Now that pre-season is here with livery roll outs, please post all MotoGP related 2023 info here.

This is an interesting article from Mat Oxley.

Aprilia’s MotoGP aero: ‘It’s a new world, like when Columbus went to America!’

This part of the article really stuck out.

“Overall the Aprilia is probably the second best bike on the MotoGP grid, so the question is this: can Espargaró and the RS-GP win the 2023 MotoGP world championship? If they continue the same rate of progress they’ve managed since the 90-degree V4 RS-GP was introduced in 2020, the answer is definitely, yes.”


I have to agree. I believe it was fairly early in the 2022 season when Aprilia said publicly their goal (realistically)is to win the title in 2023. They ended up finding a bit more success than perhaps they anticipated last year. It would be wild if they can pull it off.

I started rooting for Aleix last season.
Hopefully Aprilia can give him a strong contender this season.
Hopefully the Suzuki boys do well on their new rides.

Bagnaia/Bastianini Ducati livery

Pramac 2023 Livery

Sepang Test: Day 1 Footage
Raw audio, no commentary



And, with commentary

Here is a neat comparison pic of the RC213.

quote:

Originally posted by stickman428:
Here is a neat comparison pic of the RC213.

Fairing, front 'wing' and stego-tail jump out quickly
Maybe a slightly reprofiled fuel tank.
Some tough to distinguish with the bits in black on the 22 & silver on the 23.

Did not check regs but the front disk looks bigger in diameter.

quote:

Originally posted by marinemaster:
Did not check regs but the front disk looks bigger in diameter.

Does appear that way between those 2 shots

Copying Ducati's wings I see....LOL

I am ready for the season to start.
This preview stuff is like putting food in front of a starving man, but telling him he can't eat.

Well the bullshit is over. I think some people forgot. Today was the first day of the official season.

Miller got a tow from Beast in FP2 and broke the lap record at Portimao. FP1 was put to a halt twice and cut short. First a power cut at the circuit. Seen this movie before. The 2nd time when Pol completely wadded it and caused a red flag. He was immediately transported to the hospital but was apparently conscious. Low slide but the bike banged into him and he tumbled like a mother fucker into the barrier. Nasty nasty crash.

First race is tomorrow (absolute bullshit “sprint” race) and of course the real race on Sunday.

Guessing the live TV coverage will be Sunday only.
I don't care for the F1 sprints & have a similar opinion here

Watched the bike ride Pol. That shit was nasty. He's got bruised lungs, broken jaw, and fractured dorsal vertebrae according to a report I read earlier. I think this will just about wrap up an abysmal GP career...if he's smart. At a certain point, you know you're not even close to the pointy end and need to quit hurting yourself.

I agree that the sprint race is crap but we'll see how it pans out as the season goes on.

Marc is still a douche. Loved watching his front tuck as a result. Wish he'd just ride his ride and be as good as he can be but he'd rather try and play head games. The lap he put down after Fabio pitted was superb and just awesome to watch.

We'll see whether or not Jack Miller made a good choice on the KTM. So far it's looking like he did.

Watch for Jorge Martin in these sprint races. I think he'll be one to watch if he can stay on the bike. Even Simon seems to think so, which makes me feel like sometimes I know what I'm talking about

Mav will biff the start like he always does and ride around looking for someone to keep him company at the back since Pol will be out for a while.

That was FUN! Marquez’s double pass was incredible. I wasn’t expecting to see #93 fighting towards the front.

Maverick and Aleix made me nervous there for a bit.

I would love to have seen Miller win after bashing the spring race concept but then #1 had to go and win the race. It was sweet watching a factory KTM with its bright orange steel frame battling Ducatis for the lead. I didn’t expect Miller to adapt to the KTM so quickly. Way to make Ducati brass look foolish for cutting you loose.

It’s gonna be a fun season.

Plenty of action. Enea Bastianini is the first casualty of the sprint race format. Marini trying to go up the inside and he wiped both of them out. Quartararo was almost done in by Mir doing the same thing.

Miller's tires fell off towards the end of the race. He should've opted for a harder front like pretty much everyone else did. I think he'd have finished better than 4th.

Did Mav practice launches the entire break? He got a good launch and I don't seem to recall a bad start from any of the racers so maybe that'll be a non-issue going forward. Was kinda scary watching Mav and Aleix almost take each other out.

Marc is back but he's gonna have his hands full this season.

Yamaha needs to fire the entire design team and just buy bikes from Europe (don't matter which one) and stick a Yamaha logo on it. You can see how slow the thing is and it's painful to watch.

Yeah, not a great look for Yamaha right now. I had higher expectations. The glory of the inline four is solely on their shoulders since Suzuki quit.

Can’t help but wonder if Suzuki crushed GP bikes that would be outperforming all those Yamaha’s on the grid today. What a tremendous loss of potential, R&D investment, blood sweat and tears. They were approaching a decade straight in GP racing and Suzuki Ecstar was producing results hell, even a championship. That is a hell of a large long term investment to up and quit.

I suppose I’m still a bit bitter about the GSX-RR’s demise.

On a more positive note I am optimistic 1 race in. I think this is going to be a very interesting and exciting season. I will never complain when I get to see more racing for the same subscription price.

My take aways from the sprint:

Aprilia- Mav & Aleix look strong I like their chances

KTM- bravo on acquiring Miller the bike seems to suit his talents well

Alex Marquez- the Ducati seems to suit him well. It will be interesting to see how he fairs during a full length race.

Alex Rins- while at Suzuki he was often the more aggressive rider. Tomorrow will be interesting.

Mir- well, he knows the bike is fast, MM proved the RC213 can dance at the front. I expect a somewhat less aggressive ride from Mir tomorrow.

Ducati- the beautiful boutique brand from Bologna is starting to resemble 1996-2003 New York Yankees levels of depth in the bullpen.

quote:

Originally posted by mutedblade:

Mav will biff the start like he always does and ride around looking for someone to keep him company at the back since Pol will be out for a while.

First Aprilia across the line and his lap times were on par with the lead 3. Your prediction = bullshit.

quote:

Originally posted by mutedblade:

Yamaha needs to fire the entire design team and just buy bikes from Europe (don't matter which one) and stick a Yamaha logo on it. You can see how slow the thing is and it's painful to watch.

Fabio’s race pace, like Maverick, was front 3 pace. His problem was qualifying position. So more incorrect information.

Plenty of carnage today. Sprint races are likewise bullshit. It’s the mad dash for the cash, and someone is going to frequently take someone else out, like Marini on Beast today, because it’s 12 laps. This was a proper sport, going back to 1949, and now it’s Tik Tok’d. 42 races is just asinine. MotoGP used to be 16 races per season. And the free practice and qualifying was proper. Two one hour sessions each day and FP4 was treated as qualifying the last 15 minutes. 4 hours to setup the bikes and two of those sessions were in the afternoon, at the same time the race was held, to dial it in more. This current format, qualifying, at least for Qualifying 1, is decided on Friday? It’s a joke. Carmelo has done many things to equalize the sport. In the past HRC could just outspend any competitor and guarantee a championship and wins as they’ve always had or obtained the best rider in the field. Spec hardware and software/ECU was solid. Spec tires, much the same. But this format is a fucking joke. Riders will miss races and lose championships. And you combine 42 races with PSI rules on the tires, well I hope I don’t see someone killed. I don’t ever want to see 10/23/2011, ever again. But putting a limit on PSI may cause just that in combination with too many races. The riders lives shouldn’t be the price for higher viewer count on a Saturday. It’s as if the existing fans don’t mean shit. Dorna is willing to risk them for new Tik Tok generation viewers. Greed isn’t worth a life.

It isn’t every race that you see Maverick on the grid atop his Aprilia right before the race confidently smiling like a dang Cheshire Cat and legitimately lookin like he is enjoying himself.



It looks like #93 is back to his usual form.

I agree on both accounts there Stick. Mav may be one to keep our eyes on this season. Damn sure won’t be Fabio on the slowest bike in recent history. I was hoping to see the factory Duc boys duke it out but Marini put a damper on at least the first half of the season. I’m hoping Martin takes up that mantle now since he feels jilted by Ducati. Actually heard he may have already signed with Yamaha for next year. I’m not sure I’d make that same move.

Bezzecchi was fun to watch. Kid has some talent. Can’t wait to see him on a factory bike