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

[The Black Knight]

Well that's a wrap for the 2020 season. Good season if not for the very odd way it unfolded. Lots of history made and more to be made in the future.

So, now we begin with the 2021 season tomorrow, new teams, new riders and new testing. Same old BS as far as Covid is concerned. Let's hope 2021 can turn things around and not be like this year. I'm interested to see how some riders get along with their new rides and see how others adjust to not being in a factory team anymore.

Cheers to the new MotoGP year, 2021 starts now!!

Who knows, maybe we(as posters) might be a little more active this coming 2021 race year. Hope for the best....

[The Black Knight]

https://www.gpone.com/en/2020/11/12/...tml?refresh_ce

I know it was hinted at in the last MotoGP thread, but this is not good for Marquez. I'm also starting to hear rumblings that he may not make it back for next year. Everything surrounding this injury is very tight lipped. Honda aren't saying much of anything, but I've heard that Marc isn't healing the best and is now having issues with other things. Heard his arm was very atrophied but I think that was nonsense as the article I linked here mentions he's been seen lifting weights and working out/training to some degree.

Could this be the beginning of the end for the reign of Marquez??

There's rumors that's why Dovi hasn't signed to a test rider deal. He's heard that Marquez may not even come back and then Honda will need a rider that has experience to jump in and help save the day. Not saying Dovi will be that guy, he's good on the Ducati, not sure how he'll take to a Honda tailor made for Marquez. That is all speculation at this point but like anything if there is smoke, there's fire. So may be some truths to these things we are hearing.

[madvlad]

Yeah definitely a great season considering the situation and honestly surprised we even had a season but I'll take it over the latter. What I loved about this season was the many unknowns and twists that kept riders pushing through till the last round as everything was up for grabs. Also many riders unlocked a level of themselves they never knew they could achieve thanks to Marc being out and with this said while I personally don't like him and don't wish him any ill will BUT him having been out opened this championship in a way we have never seen before and it's nice seeing others up their level to bring the fight to the front. Marc or no Marc in 2021 given his current state, the 2021 season is going to be outstanding! Hope Ducati find their way back at the front with Jack and Pecco now that KTM and Suzuki are full on at the front as well. KTM with Oliviera is going to be very strong, that kid as some insane talent and to have won 2 races with a satellite ride while Binder only won that one race in a superior bike. I will say it is awesome seeing the satellite teams bring it in the mix and show that they are just as capable on lesser machinery, hell take Nakagami and what he's done with Idemitsu. Glad that he's getting a multi-year deal with factory support and also a chance to a factory seat if things keep going the way they are.

Yeah, the whole Dovi thing and HRC makes perfect sense as he's ridden for them before and the whole Marc situation is looking super grim honestly but hopefully he can ride for 2021 but with the injury being at its worst stage with side-effects it isn't looking likely and if he does, he won't be 100% and also let's hope it doesn't become a career ending injury cause that would be a damn shame given he's got a lot of good years of riding. This should help him realize that he's not invincible and honestly I'm surprised that he didn't pay the piper earlier given how many crashes he had been through but the body can only hold on for so long no matter in how good of shape you are. You know, it's pretty incredible to me that Honda did not consult with Costa who is a medical genius and has been around the paddock for so many years treating riders with all kinds of injuries, this mistake is going to cost them dearly at HRC... yikes.

[Gramps]

Does anyone read this any longer?

[madvlad]

Probably not

[The Black Knight]

I do, maybe a few others.

[Spiderman]

Every once in a while...

[Spiderman]

I've been thinking about posting in here, that I think Yamaha did it all wrong... I know they try to bring in younger guys to learn from the older guys, and then boot the older guys, but more often than not, this past season Vinales was a one lap wonder, and Rossi would finish the race ahead of him... I think Yamaha should have developed the bike following Rossi's input, and it would have been a better bike for everyone. My $0.02

[Spiderman]

I really hope the US GP happens next year, and they allow spectators (and we're allowed in the paddock)! Our tickets and campsite from this year got rolled over to next year's GP, but I heard that Texas is already starting to cancel public events for next year.

[madvlad]

I've been thinking about posting in here, that I think Yamaha did it all wrong... I know they try to bring in younger guys to learn from the older guys, and then boot the older guys, but more often than not, this past season Vinales was a one lap wonder, and Rossi would finish the race ahead of him... I think Yamaha should have developed the bike following Rossi's input, and it would have been a better bike for everyone. My $0.02

Yeah honestly they should have listened and they're paying the price and they're screwed going into 2021 due to the current engine issues they're having and honestly I see Morbidelli finishing top yamaha again next season, that dude and his crew have that Spec A dialed down pretty well now meanwhile Rossi, Quartararo and Viñales will keep paying the piper with that now even more underpowered engine to keep reliability. Sure hope Yamaha are working on this around the clock for 2022 if they want to stay relevant in this championship given that KTM and Suzuki are making them look like crap.

I really hope the US GP happens next year, and they allow spectators (and we're allowed in the paddock)! Our tickets and campsite from this year got rolled over to next year's GP, but I heard that Texas is already starting to cancel public events for next year.

Hate to say it but don't see it happening, WSBK doesn't have any rounds here in the US for the 2021 calendar and the way things are going, it's looking grim man which sucks cause this is most likely Rossi's last season in the paddock, doubt he will continue on mainly after reaching a deal with Esponsorama to bring his academy riders into MotoGP ranks along with Ducati which is why Marini and Bastianini jumped into those seats for the 2021 season and they pushed Tito Rabat out which honestly just like Karel Abraham I am surprised he lasted in the paddock as long as he did. While Esponsorama may not be the main sponsor past 2021 but I'm sure the opportunity that Rossi and his team wanted to actually have access to a MotoGP team is finally coming to fruition given their moto2/3 teams have been pretty successful.


In other news, it's official that Marquez will undergo a 3rd surgery on that right arm, things aren't looking great for him for the 2021 season honestly and if he does end up riding he will be risking way too much and won't be riding at 100%, if this dude isn't careful this could be a career ending injury too which would suck given he's got many more years to give in this sport. Guess we'll see how that situation develops since HRC has become king at keeping the media and people fooled with that situation. https://www.motogp.com/en/news/2020/...ght-arm/359668

[madvlad]

Gresini will be an independent team from 2022 and on and will drop Aprilia after 2021. Looks like the end of Aprilia in GP unless another entity/owner picks the project up but with how bad they’ve been doing, I find that doubtful.

https://www.motogp.com/en/news/2020/12/14/gresini-racing-from-2022-the-motogp-project-is-reality/359968

[madvlad]

Davide Brivio leaves Suzuki

https://www.motogp.com/en/news/2021/...rt-ways/360161

[madvlad]

Testing sessions at Sepang for February have been cancelled. Looks like we are in for another weird year of racing with the way things are going

[The Black Knight]

Testing sessions at Sepang for February have been cancelled. Looks like we are in for another weird year of racing with the way things are going

What's even crazier is that Marquez may not make his return this year. Honda is holding out on what actually is happening. If I had to bet on it, I'd say he will return this year but won't be 100% Which in turn will cause him to ride way too hard and end up making things worse. I read somewhere awhile back, that someone saw a pic of his arm and it is severely atrophied. How true that is, it's hearsay at this point.

I'm sure 2021 will be about like 2020, with just more races. Actually looking forward to the new season to be honest. With as strange as things are going these days, would be nice to just sit back and watch some racing. I'm thinking I might even buy the subscription this season just for the hell of it.

[madvlad]

What's even crazier is that Marquez may not make his return this year. Honda is holding out on what actually is happening. If I had to bet on it, I'd say he will return this year but won't be 100% Which in turn will cause him to ride way too hard and end up making things worse. I read somewhere awhile back, that someone saw a pic of his arm and it is severely atrophied. How true that is, it's hearsay at this point.

I'm sure 2021 will be about like 2020, with just more races. Actually looking forward to the new season to be honest. With as strange as things are going these days, would be nice to just sit back and watch some racing. I'm thinking I might even buy the subscription this season just for the hell of it.

Looks like you may be right, Marquez is set to miss the testing sessions so his season is still in jeopardy. Even if he does come back, his days of dominance are over. He's much older now and it'll take a while to come back to form and that's if he even goes back to 100% after like 3-4 surgeries for the same problem and that's hoping he doesn't fall and get injured again which doctors say it may be career ending if he goes through the same injury again.

About the subscription, it went up about $30 from last season and they don't even offer an installment option anymore, also their streaming quality is not that good honestly, at that type of price it should be above 1080p at this point. They're going to lose out on a lot of viewers and I may only renew the WSBK subscription instead cause Gerloff is going to kill it this year. That strong finish to the season and the brief MotoGP ride he got in Valencia showed his potential and then some. I foresee him stepping into MotoGP before long. Going to have to see if I can stream the race elsewhere cause there's no way in hell I'm paying $175 for the season and nothing else improves and some races have fallen off the calendar as we move closer to the start of the season, that pass should be way cheaper.

[The Black Knight]

Looks like you may be right, Marquez is set to miss the testing sessions so his season is still in jeopardy. Even if he does come back, his days of dominance are over. He's much older now and it'll take a while to come back to form and that's if he even goes back to 100% after like 3-4 surgeries for the same problem and that's hoping he doesn't fall and get injured again which doctors say it may be career ending if he goes through the same injury again.

About the subscription, it went up about $30 from last season and they don't even offer an installment option anymore, also their streaming quality is not that good honestly, at that type of price it should be above 1080p at this point. They're going to lose out on a lot of viewers and I may only renew the WSBK subscription instead cause Gerloff is going to kill it this year. That strong finish to the season and the brief MotoGP ride he got in Valencia showed his potential and then some. I foresee him stepping into MotoGP before long. Going to have to see if I can stream the race elsewhere cause there's no way in hell I'm paying $175 for the season and nothing else improves and some races have fallen off the calendar as we move closer to the start of the season, that pass should be way cheaper.

I have not looked up their prices yet. Last time I had the subscription, I paid $99 as I'm sure that was a special renewal price for being a member for awhile. But I always did just get the basic subscription, no extra tier package.

From what I gather, MotoGP may be getting shown on xfinity cable. Last year, I was able to see a few races on tv, I think it was NBCSports, same channel that runs Formula 1. If that's the case and they do pick up MotoGP again for the new year, I won't buy the MotoGP subscription. I'll just catch it on normal tv, just later on in the day(or even a day late).

I've thought about the WSBK subscription now for a few years. I'm a Rea fan, and I think they seem to have some good competition over there. Would like to see someone riders challenge Rea's dominance. Bautista seemed to have been the would be successor but then he flew apart like a cheap watch in the second half of his first breakout season. Then Scott Redding seemed to have something for Rea as well. Although, I must admit that I don't care for Redding at all. I think he's a bit of a tool but he is fast and seems to have found a second calling in WSBK. I always had high hopes for Van Der Mark and Lowes, but they have turned out not so well(especially Lowes, he's a turd at times). Sykes is old news, and the one guy to watch for is that Razgatlioglu as he seems to make his Ducati go well.

All I know is I'm ready for some racing. Even looking forward to Formula 1 as well. It will be a Hamilton show for sure, but at least some other drivers have moved around and see what happens with them.

My take on Hamilton is that I really think he's overrated. He's not that good and honestly the fact that George Russell jumped into his car as a substitute driver(when Hamilton had Covid) and almost won the race, just goes to show how far ahead of the competition Mercedes are. It's all car and zero driver there. Even Bottas(who was good with Williams) seems to stomp on everyone who isn't named Hamilton or driving a Mercedes. Which is why I think Hamilton will continue to remain with Mercedes until he retires. He's such a SJW douche bag, and he's bound and determined to have all the F1 records for himself. When in reality, if he wasn't driving for Mercedes and in another team, I honestly think he's a midpack driver at best(look at his career from 2007 to 2013, sure he was gifted the title in 2008, which was stolen from Felipe Massa but the rest of the seasons he was 4th or 5th).

Hamilton may have equaled Shumacher in titles, and he may go on to break all the other records, but in my opinion he doesn't deserve to be mentioned in the same sentence as Shumacher. He doesn't deserve to be mentioned with Senna, Shumacher, Hakkinen, Prost, Lauda and so on.

The thing with Hamilton, he is for the most part a decent and nice guy. But he's taken this racial s**t to the enth degree, it just really turns my stomach to look at him anymore. I watch Formula 1 for the racing, not to see BLM propaganda.

[madvlad]

I have not looked up their prices yet. Last time I had the subscription, I paid $99 as I'm sure that was a special renewal price for being a member for awhile. But I always did just get the basic subscription, no extra tier package.

From what I gather, MotoGP may be getting shown on xfinity cable. Last year, I was able to see a few races on tv, I think it was NBCSports, same channel that runs Formula 1. If that's the case and they do pick up MotoGP again for the new year, I won't buy the MotoGP subscription. I'll just catch it on normal tv, just later on in the day(or even a day late).

I've thought about the WSBK subscription now for a few years. I'm a Rea fan, and I think they seem to have some good competition over there. Would like to see someone riders challenge Rea's dominance. Bautista seemed to have been the would be successor but then he flew apart like a cheap watch in the second half of his first breakout season. Then Scott Redding seemed to have something for Rea as well. Although, I must admit that I don't care for Redding at all. I think he's a bit of a tool but he is fast and seems to have found a second calling in WSBK. I always had high hopes for Van Der Mark and Lowes, but they have turned out not so well(especially Lowes, he's a turd at times). Sykes is old news, and the one guy to watch for is that Razgatlioglu as he seems to make his Ducati go well.

All I know is I'm ready for some racing. Even looking forward to Formula 1 as well. It will be a Hamilton show for sure, but at least some other drivers have moved around and see what happens with them.

My take on Hamilton is that I really think he's overrated. He's not that good and honestly the fact that George Russell jumped into his car as a substitute driver(when Hamilton had Covid) and almost won the race, just goes to show how far ahead of the competition Mercedes are. It's all car and zero driver there. Even Bottas(who was good with Williams) seems to stomp on everyone who isn't named Hamilton or driving a Mercedes. Which is why I think Hamilton will continue to remain with Mercedes until he retires. He's such a SJW douche bag, and he's bound and determined to have all the F1 records for himself. When in reality, if he wasn't driving for Mercedes and in another team, I honestly think he's a midpack driver at best(look at his career from 2007 to 2013, sure he was gifted the title in 2008, which was stolen from Felipe Massa but the rest of the seasons he was 4th or 5th).

Hamilton may have equaled Shumacher in titles, and he may go on to break all the other records, but in my opinion he doesn't deserve to be mentioned in the same sentence as Shumacher. He doesn't deserve to be mentioned with Senna, Shumacher, Hakkinen, Prost, Lauda and so on.

The thing with Hamilton, he is for the most part a decent and nice guy. But he's taken this racial s**t to the enth degree, it just really turns my stomach to look at him anymore. I watch Formula 1 for the racing, not to see BLM propaganda.

Yeah NBCSN would replay the race later in the day and a few days later again but only GP, not Moto2/3 and would love to see more Moto2 cause of Cameron and Roberts being on the grid. Not sure if them or who will be taking over replaying those this season, haven't heard of anything or any type of confirmation. I think FS will continue to cover MotoAmerica which that is also another paddock that is stacked this year. Loriz Baz will be riding with Warhorse HSBK Ducati and also Herrin is back with the factory Yamaha team and now with Cameron being gone, the racing will be much closer and competitive. If Bobby Fong can remain healthy, he can also be a contender with the M4 Ecstar Suzuki bike. We'll see how Redding does with the new teammate michael rinaldi taking over for Davies and Davies taking his seat in the satellite team Go Eleven for 2021. Rinaldi showed some serious potential and even won a race in the satellite bike and literally embarrassed the rest of the field. For me Rea is about up to par with Hamilton honestly, they both reaped the rewards of the manufacturer gaps and they haven't been tested to truly show their champion status. If it wouldn't have been for Bautista autodestructing that first year with Ducati, he would have literally moped the floor with Rea and Kawasaki. Yamaha made great strides and definitely have come much closer and Toprak is definitely the dude to watch there, he's used to riding way out of shape sort of in a Marquez sort of way and with how forgiving the Yamaha is, he can push that much further, however the usual problem with Yamaha is the lack of top speed and power.

I stopped watching F1 many years ago, it's become a one man show and just excessively boring racing honestly. Hamilton again reaping the rewards of other teams being underdeveloped/underfunded. Yeah, will agree that Hamilton doesn't deserve to be among the great names honestly

[madvlad]

Honestly good seeing Marc back on the grid and seeing his emotional reaction after the race definitely makes you feel for the guy and all he fought mentally and physically through these last 9 months and it was like a weight lifted off his shoulders. Don't know how to feel about the new track limits crap and also that yellow flag rule, it's a bit F1 absurd like honestly and man that one qualifier lap from Pecco was amazing and how was he supposed to see the flag when he's looking through the turn and the bunker is on the opposite side, we are taught to not fixate, Dorna and FIM fucked up on that one and badly for sure. Great job by Quartararo and getting that Yamaha firing right from the get go but hope it won't be the same blunder from last season, Maverick just keeps finding stupid ways to fuck up and not help his case, if he keeps going the way he is, he will loose his seat after his current contract mainly with how much competition/talent is coming up through the ranks. Damn good race from Roberts and Beaubier in Moto2, those two are making great strides and are putting the US back on the motorcycling map. As far as Rossi goes man, he is unfortunately just looking like a fool now, he should have retired last year with the factory team and called it good. Being in a new team, new setting and just new everything overall it's not good for him, being as old as he is it's hard to adjust to internal change after having the same team for such a long time but well hopefully he can salvage some results in Europe cause man, so far it's been worse than his Ducati days, at least the bike sucked then so there was that excuse but he has factory parts and support so there's no reason for him to be in the back of the pack the way he is. Badass seeing Aleix Espargaro doing work with that Aprilia, those guys made a huge stride in the off-season and they'll be a contender soon, just need those couple extra steps but they're right there. Also hell of a salvage job by Pecco and Binder today, pretty good race overall. We'll see how things keep shaping up in Jerez now that Marc shook the nerves off and he keeps getting closer to fitness and all.

[The Black Knight]

Honestly good seeing Marc back on the grid and seeing his emotional reaction after the race definitely makes you feel for the guy and all he fought mentally and physically through these last 9 months and it was like a weight lifted off his shoulders. Don't know how to feel about the new track limits crap and also that yellow flag rule, it's a bit F1 absurd like honestly and man that one qualifier lap from Pecco was amazing and how was he supposed to see the flag when he's looking through the turn and the bunker is on the opposite side, we are taught to not fixate, Dorna and FIM fucked up on that one and badly for sure. Great job by Quartararo and getting that Yamaha firing right from the get go but hope it won't be the same blunder from last season, Maverick just keeps finding stupid ways to fuck up and not help his case, if he keeps going the way he is, he will loose his seat after his current contract mainly with how much competition/talent is coming up through the ranks. Damn good race from Roberts and Beaubier in Moto2, those two are making great strides and are putting the US back on the motorcycling map. As far as Rossi goes man, he is unfortunately just looking like a fool now, he should have retired last year with the factory team and called it good. Being in a new team, new setting and just new everything overall it's not good for him, being as old as he is it's hard to adjust to internal change after having the same team for such a long time but well hopefully he can salvage some results in Europe cause man, so far it's been worse than his Ducati days, at least the bike sucked then so there was that excuse but he has factory parts and support so there's no reason for him to be in the back of the pack the way he is. Badass seeing Aleix Espargaro doing work with that Aprilia, those guys made a huge stride in the off-season and they'll be a contender soon, just need those couple extra steps but they're right there. Also hell of a salvage job by Pecco and Binder today, pretty good race overall. We'll see how things keep shaping up in Jerez now that Marc shook the nerves off and he keeps getting closer to fitness and all.

Alright!! few races in and 2021 is shaping up to be a good year. Marquez is still hurt and needs time(still not 100% yet), Vinales doing what Vinales does best and that's win a race and then go backwards the rest of them. Quartararo is the man to beat this year. I think he's got some taste for winning, he's fast and can string together good races. He just has some tire issues, like everyone else. I think Bagnaia is going to be tough and consistent. I thought Zarco might be doing that as well. Mir is going to do the Mr. Consistent thing again if he can. I think Rins is showing some good speed, his problem is himself. I think Morbidelli will come on strong as he gets his feet again.

I really believe this new batch of riders have moved the goalposts. Marquez will have his hands full once he returns to full form. I think he will win and be dominant but nothing like before. He's really going to have to dig deep to keep up with these maniacs. There are a lot of contenders this year. Still too close to call the championship but for race wins I think it's anybody's game at the moment. Even Miller is starting to finally develop into a racer, that last win really took the weight off. Still think he's a bit of a bitch for the move he pulled on Mir in Qatar, but whatever, rubbin is racing as they call it.

The only turd in this whole crowd I can see is Rossi. I'll flat out say it, he f**kin sucks this year. Dude's not even an "also ran" anymore, he's just a "has been" with those performances he's showing.

I know they don't do it in racing all that much because I'm sure it can hurt a racer's fragile mind. But if it were up to me, I'd take an example straight out of American pro-sports and that's if someone sucks, they get benched. That's exactly what I'd do with Rossi, sit him down and say, "either you get your sh*t together, or you're going to get benched for one race." And as disappointed as I am right now with Rossi, I'd wait until Mugello and bench his ass out of spite. It's not like it's going to hurt him in the points, you actually need to have some points in order for a DNS to affect you.

The best part is I'd keep doing it race after race. I wouldn't fire him, I'd retain him all season long and just keep benching him. Put his bike out in the pits and hang on sign on it. "I'd love to be out racing, but the guy who rides me can't manage anything better than top 20, so here I sit."

[madvlad]

I'm sure Rossi is just riding this year out and now that his MotoGP team deal looks to be in the final stages, I am almost certain that he will call it at the end of the year. The new line up just keeps getting faster and faster and he's just fading now. I'm sure in apparel sales alone, Petronas made most of his salary back by now They honestly should give Morbidelli factory support or I'm sure he will be jumping ship mainly with riders like Rins contract coming to an end this year and he isn't looking like he will deliver and as good of a package that Suzuki is, I'm sure they're lurking to see if they can take someone like Franco away from Yamaha and as foolish as Yamaha are being right now, they may lose out on a great rider with Factory potential. If I was Yamaha I would look to replace Maverick with Franco, he's doing more with a 2 year old bike than MV has done in his time with the factory ride.

[The Black Knight]

I'm sure Rossi is just riding this year out and now that his MotoGP team deal looks to be in the final stages, I am almost certain that he will call it at the end of the year. The new line up just keeps getting faster and faster and he's just fading now. I'm sure in apparel sales alone, Petronas made most of his salary back by now They honestly should give Morbidelli factory support or I'm sure he will be jumping ship mainly with riders like Rins contract coming to an end this year and he isn't looking like he will deliver and as good of a package that Suzuki is, I'm sure they're lurking to see if they can take someone like Franco away from Yamaha and as foolish as Yamaha are being right now, they may lose out on a great rider with Factory potential. If I was Yamaha I would look to replace Maverick with Franco, he's doing more with a 2 year old bike than MV has done in his time with the factory ride.

I agree, I think Morbidelli is a very good rider, and he has shown he can be just as fast. Barring injury, he will always be right there fighting for podiums and wins. Vinales is one of those that has that alien potential, just has issues. At this point I'm starting to think it's mainly head issues. Bike is good and fast, Fabio is showing that the package is there. I think Vinales is sort of in that Lorenzo vein. When he is dialed in perfect, he's untouchable. When things are perfectly aligned, then he gets stomped or goes backwards.

I still maintain that if Vinales would have stayed with Suzuki, he may have a championship or two to his name. The Suzuki is that good, just needs that one rider on it to make things happen. Rins and Mir show brilliance on it at times and the bike is on rails. Rins problem is consistency. I still think he's faster than Mir but he has too many problems. I really think Suzuki were custom making the bike for Vinales but he jumped ship at the notion of money, prestige and all things Factory Yamaha. And the first 5 races in 2017 seemed to prove him right, as he was dominating. Then, we all know how that story went to hell in a hand basket.

Marquez is looking rough man. Two crashes during the race and both of them on the right side. He can't buy a crash to his left. He keeps battering that right arm, and sooner rather than later, it's going to get in his head.

Rossi is Rossi, what can I say. He looks terrible but did show some big improvement. At least was in the top 10 most of the Le Mans race. Mugello is make or break for him. He's got to get a good result there and I mean no less than podium. Even a 3rd place would be a win for him at this point. Too many fast guys out there now and he just can't hang. With the talent out there, he's honestly top 8 at best on a good day. He needs to dig deep, and find something to produce results. If he could consistently place in top 5, then yeah I'd say he's made a case to stick around another year or two. But this struggling for top 10's is BS. He needs to quit.

[Ted]

Rossi is Rossi, what can I say. He looks terrible but did show some big improvement. At least was in the top 10 most of the Le Mans race. Mugello is make or break for him. He's got to get a good result there and I mean no less than podium. Even a 3rd place would be a win for him at this point. Too many fast guys out there now and he just can't hang. With the talent out there, he's honestly top 8 at best on a good day. He needs to dig deep, and find something to produce results. If he could consistently place in top 5, then yeah I'd say he's made a case to stick around another year or two. But this struggling for top 10's is BS. He needs to quit.

After today's race, do you expect him to announce retirement during the summer break ?

[The Black Knight]

After today's race, do you expect him to announce retirement during the summer break ?

Wouldn't surprise me, especially after Mugello.

Mugello is supposed to motivate the Italian riders to dig deep and go for more. Bagnaia was looking to capture that until he crashed out. Morbidelli we won't ever know where he might have placed. Rossi screwed around the whole race in P17. Then somehow managed a P10 at the end.

There's been articles that he's mentioned he will make his decision after the Summer break. Which fine, whatever at this point. Also heard some rumors that his new team may be running Suzuki's next season and he's thinking of sticking around to have a go on a Suzuki.

What we are seeing in my opinion is the lack of wins has really started to wear on him. His last win was 2017 and he's just been struggling to keep his head above water ever since. Which is rather strange because you could argue that from 2014-2018 he clearly was one of the fastest riders out there. In fact it was widely consider that after the chaos of 2015, he was clearly the fastest rider in 2016. Just had some tire and engines issues that forced him to DNF races. From what I remember in 2016, he really had an axe to grind because of 2015. He was all over Marquez in Austin 2016, then the front end washed out. Bike blew up in Mugello 2016, a race where he really looked like the Rossi of old, he was toying with Lorenzo and Marquez.

I'll have to be honest, it was from there on that Rossi seemed to just start to lose a little bit. I think had he gone on to win Mugello in 2016, we would have seen a super dominant Rossi come back to life. You could really see how the wind was taken out of his sails right there on track when the bike blew up. It was almost like he just couldn't believe it and it really got in his head. His wins in Jerez and Catalunya, saw him just punish Lorenzo and Marquez. He really looked imperious in the first half of 2016. He ended up just 50 points from Marquez that year, and you could honestly say that he would have taken the crown, given he had four DNF's to Marquez' one DNF. Clearly in 2016 Marquez only took 5 wins, which in my opinion is the minimum needed for a championship win(excluding Hayden and Mir, both had anomaly years) but in general it takes at least 5 wins. And if you look where Marquez took points off Rossi in 2016, it made it hurt more when Rossi DNF'd. In all four of Rossi's DNF's, Marquez either won or got 2nd. You just can't recover from those numbers. But I can honestly say, that if you gave Rossi wins in Austin and Mugello(both races he looked to be the clear winner until crash or engine failure) he would have been able to absorb at least two DNF's because his consistency for the podium was better than Marquez that year.

From 2018 on, he's just been in decline and it really doesn't look good. It's a bad look for Rossi and he doesn't seem to want to change it.

[madvlad]

Yeah with Rossi having his own MotoGP team deal pretty much sealed now (Have seen more rumors of them deciding in between Ducati and Yamaha but leaning more with Ducati since they have the funds to field 8 bikes, Yamaha and Suzuki have more limited funding), I'm sure he will announce retirement in the next month, there's just nothing else for him to do honestly. The competition is very fierce and Quartararo seems to be the only one who figured out how to properly ride the M1. MV is of course lukewarm and at this rate he's about to lose his seat, poor Morbidelli is doing what he can on that old ass piece of shit spec A bike which is way underpowered and just outdated as it can be, maybe he can find a better team of they'll give him MV's seat if Yamaha is smart enough to keep a rider of his caliber, they'd be stupid to let him go after what he's shown on that A spec bike but then again, Yamaha corporate hasn't been firing in all cylinders in the last few years with just horrible decisions besides getting smart and signing FB.

Also with as much talent rising from moto2/3, seats in MotoGP will be very hard to upkeep if you aren't consistent enough to keep the pace. KTM Tech 3 already signed Gardner so that means most likely Petrucci's MotoGP career is over, Lecuona has probably another season to show what he can do or else he's history as well. Rins is on the hot seat at the moment and literally a ride away from losing his seat at Suzuki after this crazy ass start and with the likes of Fernandez and Bezzecchi showing a lot of promise from Moto2 and also Acosta from Moto3, if current riders aren't careful some younger and hungrier replacement prospects may be an option.