Mugello QP1

1. Gibernau 1.49.553 2. Rossi 1.49.961 3. Biaggi 1.50.777 4. Melandri 1.50.845 5. Checa 1.50.954 Gibernau and Rossi are almost 2 seconds faster than the previous lap record at Mugello. Capirossis Ducati went fastest at the end of the straight at 340kph (212mph), Biaggis Honda was second at 338kph.....Rossis Yamaha was eight with 332.7 kph.

How does capturing the pole work in Moto GP. It seems as though there are 2 tries. Is it the fastest combined 2 runs? Or is it just the fastest run period out of any of your runs. Rossi scares me on the M1. It just looks like he is out of control on that thing. That is one scary bike. They say that it is getting better with more races but early on it looks like he has so many close calls. I would have laid it down many times at this point. His skill is just amazing. I hope he wins this season to show all the critics that skill overides the bike. We all know that the HONDA is the shit, but it would be awesome for him to win on the inferior M1. The M1 is getting better though. GO Rossi.

I believe the fastest run at the end of the 2 qualifying sessions wins the pole. They have 2 free practice sessions (do not count for the pole), 2 qualifying sessions and a warmup session. It is a bit diff from wsbk where whoever is fastest in superpole (one lap, like in formula one now) wins the pole. As far as the M1, well I believe a lot of people underestimated the changes Yamaha made to the bike since last year. The Honda is still the best bike in the motogp field but the margin got a lot closer(maybe also because Rossi is not on a Honda anymore). In Le Mans there were 3 Hondas and 3 Yamahas in the top 6 and the race between the top 4 was quite close. It seems the biggest diff between the 2 bikes is the top end, the Honda being faster in top speed. Rumors though predicted Yamaha will have a revised engine for Mugello with more hp and so far this may be true, Rossi lapping 1.2 seconds faster than the old lap record (honda). Unfortunately Gibernau also smashed the record by 1.7 sec. We will see tomorrow if Rossi(or anybody else) can close the gap with Sete.

Biaggi Looks very dangerious this year too, He has been running some of the fastest times while in the races. It looks as though in some of the races he has been held up a bit by other riders. I think if he can break away from the leaders he will be deadly and difficult to catch. And once Rossi gets a handle on the M1, probably around mid season, he will be fierce. I think he is a bit conservative on the YAM because he doesn't know his limits with that bike yet. Even with that, he is still blazing fast.