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 MotoGP
Qatar 2008 The opening round
saw what we thought would be a resumption of businessa s usual from last season. Apart from it being in the dark. And a prodigiously talented young Englishman upsetting things from the off...
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MotoGP
Spain 2008 Second race, second winner. Blinding performances from several riders, not least young Mr Toseland who seems unfazed by all the fuss. But not enough to take that podium step yet... |
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MotoGP
Estoril 2008 Race three and winner three, though the astounding talent of Jorge Lorenzo took his third pole on the trot. Pretty good for a rookie, wouldn't you say? |
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MotoGP
China 2008 And race four, winner number four. In a pretty devastating way as well. there's a long way to go but at least the title fight looks open at the moment... |
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MotoGP Le
Mans 2008 The Doctor is definitely back on form. And so, it seems, are Bridgestone and Yamaha. Spectacular rides from a few people and a result that made sure the title challenge would stay interesting. |
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MotoGP
Mugello 2008 Mad circuit, mad people and a totally mad helmet design from the man who has never been beaten here. Valentino Rossi sure knows how to stage a comeback...
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MotoGP
Catalunya 2008 Not everything goes Rossi's way all the time, and a consistent and mature ride from Pedrosa saw the lugubrious Spaniard crack a smile as well as keep his title hopes alive.
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MotoGP
Donington Park 2008 Remember Casey Stoner? You know, the guy who won everything last year? Well he's back. Donington suits him, it seems, as well as the booming Ducati. Not such a good day for home grown talent, though. |
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MotoGP
Assen 2008 It's that Australian again, capitalising on a rare Rossi mistake to close within striking distance of the top of the championship at the halfway point. |
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MotoGP
Sachsenring 2008 Cold and wet, a race of attrition rather than anything else. But some extraordinarily skilled riding in pretty dreadful conditions, nonetheless. |
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MotoGP
Laguna Seca 2008 Possibly the best, most exciting MotoGP race we've seen since the four strokes arrived. An absolute ding dong battle from lights out to chequered flag. |
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MotoGP
Brno 2008 Cracks may be starting to appear in the immaculate championship winning machine that is Casey Stoner as an unforced error makes his efforts to hold that numbe rone plate look less likely than ever. |
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MotoGP
Misano 2008 The San Marino circuit sees several records broken as all sorts of people do all sorts of things in a race filled with real action, and not all at the very front either... |
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MotoGP
Indianapolis 2008 And who said that it would be fine weather on the East Coast in September? Because whoever it was was sorely mistaken. Great circuit and some truly inspired riding, but the weather definitely came out on top... |
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MotoGP
Motegi 2008 The return of the king. Valentino Rossi took his eighth World Title and thoroughly silenced the critics. Not the most exciting race, but Motegi rarely is, though there were some good scraps both for the lead and for the last podium spot... |
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MotoGP
Australia 2008 Brilliant stuff as Rossi did his thing, Stoner also pushed hard and young Toseland had a devastating return to form.. |
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MotoGP
Malaysia 2008 Hot sticky. And we're not talking about the tyres. Another masterclass from Valentino Rossi, despite having already sewn the title up, and another not especially exciting race after the first few laps of battling. But that's the nature of the beast now, I fear... |
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MotoGP
Valencia 2008 Valentino Rossi said he'd rather have watched Superbikes than this. That's because, frankly, it was a boring race. Stoner led from start to finish and, while impressive, it was hardly entertaining. Let's hope that rule changes make things better for 2009. |
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SBK
Qatar 2008 A wonderful performance from some riders who we never really expected to deliver saw the opening round turn into something rather special as well as promise a classic season... |
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SBK
Phillip Island 2008 More gritty riding and some spectacular results (and crashes) but the feared Ducati domination started to look like a distinct possibility as Bayliss showed how good he and the new bike are as a team... |
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SBK
Valencia 2008 Again some astounding riding showing just how good people are when they've got competitive kit. A few unlucky riders robbed in a series of fast turn one crashes and one robbed right at the end by someone's mistake... |
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SBK
Assen 2008 Close, clean racing in the Dutch sunshine. And though even at this early stage the title fight looks to be all over bar the shouting, there's everything to play for with regard to the rest of the silverware... |
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SBK
Monza 2008 Suddenly the title fight doesn't seem to be so cut and dried as the historical Monza circuit plays host to some real drama. Oh, and some good racing too.
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SBK
Salt Lake City 2008 A new circuit and an interesting one at that. A fantastic showing from our friends at Alto Evolution Honda and a spectacular double victory making the championship race even more open than before.
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SBK
Nurburgring 2008 Great circuit, great atmosphere, not such great racing. Iffy weather spoiled things a little but while race one was a little processional, race two made up for it. And how...
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SBK
Misano 2008 Sunshine, sand and sweat. Eeew. Blistering heat and a challenging circuit always combine to give unexpected results, and this year was no exception. Some great racing and a fantastic performance by an underdog made the whole thing worthwhile and kept the championship alive...
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SBK
Brno 2008 Dominant performance from Ducatis of Bayliss and Fabrizio made for a slightly processional 500th Superbike race. There's still life in the championship though Bayliss will really take some catching now... |
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SBK
Brands Hatch 2008 One of the most exciting circuits on the calendar offering close racing and brilliant views as well as a fabulous atmosphere and classic British summer weather. A real weekend of highs and lows, this, with some of the best racing we've seen this season combining with tragedy... |
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SBK
Donington 2008 It rained quite a lot. Then the sun came out, just to tease us, before it rained some more. A difficult weekend that saw some truly heroic rides from British wildcards and some completely farcical decisions from FG Sport... |
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SBK
Vallelunga 2008 Continuing to try to keep us on our toes, the weather alternated from frankly horrible to rather nice. But the racing, despite a quiet bit in the middle, was really rather good. It would be purile to say the championship is wide open, but the fat lady hasn't sung yet... |
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SBK
Magny Cours 2008 That fat lady finally dragged her lardy backside up on stage and sang her heart out after a couple of false starts. Troy Bayliss and Andrew Pitt both became World Champions in a couple of pretty good races. |
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SBK
Portimao 2008 The first round at a new circuit and the last round of the 2008 season, as well as the final round in Troy Bayliss' long and glittering career. Oh, and Brendan Roberts took the 1000 Superstock title to make it 3 Aussies on the top. The circuit is fantastic and the racing was frankly brilliant. Roll on next year... |
