Rins fooled me. I thought he was really going to take a step up this year. That string of solid performances in the 2nd half of last season had me thinking he would have taken a step up. Conversely, I didn't think FQ would be as dominant as he has been. He was enigmatic in the latter parts of the season last year.
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2021 MotoGP Discussion (No Links - Contains Spoilers!)
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Rins fooled me. I thought he was really going to take a step up this year. That string of solid performances in the 2nd half of last season had me thinking he would have taken a step up. Conversely, I didn't think FQ would be as dominant as he has been. He was enigmatic in the latter parts of the season last year.
Priller
Well-known member
First off, absolutely heartbreaking about Dupasquier. It's been a while since we've had someone killed on track, but as David Emmett pointed out in his excellent piece on Motomatters, it's the kind of incident that's impossible to prevent without fundamentally changing the sport. Safety gear has improved massively, but it's nowhere near good enough to handle those kinds of incidents. Prayers for his family and team.
Oh Pecco, indeed. Hadn't put a foot wrong all weekend. I think the race was won by Fabio before it started, though, as his consistent pace pushed Bagnaia to think he needed to ride over the limit to chase a win.
Absolutely dominant from Quatararo from beginning to end, and a real statement of intent on Ducati turf. No issues with arm pump at a track known to cause it, and just operating on another level from everyone else at the moment. As long as he keeps his head screwed on straight (and has the arm pump under control), he'll take some beating this year. Add that the rest of the Yamahas are struggling for various reasons, and it looks even more impressive.
Glad to see KTM is back from the dead. Both Oliviera and Binder did well, and that new frame seems to have solved some of the issues they've had with the Michelins. They're also running up near the Ducatis for speed, so could be dangerous at fast tracks.
Poor old Rins. Up to his old tricks, and he looked absolutely furious with himself when he went down. Speaking of which, Marquez was lucky he only ruined Morbidelli's race with that mistake. Nor sure which KTM he nearly skittled, but it was close. By contrast, Mir showed his patience by running his own pace and avoiding mistakes.
Credit to Zarco for making the most of his speed on a bike that wasn't working well for most of the weekend. I only saw Bastianini's onboard for the pre-race crash, so not sure who was at fault. Looked like maybe he was following Zarco a little too closely and was snoozing a bit.
Honda still in the weeds after showing some promise in France. Curious if they can find a way forward this year, or if they just start working on 2022 now. Marquez looked really poor all weekend, and doesn't get much time for recovery until the summer break.
Aleix did a solid job under difficult circumstances. Apparently they were draining a Coke can's worth of fluid from his arm at the end of each day. Managed to stick with the chase group, and was within sight of the podium. I still think he could be more aggressive at times, but he's clearly prioritising consistency over chasing a few places.
All in all, about as entertaining a race as could be hoped for when the leader checks out. Lots of good battles and storylines for coming rounds. Bagnaia has let Miller right back into the lead rider discussion, Suzuki is still in the game, KTM is potentially back, Marquez maybe needs to take a round off, etc. As long as Quatararo doesn't start running away with it before the break, it's definitely shaping up to be a good year...
Oh Pecco, indeed. Hadn't put a foot wrong all weekend. I think the race was won by Fabio before it started, though, as his consistent pace pushed Bagnaia to think he needed to ride over the limit to chase a win.
Absolutely dominant from Quatararo from beginning to end, and a real statement of intent on Ducati turf. No issues with arm pump at a track known to cause it, and just operating on another level from everyone else at the moment. As long as he keeps his head screwed on straight (and has the arm pump under control), he'll take some beating this year. Add that the rest of the Yamahas are struggling for various reasons, and it looks even more impressive.
Glad to see KTM is back from the dead. Both Oliviera and Binder did well, and that new frame seems to have solved some of the issues they've had with the Michelins. They're also running up near the Ducatis for speed, so could be dangerous at fast tracks.
Poor old Rins. Up to his old tricks, and he looked absolutely furious with himself when he went down. Speaking of which, Marquez was lucky he only ruined Morbidelli's race with that mistake. Nor sure which KTM he nearly skittled, but it was close. By contrast, Mir showed his patience by running his own pace and avoiding mistakes.
Credit to Zarco for making the most of his speed on a bike that wasn't working well for most of the weekend. I only saw Bastianini's onboard for the pre-race crash, so not sure who was at fault. Looked like maybe he was following Zarco a little too closely and was snoozing a bit.
Honda still in the weeds after showing some promise in France. Curious if they can find a way forward this year, or if they just start working on 2022 now. Marquez looked really poor all weekend, and doesn't get much time for recovery until the summer break.
Aleix did a solid job under difficult circumstances. Apparently they were draining a Coke can's worth of fluid from his arm at the end of each day. Managed to stick with the chase group, and was within sight of the podium. I still think he could be more aggressive at times, but he's clearly prioritising consistency over chasing a few places.
All in all, about as entertaining a race as could be hoped for when the leader checks out. Lots of good battles and storylines for coming rounds. Bagnaia has let Miller right back into the lead rider discussion, Suzuki is still in the game, KTM is potentially back, Marquez maybe needs to take a round off, etc. As long as Quatararo doesn't start running away with it before the break, it's definitely shaping up to be a good year...
Sage words from Petrucci.
pecinogp.com
"We have only become less human," Danilo Petrucci - PecinoGP.com
The controversy over whether the race should not have been run at Mugello yesterday is on the table. Among the MotoGP riders there is a divergence of
pecinogp.com
Winales_2017
Well-known member
Sage words from Petrucci.
"We have only become less human," Danilo Petrucci - PecinoGP.com
The controversy over whether the race should not have been run at Mugello yesterday is on the table. Among the MotoGP riders there is a divergence of
“Sponsors rule, business rules. Was it so hard to race one day later? To stop just for 24 hours. No one asked us, us the riders. I heard about Jason passing during the Moto2 race and I thought to myself: I’m leaving, I’ll take my own decision. Then I told myself that I was going to be the unprofessional one, the odd one out of the group. Because I did go through a similar situation here at Mugello”.
Petrux cannot play innocent victim with any sincerity, he made it from lower level racing in Italy into GP, where he was also a cop likely exposed to the way 'things really work.'. Of course Jason's death was a horrible situation, and while I feel bad a young rider lost his life, but such an event is an inevitability on a long enough period of time with any high risk sports. And Motorcycle racing is the very definition of a high risk sport.
Commercial rights and ad revenue from viewership are the real and only metrics that matter now that live event attendance are not currently allowed, hoe a rider feels or who wins or loses a championship is mainly a distraction based narrative for entertainment purposes for Marketers to engage an audience and sell goods and services realted to the petrol-tire and auto/motorcycle manufacturers and misc riding gear and merchandise.
I figured this out as a mid teen to early 20 something after going through his first hand in only 4-5 years in what was intially an amateur grass roots catergory made up of privateers which then turned into professional motorsports hijacked by corporate and even military interests; how a person who has essentially spent most of his adult life in this model is beyond me and I cannot accept any manufactured outrage that comes from it, which to me seems more like clout chasing ffrom a rider with not much time left in his riding career than person truly disgusted with this model.
Priller
Well-known member
As usual, Mat Oxley has an interesting take:
https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/...oser-the-racing-the-more-dangerous-it-becomes
He touches on the differing reaction between riders, which is natural and going to happen with a grid full of unique individuals. Bagnaia also felt the race should have been postponed, while Miller wanted to proceed. (I personally don't think Petrucci was being disingenuous, I think he was genuinely shaken and felt it was deeply disrespectful to Dupasquier and his family to move on so quickly - literally as soon as the track could be cleared. We can agree or disagree, but he's certainly entitled to feel that way, as is Bagnaia.)
But the main point of the article is that despite huge improvements in gear and track safety, fatalities happen a lot more often now than they did through the late-'80s, '90s and '00s, and most incidents involve a fallen rider being struck by a following bike. We very nearly had two more last year between that crazy one in Austria that was millimeters from taking out Vinales and/or Rossi, and when Aaron Canet crashed at Portimao and barely scrambled off the track, dodging bikes behind blinded by the crest. Oxley blames closer racing, particularly the essentially spec racing in Moto3 and Moto2, a product of the audience's desire for drama (our desire for drama, to be blunt). We've all marvelled at the insanity of Moto3, with the drafting and constant changing of position.
There's no easy solution, as reducing power hasn't made a difference in Moto3, and only bunches the riders even closer together. But this isn't roads racing, where accepting death goes hand-in-hand with participating in the sport, so solutions should at least be tried. Shrugging and saying, "That's racing!" is all well and good, and it is true to a certain degree, but that doesn't mean we don't stop trying to take the risk of death out of it. There's enough injury risk as is to create a sense of peril without accepting deaths as inevitable...
https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/...oser-the-racing-the-more-dangerous-it-becomes
He touches on the differing reaction between riders, which is natural and going to happen with a grid full of unique individuals. Bagnaia also felt the race should have been postponed, while Miller wanted to proceed. (I personally don't think Petrucci was being disingenuous, I think he was genuinely shaken and felt it was deeply disrespectful to Dupasquier and his family to move on so quickly - literally as soon as the track could be cleared. We can agree or disagree, but he's certainly entitled to feel that way, as is Bagnaia.)
But the main point of the article is that despite huge improvements in gear and track safety, fatalities happen a lot more often now than they did through the late-'80s, '90s and '00s, and most incidents involve a fallen rider being struck by a following bike. We very nearly had two more last year between that crazy one in Austria that was millimeters from taking out Vinales and/or Rossi, and when Aaron Canet crashed at Portimao and barely scrambled off the track, dodging bikes behind blinded by the crest. Oxley blames closer racing, particularly the essentially spec racing in Moto3 and Moto2, a product of the audience's desire for drama (our desire for drama, to be blunt). We've all marvelled at the insanity of Moto3, with the drafting and constant changing of position.
There's no easy solution, as reducing power hasn't made a difference in Moto3, and only bunches the riders even closer together. But this isn't roads racing, where accepting death goes hand-in-hand with participating in the sport, so solutions should at least be tried. Shrugging and saying, "That's racing!" is all well and good, and it is true to a certain degree, but that doesn't mean we don't stop trying to take the risk of death out of it. There's enough injury risk as is to create a sense of peril without accepting deaths as inevitable...
This happened at the end of Q2, which is a particularly hectic time, particularly in Moto3 where drafting is so important to get that one important hot lap time. No one wants to be first in line but no one wants to be stuck behind someone slower for that all-important one fast lap recorded in the last moments of the session so that others can't beat the target set. The result is an enormous pack with everyone seeking to be behind another fast rider but catching up (and overtaking each other).
MotoE uses single-lap timed qualifying: riders are sent out one at a time at carefully-timed intervals such that they can not reasonably catch the rider ahead of them, and in their warm-up lap they won't interfere with the previously-sent-out rider doing their hot lap. But, it's dull to watch.
In an actual race, where the faster riders have left the slower riders behind early on, there is less tendency to be in a large group where something like this is apt to happen.
What's the compromise?
A random-length qualifying session: "The checkered flag will be dropped at any time 12 to 20 minutes into the session, at a time selected by race officials prior to the start of the session but not made known to any of the teams or riders. The times will be based upon laps complete at the time the checkered flag is thrown."
No more enormous group heading out onto the track just a hair over one out-lap duration before the end of the session with the aim of finishing the out lap seconds before the checkered flag and setting that one hot lap time after the checkered flag.
MotoE uses single-lap timed qualifying: riders are sent out one at a time at carefully-timed intervals such that they can not reasonably catch the rider ahead of them, and in their warm-up lap they won't interfere with the previously-sent-out rider doing their hot lap. But, it's dull to watch.
In an actual race, where the faster riders have left the slower riders behind early on, there is less tendency to be in a large group where something like this is apt to happen.
What's the compromise?
A random-length qualifying session: "The checkered flag will be dropped at any time 12 to 20 minutes into the session, at a time selected by race officials prior to the start of the session but not made known to any of the teams or riders. The times will be based upon laps complete at the time the checkered flag is thrown."
No more enormous group heading out onto the track just a hair over one out-lap duration before the end of the session with the aim of finishing the out lap seconds before the checkered flag and setting that one hot lap time after the checkered flag.
Priller
Well-known member
2022 rumours continue to fly:
Miller: 8 Ducatis on MotoGP grid 'would be fantastic'
8 Ducatis? Not sure how much influence Dorna has on satellite team selection, but I can't think they'd be happy that a third of the grid is one brand when six manufacturers are competing.
I was really hoping for Gresini to stick with Aprilia to help testing and get some promising kids in, but it's looking increasingly unlikely at this point. Wish the Saudis would pick a bike so everyone else can settle on plans...
Miller: 8 Ducatis on MotoGP grid 'would be fantastic'
8 Ducatis? Not sure how much influence Dorna has on satellite team selection, but I can't think they'd be happy that a third of the grid is one brand when six manufacturers are competing.
I was really hoping for Gresini to stick with Aprilia to help testing and get some promising kids in, but it's looking increasingly unlikely at this point. Wish the Saudis would pick a bike so everyone else can settle on plans...
Confirmed:
Remy Gartner moving up to motogp with tech3.
Speculation:
1. Sounds like Raul Fernandez is next.
2. Lecuona to return to moto2 with KTM Ajo
3. Acosta moving to moto2 with KTM Ajo
This poses a potential backlog problem for 2023 in GP for KTM. If Acosta continues to shine, that will be 5 riders for 4 spots at KTM
Remy Gartner moving up to motogp with tech3.
Speculation:
1. Sounds like Raul Fernandez is next.
2. Lecuona to return to moto2 with KTM Ajo
3. Acosta moving to moto2 with KTM Ajo
This poses a potential backlog problem for 2023 in GP for KTM. If Acosta continues to shine, that will be 5 riders for 4 spots at KTM
Priller
Well-known member
Cool to see another Gardner back in the top class. His dad was a classic Aussie scrapper, wrestling the nutty Hondas of the day against some pretty tough competition.
Curious how KTM will try to pin Acosta down with multi-year deals. He's the obvious stand-out at the moment, and will be getting a lot of attention from the competition.
Add that they just gave Binder three more years, despite Oliviera arguably outperforming him...
Well, Acosta cannot join MotoGP until 2023. If KTM sign both Gardner and Fernandez to 2-year contracts, that means there will not be an open seat at KTM or Tech3 until 2024. It's not clear whether Gardner is on a 1-year or 2-year (I cannot find it), and Raul has not signed, but surely, KTM will want to keep Acosta in the pipeline, at the expense of either Gardner or Fernandez. There's no reason not to re-sign Oliveira to a 2-year deal either. KTM have a fortunate problem - too much talent.
If another manufacturer want to sign Acosta, they are likely going to have to offer at least 2-year deal with a one-and-done moto2 season funded by the factory. With Mir and Martin jumping ship after only 1 moto2 season, that seems to be the trend with dominant Moto3 champions.
I wonder if KTM's success will prompt others to do what KTM did, which is to basically sponsor a Moto2 team in order to create a pipeline.
If another manufacturer want to sign Acosta, they are likely going to have to offer at least 2-year deal with a one-and-done moto2 season funded by the factory. With Mir and Martin jumping ship after only 1 moto2 season, that seems to be the trend with dominant Moto3 champions.
I wonder if KTM's success will prompt others to do what KTM did, which is to basically sponsor a Moto2 team in order to create a pipeline.
Reminds me of Hopkins on the Suzuki. Almost every weekend: crash after crash after crash...
Priller
Well-known member
Yes, though this wasn't even on a motorcycle! He's getting so good at crashing that the get-off at Mugello was almost graceful, with him popping back onto his feet while tumbling.
Only Guintoli as a possibility, really. I think he does work for BT Sport in the UK, so if he can get out of that he may be handy...
Nothing really new here in the article, but a reference to Marquez' shoulder "nerve issues" is a bit eye opening for me. It can take years for nerve issues to sort themselves out if at all.
the-race.com
Why Honda's MotoGP season is going even worse than expected - The Race
It's not just Marc Marquez's continuing fitness problems holding Honda back in MotoGP - its 2021 problems run much deeper
the-race.com
Priller
Well-known member
It's clear they're all a bit disappointed with the recovery process for Marc, that article links to another where he talks about pain being worse than expected while the doctors say it's normal. I don't think he'll be 100% until next year, and that's assuming he ever is 100%. Problem is the Honda is terrible at the moment, so there's no cover. He's up there with Taki for who is fastest on the bike and consistently beating his (very lost) teammate, so it's not just Marc, I don't think.Nothing really new here in the article, but a reference to Marquez' shoulder "nerve issues" is a bit eye opening for me. It can take years for nerve issues to sort themselves out if at all.
Why Honda's MotoGP season is going even worse than expected - The Race
It's not just Marc Marquez's continuing fitness problems holding Honda back in MotoGP - its 2021 problems run much deeper
Speaking of frustrated riders, apparently Vinales has changed crew chief for the second time in MotoGP. Last one was on his insistence, getting rid of Forcada, but apparently this one comes from Yamaha. Never a good sign mid-season, but there's obviously some pressure with Quartararo going so well by contrast...
TK4
Well-known member
These aren't the droids you're looking for...
These aren't the droids you're looking for...
www.superbikeplanet.com
yes but Hopkins crashed pushing to keep up with better bikes....Rins has the bike to finish top three if he doesn't drop it.
Priller
Well-known member
Haven't been on Soup in ages. It's not what it was, that's for sure. Dean Adams became such a miserable prick (or maybe he always was and I didn't notice?), and only likes riders if they speak English as a first language. He said some truly vile stuff on Twitter a while back about Pedrosa in one of his Hayden reveries, and I just stopped paying attention...These aren't the droids you're looking for...
These aren't the droids you're looking for...
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