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

[The Black Knight]

Unfortunately Honda and Yamaha won't be relevant again until the rule changes for 2027, just grid fillers till then.

I agree, Honda and Yamaha may come back but they are going to struggle. Yamaha may do better now that Pramac has chosen them and will run as their second squad. Honda, is just out to sea at the moment. Nothing they seem to try works and/or they just don't have the team/riders around them to develop the bike. I don't even think Marquez could develop the bike at this point, he never really was that great at development. I think that came from Dani Pedrosa, look what he's done over at KTM. You need a fast rider, but always a rider that can relay good and useful information back to the factory.

Man, Marc's highside during Sachsenring practice--the front was already down and sliding in a lowside, then the back tire caught.

I'm not a Marquez fan, my wife who is didn't appreciate it the other year when I said "he's not saving it on his elbow anymore."

I was wondering what's with the teams singing the 90's eurodance song "freed from desire" in the pits after winning, like Jack Miller and Ducati did a few years ago, found out it's a huge song at soccer games in Europe now.

Yeah Marc is getting long in the tooth. He can't save slides like he used too, he's lost that step in reflexes. He also is slower to get up after huge offs. Time is catching up with him as it did with Rossi. They are and will always be fast, it's just other factors start coming into play.

[madvlad]

MM has never been a developer or has that instinct, just like Lorenzo, they reaped the rewards of other's hard and back breaking work. If Pedrosa had not done what he did at HRC, MM would be lucky to have a couple of championships. Reason why I can't take MM seriously even now and why he will never have the GOAT title over Rossi. Rossi made Yamaha what it is and that race in south Africa will forever be a banger. MM used his contacts at Audi to push Martin out of the seat, which makes me like that douchebag even less. Martin deserved that seat over him 110% but Ducati bit at the money grabbing deal that the publicity of this calamity will bring. Everyone saying that MM was going to obliterate the field in the Gresini and blah blah blah but funny he's still crashing and if it wasn't for others crashing in front of him, he's only really had a couple of decent results. Just like you mentioned, yeah sure he will always be "fast" but age is catching up. Now I REALLY hope that Aprilia and Martin are able to shove it up Ducati's ass next year, they did him insanely dirty.

So in the crunched down latest news:

Moto GP -

Pramac signs with Yamaha for 2025 onwards, Oliveira seems to be their rider in 2025 but that's TBC.

Martin and Bezzecchi sign with Factory Aprilia team, Trackhouse Aprilia sign Raul Fernandez to another 2 year contract. It was speculated that Joe Roberts may have been taking that second seat with the stellar season he's having in Moto2, HOWEVER as of late Ai Ogura has been heavily linked with that seat instead but of course all rumors at this point.

Bastianini and Maverick to TECH 3 factory redbull team

Joan Mir signs another 2 year contract with HRC which I find absolutely astonishing as that bike is going to end his career at the rate he keeps crashing on that thing.

Gresini retains Alex Marquez for 2 more seasons.

Simon Crafar takes over Freddy Spencer's position in the stewards panel, change which I think it is very needed.

WSBK -

Garrett Gerloff is linked with Puccetti Kawasaki (or to be BIMOTA in 2025) that supposedly will host a factory type supported ride BUT I personally think they will do him dirty just like Yamaha and BMW did. So called "Factory" teams and there is nothing factory about them other than the plastics. IMO he should have came back state side, would have done much better and probably earned way more. Going to Puccetti is just kicking himself in the dick at this point.

Bonovo BMW will be pulling off the WSBK paddock in 2025, looks like they may field a single Ducati bike which will be led by Phillip Oettl next season.

Factory Kawasaki is no more and will be BIMOTA Factory team fielding Bassani and Lowes for the next 2 seasons


All I can think of right now, haven't followed much in MotoAmerica this year unfortunately. They want too much for their pass and the coverage is absolutely horrid. Back to racing at Silverstone for MotoGP this weekend and Remy Gardner will be replacing Cal as he is still pretty banged up from his hand injury. Yamaha also need a proper test rider already, Cal really haven't been giving them any proper test time or information, they need someone who can grit this shit to bring them back again.

[The Black Knight]

MM has never been a developer or has that instinct, just like Lorenzo, they reaped the rewards of other's hard and back breaking work. If Pedrosa had not done what he did at HRC, MM would be lucky to have a couple of championships. Reason why I can't take MM seriously even now and why he will never have the GOAT title over Rossi. Rossi made Yamaha what it is and that race in south Africa will forever be a banger. MM used his contacts at Audi to push Martin out of the seat, which makes me like that douchebag even less. Martin deserved that seat over him 110% but Ducati bit at the money grabbing deal that the publicity of this calamity will bring. Everyone saying that MM was going to obliterate the field in the Gresini and blah blah blah but funny he's still crashing and if it wasn't for others crashing in front of him, he's only really had a couple of decent results. Just like you mentioned, yeah sure he will always be "fast" but age is catching up. Now I REALLY hope that Aprilia and Martin are able to shove it up Ducati's ass next year, they did him insanely dirty.

So in the crunched down latest news:

Moto GP -

Pramac signs with Yamaha for 2025 onwards, Oliveira seems to be their rider in 2025 but that's TBC.

Martin and Bezzecchi sign with Factory Aprilia team, Trackhouse Aprilia sign Raul Fernandez to another 2 year contract. It was speculated that Joe Roberts may have been taking that second seat with the stellar season he's having in Moto2, HOWEVER as of late Ai Ogura has been heavily linked with that seat instead but of course all rumors at this point.

Bastianini and Maverick to TECH 3 factory redbull team

Joan Mir signs another 2 year contract with HRC which I find absolutely astonishing as that bike is going to end his career at the rate he keeps crashing on that thing.

Gresini retains Alex Marquez for 2 more seasons.

Simon Crafar takes over Freddy Spencer's position in the stewards panel, change which I think it is very needed.

WSBK -

Garrett Gerloff is linked with Puccetti Kawasaki (or to be BIMOTA in 2025) that supposedly will host a factory type supported ride BUT I personally think they will do him dirty just like Yamaha and BMW did. So called "Factory" teams and there is nothing factory about them other than the plastics. IMO he should have came back state side, would have done much better and probably earned way more. Going to Puccetti is just kicking himself in the dick at this point.

Bonovo BMW will be pulling off the WSBK paddock in 2025, looks like they may field a single Ducati bike which will be led by Phillip Oettl next season.

Factory Kawasaki is no more and will be BIMOTA Factory team fielding Bassani and Lowes for the next 2 seasons


All I can think of right now, haven't followed much in MotoAmerica this year unfortunately. They want too much for their pass and the coverage is absolutely horrid. Back to racing at Silverstone for MotoGP this weekend and Remy Gardner will be replacing Cal as he is still pretty banged up from his hand injury. Yamaha also need a proper test rider already, Cal really haven't been giving them any proper test time or information, they need someone who can grit this shit to bring them back again.

I honestly think the move to sign Marquez has backfired in Ducati's face severely. Sure they gained an 8 time champion but look what it cost them. They lose Martin, Bastianini, Bez and Pramac. I'm not sure that was such a great deal in the long run. They lost a lot of speed and one very good and competitive privateer team. I think it was a bad deal and I think Ducati if not already, will start to second guess their decision.

I also think Ducati are going to railroad Martin for the rest of the season. Especially, since they do not want him taking the #1 plate to Aprilia. I've read in a few places on-line that the word is to not support Pramac. It's all fine and good in public, but behind the scenes Martin and Pramac are on their own. Which if Martin is able to pull this off, will be the biggest "F You!!" to Ducati.

The great thing is, you know they aren't going to follow team orders. Which means either Martin or Bastianini are all within striking distance of the title. There is a high possibility that even Enea could take the #1 plate to a privateer team at Tech 3. What a slap that would be to Ducati.

I just hope Pramac can give Yamaha some much needed help. Was surprised to see Rins resigned with them. Yamaha and Honda are just out to sea in terms of development. Maybe, just maybe Ducati signing Marquez was the best thing for the sport. It finally forced them to lose a team, someone else get some help and it helped to diversify an already stacked line up that Ducati had. I think Marini moving to Honda was the first piece of that puzzle and the rest are finally following. It really needed to happen, Ducati was becoming too big and had a lock on all the talent.

Let's hope for a good end to a weird season.

[madvlad]

I honestly think the move to sign Marquez has backfired in Ducati's face severely. Sure they gained an 8 time champion but look what it cost them. They lose Martin, Bastianini, Bez and Pramac. I'm not sure that was such a great deal in the long run. They lost a lot of speed and one very good and competitive privateer team. I think it was a bad deal and I think Ducati if not already, will start to second guess their decision.

I also think Ducati are going to railroad Martin for the rest of the season. Especially, since they do not want him taking the #1 plate to Aprilia. I've read in a few places on-line that the word is to not support Pramac. It's all fine and good in public, but behind the scenes Martin and Pramac are on their own. Which if Martin is able to pull this off, will be the biggest "F You!!" to Ducati.

The great thing is, you know they aren't going to follow team orders. Which means either Martin or Bastianini are all within striking distance of the title. There is a high possibility that even Enea could take the #1 plate to a privateer team at Tech 3. What a slap that would be to Ducati.

I just hope Pramac can give Yamaha some much needed help. Was surprised to see Rins resigned with them. Yamaha and Honda are just out to sea in terms of development. Maybe, just maybe Ducati signing Marquez was the best thing for the sport. It finally forced them to lose a team, someone else get some help and it helped to diversify an already stacked line up that Ducati had. I think Marini moving to Honda was the first piece of that puzzle and the rest are finally following. It really needed to happen, Ducati was becoming too big and had a lock on all the talent.

Let's hope for a good end to a weird season.

Ducati is going to have their hands full next season, it is going to be Lorenzo and Rossi garage days over there next year. MM is used to getting his way and I'm sure he will resort to shady shit to stay relevant. I don't blame Pramac for leaving honestly, come 2027 Yamaha already have an outstanding 800cc platform and they'll be hitting the ground running, the Italian manufacturers will be playing catch up then. That MM move truly was about as close to spitting in someone's face as anything out there so again don't blame the owner for saying fuck you to Ducati and walking out, I honestly would have too. The F1 like politics and internal string pulling bs is rather scary here, hope these new owners don't fuck it up man. Oh, we know Pramac and Martin are on their own, hell they've been on their own really since the start of the year and you can see it but Ducati can't even be mad at either Pramac or JM for making moves, honestly they weren't in the plans anyways as it was from the get-go as the MM rumors started to climb and the knew the jiggy was up. Sucks to suck and again hope either JM or Enea shove it up their ass and take the plate over there next season. Ducati became like MB in F1 a few years back, where they dominated 100% and nobody even came near them, that's the problem when you start letting money rule and not allow talent and brains to let it do the race talking. Initially I wasn't looking forward to the 2027 changes but honestly, I am for it now. More rider control than money and development control, we'll see who is who then as electronics and launch/squat devices are helping a lot of these guys be better than they think they are, we will see who truly has the rider know how and on the go adjustment to ride around shit when electronics and bs rider aids won't help you and you'll have to think outside the box and dig deep to stay at the front. I think Yamaha and HRC are cutting their losses for the next two years and just paid the piper sticking with those that have stuck around and will just play hookie until 2027 when they'll be back with a vengeance.

This morning's practice session was a freaking yard sale dude, crash after crash after crash not sure if teams have enough parts for the rest of the weekend, shit was brutal! Fabio DiGanantonio is actually out for the weekend, he ate shit hard at T13 I think it was and ruled unfit so he must have fucked himself up pretty good. They also announced the signing of Morbidelli to VR46 which is no surprise of course. They also announced Ai Ogura to Trackhouse racing for 2025/2026. So much for American teams supporting American talent, guess Roberts fighting for a championship right now isn't enough nothing against Ogura of course, he's an outstanding talent but this bozo owner is already proving himself wrong and not supporting American talent. This is a huge fuck you to American riders working their asses off and putting insane financial strain to make it if not even an American team wants to support them, how are they supposed to make it? It's nonsensical. We won't see another American rider come anywhere even near a GP seat for another decade at the least and that's IF any even manage to make it past the local leagues and get out to Europe somehow. American Racing/Trackhouse need to work in an in-house development sort of like KTM does and bring riders up from within the ranks, sucks they're too stupid to see it and their American retarded ass egos get the best of them...

[madvlad]

The Spanish mafia strikes again, MM struggled all year and out of nowhere he's winning races by 5 secs... and now Pecco got reprimanded by Ducati and Dorna over what Alex Marquez did which is absolute dog shit if you ask me, just Marquez doing Marquez shit just like in 2015 and getting away with it... What a crock of shit that whole situation was, who knows what's going to happen this weekend so they can keep benefitting that douchebag since Ducati put all their eggs on the Marquez basket and have pretty much taken support away for Pecco and Martin who are the actual title contenders and you can see it as Pecco has been struggling the last few rounds and same with Martin, gotta be a special type of stupid to spit on your double champions face and double runner up to try and save the career of some douche that's on his way out already... The demise of Ducati commences now.

Toprak ate shit at FP2 pretty hard this afternoon in Magny Cours, while he's stable in the hospital but his participation this weekend is doubtful. Good thing he has a good points cushion but it was only a matter of time before that BMW bit him in the ass since he has to ride it way out of control to make it work, just hope the injuries won't be long lasting. Good start for Gerloff over there as well, he has some good pace as he also showed last year. Hope he can get some good results or even a podium here but weather could be a factor as well, we'll see how the rest of the weekend goes.

[The Black Knight]

The Spanish mafia strikes again, MM struggled all year and out of nowhere he's winning races by 5 secs... and now Pecco got reprimanded by Ducati and Dorna over what Alex Marquez did which is absolute dog shit if you ask me, just Marquez doing Marquez shit just like in 2015 and getting away with it... What a crock of shit that whole situation was, who knows what's going to happen this weekend so they can keep benefitting that douchebag since Ducati put all their eggs on the Marquez basket and have pretty much taken support away for Pecco and Martin who are the actual title contenders and you can see it as Pecco has been struggling the last few rounds and same with Martin, gotta be a special type of stupid to spit on your double champions face and double runner up to try and save the career of some douche that's on his way out already... The demise of Ducati commences now.

Toprak ate shit at FP2 pretty hard this afternoon in Magny Cours, while he's stable in the hospital but his participation this weekend is doubtful. Good thing he has a good points cushion but it was only a matter of time before that BMW bit him in the ass since he has to ride it way out of control to make it work, just hope the injuries won't be long lasting. Good start for Gerloff over there as well, he has some good pace as he also showed last year. Hope he can get some good results or even a podium here but weather could be a factor as well, we'll see how the rest of the weekend goes.

For some reason I do find it odd that all of a sudden it clicked together for Marquez at Aragon. I'm thinking because it's his home race they decided to do something more just to get him back in the spotlight.

The whole Alex and Pecco clash I think just from what I saw was more of a racing incident that could have been avoided. Don't think either were out there to crash each other. I know Alex is a Marquez but his not Marc. He seems a little more genuine than his brother, he is a Marquez though and anything can happen. To me it seemed like two racers that wanted the same spot on the race track. Should have been more situational awareness between both of them. I think Pecco would have got him in the next lap or so.

As much as I like Bagnaia, I'd love to see Martin take the title and the #1 over to Aprilia. Even if he can't defend it next year, which I think he will win races as he's just faster than AE and MV. Just to slap Ducati in the face for letting him go and favoring Marquez over Martin. I think Martin is going to play it smart for the rest of year. He's going to bag 2nd's and 3rd's where possible. And get some wins when he can. Which that's all he needs to do and keep a cool head. Races are ticking down and he's almost a race win ahead. That can disappear fast as we've seen.

After seeing Ducati's rise to power and now making the inevitable stupid mistake with Marquez. I'd like to see them fall away some, and others come back into the foray. Be nice to see Yamaha and Honda come back and be at the front again. I'd like to see KTM and Aprilia really make an effort next year. And I'd like to see Ducati regret their Marquez decision.

Best case scenario is that Martin wins the title and takes it to Aprilia, where he successfully defends it next year. That would slap down Ducati hard and serve them some much needed humble pie.

[madvlad]

Great result for Garrett Gerloff at Magny-Cours, hell of a race for him and a much deserved podium position finally. Sucks it came a little late but well better late than ever I guess. Hope he gets a few more good results in there before his switch to that shit Puccetti team next season cause he'll be lucky to finish in the points next season with that shit bike. Cool to see VDM getting one race win back and gaining some confidence out there, must have been a weight off his back during his injuries and shitty phase. Speedy recovery to Rea, Bautista and Toprak who got all kinds of fucked up this weekend unfortunately.

As far as MotoGP, what else can be said... now out of nowhere MM pulling away and everything lining up for this dude, this has too much of F1 marketing bullshit feel to it to me and many out there and I'm not liking it. I can't stand that dude for shit I won't deny but there are more powers at play here and yeah sure he timed the rain thing to perfection and of course the rain lets up right as he's at the front, I mean I wish I could get that kind of luck man, it is truly unbelievable. As far as Martin, he just seems checked out and defeated, just wants to ride the year out and be done. You can also see the frustration from the rest of the Ducati riders with this whole Marquez situation as Ducati has literally shifted ALL attention and support to that prick and has left their back to back champion on the back burner, it is truly unbelievable and disrespectful as all hell what I'm seeing with this shit, things keep going this way, I foresee Pecco walking away as well. Aprilia has been struggling rather hard as of late, got some decent results at the beginning of the season but stumbling hard and same with KTM, nothing really concrete on their end. Honda got dropped by Repsol after 30 years of partnership so that goes to show you the state of where they sit, shit is crazy. Also Yamaha making some strides here and there but nothing super major, I still don't foresee HRC or Yamaha being competitive until the rule change in 2027 again, they're just going to keep putting lipstick on a pig until then as they've been doing, just wasting money on useless research. Some major moves happening as well, Pramac announced Oliveira for one of their bikes for the 25' and 26' seasons and Somkiat Chantra takes over at Idemitsu LCR Honda from Taka Nakagami as he calls it a career and goes into a developmental rider role for HRC as well next to Aleix next season. Only one seat left which is the Pramac seat, most are putting Jack Miller on that seat as Yamaha is trying to gather data but there has also been talk about someone from Moto2 like Alonso Lopez or Sergio Garcia taking that seat but of course all speculation at this time, Pramac said they'll have an official announcement at the next Emilia Romagna round. Couple of week break and we're back at it again, season tightening up and front runners have to be more focused than ever.

[madvlad]

Martin edging closer and closer to giving Ducati the biggest fuck you of their lives and I'm loving it, nothing against Pecco but sure hope that Martin takes it this year and takes the number 1 plate to Aprilia next season. That Bez and Mav crash at T1 was fucking insane, glad both riders walked away from that one. That headwind and dirty air does a fucking number...


Congratulations to Toprak on being 2024 Champion and bringing BMW their first WSBK title and in what fashion, just obliterated the field from day one, this dude is an incredible rider. Bulega has a bright future ahead of him, great rookie season for him finishing second and fighting for a title, that has to be respected. IMO Bautista should have hung it up, you can tell he doesn't have it anymore and these last few rounds have shown it, rookie crashing mistakes, etc. Leave that seat for upcoming riders, same with Rea, it's time guys...

Also a quick edit to congratulate Josh Herrin on sealing the 2024 MotoAmerica title with Warhorse Ducati, hell of a season for Herro!

[madvlad]

MM back to his 2015 dirty mind games and tricks bullshit, once again he has no business in the championship and almost took Martin out a couple of times with his bullshit maneuvers even though he was clearly faster the whole time but instead of just passing cleanly and then going, he opted to fuck with riders like he always does, can't stand that fucking douchebag... Title still in favor of Martin as he rode well but opted to not keep chasing MM and keep the point advantage alive instead of binning it. Don't mention Moto3 much but this is worth mentioning, David Alonso, who clinched the Moto3 title last week at Japan, equals Valentino Rossi's 11 wins in one season from 1997 and there are 3 more rounds to go, a record that will most likely be broken. This kid started 10th and just patiently made his way through the grid and won the race with nearly 3 seconds gap. That moto2 race was superb, that battle between Canet and Aldeguer for the win was insane, Aldeguer came out on top of that one but man what a hard fought race that was. Ai Ogura has to finish as low as 5th to clinch the Moto2 title next round in Thailand. We could potentially see 2 world champions riding for Aprilia next season.

WSBK Championship wrapped up today in Jerez, Toprak took the last win of the season in race 2 that was red flagged due to an engine from a satellite Yamaha going kaput and tossing oil all over the race track. Strong last finish for Gerloff in his last race for BMW in 7th place and he could have made a few more positions as he was coming up to Iannone and Petrucci hadn't the race been red flagged. Incredible to me that Redding gets a better deal for a bike and team next year than Gerloff as Redding sucked all year long and has for the last 3 years really, being an American rider overseas truly sucks, no real opportunities. All I hope is that Bimota and Puccetti put everything they have into giving him a good package he can work with to achieve good results, his last half of the season with BMW was great and shows he can get it done, guess the only upside is that he will be the only rider for Puccetti so all the focus parts and tech wise in on him. Congratulations to Ana Carrasco in being the first ever World WCR champion. That series proved to be very entertaining and have a feeling next year will be even closer and better as more of these ladies gain experience, some very close and great racing all season in that one.


Well only 3 more rounds of the MotoGP season left (Thailand, Sepang and Valencia) and that will be a wrap for the 2024 race season.

[The Black Knight]

LOL!!! Got a new computer and couldn't log into the site. Had to go back to my old computer to get back here.

Got to love changes.

Congrats to Toprak for winning the WSBK title. He keeps saying he wants to transition to MotoGP. Not sure he's going to like what he finds if he does come over.

Thailand was odd, rain messed with the main race, Sprint was clear skies. I think this one is going down to the wire. Martin makes mistakes and so does Pecco. They just have to prove who is the more consistent, and I think Martin will do that if he can, he's ahead so he's got a buffer. If he can take a win great, but he only needs to finish 2nd for the rest of the season and that's only if Pecco wins the remaining races.

Who knows where this one gets decided.

[madvlad]

Looks like it's going to the last round, huge blunder by Pecco on the sprint race but pulled some points back by winning the main race, which those first laps were an absolute freaking scrap, I wasn't expecting them to go that hard that early. Also glad that Jack Miller walked away after that nasty crash in between T1 and T2 when him, Binder and FQ came together there, seeing Jack's head almost get mangled by FQ's rear tire had some Simoncelli feel to it, shit was scary as fuck there for a bit but glad to have seen him walking away and back to the pits after a check up at the medical center, hope they don't find any deeper injuries or anything on a further check which I'm sure he will forego. Also the round at Valencia has been cancelled due to the catastrophic rains and mud slides that happened there and it is much of like what happened here in NC/TN a few months ago, it is an absolute war zone over there at the moment and of course our thoughts and prayers are with them at this time, that's insane to deal with (just dealt with Hurricane Milton here in the west coast of FL and it has been eventful to say the least). It is looking like Barcelona may be confirmed in the next few days as the track to hold the last round of the season but we'll see what Ezpeleta and Dorna come up with.

[The Black Knight]

Looks like it's going to the last round, huge blunder by Pecco on the sprint race but pulled some points back by winning the main race, which those first laps were an absolute freaking scrap, I wasn't expecting them to go that hard that early. Also glad that Jack Miller walked away after that nasty crash in between T1 and T2 when him, Binder and FQ came together there, seeing Jack's head almost get mangled by FQ's rear tire had some Simoncelli feel to it, shit was scary as fuck there for a bit but glad to have seen him walking away and back to the pits after a check up at the medical center, hope they don't find any deeper injuries or anything on a further check which I'm sure he will forego. Also the round at Valencia has been cancelled due to the catastrophic rains and mud slides that happened there and it is much of like what happened here in NC/TN a few months ago, it is an absolute war zone over there at the moment and of course our thoughts and prayers are with them at this time, that's insane to deal with (just dealt with Hurricane Milton here in the west coast of FL and it has been eventful to say the least). It is looking like Barcelona may be confirmed in the next few days as the track to hold the last round of the season but we'll see what Ezpeleta and Dorna come up with.

Congrats to Jorge Martin!!

Massive win for him and Prima Pramac team. He played it smart and did what he needed to do to bring it home. I was thinking though, one of the other two would make a bonehead move. Marquez pulled a hard pass on Lap 2 and I'm glad Aleix was able to keep Bastianini at bay. From what I've read, Enea is pissed with the way Espagaro raced him. But hey, that's racing.

I'm surprised they did get to use Catalunya, but it seemed fitting as it was another Spanish circuit. Glad they were able to pull it off so quick and it provided for a good race. Kind of boring but it was a good race. You could tell with the lack of traction everyone was cautious to push for a lap time. At one point they were close to three seconds off of the pace back in May.

All the decisions Ducati made came back to bite them. I'm truly glad to see it happen. As much as it was good to see Ducati come back from where they were. They became the very thing they set out to destroy. They lost the most important thing and that was the rider's championship. They lost the new champion, they lost Enea and Bez and they lose Pramac to Yamaha. All to sign Marquez.

My hope now is that Martin gets on with Aprilia and brings them to the forefront. I think it will be a tall order but I think he has the speed to do it. Having him and Bez in the same team will work well for them. A. Espargaro's time was coming to an end and Vinales just can't seem to string together results. Time for some newer, faster and more motivated riders.

I think Ducati will have their hands full with Pecco and Marquez. The only good thing is for Pecco since he lost the title, he doesn't have to worry about favoritism and fighting it. Now it's a straight up fight against Marquez. I think if Pecco had won the title, it would have given Marquez extra motivation to dethrone him. Now, Pecco can focus on riding fast and beating his new teammate. Since the #1 when to Aprilia there are no distractions now.

This was a championship of attrition and consistency. I was surprised by the numbers and had not realized that Bagnaia binned it that much during the season. Including both Sprints/GP's he crashed out 8 times to Martin's 4. That's big points given away. He lost three GP's and the rest in Sprints. Granted Pecco wasn't always fighting for the win during Sprints but if you calculate that he lost 75 points in main GP's and another 60 in Sprints that's a lot of points, 135 to be exact.

More often then not, when a rider loses the championship it is due to self-inflicted reasons. And Pecco was not exception this year. He rode too greedily and not as a champion should. It showed he was on the back foot more than it showed. He turned things around and won 11 GP's and many Sprints, but he had too in order to claw back points. Jorge Martin was happy to earn 2nds and 3rds, and get wins where he could.

If you were to ask me, who do I think is the outright fastest rider. Hands down it's Jorge Martin. He can unleash blinding speed and punish his opponents when he has the ability too. He can obliterate the grid and I think this shows with his poles that he secures. He's super fast over one lap.

If you were to ask me, who do I think is the most complete rider. I'd say, Bagnaia but just. He's a two time champion and knows how to win but he needs to clear his head. Learn from this season and take points where he can. He also needs to reign in the mistakes. He crashed way too often and that can't happen, not at this level.

I think 2025 will be a good year and can't wait for it now. Least I have Formula 1 until December, so the wait for racing isn't long through the Winter.

Congrats to Martin

[madvlad]

As they say consistency wins it all and that's what Martin demonstrated this season. Compared to the last two seasons, he definitely crashed way less and also stayed upright at key moments unlike last year when he binned the championship at Mandalika. Definitely congratulations to him and honestly it is the big "fuck you" to Ducati we were all hoping for, as you said Ducati will have their hands full next season as they've not only spat in the face of Pecco and Martin but also Enea just to sign one dude who is almost out of this grid (thank God, sick and tired of hearing of this bozo) and speaking of that, if you didn't follow MotoGP, you wouldn't have known that Martin won the championship, all the media focused on and talked about was MM's switch to the factory garage and it is truly disrespect on top of disrespect on Martin, it is absolutely unbelievable the brown nosing there is for MM still. Martin has also decided to keep 89 and not race with 1 at Aprilia, I'm sure Ducati's boss comments didn't sit well with neither him and Aprilia's boss either and sure hope that drives them to stick it to them on the Aprilia next season. While the sprint races are entertaining BUT I don't think they should count for the championship, it should be a separate thing honestly, definitely messes with the way the championship goes but that's just me. Well that is a wrap for the 2024 season, has been rather entertaining honestly considering the Ducati domination but glad at least it went in a historical way in many senses across all classes and it's building up for a great 2025 season and honestly can't wait for the 2027 season when many rider aids and electronics get taken away, it'll truly show who can do what.

[The Black Knight]

As they say consistency wins it all and that's what Martin demonstrated this season. Compared to the last two seasons, he definitely crashed way less and also stayed upright at key moments unlike last year when he binned the championship at Mandalika. Definitely congratulations to him and honestly it is the big "fuck you" to Ducati we were all hoping for, as you said Ducati will have their hands full next season as they've not only spat in the face of Pecco and Martin but also Enea just to sign one dude who is almost out of this grid (thank God, sick and tired of hearing of this bozo) and speaking of that, if you didn't follow MotoGP, you wouldn't have known that Martin won the championship, all the media focused on and talked about was MM's switch to the factory garage and it is truly disrespect on top of disrespect on Martin, it is absolutely unbelievable the brown nosing there is for MM still. Martin has also decided to keep 89 and not race with 1 at Aprilia, I'm sure Ducati's boss comments didn't sit well with neither him and Aprilia's boss either and sure hope that drives them to stick it to them on the Aprilia next season. While the sprint races are entertaining BUT I don't think they should count for the championship, it should be a separate thing honestly, definitely messes with the way the championship goes but that's just me. Well that is a wrap for the 2024 season, has been rather entertaining honestly considering the Ducati domination but glad at least it went in a historical way in many senses across all classes and it's building up for a great 2025 season and honestly can't wait for the 2027 season when many rider aids and electronics get taken away, it'll truly show who can do what.

Yes, it's been very disappointing to see Martin snubbed by everyone. As you say, it's all talk of Marquez. The guy hasn't won much in the last four years and now they can't wait to talk about him more and more. It just goes to show how everyone have treated Jorge Martin. From MotoGP, to the media and even his own manufacture. I think the only ones who stuck by Martin were Pramac. I think they had too, they knew it was all or nothing. Ducati can say all that want but you know they didn't give Martin updates like they did for Bagnaia and Marquez. Which is a shame.

I really wished he would run the #1 plate just to rub everyone's nose in it. Regardless if he defends it or not. At least run that #1 plate, he earned it. I know I would, if I ever won the #1 plate of anything, I'm running it to make sure everyone knows the work I had to put into becoming #1. If I were Martin, I'd run the #1 just because and ride past Ducati's garage every time really slow, just so they can see that #1 is not on their bike.

Yep, bring on 2025!!