MotoGP

[p6x]

3 hours ago, LowRyter said:

we all knew that 93 will likely win regardless.

Apparently not "all".

I enjoyed reading again Marquez' declaration prior to the commencement of the championship, that Bagnaia was the reference on the Ducati.

Today, he said that his number 1 adversary is Alex.

This takes nothing from the performance of the combination Marquez A+M and Ducati.

Once more, all the bikes from 1st to 5th are the Ducati. With Zarco the first of the "normal" brands.

On previous years, it was the Ducati championship. in 2025, it is the Marquez championship too.

 

[GuzziMoto]

16 hours ago, p6x said:

@GuzziMoto

Sooo... 4 out of 4.

I am not going to bother going to COTA, since I can already tell it is going to be 6 out of 6.

The entire MotoGP is in full damage control!

Starting with Marquez (93) swearing that both Bagnaia and Alex (Marquez) are going to win races. This is only a matter of when, and not if.

Ducati Tardozzi is also claiming that Bagnaia is extremely close to Marquez! funny, but on the race track, he does not appear to be. Bagnaia is already at minus 31 points from Marc.

My only question is: did anyone see that coming? for Dorna, it is a bitter sweet victory. Nobody wants to watch a race where the winner is known before the start.

Even Alex Marquez had to swear that he will not hesitate to attack Marc, brother or not. Lol....

Anyway, we shall discuss the MotoGP future afer COTA.

Yeah, the first three races are at tracks that favor Marc. And Marc is an exceptional talent. But to be fair,  he is not dominating races the way he did previously. He used to run off and win by large margins. He is not doing that yet. In fact, he seems to be using his brother as a patsy, letting his brother tow him around while he saves his tires. I was surprised when Alex did that the first time, I was stunned when Alex did that the second time. I would hope at some point Alex would learn not to do that.

It seems the 2025 hybrid Ducati does not suit Pecco. How much of that is real and how much is sour grapes I don't know. But what I do know is while I am not surprised to see Pecco behind Marc I was surprised to see Pecco behind Alex and Morbidelli (who were both on the 2024 Ducati). It seems the hybrid they came up with suits Marc but no one else.

Ducati risks going back to where they went with Stoner, building a bike only one person can go fast on.

[p6x]

10 hours ago, GuzziMoto said:

It seems the 2025 hybrid Ducati does not suit Pecco

That's the consensus; all the Ducati top management is stating they are working hard behind the scene, to find the technical solution to give Pecco's feeling back on the GP24.9; they referenced last year rear drible problem which was eventually solved.

I read on the Spanish news, that Marquez (Marc) would love to see his brother join him on the factory team. It makes sense, but I doubt it will happen. Also because Pecco has a contract until the end of 2026, but Ducati probably needs to keep an Italian rider?

As for Pecco in Argentina, he was 0.2 seconds off the lap time set by the Marquez brothers.

We will have to wait for Qatar to fully understand where does Pecco stands with regards to Marquez. Qatar is a track that Pecco likes.

Meanwhile, I expect COTA to be another repetition of 1 and 2 from the brothers.

Edited March 17 by p6x

[GuzziMoto]

I am curious to see if, at some point, Alex grows a pair, gets smart, and starts standing up to his older brother. Quit letting Marc use him like that. Don't wear his tires out trying to stay in front of Marc, save it until the end of the race. Leading any lap but the last lap doesn't matter.

Also, at COTA we may see some other bikes / racers in the mix. The more guys up front the more chances for someone other then Marc to win. But Alex (and anyone else who can run up front) needs to wise up.

[p6x]

On 3/18/2025 at 9:01 AM, GuzziMoto said:

I am curious to see if, at some point, Alex grows a pair, gets smart, and starts standing up to his older brother. Quit letting Marc use him like that. Don't wear his tires out trying to stay in front of Marc, save it until the end of the race. Leading any lap but the last lap doesn't matter.

Also, at COTA we may see some other bikes / racers in the mix. The more guys up front the more chances for someone other then Marc to win. But Alex (and anyone else who can run up front) needs to wise up.

According to both A+M, on the race track, they both race to win. Now, we should not forget that Alex is the junior, and there always will be some deference towards his older brother. This is human, they can't help it.

Something else, we have noticed how Alex is the best of the rest; at least so far... I am convinced there is some additional help coming from Marc; no surprise there. This is why I am pointing on Alex being second on COTA too.

I hope I am wrong, but I hardly see any other brand challenging the Ducati herd like Maverick Viñales did last year on the Aprilia. Although, Pedro Acosta came in second, the 2025 KTM is now lagging behind. They did not keep up with the development because of the financial constraints. Enea Bastianini came in 3rd last year, on the Aprilia too; however on the Tech 3 KTM, he will be facing the same challenges. Bezzechi is not a big performer on this track, so all bets are open on what he could do on the Aprilia.

I do not know where to factor Francesco Bagnaia in the mix. According to Gigi Dal Igna, they have partially resolved the issues that he is currently facing with the GP24.9. Who else on a Ducati could challenge Marquez? Morbidelli? DiGia? I don't think so...

Jorge Martin is now penciled for a return in Qatar; I think he has thrown away any chance to be World Champion again this year. Besides, he is going to have to lear to ride a MotoGP again, and I hope he is going to take it slow.

Thus, I am expecting another Marquez stroll in COTA.

[GuzziMoto]

I am not saying Alex doesn't race to win. But I am saying that if he wants to beat his brother he can't keep letting his brother use him like that. This is two races in a row where Marc has let Alex by, Alex then rode as hard as he could while in front and used up his tires. He then had nothing left at the end when it counted.

I think COTA will likely go Marcs way, it is his race to lose. But after that I think we will start seeing if anyone else can beat him. It is then that we get to tracks where a challenge to Marc is more likely in my opinion.

[PJPR01]

I'm planning to go to COTA on Sunday morning for the race...my annual tradition to ride up on the bike early morning and enjoy the day.  Nice easy 2.5 hour ride, see some great racing, look at demo bikes and ride home.  As long as the weather holds as it is now, it should be a spectacular day to be at the races again.

I think there will be some bumping and grinding, maybe a crash or two...but no doubt the King of Cota is favored again!

[activpop]

14 minutes ago, PJPR01 said:

I'm planning to go to COTA on Sunday morning for the race.

My daughter lives in Austin and I always wanted to time a visit for a race, either F1 or MotoGP. Do you need to book in advance or can one just show up and get a GA ticket?  Do they sell out all spots?

[Joe]

7 minutes ago, activpop said:

My daughter lives in Austin and I always wanted to time a visit for a race, either F1 or MotoGP. Do you need to book in advance or can one just show up and get a GA ticket?  Do they sell out all spots?

I bought tickets in the grandstands online last night, many sections were listed as almost sold out. The paddock passes are sold out. Weather can change but some rain is forecasted. 

[GuzziMoto]

3 hours ago, activpop said:

My daughter lives in Austin and I always wanted to time a visit for a race, either F1 or MotoGP. Do you need to book in advance or can one just show up and get a GA ticket?  Do they sell out all spots?

I am pretty sure they do not sell out. It is a big track, and they can stuff a lot of spectators in there.

They offer basic General Admission tickets or for a little more (or a lot more) you can get a specific reserved seat. Google is your friend. https://www.ticketmaster.com/2025-motogp-red-bull-grand-prix-austin-texas-03-30-2025/event/3A006172A658263D

Edited Friday at 06:06 PM by GuzziMoto

[PJPR01]

6 hours ago, activpop said:

My daughter lives in Austin and I always wanted to time a visit for a race, either F1 or MotoGP. Do you need to book in advance or can one just show up and get a GA ticket?  Do they sell out all spots?

I've been lucky over the years I've gone 5 or 6 times, I just show up and buy a ticket at the box office when I get there.  If you ride a motorcycle, parking is also free!  In prior years I've had seats in the Grandstand, Turn 1, Turn 15/16 and general admission.  Very rarely does it sell out completely so it's more how much you want to spend.  Although it's a hike to get to the top of the hill ( you get your cardio activity in), Turn 1 is fantastic to see the long stretch and then tight bunching around the almost 140 degree turn.  Turn 15/16 is great to see the backstretch at full speed, full braking and lots of turns with the bikes fully inclined over.  One year I went with my wife and son and bought tickets in advance on Turn 15/16, so we could guarantee a seat since it was their first time.

If you go by all means pay a few bucks and ride to the top of the Red Tower...it's an amazing view from the top!

  

[activpop]

Excellent! Thank you for that @PJPR01. 

[LowRyter]

I'm thinking about riding over, depending on the weather.  The local Ducati club is staying in Pflugerville.  I haven't ridden there in 5 years.  My Doctor has cleared me.  Now if I could get over some leg pain from my last gym visit and garden hoeing, I might be able to make 400 miles on Thursday. 

I've enjoyed T1.  I think the group has already purchased tickets for T15.  I've not sat there, but that grandstand is close to a sell out.  Not been up the tower but have little patience for lines (Gu$$i content), afraid of heights.  My understanding, the only concern for tickets is F1, and the worst part of that is getting to the track.

 It looks to be another Marquez exhibition race.  But at least he's Rosso Corsa. 

The tradition is to meet up at Black's BBQ Sat after Quals.

The best spot for photos is Friday on the south bridge before the bulls kick you off.

Dovi on red

Edited Saturday at 03:01 PM by LowRyter

[PJPR01]

Excellent plan John...hope you can make it!  Riding the Greenie?

Was just thru Lockhart a few weeks ago on the Tour of Texas coming back from Bandera of course, had to stop at Blacks!  Mandatory stop in Lockhart as one of the stops was the Grand Courthouse just a few blocks away.

 

 

[Joe]

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