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

[madvlad]

and after the 300th crash this weekend, MM opted out of the race today.

[The Black Knight]

and after the 300th crash this weekend, MM opted out of the race today.

(in Thanos voice...)
"Fun, isn't something one considers when balancing the universe. But this(ha-ha).... does put a smile on my face."

[madvlad]

Man what a showdown between Martin and Pecco, that went down to the wire! This is a huge turning point in Martin's career as he's gaining not only momentum but very key confidence and is shaking things up. Ducati would be insane to let this kid walk away honestly, Enea is under pressure here as he needs to deliver to keep that factory ride. Good salvage ride by Bezzechi to stay in it, bummer about Binder on that highside, could have scored some good points but hope he's okay as he walked away rather dazed. On the Marquez situation, guess said he is very sore (not shocking honestly, I'm surprised he isn't in a hospital after this crash fest) and has a small fracture in his ankle or something like that, no wonder Petrucci turned down LCR's offer to ride for Rins this weekend , nobody wants to ride that turd because they put their health at risk. Yamaha and Aprilia keep going backwards, not sure what is going on specially at Aprilia more so after such a great start they had. AE was pretty dumb to go for the soft tire instead of the H/M combination the rest of the field went with and shit keeps going from bad to worse for MV. Nothing to say about Yamaha, they also keep going from bad to worse, they're not even contending for point scoring positions which is sad as shit. Bet they're kicking themselves now for not listening to their riders years ago when they should have to develop instead of putting lipstick on a pig but it will only get worse for them not only this season but next as well as they have absolutely nothing serious working in the development department. I'm sure it's only a matter of time before Franky announces he's going to Mooney VR46 and also I have a feeling that FB will most likely end up with Aprilia after his contract ends in 2024 as neither AE/MV are delivering at the moment, whom also are at the end of their respective contracts in 2024 and that Aprilia package is really good honestly, they just need someone hungry enough to squeeze the potential out of that thing.

[madvlad]

Looks like Bautista finished his MotoGP test at Misano and it went really well, Gigi is even talking about a potential wild card for him this year, it would definitely be cool to see how he does honestly. Also Lecuona to replace Mir for this upcoming round in Assen

[madvlad]

Looks like it'll be Bezzechi's weekend to claw back some points, his got that bike/mind dialed in this weekend for sure. Heartbreaker for Binder on that last lap long lap penalty that dropped him from 3rd to 5th which moved Quartararo into the podium and after watching the replay much closer that was a super harsh penalty, hope KTM contests it. Assen has always favored Yamaha for sure but good push from Quartararo nonetheless even with the injury woes. MM's situation just keeps going from bad to worse and honestly doubt that dude will ever be competitive again, he is showing his immaturity and putting other riders at constant risk just to stay relevant knowing that the bike just isn't there for him to ride like he's used to.

[madvlad]

Back to back podium losses for Binder, I'm sure he's fuming over this crap track limits garbage, it is a very dumbass rule honestly and unless you clearly cut the corner to an advantage is one thing but losing two podiums over that insignificant shit right there, it's straight up bs. Pecco bounces back, good push from Bezzechi as well, rather uneventful race really except for the crash fest at the beginning there. MV chokes yet again, even AE injured and with a damaged bike and he still managed to bring it home on the podium, I am sure his days are counted in MotoGP if he continues this way, mainly with the young and hungrier talent coming up from Moto3/2. Bummer for Oliveira, he was up there for a few but had to park it (not sure if mechanical or if just due to his physical limitations). Just like MM, things keep getting worse for Quartararo, he should have never renewed with Yamaha, huge mistake as he's wasting away precious prime years on a factory that doesn't seem to give two fucks about improving. Looks like Nakagami is the only one who has figured out what to do with that pile of shit Honda... well onto Silverstone in 5 weeks time, it will be a rather boring and uneventful month of July unfortunately

[ock1]

I'm not rooting for anyone this season, but it just made me happy the last two races when Miller finished the race instead of starting strong before crashing again.

It seemed like everyone was losing the front in mid-turn lowsides this year. My wife, the marc marquez fan in the house (boo!), didn't appreciate it when I said "he's not saving the bike on his elbow anymore."

[madvlad]

I'm not rooting for anyone this season, but it just made me happy the last two races when Miller finished the race instead of starting strong before crashing again.

It seemed like everyone was losing the front in mid-turn lowsides this year. My wife, the marc marquez fan in the house (boo!), didn't appreciate it when I said "he's not saving the bike on his elbow anymore."

Yeah, honestly I am a fan of the good racing and that many are at the front scrapping it out instead of the one or two rider dominance we are used to seeing. Miller has been doing fine given his first year he's adapted rather well to the bike but the track was very greasy with how hot it was and many bit the dust unfortunately, mainly pushing hard early on to stay with the front pack, would have been nice to see him finish top 5 again but well hopefully he can bounce back at Silverstone. MM thought he was going to be able to push and ride like he's used to forever and unfortunately that's never the case, age and time will always play against you no matter how good you are and also with the Honda not giving even the slightest warning but just washing out and or rear end loss inadvertently, hard for any rider to correct it. His last interview was harsh to watch, you can see the defeat in his eyes and in the tone of his voice and he's starting to realize that bike is going to end his career the way he's going, that dude is straight up battered and is no longer worth pushing it. There are rumors right now that both Yamaha and Honda may have concessions soon with how bad things are for them, can't even remember the last time they had concessions but well the tide definitely has turned in favor of the European brands, Yamaha and Honda will have to get something drastic going to catch up to them but both brands just don't seem to find an answer whatsoever, they both solve one problem but then it causes another 4 elsewhere. Dall'igna did an outstanding job developing that Ducati without a doubt, that dude will go down in history as one of the best managers for sure. Something Yamaha and Honda need to learn, let genius work and stop measuring corporate dicks, they're paying the price now. Honda brought on Ken Kawauchi but they won't let him go to work, he's only being told what to do and how to do it which defeats the purpose because they're not allowing another set of eyes and input come in to work the problems, instead corporate is only adding to the problems by limiting genius, same shit at Yamaha, they're stuck on that dinosaur and refuse to realize that they should have moved on from that platform years ago. Ducati listens to their riders, that's what propelled them, Honda and Yamaha didn't because they thought they knew better.

[~Barn~]

MM93 - MotoGP Champion 2024

[madvlad]

MM93 - MotoGP Champion 2024

Unfortunately that dude won't see a championship in MotoGP again.

[madvlad]

The round at the Ridge was dope, good battles in between Cam and Gagne and also Herrin even though a nasty ass crash during one of the practice sessions kept him from riding 100% but he still gave it his all and finished pretty well. Having Cam back in MotoAmerica definitely sparked some good races, that Moto2 experience definitely matured him as a rider like a mofo cause Gagne isn't a slow guy at all either. Sure hope for more continued clean and close racing with these guys coming up at Laguna. A

Also the UK round underway for WSBK at Donnington Park also with new track surface, of course the mixed conditions these guys couldn't test the rubber full out but looks like weather will improve into tomorrow and Sunday so expecting some good battles and such if the Pirelli rubber holds up to the new surface and won't tear to all shit

[madvlad]

Pretty good race weekend at Donington honestly, about as close of racing as we've had in a while. Gerloff got up there to 5th at one point and was keeping up with the front pack but finished 9th since he ran out of tire most likely after a great start following the race 2 restart after a lap one red flag that involved Sykes, Baz and Rinaldi, speedy recovery to Rinaldi and Sykes, Rinaldi looks like got the worst of it, Baz was able to take the restart fortunately. First podium for Petrucci at Barni and well earned podium, dude had insane pace there at the end of race 2. Bautista continues his domination though, Ducati is at a clear advantage and other manufacturers just don't have an answer for Ducati at the moment and doubt they will for a while, the performance advantage is more than obvious. Good push for Redding as well at home turf finishing 4th all the way back from 12th as he's fighting for his future. Well back to the long weekend now, Happy 4th of July everyone

[madvlad]

Hell of a race weekend at Laguna for MotoAmerica this past weekend with a 3 race special on Sunday and hell it did not disappoint. Cam Petersen and Cam Beaubier came together at race 1 into turn 3, unfortunately Cam Petersen lost the front and took CB with him after a great launch and just trying to stay at the front, thankfully both riders walked away, Gagne won race 1 with Herrin in 2nd and PJ Jacobsen in third after Scholz lost the rear and high sided himself to the moon, thankfully he was okay as well. Race 2 saw Gagne get the same lightning start we always see him get and of course CB followed suit, CB rode very smart and patient, studying Gagne and finding where and when to attack, with 5 laps left he pulled the trigger into T6 and the rest is history, pulled away with good pace and Gagne had to settle for 2nd with Herrin coming in 3rd. Race 3 was the best of all, Gagne got a rather laggy start which is unusual, CP got a lightning start like in race 1 again and this time they all stayed upright, he seemed to get away for a bit there but both Herrin and CB eventually got him and started pulling away, Herrin led most of the way but eventually CB parked it in front of him at the last turn and timed it perfectly to start getting away at the front a bit, Herrin did not let up and stayed with CB, passed him again but CB responded again, while this was going on, Gagne started reeling Herrin and Beaubier in with great pace and also Rich Escalante was following suit and taking insane time off the gap to Gagne and those at the front. Even though Gagne got into 2nd spot past Herrin but a 2 second penalty for exceeding track limits, would see him give up the position and barely hang onto the podium place as Escalante finished just outside that 2 sec penalty gap. Hell of a weekend for CB and the Tytlers BMW race team, they keep getting stronger as the rounds go on and is putting Yamaha/Ducati on notice. Only a matter of time before Escalante gets that podium that's eluded him but he is also showing great pace and is at another level for this season. Having CB back in the paddock definitely has riders stepping up their games and shows how much more mature CB is after his 2 year stint in Moto2. I truly believe if CB would have been given a chance at a Moto2 ride earlier in his career, he would have gotten a MotoGP shot. The fact that he improved so vastly in such a short time there and in such a competitive paddock which is the Moto2 one, he showed his worth even though he knew it was going to be short lived as the timing of the move just wasn't the greatest. Coming into a MA paddock in a completely unknown motorcycle and team and doing the things he is doing, goes to show the level he is on, definitely amazing to see. Wouldn't surprise me if BMW don't offer him a wild card appearance in WSBK at one point and or bring in Gerloff into that team if he opts to come back home after the 2024 when his contract with Bonovo ends if there are no other options for him after that. The signing of Toprak goes to show how serious they are about winning a championship in the near future but sure hope they can bring the tech innovation they actually need to take the fight to Ducati there and even Herrin is having a hell of a season adapting to that V4 as well.

Next round at BIR in 2 weeks time and WSBK back at Imola this weekend. Hope everyone had a great 4th of July!

[asp_125]

with MotoGP on hiatus I've been catching up on MotoAmerica. Racing was good and I'm glad that Gagne is not running away with the championship with Cam B and Herrin being able to fight for race wins.

[madvlad]

WSBK news - Marc VDS to join WSBK Paddock in 2024 with Sam Lowe's on a Ducati motorcycle. Also after review, FIM has deemed that Ducati will lose 250 revs and Kawasaki has gained 250 revs by using 5 concession points. Honestly doubt it'll do anything, they've already done that and that Ducati still walks away Also looks like Rinaldi and Redding will announce their future on Sunday and Rinaldi has been cleared to ride but will undergo checks throughout the weekend after each session.

with MotoGP on hiatus I've been catching up on MotoAmerica. Racing was good and I'm glad that Gagne is not running away with the championship with Cam B and Herrin being able to fight for race wins.

Been some good, clean racing man. Glad that competitiveness in MA is ramping up. CB hit the ground running on that BMW that's for sure. Hope all is well Jefe!

[madvlad]

WSBK at Imola underway, many red flags in FP2 due to crashes at the chicane but everyone unharmed and well thankfully. Strong finish to FP2 for Gerloff in 3rd place after a get off in the opening lap of the session and taking out Baz after the bike snapped on him on the brakes, glad both riders up and okay on that one. Not bad after his first time at this race track and great to see him bounce back, hope he can get some good results this weekend, the last 3 rounds have been positive for him and he can keep that train rolling. Bautista/Rea/Toprak find themselves outside the top 5 but honestly I'm sure that will change come tomorrow . Should be some good racing, times are very close.

[madvlad]

Great race one battles in the early stages but as expected Bautista found a way through Toprak with 5 laps to go and cleared out into the distance. Yamaha and Kawasaki have literally no answer for Ducati and doubt they will for a while, during an interview with Rae he said "We are victims of our own success in the sense that Kawasaki have not developed at all due to this reason and we are paying the price now" which hits the nail in the head, guess same plays with Yamaha but at the MotoGP level, they thought that M1 would be unbeatable forever. Toprak is having to override the hell out of that Yamaha and even so, it wasn't enough. Even with the 500 less total revs, that Ducati still walks away like it's nothing, the overall performance of that motorcycle is very impressive, I'll say it again Gigi Da'lligna has done a hell of a job at Ducati and bringing true innovation instead of band-aids being brought to gushing wounds at the Japanese manufacturers. Wasn't a great race 1 for Gerloff unfortunately, qualified 15th and finished 13th but BMW's overall never really did a great race, only rider that was able to sustain their position was Loris Baz within the top 10. Hopefully Gerloff can find a few more positions and keep working on his starts to see if he can claw his way back into the top 10.

[madvlad]

Shocker for Bautista to lose the front end there at T2 on the opening lap, could this be a repeat of 19'? We'll see. Hell of a battle and push from Bassani and Toprak, how Bassani is not being considered for a factory seat is beyond me honestly, that dude is a scrapper and is really hungry! Saw a bit of a longer and harder hand shake with the Yamaha head honchos there on parc ferme, maybe a factory Yamaha seat shot after this performance? we'll see... Gerloff retired on the superpole race so no points there, started race 2 but once again a super shitty start that saw him in 20th at one point but clawed his way back to a 13th place finish after losing 12th to Gardner in the last sector on the last lap, guess all things considered not a horrible result BUT I'm sure he can do better, we have seen what he can do but he needs to get out of his head and get to work. Good race weekend overall, that was fun to watch.

[madvlad]

Man this rumor mill for the MotoGP seats is about as insane as it has ever been at the moment, as usual I take these headlines with a grain of salt BUT all are given consideration. What gets me on some of these is just the amount of craziness that would have to take place to actually make it all happen but well money talks at the end of the day so we'll see in a few weeks how this contractual musical chairs plays out. Aaaaand the circus is as follows:

Rumors of KTM reaching out to LCR about another satellite team to fit Acosta and "Marc Marquez" although KTM denies such claims (can't find the link right now)

https://www.crash.net/motogp/news/10...d-pedro-acosta

Rumors of Joan Mir negotiating a seat at Ducati

https://www.crash.net/motogp/news/10...ti-next-season

Alex Rins linked with Yamaha for next season as Morbidelli is linked with Mooney VR46

https://www.crash.net/motogp/news/10...maha-next-year

RNF Aprilia could be in financial trouble, so that could mean even more of a shift in freaking seats if indeed they go under and can't find financial backing

https://www.motorcyclesports.net/art...-stefan-pierer

MV Agusta to possibly join MotoGP in 2027 whenever the regulations would allow them to come in

https://www.motorcyclesports.net/art...motogp-in-2027


There is honestly so much shit going on in this paddock right now, it's hard to keep up with. Unfortunately I fear that MotoGP is becoming like F1 slowly but surely and only a matter of time before it becomes this elite money dick pulling, which is sad as hell.

[madvlad]

Argentinian GP for WSBK has been cancelled due to political turmoil

https://www.worldsbk.com/en/news/202...be%20announced

[madvlad]

And the demise of MotoGP starts.... turning into the F1 shit show slowly but surely Next probably fuel limitations just like in F1... Just had to start fucking with things that were just fine, go figure. All those FIM/FIA bozos always get the itch to fuck motorsports up man, unreal

https://www.motogp.com/en/news/2023/...erstone/473998

[madvlad]

MotoAmerica at Brainerd and WSBK at MOST (Czech Rep) this weekend and man plenty of action without a doubt on both ends of the spectrum

WSBK - What a weird race that was due to mixed conditions BUT Jonathan Rae wins at MOST finally (one of the few if not the only track he had never been able to win at). Rae and a few other riders opted to go for an intermediate tire instead of a full rain or full slick. Rae made that shit work to a T and his experience showed without a doubt. Gerloff after a great start to his weekend and even a very good SuperPole session starting 8th on the grid, couldn't bring himself to finish in race 1 (not sure if it was a technical issue or a crash that caused him to DNF, they never said anything about it). Everyone was pitting at the time to get into slicks as the track was drying up so that's why I thought he was falling down the order like many others. Hopefully he gets some dry track tomorrow as he had very good pace, hopefully he can get a decent result tomorrow in the SuperPole race and race 2.

MotoAmerica - The fellas are racing in Brainerd and man what a race 1 that was! Gagne got a lightning start as usual and got around the outside of both PJ Jacobsen and Beaubier, however Beaubier got a little too impatient under the brakes and almost took out Gagne, thankfully they stayed upright, however that caused a chain reaction of craziness and after a quick bump with PJ's bike, Scholtz got the short end of the stick because something punctured the motor or something because after that, his R1 was puking oil which brought out the red flag for some track clean up. After the restart, Gagne once again took the lead on the outside. PJ and Beaubier followed closely waiting for the right moment to strike, however Beaubier's BMW had a different idea and launched him to the moon at the exit of turn 3 and man that was fucking insane and nearly ended in disaster. Glad that all riders did a great job to avoid Beaubier and his motorcycle which were in the middle off the race track, Beaubier managed to crawl to the edge of the track and was nearly missed by the last rider as his line of sight was covered by the rider in front of him and Cameron was very hard to see at that point. As a former corner worker, that one got my adrenaline going, holy shit... PJ gave Gagne a good run for his money but in the end Gagne took the win and hell of finish for PJ in second and also for old man Hays in 4th place and also winning in supersport, which now makes him the rider with the most wins in US racing history and he is 48 years old... Yes, you read that right, 48 years fucking old and oh yeah, he also laid the fastest lap of the race towards the end there Hays still at it and representing Yamaha/Petersen rather well in his absence. Wouldn't surprise me if Yamaha do have him finish the last 3 races of the season on the R1 if he has another great outing tomorrow. For those that don't know, MotoAmerica's youtube channel has the races live as well and or you can check out the replay later in the day.

[madvlad]

Race day 2 recap -

WSBK - Hell of a 2nd race at MOST, a literal battle between Toprak and Bautista ensued and just when things had settled a little bit and Toprak seemed to start to get away a bit, his rear tyre came apart and he high sided coming out of T2 and that was the end of his 2nd win of the weekend and would have seen him close the points gap to 44 to Bautista, however with this DNF, that is pretty much championship over now. A good last 3 lap scrap in between Petrucci and Rae for 2nd place and that last lap/last turn threw me back a bit to 09' Catalunya . Gerloff unfortunately after what looked like a promising weekend with his pace, DNF on both days. I am starting to wonder if this may be the beginning of the end for Gerloff in the WSBK paddock. Although he still has a contract with Bonovo through 2024 but just looks like after that race at Assen, he just hasn't been able to bounce back mentally it seems. He has moments of brilliance but just can't seem to deliver consistently and just when it matters. 6 weeks of summer break for them and we'll see if Gerloff can recollect himself and get some good results for the final stretch of the season.

MotoAmerica - Day 2 saw PJ Jacobsen finally win his first Superbike race after many struggles and hard work, it finally paid off for him. Gagne 2nd and Scholtz 3rd. Herrin was coming up very fast to fight for the win if not at least a podium as he was taking chunks out of the leaders but a mechanical issue would see him pit and park it for the day. Cameron Beaubier sat today out due to yesterdays massive highside in T3, I am sure he is rather banged up after that one but a speedy recovery for him. The Tytlers BMW team has tremendous riders and they're here to win, Yamaha and Ducati have been put on notice after today's win by PJ and carrying the flag for BMW. Onto Pittsburgh!


6 week break for WSBK before they're back at Magni-Cours and 3 weeks off for MotoAmerica before heading to Pittsburgh, however this upcoming weekend MotoGP is finally back at Silverstone and man it is going to be a weekend full of surprises I'm sure as many of the rider musical chair questions will be answered as well. Hope everyone had a good weekend and hope you have a great upcoming week as well!

[madvlad]

Picture of Toprak's rear tire snapping off the bead of the wheel, crazy that this moment may have cost him the only chance he had at this championship as he was clawing away points to Alvaro. This happened to Gerloff (can't remember if it was last season on the Yamaha or if it was earlier in this season with the BMW after he had a good running actually and it wrecked his race too). Hope Pirelli are having a closer look at the flex on the tire as there is usual movement/shifting of the tire due to spinning but not coming apart like that.