23' MotoGP/WSBK/MotoAmerica discussion thread **SPOILER ALERT**

[madvlad]

Much of the same for race two except with the Rossi like pass at the last turn by Toprak on Rinaldi, that was something! Gerloff had yet another decent finish but that bike is definitely light years from being anywhere to competitive, two DNF's for Redding and the fact that BMW are talking to Toprak's manager (Sofuoglu) tells you that Redding is for sure looking to leave and I'm sure VanDemarc is probably considering retirement given all of his recurring injuries and that BMW launching him to the moon every other race. I wasn't aware that Gerloff was on a two year deal and not only one as everyone thought so he's stuck on that pig for another season and doesn't seem like the new version is any better at all, doubt they'll convince Toprak to make the move over there and or keep Redding as I'm sure he's as checked out as it can be and you can tell by his body language. Now they go on about another month break and onto LeMans before GP also goes on a month break. That month is going to suck

[madvlad]

https://www.crash.net/wsbk/news/1025...s-yamaha-offer

Although I take things from crash.net with a grain of salt, IF indeed this true we may either see Toprak on a Ducati given that Rinaldi's seat will be up for grabs OR Toprak's move to MotoGP is imminent and maybe Morbidelli gets demoted to take his seat at WSBK.

[madvlad]

https://www.motogp.com/en/news/2023/...ez-wins/454554

Color me fucking shocked... NOT! I knew this would happen. They let this dude get away with anything, unfucking real. So now you get to kamikaze into people and get away from penalties... wow

[The Black Knight]

https://www.motogp.com/en/news/2023/...ez-wins/454554

Color me fucking shocked... NOT! I knew this would happen. They let this dude get away with anything, unfucking real. So now you get to kamikaze into people and get away from penalties... wow

Kind of figured it was coming. I think that's why he stayed out an extra race, just to prove a point that he's losing points by having to recover. I still think he should at least have to serve the penalty. This does set somewhat of a precedent for others. He's been slamming into riders for over 10 years and I think he's gotten away with it. Others will start slamming into him and other riders just because they see him do it, and figure why not.

Whatever, I really think Marquez is done after this year. He's not getting better and his health problems keep getting in the way. He can't perform at the level he once had. I still think he will be fast and still one of the fastest. But I think he's going to run into reality sooner or later that he can't ride the way he was accustomed too. Either Marquez will change his thinking and riding, or we will see another big crash from him and I think this time it will be career ending.

I'm looking forward to Le Mans this week. Be good to see Petrux back in the saddle even if he won't do much. Pecco needs to get his head screwed on straight again. He bags the points from the Sprints and then bins the main GP. Least last time he took the full 25.

Fabio is out to sea with the M1. He's going to have tracks where it will come alive but I think in its present form, the bike is no longer that strong of a contender. He can only ride it so much over the limit before he suffers a crash like Marquez.

I'd be surprised to see Toprak move up to MotoGP. Something is up with him at the moment. He's getting smoked by Bautista, and seems to have lost something. I think either he's trying to squeeze Yamaha(which I would do in a heartbeat) or he's got offers from other teams(BMW, Ducati?) If he comes to MotoGP that will be a surprise, as he wasn't very fast in the test. They may gamble with it and give him a shot. If he goes to the works Yamaha squad and they can't improve the bike. His career will end with that bike then.

[madvlad]

Hell of a start for KTM and Miller, been a serious crash fest already and with probable rain for tomorrow, who knows what kind of crazy shit is about to go down Sure hope Miller takes his first KTM win this weekend, looking very promising for him. Same old shit for Honda/Yamaha, no front end feel at all, multiple crashes, etc.

[madvlad]

Bummer for Miller, Binder never disappoints come race time, good battle between Pecco and Marquez there and honestly that's the most stable I've seen MM in a while, just glad there weren't any Kamikaze maneuvers and was some good, clean racing. Congrats to Martin on finally grabbing a W and it'll be a good confidence boosters. As for Yamaha, honestly is it beyond mind boggling what's happening to these guys. I think it's about time that Jarvis and Meregalli step aside honestly and allow fresh ideas to come in. Yamaha are literally stuck in every sense of the word and keep putting lipstick on a pig, that bike has been beyond outdated for some years now. Aprilia just keeps being Aprilia and MV being practice/qualifier present but come race time, nowhere to be seen. Onto tomorrow!

[The Black Knight]

Bummer for Miller, Binder never disappoints come race time, good battle between Pecco and Marquez there and honestly that's the most stable I've seen MM in a while, just glad there weren't any Kamikaze maneuvers and was some good, clean racing. Congrats to Martin on finally grabbing a W and it'll be a good confidence boosters. As for Yamaha, honestly is it beyond mind boggling what's happening to these guys. I think it's about time that Jarvis and Meregalli step aside honestly and allow fresh ideas to come in. Yamaha are literally stuck in every sense of the word and keep putting lipstick on a pig, that bike has been beyond outdated for some years now. Aprilia just keeps being Aprilia and MV being practice/qualifier present but come race time, nowhere to be seen. Onto tomorrow!

Binder is formidable when he's got everything dialed in. He's fast and seems to really like these Sprint races. I think the spring format plays to the strengths of the KTM. It allows them to run soft tires and extract the most of that bike. Pecco and Marquez were good and it was hard racing. I still think Marquez is riding over his abilities.

Yamaha's problem is they have this mindset that what they make works and they think their riders should just adapt. Which to a point is right, as there is no perfect bike but there has to be some thought put into the bike and feedback from the riders. Suzuki were able to make the inline 4 work, not sure what Yamaha's problem with it is. What I also think has affected the Yamaha more than the other bikes is the new era of aerodynamics. Just got back 7-10 years and the M1 was a race/title winning bike. Didn't need the aero and was a sweet package. I think the one area Yamaha can't seem to figure out is the compulsory ECU. Everyone else either just adapted to it or figured out ways around it. Yamaha seems to have issues with it. One thing I also think that has really screwed up the Yamaha are the tires. Bridgestone era M1 was a total beast on the brakes and in corners. Let's face it, there are more corners than straights in MotoGP. So having a bike that can carve up the competition is just as good as mass top speed. Sure outright speed helps but look at what Rossi did to Stoner once they got the M1 dialed in all those years ago. Sure different bike, different era but balance and agility wins the long game.

Aprilia are starting to remind me of Ferrari F1 2022. Start out the gates as being contenders and then come race day, their strategy and execution go right out the window. It's something inherent to Italian teams. Ferrari can have a rocket for a car but then their race strategy is something a 1st grader would come up with. I can't remember the race last year, but everyone was going out on slicks as the track was drying and slicks were usable and what does Ferrari do? Send out Leclerc on intermediates, and leaves everyone including their own drivers scratching their heads. Aprilia are the same way, super fast bike and quality well. Come race day, either the setup goes out the window or their riders just can't hack it. Too inconsistent for a top level MotoGP team. And anyone will tell you, consistency is what wins championships. You can be the fastest guy out there but if you can't bring it home then what's the point? There are times when I think Leclerc is faster than Verstappen, but you can almost set a watch to when Leclerc will end up losing it and crashing into the wall. Same with Vinales, hands down has always been one of the fastest guys out there. You could almost get take bets as to just home many places he will lose at the start come Race Day.

And you know what a lot of the problem is, there is just too much sh*t on these bikes for these guys to get it right every time come race start. I think all these riders could use some serious time spent at the drag strip. Working on perfecting their launches. Working with their settings and then getting the best launch. How many times have we seen the Aprilia have issues with their ride height device? That shouldn't be happening, ever. Either the software sucks, or the riders fat finger it and get the bike stuck in launch mode. Then the bike is unridable.

Again, I think there is just too much going on with these bikes these days. With F1 cars, there is plenty of room to put all the hardware/software and so forth. On a bike, there is only so much room to pack all that sh*t in there and sooner or later something goes wrong.

Let's home for a good full race tomorrow

[madvlad]

First and foremost have to mention the record attendance of 278,805 fans which is absolutely astonishing, the atmosphere seemed amazing out there. The race, well shit where to start .... Goddamn it Miller, so hard to hate that mofo man but first the tire choice wasn't the right one, always pushing super hard and cooked those soft tires very early but man if he shows promise, sure hope he lands at least a win one of these days. Binder always delivers, even though his shitty start but clawed his way back up even though people crashed in front of him but well not his fault, he still showed great pace and is up there for the title fight. As much as I dislike MM BUT a fair shoutout to him for riding like a bat out of hell, giving it all to stay at the front but also without the kamikaze bullshit, sucks he overdid it there to keep up with Martin but definitely got a little too eager on that one but again, no harm no foul in trying the right way. Bummer for Rins/Mir who keep suffering even with the new chassis, MM is the only one who can ride that thing out of whack, they still have a long way to go just as Yamaha does as well, won't even go much into it with them, only thing is that Fabio decided to opt for the 2021 settings and hope for the best, yet another disaster of a weekend for them. Sort of a mixed weekend for Ducati, Martin and Bezzechi capitalize (guess Zarco as well with a podium but only due to MM's crash) while others falter. AM starting to show signs of desperation, ran everyone wide at T3 and starting to ride a little erratic honestly which sucks. That clash between him and Marini was scary as shit, it gave me flashbacks to Simoncelli's crash in Sepang when he tried to save the bike the same way but ended up getting collected, this was a very lucky break for both riders honestly and they got missed by mere inches. Now going into the Pecco and Maverick incident, I mean hell, there's been people arguing in all kinds of forums back and forth but honestly when you observe it in an objective manner, it is nothing more than a race incident. MV passed, ran wide, Pecco saw the gap at the apex, went for it while MV cut back to the apex aggressively trying to get the bike back in front and cost them both. Mav had great pace coming up and would have honestly been nice to see if he could have crossed the line with that thing near the podium places finally and well it cost Pecco some serious points mainly with both Binder and Bezzechi scoring big, that puts the title fight back on. Glad to have seen the French fans at least get to see one of their home heroes podium. Notable performance for this weekend has been Augusto Fernandez on that GASGAS KTM, gave AE a run for his money and finished in front, that's rather impressive honestly given his inexperience but seems like he's been making some great strides since the great result at COTA.

Well another month of boredom is among us although for the top classes but I sure hope that MotoAmerica is able to provide us with some good entertainment this upcoming weekend in Alabama like in their opening round battles, which were amazing! Onto the next rounds!

[madvlad]

Pecco under fire from a lot of people due to his comments on satellite teams...

https://www.crash.net/motogp/news/10...llite-nonsense

[madvlad]

Gagne wins race 1 at BMP

https://www.motoamerica.com/gagne-wi...orsports-park/

[madvlad]

Bombshell news out of WSBK this morning, Toprak to leave Yamaha for BMW...

https://www.worldsbk.com/en/news/202...m%20for%202024

I can't say I had played this scenario even in the wildest of thoughts, can't imagine the kind of ridiculous money BMW threw his way to convince him to cut ties with Yamaha, also the MotoGP move was honestly a very far fetched thought this late in his career. I was expecting Ducati to sign him honestly. That most likely means that Redding is out and leaves his future in limbo (maybe he takes Toprak seat at Yamaha or maybe back to BSB?). Also feel for Gerloff hearing these news as the same dipshit that fucked up his step at Yamaha, will now be in the same team, so much for Gerloff being able to move ahead without having to tip top around this asshole now, hopefully BMW won't be as dumb as Yamaha was in this matter.

[The Black Knight]

Pecco under fire from a lot of people due to his comments on satellite teams...

https://www.crash.net/motogp/news/10...llite-nonsense

I know, I saw that. Surprised considering he came up through the ranks with satellite teams. Think he's having some pressure issues again.

Bombshell news out of WSBK this morning, Toprak to leave Yamaha for BMW...

https://www.worldsbk.com/en/news/202...m%20for%202024

I can't say I had played this scenario even in the wildest of thoughts, can't imagine the kind of ridiculous money BMW threw his way to convince him to cut ties with Yamaha, also the MotoGP move was honestly a very far fetched thought this late in his career. I was expecting Ducati to sign him honestly. That most likely means that Redding is out and leaves his future in limbo (maybe he takes Toprak seat at Yamaha or maybe back to BSB?). Also feel for Gerloff hearing these news as the same dipshit that fucked up his step at Yamaha, will now be in the same team, so much for Gerloff being able to move ahead without having to tip top around this asshole now, hopefully BMW won't be as dumb as Yamaha was in this matter.

Oh I'm sure BMW will be just as asinine as Yamaha with Toprak and Gerloff. Here's the thing, that BMW is a turd and not that the Yamaha is light years ahead of it, but it is a winning bike. But like alot of racers, I think they start to chase money when they know their ability to chase championships is coming to an end. Why not? Get paid and still be somewhat of a factor and then when you're ready, just retire. Lorenzo did it with Ducati and then just collected a nice small bonus from Honda and was out.

Torpak is just not fast enough for MotoGP. There's a reason why Bautista came to WSBK. He just wasn't fast enough for MotoGP anymore.

I think if Toprak made it to MotoGP, he would be the next human torpedo. He loves to use the brakes late but once he gets to the top with the fastest guys, he's going to see he's not that fast anymore. Then he will be desperate and start to use his late braking to keep up. Then that's when it would all go wrong and he'd start crashing into guys. He already does it to an extent in WSBK. He'd be Marquez 2.0 in terms of crashing into other riders.

[madvlad]

The Ducati domination continues in WSBK as well, Bautista took yet another win and Rinaldi got 2nd with a hell of a race, probably as good as we've seen him ride in a while. Bummer for Petrucci losing the front end, would have been a hell of a result for the Barni Racing team. Good scrap in between Rae and Aegerter there, if Domi keeps riding like that he will most likely take Toprak's bike next season (unless Morbidelli ends up making it over to WSBK, rumors keep getting hotter and hotter on that end). Bummer result for Gerloff as well, he had great pace but that red flag due to the BMW engine blowing during qualifiers screwed a lot of riders but all the BMW riders specially, if Gerloff would have been able to start much further up, he would have been scrapping it up there a bit for a much better position. We'll see what goes down in race 2 tomorrow!

MotoAmerica - BMW's are flying this weekend over there at Road America, Yamaha is struggling badly, race is currently ongoing but looks like Gagne crashed cause saw his name tumbling down the timing list as I'm posting this and looks like Cameron has a pretty commanding lead there after battling it out a bit with Herrin. Looks like race has been red flagged with 4 laps to go which would pretty much finish the race, looks like BMW 1-2 on this one and Herrin 3rd. Impressive outing by Rich Escalante on that Suzuki, he's hauling ass this season and inching closer every round, be cool to see someone else from the privateer teams scrapping up there besides Scholtz

[madvlad]

Another yet rather boring outing at WSBK, only action came from nearly everyone from MotoGP being there and Petrucci getting the MM syndrome by going kamikaze and clattering into everyone this weekend. Bautista cleared off with a single pass after Toprak tried to stay at the front but it was all futile, there is simply no one that can stop this dude in that paddock at the moment, the gap was like 10+ secs at the end. It's starting to look like another early championship wrap for Ducati and Bautista, it is all theirs to lose and what is even more sad is that he's probably not even riding at the limit when everyone else is. Given that the only one that can somewhat give him a bit of a run for his money is moving to a crap bike next year and Rae/Kawasaki getting worse as the seasons go on, I am sure it'll be a triple title for this dude to wrap up his riding career. While I give kudos to Da'Ligna and his crew for developing such a monster brand/bike BUT it's hurting the sport and given that there is no manufacturer out there that can keep up with the kind of of R&R $$$$ that Ducati are spewing out throughout racing, this will be some of the more boring seasons we will have for a while before some serious investing comes (and IF it does given the world stage monetary wise right now isn't looking too hot even for the wealthy) into other manufacturers, almost like when Rae was dominating along with some mid-pack battles but about it. They had an interview with Dosoli a few days ago and he said that they were looking into investors and although he made it seem sort of not urgent but it's a sign that Yamaha is hurting financially and too many things point towards that. At the pace they're going, not making great strides at either WSBK/GP and paying absurd salaries, I am sure we may see them exit the stage in the next few years just like Suzuki opted to do and hit the reset button, they just simply can't keep up and when they had the budget they chose not to do shit with it to keep developing and got complacent, now they're paying the price, gotta pay to play as they say..... Not a bad end to the weekend for Gerloff, finished 9th on both superpole race and race 2 being the top BMW all weekend, he's having the Maverick syndrome, great pace but horrible race starts, he seems to be getting on alright with that BMW, hope they can keep making steps forward as the season continues. Onto Donnington Park for the next round in another 3 weeks or some shit like that, we'll see what more embarrassment Ducati can bring to the rest of the field there

[madvlad]

AAAAAAND the big boys are back at Mugello this weekend. Looks like mostly everyone in the original team line ups is back for this round even though a few a bit beat up. Dovi has MotoGP HOF/Legend status now. Marc Marquez hinting at a possible move if things align given things at HRC are falling apart and I'm betting his first option will be Ducati now that his brother is there (wonder if Ducati pulled a page off the HRC book and used the younger brother to hook him in ) Should be a great and action filled race weekend across all classes, can't wait! Let's go racing!

[madvlad]

The field is incredibly close after today, MM back to his bullshit mind games and towing strategies to stay relevant which is ridiculous and I'm sure back for more of that bs tomorrow during Q2. Aleix and Oliveira will be good for the sprint race but will most likely suffer quite a bit during the full distance race with the injuries. Enea making some good steps and Yamaha going backwards as usual.

[The Black Knight]

All I know is this is four GP's in which Marquez has crashed out. So something's got to be wrong with the guy. I think he's losing it and trying to keep pace with the new batch of aliens. Can't say as I feel bad whatsoever that he's crashing and maybe his past is finally catching up with him. Oh well it all balances out.

In fact:
(in Thanos voice)
"fun in something one considers when balancing the universe, but this... does put a smile on my face.."

[madvlad]

Not a bad race, great start from Miller but bummer he couldn't stay with it. Hell of a job from Martin and managing to always be there and stay consistent, been a minute from him and those 20 points help him huge so stay in the title fight. Good result for AE given his pain and all, brought it home. Yamaha still in the shitter and sinking deeper by the day, you can tell both riders just about have it. Also speaking of that, did see the interview and the jab at Yamaha from Morbidelli, that was rather interesting and very awkward . Marquez brothers more on the run off than the asphalt lately, doesn't look great for either of them. AM pushed that soft tire too hard and it cost him and well MM took a huge gamble running that wide and into the dirty part of the track knowing that bike loves to wash out any chance it gets but guess I have to give it to him for at least trying even though he knows that it's all for nothing.

As far as the possible musical chairs for rides, this will be interesting after the summer break with so many rumors going on. Only way that MM and or Fabio exit their respective factory positions are to go into a satellite seat and even then that would be a long shot given the current state of contracts/openings. Only for sure movement is Fabio DiGannantonio is making way for Tony Arbolino next season but other than that, factories and their respective satellite teams would have to make some serious cutthroat moves to make room for an aging MM mainly with so much promising young talent coming up the ranks. Doubt that Franky has a seat in GP, word is that he may be going to WSBK to replace Toprak next season but after today's comments, he may be in the shitter with Yamaha altogether so who knows, rumor is that Alonso Lopez has been in talks with Yamaha about possibly being brought in so that may point to a possible satellite team in 2024? Although given their current state, not sure who would want to invest in it right now, doubt VR46 will leave Ducati for Yamaha as well. Zarco and Martin are coming to the end of their deals I believe and those would be the only two seats that come open if they decide to jump ship and or retire in the case of Zarco but given his latest results, not looking likely but only time will tell. Onto Sachsenring!

[madvlad]

All I know is this is four GP's in which Marquez has crashed out. So something's got to be wrong with the guy. I think he's losing it and trying to keep pace with the new batch of aliens. Can't say as I feel bad whatsoever that he's crashing and maybe his past is finally catching up with him. Oh well it all balances out.

In fact:
(in Thanos voice)
"fun in something one considers when balancing the universe, but this... does put a smile on my face.."

Well going to play devil's advocate in this case. As we are seeing, it is not only him though. Mir keeps getting clattered by that piece of shit bike and Rins also paid the price with a multiple fractured leg. Now if Rins and Mir would have came in were able to stay on board and MM kept washing out, that's another story but the reality is that HRC has developed a very unbalanced and dangerous bike in which the riders have to go well over the limit just to stay in the top 10 which is crazy (guess Yamaha isn't that far behind really but at least they're not abruptly throwing riders off without warning like the Honda is). MM already fired his warning shot and I'm sure both Rins/Mir are already looking to get out of that hell hole as soon as they can, feel bad for Ken Kawauchi taking that job from Honda and walking into that nightmare of a project that is going to take years to clean up. Japanese manufacturers are in some really deep shit at the moment, Euros will dominate for a while to come.

[The Black Knight]

Not a bad race, great start from Miller but bummer he couldn't stay with it. Hell of a job from Martin and managing to always be there and stay consistent, been a minute from him and those 20 points help him huge so stay in the title fight. Good result for AE given his pain and all, brought it home. Yamaha still in the shitter and sinking deeper by the day, you can tell both riders just about have it. Also speaking of that, did see the interview and the jab at Yamaha from Morbidelli, that was rather interesting and very awkward . Marquez brothers more on the run off than the asphalt lately, doesn't look great for either of them. AM pushed that soft tire too hard and it cost him and well MM took a huge gamble running that wide and into the dirty part of the track knowing that bike loves to wash out any chance it gets but guess I have to give it to him for at least trying even though he knows that it's all for nothing.

As far as the possible musical chairs for rides, this will be interesting after the summer break with so many rumors going on. Only way that MM and or Fabio exit their respective factory positions are to go into a satellite seat and even then that would be a long shot given the current state of contracts/openings. Only for sure movement is Fabio DiGannantonio is making way for Tony Arbolino next season but other than that, factories and their respective satellite teams would have to make some serious cutthroat moves to make room for an aging MM mainly with so much promising young talent coming up the ranks. Doubt that Franky has a seat in GP, word is that he may be going to WSBK to replace Toprak next season but after today's comments, he may be in the shitter with Yamaha altogether so who knows, rumor is that Alonso Lopez has been in talks with Yamaha about possibly being brought in so that may point to a possible satellite team in 2024? Although given their current state, not sure who would want to invest in it right now, doubt VR46 will leave Ducati for Yamaha as well. Zarco and Martin are coming to the end of their deals I believe and those would be the only two seats that come open if they decide to jump ship and or retire in the case of Zarco but given his latest results, not looking likely but only time will tell. Onto Sachsenring!

Could be an interesting silly season or a subdued one. I'm inclined to agree with you, not many seats available and really 2024 will be the year for contracts to change.

I think FQ is fed up with Yamaha. They haven't produced much and you can see it. Frankie really looks like he doesn't care either. My guess is he will end up with a Ducati. If Bez moves to Pramac to take Zarco's spot, then I can see Morbidelli going to VR46, where you know he will do way better.

If FQ leaves Yamaha, I've got this weird feeling that they might try and snag Marquez. Who knows though, could be something, could be nothing.

So, figure two spots at Pramac, maybe a spot or two at Gresini, spot at Yamaha(maybe two), and who knows what Aprilia will do. Aleix E. has talked about retiring as well. And this all can hinge on teams/riders breaking contracts early to make moves.

Yep, bring on the Ring!

[madvlad]

Man Johan Zarco is literally the luckiest guy in Germany at the moment, that could have ended in catastrophe if he would have been another foot or two up the exit lane there, that bike got fucking destroyed!!!! I have never been a fan of pit lane exits on the T1 impact zone, that's just plain stupidity and sure hope that race directives and track owners/directives take initiative to change this shit before someone gets killed which could have easily been not only Zarco but also just the lap prior when MV lost the front at the same exact spot, he almost took Alex Marquez out. Once again I sure hope this get addressed, no bikes allowed to fully exit when bikes coming into the braking zone or something along those lines. I bet that's going to fuck with Zarco for the rest of the season. Just saw that MM went to check on Zarco at the end of the session. That dude is losing it with that Honda and sure hope he won't end up hurt with the way he is pushing, that bike is a bucking Bronco at the moment and gives him zero warning, you can tell that dude is riding on an enigma. Hell of a push for Aleix and Marini given their injuries and also from Fabio with that turd and going into Q2 after a while of not being able to get in there. The way this weekend is going, it's going to be a demolition derby, just hope nobody gets clapped out.

Could be an interesting silly season or a subdued one. I'm inclined to agree with you, not many seats available and really 2024 will be the year for contracts to change.

I think FQ is fed up with Yamaha. They haven't produced much and you can see it. Frankie really looks like he doesn't care either. My guess is he will end up with a Ducati. If Bez moves to Pramac to take Zarco's spot, then I can see Morbidelli going to VR46, where you know he will do way better.

If FQ leaves Yamaha, I've got this weird feeling that they might try and snag Marquez. Who knows though, could be something, could be nothing.

So, figure two spots at Pramac, maybe a spot or two at Gresini, spot at Yamaha(maybe two), and who knows what Aprilia will do. Aleix E. has talked about retiring as well. And this all can hinge on teams/riders breaking contracts early to make moves.

Yep, bring on the Ring!

Yeah, the rider market right now it's an absolute circus. After the latest interview that Franky had, it does look like the most likely he will end up in the VR46 academy to give him a fair shot before exiting, he couldn't give two shit less about Yamaha and his body language just shows but well what else can you expect from a factory that has turned their back on their riders and all to feed their ego instead of listening when they should have, reasons why HRC/Yamaha are in the shitter and Europeans are reigning supreme, they actually cared to listen and build a bike around the general rider and not only one specific way. The euro bikes are a thing of beauty at the moment, KTM/Aprilia need another small step and they're there as well but yeah it's definitely going to be hard for HRC/Yamaha to retain teams/riders if they keep heading in the same direction. In my opinion HRC needs to get rid of Puig's arrogant ass and let Ken Kawauchi take the reigns and bring in some harmony and balance into this team and bike, that dude did wonders at Suzuki in a very short time but they let him work, doesn't look like HRC are allowing his genius to flow. Yamaha is in a weird setting right now, can't read if it's Jarvis/Meregalli and company who are the issue OR if money is the problem. I just don't see how they see these issues for YEARS and not one conclusive advancement at all, it's just absurd to me, it's almost like they're putting a band-aid on a gushing wound, it's non-sensical what they're doing. They know they need to start developing the V4 to stay relevant and once again with Dosoli's comments from the other week, investors seem to be pulling out and also explains why they're having such a hard time finding/keeping satellite teams. Only long standing Yamaha satellite team was Tech3 and that's because Herve is a fucking gazillionaire and well also Yamaha was a rather good bike in those days but now? Nobody knocking at their door for a satellite team at all but don't blame investors at all for staying away given that it seems like they're just not interested in pushing forward. You would think with that much brain power they have at their disposal, just take the V-MAX set up and work around that, such a great platform too. Although of course this is all bench racer speculation coming from me but truly it is mind boggling to me what's happened to the Japanese sides, guess we'll see how this circus ends up seats wise come summer break in a couple of weeks time

[madvlad]

MM's frustrations are going to kill his career/persona, now he's blaming Zarco for what happened, I mean come on dude. Wasn't he the one cutting out in front of Pecco last week exiting pit lane even though the blue flag was clearly in front of his face? This dude just doesn't help himself man, he needs to quit while he's ahead before he hurts himself or someone permanently, he's way too hot headed and not taking this humble sandwich very gracefully

[The Black Knight]

MM's frustrations are going to kill his career/persona, now he's blaming Zarco for what happened, I mean come on dude. Wasn't he the one cutting out in front of Pecco last week exiting pit lane even though the blue flag was clearly in front of his face? This dude just doesn't help himself man, he needs to quit while he's ahead before he hurts himself or someone permanently, he's way too hot headed and not taking this humble sandwich very gracefully

Top things off he had another four crashes just this morning.

I don't think it's a Honda problem, I think it's a Marc Marquez problem. Sure other Honda riders have crashed and have injuries but they all seem to manage to not take anyone else out with them. Certainly, there will always be collisions but Marquez is always on the high end of this category.

I'll have to agree with Aleix E. and say I'd be in favor of some race bans for Marquez. Only way to fix his stupid way of riding is to break him off for several races. I don't really care if Honda has no one of the grid to represent them. Marquez' kind of reckless behavior needs to stop. The guy is a complete Ass-hat right now.

But because it's Marquez the FIM will do nothing and continue to do nothing. He's the golden boy and can't be touched.

[madvlad]

Hell of a scrap in the sprint race, that was rather entertaining and Marini holding his own against Binder and Zarco full send on the inside of Binder at the end there, that was great to watch. Martin is definitely gaining momentum but we'll see what goes on during the long distance tomorrow as that has not been his forte. It is crazy how the Ducati and KTM had such issues turning here years prior and now they're turning on a dime and just such a well rounded package on both rides it's amazing. MV is checked out of this shit, Yamaha broke that dude's will and I don't foresee him winning a race with Aprilia or even being in the GP paddock for much longer. The fact that Aleix being injured is getting better results than him, says a lot. MV just can't keep his feelings aside and that fucks with his riding. Should be a great race tomorrow in between KTM/Ducati.

Top things off he had another four crashes just this morning.

I don't think it's a Honda problem, I think it's a Marc Marquez problem. Sure other Honda riders have crashed and have injuries but they all seem to manage to not take anyone else out with them. Certainly, there will always be collisions but Marquez is always on the high end of this category.

I'll have to agree with Aleix E. and say I'd be in favor of some race bans for Marquez. Only way to fix his stupid way of riding is to break him off for several races. I don't really care if Honda has no one of the grid to represent them. Marquez' kind of reckless behavior needs to stop. The guy is a complete Ass-hat right now.

But because it's Marquez the FIM will do nothing and continue to do nothing. He's the golden boy and can't be touched.

Everything unfolding just shows the lack of maturity from this guy and he's too used to getting his dick sucked. He is not taking this humble phase well at all and it is making him worse, he thinks he's in moto2 days mode and that's a big no no. The Honda bike is shit overall but the mistake is that Marquez thinks he can still ride like days of old and that's not the way anymore for that bike and with how fast the rest of the grid is, father time caught up to his ass too but he isn't mature enough to realize it. The other Honda riders are just smart enough to know that this piece of shit can't be pushed, MM is just used to pushing his luck but guess he didn't learn shit from 2020, that should have shown him that he's not untouchable and that he is indeed human. Just with that bullshit overruling of that penalty earlier this season, tells you that FIM/Dorna won't do shit about it, he's their money maker at the moment and he's beyond the law. Once again, just hope that with as many races are there are left, there won't be catastrophe happening down the line in which they'll do something about it when it's too late as per fucking usual.