Fantasy MotoGP Racing
Jorge Lorenzo has been riding with the eye of the tiger. With Rossi out, he can smell the MotoGP World Championship. Will this be the Mallorcan rider's year to win the title?
The sixth round of MotoGP heads to Holland for the legendary Dutch TT. With a modified Ruskenhoek section, the course will have a slightly different feel than last year, a race won by Fiat Yamaha’s Valentino Rossi. With the defending MotoGP World Champion still out of the picture, the man to beat now is his Yamaha teammate, Jorge Lorenzo, who torched the field in the last race at Silverstone and shows no sign of letting up. But Lorenzo has had a habit of pushing too hard and crashing out in the past. Can he avoid the big crash and stay healthy for a full season and win his first MotoGP championship? Let the games begin.
Sure Things:
A-Riders –
Jorge Lorenzo - Fiat Yamaha’s Jorge Lorenzo has been good for an average of 25 points per race so far, so why bet against him? He just smoked the field at Silverstone and posted the fastest time in the first Assen practice session. Lorenzo has won three of five races this season and there’s no reason to believe he won’t get his fourth victory this weekend.
Andrea Dovizioso - Repsol Honda’s Andrea Dovizioso is coming off his best MotoGP finish of the 2010 season, a second-place finish at Silverstone, moving him into second-place in the MotoGP World Standings with 78 points. Dovi has been on the podium in four out of five races, with his worst race being a sixth-place finish in Spain. With a resume like that, Dovizioso sounds like as close to a sure bet for some podium points as you’ll find in the paddock.
B-Riders –
Ben Spies - Look out. Now that the American rookie got a taste of the podium at Silverstone, he’s going to be hungry for more. Spies is a fierce competitor who will want to take it to the next step – a GP victory. We anticipate Spies will only get stronger with the confidence that his first podium has brought, and is a good bet to be a top scorer among the B-Riders.
Nicky Hayden – The Kentucky Kid just missed his first podium finish of the year at Silverstone. Still, he’s got four 4th
Marlboro Ducati's Nicky Hayden has had a resurgent year and missed out on his first podium in 2010 at Silverstone after a mistake on the last lap. Don't look for it to happen again.
place finishes out of five races and has been riding stronger than his Marlboro Ducati teammate Casey Stoner so far. Will this be the week that sees Hayden jump up on the podium?
Team – Marlboro Ducati. Stoner posted the second-fastest time in the first practice session and Hayden has been the most consistent of the B-Riders. The Ducatis are looking strong in the Netherlands and stand to make up ground on Yamaha in the Constructor World Championship standings with Rossi out.
Maybes:
A-Riders –
Casey Stoner – Stoner was just off of Lorenzo’s pace in the first Assen practice session. He also podiumed on the Dutch circuit last year. The Australian rider has yet to flash the brilliance of a former MotoGP champion, which means he’s overdue for a complete race. Look for Stoner to fight his way to a podium finish.
Dani Pedrosa – The Repsol Honda rider looked like he was ready to step up and make a run at the championship with Rossi out after winning at Mugello by 4.014 seconds. Then he wrecked in the Silverstone warm-up session and faded during the race, finishing back in 8th place. Hopefully his Repsol Honda team will have the grip issues he complained of in Britain fixed so he can run with the lead pack in the Netherlands.
B-Riders –
Randy De Puniet – The French rider rode to a seventh-place finish last year at Assen and has been good for the second-most points-per-race in the B-Rider bracket. De Puniet battled for the lead early in the race at Silverstone and has plenty of experience on the Dutch circuit, which should benefit him come race day.
Marco Melandri – The San Carlo Gresini Honda will be eager to make amends after his Silverstone round was cut
Meet Rossi's replacement - Wataru Yoshikawa. Unfortunately, he's not on the Fantasy roster, so there's no putting a check in Yoshikawa's box.
short when he crashed out in the opening lap. Melandri still has been the fourth-best points producer among the B-Riders with an average of 6.6 points.
Team – Repsol Honda. Dovizioso has been a consistent podium performer, and Pedrosa has the skills to put together a brilliant race on any weekend. With Rossi out, the Repsol Honda team stands a good chance of making up valuable ground on the Fiat Yamaha team.
Scratch – There’s still no Doctor. Rossi is still on the mend. Test rider Wataru Yoshikawa will be subbing for the injured Valentino Rossi, but he’s not on the list, so there’s no wagering on Yoshikawa. Interwetten Honda’s rider Hiroshi Aoyama crashed hard in last Sunday’s warm-up session at Silverstone and fractured his T12 vertebrae and will be out indefinitely. The Interwetten Honda team announced that Honda test rider Kousuke Akiyoshi will replace him at Assen and Catalunya. I also wouldn’t put my money on Rizla Suzuki’s Loris Capirossi. The Roman rider crashed out at Silverstone and mustered only a 13th best effort in the first practice round in Assen. Is age finally catching up to Capi-Rex?
* Remember, it’s a Saturday race, so the deadline for picks is June 26, 2010 at 3:00 a.m. (PDT)
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