MotoGP

[LowRyter]

https://www.crash.net/motogp/news/1060755/1/ex-grand-prix-rider-walks-barefoot-six-years-pakistan-find-god

 

Pons walks barefoot for 6 years to find Allah.

[Gmc28]

3 hours ago, p6x said:

I lived ten years in Italy, including on the Adriatic coast. I was based in Ravenna at the time. We used to go to the Rimini discotheques, because we had never seen young ladies going dancing in not much more than bathing suits...

Anyway, a lot has changed since then, and I am guessing you can now get as much information as you want by watching those people that give advice about just everything in the world.

"Coach"? I think the technical term in today's world is: cattle class...

"wine country"? where is that? absolutely everybody makes wine nowadays, including places that could not before. But the weather changes have enabled it.

Rimini is a really nice place to spend time in. Be prepared to spend some money though. The entire Adriatic coast was expensive before, and it is even more expensive now.

One tip I can tell you about; you will not need to speak much Italian at all. Absolutely everybody speaks English nowadays. The websites are in both Italian and English so no problem there.

What kind of tip were you looking for anyhow?

For tips, given the flavor of the thread title, just looking for wisdom on how/where to buy the race tickets.  May just be as simple as going to the official website source, but I know a couple folks on this forum have been as recently as this year to a GP race in Italy, so thought I’d check in to see if there are any hot tips.

for the rest, yes, “wine country”….just a place in Europe, any one of many, but I purposely didn’t get into details on a MotoGP thread :->.   For you inquiring minds though, in this case probably Epernay, then a stop at Au Fil du Zinc in Chablis, then down to Sancerre.  Usually avoid the crowded streets of Beaune, Bordeaux, and Barolo.  EasyJet or some other no frills flight to Florence from Lyon, or maybe TGV/eurostar (for 4x the cost & time). 

And don’t twist the knife on the coach thing!  I spend money on motorcycles, shotguns, wine, espresso, and the rest is just wasted (old joke, but a good one).  Got a crazy deal on the flight, so I just fold up my legs, put in the earbuds with a history podcast, slug a glass of wine, and sleep.  Recover later. 

[Gmc28]

2 hours ago, LowRyter said:

https://www.crash.net/motogp/news/1060755/1/ex-grand-prix-rider-walks-barefoot-six-years-pakistan-find-god

 

Pons walks barefoot for 6 years to find Allah.

Wow.  Guess i better take my shoes off and walk back to work from lunch.   Maybe Allah will speak. 

[p6x]

39 minutes ago, Gmc28 said:

For tips, given the flavor of the thread title, just looking for wisdom on how/where to buy the race tickets.

Nowadays, tickets seem to be only sold online; it is actually cheaper since you do not need to have people paid to deliver said tickets at the entrance gate. I have personally verified this has spread like fire. I went to a concert venue, where I used to purchase the ticket at the box office. This time, there weren't any. All venues use a third party service, which also charge you a fee on top of the ticket.

So tangible tickets seem to have gone.

Maybe not in Italy, maybe not in Misano. Here's a tip I used before. You go to the racetrack early, at the box office of the main entrance, ask around for excess tickets. I have done that before with success. Besides scalpers, which are usually trying to sell tickets for soccer matches, there are always some people that have received free tickets, and that may have more than needed. I have done that at the Houston Rodeo when I was working. My company was a sponsor, so we always got free tickets for specific days, that we could not use.

You always have the backup to be able to get your tickets online if nothing else works.

 

[Gmc28]

all good, and thanks.

i see the online tickets on the official motogp website, as well as the Misano track web site, and thats what i'm planning to do at this point, but i haven't seen that venue in person and will be picking seat section just based on the online map. 

and will look for a nearby town thats smaller and quieter where i could stay and tour around a bit, then make the drive into the crowds for the race day.

Edited November 27 by Gmc28

[LowRyter]

57 minutes ago, Gmc28 said:

all good, and thanks.

i see the online tickets on the official motogp website, as well as the Misano track web site, and thats what i'm planning to do at this point, but i haven't seen that venue in person and will be picking seat section just based on the online map. 

and will look for a nearby town thats smaller and quieter where i could stay and tour around a bit, then make the drive into the crowds for the race day.

hope you can rent a Guzzi or Ducati and have a good one.

[Gmc28]

4 hours ago, LowRyter said:

hope you can rent a Guzzi or Ducati and have a good one.

thank u, and thats my hope!  depends on whether i’ll end up down there with my bride, or with a riding buddy… the wheel of fate  is currently spinning.  i’ve always rented guzzi’s from Agostini’s, but probably won’t prefer to start up in the como area, and will pop straight down into Florence, where there are a few good Duc rental options. and maybe they have that Ducati free parking area at the race, like they do at the Austin GP venue…

[GuzziMoto]

All good advice, but I am surprised I have not seen anyone suggest using one of those third party vendors that will sell you a package deal for your MotoGP experience.

[LowRyter]

14 hours ago, Gmc28 said:

thank u, and thats my hope!  depends on whether i’ll end up down there with my bride, or with a riding buddy… the wheel of fate  is currently spinning.  i’ve always rented guzzi’s from Agostini’s, but probably won’t prefer to start up in the como area, and will pop straight down into Florence, where there are a few good Duc rental options. and maybe they have that Ducati free parking area at the race, like they do at the Austin GP venue…

I know that Ducati sponsors the "Ducati Experience" at Modena.   There are also Grand Prix packages and touring groups.  I looked into it a few years ago.  

[p6x]

Having Marc Marquez racing for Ducati factory, while being a sore in VR46's flank presents some unkowns.

Time has most likely smoothed the edges with the general Italian MotoGP public, even if during a recent interview, VR46 made it clear that 2015 will remain the low of his entire motorcycle racing life.

Next year, ten years after, Marc Marquez is hopeful to finally equal Rossi's titles number, and in 2026, go one beyond. To make it a double dip, on an Italian machine no less.

After what we have seen in 2024, I have no doubt that he will be a tough competitor for Francesco Bagnaia. If only for what I said above. He made beating Rossi a crusade, and he is going to pull all the stops to achieve that goal.

It is a given he will be able to do it. I only see one equal in the pack. Even if Digianantonio will have a GP25, I don't think he is in the same league as the other two GP25 riders.

In 2025, I expect Ducati to win all the races; they nearly managed it this year, minus Cota that went to Maverick Viñales.

I don't see any other bike as capable as the Ducati . I hope I am wrong though.

KTM was the second best last year, but I don't know what is going to happen with their development. Let us not forget that that development will be frozen for the next two years after the 2025 homologation.

Those 2025 MotoGP bikes will do the 2026 Championship before the major reshuffle.

The next two years will be again a Ducati internal championship.

[GuzziMoto]

That certainly could be how it plays out, but I don't think it will go that way. I suspect Ducati will have lost some of its dominance, not gained more. The loss of their best team along with a couple of their best riders will make Ducati less likely to dominate in my opinion. And I am not sure Marc Marquez will win even one more title, he could, but I would not say "It is a given". I would say it is possible, but not a given.

Sadly, the spec tire is back to being one of the dominant story lines in MotoGP, much like it was back in the Bridgestone days. It will be interesting to see if the tires are locked in along with the bikes / motors (I had only heard the motor development was frozen, but I wasn't paying super close attention). Imagine if the bike development is frozen and Michelin throws a new tire into the mix.

But spec tires and aero rules making passing harder aside, things have not been this good in MotoGP in a long time. It is almost as good as the late 80's / early 90's with the 500's.

[p6x]

On 12/5/2024 at 9:01 AM, GuzziMoto said:

Sadly, the spec tire is back to being one of the dominant story lines in MotoGP

Very true, and from what I learned through the usual media, Ducati built its GP25 around the new Michelin tire, while the others experienced the same difficulties.

I have no reason to believe it will be different for 2025, and de facto, 2026.

While everybody trumpeets that KTM's involvement in MotoGP continues unchanged in spite of their financial difficulties, it is impossible to not imagine there will be some unseen effects. Unless of course RedBull fills in where needed, and maybe even take over the complete racing department if push comes to shove.

As for Marquez, I think I have already read the signs. All his declarations that Bagnaia is the main reference in the garage, and that, as he puts it, "when Pecco does not win, I will, and when I don't, he will", is a testimony to his ambition.

As for Ducati's dominance, I agree it cannot be predicted. While I acknowledge they have lost a major sub with Pramac, and the departure of Enea Bastianini and Jorge Martin, they also have gained a formidable asset in Marquez. Simply what he had to overcome to come back to race, then giving up a fortune to switch rides, puting himself out there again with no certainty...

I think he is driven like nobody else is. Unlike Bagnaia, who's objective is as every other competitor in MotoGP, Marquez needs to beat Rossi. This is clearly an obsession, and perhaps the reason to the 2015 mishap: did not want to add one more to the tally.

Edited December 7 by p6x

[p6x]

Today was the first reunion of the KTM creditors with the administrator;

Amongst various cost cutting measures, the creditor's consortium have called for exiting MotoGP; they did not offer any time line, so at this point, nobody knows if this concerns 2025.

Two days ago, the owner of the Tech 3 team, Hervé Poncharal, gave an interview to a French specialized media, and said that for all he knew, everything would continue as programmed. He, however, understands that development will necessarilly be impacted. He said that if push comes to shove, he hopes they will at least have the possibility to race with the 2024 bikes, modified to suit the 2025/2026 regulations.

He also said that he continues to be commited to the KTM project as the partnership between KTM and Tech 3 runs until 2026.

There have been some rumors that Ducati was trying to snatch Pedro Acosta to put him on a VR46 bike, axing Franco Morbidelli in the process.

Anyhow, if KTM was to not participate in MotoGP from 2025, it would certainly be bad. Tech 3 would be furloughed, and four top riders would be without a machine. I read from an unconfirmed source, that Ducati could step in to provide Tech 3 with two GP, not sure if 23 or 24, should it come to that. Dorna is more than likely working on a plan B.

Last, the deal from Liberty Media to purchase Dorna did not close as expected today. The European regulator said that he wanted to continue to look into it.

Edited yesterday at 03:59 AM by p6x