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2021 MotoGP Discussion (No Links - Contains Spoilers!)
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Priller
Well-known member
Heartbreaking for Quatararo. Arm pump is one of those things that seems to strike without warning and isn't always easy to fix. Was on pace for another dominant win, and he's got that ability to put his head down and churn out steady, high-tempo laps, so I don't think Miller would've gotten close otherwise.
The English-language Dorna commentating team got orgasmic as they do anytime an Anglo rider wins, unable to get hyperbolic enough. Fair play to Miller, he rode a good race and made the most of a good start (I think Bagnaia would've made a fight out of it if he'd been able to get past Morbidelli sooner) but it wasn't exactly the underdog story they were spinning. He is ostensibly lead rider on a factory team with realistic ambitions to win the title. Still, considering the awful start to the season for him, full credit for putting himself in a good position and not making any mistakes.
Morbidelli coming in third on an old bike was just as impressive, I think. He rode a clever race, and didn't put a foot wrong. He's certainly got a lot of talent and I think deserves a better shake from Yamaha, especially considering how lost his teammate looks on a new model. That particular teammate is done, I think. No more excuses, and Jerez is a place where nobody has a shortage of laps from which to pull data. Time to hang up the leathers and get on with the lucrative business of shilling for murderous tyrants.
No miracles from Marquez, and it doesn't look like there will be any magic moments for a while, just steady progress. Not likely to be a player for the championship, but may be a factor stealing points later in the year. At least Nakagami saved some face for Honda with a solid fourth. Prize money might pay for the parts bill LCR is racking up with all their crashes...
Lastly, despite some early hope for a podium from Aleix, his mid-race conservatism cost a couple spots, particularly in his caution about getting around a faltering Quatararo. The Aprilia package has found some solid consistency, settling in around 6th consistently now. Would love to see them take a few risks and get on a podium this season, as next year won't be easier when the development restrictions come off for everyone else.
Bring on Le Mans, hopefully more like Portimao than Jerez in the second half...
The English-language Dorna commentating team got orgasmic as they do anytime an Anglo rider wins, unable to get hyperbolic enough. Fair play to Miller, he rode a good race and made the most of a good start (I think Bagnaia would've made a fight out of it if he'd been able to get past Morbidelli sooner) but it wasn't exactly the underdog story they were spinning. He is ostensibly lead rider on a factory team with realistic ambitions to win the title. Still, considering the awful start to the season for him, full credit for putting himself in a good position and not making any mistakes.
Morbidelli coming in third on an old bike was just as impressive, I think. He rode a clever race, and didn't put a foot wrong. He's certainly got a lot of talent and I think deserves a better shake from Yamaha, especially considering how lost his teammate looks on a new model. That particular teammate is done, I think. No more excuses, and Jerez is a place where nobody has a shortage of laps from which to pull data. Time to hang up the leathers and get on with the lucrative business of shilling for murderous tyrants.
No miracles from Marquez, and it doesn't look like there will be any magic moments for a while, just steady progress. Not likely to be a player for the championship, but may be a factor stealing points later in the year. At least Nakagami saved some face for Honda with a solid fourth. Prize money might pay for the parts bill LCR is racking up with all their crashes...
Lastly, despite some early hope for a podium from Aleix, his mid-race conservatism cost a couple spots, particularly in his caution about getting around a faltering Quatararo. The Aprilia package has found some solid consistency, settling in around 6th consistently now. Would love to see them take a few risks and get on a podium this season, as next year won't be easier when the development restrictions come off for everyone else.
Bring on Le Mans, hopefully more like Portimao than Jerez in the second half...
Priller
Well-known member
Quatararo had another round of surgery for arm pump:
Quartararo undergoes successful arm pump surgery
It's his second go at this, and I'd love to know why it seems to be such a challenging problem to solve. At least the surgery seems to be minimally invasive, as Miller just had a go and immediately won a race...
Quartararo undergoes successful arm pump surgery
It's his second go at this, and I'd love to know why it seems to be such a challenging problem to solve. At least the surgery seems to be minimally invasive, as Miller just had a go and immediately won a race...
Priller
Well-known member
It definitely seems to be more of an issue for riders than it used to be. Not sure if that's because the g loads from braking are higher or if the riders all work out a lot more, making their forearms more susceptible. It's been an issue in MX for longer.
Just saw a thing that Aleix Espargaro is lined up for surgery after Le Mans, wonder if that's why he's been struggling to pick up places after the mid-point...
Winales_2017
Well-known member
Jerez was ok but the least intresting race so far, and while I'm not happy to see his arm-pump issue, but I'm glad Fabio got knocked off the top as it was starting to look ominous if he kept dominating. He will have to overcome injury and fight his way back up.
Pretty much.
Motorsports, much like the petrol industry and the automotive it stands on, is a dirty and corrupt to it's core. I spent a lot of time in the auto Industry, and worked at VW during Diesel-gate in supply chain and worked with the Bosch guys and corporate first hand and it makes me upset just how needlessly wasteful it is.
Also having spent time in both Pro and Amateur categories, I'll stick to Pro for viewing on TV and amateur categories to hang out in person.
I personally just do open-track events with no expectations other than have a good time and hope not to crash, whereas in my youth I went all in and got pretty close to getting picked up in GT and lived with pro drivers/judges: but I saw how dirty my then friends who were judges and their 'business partners' with certain category owners for licenses and I got super disgusted at how transnational it was. We would party and would have 'back room deals' at our our house in the after party and talks about getting trust fund babies onboard as pay drivers if their parent's sponsored some events on the calendar and jump the line and took a spot from someone who slugged it out as a privateer who paid all his way up.
Sponsorship had less to do with talent and on track results more to do with ROI and exploring the then experimental and emerging social media presence for other streams of income.
This was for a 4 wheel category which is now established and has branched out to an entire enterprise, something that none of us grassroots guys felt was possible let alone desirable because we all came from running mountains together and watching vhs tapes from Japan. But, I'm sure 2 wheel categories are maybe the same.
Sadly, I think things like Formula-E or Moto-E will not be immune to this, either.
Pretty much.
Motorsports, much like the petrol industry and the automotive it stands on, is a dirty and corrupt to it's core. I spent a lot of time in the auto Industry, and worked at VW during Diesel-gate in supply chain and worked with the Bosch guys and corporate first hand and it makes me upset just how needlessly wasteful it is.
Also having spent time in both Pro and Amateur categories, I'll stick to Pro for viewing on TV and amateur categories to hang out in person.
I personally just do open-track events with no expectations other than have a good time and hope not to crash, whereas in my youth I went all in and got pretty close to getting picked up in GT and lived with pro drivers/judges: but I saw how dirty my then friends who were judges and their 'business partners' with certain category owners for licenses and I got super disgusted at how transnational it was. We would party and would have 'back room deals' at our our house in the after party and talks about getting trust fund babies onboard as pay drivers if their parent's sponsored some events on the calendar and jump the line and took a spot from someone who slugged it out as a privateer who paid all his way up.
Sponsorship had less to do with talent and on track results more to do with ROI and exploring the then experimental and emerging social media presence for other streams of income.
This was for a 4 wheel category which is now established and has branched out to an entire enterprise, something that none of us grassroots guys felt was possible let alone desirable because we all came from running mountains together and watching vhs tapes from Japan. But, I'm sure 2 wheel categories are maybe the same.
Sadly, I think things like Formula-E or Moto-E will not be immune to this, either.
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Priller
Well-known member
Interesting article from Mat Oxley about how KTM, Honda, and to a lesser extent, Suzuki, are struggling with Michelin's 2021 tire selection:
The problem that could spoil Márquez’s MotoGP title hopes - Motor Sport Magazine
KTM and Honda both apparently work the front very hard on corner entry, looking for an advantage by braking late and deep. Considering the insane number of crashes from riders on both bikes, it adds up. Taking away the medium compound has forced them onto tires that are too hard, as the asymmetric allocation isn't working.
Oxley followed up on Twitter by saying that only 6 of 88 starts this year have used the asymmetric front. Hardly a ringing endorsement.
It'll be down to those teams to find a way for their bikes to work with the existing tires this year, as apparently a change is extremely unlikely and would be strongly opposed by Yamaha, Ducati and Aprilia...
The problem that could spoil Márquez’s MotoGP title hopes - Motor Sport Magazine
KTM and Honda both apparently work the front very hard on corner entry, looking for an advantage by braking late and deep. Considering the insane number of crashes from riders on both bikes, it adds up. Taking away the medium compound has forced them onto tires that are too hard, as the asymmetric allocation isn't working.
Oxley followed up on Twitter by saying that only 6 of 88 starts this year have used the asymmetric front. Hardly a ringing endorsement.
It'll be down to those teams to find a way for their bikes to work with the existing tires this year, as apparently a change is extremely unlikely and would be strongly opposed by Yamaha, Ducati and Aprilia...
I could be remembering history incorrectly, but I don't remember this much consternation about Bridgestone tires when they were the sole supplier. I guess when the field is as tight as it is, small differences become big differences.
Given the lack to testing opportunities, I wonder if Michelin should commit to certain tire allocations at least 6 months before the start of the next season. That could give some additional testing time for teams to sort out their next-year's bikes.
Nakagami used his bike from last year (2019 spec) and was the best Honda. Should be interesting to see if he sticks with it.
Priller
Well-known member
To be fair to Michelin, Bridgestone really only had to keep two and a half factories happy, as Ducati was only really relevant when Stoner was on board. Bridgestone was the spec supplier from 2009 to 2015, I think, so it wasn't a huge window. Instead of factories getting punished, it was more certain riders, as the 'stones rewarded staying hooked up and really punished anyone who like to get loose. They rewarded riders who came up through the small GP classes, not dirt trackers...
There will always be unhappy parties with any arrangement, but it does seem odd that tires offered last year used by two major manufacturers were withdrawn. It sounds like they were overconfident in the asymmetrical tires to fill that gap, and possibly those factories were as well...
Priller
Well-known member
Even Q1 was fun, with Savadori and Marini bouncing AEspargaro after the lead Aprilia man thought he'd sewn up top two.
It'll all be mostly meaningless if it's raining tomorrow, though. Not sure what the latest forecast is. Should be an entertaining race regardless, with the tricky Turn 3 claiming some inevitable victims...
Crazy race. Lots of falls, rain, sun, bike swap, penalties.
Hard to make any specific judgements on races like this since decision making (especially on tires) made all the difference. All that said... Miller took a 2x long lap penalty... and Won! Impressive performance.
I wonder what was going through Marquez' mind. He fell multiple times. At least on the 2nd one, he was going too fast (he was running 2s quicker than the leader at the time)
Both Tech3 KTMs in the top 10. Lecuona scored his best finish. That has to count for something.
Rossi would have had a top 10 had he not got caught up in the melee with Morbidelli and PEspargaro (It was PEsp that lost control and caused it)
Zarco - another podium. Will he win this year? We shall see...
Hard to make any specific judgements on races like this since decision making (especially on tires) made all the difference. All that said... Miller took a 2x long lap penalty... and Won! Impressive performance.
I wonder what was going through Marquez' mind. He fell multiple times. At least on the 2nd one, he was going too fast (he was running 2s quicker than the leader at the time)
Both Tech3 KTMs in the top 10. Lecuona scored his best finish. That has to count for something.
Rossi would have had a top 10 had he not got caught up in the melee with Morbidelli and PEspargaro (It was PEsp that lost control and caused it)
Zarco - another podium. Will he win this year? We shall see...
Winales_2017
Well-known member
Did you see him in the box? He was kind of upset and frustrated with himself, and when the cameras showed up he decided to just go back to the motorhome. This is view on the situation:
Marc Marquez leads, falls twice, 'angry with myself'
Marc Marquez leads a MotoGP race for the first time since Jerez 2020, but is left to rue a missed opportunity after falling twice.
www.crash.net
He shouldn't be too hard on himself, the opening laps looked like he was back, but he can't force it. He has to consider this season a loss and just use these races to get the feeling back and try to stay healthy while he regains strength in his R arm. But, this is Marc we're talking about who really can't help himself.
He is definitely in the fight, the 3 Ducatis and Fabio are all in contention.
Of the four Ducati pilots I think Zarco needs it more due to his age and since he likely has more to prove to Ducati to remain on the bike than the other 3 younger riders he has the most to lose if he doesn't win this year. He looked dejected, and he felt like he could have won. Still P2 after some less than amazing results is progress.
I'm not sure what happened to Maverick after the rain he just faded despite being behind Fabio in the opening laps. LeMans was a track he likes, too. Honestly, I'm not sure what to say about him other than he needs to leave Yamaha for a red bike or maybe to a direct swap with Rins at Suzuki. He's 24 point behind Fabip, so he is technically still in the championship, but the bike just cannot make the bike work for him in anything but ideal conditions, even at tracks where he typically excels in.
Amazing race, I'm going to rewatch again tonight!
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BigEvilDoer
Well-known member
He reminds me of Lorenzo more and more..
If the conditions are perfect, he's amazing. If things are even slightly off, no bueno for him.
I watched a different angle of the Morbidelli/Espargaro/Rossi incident. I stand corrected, it's Morbidelli's fault, but I understand why he did what he did. PEsp wobbled and lost momentum, and Morbidelli went on the inside, but was not fast enough to inside him before the turn, he was behind him enough to have to concede the corner but didn't.
Looks like VR46 is going to sign with Ducati.
Interestingly, he apparently had an offer with Yamaha for less money but chose Ducati instead. I can only assume it had to do with support (probably 2 satellite spec bikes [which would likely be the current factory bikes with no development]).
Yamaha tend to treat their satellite teams with a general laissez-faire atttitude (Tech3's bike never really advanced, and you rarely if ever see Yamaha engineers in the SRT pits like you do all the other factories)
Perhaps Rossi is now seeing it firsthand which has influenced his decision. It looks like the Rossi/Yamaha partnership is going to fizzle out. No chance does Rossi remain a Yamaha spokesman if his team races Ducati bikes.
the-race.com
Now, who does Rossi sign? Marini will likely stay. Rossi will want to put Bezzechi on the seat, but I suspect Ducati will want Bastianini to remain. I don't think Rossi will fight this provided Bezzechi gets a seat, most likely with Aprilia or Gresini, who is now rumoured to be a satellite Aprilia team.
Interestingly, he apparently had an offer with Yamaha for less money but chose Ducati instead. I can only assume it had to do with support (probably 2 satellite spec bikes [which would likely be the current factory bikes with no development]).
Yamaha tend to treat their satellite teams with a general laissez-faire atttitude (Tech3's bike never really advanced, and you rarely if ever see Yamaha engineers in the SRT pits like you do all the other factories)
Perhaps Rossi is now seeing it firsthand which has influenced his decision. It looks like the Rossi/Yamaha partnership is going to fizzle out. No chance does Rossi remain a Yamaha spokesman if his team races Ducati bikes.
VR46 picks Ducati for 2022 MotoGP deal, Ducati keeps Miller - The Race
Valentino Rossi's VR46 team has chosen Ducati over Yamaha and Aprilia for its 2022 MotoGP deal, and Ducati's decided to keep Jack Miller
the-race.com
Now, who does Rossi sign? Marini will likely stay. Rossi will want to put Bezzechi on the seat, but I suspect Ducati will want Bastianini to remain. I don't think Rossi will fight this provided Bezzechi gets a seat, most likely with Aprilia or Gresini, who is now rumoured to be a satellite Aprilia team.
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