Author Topic: MotoGP Thread (Read 14862 times)

boots · « **on:** July 13, 2015, 02:28:31 pm »

Couldnt find one dedicated to MotoGP currently so I started another.

Surprised as we have a potential world champion in the making. Danny Kent absolutely blitzed the field in Moto3. His corner speed is shocking.

Sam Lowes did ok in Moto2. Great rider, average bike. Zarco has been a revelation this yr. Good luck to him. Rabat, I suspect fucked his shoulder up even more. Lucky for him the 3wk break is coming up.

Marquez back on form but its a honda track and Vale beat Jorge to extend his lead. VR46 fanboy.

BCCC · « **Reply #1 on:** July 13, 2015, 04:58:09 pm »

Kent is flying this season and proving the doubters wrong after a lean spell last year. I hope Rossi claims the MotoGP crown as his big finale. He's desperate to beat Marquez.

jimbo1962 · « **Reply #2 on:** July 13, 2015, 07:11:42 pm »

It's the only other sport I'm passionate about after footer.
I don't really follow the 600s or the 250s but this years MotoroGP is classic, and Rossi is still the most exciting racer out there

RedSince86 · « **Reply #3 on:** July 13, 2015, 11:18:00 pm »

Be great to see Rossi win another championship.

It will probably be his his best championship if he does it with beating Lorenzo and Marquez.

kaz1983 · « **Reply #4 on:** July 14, 2015, 01:56:04 am »

I will be following this thread.

boots · « **Reply #5 on:** July 14, 2015, 09:11:36 am »

To be honest, I am more of a bike racing fan than a football fan. Probably because I can get a fucking ticket to watch it.

Danny Kent has been awesome. You could see the small increments of improvements and consistency in Danny over the previous seasons. He is deffo a talented guy. His smoothness is key. Plus is race head is so calm and collected. Him and Bradley are my tips for possible success. Scott Redding is in a lull at the minute but once he figures that honda out, he will be good enough to compete with Marc. We have some good riders coming through and its an exciting time to be a motogp fan.

I'd love to see Sam Lowes on a more competitive bike. He'd give plenty of headaches out as he is a fierce competitor. I wouldnt want to bash fairings with him. Hes a fighter.

Cal shouldve tried to stay on a yamaha, another top quality rider.

But Valentino, I love this guy. I followed him since his rookie yr in 125's. He is the Stevie G of MotoGP. An outright fucking legend. Proper. I'm a self confessed VR46 fanboy. I even have VR46 leathers Im such a nob.

I still think Marc is one injury away from 'the fear'. Hes been lucky so far, but i'd like to see how he responds from a proper injury. Danny was never the same since he broke his ankles in 250's. Mind you marc had that off at Mugello at 200mph, but he was lucky it was a slider.

I always love watching Danny Pedrosas Motegi stoppie...

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/v/vZTS7foJQf8" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="bbc_link bbc_flash_disabled new_win">https://www.youtube.com/v/vZTS7foJQf8</a>

Mr Mingebag Squid · « **Reply #6 on:** July 15, 2015, 10:23:09 am »

MotoGP confuses me with only 3 (or is it 4?) factory teams and all the other rules they keep introducing and changing year on year for non factory bikes.

Why cant they have a series where all the bikes are pretty level and it's down to rider skill?

That said, still love the action you get up and down the field

boots · « **Reply #7 on:** July 15, 2015, 11:04:18 am »

Its the same with all racing Squid. I admit it was better when it was 500cc 2-strokes as you didnt need to be a factory to compete. Theres some hugely talented tuners out there. Plus the 500 was an animal. Marquez would never be who he is today if he had to ride those. You have to be super smooth and precise on a 500cc GP bike. Backing it in was a no no as you'd end up in A&E. But its all down to costs. Suzuki are making a comeback now the financial crisis has tempered, hopefully Kwaker will return, Aprilia are about to throw huge sums at it. So there will be more factory bikes out there.

But look at the times, they are only 10ths apart. Theres only 5 10ths from the factory to the satellites. However 5 10ths over 40 laps is 20s.

The concessions for tyres were brought in to help suzuki and ducati, mainly ducati. So that they could compete. The ban on testing means they get stuck with what they start with and the duck is fast but prone to losing the front. If Vale couldnt ride it, then its a turkey. People say Casey could ride it, but Casey was prepared to crash it. Vale isnt that kind of rider. Ducati get too many concessions, in both GP and WSB and I dont agree with it. Even as a Ducati fan and rider myself I think its tantamount to cheating.

All the riders on the GP grid are hugely talented. Every single one of them. On equal machinery I'd still put Vale 1st with Jorge 2nd and Marc 3rd.

rob1966 · « **Reply #8 on:** August 21, 2016, 10:06:16 pm »

What a day for British riders at Brno today

John McPhee won the Moto3 race, becoming the first Scot since 1962 to win a GP

Sam Lowes finished second in the Moto2

Cal Crutchlow became the first Briton since Barry Sheene in 1981 to win a GP in the Premier class when he romped to victory in the main MotoGP race. He did it on a satellite Honda, beating the factory Ducatis, Yamahas and Hondas

Well done to all of them, especially Cal who has really deserved it

Linudden · « **Reply #9 on:** May 22, 2017, 07:56:12 pm »

Devastated to hear Nicky Hayden has died as a result of his injuries from a frontal collision with a car while cycling in Italy last week

R.I.P. champ.

Upinsmoke · « **Reply #10 on:** May 22, 2017, 07:59:41 pm »

Heard about Nicky Hayden earlier, though not an avid follower of superbikes or moto gp i do remember him.

RIP

rob1966 · « **Reply #11 on:** May 22, 2017, 08:03:12 pm »

Awful news.

RIP Kentucky Kid

Linudden · « **Reply #12 on:** May 22, 2017, 08:30:09 pm »

I've looked up his crash site on Google Street View.

It was 300 metres west from Turn 4 on the Misano circuit. He ignored a stop sign according to a CCTV video the local police watched and indeed there were two stop signs there, passing over a larger road. Hayden came from the minor road and made his way through the heavily-trafficed road over to the new one and therefore got hit from the side in what probably was at least 40 mph given there's absolutely no chance to stop when a driver is blinded like in that section.

As a bicycle rider myself I had to look to see if I could learn any lessons from the impact myself, but looking at it, unfortunately looks like Hayden caused this accident himself, I read something about him switching songs on his iPod, so he was looking down. Doesn't seem unlikely at all to me because normally this incident shouldn't happen. When you are out biking with an iPod, you have to be doubly alert at everything around you and preferrably not on country roads. I only do it on bicycle tracks and on very small and straight roads where I can see for half a mile in front of me. This also underlines the extreme importance in "knowing your environment" when you're out on the bicycle. Had he lived there, he'd absolutely known where that road was.

A great man, he'll be missed by everybody. And please fellow riders, never ignore a stop sign

R.I.P.

Search for "Misano Circuit" and look 300 metres to the west on the crossing of Via Ca' Raffaelli and the larger road for the crash site if you want to have a clue of what I'm talking about btw!

DangerScouse · « **Reply #13 on:** May 22, 2017, 08:57:05 pm »

RIP Nicky.

Linudden · « **Reply #14 on:** June 2, 2017, 07:35:32 pm »

Competitive weekend so far. Very difficult to say who's going to come out on top based on Friday. I'd guess Viñales will move up a gear tomorrow but Márquez is remarkably slow so far.

With Dovizioso being very impressive on this Friday both in warm and hot conditions perhaps a home surprise win is on the cards? That long straight really suits Ducati along with only having to set up the bike for one type of corners!

gravy red · « **Reply #15 on:** June 3, 2017, 09:40:45 am »

Quote from: Linudden on June 2, 2017, 07:35:32 pm

Competitive weekend so far. Very difficult to say who's going to come out on top based on Friday. I'd guess Viñales will move up a gear tomorrow but Márquez is remarkably slow so far.

With Dovizioso being very impressive on this Friday both in warm and hot conditions perhaps a home surprise win is on the cards? That long straight really suits Ducati along with only having to set up the bike for one type of corners!

Vinales had a big off yesterday so will be the 2 Yamaha riders with sore limbs and bruises. Would love to see Dani Pedrosa pick up some more good points to keep his challenge alive, that's one rider I would love to see the championship.

Danny Kent will be an interesting watch as well being back in Moto 2 on a Kalex.

Linudden · « **Reply #16 on:** June 3, 2017, 10:01:31 am »

Quote from: gravy red on June 3, 2017, 09:40:45 am

Vinales had a big off yesterday so will be the 2 Yamaha riders with sore limbs and bruises. Would love to see Dani Pedrosa pick up some more good points to keep his challenge alive, that's one rider I would love to see the championship.

Even more puzzled now after Rossi's FP3 lap, but I thought Viñales ran a bit harder tyres now to save tyres for later? It's going to be hotter this afternoon as well which evidently hasn't suited Yamaha before.

gravy red · « **Reply #17 on:** June 4, 2017, 11:18:33 am »

Moto 3. That's where the racing is at. Hope Moto 2 can be as good, but I doubt it. lol

Linudden · « **Reply #18 on:** June 4, 2017, 11:51:37 am »

Quote from: gravy red on June 4, 2017, 11:18:33 am

Moto 3. That's where the racing is at. Hope Moto 2 can be as good, but I doubt it. lol

Moto3 gets a bit too artificial in terms of racing for me, especially on a track like Mugello due to those crazy slipstream effects with those smaller engines. When it's physically impossible to break away for a rider no matter how good he is it becomes a bit Daytona 500-ish for me... don't get me wrong though, watching a Moto3 last lap is always fun whenever I get to see it but it's rare!

SwissV · « **Reply #19 on:** June 5, 2017, 01:26:36 am »

That was one of the best races Ive seen in ages. Legitimately had no idea how it was going to finish till the end. Some insane straight line speed from the Ducati's as well.

Linudden · « **Reply #20 on:** August 5, 2017, 09:50:41 am »

Back in business this weekend!

So far the Hondas look very strong at Brno during free practice, Viñales and Rossi way less so even though Viñales is within a tenth of Márquez right now I get the feeling Márquez is just playing around on those harder tyres working on his race pace.

Amazing track this Brno one. Never ceases to amaze me what a brilliant design for motorcycles it is!

Linudden · « **Reply #21 on:** August 6, 2017, 02:00:00 pm »

Very, very impressive tactical nous today by Márquez

Championship still extremely competitive but this was certainly a big boost for his championship hopes. He leads by 14 before Viñales now with Rossi in fourth and 22 points adrift.

gravy red · « **Reply #22 on:** March 19, 2018, 12:00:54 pm »

Welcome to the 2018 season, and what a great start it was IMO.

Qatar is a really strange circuit and the wind was blowing the sand across to cause some crashes. Having said that Zarco looked good in Qualy (breaking Lorenzo 10 year record) and leading the race for a good few laps, it was obvious he wouldn't (or his tyres?) hold on for the win but it provided a great race.

Reckon Dovizioso will be on for a BIG pay rise next season (as hes the number 2 rider) who is putting Lorenzo in the shade.

rob1966 · « **Reply #23 on:** March 19, 2018, 12:05:34 pm »

Recorded the race and watched it this morning, fantastic racing and Dovi continuing his form from last season is great to see.

Mr Mingebag Squid · « **Reply #24 on:** March 20, 2018, 01:01:22 pm »

Good to see Crutchlow up in 4th - disappointing for Smith and Redding though.

WAQS · « **Reply #25 on:** March 21, 2018, 01:49:15 pm »

I think Doviozioso will take it this season although my heart wants it to be Rossi

Brissyred · « **Reply #26 on:** April 9, 2018, 03:20:17 am »

Wow, how much drama can you fit in to one race?

Mr Mingebag Squid · « **Reply #27 on:** April 9, 2018, 10:07:41 am »

Cal leading the championship!

rob1966 · « **Reply #28 on:** April 9, 2018, 10:30:06 am »

Why was Marquez not disqualified for riding the wrong way on the grid?

Fantastic win from Cal.

Quote from: Mr Mingebag Squid on April 9, 2018, 10:07:41 am

Cal leading the championship!

Sheene was the last Brit to lead the championship back in 1979. If he keeps his form up, he's in with a shot this season.

cowtownred · « **Reply #29 on:** April 9, 2018, 10:53:08 am »

Our late Karl would have enjoyed Kawasaki in front......

Proper racing starts on the roads this month!

Mr Mingebag Squid · « **Reply #30 on:** April 9, 2018, 02:26:28 pm »

Quote from: rob1966 on April 9, 2018, 10:30:06 am

Sheene was the last Brit to lead the championship back in 1979. If he keeps his form up, he's in with a shot this season.

Can he keep it up though?

rob1966 · « **Reply #31 on:** April 10, 2018, 02:43:15 pm »

Quote from: Mr Mingebag Squid on April 9, 2018, 02:26:28 pm

Can he keep it up though?

He's been fast all through winter testing and as he is now contracted to Honda themselves I wouldn't surprised if he is getting the same developments as the Repsol Hondas, so hopefully he can.

Mr Mingebag Squid · « **Reply #32 on:** April 10, 2018, 04:09:10 pm »

Quote from: rob1966 on April 10, 2018, 02:43:15 pm

He's been fast all through winter testing and as he is now contracted to Honda themselves I wouldn't surprised if he is getting the same developments as the Repsol Hondas, so hopefully he can.

Didn't realise that! Fingers crossed for him though. If he's the one to be taking points off Yamaha and Ducati, I could see Honda pushing development bits towards him

rob1966 · « **Reply #33 on:** May 21, 2018, 09:25:48 pm »

Quote from: Mr Mingebag Squid on April 10, 2018, 04:09:10 pm

Didn't realise that! Fingers crossed for him though. If he's the one to be taking points off Yamaha and Ducati, I could see Honda pushing development bits towards him

Shame he crashed in QF as he would have got a podium - amazed he raced at all and finished 8th

Cal Crutchlow has described the ordeal of his overnight hospital stay in Le Mans before his heroic comeback ride in MotoGP's French Grand Prix.

The LCR Honda rider escaped serious injury in a huge high-side crash during qualifying on Saturday, but was kept under observation at the Centre Hospitalier du Mans before being released just in time to take part in Sunday morning's warm-up.

From 13th on the grid, he eventually finished in eighth place, 25 seconds down on victorious Honda stablemate Marc Marquez.

Crutchlow said he had initially thought he broke his pelvis in the qualifying crash, and explained that he had to remain in hospital because he had "blood on the lung".

"I had a contusion to my pelvis area, I thought my pelvis was broken because my internal around my stomach area was really sore at the track and in the medical centre," he recalled.

"I had a CT scan, it found there was a problem with the lung, the proteins of the heart were not good, that was another reason they kept me in. A contusion sends your heart protein strange, apparently."

Crutchlow said he was on oxygen "for quite a long time" on Saturday and "didn't feel great" when he made it to the track on Sunday "because I got no sleep" during his hospital stay.

"Lucio [Cecchinello, team boss] and Lucy [wife] didn't leave the place until midnight, then I had to be woken every two hours for my blood," Crutchlow explained.

"Finally we were trying to check out [of the hospital] at around 6.30am, we didn't get out until about 8.40am.

"Then I didn't think I would be racing, because I thought we would either be arrested or be in a car crash with Lucio driving! But he made it."

Crutchlow said he knew he would be "in trouble" if he fell again in the race, which meant he took it steady for the majority of the distance.

The Briton also admitted he had difficulty breathing as a result of his crash.

"The whole race I was unable to breathe very well, as you can imagine with blood on the lungs and the situation that there's been," he revealed.

"I was just not willing to push at the start of the race. For the first 15 laps I was just riding around, making sure I stayed on the bike. If I crashed I would have been in trouble.

"But once I started to feel comfortable, with 10 laps to go, I started to push a little and was able to pick some riders off.

"In the end I had good pace this weekend, it's just a shame I made the mistake in qualifying.

"I could have been on the podium, because I was faster than [Danilo] Petrucci on Friday and he finished second to Marc."

https://www.autosport.com/motogp/news/136209/crutchlow-describes-hospital-ordeal-after-crash

Mr Mingebag Squid · « **Reply #34 on:** May 22, 2018, 09:45:20 am »

Gutted for him - looked a brutal crash too.

Surely you'd say he'd be odds on for winning the British GP?

rob1966 · « **Reply #35 on:** May 22, 2018, 10:20:09 am »

Quote from: Mr Mingebag Squid on May 22, 2018, 09:45:20 am

Gutted for him - looked a brutal crash too.

Surely you'd say he'd be odds on for winning the British GP?

He's got to be in with a good shout but Marquez is looking outstanding at the minute - be great to see Cal win it though.

rob1966 · « **Reply #36 on:** August 26, 2018, 11:25:37 am »

Bloody English weather, looking like todays races aren't going to go ahead - too much standing water, Crutchlow says can't get out of third gear due to wheelspin, racing is impossible today.

Hopefully they can run it tomorrow.

gravy red · « **Reply #37 on:** August 26, 2018, 04:40:22 pm »

Stops raining and they then make the decision to cancel it on safety grounds, got to feel for the thousands of spectators than waited it out! 😡

Linudden · « **Reply #38 on:** August 26, 2018, 04:47:54 pm »

Yeah it was terrible. I really want them to make the switch and go home to Donington for next season. Unfortunately, the BRDC have proved themselves not to be up for the job and this was a disaster. Having to refund the spectators will be an expensive deal as well for them. When resurfacing, drainage is such an important aspect and I'm not sure how a track in Britain (!) of all places could miss out on that. It's not like it's Abu Dhabi...

It's been bad before at Silverstone, but at least then the surface managed to stay acceptable, but Casey Stoner wasn't happy with it even though he won that time:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-VVMHy-9xI

At least I could sit at home in the sofa and watch the F1 race, but for the people present that's just real heartbreak.

boots · « **Reply #39 on:** August 28, 2018, 10:02:02 am »

If Tito hadnt crashed and broke his leg in umpteen places, then I suspect the race wouldve gone ahead. Ive since learnt that he also severed his femoral artery and had 4/5 mins life left at side of track. Big up to the marshals and medical team.