Hayden didn't win the championship...

ronin · 10-29-2006, 12:24 PM

...Valentino lost it

discuss

turbo6bar · 10-29-2006, 12:28 PM

you would be correct. that's the way it goes. Hayden capitalized, got the deserved championship, and Pedrosa is forgiven.

deanp · 12:36 PM

Happy that Hayden came out on top, would've sucked if his only DNF, caused by his teamate, cost him the championship.

Little weird that Rossi laid the bike down in a slow 1st gear corner with no traffic around him.....Doesn't seem like the type of mistake he'd make.

ronin · 10-29-2006, 12:40 PM

***** happens, I guess. too bad it ended up not being much of a race

Steve Carlton · 10-29-2006, 01:47 PM

Good outcome. Good for Nicky, good for Dani, good for MotoGP in the United States.

Noah930 · Noah930's Garage

Wow! Truly shocked that Vale would screw the pooch on this one. But congrats to Nicky. Good to see an American on top. The Ducatisti in me is also happy to see Bayliss (another wow!) and Capi finish 1-2, too.

ronin · 10-29-2006, 02:19 PM

Bayliss was the only high point of the race, as far as I was concerned. really enjoyed watching him in WS this year. good to see him on a GP bike again

motion · 10-29-2006, 02:22 PM

Two BIG thumbs down on this one

ronin · 10-29-2006, 02:27 PM

ditto. I was really hoping for a good race

Don Ro · 10-29-2006, 03:36 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by motion
Two BIG thumbs down on this one

Yeah, I wanted Rossi.
I don't see Hayden as championship materiel yet.
.
Good for Bayliss.

Flatbutt1 · 10-29-2006, 04:13 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Don Ro
I don't see Hayden as championship materiel yet.
.
Good for Bayliss.

Except for the fact that he had the most points .

Steve Carlton · 10-29-2006, 04:27 PM

Exactly.

songhoh · 10-29-2006, 04:37 PM

And Hayden's on the best bike.
I never thought anyone would beat Rossi to the title. I was wrong. My respect for Rossi is he is so good no matter how bad the equiptment. If these two were on the same bike, you would never have heard of Hayden.
But this year he is the Champion.

RichMink76 · 10-29-2006, 05:22 PM

Give credit where it is due. Good for Hayden. He and Honda did a great job this season.

motion · 10-29-2006, 05:31 PM

I honestly think Hayden capitalized on Rossi's mistakes and inherited the championship, as Jurgen said. I think Rossi gave this one away. Maybe after all the F1 talk, his heart isn't in it like it used to be. I didn't see so many inspired rides from Rossi this year. Maybe next year?

Steve Carlton · 10-29-2006, 05:54 PM

We must have seen a different season. Rossi DNF two races due to mechanical/tire issues, and only got one point in the first race when he was crashed into. His only mistake was today. He won a bunch of the other races, and finished really well with a broken hand and injured in others.

RichMink76 · 10-29-2006, 05:58 PM

I don't think anyone inherits a championship. Rossi did'nt inherit any of his five. This year was a tight season that came down to the wire and the better rider and team (at the moment) came out on top. Hayden worked his tail off with his team (who favored Pedrosa) to achieve his deam. I think he did a great job.
Personally I don't think there is a best bike at the moment. Ducati and Yamaha are pretty much on the same level as we saw today.
I can't wait for March 10th.

Since I have been watching MotoGP I have seen Rossi do some amazing rides.

Steve Carlton · 10-29-2006, 06:03 PM

Not so sure how good Hayden's Honda was this year, either. Some think his '06 frame is inferior to the '05. Also, Honda couldn't seem to give him a good clutch. He struggled with his bike this year. I read a column written by Colin Edwards marveling at how Rossi can have several major changes made to his bike, and go out there and win on it. I don't think there's a rider who can match that ability. And Rossi was responsible for developing the M1 to a level that's on a par with the Honda, IMO. Good to see the Ducatis become effective, and the Suzukis are on their way, too. All good.

David · David's Garage

I don't deny that Rossi is probably the greatest rider of all time.

With that said, I think it's great that Nicky won the championship. It couldn't go a nicer kid. I met Nicky when he was 13 (probably really 9 but his racing license said 13) when he and Tommy raced in Texas. Just great kids and a great dad. Even at that young age, you could tell Nicky would be the one. BTW, even though I had 10 years on them they both kicked my ass on the track.

}{arlequin · }{arlequin's Garage

i don't buy it. one race does not a championship make. so rossi crashed, big deal. hayden went down previous race. all it means is that they both rode hard, and successfully, for the entire season. except for one race. each.

is rossi better than others? yeah, probably. but that's why it takes a whole season to find that out instead of one race. equipment and race conditions also play a part in this, otherwise we would just give them 5 clean laps and play time trial games each weekend.