MotoGP: 2009 Estoril Preview

Assume, for the sake of argument, Lorenzo has it in him to win the next four races, a heroic assumption. Rossi would need to cooperate in this scenario by finishing off the podium at least twice in the next three outings, another heroic, if not outlandish, assumption. Bottom line – Lorenzo needs to become Valentino Rossi for the next month while Rossi becomes “Pokey” Canepa. Reminds me of when I was a kid – I used to bet my third grade friend Don Kaiser that he couldn’t jump over the Empire State Building, to which he would always reply, “Nothing’s impossible.”

Impossible – no. Unlikely – very. Lorenzo needs someone to sugar Rossi’s gas tank.

The Return of Casey Stoner

With Stoner sidelined, Gresini Honda teammates Alex de Angelis and Toni Elias took turns being respectable and grabbed a couple of podiums, relieving the Rossi/Lorenzo/Pedrosa monotony. If Stoner can return at or near the top of his formidable game, he could be a wild card in the Lorenzo-Rossi death match, throwing what the Brits call a spanner in the works.

The Silly Season Continues

James Toseland has lost his seat with Monster Tech 3 Yamaha to American Ben Spies next season, with the Brit taking Spies’ World Superbike seat. Meanwhile, Colin Edwards signed a one-year extension to turn Tech 3 into a Texas Twosome for 2010. Spies is bringing his longtime crew chief with him so at least Edwards won’t have to worry about his teammate stealing his crew chief this time.

Rizla Suzuki’s Chris Vermeulen may be joining Toseland on the WSBK circuit, as reports out of Europe have him signing with the Paul Bird Kawasaki team.

The Pramac Ducati team confirmed Mika Kallio will remain with the team next year, but the news may not be so good for Niccolo “Pokey” Canepa, whose sole saving grace may be his Italian birth certificate.

LCR Honda signed Randy de Puniet over the break for another year. Of course, “Randy” is an apt name for a French rider sponsored by Playboy.

Also looking head to next season, and something of way more interest to gearheads, is the formation of a “privateer” team that plans to appear at Round 17 in Valencia this year and compete for the entire 2010 season. Seriously. Italy-based FB Corse team apparently intends to bolt together a prototype around a three-cylinder BMW engine.

Last Words

A quick perusal of several, ahem, online gaming sites finds Gabor Talmacsi offered at 1,000 to 1 to win on Sunday, while Aleix Espargaro is paying only 500 to 1. Experienced gamblers know, however, that a key factor here is the fact that Talmacsi is actually running the race, while Espargaro is not. Think about that – Talmacsi is less likely to win as a rider who’s not even IN the race.