MotoGP 2026

[iYRe]

Conditions were probably at there best as there is so much rubber down. Bez and Ogura were impressive tho. Is Marc sandbagging a bit re his fitness? No doubt he was crook though.

Yeah Bez was at the end of the day and MM/etc was earlier - I think Marc was like pretty early in the testing.

I think Marc will just be doing enough to get him in the top 3 or top 5, and knowing he has more.

I am also pretty sure the only reasons he'll do 2027 is if he doesnt win this year, he doesnt crash badly, or he wins this year and still feels good. Its harder to recover, and each injury means he loses some more, has to adapt more just to be fast. It really is a testament to the guy that he has got this far TBH.

[pritch]

What you!!!?
[Shit eating grin beaming back from MM].

BANG BANG BANG as they play dodgems.

But I won't see it unless youtube..

I did see short clips of the 24hr on YouTube. There was a distinctly hairy incident on the mountain and the marshals seemed to be missing in action. There was an incident which left damaged cars on the track. Then when one was trying to turn to face in the right direction he was hit hard by another car arriving at speed. This left an injured driver crawling across the track just around a blind bend. He had to do it without help from the marshals. His car was on fire but it seemed to take minutes for someone to grab an extinguisher.

I know the Marshalls basically do the job for a cut lunch but this clip could be used to teach how not do it. I mentioned this to a former Motorcycling NZ official half expecting an argument but he said there had been a lot of comment about the lack lustre performance of the marshals in this incident.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UC0-R_cqWqQ

[F5 Dave]

They were waving flags but the important bit is what happened 3 corners before..

I waved flags as Raymond Roche blew his Dooklattery sky high. At a Superbike manfield round.

[iYRe]

Let the racing begini

[SaferRides]

Well, that was interesting. Worth a watch, especially the last 10-15 minutes.

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[SaferRides]

Great quali! So good to have MotoGP back.

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[jato]

Fair call by simon - mm is such a good tactician but that was a bit over the top

[jato]

... and those idiot comentators telling us in the early stages that pedro would be happy to crash out trying...

[iYRe]

... and those idiot comentators telling us in the early stages that pedro would be happy to crash out trying...

Pedro seemed surprised that Mark was penalised.
The only little contact that happened was after Acosta knew he was there, and it was acosta turning in when it happened.

I can only assume it was for "overly aggressive" riding. But if that was the case there were a lot of other overtakes that were just as aggressive from a plethora of riders lol

[diesel pig]

Pedro seemed surprised that Mark was penalised.
The only little contact that happened was after Acosta knew he was there, and it was acosta turning in when it happened.

I can only assume it was for "overly aggressive" riding. But if that was the case there were a lot of other overtakes that were just as aggressive from a plethora of riders lol

I think the Pedro and Mark thing has alot more to do with the Team Managers than them. After all what they are racing for is all most worth a sleep station!*

* the people that know what that means will get it.

[jato]

gracious response from pedro but a very late lunge that ran wide ... we all love an intense battle but imo that move left unchecked would of shortchanged pedro

[iYRe]

SOme of the other riders comments:

Acosta himself admitted he didn't expect Marquez to receive a penalty, while the factory Ducati rider criticized the timing of the penalty, which he said made it difficult to regain the position.Fabio Quartararo, a factory Yamaha rider, emphasized that although Marquez missed the apex and forced Acosta off the track, he did not exceed track limits. "I can understand the penalty. But also, Marc was still on the track; it was within the limits," said the 2021 champion. "I think it was a block pass. For me, it was absolutely clean. And I also took into account where he ended up on the track. It's 50-50. It depends on which way you look at it."
Meanwhile, Trackhouse's Raul Fernandez, who was right behind Marquez and Acosta as they battled for the win, felt the penalty was unnecessary. "I don't like to get involved in this kind of talk, but this is MotoGP," he said. "They showed a lot of respect. You have a problem with these modern MotoGP bikes, which is that if you're in a wheelie, you can't change direction."
VR46's Fabio di Giannantonio, who was eliminated from the podium contention after a separate incident with Gresini's Alex Marquez, emphasized that contact between riders is part of MotoGP and that it's important to let them race closely together. "This is my view on racing in general, not the racing incident [between Marquez and Acosta]," he said. "We have to push each other, we have to hit each other's fairings. We have to throw elbows, on the track, between the white lines – and think about the safety of the other rider within those limits."
Pramac rider Jack Miller, who had previously criticized the stewards for his penalty, reiterated his views on the incident between Marquez and Acosta. "You know my view on it from last year in Valencia was pretty clear," he said.
Marquez's former Honda teammate, Joan Mir, added: "If Marc's maneuvers are always penalized from now on, fine. What I don't like is the inconsistency. I understand, because after contact, the other rider goes off the track."

Interesting.

[jim.cox]

Three Now seem to be carrying the races again this season :yay:
Have not watched it yet, but Thailand is available

[sugilite:Me]

It will be interesting to see if this was just a 2006 "Aprillia" track and the usual Ducati cup show of the past few years is set to resume at the next track, or do they finally have a serious challenge from Aprillia on their hands. I hope it is the latter.

[iYRe]

It will be interesting to see if this was just a 2006 "Aprillia" track and the usual Ducati cup show of the past few years is set to resume at the next track, or do they finally have a serious challenge from Aprillia on their hands. I hope it is the latter.

I think the heat was a big issue.. apart from marc there was several other bikes that their rims buckled. I guess he just hot the curb harder. Bez looked like he was riding on an ice rink at the end of the race too.. very hard on those tyres.