Quote Originally Posted by madvlad View Post
Crazy weekend. Gutted for Bagnaia on the penalty, he was coming up with great pace. Nakagami had a great ride and choked at the last part, poor dude just can't get it together. Well sort of a few surprises before the break with MV quitting a year early (Although not surprising but I thought he would at least let his contract run through, maybe an Aprilia move perhaps?) Also there are pretty strong reports that Rossi will be riding alongside his brother in his own team till 2024. Now with that said, it'd be cool to see Morbidelli get the factory seat and honestly he's more than deserving and IF Yamaha is crazy enough to not do it, at least I hope they give him Rossi's bike with factory support. Word around is that Gerloff actually impressed quite a few people with his performance, so he may have a shot again soon with maybe even a permanent ride if he keeps going the way he's going. As usual most are rumors BUT seems like most do turnout to be facts rather quickly so guess we'll see how everything plays out in the next few weeks while summer break is on.
I thought Pecco got the short end of the stick with the long lap penalty. He did have some issues though and ended up back in the clutches of Marquez for a bit. It was a good race if anything a little boring with Fabio clearing off in the distance. Vinales managed to close the gap for a bit but I think that was Fabio just taking it easy the last few laps. It seemed that when he wanted to, Fabio could click off some high 32's at will. No one could match that, not even Vinales.

Speaking of Vinales, yes I just read all that on Crash.net, can't believe he's breaking contract and more than likely going to end up at Aprilia. I really didn't see this one coming, would have wagered he would go back to Suzuki. But maybe he wants the challenge of Aprilia. They are more or less a top 8 bike or even better. With his speed, maybe he can convert some of that into podiums and the odd win here and there.

What I think would happen and I wouldn't put this past Yamaha.

A couple ways this might play out, 1. fill the seat with Morbidelli and then obviously have two vacant seats for 2022 at Petronas Yamaha. Which is great as they like to cultivate young talent. This next one is a stretch, but 2. they fill the seat again with Rossi for one year. Stupid as it sounds, I can see them doing this for only one reason. I honestly think Rossi is somewhat being sabotaged at Petronas. Razlan doesn't like being told what to do, and having to accept an aging Rossi pissed him off. So it wouldn't surprise me if they are not trying to dial in the bike for Rossi as best as possible.

Don't get me wrong, Rossi sucks bad this year for sure. But what I can't seem to wrap my head around is that even with last year, he was still fast(sort of) and was still competitive while on the factory M1. Sure he didn't win any races but was at the sharp end most of the time, or until he crashed out. This year however, he just flat sucks and has zero speed. Which isn't true, he's going faster than ever but the competition is also faster than ever. But, the competition doesn't move that much over the course of one season and the old guy gets left behind. Something stinks in Petronas Yamaha things aren't adding up and I can't quite put my finger on it. The one reason I say this, look at Morbidelli's stats as well. Last year, he was fast and right there with Fabio. He even won races and was a contender. This year, Morbidelli is all of no where. So I think he's also getting the short end of the stick. If anyone is sucking hind tit, it's Morbidelli which sucks because he's a good dude and very fast.

Now, what I really think Rossi will do is form his own team with his brother and give the all new Ducati a shot. It ain't the same turd he rode in 2011-2012, and it's basically a championship contender bike and has been. Who knows, Rossi may jump on that thing and start pulling podiums and the odd win out of thin air. Not that I'm holding my breath on it but it could happen.

Gerloff did well, though I think he found out what real speed looks like. Not saying the guys in WSBK are slow but he's running with the elite and the best of the best now. I think he experienced the same thing Beaubier did since coming to Moto2, and that's these European guys ain't fooling around. Not taking anything away from Elias either, but he was aging, sure he was Moto2 champion but he was nothing like these blood thirsty freaks we have now in Moto2. Which are nothing compared to the new crop of maniacs to hit MotoGP. Like I say, I think Marquez at 100% fitness is going to have his hands full. Especially if Fabio takes the championship this year. He ain't going to give the crown up that easy. Mir will be a threat, and Olivera is only getting faster. This new group of emerging aliens are freaking fast and they are only going to get faster. Look what they did to the lap record in Assen, obliterated it.

Let's see what Summer break brings.