I'm a little surprised they re-signed Vinales. He has some o.k. results but really has his problems in qualifying. Just isn't on the same level as Espagaro. I think Aprilia is looking to the future, they have found some good data and have a formula that is working. I think that's why we saw them snatch Yamaha's satellite team away.Originally Posted by madvlad
Yamaha really are having problems. Other that what FQ is doing, the rest of the Yammies are no where. They really took a wrong direction and it shows, to the point of it being embarrassing. I'm sure they are going to throw as much money as they can at FQ. But really, I'd leave for Ducati as well, if there were a seat open.
The only issue I can see with FQ not leaving is I believe Ducati already have Enea Bastanini moving up and Miller moving out. If Fabio can pull it off again this year and win the championship, might as well stay and milk Yamaha for all he can money wise. He will have back to back championships and no one can take that away. Fabio would really do best to stay with Yamaha and force them to finally upgrade the bike in order to keep him. I really do think that if Yamaha could find the straight line power Fabio wants and sort a few other things, this kid would be running away with the championship. Look how he stays with Pecco who is on a far superior Ducati, and at Mugello no less!! Mugello a huge horsepower track and Fabio made the difference.
KTM are doing fine they just need consistency. They need riders to stop crashing and starting giving a little bit more. Binder and Olivera are there at certain tracks but just lack the consistency needed. Keep in mind they have both won multiple races for KTM, so we know it's a bike that is fast. Now the Tech 3 bike is another story, that thing does look like a polished orange turd at times. But they have to get guys on those bikes that are hungry to ride and not just there because it's a paycheck.
I think 2023 could see the most movement in MotoGP in a long time.
I think he's done. Unless he miraculously gets the arm to heal and can train it back to 2019 levels. I think Marquez will be thinking of early retirement. You can hear it in his voice, he's talking about things now that he never talked about before. Before it was all things MotoGP. Now, with the eye problems and his arm. He mentions things like, "I want to live a normal life", and that means he's looking long term and has been given a prognosis of you'll be able to live normal but probably never race at a level you're used too.
And it shows, he was already starting to lose a step in 2018 and 2019. Then 2020 rolled around, he got hurt and the rest of the field left him behind. Now he's back and the new aliens are freaking faster and more ruthless than him. He's getting a taste of some medicine that he gave Rossi 5-6 years ago. It always comes around, and he's getting it now.
He's also talking about his comeback for 2023 and that's a long time to come back. Season just started when you think about it, and he won't return until probably pre-season testing in 2023. He won't be at Novembers preseason test. He honestly could be looking at a full year of recover time. Really, that's how long it takes for the rest of us normal people. Yeah sure you break something and it heals in 8 weeks. But you really aren't yourself for many months after. I broke my wrist at 20, and was healed fairly quick but didn't really think I had all my strength and range of movement back until about 8-10 months went by. Arm had atrophied and I had to rebuild on what I lost.
Same goes for these guys, they just try to accelerate it with physio. That's all find and well, but you can't rush time and time heals all.
So the way I see it, is he gets his operation. Gets healed and is back in 2023, to see how he will be able to ride at full speed with a MotoGP bike. Yeah he can test all day on road bikes but he needs to see how a race goes and then several races after. I think 2023 will see him evaluate where he's at. If he's fit enough, he will fulfill his contract to 2024 and retire. If he knows he can't hang then we see him bounce a year early. And if things really go south and he doesn't recover well. Then we might see a 2023 announcement that he retires for good...
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