MotoGP in Shanghai

[GPFan]

Who's everyones tip for the Chinese GP then? I see Lorenzo had a pretty big highside in practice/qualifying and injured his ankle.

I have a good feeling about Rossi in this one, anyone else?

[Shaun]

Was a pretty big highside, wonder if Lorenzo will race. I'll go for Rossi too, but expect Stoner to be closer to the front in this one aswell.

[GPFan]

Colin Edwards got pole! JT in a decent 7th place too.

1. Colin Edwards USA Tech 3 Yamaha (M) 1min 58.139 secs

2. Valentino Rossi ITA Fiat Yamaha Team (B) 1min 58.494 secs

3. Casey Stoner AUS Ducati Marlboro Team (B) 1min 58.591 secs

4. Jorge Lorenzo SPA Fiat Yamaha Team (M) 1min 58.591 secs

5. Dani Pedrosa SPA Repsol Honda Team (M) 1min 58.855 secs

6. Loris Capirossi ITA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP (B) 1min 58.941 secs

7. James Toseland GBR Tech 3 Yamaha (M) 1min 59.254 secs

8. Chris Vermeulen AUS Rizla Suzuki MotoGP (B) 1min 59.325 secs

9. Randy de Puniet FRA LCR Honda MotoGP (M) 1min 59.357 secs

10. Nicky Hayden USA Repsol Honda Team (M) 1min 59.507 secs

11. Andrea Dovizioso ITA JiR Team Scot MotoGP (M) 1min 59.559 secs

12. Marco Melandri ITA Ducati Marlboro Team (B) 1min 59.678 secs

13. Shinya Nakano JPN San Carlo Honda Gresini (B) 1min 59.716 secs

14. John Hopkins USA Kawasaki Racing Team (B) 1min 59.740 secs

15. Toni Elias SPA Alice Team (B) 1min 59.933 secs

16. Alex de Angelis RSM San Carlo Honda Gresini (B) 2min 0.316 secs

17. Sylvain Guintoli FRA Alice Team (B) 2min 0.760 secs

18. Anthony West AUS Kawasaki Racing Team (B) 2min 0.838 secs

[gb]

Excellent job from Colin. I'd say Rossi has to be a smart call - but Lorenzo is showing pretty well despite that nasty highside...
Of course the rumoured torrential rain could make it even more wide open...?

[Shaun]

Lorenzo was excellent in the race i thought. Rossi looked cool and controlled it. Wasn't a great, exciting race but pleased for Valentino.

[GPFan]

The race seemed to lack any sort of atmosphere and the grandstands looked empty. Well done Rossi

[gb]

China always looks empty doesn't it.... completely lacks any kind of atmosphere.
But good old Vale; nice to see him back at the front, and good solid work from Dani too.

[Shaun]

Yeah it was disappointing to see the size of the crowd. Casey Stoner did not look happy after the race and appeared to be levelling the blame toward someone in his paddock for convincing him to change settings.

Oh and bravo Marco Melandri, looked a lot quicker and more comfortable on that Ducati!

[GPFan]

I'm not gonna get too carried away with Marco yet, but hopefully this is a sign he is getting to grips with the Ducati. 4 races now and 4 different winners, season is starting to get interesting!

[F1Wolf]

The crowds were disapointing but that was always the case in Shanghai, as it was in Sepang or even in Qatar this year. The problem in China was made worse this year with the recent new visa rules , I am sure many fans from outside China did not want to bother ... If the race was held somewhere in the South China - like Zhuhai for example, the track would be packed. Unfortunatelly the track in Zhuhai is a bit dangerous for bikes and it is hard to see MotoGP there. Shanghai is unfortunate location...

the crowd used to be strong at F1 in Shanghai for first few years, but it was rather sad last October. I am not sure if that is the beginning of trend (less tickets provided to satff by corporations) or just an one off case thanks to bad timing (National Holiday weekend) and bad weather (typhoon on the way :-) )

[Albert]

As a Rossi fan of many years standing I was delighted to see him looking like the Valentino of old! (okay - I'm biased!)
I was delighted to see Dani actually smile! As a friend commented recently, "If he did that more often the public would warm to him more!"
I think she's right, but at the moment there seems to be a public reaction against Stoner who, despite his obvious talents, never seems to have gelled with the race fans!
I was also happy to see JT put in a relatively decent ride at a circuit that was new to him - it's a steep learning curve at that level!
Delighted for Marco but it's gonna take more than one good ride to keep the P45 at bay I think!

[Shaun]

I actually like Casey Stoner, he obviously doesn't have the same charisma as a Rossi or Lorenzo but he's still likeable. Can't really get away with Pedrosa at times though. Great to see a Rossi win again, i fully agree.