MotoGP 2024

[jellywrestler]

I'm a cynical old bastard who's seen or done most tricks like that.

i tried to follow moto gp this year but where i was watching was live only, got through the first two and couldn't be bothered, made a point of watching today, and all the floowing stuff, was great and good to see MM do what he does well, demoralising people.

[iYRe]

Holy Shitballs batman, what a race that was.. that was one of MM's best races ever

[BMWST?]

In this age of electronics, rider aids and aero it's good to see that a rider can still make the difference.

But IMO the lunge under Martin at Miller corner was intended to make him realise what he had to lose by resisting.
And it worked.

He left a gap. MM will take them. The definitely is a power gap between the 23 and 24. Even with better speed through that last double left MM was stalled as he pulled out of the slipstream. JM def wasnt

[iYRe]

Comments from the media:
"Martin thought that last overtake was a bit aggressive - the problem is the new bunch of riders have not really seen the MM of 5 years ago - this is how an Alien rides, and for the first time in a long time the old MM has reappeared"
"MM was .4 of a second faster than Martin for the last 2 laps"
"Bagnaia needs more practice time on the tracks to get all the tweaks and changes he needs - Martin and MM prefer to know what bike is under them and ride around any issues"
"Bagnaia has 7 DNF's now, and so Martin has him in a position that if he gets even one more issue he has no chance of winning, so he has to be a much more cautious - Bagnaia is actually the slowest of the contenders - he is too sensitive to changes on the bike"
"Bagnaia is not the best rider on the grid regardless of how many races and championships he has won, everything has to be perfect for him where other riders take their chances when things are not perfect".


Personally I think Bags is shiting himself about next year - if the 25 Duc is the best bike on the grid and MM gels with it, he is going to struggle to win a race v MM.

[Grumph]

Comments from the media:
"Martin thought that last overtake was a bit aggressive - the problem is the new bunch of riders have not really seen the MM of 5 years ago - this is how an Alien rides, and for the first time in a long time the old MM has reappeared"
"MM was .4 of a second faster than Martin for the last 2 laps"

See my post above. An aggressive pass pushing Martin wide made him realise how much he had to lose by fighting MM.

Martin basically surrendered at that point.

Sensible. That may have given him the Championship.

[iYRe]

See my post above. An aggressive pass pushing Martin wide made him realise how much he had to lose by fighting MM.

Martin basically surrendered at that point.

Sensible. That may have given him the Championship.

Yep, various people were saying the same, Bagnaia thinks he can win on upcoming tracks but at least one of em is a lefty heh.

[sugilite:Me]

What I heard from a mystery motogp insider was that when MM tested Martins bike at the end of year 2023 test, he was faster than Martin on it. Ducati went ohhhh shit. Previously the satellite teams got last years bike as it was fully developed at the end of the year before. However, this time they got the GP23 as it was in its initial development state as at the start of the previous season. Think GP23.1, instead of say GP23.12. I also remember that the GP23 initially was not that greatest and took a month or two of development to come good. To me this explains why VR46 teamsters and MM were not right on the pace from the get go and are largely still struggling. It also makes sense to me now after hearing all that, as to why MM's threatening to go somewhere else unless he gets the factory ride was a successful strategy. The same source told me that the Aprillia is actually a lot better bike than it's current riders are showing, and I'm sure the thought of MM on one of those would of made Gigi's blood run cold. Hence the "surprise" MM signing. Hmmmmm
P.S. MM is basically the only Alien left, Pedro is an Alien in training

[Grumph]

There is one other alien at work. Toprak Razgatlioglu.

If BMW don't realise what they've got and bring forward their MotoGP entry, they're going to lose him.

[iYRe]

The same source told me that the Aprillia is actually a lot better bike than it's current riders are showing, and I'm sure the thought of MM on one of those would of made Gigi's blood run cold. Hence the "surprise" MM signing. Hmmmmm
P.S. MM is basically the only Alien left, Pedro is an Alien in training

The new dude on Crash, Lewis or something (seems to know his stuff) was saying the same thing... MM on the Aprilia or even the KTM is likely to still be up there and stealing points and wins. Enough so that it would make it hard for Ducati. After all, he was 3-5 and even won a couple on a bike no one could get in the top 15 on.

Agree about Pedro.. give him another year and he's gonna be awesome. I reckon MM will win the championship next year then retire.

[BMWST?]

The new dude on Crash, Lewis or something (seems to know his stuff) was saying the same thing... MM on the Aprilia or even the KTM is likely to still be up there and stealing points and wins. Enough so that it would make it hard for Ducati. After all, he was 3-5 and even won a couple on a bike no one could get in the top 15 on.

Agree about Pedro.. give him another year and he's gonna be awesome. I reckon MM will win the championship next year then retire.

If he wins next year I reckon he will go 1 more

[SaferRides]

Apart from Friday morning (we waited in a cafe for the rain to stop), it was a great weekend to be there. Watching Marquez going through Turn 1 less than a bike length behind Martin was pretty amazing.

What you don't get from the TV coverage is the scale of the track, possibly because they are using extreme telephoto lenses to get close ups of the bikes. It is actually a long way from Turn 3 to 4 and they are going very fast when they start braking.

There are also a lot of elevation changes. Stoner is a downhill corner, so it takes some bravery to get hard on the gas exiting the corner.

The runoff areas are much deeper than last time I was there, which I'm sure Vinales and Bastianini were very grateful for. The unfortunate effect of this is you are further back from the track, especially in some of the stands. But there are still some great places to spectate, such as Siberia.

Certainly worth making the effort to get to, but be prepared for extreme weather conditions.

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[F5 Dave]

Used to go to Lukey heights but Siberia yes I think it is best. Big screens mean you catch rest of action as well.

Take a tarpaulin to wrap around you if on grandstand.

[BMWST?]

Certainly worth making the effort to get to, but be prepared for extreme weather conditions.

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Went there in 89. It RAINED. We were on a tour and we camped near the track.All the tents were already up.We were fairly early which means we could pick a tent where there wasnt water in the tent. Great weekend.We could walk around the whole track.On Sunday morning there was a group of 4 or 5 of us. Two of us just made a run for turn 3,whilst the other carried all the stuff.We were able to set up right on the fence.

[SaferRides]

Went there in 89. It RAINED. We were on a tour and we camped near the track.All the tents were already up.We were fairly early which means we could pick a tent where there wasnt water in the tent. Great weekend.We could walk around the whole track.On Sunday morning there was a group of 4 or 5 of us. Two of us just made a run for turn 3,whilst the other carried all the stuff.We were able to set up right on the fence.

And it gets Really Muddy after the rain. I packed a pair of tramping boots, which I wore every day.

We were concerned about getting out of the car park afterwards, but it wasn't a problem. They've had years of experience of bad weather!

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[iYRe]

This is quite interesting. Got a giggle at the end when Martin says if he dies on the helicopter, you guys wont ride and let me win the championship.. MM just looks down and goes ahhh.. heh

(link is here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ALbhp4VZdE)