Mugello!

Fisticuffs in QP2 with Marquez doing Marquez shit then denying. Sure didn’t stop Pecco from Bags-ing pole and the Sprint win.

Rooting for Marco tomorrow with more laps to catch Bags. Best motorcycle track in the world!

Damn Pecco. Pole. Sprint win. Full race win. Total domination on the world’s best and his home country circuit. He’s limping around with injuries from LeMans as well, a broken angle. Truly superb weekend from the world champion given the injury. Owned the circuit and weekend.

Race was a bit of a snoozer however since Pecco took the lead early on and never missed a beat. I was rooting for Mooney and thought Marco would make a run as he had the pace but it wasn’t meant to be. Then Marini, but he got overtaken and Luca is pretty injured, still, from the crash in LeMans. His hands/wrists are fucked. He’s in extreme pain so to finish 4th is excellent. And damn did Ducati dominate. Top 4 positions.

And seeing the Marquez brothers both crash, made the race! Marc will surely be bitching about the RC213v, again. It’s all good when you won all those championships and the Honda was by far the best bike on the grid with HRC always having the largest budget. Now that it’s not the best bike he’s pissing and moaning. Well newsflash fuckstick, the entire bike is created and developed for your riding style which is why Rins has a double leg break (tib and fib), and Joan Mir can’t finish a race, and now can’t even finish a weekend. Y’all did this to yourselves. Not to mention Marc’s a crasher and his fucked his whole career up. No love for the guy. Last corner, for the race win, sure, bang fairings, do what you gotta do. But this ass hole does this lap 1, lap 10, and fucking practice. Never seen a rider pull so much consistent shit in practice. He even did this, this weekend, with Pecco, during qualifying. #98 or something of how many times he’s pulled bullshit in practice, qualifying, always looking for a tow because he can’t manage it himself.

Ducati and KTM have now, solidly, concretely, outclassed the Japanese. Even Aprilia, 3rd. All it took was Gigi, and some Audi/VAG money to rival HRC, and KTM with that Red Bull money. KTM is hell bent. They joined GP, not to win, or to be the best, but to rub HRC’s nose in shit as they hate HRC more than they even want to win. And there’s a difference. Finally Aprilia has a solid man at the helm and finally the dedication (and $ to keep pushing). European mfr’s have taken over MotoGP for the first time in decades since Ago was with Moto Guzzi. Aprilia were dominant in 125’s and 250’s in the 2 stroke era but the premier class hasn’t seen this since the late 60’s early 70’s. Ago left Guzzi in 1974 for Yamaha.

When they didn’t show Rins crash I thought it was odd. That sucks. The Honda RC213 just breaks riders. . I don’t think we will see Rins racing again until next season.

Ducati is on fire. Total domination at home. Bravo!!!


KTM’s RC16 piloted by Brad Binder now holds the new top speed record at 366.1 KPH or 227.48 mph during a race. Red Bull certainly has given KTM wings.

Aprilia….what the hell guys? It was a great effort by Aleix riding hurt but damn I was hoping Aprilia’s two riders would be more competitive this year.


Yamaha…another WTF team. They would be better off tossing that M1 in the trash bin and buying the old GSX-RR as awful as the M1 is looking with its power upgrade.

Valentino Rossi broke his leg in practice at Mugello in 2010. He was back on the bike and racing 6 weeks later. Bagged a 4th, then 3 podiums, then a win at Sepang then 3 more podiums before the season was finished. When he crashed in practice at Mugello the bone was sticking out of the skin. Compound tib/fib break and he was back racing that fast. Rins will be back in similar time frame. These guys are like Bull Riders, toughest athletes in the world. You watch, Rins will be back this season and in short time.

It’s time Yamaha chunk the crossplane and go V4. It’s the necessary engine today with all these aerodynamics. Everyone else in the championship is running a V4. Honda, Ducati, Aprilia, and KTM, all V4’s. KTM just has to get some more handling engineered into the bike and they will be neck and neck with Ducati. HRC still spends the most so the Honda woes are all down to Marc’s development track which is wrong, and HRC seems lost on their chassis. In the past it would be absolutely no way in hell HRC would farm out their chassis. Not in 25 years of me watching this sport until now. I’m still baffled that they paid Kalex to build them a frame for the 213v. Just crazy. I think Marc went back to the HRC frame for this race too.

One of the best aerial shots of iconic Mugello circuit. It would go on to be Ducati’s day with a lock out of the podium.

I love this.

Before I die I need to make the pilgrimage to Mugello. What a beautiful place to put a race track!!!!

Zarco is one lucky man.....

Finally watched Mugello last night
Good result for Ducati, Miller seemed to be running well, then just dropped back, not sure if he maybe had damage from the brush with AMarquez?
Bummer seeing both Mir & Rins out.
MMarquez looked shocked at sliding off into the gravel, looked like genuine surprise/disgust

Taka's bike looked shredded in that FP2 video above
Sliding on your hands/knees on an active track looks pretty terrifying & that Honda wobble for MM was wicked looking.
Ripped the front wheel off Zarco's bike. Quite lucky indeed, a bit further back & that would've been a very different crash.

Wish GP would put out highlight reels like F1 does after the session.

quote:

Originally posted by rainman64:
Zarco is one lucky man.....

How many riders is that mother fucker going to take out this year? Shit. He didn’t even walk over to Johan and see if he was ok. Most any other rider would have walked over to him to check on him, say sorry, etc. Marc just walked off the circuit. Can’t stand that POS.

Marc is feeling the pressure and it’s showing. I figure if he can’t get on something other than a Honda next year, he’ll announce his retirement. We’ll find out when all of the silly season shit kicks into high gear to see who is moving where.

Fuck Marc. I will never forget him damn near killing Zarco over pushing over riding that bike. Zarco is damn damn lucky. Marc got up, and hurriedly went back to his box to get on the other bike. Zero fucks were given. Next session Simon said the exact thing I did, which was amazing to hear your own words repeated back by a MotoGP announcer.

Well Marc crashed 3 times in QP1 and QP2. 3 times, in the span of 30 minutes. I guess maybe he knew the press was already on his ass, big time, after that Zarco incident. They even played back the motor home area interaction between Johan and Marc and Marc was a prick then too. “You are ok” and just went on. Zarco was furious, but holding it back. Marc couldn’t even be warm in that instance. Off the bike, secluded sans the official GP camera, no helmet on, etc. He didn’t even apologize to the guy. Fuck him. But anyway, it was great to see him finish 11th in the Sprint.

Martin rode an excellent sprint and just put everyone in the rear view. He had better pace than Bags and Bags rode smart, thinking of the championship and bagging 2nd, no pun intended. Thrilla Milla was my favorite, bagging third. Such a really good guy, and fucking genuine. If you don’t like Jack Miller then you’re an ass hole. The day he wins on that KTM, I will be yelling at the screen.

I was really rooting for Marco Bezzechi. He is easily my favorite rider in the paddock currently and he has the pace to win tomorrow. Hopefully VR|46 makes a couple adjustments to the bike and gets him where he needs to be. In QP2, Marco nailed pole, but they took it away from him because a yellow caution flag was out, due to Marc Marquez and his bullshit, him crashing a fourth fucking time this weekend. So Marco lost pole due to Marc’s bullshit that seems to be never ending. Man I can’t stand the fucker. Hopefully a better race tomorrow as the Sprint was a snoozer for the most part because there wasn’t much of a fight for the podium once Martin got into the lead. It was over.

Well it’s not MotoGP any longer, it’s Ducati GP. Ducati, in the main race at Sausagering, claimed the top 5 spots, 1-5, all Ducati. And what is worse is they took 8 of 9 top top spots. Out of the top 10, only 1 KTM (Miller), and 1 Aprilia (Oliveira), the rest all 8 of Ducatis in the championship. That’s unreal.

Martin, like in yesterday’s Sprint, was just a bit better than Pecco. Pecco pushed him and pushed him, and passed him at one stage, then got passed back. Pecco mounted another attempt to overtake for the lead but he touched the rear tire of Martin, and they ended it and had to settle for 2nd place. Pecco is the smartest and most consistent rider in the field. He was missing something this weekend but bagged 2nd in the Sprint and 2nd in the main race. Zarco is showing excellent consistency yielding yet another podium.

Marc Marquez highsided in the warmup this morning, his 5th crash of the weekend. Poetic justice, if you ask me, for taking out Zarco yesterday. I feel nothing for HRC or Marquez. They have developed the RC213v completely around Marquez for many many years, and not for any other rider. The problem is Marc has been injured, one thing after the next, for 3 years now. So they dug their own grave. Marc over rides the bike and should have known after the first couple of crashes this weekend, to back off, ride for the points you can get, and try to make some improvements in setup for the next round. Yet again, he won’t accept his own limits at any given track nor the limit of his motorcycle, and bang he goes. He does this to himself. For many years the Honda was the dominant motorcycle in this championship and for his big run of championships when started in GP, no other mfr was close. Chickens have come home to roost. Marquez will never be on the same level with Valentino Rossi until he can hop on a lesser motorcycle and still win a championship. Ducati does not need Marquez. I don’t think they want him either. Ducati has talent in spades. They could cut to 4 bikes, down from 8, retain Pecco, Beast, Bezzecchi, and Jorge and any of the 4 could win the championship. Perhaps Marquez could go to Aprilia to replace Aleix, as he has hinted at retiring within a year or so, once Marquez’s contract is done with HRC after 2024. And KTM seem to be willing to part ways with anyone, when they feel like it so I could see, maybe, Marquez replacing Miller and slotting Miller into Gas Gas but Herve has been adamant that his team is to be used for young riders. KTM, like Ducati have the riches in riders. Brad Binder is a special special talent. Jack has brought a wealth of talent and experience in electronics, chassis, everything, over from Ducati. Oliveira can win, has won, and can win a championship, so I just don’t know if KTM would want HRC leftovers, even if it’s Marquez.

Aprilia, was getting so close last year, to matching Ducati but have clearly lost a step from 2022 to 2023. KTM, like Ducati 5 years ago, is in the exact same place they were. I said 5 years ago when Dovizioso was the lead Ducati rider, if Gigi could ever get that Ducati to turn, they’d be unbeatable. 5 years ago they had braking as good as anyone, and they have the strongest motor in the paddock. Desmo valves use less fuel per meter than pneumatic valves, so the Ducati motor will always be the strongest. Well they have that thing turning. Not as good as the Yamaha in cornerspeed, but it’s there. Now that is KTM. KTM has the motor, and braking. I mean I’ve seen Miller and Binder bend the rear of that motorcycle into a corner so many times this year with front and rear wheels completely out of line and still pull the corner off. This is a sign that the motorcycle is getting close but they need a better chassis. They are a chassis away from fighting, knife for knife, with Ducati. Very impressive as they are the newbs in the field. To pass HRC in this short time is phenomenal. Any Moto2 rider trying to move up, it’s Ducati, then KTM. No other mfr is doing shit.

Rumors are circulating about Yamaha and them bitching out like Suzuki did. I hope not. The last thing the championship needs is another mfr leaving. It’s the opposite, the sport needs more mfr’s. Such a shame that Suzuki left as they won a championship with Mir, and the bike was even better than the Yamaha. Best turning bike in the field and a better motor than Yamaha. What would the sport be with Suzuki back, Kawasaki, and having BMW enter the fray? Yamaha is going to have to dump my beloved crossplane 4 and go to a V4. The days of an inline 4 competing with the V4’s is over unless the sport decides to dump the aero. When Dorna and the MSMA decided to go to only so many motors per year, then doubled down and reduced the number of engines per year (ridiculous in top level Motorsport) claiming “cost savings”, well that was all bullshit. The money got moved from engines to aero, and aero is now the most costly thing in the sport and I feel, as many do, they should dump it, and go back to traditional fairings. They would cut costs, which would pave the way for more mfr’s to enter. We’ve gone full circle with costs now. They first went to a spec tire. Then spec ECU/IMU with Magneti. Then spec software for it. And an engine cap. Not it’s aero which is a never ending rabbit hole of money. This is why Suzuki left. Yamaha have Monster. Ducati has VAG/Audi. KTM has Red Bull money. HRC is HRC, deepest pockets there is. So Suzuki didn’t have the big bag of money to draw from, and Kawasaki didn’t either. Dump the bullshit wings, ride height devices, rapid start devices. This would slash costs and see more mfr’s in the sport. This continues on, Yamaha could leave. And if HRC leaves the sport is doomed.

Prefontaine
As much as I love Docati, and you know I do, it's cyclical.

Honda used to dominate, and Ducati sucked, It was a loooong time before they won their first championship, and then a long dry spell before they got their second.
Yamaha has been hurting and it took the GOAT to get them in the front again.

But this is one place I like the word diversity.
I would have liked to see a manufacturers mix-up in the top 10 and Aprilia and KTM looked good early on.

But companies bailing from GP is not good.
And why did it take so long for Honda, who has the biggest budget, to just suck it up and hire an F1 Aero engineer like everyone else and get caught up? Now Yamaha is the only one not doing it.

Rules are gonna have to change but not that long ago rules hurt Ducati, which evolved the V4.
The sound of Moto GP sure has changed in 10 years.
Used to be by the sound, you knew which manufacturer it was going by without looking.
Not anymore.
SMH

I agree, dump the wings, ride height, whizz bang tech and ride like Schwantz and Rainey and Lawson and Doohan.
Rider not the bike, be ruler!

YouTubeTV didn't record the German GP

quote:

Originally posted by rainman64:
Prefontaine
As much as I love Docati, and you know I do, it's cyclical.

Honda used to dominate, and Ducati sucked, It was a loooong time before they won their first championship, and then a long dry spell before they got their second.
Yamaha has been hurting and it took the GOAT to get them in the front again.

But this is one place I like the word diversity.
I would have liked to see a manufacturers mix-up in the top 10 and Aprilia and KTM looked good early on.

But companies bailing from GP is not good.
And why did it take so long for Honda, who has the biggest budget, to just suck it up and hire an F1 Aero engineer like everyone else and get caught up? Now Yamaha is the only one not doing it.

Rules are gonna have to change but not that long ago rules hurt Ducati, which evolved the V4.
The sound of Moto GP sure has changed in 10 years.
Used to be by the sound, you knew which manufacturer it was going by without looking.
Not anymore.
SMH

I agree, dump the wings, ride height, whizz bang tech and ride like Schwantz and Rainey and Lawson and Doohan.
Rider not the bike, be ruler!

It’s the aero + ride height devices that are making MotoGP into F1 on two wheels. To watch these riders flip the switch or hit the button on the clip ons after a corner, and see that rear end squat down, is a bit ridiculous. The ridiculous wings as well.

I have no problem with Ducati dominating. I mean this whole year, it’s over. One Ducati rider will take points off another Ducati rider, and that’s how it’s going to be the whole season. Unless..KTM drops a new chassis on that bitch and we have Binder and Miller trading paint at the front with the Ducatis.

The problem with the Japanese, as much honor as they have as a country and culture, well there are already talks about Yamaha leaving. There are talks of Honda doing away with the CBR1000RR/Fireblade. I mean when the Japanese mfr’s stop making liter sport bikes, it’s not a good feeling at all. If I could afford it I’d buy a brand new RSV4 right now.

We’ll see what happens this year. It’ll be good racing between the Ducatis but they will dominate the year. It’s the combination of the bike being that good and having 8 of them. Aprilia, Honda, and KTM have 4 running a piece, and Yamaha only have 2. That’s 22 bikes on the grid and they need 24. Yamaha or Honda leaves, the series is f’d up. BMW have repeatedly said they have no interest and choose to stay in WSBK. I’m more concerned with the health of the sport. We are full circle. When unlimited engines were in play, they said it cost too much. When it was software and hardware wars, with rider aids, the MSMA started whining it cost too much, most the satellite teams. Now it’s aero.

And fucking Honda, oh my. Rins, hurt, injured. Mir, hurt, injured. Marquez, hur, injured. Only Nakagami is up on all 4’s.

Friday highlights from Assen
MM down again, both KTMs & Aprilias in the top 10


Double checking my DVR to make it records this weekend.

The Race today was a bit of a snoozer. Wasn’t much movement, at all. After the opening few laps, that was it. Assen can produce spectacular races but also very boring ones.

Yeah, pretty forgettable. The aero has turned this into F1. It’s getting to the point that all the riders have been wiped out a few times from the dirty air and they don’t push nearly as hard. Also, the stewards giving penalties for racing incidents because they’re afraid the aero is gonna be knocked off is keeping the riders from throwing their elbows out. All of the extraneous bullshit needs to go. Aero, ride height devices, launch control…ALL OF IT!

I only caught about half the race this morning before heading to the office.
Good start & Binder was blazing, Aleix doing well too keeping it in the top 5.
Miller looked to be doing well before losing the front.

Hope to catch the latter half over lunch.

Love that last chicane at Assen, visually awesome with a few bikes trailing through it & looks like it'd be a fun complex to ride.

quote:

Originally posted by mutedblade:
Yeah, pretty forgettable. The aero has turned this into F1. It’s getting to the point that all the riders have been wiped out a few times from the dirty air and they don’t push nearly as hard. Also, the stewards giving penalties for racing incidents because they’re afraid the aero is gonna be knocked off is keeping the riders from throwing their elbows out. All of the extraneous bullshit needs to go. Aero, ride height devices, launch control…ALL OF IT!

It’s all bullshit. The MSMA went to X amount of engines per year because they whined about cost. One year it was stupid, like 6 engines for the whole year or something. Keep in mind engines get damaged in low/high sides so this was too strict and stupid.

Dorna wanted a spec ECU because in 2007, when the rider-aids development race kicked in, coding, lean control, wheelie control, anti-spin, blah blah, some of the factories were spending tens of millions. Then Dorna pushed it further and said, f y’all, spec software too. MSMA didn’t like that much and complained. So they have tire costs in control, with the spec tires, rider nanny cost controlled, engine cost controlled, but aero and ride height devices are a blank check. It’s a joke. There is no use for either on a street bike so it’s pointless. And I’d go one step more. I’d ban all rider aids in MotoGP and kick the nannies to WSBK.

From 1958 to 1974 MV Augusta enjoyed total domination over the other manufacturers in MotoGP. Honda starts showing up a lot at the bottom of the poster but not like MV did on their run.