Quote Originally Posted by blaircsf View Post
Pretty sure MM was going to pole whether Rossi was in front or not. He probably gained a little bit following Rossi, but his first run time would of still been on the front row.



Everybody was going slower during the race. Looking at fastest lap differences between Q2 and the race:
93: 1.8s
46: 1.9s
12: 1.4s

So everyone slowed down by about the same amount. Between temperature changes and tire changes it's not hard to believe a 1 - 2 second difference across the board for all riders. When your competitors have a couple tenths or more per lap on you (both in qualifying and the race), it's hard to stay with them.
Right, and I get all that but it's not like in Formula 1. In Formula 1, they have ridiculous time spreads. They can qualify a good 4 or 5 seconds faster than what race pace come race day will be. To me that's just absurd. Why the massive deviations of lap times?? Just goes to show what the cars are capable of, but only during Q sessions and not the actual race. Which in turn, can mask a particular driver's either advantage or disadvantages.

You have one lap wonders that look to have tons of pace and then show up as big turds during the race.

MotoGP for instance though, tends to be a little more closer in times and more competitive. Rossi showed very good pace during the FP's and had a more than solid Q2 session. But come race day it all went backwards for him(which is usually not the case, it's the other way around, he sucks in Q2 and then has to chew his way forward). Yes, everyone goes slower during the race but they still maintain that strong pace they showed during the practice sessions. Rossi, seemed to have lost all the pace he had in the practice sessions. 11 seconds off the winner is not showing strong pace, that's getting your pee pee slapped big time(especially starting the race in P2).

Vinales showed way more consistency and speed throughout the race. Which again shows, he brought his pace with him come race day. Same as Marquez and Rins. Where the hell was Rossi at??

It just goes to show, that the Yamaha really is sucking hind tit in some key areas. Both Vinales and Rossi should have been there fighting for the win and podium. Vinales was close, but Rossi didn't have a sniff. I don't think Fabio would have been close either though, as he'd of fell back with Morbidelli, still ahead of Franco.