MotoGP

[p6x]

Jorge Martin added to the list of his injuries Sunday, including a collapsed lung which is going to impede his quick return to Spain, and compromise his Jerez participation which was initially anticipated as his return to race appointment.

The front tire pressure rule has struck again!

 

Edited 14 hours ago by p6x

[GuzziMoto]

Well, that was the Marc Marquez of earlier this year, the smarter Marc that doesn't ride beyond his limits to make a point. It wasn't the Marc that we saw at COTA. It was a measured and intelligent ride by Marc to take the win. It was not that from his brother, Alex. Although, to be fair, the contact between Marc and Alex was a racing incident that was mainly Marcs fault. And as I understand it Marc said as much. But the way Alex nailed Digi was brutal. Of course, not as brutal as what happened to Jorge Martin. And then, just to remind us how bad the joke is,  a fantastic ride by Vinales was screwed because of a lame rule about tire pressures. That continues to be a bad joke. Vinales was likely robbed of a second place because he managed to get out front in clean air and lead the race for some 5 laps or so. That needs to stop.

This is perhaps the first race where Ducati's decision to sign Marc Marquez actually paid off. This is the first race that Ducati might not have won had they not signed Marc.

[p6x]

2 hours ago, GuzziMoto said:

This is perhaps the first race where Ducati's decision to sign Marc Marquez actually paid off. This is the first race that Ducati might not have won had they not signed Marc.

I think a Ducati would have won.

Yes, Marc Marquez was very smart on this one. Bagnaia did pretty well to come back from afar, but this world championship seems to already have its favorite. I am not saying Bagnaia is out of contention, but it seems clear that Marc Marquez has one leg up on just everyone.

If we were expecting Jorge Martin's return to spice it up, we can now forget about it.

As for Maverick Viñales, I am hopeful he will also be competitive in Jerez.

[GuzziMoto]

5 minutes ago, p6x said:

I think a Ducati would have won.

Yes, Marc Marquez was very smart on this one. Bagnaia did pretty well to come back from afar, but this world championship seems to already have its favorite. I am not saying Bagnaia is out of contention, but it seems clear that Marc Marquez has one leg up on just everyone.

If we were expecting Jorge Martin's return to spice it up, we can now forget about it.

As for Maverick Viñales, I am hopeful he will also be competitive in Jerez.

It is hard to say what would have happened if Marc wasn't on a factory Ducati. But this is the first race where it may not have been a Ducati winning if Ducati had not signed Marc. Although it could have played out that Vinales won and then had the win taken from him. That would have been seriously cruel.

Yes, it was an impressive race from Marc, he had the speed but also the racecraft. However, history is shown that things can change pretty quick, sometimes in a single corner.

Vinales has always been a hot or cold racer, some races he shows incredible speed and other races he does not. Sometimes he even shows both in the same race. He really tends to need his ducks to line up to be fast, and he is not that good at lining his ducks up. Look at his results this year prior to this race, 16th, 12th, & 14th. Funny, even though his race was way better this time out after his penalty for the front tire pressure BS he ended up back where he usually is, 14th as I understand it. I would love to see Vinales competitive on a regular basis. But I would not hold my breath. His performance does show that the KTM really isn't that far out, they just need to hit on the right combination of setup. The bike is capable of it, the speed is there. KTM just need to find the right combination of what they have. Currently they are getting that combination wrong, the Michelin tires don't want to work for them (especially the new rear). I have had chatter issue on my front tire, but I have never experienced chatter at the rear. That is bizarre. I hope the coming switch to a different tire manufacturer helps even out the field. The Michelin tire has really become a king maker, with Ducati currently the only manufacturer able to wear that crown. The others are doing what they can with it, but it is always a struggle for them to minimize the issues with the tires. That isn't the best way to have a spec tire series.

[Lucky Phil]

Vinales only performed because his front tyre pressure was illegal. Same as other riders in previous years and have gotten away with it "sometimes" due to the one time only get out of goal card for previous seasons. Thats how stupid MotoGP is getting. Start with slightly lower front tyre pressure and you can go from a mid packer to the rostrum and even win as Bastianini did in Malaysia 2023. Out of the blue win due to front tyre under pressure.

When you see an out of the box performance don't go celebrating until the race pressures have been reviewed. KTM have got a hide whinging about the infringement as well as they gave themselves an unfair and major advantage but were caught out and Vinales penalised as he should have been. same as starting with a bike 10kg under the minimum weight or with a litre or 2 of extra fuel, big advantage. What we now have is F1 on 2 wheels unfortunately. It's all about the technology little to none of which translates into better road bikes. They went down the aero path instead of the electronics path. Aero is pointless on a road bike but electronic suspension and dynamic control is a major leap forward whose developments are slowed down due to being illegal in racing. Meanwhile money is poured into pointless aero which is what causes the overheating and front tyre wear problems. This is what happens when the "business model" considerations overrides the "racing"

Phil

Edited 2 hours ago by Lucky Phil