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Yea, it will be interesting to see how he does. Some, like JLo, seem to think he will crush it on the Ducati and take more titles. I am not so sure. I think that could happen, but I don't think it is the most likely outcome. I am not sure Marc is the racer he used to be. He is older, has physically been through a lot, and I am not sure he has the ability he used to. That said, he clearly has talent. I am not a fan of his, I prefer a more technical racer, Marc is a more bravo racer who was fast by taking massive risks and having the ability to make amazing saves when the risks went bad. I am not sure he can still do that, and I am not sure he won't just crash a lot on the Ducati. The Ducati has been shown to smack you down if you make small mistakes. Just ask Bagnia and Martin. But you never know. I am curious to watch and see how he does. I am not rooting for him, but I would not bet against him.

No, the hole shot devices, front or rear, are not in MotoAmerica. The original front device was simple and based on what motocross guys have been using for ages. It simply holds the front suspension compressed. Likely they have by now gotten more complex. The rear devices are more complicated. But neither of them are used in MotoAmerica to my knowledge. There are two aspects to the start advantage. One is the reaction time and the initial hole shot to turn one. That is down to good reaction time and ability to feed to power in. The other side of it is the rest of the opening lap and a riders ability to go fast on what are effectively cold tires. Yes, they use tire warmers, but the tires aren't really working 100% right off the bat. They take a lap or so to scrub in and develop full grip. Being able to push hard on the first lap is a skill in itself. Back in the day I was pretty good at starts and could push hard on lap one. Our strategy was to try to push hard out of the gate and build a gap in the first few laps. Then I could back off just a hair and manage that gap. My team owner wanted me to make sure the other guys never thought they had a chance if at all possible. He didn't want me giving them any hope that they could win. He was a super nice guy, but ruthless when it came to winning. Not every race went that way, but more then a few did. Good times.

Thanks docc. @cash1000 : I would strongly recommend checking all those points that I mentioned when you get home. Given that the problem was apparently caused by washing the bike, I reckon you might have a latent problem that bears the potential to cause the bike to go on strike should you get caught in the rain on a ride. I don't know about you, but I'm not all that keen on that sort of funny buggers.

What's my first rule about troubleshooting before you do anything else. Ask yourself the question "what was the last thing I did before the issue arose"? Wash the bike? fuel the bike? Have the seat off? replace the battery? You get the idea. Phil

MotoGP is fast disappearing up it's own arse like F1 has. Less and less relevant to the buying public and less and less about the riding and more and more about the tech and the "show". That's why WSB is so much better than Motogp these days. Aero and ride height devices have ruined MotoGP as smarter people close to racing predicted it would. It hasn't completely wrecked it but it's on the pathway. Now we have a situation where every rider is riding at 100% all the time and the difference in winning or not winning is down to the bike and what setting or tyre you chose or whether or not you got into a group and your front tyre overheated or you had a poor qualifying or someone got a tow from you in qualifying and although you were actually faster than them on a hot lap you towed them around and they gained 2 tenths on you thanks to your tow and you ended up two rows back on the grid to them because of it! When a rider can no longer "make the difference" in a race by shear determination and sticking his neck out to overcome a slight setting issue or tyre choice then it's going in the wrong direction. Speaking of qualifying we need to return to the one lap shootout system. Riders getting a tow off faster riders or riders getting shafted on their last "hot lap" because another rider has crashed and brought out the yellows is a joke. Now qualifying on the front two rows of the grid is mandatory for a decent race result because of the Aero and suspension issues you need to have a truer picture of who has the raw speed and award those riders accordingly. No point having a rider who should actually be on the 4th or 5th row on raw pace actually being on the front or second row because he used the faster rider for a "tow". The flag drops and he just gets in the way of the guy who's actually got the pace. Aero is the reason front tyres overheat and the reason overtaking is more difficult and it's totally a blind alley for road bikes. Same as squatting devices and front suspension launch devices. Because Dorna dumbed down the electronics and banned electronic on the fly suspension control which are a direct benefit and eminently transferrable to road bikes the MotoGP engineers turned their attention to Aero as another measure to claw back some of the loss. Problem is none of the Aero or manual squatting devices are useable on a road bike so the technical investment is a dead end to the manufacturers and the consumer. Don't confuse the aero on superbikes as useful they are almost entirely a decoration and a joke to the aesthetics of a road sports bike. Have you seen the ridiculous front wing on a BMW and they still can't win races with them. At the core of motorcycle racing is the rider NOT the tech. The further down the none relevant for the consumer tech road the less it becomes about the rider. It's what has always separated motorcycle racing from the joke F1 has become. If you are going to move ahead with the tech which is inevitable then at least direct it down the path that benefits and is relevant to the consumer. Speedway is one form of Motorcycle racing where the tech has deliberately been capped for 40 years or more to make it a "sport" about the racers NOT the motorcycle. Seems to have worked well. Not supporting those measures entirely but the current direction by Dorna is all about the "show" and not the sport. I see now the riders are forming a union so they have some say in the direction of MotoGP racing. Might be a good thing I think. Phil

RM goes now. I've had it sitting in sun for last hour. Picking maybe water in electrics has dried out. Any way off to rally

Check relay 5. 2 connectors under the front of fuse box feeds relay. Cheers Tom.

We will have to wait and see, I think I will have another IPA . Cheers Tom.

I wouldn't bet money on him winning another,some of these young 22-year old guys can have horrendous crashes and still run all the way back to the pit's jump on the other bike and ride like nothing happened..and they are fearless because they havnt had any major injuries yet ..It gets alot harder when you are past 30 yrs old like he will be , especially when you have had your humerus cut out and flipped around upside down and bone grafted back in and had a half dozen concussions to the point they tell you you may go blind if you have another big one...Not to mention 2-3 major shoulder surgeries, all since he was last champion. The bikes are faster and faster and these young dudes are used to all the new technical innovations..they grew up with. I agree, I think he has matured in the past year or so but...."Time waits for no one". My Opinion

Upon making inquiry with AF1 Racing, a Texas motorcycle dealership very conversant on things Moto Guzzi, they provided me with a copy of the attached OEM parts fiche which provides the information that I referenced above. Clearly, there are parts that I need to acquire. I provide this for the forum's information.

Prepare yourself to be annoyed next year.... Jorge Lorenzo said that MM93 will most likely be a tittle contender in 2024. Marc Marquez needs another title badly since his best enemy has one more than he does. The initial plan was to at least do one better than VR46, and this is probably the reason why he did not want Valentino to get another, prompting that saga. But I think that Marc has matured and understood that he messed up. Some say he was punished for what he did. In any case, 2024 will be interesting if only for that.

I had to go looking to find out what that is. Did Randy actually ride in the Boxer Cup, or did they just use his name? Whatever, I'd be interested in your impressions in comparison to the V11 Le Mans. It seems to me, they are "natural competitors". Similar figures, similar date of birth... Not that I would ever consider buying a BMW. I'm just curious...