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!!!