Provisional entry list for the 2004 MotoGP World Championship

[dre_2k2_f4i]

I guess Hodgson can't get his triple digit plate in. :D

Provisional entry list for the 2004 MotoGP World Championship

3. Max Biaggi ITA Honda Camel Pramac Honda Pons
4. Alex Barros BRA Yamaha Fortuna Yamaha Team
6. Makoto Tamada JPN Honda Camel Pramac Honda Pons
7. Carlos Checa SPA Yamaha Gauloises Yamaha Team
9. Nobuatsu Aoki JPN Proton KR Proton Team KR
10. Kenny Roberts USA Suzuki Suzuki Grand Prix Team
11. Ruben Xaus SPA Ducati D'Antin MotoGP
12. Troy Bayliss AUS Ducati Ducati Marlboro Team
15. Sete Gibernau SPA Honda Telefonica Movistar Honda
21. John Hopkins USA Suzuki Suzuki Grand Prix Team
33. Marco Melandri ITA Yamaha Fortuna Yamaha Team
45. Colin Edwards USA Honda Telefonica Movistar Honda
46. Valentino Rossi ITA Yamaha Gauloises Yamaha Team
56. Shinya Nakano JPN Kawasaki Kawasaki Racing Team
65. Loris Capirossi ITA Ducati Ducati Marlboro Team
66. Alex Hofmann GER Kawasaki Kawasaki Racing Team
67. Shane Byrne GBR Aprilia Aprilia Racing
69. Nicky Hayden USA Honda Repsol Honda
80. Kurtis Roberts USA Proton KR Proton Team KR
99. Jeremy McWilliams GBR Aprilia Aprilia Racing
Tba Neil Hodgson GBR Ducati D'Antin MotoGP
Tba Honda Repsol Honda
tba Harris WCM WCM
tba Harris WCM WCM

* This is the list of riders and teams which have so far been confirmed by the selection committee. A number of other applications have also been received and are currently under consideration.

[dre_2k2_f4i]

GPTechMan - Honda still has a spot open for ya!

My predictions for next year:
1. Rossi (yes, I truly believe he can pull it off)
2. Gibernau
3. Xaus (my dark horse)
4. Edwards (still dialing in his Honda)
5. Hayden (but fighting with the rest of the pack)

Maybe we should do a pool of some sort!

[Arnold_R1]

:headbang: I can't wait till the 2004 season kicks off :headbang:

[Bryant]

Thanks for providing that list Andre! :) 2004 is gonna ROCK!!

[deathblow]

My dark horse pick for next year is Colin Edwards. He knows the circuits now and is a very hard worker. And, I am a Honda apologist, so there :-p !

[pasta fredo]

I see it going down like this....
1. Sete Giberneau (has the bike where he wants it)
2. Colin Edwards (hard to turn your head away from this much talent)
3. Xaus (my darkhorse...he'd be higher up but he'll crash out of a couple of races)
4. Rossi (still tinkering with his Yamaha)

[GPTECHMAN]

rossi, just cause I think it would be cool
gibernau, cause hes my fav
barros and
checa I am also a big fan of
colin....cause hes the most stylee.......

everyone else can eat a phat........

[GPTECHMAN]

oh yeah and Eboz....on the duc...damn hes smooth

[deathblow]

MotoGP is going to be awesome. I really think that Sete, Colin and Nicky can take the top 3 spots on many a race.

[GPTECHMAN]

um no...damn allan you are a dreamer....sete yes...colin...well I hope so...nicky...sorry no dice

[cbrsmurf]

I'm gonna win MotoGP next year. I'm gonna be Repsol's 2nd rider. I coached Nicky last year from my computer... look how well he did in his first year! .... now all I need is an XBox!

2nd place (after me) will be Rossi, then Bayliss, then Edwards, then Biaggi, then Nicky

Oh yea, did Haga get canned?

[deathblow]

Originally posted by GPTECHMAN
um no...damn allan you are a dreamer....sete yes...colin...well I hope so...nicky...sorry no dice

Why not? Nicky placed and it was his first time at any of the MotoGP tracks, ever. Colin was on a horribly undersupported bike. The RC211V is way above and beyond the other bikes in terms of entering turns while braking, that is its number 1 strength. With another year of development and refinement, with these riders, it will be very difficult to beat Honda. The other manufacturers are still making huge tweaks when it comes to their bike development. Provide me with some more insight as to why you believe Honda will not dominate, besides that Rossi rocks. I am first and foremost a Rossi fan, he is God on two wheels, but he will be playing catch up on the M1.

[dre_2k2_f4i]

All I want to know is: what kind of mortal wins a race by 5 seconds after a 10 second penalty?!?!

[pasta fredo]

Originally posted by dre_2k2_f4i
All I want to know is: what kind of mortal wins a race by 5 seconds after a 10 second penalty?!?!

I think it will be tough this year for Rossi on the Yamaha. The whole set up and getting acclimated to the new bike thing will hinder "the great one". It's like Tiger Woods switching club manufactures....it'll take awhile to get "on track" and your still not going to be as good as you were before the switch. Rossi will struggle early in the season but I just don't see him dominating the way he has the past two years.

[deathblow]

Yep, the change will be a bit startling for the Doctor I think. When he went from Aprilia to Honda, he changed alot of things on the NSR500. Since he was still with Honda when they went to the 4 strokes, he helped develop the RC211V, so he was able to go with the small tweaks from his input and the performance enhancements that HRC gave to him in stride. In other words, he did not have to make big changes to get where he wanted. This will all be a factor in getting Yamaha a MotoGP championship. It has always been known that HRC was the best at getting their premiere team the goods before the others.

Another thing is that Colin has been saying that through all the years he has dreamt of a certain power delivery and band in a bike, which he thought just might be impossible to attain. He plainly states the RC211V has it.

[pasta fredo]

Originally posted by deathblow
Yep, the change will be a bit startling for the Doctor I think. When he went from Aprilia to Honda, he changed alot of things on the NSR500. Since he was still with Honda when they went to the 4 strokes, he helped develop the RC211V, so he was able to go with the small tweaks from his input and the performance enhancements that HRC gave to him in stride. In other words, he did not have to make big changes to get where he wanted. This will all be a factor in getting Yamaha a MotoGP championship. It has always been known that HRC was the best at getting their premiere team the goods before the others.

Another thing is that Colin has been saying that through all the years he has dreamt of a certain power delivery and band in a bike, which he thought just might be impossible to attain. He plainly states the RC211V has it.

I definitely think Colin is going to be a contender next year but like Rossi I think he'll spend 2004 searching for the magic the set up he needs to succeed at this level. I'm most excited about Xaus blazing around the track on the Duc just for the simple fact that he goes all out and is not afraid to crash. He'll get it going for a couple of races this year (podium) and is definitely a darkhorse for the points race.

[deathblow]

I agree, Xaus is certainly entertaining to watch, and you can see that he wants to win bad just from the way he rides.

[pasta fredo]

Xaus is definitely balls to wall and throttle wide open...let the chips fall where they may!

[cbrsmurf]

anyone knows what happened to makoto

[dre_2k2_f4i]

Barros as Hayden's teammate? http://www.amasuperbike.com/2004/Jan/040114c.htm

[deathblow]

Looks like Barros got out of his contract with Yahaha to team up with Nicky Hayden on the Honda Repsol Team. This season is going to rock!

Also new rules for MotoGP. When there are flags out for a crash or something, it is now the riders discretion to pass or not pass with the flags out, so no more time penalties.

[pasta fredo]

Originally posted by deathblow

Also new rules for MotoGP. When there are flags out for a crash or something, it is now the riders discretion to pass or not pass with the flags out, so no more time penalties.

You would be talking about the 10 second penalty that Rossi made up on the field to finish first in that one race would you?
Sick I tell you. The boy can flat out ride.:clap:

[deathblow]

Originally posted by pasta fredo
You would be talking about the 10 second penalty that Rossi made up on the field to finish first in that one race would you?
Sick I tell you. The boy can flat out ride.:clap:

Exactly! He was also penalized at the race in England, Silverstone I believe, otherwise Biaggi would not have had his first win last year.

[dre_2k2_f4i]

Anyone notice the poll on MotoGP.com? How quickly the great are forgotten... Support is definitely behind Xaus!
Who will be the top Ducati rider in 2004?
Troy Bayliss 4061
Neil Hodgson 789
Ruben Xaus 7499
Loris Capirossi 8893