Any Moto GP Fans?

Just watched the race. Ironic that Miller took out Mir. Those 2 have a history and had it been the other way around (Mir taking out Miller) you know Miller would have lost his shiz on Mir. Kudos to Mir for having good sportsmanship.

On another note, what a weird season so far. Bizarre that a rider with a 1st, 2nd, 7th, 8th and 9th place finishes is tied for 1st overall thus far. If Marquez can't win a season with such weak competition now, I don't see him winning another championship. Never say never though. It is nice that one person isn't running away with every race. That gets old fast in my book.

I guess I didn't pay enough attention to the layout of the Portugal GP course last year, because DAMN it looks awesome. Lots of elevation changes and flow to it. I'd love to eat a set of tires on that track.

 

Just curious, what makes you say they're weak competition?

 

Good question. Imo, there are strong championships and weak ones. 2020, the year Mir won: Weak AF
Why? Because he won with 171 total points. 171 in reality, is like, 5th place overall stats. But we did have less races in 2020 due to the pandemic. So let's do some math...
171 points divided by 14 races: 12.2 points per race.

Next year in 2021, Quartararo won with 278 points. 278 points divided by 18 races is 15.4/ppr

Let's look at 2015 next. Quite a controversial and exciting year it was. Lorenzo won (some will say "was given") the championship with 330 points and Rossi just 5 points behind. 330 points divided by 18 races is 18.3 points per race.

I'm not impressed by someone leading the championship with a 12.x points per race average. It means all teams are weak and you just happen the be the more consistent/least troubled rider.

Now when someone like MM93 comes out and stomps everyone with 300+ points and the second place is nowhere near him in points, that's not a consistent strong field either.

In 2015, Lorenzo, Rossi and Marquez were all super strong riders. Well above the level of everyone else on the grid. Marquez had many difficulties early on (ie: crashes) and realized he could not win the championship. He could have scored more points had he not devoted effort to slowing Rossi down in multiple races. But let's weigh the facts: Marquez does his best, scores more points and still comes in 3rd overall while Rossi chalks up another championship, making it harder for Marquez to beat Rossi's GOAT status.

Or...

4th place is so far behind, Marquez can slow Rossi down (even though he has the pace to easily leave Rossi and Lorenzo behind (Phillip Island 2015 was clear evidence of just this)) so that Rossi doesn't win another championship, making it even harder in the long run for Marquez to win more championships than Rossi to become the new GOAT. In the end, I get why Marquez did it, but I think it shows a lack of class and grace. (Sorry, quite a tangent there) But yes, Marquez could have closed the points gap up which would not have affected his outcome for the year, but would have probably given him more overall wins for his individual race stats. So in 2015, the top 3 accrued almost 897 points. 49.8 points per round. In 2020, the top 3 accrued 468. 33.4 points per round.

That is how I consider the field of competition to be strong or weak.

But let's be honest, the less predictable, weak competition is more interesting and exciting to watch in most ways. However, there's no denying that 3 moto GP greats like Rossi, Marquez and Lorenzo out in front having battles isn't a whole different level of satisfying.

 

I meant to include the screen shots of 2015, 2020 and 2021 in the last post for reference, but I'll put them here.

 

Looks like Quartararo may be getting his bike to work better for him at this point. Starting to see some possible consistency from him now. Glad to see that.

This week's pics

Bagnaia 5
Quartararo 4
Mir 1

 

LOL-
Pecco
Quart
MM93

That being said, I watched qualifying and nobody truly stands out. 171 points, jeez.

 

Weird story in my news feed says Suzuki might not race next year? https://www.crash.net/motogp/news/1002047/1/suzuki-quit-motogp-world-championship-end-season

 

Sadly, it seems to be true. I believe Mir is going to Honda. I also hear rumours of the non factory Yamaha team possibly becoming a satellite Aprilia team. Lots of changes to come it seems.

 

I read a response from Dorna saying that Suzuki is contractually obligated to continue racing for another year (or more). Don't know what to believe at this point.

 

(- Sad Kevin Schwantz noises)

 

Interesting article here about potential outcomes. Suzuki does have a contract to race next year, but Dorna's main concern is filling grid slots.

https://www.crash.net/motogp/feature/1002055/1/suzuki-leaves-motogp-possible-scenarios-2023

 

Suzuki statement on their Moto GP future....

https://www.motogp.com/en/news/2022...ion-s-statement-on-their-motogp-future/420045

 

Quartararo: "Not my problem" if other Yamaha MotoGP riders struggling.

"I was already surprised to be leading the championship last week [after Portugal], because apart from Mandalika, it was... I would not say a disaster, but my position was seventh, eighth, ninth, second, then of course the victory [in Portugal].

In the end, we always finish in the top 10 and these kinds of races where you need to give your best to take three, four, five points more than what you need, it makes these points super important.

But, to be honest, I'm riding to the limit and have no more in every moment. But it's true the other Yamahas are
struggling quite a lot, but in the end this is not my problem.

I have enough already to think about being fast with our bike. So, I'm looking after myself.

I think I don't need to be Conservative. I think I need to give my best every time I'm on track. In Austin, I finished seventh and unfortunately I was happy because I felt I did my best, but could not do better. But I fight exactly the same for P7 as P1 or P2.

I have to be on the limit everywhere because I know some tracks will arrive where I will struggle and this is the reality we will be struggling like the beginning of the year. But I will be on the limit all the time."

 

French GP, going with

Bagnaia 5
Quartararo 4
Miller 1

Being it's a home track for Zarco and he's done well in rain, I wouldn't be surprised if he does well if wet tomorrow.

 

I made no predictions. Throughout practice nobody stood out. So many went down. Others just struggled. Good race though.

 

Sooooo, Fabio Di Giannanonio comes out of left field and tops Q1 AND Q2 for the pole position start on the grid. I did not see that coming.... Haha... I feel like he's gonna slowly dwindle backwards through the race, but who knows?

Bagnaia 5
Bezzechi 4
Marini 1

Italian home track advantage upon The Ducati's home track too? Might be the second time in history Ducati dominates the the podium.

 

I didn't have a clue as far as predictions. Practice was all over the place. The Duc's were strong. I got to hand it to Asparargo and Quartararo, one team member at the top and the other so far towards the bottom they don't even show up on the list of riders on the track. What a season so far!

 

Been so busy, I still haven't seen the race yet. Sounds like Quartararo totally defied the odds and had a great race. He sure wasn't on my radar with his terrible fp times and a 6th in Q2. I'd like to see him on a different bike, not Ducati.

Marquez stepping away is probably the smartest thing he could do for himself. So many people think he has 3 more championships in him. I'm not seeing it, and I'm surprised he made it as far as he has with so many hard crashes. No doubt he made his mark as one of the best ever. Curious to see what life brings his way in the coming years.

 

Well, it looks like we'll be waiting until at least 2025 to see Fabio on another bike. Without having a satellite team on the grid, I think Yamaha's struggles are going to get worse before they get better.

Marc has been done since Jerez 2 2020. He doesn't even have one championship left in him, let alone 3. His ambition outweighed his talent and he destroyed his body because of it. Dude re-broke his arm, what, 3 times because he never let it properly heal. I think Dorna/FIM is at least partially responsible due to the fact that their injury protocols are an absolute joke. It's a shame to see that kind of talent sidelined, no doubt. I think he's destined to live out the rest of his days in the paddock as a rider coach.

 

We've seen it time after time with Marquez, Lorenzo, Crutchlow, etc. The win it or bin it style only lasts so long. Any predictions for this weekend?