Just watched the 250s from Jerez - amazing stuff. Bautista and
Simoncelli were never more than a couple of tenths apart.

I think the Eurosport commentators called it completely wrong -
Simoncelli was visibly riding the wheels off his bike to stay with
Bautista, and the couple of times he got past, Bautista motored back
down the straight. It all looked to end in tears, and so it did on
the last lap - Simoncelli (in my view) was working so hard to get
drive out the corners that when gassed it from the apex, he rode
straight into the back of Bautista's slower exiting bike, bringing
them both down. An unsatisfactory ending to a great duel.

It's him or Hopper I guess.
Too bad Colin didn't win that race at Assen a couple years ago.

--

Andrew
00 Daytona
00 Speed Triple
71 Kawi H1
05 Kiddo

So, did Stoner come apart like a cheap watch?

Dear Enduro Fun-s,

You are welcome to first Eduro race in year 2008, BUZET-Croatia 2008.

This is one of the best Enduro race in this part of Europe. Lot of fun, nice
nature, 100%% natural environment.

Date of the race is 4 and 5 April 2008. More information at www.emkbuzet.hr

Some nice shots you can find at www.youtube.com if you start search with :

Buzet enduro, croatia enduro race, buzet kupanje

Have fun and ..

1. Jorge LORENZO (Yamaha), Michelin, 1:38.189
2. Dani PEDROSA (Honda), Michelin, 1:38.789
3. Colin EDWARDS (Yamaha), Michelin, 1:38.954
4. Nicky HAYDEN (Honda), Michelin, 1:39.061
5. Valentino ROSSI (Yamaha), Bridgestone, 1:39.064
6. Randy DE PUNIET (Honda), Michelin, 1:39.122
7. Casey STONER (Ducati), Bridgestone, 1:39.286
8. James TOSELAND (Yamaha), Michelin, 1:39.334
9. John HOPKINS (Kawasaki), Bridgestone, 1:39.439
10. Loris CAPIROSSI (Suzuki), Bridgestone, 1:39.484
11. Shinya NAKANO (Honda), Bridgestone, 1:39.559
12. Chris VERMEULEN (Suzuki), Bridgestone, 1:39.704
13. Andrea DOVIZIOSO (Honda), Michelin, 1:39.767
14. Alex DE ANGELIS (Honda), Bridgestone, 1:40.037
15. Anthony WEST (Kawasaki), Bridgestone, 1:40.088
16. Toni ELIAS (Ducati), Bridgestone, 1:40.286
17. Sylvain GUINTOLI (Ducati...

One Lamborghini is nice, 37 Lamborghinis are better.

It was a slow news day for Lamborghini. The Gallardo Superleggera was
launched earlier this year. The Murciélago turned into the LP640 last
year. The Frankfurt auto show, where the spectacular Reventón would be
shown, hadn't happened yet. From a product standpoint, there was
little to talk about. Still, Lamborghini asked us to join them on the
Giro Lamborghini 2007, a pilgrimage that has a different starting
point every year but the same destination: the Pebble Beach Concours
d'Élégance. And, no, Lamborghini wasn't even the featured marque.

http://www.zone-car.com/?special-features-giro-lamborghini-2007.php

The suprises of Qatar continue - 3 Yamahas fastest, only Stoner able
to get anything out of the Ducati, rookies showing well throughout.

Lorenzo's looking good so far - his fastest lap was certainly not a
flash in the pan, and he looks like he can run 1:40s comfortably (12
in total). Rossi may be able to do the same, but only produced three
laps in the 1:40s. Edwards is practising well as usual, but I'm still
waiting (after how many years?) for him to race at the same pace.

The two works Hondas are looking similar to each other, their
'comfortable' speed in the 1:41s. Stoner had a crash in the
afternoon, and went no faster than the morning. He may well find
something extra tomorrow, but he only finished 5th at Jerez last year,
so maybe it's just not the circuit for him and the Ducati package.
Toseland also slid off in the afternoon; he's still improving, but 8th
is perhaps a bit closer to his expected pace than his showing in
practice at Qatar.

With the Good Ship AMA Proracing having sunk completely out of sight,
CN's HR Abrams is looking around for a new target (showing that at least
some people, no matter how fixated and obsessed, can move on), and it
seems he may be turning his guns on the new NASBike bosses, the DMG. In
the new CN he editorializes on a few aspects of this change, and here
are some snippets:

"With the best of intentions, the Daytona Motorsports Group will change
the face of the AMA Superbike Championship. They'll dumb down the
technical regulations, dictate an open-source policy for parts, and
mandate control tires. They'll make the racing closer, more accessible,
more entertaining, and safer. But safety is an issue on which they lack
credibility, for one very simple reason: Daytona International Speeedway
is the most dangerous racetrack on the AMA calendar... Daytona
International Sppedway is the most dangerous track on the Americana
calendar by a margin that isn't measurable. Every track has a corner or
two or three that is problematic; Daytona is little but danger.... There
is no way to make the current layout safe. And it could get worse."

http://superbikeplanet.com/2008/Mar/080327ud4.htm

Oh well...

Held in Lesterville, MO on May 17th-18th (Armed Forces Weekend), SEMO
combines dirt drags and other field events (tire drag, slow race,
etc.) with riding, camping, vendors, wet t-shirt contests, live music
and more in one of Missouri's oldest and best biker rallys. This is a
tried and true rally put on by bikers for bikers, not a spit and
polish bike show, and all are welcome to attend. So come on out, sign
up, and get with it in the dirt! For more information, directions,
and
photos of past SEMO rallies, please visit our website at:

www.semofieldevents.com