dominating performance in the season opener in Qatar.  Pre-season favorite Dani Pedrosa, expected to be the alpha male in the Repsol garage this year, can’t be happy fighting with Valentino Rossi over third place.  Rossi, on the other hand, must feel pretty good about being back in the Alien club after his self-imposed two year punishment detail with Ducati.

Don’t be surprised to see the standings get shuffled this weekend in Andalusia.

Recent History at Jerez

The Big Four appear to have vastly different expectations heading back to Europe for the first time this year:

  • Since joining the premier class in 2006, Dani Pedrosa has never finished off the podium at Jerez.  He has a third, five seconds, and a win in 2008 to show for his efforts.  He was on his way to a second win in 2010 until Lorenzo ate his lunch on the last lap.  Jerez is one of Dani’s faves.
  • Jorge Lorenzo started his premier class work at Jerez in 2008 with a competitive third, trailing Rossi and Pedrosa, and crashed out late in 2009 trying to overtake Casey Stoner for third.  Since then, he’s had two wins, and lost to Stoner last year by less than a second.  Jerez is one of Jorge’s faves, too.
  • Valentino Rossi, in the four years prior to his defection from Yamaha to Ducati, had a third, a second and two wins here.  Vale used to love Jerez, and is looking to rekindle the romance this year, especially after his struggles in Austin, where he was soundly beaten by Cal Crutchlow on his satellite M-1.
  • For the wűnderkind Marquez, a visit to Jerez is about as welcome as a toothache on a Friday night.  In three 125cc seasons, he had a DNS, a DNF, and a 3rd.  He crashed out in his Moto2 debut in 2011, but narrowly missed a win last season, yielding to race winner Pol Espargaro by two tenths.  No one would be too surprised to see him struggle this weekend.  If, however, he manages a podium, he will be serving notice on the world that his time is, indeed, now.

Kevin Schwantz vs. Alberto Puig

Crash.net and Superbike Planet.com reported extensively this week on a web-based exchange between Pedrosa’s Rasputin, Alberto Puig, and former world champion Kevin Schwantz.  Schwantz, who has made a career out of his single world title in 1993 (notice we’re not saying a word here about Nicky Hayden), started it off, observing, among other things, that Pedrosa has enjoyed a Honda factory ride since 2006 without ever having won a premier class title, which is a good point.  But then the Texan wandered off into the ether, talking about Dani’s mom—don’t be talking ‘bout my momma–and taking a few swipes at Puig, Pedrosa’s Apologist-in-Chief.

Puig, himself a former racer, and not one to shy away from a tussle, came back at Schwantz with both barrels blazing.  Recall 2006, when Pedrosa took out eventual world champion Nicky Hayden at Estoril in a move criticized by pretty much everyone who saw it.  In stepped Puig, denigrating Hayden and absolving his guy of a crash blame whatsoever.  This past week, he claimed that Schwantz won his only title due to a crash suffered by Wayne Rainey at Misano that season, and that otherwise Schwantz “was always in the shade” of Rainey and Eddie Lawson.  (Kind of like Dani has been with Rossi, Stoner and Lorenzo.  Just sayin’.)

The bottom line, from here:  Schwantz is a world-class hanger-on.  Pedrosa, despite what he says, needs to win a title this year or next, for any number of reasons.  Puig is deeply in bed with the good folks at Dorna, while Schwantz is exchanging subpoenas with them over the fiasco in Austin.  All of this is a tempest in a teapot.  Schwantz needs to find a job, Puig needs to shut his piehole, and Pedrosa needs to win a title.  And, as one of my old bosses used to tell me, right now would be fine.

Elsewhere on the Grid

Valentino Rossi went to the trouble of telling Crash.net he expects to be “very fast” this weekend.  I believe the Italian master is trying to get inside Marc Marquez’s head…Ben Spies is sitting out Round Three, still suffering the after-effects of his off-season shoulder surgery.  This will allow his team to endure its customary disappointment prior to the race, rather than afterwards.  Michele Pirro, former CRT slogger and current Ducati test rider, will take Spies’ place as a “wild card”, due to some typically convoluted rule from the Wizards of Odd at Dorna…To the relief of virtually no one, Karel Abraham is returning from his broken collarbone several weeks too early, despite what he refers to as “complications” from his injury.  I’d say the prospect of scoring zero points all year would qualify as a “complication” for someone in the racing business.

Colin Edwards, who as recently as 2011 finished ninth in the world, has yet to score a point this season.  Inasmuch as this trend seems likely to continue, Edwards has now joined that massive legion of athletes who clearly overstayed their welcome.  Colin should go back to Texas, scare up some sponsors, rent a handful of Yamaha engines for next season, and put a competitive CRT team together…How cool would it be to see Aleix Espargaro finish in the top nine this year?  The new softer slicks Bridgestone has prepared for the CRT entries appear to be helping.  The junior Ducati entries, Spies and Andrea Iannone, had better keep an eye on Aleix…With unemployment in Spain hovering around 28%–28%!!!–attendance is bound to be down this year.  Which is a shame, as Jerez is one of the great racing venues on the planet.  Given Spain’s now chronic employment woes, how much longer can we expect four MotoGP races on the Iberian Peninsula?

Your Weekend Forecast

The economy may suck, but the weather on the Spanish Riviera is still choice.  Weather.com is calling for sunny skies and temps in the low to mid-70’s.  Now, if we could just arrange a little plate of jamón, some young Manchega, a bottle of red and a handful of those tasty Spanish olives…

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