MotoGP

[p6x]

Looks like Jorge Martin has taken a serious option on winning the title.

Unfortunately, it really takes the form of a demolition derby more than anything else. Marc Marquez was again the best of the seconds, even if he said that he struggles a lot on this track, due to his injuries. He still does a pretty good job.

I also learned that Jorge Martin has hired someone to keep him from being too nervous because of the proximity of winning the title. This is something he had not done last year, and he confirmed it helps quite a lot to be more relaxed.

It is really going to be a shame to remove one of the main protagonist from the championship next year. The Aprilia  officials are way behind. Next year, it is only going to be between Bagnaia and Marquez.

[GuzziMoto]

We will see what next year brings. Marc Marquez seems to struggle with the Ducati's propensity for loosing the front. That may continue to be an issue for him. If he can't adapt to the Ducati he may not be the factor so many seem to think he will be. He may be a guy who will win races but also a guy who crashes too often to win the title. I suspect others will be more of a title threat.

The racing between Pecco Bagnia and Jorge Martin is getting serious.  But impressive how hard they are able to race each other while still showing respect. Very refreshing.

[p6x]

49 minutes ago, GuzziMoto said:

Ducati's propensity for loosing the front

Not only Ducati's issue, but everybody's. This has been described as brought by the new Michelin rear compound which provides extra grip, and, de facto, transfers stress to the front of the bike. Ducati is said to have already found a way to mitigate the problem for their 2025 bike. Bagnaia tested it and is satisfied. Since it was a chassis modification, they could have implemented it immediately, but given that Pramac is leaving for Yamaha, they do not want to give it away.

Although the championship seems to be a given, Spain announced flooding possibility in the Barcelona region, which was the backup track to end the championship. So we know it is not going to be Valencia, and it may not be Barcelona either.

Nice gesture from many of the pilots, including non Spanish ones, giving their bonuses to Valencia region devastated by the flooding.

I am wondering how some people still say the extreme weather problems we are now seeing happening worldwide have not been influenced by men's activity on earth. Scientific evidence and sea warming does not seem to be convincing enough. I don't know what would.

 

Edited November 4 by p6x

[LaGrasta]

Thailand, my favorite track, due to those back to back straight-aways. This year, those really favored Ducati. My guy #BB33 did not have a good weekend, poor KTM and that first turn debacle.

Exciting race though!

[LaGrasta]

BTW, HBO includes MotoGP, if your TruTV malfunctions.

[PJPR01]

Truly a thriller to watch....until Marc crashed...but man, Peco and Jorge were really racing at an amazing level.  What a great race to watch and a tremendous come back for Peco compared to the Sprint fiasco.

[audiomick]

7 hours ago, p6x said:

I am wondering how some people still say the extreme weather problems we are now seeing happening worldwide have not been influenced by men's activity on earth. Scientific evidence and sea warming does not seem to be convincing enough. I don't know what would.

Apparently there are still people who propogate the assertation that the earth is a flat disk. Some people are just dumb as dogshit.

[gstallons]

You should have a "conversation" w/those flat-earthers !

[p6x]

20 minutes ago, gstallons said:

You should have a "conversation" w/those flat-earthers !

I don't think so...

There is nothing to be gained because they are never going to change their mind anyway. They also easily get agitated if you try to lecture them with factual data. Fortunately, the flat-earthers seem to belong to older generations. Hopefully, from the millenials onward, they will understand that earth is actually square.

[gstallons]

I saw this cartoon with a cat on a "table" of the Earth and the caption stated "if the Earth were flat , cats would have knocked everything off by now"

[docc]

3 hours ago, gstallons said:

I saw this cartoon with a cat on a "table" of the Earth and the caption stated "if the Earth were flat , cats would have knocked everything off by now"

[p6x]

Despite the flooding in Barcelona, the last GP has been confirmed there, from 15th to 17th November.

Both Bagnaia and Martin like the track, the unknown will be the weather and temperature conditions.

Some think that Martin will try to get the two points difference he needs during the sprint race, so they really duel during the main one. Not sure if either Bastianini or Marquez will be able to stick with them.

[p6x]

So....

The championship has been attributed; was it who you thought who won?

Everybody is already looking forward to 2025 with Marc Marquez.

 

[LowRyter]

Harley + Dorna

This was a shot in the dark. Speculation the Bagger Series will be MotoGP prelim races?

https://www.motorsport.com/motogp/news/harley-davidson-and-motogps-dorna-announce-new-collaboration/10674094/

[GuzziMoto]

The last race worked out about how I expected. Martin was smart, and only did what he needed to do, taking what was there. Had Bagnaia not crashed as often as he did things may have been more dramatic. But as I recall Bagnaia crashed some eight times, while Martin only crashed four times. Interestingly, two of Bagnaia's crashes involved the two Marquez brothers.....

I am happy to see Martin win the title and take it to Aprilia. I also look forward to Aprilia improving next year now that they finally have a top level rider. I realize that improvement is not a sure deal, but at least they have to opportunity for improvement with a rider like Martin. There certainly can be no more excuses for the bike being slow. While I like Aleix Espargaro as a character, he was never a top level racer in MotoGP. He was always just a little less then the true top level guys. And Mav was never a serious contender, he is a guy that will be fast every now and then, the rest of the time he struggles. But Martin is a top level guy, one who knows what it takes to win day in and day out. Hopefully Aprilia will be able to get that last tenth of performance they are currently lacking in the bike. It seems they need a little more stability under braking and better traction in corner exit.

I am not a big fan of the bagger racing. I don't hate it, but it isn't really appealing to me, either. It does seem like a class that would not be popular anywhere but in the US. I can't see it going over well outside of the US.