2018 MOTOGP Season ****SPOILER ALERT*** *****WARNING - SPOILER *******

[The Black Knight]

Yeah this has bad juju all over it, Rossi is trying to force their hand. It’s incredible that each round it gets worse and worse and worse for these guys, damn shame that now they sit in satellite and Aprilia territory.

Only thing with trying to force the hand that feeds, is they might get a little irritated at being made to look like fools and Rossi may well find himself out of a contract next year. Not that he would care, he's got the accomplishments to go with this career, so really I don't think he'd be all that bothered by it. Especially if he has to ride another turd for the next two years.

This could be the first shot across the bow from Rossi. Basically telling Yamaha fix this POS or I walk.

I myself don't like seeing this stuff happen because it means that things are starting to sour from within, and that's never a good thing. If a team constantly battles and you can see them doing their best. Then that at least says they are working towards the future with solutions. But when you get a rider and team starting to just give up, then it tells me there is more going on behind the scenes. Which is why I think right now, someone(or several people, Rossi included) are getting their butts chewed for all this.

[madvlad]

http://www.motogp.com/en/news/2018/0...nalties/272344

Man and viñales can’t catch a break again

[The Black Knight]

http://www.motogp.com/en/news/2018/0...nalties/272344

Man and viñales can’t catch a break again

Yeah from bad to worse for Factory Yamaha. This second half of the season has been straight ass for this team. Sure hope they can pick up some pieces and at least finish strong with some podiums. Wins are a forgone conclusion at this point.

[madvlad]

Even podiums at this point are a far fetched idea for these two very unfortunately, some literal mechanical miracle would have to happen for them to even finish anywhere near top 5 tomorrow.

[madvlad]

As usual the salvage party by Rossi come race day, not a bad result considering the weekend he had and also for Viñales finding a little something late there. How about Aleix Espargaro? What a ride by the dude even though he despises that GP18RS bike. Not a bad race but rather boring till the end, the Suzuki duo did a damn good job at hanging in there. Bummer for Lorenzo and hope the dislocated toe is all the damage there is after that crazy high side

[The Black Knight]

As usual the salvage party by Rossi come race day, not a bad result considering the weekend he had and also for Viñales finding a little something late there. How about Aleix Espargaro? What a ride by the dude even though he despises that GP18RS bike. Not a bad race but rather boring till the end, the Suzuki duo did a damn good job at hanging in there. Bummer for Lorenzo and hope the dislocated toe is all the damage there is after that crazy high side

The last part of the race was good and there was some nice back and forth between top 4. Overall Aragon is never that great of a track.

Rossi did well to take some spots back and had decent pace. I think that his crappy qualifying position was a smack to Yamaha, because come race day he just showed Yamaha what he can do when he puts his mind to it(even though 8th is nothing to be happy about)Now he just needs a bike to get him to the front.

Yeah Lorenzo's high side was nasty. Just got launched into orbit. I'm surprised he dislocated the toe, he landed basically on his face and shoulder. Espargaro did well with that pile that he's on. It should send Yamaha a message that they just got worked over by Suzuki, Aprilia and the satellite Ducati bikes(yeah Rossi did pass Miller two laps to go).

[madvlad]

Now Lorenzo is blaming Marc for his crash man this dude is such a clown, it’s okay to admit you made a mistake twatwaffle more like you got on the gas too early and off line dummy, this guy man....

[The Black Knight]

Now Lorenzo is blaming Marc for his crash man this dude is such a clown, it’s okay to admit you made a mistake twatwaffle more like you got on the gas too early and off line dummy, this guy man....

Yeah I didn't see contact. Just both of them going wide and it ended up with Lorenzo flying through the air. Looks to be a classic highside and it happens in racing.

What gets me are the idiots over on crash.net comparing this incident to the one in Argentina between Marquez and Rossi. I don't see how either of these incidents are alike. Today, they both went wide but no contact and Lorenzo lost it. In Argentina, Marquez actually hit Rossi and caused him to run very wide and onto the grass. Resulting in Rossi going down.

It gets old reading all the BS. Some of the commenters have good substance and are informative. Others are just so douchy and it's painful to read what they write.

[madvlad]

Yeah I can’t take anyone from crash.net seriously this why I don’t even bother with anything crash.net related, those people over there are seriously lacking brain cells. Marquez was already diving into the apex before Lorenzo took the wider line, love it how Lorenzo automatically blames Marc for what? You being impatient and getting on the gas instead of maybe standing the bike up and running wide instead knowing that he was coming in insanely hot? Typical Lorenzo reaction, always easier to blame others instead of accepting the fuck up . Love it how on the MotoGP site video he mentions “the mistake in Misano is all my fault but this is all Marc’s fault and he cost me everything” ummm well yeah you losing the front is of course your fault dummy, that’s all you or who were you looking to blame on that one? This one isn’t much different hate to tell you there Mr. Hothead

[blaircsf]

FP2 probably didn't help his toe

[madvlad]

Dude that high side was insane

[Mother Goose]

Did he blame Bradley for this one?

[madvlad]

Did he blame Bradley for this one?

Maybe, im sure he will say Bradley got a banana peel at the box and he threw it forward and caused him to crash

[The Black Knight]

just confirmed in FP3, Lorenzo is out. Now has a left wrist injury.

[The Black Knight]

Have to see what happens tomorrow for the race, but looks like Yamaha may have found something. Rossi is fast in Sector 3 and dominating everyone in Sector 4, and was just narrowly beat by Marquez for pole. Even Vinales snagged 4th for qualifying. FWIW, Rossi and Marquez are both 2/10's faster than everyone on the grid.

I think what is helping is the fact that a new track may be leveling everyone out. Or my theory, going over how the weekend has gone for Yamaha. I think they may be starting to make that break through with their software. Vinales even mentioned they are trying things now that they should have tried months ago. Also he's mentioned they've managed to change up the weight distribution on the bike and has led to better balance now.

Predictions for tomorrow, Rossi, Marquez and Dovi for the podium. Can't say who will win, as all three look fast and even Vinales has a shot in there as well.

One thing that is funny, even Crutchlow is saying he can't believe how Yamaha found one second per lap.

Which again, leads me to believe that they are starting to make some end roads into their electronics issues. Still early to call it and we'll see where they are at in Japan. But looks good for Yamaha at the moment. Let's just hope they are figuring things out and are back at the front. Getting boring with just Marquez and the Duc's up front.

[madvlad]

Yeah they definitely found a little something extra and haven’t seen smiles like that out of these guys in a while. Hope they can keep working in that way for sure. It’s going to be a hard fought race tomorrow but should be a good one since all manufacturers seem to be strong in different sectors and should make for a pretty even race.

[The Black Knight]

Solid race from all the front four. Yamaha made some progress and look to be almost there. Rossi I think may have burned up his tires while leading. You could tell he was wanting to see if he could break away and I think that's what did him in. He should have just conserved the tires til the end. I think he would have been more in the fight at the end(probably on the podium). Oh well, it's a good result for Yamaha and I'm sure they are looking to build on it.

Marquez did to Dovi what Dovi does to Marquez and it was a last corner lunge.

Overall a subdued race, not much fanfare and everyone made it without much issue. Other than Pedrosa who fell and Crutchlow who dropped back big time. All in all good race and hope this bodes well for Yamaha in the coming races. Finish strong is what I wanted to see out of them. I dare say, they may even bag a win or two by the end of the season if it keeps up like this. I'd say best chance for a Yamaha win would be Phillip Island and maybe Motegi. Sepang is just too big and very horsepower heavy. But, if they can hang with Ducati and Honda in this kind of heat in Thailand, then Sepang won't throw anything new their way. I'd say it's hotter in Thailand than in Malaysia(mainly due to they are racing in Thailand one month earlier).

Good race from everyone

[blaircsf]

That was a good race, I wonder what opinions on the track will be now that the weekend is done.

[madvlad]

Whatever they tweaked worked cause I know during the testing Yamaha was dreading coming back to ride here, hope they can carry forward with this momentum and finish strong. I still foresee Marquez sealing the championship next round though as the last couple years as he’s really clear away from both Dovi and Rossi and with four rounds remaining MM would have to DNF and or finish outside the top 10 to lose the title which we all know won’t happen. Rossi is 99 points behind already so yeah. That dude and HRC just have the magic formula and his domination is insane, Dovi turned it on a bit too late unfortunately but well what are you gonna do. Hope they keep giving us these entertaining races at least, top 4 were super close today and a good little scrap. Definitely nice seeing Yamaha up there again battling it out.

[The Black Knight]

That was a good race, I wonder what opinions on the track will be now that the weekend is done.

Same here, I know Yamaha were concerned about the long straights but after seeing most of the speeds through the speed traps, Yamaha was right there with everyone else. And that was with some tire spin. So I think Yamaha have a strong motor, and I think that's been the issue. Their engine just eats tires and looks to be in this race they are finally coming to terms with it.

Whatever they tweaked worked cause I know during the testing Yamaha was dreading coming back to ride here, hope they can carry forward with this momentum and finish strong. I still foresee Marquez sealing the championship next round though as the last couple years as he’s really clear away from both Dovi and Rossi and with four rounds remaining MM would have to DNF and or finish outside the top 10 to lose the title which we all know won’t happen. Rossi is 99 points behind already so yeah. That dude and HRC just have the magic formula and his domination is insane, Dovi turned it on a bit too late unfortunately but well what are you gonna do. Hope they keep giving us these entertaining races at least, top 4 were super close today and a good little scrap. Definitely nice seeing Yamaha up there again battling it out.

That is my thing. I know Yamaha(Rossi/Vinales) can't/won't win every race. But at least be competitive and be there at the sharp end. I think crossing the line within 3sec to the leader is a good target and lets you know you are there. But that garbage of 25+ seconds behind the leader showed that they as a leading manufacture were having problems. Even if Yamaha doesn't win a race this season, at least show you are there.

I'm with you, just give Marquez the crown now and get it over with. He's not going to lose this one and move on with the 2019 bikes.

[ock1]

How about the theory that Yamaha is the only factory who didn't hire Magneti Marelli spec software engineers to help cheat the software, and that the upcoming spec IMU rule is because the other factories have still been allowed to supply their own IMU 6-axis sensors with their own processing power that could be adding capabilities to the spec software? "In racing if you're not cheating you're not trying." Technically not cheating until the spec IMU rule is enforced.

I agree that the new track could be leveling the team performances. I remember some testing a long time ago, maybe indycar, where traction control wasn't allowed, and one guy's car got totally undriveable because he cut the track and it messed up engine control that had been programmed for each individual curve, maybe based on the odometer.

[madvlad]

How about the theory that Yamaha is the only factory who didn't hire Magneti Marelli spec software engineers to help cheat the software, and that the upcoming spec IMU rule is because the other factories have still been allowed to supply their own IMU 6-axis sensors with their own processing power that could be adding capabilities to the spec software? "In racing if you're not cheating you're not trying." Technically not cheating until the spec IMU rule is enforced.

I agree that the new track could be leveling the team performances. I remember some testing a long time ago, maybe indycar, where traction control wasn't allowed, and one guy's car got totally undriveable because he cut the track and it messed up engine control that had been programmed for each individual curve, maybe based on the odometer.

It isn’t a theory as they’re the only factory besides I believe KTM who didn’t go out and hire former magneti marelli engineers, it definitely will be interesting to see how the 2019 IMU rule plays out and how it will affect the other factories who have been technically cheating the rule over a technicality which is why it was re-written for next season.

[The Black Knight]

How about the theory that Yamaha is the only factory who didn't hire Magneti Marelli spec software engineers to help cheat the software, and that the upcoming spec IMU rule is because the other factories have still been allowed to supply their own IMU 6-axis sensors with their own processing power that could be adding capabilities to the spec software? "In racing if you're not cheating you're not trying." Technically not cheating until the spec IMU rule is enforced.

I agree that the new track could be leveling the team performances. I remember some testing a long time ago, maybe indycar, where traction control wasn't allowed, and one guy's car got totally undriveable because he cut the track and it messed up engine control that had been programmed for each individual curve, maybe based on the odometer.

As MadVlad said, it isn't a theory. It's an open secret that both Honda and Ducati poached employees from Magneti Marelli. Which in 2015 the compulsory software was actually being based off of the then Ducati(open class) software. So I'd say Ducati has probably the best experience with it. Honda just threw a ton of money at it and snagged some people that know how to manipulate it.

I honestly believe that either Yamaha didn't think they would need help with it, or that they believed everyone else was going to play fair and just deal with the standard ECU like they would. I agree, in racing if you're not cheating, you're not trying. And Honda knows this very well(I have my own 2006 championship theories, one being they had a hit out on Rossi, any Honda rider was to target Rossi, except the factory Repsol riders). Ducati poached engineers because they were the most hungry to get back in the game.

Suzuki is the one I can't explain other than I believe they have just figured it out on their own. Then again, doesn't surprise me with Suzuki they have a funny way making the best out of a situation. I've always been a huge fan of Suzuki and I believer are the tiny factory that could.

The track leveling thing I believe is playing a role. The Indy car example makes sense. I remember Crutchlow experienced the same thing a few years back(with the factory software). In that something on his bike went haywire and the bike didn't know where it was at. Back then, they used to map the bikes down to each corner of the track and if the bike deviated from that it really screwed them up. His bike somehow thought it was at a different part of the track and it wouldn't run right and kept giving him issues. In some parts of the track he'd get tons of power, and then on the straight he'd get reduced power.

I know this happens in Formula 1 as well. They are trying to move away from this kind of technology. But just watch an F1 race. You get real time timing from each car, the exact distance in time they are from the next care. The teams are on the radios constantly telling the drivers what the car is doing. Brake temps, trans temps or issues, engine performance or failures. Yeah, Formula 1 is completely fly by wire and it makes it boring. Sometimes it's fun to watch but most of the time it's a procession.


P.S.
I do think next years IMU restrictions will level the playing field somewhat. We may even see Yamaha be at the forefront of it all, as they've been dealing without having the knowledge of tweaking the IMU to the extent that everyone else does.

[blaircsf]

I don't think the spec IMU is going to make as big of a difference as some people think. The Yamaha MotoGP project leader has said he doesn't think so either http://www.bikesportnews.com/news/ne...ort-says-tsuya .

So for Marquez to lock up the championship he can't lose more than 2 points to Dovi or 24 to Rossi. If he wins the race or finishes in front of both it's championship #7, If Dovi wins it moves on. For Marquez to finish behind Dovi and still win it, they have to be 4th or lower. I guess we will see...