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MotoGP

well that turned out about how i though it would with a couple of exceptions.

Was a shame Martin is out for 2 races - cause without him, it wasn't as interesting.
Sprint race was boring as hell, other than Ogura standing out in his first ever Sprint.
Jack did well till he fell off as usual, but he was a long way ahead of Fabio which was interesting.

Get to the main race, and I still can't work out if MM decided to sit behind AM just for sport, or if he had an issue. He didn't really say much after the race about it but it definitely looked like he let his brother past.
Pecco was clearly frustrated about it all.
Ogura again was a stand out for me.
Sad to see Acosta go down.
And Jack started well but faded, but STILL stayed ahead of Fabio.
Maybe this year Jack will do better in the sprints as he still struggles with tyre management.
 
edgelett said:
Get to the main race, and I still can't work out if MM decided to sit behind AM just for sport, or if he had an issue. He didn't really say much after the race about it but it definitely looked like he let his brother past.
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Tyre pressure.

Effortless. Hand over the best bike on the grid to the best rider on a circuit that goes left - and this is what you get. Marc has been riding with such a significant handicap for so many years, (even last year you could see how much the GP23 was losing out to the 24), he's now cruising. Great rides from Agora, and yes, it must be tortuous for Martin to be watching knowing that he may have taken it to Pecco. I like Ai, and I like the Trackhouse team and loved the Gulf livery. Many tipped Roberts for the seat, but credit to Brivio who recognises Ogura's potential.

Yeah, in terms of the main race, my first thought on lap 7 when Marc looked at the rear was a defective tyre, but then when he sat in behind Alex, after all that we've seen last year, it was pretty apparent that the front had, for whatever reason, dipped below the legal threshold. I think you need to run 60% of the race at 1.8 bar (26psi), so knowing how much he had in reserve, he sat back and waited. The rule is harsh because we've had leaking rims before...but although I've been highly critical of it in the past, Michelin have set that level it for safety reasons. Riders had been running so low, there was a real threat of delamination, or worse still, the tyre separating from the rim. Every rider is looking to extract fine margins to gain an advantage, but why Ducati sailed so close to the wind today, knowing that Marc had the pace to be way out front, (I mean he could have on today by at least 16 seconds), is a mystery. In the heat of the draft behind his brother, I would speculate that the front returned to its correct pressure within a couple of laps. I think Pecco meanwhile was struggling with the soft front all weekend, which really, he had no option to run if he wanted to b competitive given that Marc's strategy was to put the hammer down from the first lap. I watched the race this morning and haven't read any of the post race analysis or looked at the official results since (largely because I don't accidentally want to risk spoilers having not watched Moto2 and Moto3 yet. I'll probably discover now that Marc failed to get the front pressure down, thought fuck it, and took his brother at the end and received a 16 second penalty anyway.

DiGi, the only other factory Ducati is clearly the test mule this year, (much like Hayden was for Pedrosa all those years ago at HRC), getting lumped with all those dubious parts to persevere with that didn't work in testing.

The Honda is a significant improvement, A softer engine may have sapped a bit of top end, but it's certainly giving the riders more feel and rideability. Shame about Mir's front ender. Pramac Yamaha may well outdo the factory effort this year.

Respectable first weekend for Aledeguer at Gresini.

Viñales and Bastianini are screwed.

My main fear is for KTM. I think Acosta will win at least a sprint this year, but he was saying in the close season that he needs to eliminate the mistakes that dogged his nonetheless impressive rookie season last year. Unforced error today. If he and Binder fail to get results, given the parlous finances right now, the factory could simply decide that MotoGp is a money pit and pull out altogether, which would be a great shame.
 
FTR London said:
In the heat of the draft behind his brother, I would speculate that the front returned to its correct pressure within a couple of laps.
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And as it turns out. I was wrong about this. Marc reported that the tyre pressure warning stayed on for far longer, meaning, astonishingly that he only had three laps in hand near the end of the race to win it, which is precisely when he pulled the pin. Very astute race management from the most experienced rider out there and an error from the Ducati garage who apparently are not yet fully accustomed to Marc's riding style, hence the lower setting.
 
My deal is picking the 3 for the podium. Instinct said MM, Pedro, and Bez. That was the finishing order until Alex at the end. Then the day of the race was MM, AM, Pecco. I get lucky sometimes.
 
Marc Márquez arrived at Termas de Rio Honda having not raced there for six years and no recent data. They dialled in the settings from Thailand and lucked out showing that at this early stage in the season, rider and team have a strong understanding between each other and base setting. Nonetheless, he said that it felt that unlike a fortnight ago where he was ahead of the bike, he was chasing it for most of the weekend. Not that it seemed to matter - two pole positions and four race wins - a clean sweep so far. I noticed that his rear brake disc is much smaller than the one that he used to employ with Honda, which is strange given the fact that his bike has the least amount of engine braking of all the Ducatis, preferring to control it himself. It's sublime to watch him enter turns using the rear to stabilise the trail braking on the front which is an astonishingly difficult technique. Marc now equals the great Angel Nieto in race wins.

Alex denied his first GP victory since 2019 in his Moto 2 days. Not much between the two bikes, the GP 25 has higher rpm, lower ride height and a new ride height system.

Good to seek Morbidelli back on the box for the first time since Jerez 2021. I thought that his choice of the soft rear was ailing but it held out. And great to see Zarco placing the Honda, the most improved bike on the grid, at the sharp end. The acquisition of Romano Albesiano from Aprilia as technical director was a massive coup for HRC.

Another very promising performance from Ai Ogura, Bezzechi's nightmare continues whilst Viñales and Bastianini are reportedly very despondent at Tech 3.

Great ride from Dixon in Moto 2 who says that there is much more to come from the Marc VDS/Boscocoro package. Series leader Gonzalez simply couldn't match his pace. Credit to Aaron Canet in fourth following his horrendous off this weekend. Joe Roberts still massively hampered by his scaphoid problem, a nightmare injury for any motorcycle racer and one which means that Martin is unlikely to return to Moto GP until Jerez at the earliest.

A contentious win for Piqueras in Moto 3.
 
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shame about Ogura getting disqualified. that was a bummer.
Bit of a boring race other than Marc nearly losing the bike several times.
but the fight between Zarco and Digi was good. wish they showed more of that.
 
finally watched tonight. good race with some great scraps, surprising bur awesome that Miller is consistently better than Fabio.

Ogura is doing brilliant i hope it continues.

What happened to Baby Jesus Acosta this year?
 
edgelett said:
finally watched tonight. good race with some great scraps, surprising bur awesome that Miller is consistently better than Fabio.

Ogura is doing brilliant i hope it continues.

What happened to Baby Jesus Acosta this year?
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To be fair, the weathermen forecast Jack Miller that morning and he made no attempt to conceal the grin of delight pre-race at the horrid mixed conditions. Have to say though, I think that Pramac are a top class outfit - early days, but outperforming the factory team in their first season. I forsee some changes next season. Rins is likely done there, I think that the Pramac seats are going to be coveted whilst it's not beyond the realms of possibility that we see a second coming from Jack and he gets a factory ride at Yamaha - maybe a one year contract.

Which brings me to "Baby Jesus" - who is already in discussions with other manufacturers. There is no doubt that he is a prodigious talent but he knows that he needs to eliminate the mistakes and unforced errors that hampered his season last year. His race lines are so radical and turns so tight, so late. Reminds me of Rossi on a 125. However, his wide sweeping approaches put him out on the wettest part of the track and he paid the price. And like I was saying, if KTM don't start to get results soon I can see them pulling the plug on the series. Disastrous weekend for the factory.

On to the races, how the hell did Márquez save that slide on the first lap of the sprint? Main race, Marc has always favoured a high risk strategy, and using the curb at turn 4 was inviting disaster. Watching him remount and attempt to do battle with Viñales with a broken fairing and mission footpeg was hilarious. Farcical start in which Marc had pre-planned an exit minutes before the lights dropped to get his dry bike prompting half the grid to charge after him. He also did bloody well to force his ride height device into action by pumping the front brake when it refused to lower. Great to see a revitalised Morbidelli

Another win for Jake Dixon, although granted, an ill-calculated gamble on slicks by González. Argentina and COTA are two of Dixon's favoured circuits but he will be high on confidence going into the ground war in Europe - although it's Qatar next which he also likes (in spite of his nasty off there last season).

Rueda extends his lead in Moto 3 - but a massive shout out again for Aussie Joel Kelso in second, really rate this lad.

Not particularly fond of this circuit. I attended the inaugural race here in 2013 and it's massive with superb facilities. I do love the first section but wouldn't it be great if all the issues at Laguna Seca were sorted and we could go back there?

Was also watching World Superbike Portimão this weekend and it occurred to me that with the formula change in MotoGP to 850cc and the incoming Pirelli tyres this is going to play nicely into the hands of riders such as Razgatlıoğlu who we know has caught the eye of the GP paddock for some time now. Could even pave the way for Bulega to make a return. Buatista and Redding, not so much. I would have liked to have seen peak Jonathan Rea on a competitive GP ride. He certainly acquitted himself admirably when he wild carded for the injured Stoner on the RCV 213V in 2012.
 
Astonished that so many opted for the soft rear for the sprint race in spite of Michelin's warning that they wouldn't go the distance. Watching Acosta, whose race lines are very unorthodox at the best of time, missing apex after apex towards the end was comical.

Main race, the medium combination easily endured, although Marc comes into his own as they begin to wear. Alex desperate to exploit his brother's trepidation in the opening laps, (by Marc Márquez standards, given the chatter he seems to experience in the first four laps) cost himself a podium and possibly DiGi too. This is not a track the Marc likes but he was unassailable towards the end. Really impressed by Fermín Aldeguer this weekend. His relationship with crew chief and the hugely experienced Frankie Carchedi looks very promising and Carchedi is the master of raceday set up.

KTM really needed that performance from Viñales - as unlikely as it seemed - so cruel to be demoted to 14th meaning Morbidelli found himself on the podium. Great ride by Zarco and LCR - top Honda again. The most improved bike out there despite their rank D concessions.

Devastating for Martin - chest trauma and eight fractured ribs on his comeback race. That looked like a nasty off and I feared the worse when his was immediately sent to the Clinica Mobile, which is albeit often precautionary.

Superb ride from Canet in Moto 2. A disappointing weekend for Dixon who had to work very hard to be competitive and overrode as a consequence in the race crashing out from fifth.

Incredible final lap in Moto 3 and a photo finish in favour of Piqueras by 0.009s!!! Another great ride and front row start from Aussie Joel Kelso for fourth. Have I mentioned, I really like this guy?
 
Wonderful to see Quatararo back in contention. However, the sweeping wide lines that he has to run to make the IL4 M1 competitive meant that he crashed out on the dirty part of the track during the sprint and can be easily disrupted by the point and squirt Ducatis. Nonetheless, finishing second in the main race and keeping Pecco at bay was admirable. The V4 engine can't come soon enough for him. He was awesome to watch around T5.

Have yet to read any race post mortems, by tyre pressures again seemed to me to blight Marc. My guess is that the setting was very close to the threshold with the game plan that he would immediately break away, but his brother and Pecco certainly anticipated that meaning the first lap was even more combative than usual. Stuck in third and knowing that the heat was on - literally and metaphorically, driving up his front tyre pressure, Marc crashed out at T8 apparently trying to make it up on Pecco on the brakes. I know Bagnaia has opined that the GP25 has a more sensitive front end than last year's bike which of course Alex is on. Great to see him win his first premier GP at last - although he was very lucky not to have cleaned up the front runners.

The test here will be crucial for Yamaha and Honda with their concessions, but also for Bagnaia who has identified issues that need addressing..
 
was very chuffed for Alex to get his maiden win - you could see how much it meant to him.
and for Fabio to take P2 on that bike was incredible. Even Pecco acknowledged that in the post race interview.
 
Marc and Alex once again showcased their dominance in the sprint format, securing their sixth consecutive 1-2 finish. Acosta crashed out of a podium position on the at the penultimate corner, gifting arch rival and nemesis Fermin Aldeguer his first-ever podium. A terrible weekend for Acosta - again being bested by Aldeguer in the main race. That said, the rain was a God send for both him and Chantra who have both recently undergone surgery for arm pump.

The Bugati circuit is utterly horrible in the wet, like riding on marbles. Saying that it offered up a "fairytale" as a tearfully emotional Sylvain Guintoli put it in the TNT Sports commentary booth. Zarco’s win on the Honda bike not only marked his first victory on the RCV but also his second career MotoGP win becoming the first of his nationality to claim victory at the French Grand Prix since Monneret in 1954. So close to being taken out on lap 1 too! This is what legends are made of, a momentous occasion celebrated by a record-breaking crowd in attendance and it was great to see promotor Claude Michy, who has dedicated so much to building this event into what it is now come over and hug him in Parc Ferme. I like Zarco. There's no bullshit and he's been a revelation to Honda and LCR since his arrival. He's a genuine biker and once rode from his home in Avignon to compete in Aragon. He's always been brilliant in these conditions and so has Miller, who also doubling down on wets probably would have won it had it not been for the highside at Turn 6. Big winner of the weekend, with both Alex and Pecco failing to score - Marc.

Quartararo has been fined and ordered to sit out the start of MotoGP practice at Silverstone as a punishment for "irresponsible" behaviour after his abuse of a marshal. The coverage did briefly capture him remonstrating trackside.

Pecco still not completely comfortable on the GP25. Elected not to test the new chassis at Jerez which Márquez ran on Sunday because he had other issues to resolve. It's going to be very difficult playing catch up in terms of the points deficit and given the confidence and feel that Marc now has on the Ducati. If he hadn't lost two Sundays, (Austin and Jerez), this could possibly have been out of sight already.
 
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as we're travelling i haven't been able to watch but was stoked to read about Zarco getting the win - very cool.

but did he do a backflip?
 
Even though Édith Piaf wasnt brought back from the afterlife singing the La Marseillaise with a ensemble of can can girls, with Julien Dupont wearing a beret with a baguette and a bottle of wine in a basket while wheeling the main straight.......Zarco's win made up for it.....and yes he did a backflip..................or the world span the opposite way for one revolution
 
Marc's clean sweep of sprint races ended by his brother in impressive style then. The needle between Acosta and Aldegeur continues as they made contact on the final lap sending the latter wide and a 14th place finish. Also, that last lap pass on Bagnaia by Zarco...around the outside. Legend.

Kudos to the Moto 2 riders, first out on a cold track, the nighttime downpours completely having purged it of rubber and a strong crosswind. Superb last lap - Alonso entertaining as ever, Diogo Moreira always so technically impressive, but a magnificent maiden win for Australia's Senna Agius.

The vagaries of the UK weather and the exposed nature of 'Shiverstone' meant that this was another freak race with a frigid track temperature and the strong wind enduring. With the hard front completely impossible to run, doubts surrounded the durability of the soft, so most opted for the medium which was affording the Ducati riders with very little in the way of feel - particularly the GP25s. Even Pierro Traramasso expressed his doubts prior to the race that their soft compound would go the distance whilst Alex's off into the first corner clearly illustrated the vague feel of the medium whilst Marc was completely unable to trail brake and went down as a consequence at Turn 11/Becketts. After the oil deposited on track after the Morbidelli/Espargaro clash forced the red flag, all riders were eligible for the restart due to less than 3 laps having been completed. An odd rule that is new to me.

Quartararo pursued the same tactic as he had before, building up as much of a lead as possible and when his ride height device failed, he had 4.5s on Bezzecchi. So Bez took the win, very reminiscent of his last GP win and the diminished adhesion in India in 2003 this time caused by the reverse - the intense heat. A very, very fortunate turn of events for the Márquez brothers, and a gallant effort by Marc to place that bike on third. The banding on the right hand side of the tyre was ridiculous. Refreshing to see the Ducatis at a disadvantage, a Honda on the podium again and an Aprilia in first. The real winner and the people's hero was Fabio though.

Marini was hit with a tyre penalty and so plunged from 8th to 14th place. Meanwhile I was shocked to hear that Pecco has so little front end feel on the GP25 that he is currently unable to differentiate between a soft and and medium tyre. That's astonishing.
 
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Aragon, what a magnificent circuit. Nothing really to say other than great racing. Drop Catalunya and Valencia and introduce two new rounds, four Spanish meets is approaching the absurdity of MLB branding as a 'World Series'.

The only thing Márquez will be rueing and losing sleep about in this clean sweep of a weekend is the missed lap record in the sprint race. The wonderfully engrossing loggerheads between Acosta and Aldeguer continues with Pedro in the inferior machinery. Give the guy a GP24 and he's a race winner.

Main takeaway from Aragon, the 0,003 second photo finish between Öncü and Moreira. Imagine the global press if that ever happened in 'snoremula 1'. Had the massively talented Diogo not taken the defensive line he would have won that!

A similarly feisty race in Moto 3 coming down to a battle to the line, won by David Munoz.

Mugello next, the greatest strip of racing asphalt on the planet next to Phillip Island.
 
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