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[Business]

The attitude regarding Rossi depends on who you talk too. Many fans & pundits think Rossi is the GOAT (or close to it) on and off the track whilst others have very few nice things to say about him as he's apparently quite the politician and leverages his massive support at every opportunity.

That said, I like all the riders, naturally some more than others, and Rossi remains a favourite of mine from his 125cc days to now. I own all of his 1/6th scale Minchamp models too Julian Ryder once said anyone who can qualify for a MotoGP race is a hero and I agree.

The best Rossi post-race was the blow-up doll he rode around with as a 'fuck you' to Max Biaggi who was said to be dating a supermodel at the time. That along with the blow-up dong with a flag waving off the shaft caused Kevin Magee to utter the famous 'that's half a mongrel' line on Foxsports AU.

Polleria Osvaldo was a classic too. I think I was in tears when the chicken guy hopped on the bike.

 

[Psychotext]

Incredible bit of machinery: http://wtf1.co.uk/audi-wec-2015-monza/

 

[Jezbollah]

I still remember some of the earliest footage I'd seen of Rossi was when he finished a race (I'm sure it was Philip Island) and ran straight to a portable toilet that was trackside (and nowhere near the pits). Is it safe to assume he's still a genuinely nice guy despite his success?

Barcelona, 250cc GP, 1999.

 

[Shaneus]

Barcelona, 250cc GP, 1999.

Holy shit, it was that long ago? Yikes.

I definitely do remember when he used to race in the 250s (and even 125s). I have a ridiculous memory for that shit.

 

[Business]

Barcelona, 250cc GP, 1999.

I think it was Jerez.

 

[Jezbollah]

I think it was Jerez.

I think you're right https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NmK8fAQfwU

Anyway, WEC Rd1 (Silverstone 6hr - Here --> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VibdXK7X7o

 

[B.K.]

A scary moment in tonight's XFINITY Series race.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWhzJXlTjbo

 

[thefro]

Didn't watch it but reading that the IndyCar race at Barber was incredible.

Josef Newgarden gets his first series win and it sounds like Graham Rahal had the drive of his life to finish 2nd and was passing people like crazy.

 

[Fox Mulder]

Gonna try to start watching more wec this year.

 

[Chris R]

Didn't watch it but reading that the IndyCar race at Barber was incredible.

Josef Newgarden gets his first series win and it sounds like Graham Rahal had the drive of his life to finish 2nd and was passing people like crazy.

Yup, fresh rubber, was nearly 2 seconds a lap faster than the people in front of him at the end. Terrific race minus some backmarker wankery. Will Power is an idiot.

 

[Dave_6]

Didn't watch it but reading that the IndyCar race at Barber was incredible.

Josef Newgarden gets his first series win and it sounds like Graham Rahal had the drive of his life to finish 2nd and was passing people like crazy.

Yeah it was a good one for sure! I was pulling for Rahal but happy to see Josef get his first win. I've been there all 3 days and have seen some great racing from both the Indy Cars and the Pirelli World Challenge.

 

[Elvin Atombender]

F3 at Hockenheim starts i a few minutes.

http://www.fiaf3europe.com/en/livestream/index.html

35 cars on a wet track!

 

[DrM]

Incredible bit of machinery: http://wtf1.co.uk/audi-wec-2015-monza/

Is this Le Mans spec car?

 

[bobnowhere]

Is this Le Mans spec car?

Looks like, they are running the low downforce this weekend as well.

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

Porsche 1-2-3 in Qualifying for 6H Spa

Porsche has swept qualifying for Saturday’s Six Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, with the German manufacturer lining up 1-2-3 for the second round of the FIA World Endurance Championship.

Timo Bernhard and Brendon Hartley scored back-to-back poles for the No. 17 Porsche 919 Hybrid, thanks to a record-breaking two-lap average of 1:54.767.

Their time outpaced the No. 19 Porsche, qualified by LMP1 debutants Nico Hulkenberg and Nick Tandy, by 0.258 seconds, with the team’s third entry of Marc Lieb and Neel Jani a further three-tenths back in third.

It marked a dominant run for the German manufacturer, as expected over single-lap qualifying runs with the car’s large-capacity hybrid system, although coming in Porsche’s first race as a three-car effort.

The No. 7 Audi R18 e-tron quattro of Andre Lotterer and Marcel Fassler was the best of the rest with a 1:55.540 average, although more than seven-tenths slower than the pole-sitting Porsche.

Audi’s No. 8 entry, also running in Le Mans-spec this weekend, was fourth, while the No. 1 Toyota of Anthony Davidson and Sebastien Buemi completed the top-five overall and in LMP1.

Remarkably, all of the factory LMP1 cars were under last year’s qualifying record.

1:54 and change is a seriously impressive lap, and while the 919 is certainly a rocketship, the LM-spec R18s aren't far behind, and you know they will be running strong in the closing hours. The strides Audi has made since last year are remarkable.

I think we can safely say that the 908's lap record at Le Mans will be beaten this year; all that remains to be seen is by how much.

 

[Shaneus]

Porsche 1-2-3 in Qualifying for 6H Spa



1:54 and change is a seriously impressive lap, and while the 919 is certainly a rocketship, the LM-spec R18s aren't far behind, and you know they will be running strong in the closing hours. The strides Audi has made since last year are remarkable.

I think we can safely say that the 908's lap record at Le Mans will be beaten this year; all that remains to be seen is by how much.

Oh shit, Porsche finally bringing it! How did they decide who drove the qualis? Tiny bit sad that Webber wasn't one of the two, but I'm not fussed. Just glad there's another player in town.

 

[nature boy]

Only 1 Porsche in the top 3 (in the lead), reliability problems once again - and stupid driving.

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

Webber made running down the Toyotas look easy. Absolutely no contest on the Kemmel Straight.

 

[Shaneus]

Fuck, is it still on? How can I watch it?1?

Edit: Noticed the time of your post. Guess it's over :/

 

[Elfforkusu]

I want to hate on Audi for winning all the damn time, but then I read stories like this:

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/energy/2015/04/150428-audi-ediesel-made-from-water-air/

Making e-diesel requires several steps, which are powered by renewable energy sources such as wind and solar. High-temperature electrolysis splits water, heated to form steam, into hydrogen and oxygen. The oxygen is released into the atmosphere while the hydrogen is fed into a reactor, where it reacts with CO2 to form a liquid long-form hydrocarbon known as “blue crude.” Audi says the efficiency of the overall process is “very high”—about 70 percent.

CO2 + water + solar energy = 100% renewable synthetic diesel

Literally saving the world. Fuckers! How am I supposed to root against you!

 

[paskowitz]

I want to hate on Audi for winning all the damn time, but then I read stories like this:

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/energy/2015/04/150428-audi-ediesel-made-from-water-air/

CO2 + water + solar energy = 100% renewable synthetic diesel

Literally saving the world. Fuckers! How am I supposed to root against you!

Meanwhile in F1...

...

 

[bobnowhere]

Woohoo, MotoGP on at a sensible time.

MIller may struggle to qualify his new bike, but his first laps are amazing.

 

[Juicy Bob]

I want to hate on Audi for winning all the damn time, but then I read stories like this:

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/energy/2015/04/150428-audi-ediesel-made-from-water-air/

CO2 + water + solar energy = 100% renewable synthetic diesel

Literally saving the world. Fuckers! How am I supposed to root against you!

I know exactly how you feel.

Also, this renewable energy and green tech is so fucking sexy to me. Give me this futuristic, mega-efficient, Space-Age stuff over 20th Century, unsophisticated, loud V8 old shit.

 

[Fox Mulder]

I know exactly how you feel.

Also, this renewable energy and green tech is so fucking sexy to me. Give me this futuristic, mega-efficient, Space-Age stuff over 20th Century, unsophisticated, loud V8 old shit.

The lmp cars are sexy beasts, even down to how they're designed to be so efficient that engine noise is wasteful.

but I still love the loud as shit f1 cars from a dated era.

 

[Vicious]

Hey guys, Dale Earnhardt Jr. just won Talladega. Good stuff.

 

[Elfforkusu]

Yeah, seemed like that debris found his grill at just the right time!

JJ could barely keep up...

 

[Shaneus]

How can you not love the guy?

 

[Elfforkusu]

How can you not love the guy?

:lol

I'm pretty much all-in on the WEC/Le Mans stuff these days. The tech, the sportsmanship, the drama, the chaos of having all the different classes of cars on the track at once. sogood.gif

BUT! They need to hug it out with ISC and get Sebring back on the WEC schedule. All these 6 hour races are lame!

Spoiler

And it's easier for me to road trip to Florida in the spring than to Texas in the fall.

 

[Shaneus]

I'm pretty much all-in on it too, but awareness of when races are (and the ability to watch them) are still out of my periphery, meaning I always find out about them too late... if I can even watch them at all (due to timezones).

 

[TJP]

Woohoo, MotoGP on at a sensible time.

MIller may struggle to qualify his new bike, but his first laps are amazing.

'Twas good racing in the lower classes and an interesting return to form for

Spoiler

Lorenzo

who was in another postcode before the end of the MotoGP race.

It sure seems to me that

Spoiler

HRC

have a lot of work to do along with Ducati who faded quickly during the race. I'd love to see Casey Stoner return for a few rounds - odd that HRC declined his return on the basis that he didn't know the last three tracks too well.

 

[Elfforkusu]

I'm pretty much all-in on it too, but awareness of when races are (and the ability to watch them) are still out of my periphery, meaning I always find out about them too late... if I can even watch them at all (due to timezones).

Yeah, I totally whiffed on Spa. Knew it was last (edit: this) weekend, but forgot to do the time zone math. Luckily somebody uploaded the race to youtube!

 

[Shaneus]

Yeah, I totally whiffed on Spa. Knew it was last weekend, but forgot to do the time zone math. Luckily somebody uploaded the race to youtube!

Is that the upload by /r/WEC? I didn't even know that was a thing, I just looked it up now.

 

[bobnowhere]

'Twas good racing in the lower classes and an interesting return to form for

Spoiler

Lorenzo

who was in another postcode before the end of the MotoGP race.

It sure seems to me that

Spoiler

HRC

have a lot of work to do along with Ducati who faded quickly during the race. I'd love to see Casey Stoner return for a few rounds - odd that HRC declined his return on the basis that he didn't know the last three tracks too well.

It was amazing that after 3 races everyone had written off

Spoiler

Lorenzo

, his career was over, where does he go in 2016? Suzuki? WSBK? Then he goes out and shreds the field over the entire weekend!

 

[Big Takeover]

Yeah, I totally whiffed on Spa. Knew it was last weekend, but forgot to do the time zone math. Luckily somebody uploaded the race to youtube!

Nice, thanks for the heads up. I only recorded the first three hours that were broadcasted. I'll watch the rest now!

It was amazing that after 3 races everyone had written off

Spoiler

Lorenzo

, his career was over, where does he go in 2016? Suzuki? WSBK? Then he goes out and shreds the field over the entire weekend!

I didn't see that coming at all. He definitely needed a confidence boost, so let's hope it kick starts his season. I don't think the old man is going to be able to beat the kid straight up over the course of the whole season. Somebody else is going to have show up and take some points away.

 

[TJP]

I didn't see that coming at all. He definitely needed a confidence boost, so let's hope it kick starts his season. I don't think the old man is going to be able to beat the kid straight up over the course of the whole season. Somebody else is going to have show up and take some points away.

On home soil I sure did The Spaniards have an amazing track record at Jerez in recent years and

Spoiler

Lorenzo

was on fire from free practice. I was hoping Crutchlow would catch

Spoiler

Rossi

but alas that charge never occured.

The shocker from this round came from Ducati who slipped back to their post-Stoner form. Can someone inform me as to why Melandri is still employed by a works MotoGP team? Marco should have stayed in WSBK where he at the very least was on a decent bike and looked interested.

 

[Elfforkusu]

Is that the upload by /r/WEC? I didn't even know that was a thing, I just looked it up now.

Nice, thanks for the heads up. I only recorded the first three hours that were broadcasted. I'll watch the rest now!

Yep.

Some highlights:

+4:30:00
+3:00:00
+2:10:00
+1:32:00 <-- battle of the race

 

[Business]

The shocker from this round came from Ducati who slipped back to their post-Stoner form.

Yeah I didn't see that one coming either, sure Dovi went off road but they didn't show half of the pace they had previously.

Boring race overall but Moto2 and Moto3 made up for it.

Edit: Apparently Iannone put the rain engine mapping at the start... It seems the Ducati riders didn't have their more inspired day rather than a problem with the bike's performance.

 

[Shaneus]

I just watched the qualifying on my way home from work, and holy shit those cars are hooking in! Can't believe that with more downforce, smaller engines and smaller tyres they're not only obliterating last year's times, but nudging those of F1 cars.

Fucking amazing.

 

[Psychotext]

+1:32:00 <-- battle of the race

Wow.

 

[Watevaman]

Yep.

Some highlights:

+4:30:00
+3:00:00
+2:10:00
+1:32:00 <-- battle of the race

Man, I can't wait for tomorrow. Gonna watch the shit outta this race. Thanks for reminding me that r/WEC is a thing.

 

[Shaneus]

Wow.

So one has to ask, how do we duplicate that in F1? This is a SIX HOUR RACE, fourish hours in and it can still generate excitement. Yet in F1, you have cars pulling away, having to overtake in the pits, relying on boring as shit (for spectators) strategies to win.

I can honestly see WEC overtake (pardon the pun) F1 in terms of popularity. Especially when one of the leading F1 bullet-points, "oh the tech in these cars will eventually be used in consumer cars" isn't anywhere near as significant for automotive consumers as what we've seen in WEC over the last few years.

 

[Elvin Atombender]

I can honestly see WEC overtake (pardon the pun) F1 in terms of popularity. Especially when one of the leading F1 bullet-points, "oh the tech in these cars will eventually be used in consumer cars" isn't anywhere near as significant for automotive consumers as what we've seen in WEC over the last few years.

I don't think that will happen in a while.

The races are too long for the average viewer. The drivers are too anonymous and share cars. Not enough cars in the top class (LMP 1). Several classes racing together at different speeds. Not enough races in a season. Not that much coverage in the media outside Le Mans.

 

[DD]

It would be nice to have a full grid of LMP1 cars in a 2 hour race format.

 

[Shaneus]

I don't think that will happen in a while.

The races are too long for the average viewer. The drivers are too anonymous and share cars. Not enough cars in the top class (LMP 1). Several classes racing together at different speeds. Not enough races in a season. Not that much coverage in the media outside Le Mans.

A man can dream

It would be nice to have a full grid of LMP1 cars in a 2 hour race format.

That I would love. But I guess it's like people who enjoy watching Tour de France or something... you follow it almost as a mini endurance yourself. The excitability isn't in sitting there glued for 6 hours, it's being there during those 6 hours when something awesome happens.

Right now, I'd just settle for it being physically easily accessible as I never know when it's on, and when I do it's usually outside regular hours for me. Maybe they could bring an official WEC event to Australia. Bathurst would be too narrow for LMP1 cars (I'd imagine) but I'm sure there are other places that would fit the bill.

 

[TJP]

Can someone fit an anchor onto Jonathan Rea's ZX-10R please! He's turning WSBK into a one horse race.

 

[Jezbollah]

Makes you wonder if he put himself out of a decent MotoGP ride due to being loyal to Honda for so many years.

 

[TJP]

Makes you wonder if he put himself out of a decent MotoGP ride due to being loyal to Honda for so many years.

Thinking the exact same thing on Sunday whilst watching the races. HRC are a funny bunch - also-ran locals get rides yet world class internationals are overlooked despite being fast.

If Rea keeps this form up, there must be a ride waiting for him somewhere in the GP paddock.

 

[B.K.]

Kyle Busch has been cleared by his doctors and NASCAR and will be back starting this weekend in the All-Star Race!

 

[Master Yoshi]

Kyle Busch has been cleared by his doctors and NASCAR and will be back starting this weekend in the All-Star Race!

Most exciting news I've read all year!

 

[Mastah]

Today at Indy:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQZ0mnJKllU

Holy moly :O