MotoGP 2019

**george formby** · 6th April 2019, 10:58

Originally Posted by roogazza

Ducati have an insane speed advantage, like 2007 and of course now WSB Ducs seems to also have that same advantage?????

True dat. It's a bit disheartening watching them ding dong through the twisty bits and then the Duc just blats away on the straight.

Dovi's comment that he struggled following Rossi and needed to be in front to control the pace was interesting. I'm not entirely sure what he was struggling with.

**BMWST?** · 6th April 2019, 20:35

Originally Posted by roogazza

Ducati have an insane speed advantage, like 2007 and of course now WSB Ducs seems to also have that same advantage?????

the Hondas are very nearly as fast this year(top sppeeds posted from argentina

35 Cal CRUTCHLOW GBR LCR Honda CASTROL HONDA 334.4 Free Practice Nr. 2
43 Jack MILLER AUS Pramac Racing DUCATI 333.7 Free Practice Nr. 3
93 Marc MARQUEZ SPA Repsol Honda Team HONDA 333.6 Free Practice Nr. 2
41 Aleix ESPARGARO SPA Aprilia Racing Team Gresini APRILIA 332.4 Free Practice Nr. 2
44 Pol ESPARGARO SPA Red Bull KTM Factory Racing KTM 331.3 Free Practice Nr. 24
Andrea DOVIZIOSO ITA Mission Winnow Ducati DUCATI 331.2 Free Practice Nr. 2
99 Jorge LORENZO SPA Repsol Honda Team HONDA 330.9 Free Practice Nr. 1
17 Karel ABRAHAM CZE Reale Avintia Racing DUCATI 330.7 Free Practice Nr. 2
9 Danilo PETRUCCI ITA Mission Winnow Ducati DUCATI 330.3 Warm Up
36 Joan MIR SPA Team SUZUKI ECSTAR SUZUKI 330.1 Free Practice Nr. 2
63 Francesco BAGNAIA ITA Pramac Racing DUCATI 329.6 Free Practice Nr. 3
42 Alex RINS SPA Team SUZUKI ECSTAR SUZUKI 329.5 Free Practice Nr. 2
53 Tito RABAT SPA Reale Avintia Racing DUCATI 329.2 Free Practice Nr. 3
46 Valentino ROSSI ITA Monster Energy Yamaha MotoG YAMAHA 328.6 Free Practice Nr. 2
12 Maverick VIÑALES SPA Monster Energy Yamaha MotoG YAMAHA 328.5 Free Practice Nr. 2
30 Takaaki NAKAGAMI JPN LCR Honda IDEMITSU HONDA 328.3 Free Practice Nr. 2
29 Andrea IANNONE ITA Aprilia Racing Team Gresini APRILIA 327.1 Free Practice Nr. 2
21 Franco MORBIDELLI ITA Petronas Yamaha SRT YAMAHA 327.0 Free Practice Nr. 2
20 Fabio QUARTARARO FRA Petronas Yamaha SRT YAMAHA 326.8 Free Practice Nr. 3
5 Johann ZARCO FRA Red Bull KTM Factory Racing KTM 326.3 Free Practice Nr. 2
88 Miguel OLIVEIRA POR Red Bull KTM Tech 3 KTM 324.9 Free Practice Nr. 3
55 Hafizh SYAHRIN MAL Red Bull KTM Tech 3 KTM 324.7 Free Practice Nr. 3

**pritch** · 7th April 2019, 08:58

Originally Posted by roogazza

and of course now WSB Ducs seems to also have that same advantage?????

Well, one of them does.

**AllanB** · 7th April 2019, 15:56

Originally Posted by george formby

Dovi's comment that he struggled following Rossi and needed to be in front to control the pace was interesting. I'm not entirely sure what he was struggling with.

His balls? Rossis were larger on the day.

I still don't know why I dislike MM. Probably because I'm a old school Rossi fan and want him to win one more season before retiring. I liked Rossis comment about 'riding like when he was young'.

**Grumph** · 7th April 2019, 16:50

Young Gardner is impressive. Some riders take a while to adapt to more power, some lap it up and ask for more.
I think we've seen which he is, impressive.

Rossi's comment as quoted above shall be my new mantra - I'll ride like I did when he was young, LOL.

**husaberg** · 7th April 2019, 17:16

Originally Posted by george formby

True dat. It's a bit disheartening watching them ding dong through the twisty bits and then the Duc just blats away on the straight.

Dovi's comment that he struggled following Rossi and needed to be in front to control the pace was interesting. I'm not entirely sure what he was struggling with.

if you look at the highlights esp the helicopter shots the Ducati was trying to rurn the track into a series of straights.
As it was seemingly nowhere near as maneuverable as a bus compared to the Yamaha.
some of that maybe trying to utilize the speed advantage of the duke.
top Speed imo isn't as relevant as acceleration out of corners. there are many many more corners and only one top speed straight
Yamaha cant match the others in acceleration either at the moment. The Honda's are in a league of their own at the moment.

One thing i missed was te Yamaha is real stable under brakes.

**SaferRides** · 7th April 2019, 21:39

Originally Posted by george formby

True dat. It's a bit disheartening watching them ding dong through the twisty bits and then the Duc just blats away on the straight.

Dovi's comment that he struggled following Rossi and needed to be in front to control the pace was interesting. I'm not entirely sure what he was struggling with.

That track has real corners, like Phillip Island. The Ducati can't stay on the edge of its tyres on a sweeping corner. All the power in the world doesn't help if you can't actually ride around the corners, in fact it may be part of the problem.

The Yamaha you see today is really JLo's bike and loves sweeping corners. Rossi still has what it takes, and can make that bike work well as long as the rear survives. Plus for some reason, Dovi is struggling to make the rear last the race like he could last year. So once Rossi got in front and opened a gap, Dovi could not get close enough to pass.

I'm probably totally wrong, but that's how it looked to me.

Suzuki need a top rider and a few more hp. Then they could win the championship because that bike can turn like nothing else. I could not believe the lines that Rins could take, even compared to the Honda.

**george formby** · 8th April 2019, 08:46

Originally Posted by SaferRides

That track has real corners, like Phillip Island. The Ducati can't stay on the edge of its tyres on a sweeping corner. All the power in the world doesn't help if you can't actually ride around the corners, in fact it may be part of the problem.

The Yamaha you see today is really JLo's bike and loves sweeping corners. Rossi still has what it takes, and can make that bike work well as long as the rear survives. Plus for some reason, Dovi is struggling to make the rear last the race like he could last year. So once Rossi got in front and opened a gap, Dovi could not get close enough to pass.

I'm probably totally wrong, but that's how it looked to me.

Suzuki need a top rider and a few more hp. Then they could win the championship because that bike can turn like nothing else. I could not believe the lines that Rins could take, even compared to the Honda.

Pretty sure Suzuki just need the ponies. Rins is riding the nuts off it. He's the under dog I'm cheering this season.

**Autech** · 8th April 2019, 09:45

Originally Posted by SaferRides

Suzuki need a top rider and a few more hp. Then they could win the championship because that bike can turn like nothing else. I could not believe the lines that Rins could take, even compared to the Honda.

Rins and Mir are 2 of the most exciting riders to enter Motogp in a long time (Bar Olivera who's a god, they're lucky he's on a sat KTM and not a Sat Yamaha)
Mir might very well be the next one to raise the bar to a new level and I think Rins is still really only just a Rookie as his first year was so badly hampered by a bad engine and injury. They are very strong pair of riders on a bike which is looking very good. I foresee Vinales having to compete for his seat from either of those chaps if he can't fix his early race pace.

Originally Posted by george formby

Pretty sure Suzuki just need the ponies. Rins is riding the nuts off it. He's the under dog I'm cheering this season.

Yup as soon as they reach a track without the big straights Rins is gunna smoke em, looking forward to it! No amount of controlling the pace from Dovi will stop that boy from putting it up the inside of him on a long corner and fucking off. Still got to beat Marquez though on a Honda which turns well and has a rocket engine, going to be tough but will be an interesting race to watch.

I wonder if Suzuki might be able to get on the podium at COTA? Got some really knarly corners on that track which the Suzuki should like, as long as he's not hampered by the Dukes on the straights they might be in for a shot at 2nd place.

**SaferRides** · 8th April 2019, 10:57

Yes, Rins and Mir have lots of potential, but neither has experience yet. Now JLo on that bike would be interesting.

Apparently it hasn't stopped raining in Austin this spring, so a wet race is a real possibility.