MotoGP thread

octatonic

LOL.

gubble

I had

1st Marquez, 2nd Vinales 3rd Crutchlow.

I got 3rd place right.............

I also predicted Ianone would throw it in the gravel taking Dovi with him (again). But as Ianone had a ride through penalty he had to leave that honour to Espagaro.

Great job from the two Tech 3 Yamahas and also Bautista.

I did worry for Dani a bit when he hit the deck and rolled - the guy has broken more collar bones than I care to remember.

Would anyone care to discuss the massive white elephant in the room that has a number 99 stuck on it?  Lorenzo is a very talented rider. His world championships confirm this and yes this is only race #2 on the Ducati, however I genuinely think he will not adapt to it. It's such a physical bike to ride and you need to ring it's neck whereas Lorenzo requires a super smooth machine similar in style to a 250 two stroke. This could prove very costly to both Ducati and Lorenzo's career - sure the guy is easily in the top 5 in the world but he's not got the rossi appeal meaning he could bounce back with another manufacturer.

rsvmark

gubble said:

Would anyone care to discuss the massive white elephant in the room that has a number 99 stuck on it?  Lorenzo is a very talented rider. His world championships confirm this and yes this is only race #2 on the Ducati, however I genuinely think he will not adapt to it. It's such a physical bike to ride and you need to ring it's neck whereas Lorenzo requires a super smooth machine similar in style to a 250 two stroke. This could prove very costly to both Ducati and Lorenzo's career - sure the guy is easily in the top 5 in the world but he's not got the rossi appeal meaning he could bounce back with another manufacturer.

I agree with that. Stoner was the only rider who could get in on the podium consistently and that was so long ago, I am not sure it's a relevant observation. Rossi couldn't deal with it. Neither could Crutchlow. Dovi is consistent and good for regular top 5 positions but not the top step.

is Jorge on a 2 year contract? If so, his stock could fall with the incoming talent of Vinales, Zarco et al. The only rider I would like to see have a do is Marquez as he has a suitable riding style but I can't see him leaving the might of HRC

gubble

@rsvmark your comment about Casey Stoner is relevant - he still is a salaried test rider for Ducati and look how well he did at the tests compared to Lorenzo and Dovi. Here's a guy who rides maybe half a dozen times a year unlike the current factory riders yet is still faster and more consistent from them. I am in no way a Casey Stoner fan, however I recognise the guy is amongst the greatest of all time. How he won on that Ducati was nothing short of genius and sadly he never got the credit until he'd retired.

I bet Ducati (and Honda) have offered him crazy sums of money to come back and ride - but he won't. And why should he, he's got more money than he'll ever need, a young family and a nice long retirement where he doesn't have to go around the world risking his life every fortnight to entertain us lot.

Jorge is on a two year contract but I'm guessing there's a 12 month break clause - which Crutchlow and Melandri both exercised. Will he use it? I highly doubt it as every other factory has 2 year contracts in place meaning there's nowhere for him to go except to a satellite team.

Personally I think he should have gone to Suzuki - they'd have paid him handsomely and the bike sure suits his style. I doubt the offer was there at the time though and the thought of going to Ducati and achieving something rossi wasn't able to was probably at the forefront of his mind.

rsvmark

@gubble Suzuki is a good shout and it looks like it has the speed. Sorry to be a cynic but the lure of the Ducati dollar may have proved too much? Or Jorge's ego (not that he appears excessively an ego maniac but global superstars do have a habit of self belief) and it may have led him down a route to believe that he could tame the beast.

gubble

I think his move was a combination of factors.

He wanted to be given the first contract for Yamaha (and be seen as #1 rider) so the contract being signed with Rossi in Qatar really did annoy him. He won the 2015 championship and felt very much ignored by Yamaha for his achievement. The entire MotoGP world was focussing on the Rossi/Marquez debacle that was going on. The guy won fair and square yet nobody noticed. In 2016 there was a huge amount of bad feeling in the Yamaha garage following this and from Lorenzo's point rightly so. I personally feel his racing is affected with emotions and his 2016 showed this with such bizarre results that didn't represent his skills as a rider.

Ego - the guy has a big ego make no doubts about that. Being #1 rider in the team, winning on another manufacturer (that the goat couldn't do) and taming the beast that (at the time he signed) hadn't won a race since Stoner is a massive appeal.

Money - no idea how much he's being paid but I'm going to guess he's the highest paid on the grid. Phillip Morris will have dug deep for that one.

He's gone back to a higher seat unit on the Duke after trying a lower one which he thinks will help him. Time will tell but I worry for the guy that he will not win a race on that bike and be left with nowhere to go after the contract is up.

Looking ahead to 2019 I'm predicting:

Yamaha: Vinales & Zarco

Repsol Honda: Marquez & Folger

Ducati: Binder & Lorenzo (if he performs)

quarky

Zarco looked good again didn't he? Another race where the leader slid out when looking good for the win. Crutchlow had warning lights for most of the race apparently, so did pretty well to balance that out and finish on the podium. Vinales looks so strong though. He and Rossi are looking so good this year already. I just hope no one runs away with it!

gubble

Any word on what the warning lights were?

Most reasonable explanation seems to be the 'get it home' warning to back off the throttle or the fuel won't last the full race.

Before spec electronics the factories had software which calculated this and adjusted the amount of power available to ensure you had enough juice left and not to have the rider worrying about it.

The warning light could just have easily have been the Lucio light for "you're on the podium - do not push it sunshine that'll do - don't bin it"

rsvmark

I believe the lights are fuel consumption if he is pushing too hard, it's a 'your fuel won't last till the end' warning

quarky

Loved the Le Mans race. What a finish to it, and Zarco again looking like a seasoned pro.

gubble

It was indeed a cracking race !

I see everyone in the media read my comments on here about Zarco replacing Valentino when he retires.

I'm in Le Mans this weekend - timed that badly didn' I?

cruxiform

I really wanted Zarco to win for the French, but the last 2 laps had me shouting from the sofa!

rsvmark

Vale is human after all!

ChuckManual

EDIT - Just seen the separate thread.

rsvmark

Maverick is proving himself rather tasty all round. You would expect the goat and dovi to be up there. Zarco who has been quick was surprisingly slow. Marquez will be one to watch tomorrow so I reckon 1. Vinales, 2. Marquez 3. Rossi. With my record I will be wholly wrong

harpdoodle

I have just caught this 'MotoGP' chat thread.

I will be at the Assen MotoGP race on Sunday June 25th.
Riding there on my 2003 Suzuki GSXR 750
Keen to hear from any other bikers going the same way. 

I will be on the overnight ferry Friday 23rd June from Harwich to Hook of Holland. I am staying in Zwoll Sat and Sunday. On Monday I will be riding down to Calais for a 5pm ferry to Dover. 

rsvmark

Just seen that Triumph are going to be the next engine supplier to Moto2. I wonder what state of tune they will be. The current CBR600 engines are at a lower level of stress than the super sports engines so lap times will be interesting when they start using triples. 

sinbaadi

Just caught up on the Mugello races.

Wow 3 of the absolute best races!  In Moto 3 the last point scoring position, 15th, was 1.5 seconds behind the winner!

Moto 2 and GP were also gripping throughout. 

TheBigDipper

harpdoodle said:

I have just caught this 'MotoGP' chat thread.

I will be at the Assen MotoGP race on Sunday June 25th.
Riding there on my 2003 Suzuki GSXR 750
Keen to hear from any other bikers going the same way. 

I will be on the overnight ferry Friday 23rd June from Harwich to Hook of Holland. I am staying in Zwoll Sat and Sunday. On Monday I will be riding down to Calais for a 5pm ferry to Dover. 

Zwolle has a lovely little centre, but (if it's your first time) a bit further from Assen than you might think. Don't oversleep! 

gubble

Those Ducati's on the straight were terrifyingly fast.

I called Dovi as the winner as soon as they announced he had food poisoning - he was in a rush to get the the toilet quickly for sure