MotoGP

[p6x]

On 2/14/2025 at 9:00 AM, GuzziMoto said:

but he is clearly not a sure thing.

I beg to differ; something that needs to be considered: in 2024, he was riding a GP23. The consensus being that the GP23 had a significant performance gap with the GP24, since the 24 was built to take advantage of the Michelin rear tire. An issue that appeared to have crippled the other manufacturers. Also, because he was riding for a satellite team, Marc Marquez did not have the possibility to obtain some ergonomic changes to the GP23.

Today, according to former pilots that have looked at him on the GP24.9, his riding is much more natural than on the GP23. Hence, he obtained some ergonomic mods to tailor the bike to exploit his riding ability. Remember Jorge Lorenzo requesting a change to the tank, and after getting it, suddenly started to fly!

His sprint race simulation in Buriram was certainly an exhibition to what could be coming in two weeks time for the first Grand-Prix. Albeit, Francesco Bagnaia had some technical issues that prevented him to show his cards.

On 2/14/2025 at 9:00 AM, GuzziMoto said:

Bez on the Ape was really quick, and he isn't even the fastest guy riding an Aprilia this year. It will be interesting to see what Martin can get out of it.

Somehow, I have very little faith in Aprilia. Somehow, Aprilia had three falls during the Buriram tests. Blamed it on the Michelin tires. Jorge Martin only tested his new machine in Barcelona, and 5 laps with two falls, the last one with an injury. Not the best start to the beginning of a season.

On 2/14/2025 at 9:00 AM, GuzziMoto said:

Ducati literally has pretty much what they had last year while the other manufacturers have made progress.

This is the consensus, that Ducati's GP25 engine was underwhelming. Now, I doubt very much the other manufacturers have completely bridged the gap in performances. Even if hope they have.

I would hate to see a 2025 season going the way it was in 2024, with Ducati winning all the races minus one!!!

[p6x]

Rumour has it, BMW may be purchasing KTM's interests in MotoGP; this is according to a unverified talks happening before the big meeting that will happen today on 25th of this month of February.

KTM brand will survive, albeit with massive changes, and BMW would take over the KTM MotoGP racing department. Possibly as a spring board to slowly get into the competition with minimal learning curve. This actually is plausible.

Following the three Ducati victories in Phillip Island last week-end, BMW did not really start strong, and Toprak Razglatioglu could very well make the move from WSBK to MotoGP on a factory team...

Here's the link to the Crash.net article: https://www.crash.net/motogp/news/1063929/1/ktm-wins-major-creditors-vote-ensure-survival

Edited February 25 by p6x

[GuzziMoto]

From what I hear, BMW do have interest in buying KTM. There is clearly a number of reasons for them to do so. But given some of what BMW would do to the brand, things like moving it to Germany with production also in India (some production is already in India), eliminating the Austrian production, seems to make it a non-starter with KTM. So, unless KTM have no other choice I can't see that happening. And currently KTM already seem to have secured the required funding for their restructuring plan. So I am not sure BMW will be able to buy KTM. If they do, it would be a shame as they would likely ruin KTM.

[p6x]

On 2/26/2025 at 8:24 AM, GuzziMoto said:

From what I hear, BMW do have interest in buying KTM. There is clearly a number of reasons for them to do so. But given some of what BMW would do to the brand, things like moving it to Germany with production also in India (some production is already in India), eliminating the Austrian production, seems to make it a non-starter with KTM. So, unless KTM have no other choice I can't see that happening. And currently KTM already seem to have secured the required funding for their restructuring plan. So I am not sure BMW will be able to buy KTM. If they do, it would be a shame as they would likely ruin KTM.

I agree with you. From what I understood, BMW was only interested in purchasing KTM's MotoGP interest, to get a foot in the door. But I do not think it goes further than the rumour, given that both BMW and KTM have said they have no comment on it.

 

[audiomick]

2 hours ago, p6x said:

... both BMW and KTM have said they have no comment on it.

 

Could well mean they are in the middle of negotiations.

[GuzziMoto]

3 minutes ago, audiomick said:

Could well mean they are in the middle of negotiations.

No, if they were in negotiations they would deny there is any truth to the rumor. No comment is what they say when it isn't true. That way they keep people guessing and talking about it.

Edited February 28 by GuzziMoto

[Joe]

 Who is planning on being in Austin for MotoGP at COTA March 28th -30th?

[audiomick]

Not me. Can't get the time off work.

[p6x]

On 2/14/2025 at 9:00 AM, GuzziMoto said:

Marc Marquez could win the title. Or not. He might be a favorite with some people, but he is clearly not a sure thing.

Have you changed your opinion after the Buriram race?

I hope I am wrong, but I can easily see the 2025 being a one man show.

I am going to accept that Francesco Bagnaia had an issue with the small tank that has to be installed for the sprint race. Simply because Jorge Lorenzo had that issue too, and started to be winning as soon as it was resolved.

But during the main race, there wasn't any technical problem to overcome.

The six Ducati were exactly the same for the opening GP. There are all GP24, and we can expect them to trust the front at each GP.

The major surprise came from AI Ogura on the Aprilia, and I am extremely optimistic about Jorge Martin being able to throw a spanner in the Ducati works, once he gets back in shape.

As for the rest of the field, unfortunately, not much has changed, especially that I now know that KTM is running the same 2024 machines, so we can expect the same unresolved difficulties.

Honda seems to be on the right track.

I heard through the grapevine that Pirelli may have gotten the MotoGP tire supply from 2027. I only read it on one of the Italian media Motosprint.it, but did not see any official announcement anywhere else.

Here's the article: https://www.motosprint.it/news/eventi/gp-tailandia/2025/03/01-7969376/pirelli_in_motogp_dal_2027_le_ragioni_di_una_scelta

Motosprint is a magazine, albeit only digital form today, that I used to read when I discovered it in the 80's in Italy. I liked the magazine only reported about motorcycling sports, and nothing else. In the article that you can google translate nowadays, they state its a done deal.

[GuzziMoto]

On 3/2/2025 at 9:46 AM, p6x said:

Have you changed your opinion after the Buriram race?

I hope I am wrong, but I can easily see the 2025 being a one man show.

I am going to accept that Francesco Bagnaia had an issue with the small tank that has to be installed for the sprint race. Simply because Jorge Lorenzo had that issue too, and started to be winning as soon as it was resolved.

But during the main race, there wasn't any technical problem to overcome.

The six Ducati were exactly the same for the opening GP. There are all GP24, and we can expect them to trust the front at each GP.

The major surprise came from AI Ogura on the Aprilia, and I am extremely optimistic about Jorge Martin being able to throw a spanner in the Ducati works, once he gets back in shape.

As for the rest of the field, unfortunately, not much has changed, especially that I now know that KTM is running the same 2024 machines, so we can expect the same unresolved difficulties.

Honda seems to be on the right track.

I heard through the grapevine that Pirelli may have gotten the MotoGP tire supply from 2027. I only read it on one of the Italian media Motosprint.it, but did not see any official announcement anywhere else.

Here's the article: https://www.motosprint.it/news/eventi/gp-tailandia/2025/03/01-7969376/pirelli_in_motogp_dal_2027_le_ragioni_di_una_scelta

Motosprint is a magazine, albeit only digital form today, that I used to read when I discovered it in the 80's in Italy. I liked the magazine only reported about motorcycling sports, and nothing else. In the article that you can google translate nowadays, they state its a done deal.

No. That was just one race, at a track and in conditions that favored Marc. And Bagnaia was clearly not comfortable with his bike and setup, yet Bagnaia managed to finish third. Finishing third when it is not your day isn't a bad result. And in the end, how these guys do on their bad days may be what decides the title. Will Marc do as well on his bad days? Or will he end up in the gravel? We will see. I don't know who will win the title this year. I don't think it will go all Marcs way. I could be wrong, that is true. But I just don't think Marc will dominate.

I do think it is interesting how things played out in the race. Especially how Marc ran his front tires air pressure lower then the legal limit and had to drop back behind his brother so he could heat his front tire up to get the pressure above the limit. He was tucked in right behind his brother, for comparison if Bagnaia got that close his front tire would go away. Where as Marcs air pressure was so low that even tucked right up behind his brother his front tire was still fine. Marc was lucky to have his brother there, Alex actually helped Marc win the race. Where as a different racer may not have allowed Marc to use him like that. I would prefer the rules regarding tire pressure are fixed, or better yet have a front tire that doesn't deliver best performance at pressures lower then what is allowed. But I am not going to hold my breath. What we may see is racers trying to play the same games Marc played in that race, running front tire pressures lower then the limit but relying on being behind other racers to build up temp and pressure. It could get stupid.

[p6x]

@GuzziMoto

This is now official, Pirelli will replace Michelin from 2027.

Motosprint.it announced it before it was official.

This is the best opportunity for Pirelli, as the change in engize size and aerodynamics will not allow for a direct comparison with the previous tire provider.

About the tire pressure limit, this is something Michelin required following their own factory tests. The reason is below the 1.8 bars, the tire may explode under stress. When the journalists of Moto Magazine visited the Michelin racing tires factory, Michelin explained that testing new tires has now become difficult since there are fewer tests in MotoGP. They said that the aerodynamics have considerably changed the parameters.

As for Marc's dominance, the two tracks that are coming, Argentina and USA are to Marc's advantage. He will be strong there. Of course, he is not invincible, but by starting very strong like he did, he has already taken the psychological ascendant over Bagnaia.

At the moment, Bagnaia has an issue with the smaller tank installed for the sprint races. Ducati is working to solve it.

Agreed, Bagnaia arrived third, but he had Alex Marquez before him. By the way, this is the first time ever that two brothers finish 1 and 2 in a race. That being said, it is clear that Marc and Alex are going to be working together to the benefit of Marc. I have no doubt.

[GuzziMoto]

I get that Michelin sets the front tire minimum pressure on safety grounds. But the reality is racers were already running their front tire pressures below the minimum Michelin came up with in pursuit of better performance, and not one front tire failed at the pressures they were running. Clearly the minimum pressure is conservative, and also clearly the tire works better when it is below the minimum. I don't know how things will go with Pirelli being the sole supplier in the future, But I hope it will be an improvement. Michelin has been better then Bridgestone, with Bridgestone there were too many crashes from the front tire either dropping out of its performance window or not making it into it. Michelin does seem better in that respect. But the minimum tire pressure issue is pretty messed up, and they also seem to have a quality control / consistency issue where some tires are just duds.

Edited Thursday at 07:26 PM by GuzziMoto