Most Disapointing MotoGP Rider - WTF???

It has come to my attention that Eurosport.com is having a very stupid poll on their site. Stupid is not the right word really, I think it is OUTRAGEOUS!!! Why do I have that opinion? Because they are asking you to vote for which MotoGP rider you think has been the most disappointing this season.

How on earth can you say a rider is disappointing? In my eyes every MotoGP rider is a champion, whether they finish on the podium or death last! All the riders go out there every race, give it 100% if not more and basically risk their life! Motor racing is a wonderful but dangerous sport. And let me tell you... A MotoGP rider is riding at the TOP of their sport! They have skills not many people have and don't forget the guts! To say a rider is disappointing is very disrespectful towards that rider.

And to my amazement the voters think that Nicky Hayden is the most disappointing rider. Only a couple of races after winning the MotoGP crown the MotoGP world champion has fallen off the pedestal he was placed on at the end of last season. His results have not been what he wanted, but when you look at it realistically the race results are not 100% his fault. Honda made a bike that was build with mini robot Dani Pedrosa in mind. Honda admitted that their bike was not at the level they wanted it to be. He got punted off the track by Toni Elias, he injured himself when he crashed in the wet at Le Mans. They should not say that Nicky Hayden is the most disappointing rider, you should say that he is the most disappointed rider. He is disappointed that Honda can't give him a bike that is MotoGP world champion worthy!

Second in the voting is Valentino Rossi. I am sure that the so-called Valentino Rossi fans have voted him up in second position. So called fans, because they aren't true fans, they are just followers! Followers who probably have switched over to being a Casey Stoner fan by now. You know what they say: If you win you have friends. And if you don't win, well I guess it's a lonely ride! So Valentino Rossi doesn't win back to back races like he used to do, so what? Does that mean he disappoints you? He doesn't disappoint me. I think it's great that he still manages to get good results despite the fact that the Michelin tyres weren't top quality and the Yamaha lacks top speed. He is probably the most skilled rider in history and the championship is not over yet!

I could go down the complete list of riders that have been voted for, but you get the picture! For all the people who voted: How could you? I am truly dissapointed in Eurosport for putting up a poll like that and even more disappointed in the people who voted...

Chris Vermeulen Tough Cookie with half a toe missing

We have a new nominee for the Tough Cookie Award: Chris Vermeulen. The Australian rider was victorious in the GP of France. A great achievement, especially if you consider they had to make a special boot for the Suzuki rider after he injured his toe in China.

Chris Vermeulen has revealed that he lost half a toe during a qualifying crash at the Chinese GP, then rode on to claim a seventh-place finish. The Australian collided with Loris Capirossi towards the end of qualifying, but was believed to be uninjured.

However, Vermeulen said he lost the top half of the fourth toe on his right foot when his boot was caught under his bike.

"I don't need any stitches or surgery because the end of my toe was burnt when is was grinding on the road in the crash and that sealed the wound," he said.

"My toe-slide got trapped under the bike and ripped the boot open. I scraped the skin off the top of my little toe but the end of my fourth toe got sliced off, including the whole toenail.

"Luckily I didn't grind any of the bone anyway."

The Suzuki Grand Prix man then revealed that he refused painkillers, not believing the injury to be serious.

"I got some treatment and it didn't get that painful until I had to ride in the race and then I really felt it," said Vermeulen.

"It's my right foot, which I use for the brakes, and I didn't want to numb my foot and then not be able to feel the brakes."

Source:www.eurosport.com

Did Toni Elias curse himself?

We all love a bit of rivalry between a couple of riders. Who doesn't remember the Valentino Rossi and Max Biaggi saga? Or the one between Valentino Rossi and Sete Gibernau? Both rivalries had one thing in common; once Valentino Rossi starts to dislike the rider it's game over!

Max Biaggi, a 250cc worldchampion, went from Roman Emperor to a rider who cracked under the pressure of having Valentino Rossi stalking him. To make a long story short, the results failed to come and Biaggi lost his ride in the MotoGP.

Sete Gibernau, one of Rossi's main rival for two seasons, pulled a little stunt on the MotoGP legend and Valentino Rossi swore that as long as he was racing Sete Gibernau would never win a race again. To make a long story short, the results failed to come and Gibernau 'retired' after he lost his ride in the MotoGP.

It looks like mighty Valentino Rossi has now set his sight on Toni Elias. The Spanish Honda rider made a dangerous move on the inside of Valentino Rossi and tried to push him out. This didn't go to well with the former MotoGP worldchampion. Rossi had a rant on Italian TV and the game is on!. Toni Elias doesn't care about Valentino Rossi's comments and stated that he would continue to ride that way. Did he curse himself by taking on Valentino Rossi? We all know how Rossi's old rivals ended up!!!

Separate paddock for the bobo's?

The MotoGP teams would meet up this weekend at the GP of Turkey to talk about how the MotoGP can attract big sponsorships. The popularity of the MotoGP is growing and I would say: Ofcourse it is!!! In my opinion it is one of the most exciting sports there is. The way these guys race around the track, we can only dream of that! They live our dreams. Just admit it... You would love to do 300 km/hour and pass that checkered flag while doing a wheelie!!!

But anyway, back on topic, more and more people watch the MotoGP on TV, the crowds coming to the circuits is growing. A very good thing, but somehow it doesn't attract the big sponsorship that the Formula 1 seem to attract. A shame, cause wouldn't it be great if those private teams had the money to get the same stuff as those factory teams?

One of the ideas to 'promote' the MotoGP class is to become more stuck up. The MotoGP teams want to make the MotoGP more exclusive. They want their own paddock area and they want their own pit area, cause let's face it: People don't come to see the 'support' classes; 125cc and 250cc.

Excuse me?

Did I hear that right? Do those people who make such statements actually watch the 125cc and 250cc??? I absolutely love the MotoGP, but I don't see the 125cc and 250cc class as 'support classes'. I enjoy them very much, most of the times they are a hell of a lot more exciting than the MotoGP class. I wonder if the MotoGP could attract the same crowds if the 125cc and 250cc were gone.

Do they really think that they can impress the bobo's by having a separate area? Maybe... It wouldn't be so 'crowded'. But I think they should concentrate more on their own hospitality. Maybe they should bring that up to a higher level so they can impress their bobo's. Wouldn't that give a better representation of the MotoGP class instead of having the same hospitality with a 'shared' paddock area?

What do you think?

John Hopkins is one hell of a tough cookie

The first nominee for the tough cookie award is John Hopkins.

I would have nominated Troy Bayliss too if I could, but the Aussie is riding in the Superbikes class and that excludes him for this new MotoGP award. But I do feel the need to mention that he is the toughest cookie of all. He's riding this weekend in Valencia after losing two joints of his little finger and a nasty groin injury caused by a crash in the previous round.

Anyway, back to John Hopkins. Hopper injured his wrist at the MotoGP test following the GP in the dessert of Qatar. You would think that a normal person would love to do something about it. Make it heal, be painfree... But no, John Hopkins says no way to surgery. Instead of having to miss a GP, he chooses to ride around in pain. And... during the last GP in Spain you could see that this tough cookie can perform under painful circumstances.

So John Hopkins is nomitated for the Tough Cookie Award 2007!!!

Numbers don't lie - or do they?

If you had the chance to read the biography of Valentino Rossi "What if I never tried it" you know that Honda can be a little arrogant. So arrogant that they let worlds best rider go to Yamaha. Oh boy, how the Italian superstar must have laughed when he showed them in South Africa at his first GP on the 'lesser' bike. Not the bike, but the rider was more important! That was a historical moment in the sport of motorcycle racing.

Honda somehow still has the opinion that it is not the rider that counts, it's THE BIKE. In fact, they think that they are so superior to the other bike factories that they don't care who rides their bike. A good example of this is Kentucky Kid Nicky Hayden. This spunky boy was brought into the MotoGP after winning the AMA superbike championship. Honda recognized the fact that there is a big market in the USA and what better way to promote the sport (read Honda) than to bring in an American. Mr. Hayden became MotoGP world champion last year. Nicky Hayden had done the impossible; he 'beat' Valentino Rossi! He became number 1. He brought the world title back to Honda. You would think it would mean something!

But no... Honda, being arrogant as ever, don't think that being MotoGP world champion means anything, they don't think that riding around with the #1 on your bike means anything at all. If it wasn't for THEIR BIKE, Nicky Hayden wouldn't have been world champion. And to be completely honest.. they don't give a rats ass that it was Nicky Hayden who won the championship, as long as it was a Honda!

So Nicky Hayden can walk around with "Numbers don't lie" on his ass, but Honda wipe their ass of with him. Instead of making the MotoGP world champion the number 1 rider for their factory team, they choose to make 'robot', never cracks a smile, Dani Pedrosa the number 1 rider. Honda gets sponsored by Repsol, a Spanish company. Dorna is a Spanish company... You do the math!

So numbers don't lie? Maybe they don't, but at Honda they don't care!

Is Marco Melandri the new Max Biaggi?

Max Biaggi used to be famous for his whining and moaning. Ever since he bad mouthed Valentino Rossi in the early days and was not able to back up his claims in the big boys class, Max Biaggi turned into a cranky old shrimp. Always complaining about how Honda treated him. How dare they!! Valentino Rossi was the only one who got all the good gear, not him! How was he, the Roman Emperor, able to put in good results if he was the last person on earth to get the goodies? Nowadays the once voted 'King of Moans' is a happy man again. He's riding in the World Superbikes class and darling Valentino Rossi can't steal his spotlight anymore!

So that left the MotoGP world with a big void... Something was missing! But lucky for us, there have been a few riders who tried to step up to the plate and fill that big empty hole Max Biaggi left behind.

After winning the MotoGP worldchampionship Nicky Hayden got greedy for more titles in the off-season. He made a serious attempt to win the title that was up for grabs: the new king of moan. And after hearing all the whining about his new 800cc bike I seriously thought that he was a good contender...

I don't know about you, but after reading Marco Melandri Rants about Honda I think we have a winner!!! Nicky Hayden could not possibly top that! I think the Kentucky Kid should just let it go and concentrate a bit more on defending his world title.

Not only did Marco Melandri had an awesome public rant about his boss Honda on his website, he's Italian, riding for a satellite Honda team and he even has that whole goaty thing going. That's 3 against 1 for Marco! Although Marco Melandri is almost sure of at least one title this season, I'm not sure if he will have a ride with Honda next year.

But the season has only just started. To be continued...