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MotoGP 2023 Round 13–India

September 24, 2023

Pecco opens the door for Martin and Bezzecchi

As expected, this weekend’s Grand Prix of India was hotter than a freshly f**ked fox in a forest fire. Rather than thinking of it as the hottest race weekend ever, it might make more sense to view it as the coolest Indian Grand Prix of the next ten years. How hot was it? Prima Pramac Ducati pilot Jorge Martin, with the conditioning of a triathlete, was unable to drive his Desmo to Parc Ferme, having to get off at his garage. His team poured ice water into his leathers, on his neck, removed his helmet, and tended to him as he sank to his knees. There is some confusion as to whether he actually lost consciousness. Suffice it to say that, with 7 races (plus 7 sprints) in the next 9 weeks, this is a scene we are going to see again and again. Carmelo Ezpeleta and his minions at Dorna want to squeeze every last dollar out of this series. Their efforts may yet result in a rider losing his life. With Kazakhstan and Aragon getting added to the 2024 calendar, the squeeze will continue.

Jorge Martin, flirting with disaster in the Indian Grand Prix

The Tissot Sprint on Saturday was a bit of a cluster, as Luca Marini barged into teammate Marco Bezzecchi in Turn 1 of Lap 1, with Pol Espargaro, Stefan Bradl and Augusto Fernandez getting caught up in the ensuing fire drill. Bezzecchi and Fernandez would continue, but Marini broke his collarbone, causing my fantasy team to take a hit. Bezzecchi laid down a vapor trail from the back of the pack and ended the day in P5, foreshadowing what would occur in Sunday’s main event. Pecco and Marc Marquez–remember him?–claimed the second and third steps of the podium behind race winner Jorge Martin.

In Sunday’s race, Bezzecchi once again was in a league of his own, taking the lead in Turn 4 of Lap 1 and riding off into the smog. He was pursued by Bagnaia, Martin and Marquez. On Lap 6 Marquez slid out, dropping from P4 to P16 before climbing back up to P9 at the flag. Pecco did the world a favor by hitting the deck on Lap 14 while running second, causing his team and Ducati management another epic case of heartburn.

Once Bagnaia left the building, Martin and Fabio Quartararo–remember him?– took up the chase. Fabio, aboard the woeful Yamaha M1, did not appear to present any kind of threat to Martin until late in the last lap, when Martin inexplicably went walkabout, doubtless due to his fighting heat stroke inside his leathers and helmet. Suddenly, #20 and #89 were in a fight for P2, with Martin desperate for the four extra points that would come his way if he held on against the Frenchman and literally passing out. He was able to lunge inside #20 late and stand him up, hold on to P2 and avoid mayhem, but this episode is a harbinger of things yet to come in Indonesia, Thailand, Qatar and Malaysia.

Assuming Martin will not get penalized for unzipping his leathers during Sunday’s race, the championship heads to Japan next week with Bagnaia holding a 13 point lead over Martin and clear of Bezzecchi by 56 points.

Elsewhere, my boy Jaume Masia dominated the Moto3 race, pulling into a tie for the series lead with Daniel Holgado, with Ayumu Sasaki a single point behind the pair. (The 2023 standings are as close as most of the races in this, the most exciting division in MotoGP racing.) Pedro Acosta continued his domination of Moto2 winning easily today, on his way to MotoGP next season. The paddock was abuzz all weekend with the rumor, expected to be confirmed next week, of Marc Marquez’s defection to Gresini Ducati commencing next year, with the Marquez brothers riding together on the Italian Ducati satellite operation. Morbidelli to Pramac Ducati next year is now firm. Zarco to LCR Honda is now firm. Rins to the factory Yamaha team next year is now firm. Nakagami remaining with LCR Honda next year is now firm. The question left to be answered for 2024: Who will take Marquez’s seat on the factory Honda team alongside Joan Mir?

Footnote: Things in the cosmos have settled down now, as I have assumed my rightful place in our fantasy league, seizing the lead for the year with today’s result, despite the sorry performances turned in by Aleix Espargaro and Luca Marini. Don’t call it a comeback, bitches.

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Posted in Ducati, Fantasy MotoGP, Grand Prix Motorcycle Racing, Marc Marquez, Moto, Moto2, Moto3, MotoGP, Motorcycle Racing, Racing News | 3 Comments »

MotoGP 2023 Mid-Season Report @ Motorcycle.com

August 3, 2023

https://www.motorcycle.com/bikes/professional-competitions/motogp-2023-mid-season-report-44593252

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Posted in Dorna, Grand Prix Motorcycle Racing, Marc Marquez, Moto, Moto2, Moto3, MotoGP, Racing News | 2 Comments »

MotoGP 2023– Round 8 Assen

June 25, 2023

Saturday

Marco Bezzecchi loves him some Assen.

Untouchable on Friday. Pole early on Saturday. Sprint winner on Saturday afternoon.

Marc Marquez had another train wreck of a weekend. Qualified in P17 after colliding with Enea Bastiannini in the morning warm up. Finished the Sprint right where he started. Looking utterly demoralized, hovering on the edge of the existential abyss, looking down. Says he is committed to the Honda project, but making it sound like an involuntary commitment, you know, like with a rehab facility or nuthouse. More of a sentence than a commitment.

Brad Binder had the pickiest long lap penalty ever very late in the Sprint, costing him a podium and elevating Fabio Quartararo–remember him?–to the bronze medal. Pecco had a nice race, taking the hole shot, giving up the lead to Bezz on Lap 2 but still collecting nine points on Saturday.

Sunday

The Moto3 championship race tightened considerably, as series leader Daniel Holgado screwed the pooch in qualifying and ended up starting from the back of the grid, from where he crashed out early and finished the day out of the points. Honda pilot Jaume Masia, meanwhile, my pre-season pick for the title, won another barnburner, holding off Sasai, Oncu. and Munoz, cutting Holgado’s lead from 41 to 16 points heading into the break.

Moto2 was refreshing, as Brit Jake Dixon won his first ever grand prix (then spoiled it by crying during Simon’s crappy post-race interview), ahead of the resurrected Ai Ogura and savant Pedro Acosta. During the race, Acosta had to serve a long lap penalty during which he clearly had both wheels in the green. Such an error would cause a mortal to have to repeat the penalty, but for an Alien-in-Waiting the stewards said, “nothing to see here.” Pretty blatant, IMO. Acosta and Toni Arbolino seem to have their tickets punched for MotoGP next year, but it remains to be seen for whom Acosta will be laboring. Gresini Racing has already sent signals it intends to sign Arbolino and jettison FDG.

Prior to the start of the premier class tilt, it was announced that Marc Marquez, for the fifth time in eight rounds, had been declared unfit to race, citing a bruised ego, a broken spirit and shattered confidence. Albert Puig tipped his hand in an interview in which he essentially said that if #93 wants to seek greener pastures next year Honda would not hold him hostage. Perhaps HRC has figured out that paying a rider $30 million a year to ride an unrideable bike doesn’t make much sense. After all, if the rider is going to end up in the gravel, it would be better if he were only working for minimum wage.

The race itself was okay, ignoring the eight riders who failed to finish and allowing Jonas Folger to build his points lead over Marquez. The Killer Bees–Bagnaia, Bezzecchi and Binder–led all day, trailed by Aleix and Jorge Martin. For the second time in 24 hours, apparently for the benefit of those who missed it yesterday, Binder put a tiny bit of his front wheel in the green on the last lap, incurring a track limits violation and dropping him from the podium. Yesterday’s beneficiary was Fabio Quartararo; today’s was Aleix. Bagnaia’s lead in the 2023 chase now stands at 35 points, and he is looking strong enough to take the hardware for the second year “on the trot.” lol. Bezzecchi and Martin are fast young guns and will be in the picture for years to come. Binder is fast off the line and, if the racing gig doesn’t work out, given the murderous KTM pilots on their way to the premier class from Moto2 and Moto3, could find work filming instructional videos on the rules of racing.

Now that interest in MotGP is peaking, after the June triple header, Dorna will let all the air out of the balloon by taking the next month or so off, staying out of the headlines and driving fans back to F1, soccer, MLB and NFL OTAs. I will attempt to assemble a coherent mid-season report for Motorcycle. com which should post in early July. 12 races will take place after the summer break, including two more triples: Indonesia, Australia and Thailand in October, Malaysia, Qatar and Valencia in November. Six races in seven weeks to close out the season. The Bagnaias and Bezzecchis of the world need to watch out for an injury in October which could cause them to record multiple DNSs and impact the title chase.

For everyone but Marc Marquez, life goes on.

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Posted in Dorna, Grand Prix Motorcycle Racing, Marc Marquez, Moto, Moto2, Moto3, MotoGP, MotoGP Assen, MotoGP Results, Motorcycle Racing, Racing News | 8 Comments »

MotoGP 2021 – Round 7 The Sachsenring

June 18, 2023

OK, it’s Father’s Day and I’m really busy. Wishing all the best to the dads out there. Quit watching motorcycles go round and round and spend the day with your kids.

All I got today is three spoilers. In Moto3, Ayume Sasaki led for 298 out of 299 laps before finally surrendering the lead, and the win, to Turk Deniz “The Meniz” Oncu. I missed the beginning of the race; there was some drama that may have rendered that last sentence inaccurate. I’m staying with it. Dani Holgado finished in P3 to extend his championship lead. As expected, the Turkish national anthem was, um, somewhat unusual.

Moto2 was a repeat of Mugello. Pedro Acosta led every lap, coasted to the win, followed by Toni Arbolino and Jake Dixon.

MotoGP was another two man show. Pecco Bagnaia led early, yielded the lead to Jorge Martin on Lap 3. Martin led a merry chase until Lap 21 when Pecco took it back. Martin stayed with it and chased the championship leader down again on Lap 24. Pecco stayed directly on Martin’s ass until the final turn on Lap 29, when he finally made contact with Martin’s rear wheel, lost a few tenths, and trailed the Spaniard at the wire by 6/100ths. Martin is making a case for the argument that Ducati chose, last year, the wrong rider to team up with Bagnaia on the factory team. Martin reminds me of a young Romano Fenati, only less psychotic.

Marc Marquez’ fifth crash of the weekend in the Sunday morning warm-up was sufficient to have him declared unfit for today’s race. Fabio Quartararo finished in P13. This illustrates the psychological and metabolic difference between the two riders, both of whom find themselves saddled (lol) with terrible bikes. Fabio has accepted the obvious and looks ready to play out the string until such time as he can secure a European ride. Marquez refuses to go quietly into the night and has become a hazard to himself and those around him. People who mildly disliked him in the past are now hating on him for what he has become. People who actively disliked him in the past now seethe at the mention of his name. Me, I just want to see him on a Ducati or KTM and get back to riding like a normal person and winning a few more titles. Sorry, John Burns, but I refuse to hate him. He really can’t help being who he is.

Next week is Assen. I hope to have enough time to do a proper job of this. The mid-season report on Motorcycle.com should appear in early July.

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Posted in Ducati, german grand prix, Grand Prix Motorcycle Racing, Marc Marquez, Moto, Moto2, Moto3, MotoGP, MotoGP Sachsenring, Motorcycle Racing, Racing News | 20 Comments »

MotoGP 2023–Round 5 Le Mans

May 14, 2023

MotoGP Q2

Sprint race points scorers:

J Martin 12

B Binder 9

P Bagnaia 7

L. Marini 6

M. Marquez 5

J. Zarco 4

M. Bezzecchi 3

A. Espargaro 2

M. Vinales 1

Race results:

Jorge Martin ran away with the Sprint race on Saturday. The main event on Sunday was taken by Bezzecchi, who went through on Jack Miller on Lap 11 and wasn’t challenged thereafter, increasingly looking like the man to beat in 2023. Earlier, Maverick Vinales and Pecco Bagnaia took each other out on Lap 5 and went to Fist City in the gravel trap, but kissed and made up later on. Shortly thereafter, Luca Marini and Alex Marquez went down together. Joan Mir had his usual crash on Lap 14 today, followed by Alex Rins on Lap 15, as the Honda can only be ridden by Marquez. #93 was in contention for a podium all day until he folded under pressure from Jorge Martin on Lap 26, right after Jack Miller lost the front of his KTM on Lap 25. 21 riders started the race and 13 finished, meaning Jonas Folger now has more points for the season than Mir, who, it says right here, will be spoken of in the past tense at HRC come season’s end.

It sounds like Gresini is planning to replace FDG with Tony Arbolino for next season. Frankie Morbidelli is toast. If Ai Ogura ever gets his wrist sorted out, he may very well take Takaa Nakagami’s seat as the Designated Japanese Rider in the premier class. Likewise, Raul Fernandez is unlikely to remain in MotoGP after this season, with all the young guns making noise in Moto2.

I really don’t have time to do a proper job on the French Grand Prix today, as life is once again intruding on my incessant libeling. Demolition derbies as took place today tend to obscure the fact that some pretty sorry riders end up scoring points. So while someone is bound to point out that Nakagami finished in P11 today, it was due to the fact that six or seven riders who would normally leave him in their wake were missing at the finish. And yes, I know that in order to finish first one must first finish blah blah blah. It’s not just Marquez who is riding on the ragged edge all day. I think the technology has gotten ahead of the riders, that no one is in full control of their machine, and that we are likely to see more heavy crashes–paging Pol Espargaro–yet this season. Still, when you have three riders running abreast in a turn at 100 mph there is nothing else quite like it.

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Posted in Ducati, French Motorcycle Grand Prix, Grand Prix Motorcycle Racing, Le Mans, Marc Marquez, Moto, Moto2, Moto3, MotoGP | 8 Comments »

2010 Spanish Grand Prix Results – Repost

April 27, 2023

The second of two throwbacks in honor of this weekend’s Jerez round.

Lorenzo enjoys a late lunch at Jerez

Filet of Rossi on Lap 21; roasted Pedrosa on Lap 27

The Gran Premio bwin de Espana at Jerez de la Frontera on Sunday was a hash of the worst and the best that MotoGP has to offer.  The first 22 laps were an absolute parade with virtually no lead changes and little drama, aside from guys pushing 200 mph on two wheels.  The last five laps were a masterpiece by Jorge Lorenzo, who moved from fourth place to first for his first win of 2010.  In the process, he again demonstrated the patience and strategic thinking he has lacked until now.  It appears that his development as the heir apparent to Valentino Rossi may now be in its final stages.

Sunday was a perfect day on the dazzling Spanish Riviera.  The usual suspects had qualified well on Saturday, led, somewhat surprisingly, by homeboy Dani Pedrosa, who apparently solved the suspension problems that had plagued him all year.  Pedrosa was on the pole, followed by Lorenzo, Ducati Marlboro’s Casey Stoner and Valentino Rossi.  Nicky Hayden, Randy de Puniet and Colin Edwards completed Tranche One on this round, and it looked as if the long-suffering Pedrosa might enjoy his first day in the sun since his win last year at Valencia.

Recall that Round 1 in Qatar had left Casey Stoner gasping for air, Valentino Rossi looking impregnable, and Jorge Lorenzo sporting the long-awaited maturity he had lacked as recently as last season.  Lorenzo’s balls-to-the-wall racing style had secured second place in the world in 2009, but the three DNFs he recorded in his reckless (not wreckless) style had probably cost him the championship.  At Qatar, Nicky Hayden looked rejuvenated, Andrea Dovizioso looked threatening, and rookie Ben Spies looked ready for prime time.

As they say here in Spain, “Bienvenido a Espana.”

For the bulk of the first 20 laps today, it was Pedrosa, Rossi, Hayden, Lorenzo, Stoner and Dovizioso going round and round.  There was some action in the seven-to-eleven spots, but I’m generally too busy to pay much attention to that stuff.  Several riders went walkabout early on, including the soon-to-be-late Loris Capirossi and Aleix Espargaro.  Pramac Racing’s Espargaro recovered and re-entered the race, only to spend most of his day working feverishly trying not to get lapped by Pedrosa.  Ben Spies retired on Lap 7 with mechanical issues.  By Lap 20, the guys in the row front of us started passing big joints around, noticeably bypassing us.  One of the gorgeous brunettes (a dime a dozen in these parts) in the stand next to us was fiddling with her split ends.  “Off in the distance, a dog howled.”

Suddenly, it became obvious that Jorge Lorenzo had found something.

On Lap 10 he had passed Hayden without breaking a sweat, and began patiently lining up Rossi.  By Lap 21 he was on top of Rossi, and then past him.  Pedrosa, who led all day by more than a second—plenty in MotoGP time—led Lorenzo by .8 at that point.  I was thinking it would end up Pedrosa/Lorenzo/Rossi, a nice day for the hometown crowd, when Lorenzo left Rossi in his wake and drew a bead on Pedrosa.

Everyone knows the depth of enjoyment Jorge Lorenzo experiences passing teammate and arch rival Valentino Rossi.  Judging from how Lorenzo handled himself on the last three laps of this race, it’s possible he enjoys taking down Dani Pedrosa equally well.  Teammate or countryman?  Countryman or teammate?  Who really knows what’s going on in Jorge Lorenzo’s head?

Not that it matters.  Both Lorenzo and Pedrosa performed as expected in the last five laps of the race.  Lorenzo exerted his will on his bike and his countryman.  Pedrosa rode well in the lead and folded when it mattered, running wide in a late right-hander and allowing Lorenzo through, conceding the path to the win.  Talking a brave game all week long and then lacking los cojones at the moment of truth to hold his ground and force Lorenzo on to the brakes.  The book on Dani is “doesn’t like to mix it up in the corners.”  The book had it dead right today.

All in all, it was a great day to be a Spanish racing fan.  Early in the morning, it was 18-year old Spaniard Daniel Ruiz starting the day by winning the first Rookie’s Cup race of the season.  Pol Espargaro took the 125cc race while many of the fans were still finding their way to their seats.  Toni Elias, fresh off his crash in Qatar and nursing a bad wrist, battled Thomas Luthi and Shoya Tomizawa all day and finally prevailed for his first Moto2 win before his home fans, most of whom were delirious with joy at the end of the race.  Lorenzo and Pedrosa took the top two spots on the premier class podium.  And although the fans claim to prefer Pedrosa to Lorenzo, as Jorge hails all the way from Barcelona, for God’s sake, it appears they’ve grown a little weary of Pedrosa’s mad Chihuahua routine, his underdog-singing-the-blues rap.  There was no shortage of Lorenzo fans in today’s crowd.

Elsewhere on the grid, Pramac’s Mika Kallio had a great day, starting dead last and finishing 7th.   Marco Melandri recovered from a dreadful outing in Qatar to finish 8th today.  LCR Honda’s Randy de Puniet qualified 6th and finished 9th, making him two for two this year qualifying better on Saturday than he raced on Sunday.  Alvaro Bautista recovered from a last lap fall in Qatar to finish 10th and claim the Top Rookie of the Week award from Hiroshi Aoyama, who won it at Losail but struggled today, finishing 14th. 

The top five finishers in a great 17 lap Moto2 race today included Elias, Shoya Tomizawa, Thomas Luthi, Yuki “Crash” Takahashi and Simone Corsi.  The race was red-flagged early due to a pile-up involving some nine bikes, the first of what promises to be many such collisions in the overcrowded Moto2 field.

The crowd seemed as interested in the 125s today as they were the big bikes.  Espargaro claimed the top spot on the podium, flanked by two other Spaniards, Nicolas Terol and Esteve Rabat.

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Posted in MotoGP, Motorcycle Racing, Grand Prix Motorcycle Racing, Jerez, Moto2, Moto3 | 1 Comment »

MotoGP 2023 – COTA, Round 3

April 16, 2023

Practice and Qualifying

Before I forget, I want to salute Jack Miller, waxing euphoric about the KTM during one of the incessant time-filling videos, then going out and crashing five times before the Sprint race.

Friday was indicative of the New World Order in MotoGP, in which the last shall be first and the first shall be last. Pecco Bagnaia finishing first in Portimao and 16th in Argentina. Alex Marquez being unable to find his ass with both hands and a flashlight for three full seasons on the Honda suddenly becoming A Force to be Reckoned With in year four on a used Ducati. Marco Bezzecchi winning in the rain at Rio Hondo before having to go through QP1 (which he did) in Texas. At the end of the day the results looked like this:

Here’s a couple of dispatches from our trackside reporter Buzz:

Update #1.

The wife and I decided to walk around a bit and Shazam! Two vans pulled up to our hotel and a bunch of Mooney VR46 team members were checking in to our hotel! I didn’t see Luca or Bez (not that I would have recognized them immediately) and certainly the legend himself isn’t staying here or even in Austin with a pregnant woman at home.

I’ll keep my eyes open. Gonna spend the rest of the evening digesting my mound of meat from Terry Black’s BBQ.

Day 1. I’ll let you read the inter webs for a report on how today’s action unfolded. My behind the scenes look at the action was pretty incredible today.

Update #2

We met a British couple at the hotel bar last night and they are here for the race as well; first time in Austin. I told them I would show them around the track since I’m a vet and they offered a ride in their rental car. In addition, they happened to meet a man on the flight over who handles all the awesome camera technology like the bike cams, shoulder cams, etc. He offered a behind the scenes tour.

After marching them all over the track and walking 8 miles according to our Apple watches, they were contacted by camera guy, and he invited us all back. We were given security credentials and walked through the paddock back to the tech area. He showed us how they use all the camera technology and how most critically, they managed bandwidth. With all the cell technology and other demands for wireless, it is a huge part of the job.

We returned to the stands to finish watching practice and walked back to the paddock once it was over to return our credentials. At that point all the riders started moving from the garage to the paddock offices. It’s a gauntlet of fans with paddock access and was pretty fun watching people run back and forth seeking autographs when a rider would appear. Personally, I got a fist bump with Pecco, a high-five with Jack Miller and helped others get photos with Fabio and Cole Trickle. I also said hello to Brad Binder. Total fun! Wife was overwhelmed.

Saturday

Bezzecchi and Zarco made it through Q1. Jorge Martin, he of the new all-time track record at COTA, crashed twice in Q2, leading to the first four rows of the grid, as follows:

The Sprint was pretty much of a snooze. Bagnaia got his mojo back, took the lead on the first lap and was never challenged. Alex Rins, making the LCR Honda look, well, competitive, chased the Italian for 10 laps but was never a threat; his nine points were a sigh of relief for HRC, as nobody else went anywhere. Poor Fabio over-rode his Yamaha into the gravel on Lap 5; it’s going to be a long year for the former world champion, Martin moved his Desmo from P12 to P3 to capture the final step on the podium. Aleix dogged him after getting passed on Lap 7 but couldn’t track him down. Alex Marquez came back down to Earth, sliding out on Lap 7 after throwing up in his helmet OMG. The Mooney boys finished sixth and seventh behind Brad Binder. And that was that.

Sunday

This was one of those race days when I should have been covering Moto3 or Moto2 instead of MotoGP. Moto3 was incredible, four young riders battling on the absolute limit over the entire race. The eventual winner, Ivan Ortola, somehow avoided an excruciating high side at Turn 2 of the first lap, dropped back to around P23, then sliced his way through the field to engage with Jaume Masia, Xavi Artigas and Diogo Moreira before taking the checkered flag in P1, as good a win as you’ll ever see in racing, two wheels or four. Even horses. The ultimate order of finish was kind of random, as each rider performed well enough to have won on any day. Ortola, it seems, is the Next Next Next Great Spanish Rider, behind Pedro Acosta and Izan Guevara.

Moto2 provided another nailbiter, as Tony Arbolino and Pedro Acosta put on a terrific show, with Acosta eventually prevailing, and Arbolino declaring in Parc Fermé that “this ain’t over.” Both riders are slated for MotoGP next season, where they will pay dues for a season or two before raising the level of competition yet again.

MotoGP on Sunday was, in a word, terrible. Eight riders crashed out, leaving 14 on the track to see the chekered flag. Here’s how bad it was: Jonas Folger scored three (3) championship points subbing for Pol Espargaro. Rookie Augusto Fernandez scored five (5) points. Pecco Bagnaia, putting the screws to everyone who had him on their fantasy team, crashed out of the lead on Lap 8 under relentless pressure from LCR Honda pilot Alex Rins, who went on to win on the only Honda to finish the race. Luca Marini found the podium on his Ducati, as did Fabio Quartararo, who was giving up amazing yardage on the long back straight, then gaining some of it back on the twisty parts of the track. Rather than summarizing the results, let’s just look at the dunnage:

Lap 1: Jorge Martin shits his pants and takes Alex Marquez out with him in Turn 1, while Aleix slides off and out at Turn 12.

On Lap 4 my notes read, “When will Jack Miller crash?” Answer: Lap 7.

Pecco threw it at the scenery on Lap 8. Raul Fernandez retired with a mechanical around the same time

Joan Mir crashed, again, on Lap 9.

Brad Binder crashed on Lap 11 and remounted, ultimately gathering two championship points, which is an editorial statement in itself.

Takaa Nakagami crashed on Lap 12, as if anyone cares.

Stefan Bradl, subbing for #93, crashed on Lap 19 in order to get mentioned in this article.

A brutal day in the premier class. Alex Rins, it says here, will not factor into the 2023 championship on his execrable Honda. Nor will Fabio on his equally bad Yamaha. At the end of the day–who doesn’t hate that phrase?–the championship top ten looks like this. Bagnaia has thrown away 45 points in the last two rounds, making the chase look more competitive than it really is. Vinales had another terrible start before climbing back into P4 at the finish. And anyone who doesn’t have Ducati as their choice for the constructor in Fantasy MotoGP is dreaming.

Two weeks until the flying circus arrives in Europe, at Jerez, when things start to get real. Let’s hope that today’s MotoGP spectacle doesn’t get repeated. Personally, I may shift my attention to the undercards where there is real competition and not every rider scores points.

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Posted in Grand Prix Motorcycle Racing, Moto, Moto2, Moto3, MotoGP, MotoGP Results, Motorcycle Racing, Racing News | 12 Comments »

MotoGP Fantasy–Don’t Use Firefox

April 13, 2023

After getting all the helpful advice from you lot on how to save my trades, and still being unable to do so, I decided to open the game on Microsoft’s Edge browser. Voila, there appeared a box allowing me to save my trades. Dorna, it seems, doesn’t have the tech skills to optimize their crappy site across all browsers, so I got hammered in Argentina. I suspect that those of you who were unable to make your trades stick for Round 2 were also using Firefox.

If you’ve been using Chrome or Edge, you may have built up a lead in this fakakta competition. Be advised that Mr BruAl will now get back in the hunt. Honeymoon’s over.

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Posted in Moto, MotoGP, MotoGP COTA, MotoGP fantasy sports, MotoGP Team, Motorcycle Racing, Racing News | 2 Comments »

Guest commentary from FB friend Earl Roloff

April 1, 2023

Well FP1 & FP2 for the Argentina MotoGP is done. The “Italian Mob” has secured the first 7 positions. A nice wrinkle though, as the “The Grand Ole Man” of MotoGP Aleix Espargaro put’s in the fastest time just over a tenth quicker than his teammate “Top Gun” Maverick Vinales who was 2nd. Obviously, a great venue for the small Italian manufacturer Aprilia. Aleix’s only win a year ago came here, could he do it again? When Maverick is happy, he’s a threat to win. I think he’s happy, a first win on his Aprilia here looks like a possibility, backing up a strong 5/2 tally last week.. The “Rossi Boys”, Marco Bezzecchi 3rd fastest, coming off a podium finish a week ago at Portimao looking for another. His teammate Luca Marini 4th, trying to right the ship after a abysmal start to his season last week with 2 DNF’s. 5th, the new “Flying Frenchman” Johann Zarco, once again a great qualifying run, coming of a well deserved 4th place last week at Portimao. Could he finally win one of these things? I’m hoping so, he’s come so close on a number of occasions. 6th, defending Champ Franco Bagnaia, coming off a perfect weekend and once again in a great position to challenge for podiums in Argentina. 7th, “Mighty Mouse” Jorge Martin, another solid qualifying effort, after a strong second last week in the Sprint race, only to be collected by an overzealous Marc Marquez in Sunday’s feature, knocking him out of a another potential podium. 8th, from “The Land of the Rising Sun”, Takaaki Nakagami, on the first non Italian machine and first Honda. His up and down career has been filled with many crashes, flashes of brilliance and more crashes. Maybe he can have some luck this weekend. 9th and first Yamaha, not who you’d expect, but great to see back in the top ten, former Moto2 champ, Franco Mordibelli. After almost winning the title in 2020, frankly he should have, nothing but injury and poor finishes the past 2 seasons. Hopefully, the likeable Italian can find his 2020 form and get some much needed results. 10th “Mr. Smooth”, Alex Rins on the second Honda. I’ve always liked him, reminds me so much of Jorge Lorenzo, hoping he can come to grips with the Honda and maybe help them make it more rideable.

Tomorrow will be Q1 and only 2 will advance to Q2. Some fast guys that really need to get to Q2 to help their chances this weekend. Alex Marquez 11th, just missing the cut today. Brad “The Grinder” Binder, 12th after a good run in last Sunday’s long race. Joan Mir 13th, still struggling with the Honda and needing something to build on. 14th Fabio Quartararo, the former champ in desperate need of some good news. Today, for the first time in a couple of years, being out qualified by his teammate. 15th FDG, a name to long to type, still looking for some speed on his Ducati. 16th, “The Thriller” Jack Miller, looking to pull a “rabbit out of his hat” tomorrow, as it appears the KTM’s are having issues in Argentina. Augusto and Raul Fernandez rounding out the slightly deleted field 17th and 18th.

Qualifying has become a “premium” this season as your grid is set both days by your final Q1/Q2 tally. With the top 15 being separated by less than a second, the days of the come from behind rides are almost over. Looks good for Aprilia and Ducati this weekend. They’ve qualified well and if their FP3 race set up pace is solid, it’ll be a long weekend for any brand not made in Italy. I’m hoping Honda, KTM or Yamaha can come up with something to be more competitive to liven up the series. Finally, Q2 qualifying will once again play a major role in both of this weekend’s races for the reasons mentioned above. Also, I’m thinking we’ll have a couple of different winners this weekend, to be continued…

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Posted in Ducati, Grand Prix Motorcycle Racing, Marc Marquez, MotoGP, Motorcycle Racing, Racing News | 2 Comments »

The Year of Dwindling Prospects

March 31, 2023

2023 may prove to be the year when the MotoGP title was decided earlier than ever before. Rather than being the most competitive year in history, as was widely anticipated during the off-season, we may find ourselves twiddling our thumbs by early October.

It is fair to say that after the first of 21 rounds of racing the number of plausible contenders for the championship has been cut from 22 to 11. Let’s discuss.

First, there never were 22 actual contenders, as at least seven riders never had a snowball’s chance in hell of capturing the title:

  • Augusto Fernandez
  • Raul Fernandez
  • Franco Morbidelli
  • Fabio Quartararo
  • Alex Rins
  • Takaa Nakagami
  • Fabio di Giannantonio

Making this little list involves some combination of a lack of riding talent and lousy machinery. There is also the fact that I’m looking to stir the pot a little by including the 2021 champion herein. So sue me.

Events in Portugal added another four names to this miserable list, as follows:

  • Pol Espargaro–Dude is going to take a long time to get back to racing. He was a long shot before getting crushed on Friday. We wish him all the best, but he needs to be thinking 2024. Or just walking away from racing while he can still walk.
  • Enea Bastiannini–Things looked great for EBas during winter testing, having joined Pecco Bagnaia on the factory Ducati team. He was having arm pump issues before getting collected by Luca Marini during the Sprint on Saturday and fracturing his right shoulder blade. His people report he will not need surgery, which is a surprise. Missing the first two rounds of 2023 and rushing back at way less than 100% spells trouble.
  • Miguel Oliveira–The victim of Marc Marquez’s reckless aggression early this past Sunday, Oliveira will not return to action until Round 3 at COTA. Before getting skittled on Sunday, he looked capable of a top six finish for 2023, but that would have necessitated absolutely everything going right, which it never does in this sport.
  • Marc Marquez–Dude is his own worst enemy, which is saying something, as he is roundly loathed by a number of other riders and millions of MotoGP fans. His bike is terrible. He recorded a DNF in Portugal and will record a DNS in Argentina. When he returns at COTA (his second-favorite track on the calendar next to The Sachsenring) he will be wounded and saddled with a double long lap penalty, putting him squarely behind the eight-ball before the season is fully underway. His slim prospects heading into the season have been reduced to none.

It may be fun to keep track of the hashtag #MotoGPContenders this year if I can ever figure out how to format the hashtag. Heading into Round 2 it stands at 11. It is likely to decline steadily as we move through the calendar. There will be occasions when the current favorites–Bagnaia, Vinales, Aleix, maybe Jack Miller–crash, which might see the number go up. But if events unfold as expected here, that number will fall to “1” before October, at which point we can all get together and whistle “Dixie.” Practice in Argentina starts in a few minutes. I’ll be back with some stuff on Saturday. Ride on.


									


				
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 Posted in Grand Prix Motorcycle Racing, Marc Marquez, MotoGP, MotoGP Results, Motorcycle Racing, Racing News |   5 Comments »

			


		
		

			
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