Kawasaki Rich boys racing
Suzuki Crazy boys racing
Yamaha Pure marketing
Honda NASA

quote:

Originally posted by sunburn:
Kawasaki Rich boys racing
Suzuki Crazy boys racing
Yamaha Pure marketing
Honda NASA

Written by Dennis Noyes. My favorite journalist of all time.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Prefontaine,

Iannone is going to Aprilia for 2019 & 2020.

Mir is going to Suzuki.

Last piece to the major puzzle is the SIC/Petronas team, if Morbidelli is going there and if Pedrosa will retire or not.

MotoGP 2019 - rider line-up so far

Repsol Honda:

Marc Marquez (End of 2020)

Jorge Lorenzo (End of 2020)

Dani Pedrosa (End of 2018) Retiring??? Moto-E???



Movistar Yamaha:

Maverick Vinales (End of 2020)

Valentino Rossi (End of 2020)



Ducati Team:

Andrea Dovizioso (End of 2020)

Danilo Petrucci (End of 2019) <<<<Only got a 1 Year contract??>>>>

Jorge Lorenzo (End of 2018) - Going to Repsol



Suzuki:

Alex Rins (End of 2020)

Andrea Iannone (End of 2018) -Going to Aprilia for 2 years
Joan Mir - Officially Iannone's Replacement (End of 2020)



Red Bull KTM:

Johann Zarco (End of 2020)

Pol Espargaro (End of 2020)

Bradley Smith (End of 2018)-No word on where he's going--- Moto-E???


Aprilia Gresini:

Aleix Espargaro (End of 2020)

Andrea Iannone (End of 2020)

Scott Redding (End of 2018)-No word on where he's going ---Moto-E???



Tech3 KTM:

Miguel Oliveira (KTM contract, end of 2019)

Hafizh Syahrin (End of 2019)

Johann Zarco (End of 2018)-Going to Red Bull KTM for 2 years



LCR Honda:

Cal Crutchlow (HRC contract, end of 2019)

Takaaki Nakagami (HRC contract, end of 2018)



Marc VDS Honda:

Franco Morbidelli (End of 2019, option for 2020)

Thomas Luthi (End of 2018)



Pramac Ducati:

Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati contract, 2019 and 2020)

Jack Miller (Ducati contract, end of 2018)

Danilo Petrucci (Ducati contract, end of 2018)-Going to Ducati Team



Avintia Ducati:

Xavier Simeon (End of 2019)

Tito Rabat (End of 2018)



Aspar Ducati:

Alvaro Bautista (End of 2018)

Karel Abraham (End of 2018)



Other news:

Marc VDS Racing Team Owner And Manager Reach Agreement To Part Ways

Pons Racing and Hector Barbera part ways

This message has been edited. Last edited by: mutedblade,

This is an interesting interview of Suzuki’s boss on their decision to let Iannone go and recruit a new rider. Looks like that disastrous 2017 season played a big role in their decision.

Link to interview of Suzuki’s GP boss

Yes, it is risky but Suzuki has shown that they are good at recruiting talent and that they can actually win races with rookie riders.

I read that yesterday (excerpts). Dani Pedrosa announces his future tomorrow. There are only satellite bikes so it may be retirement.

Watched the pre-event press conference and Dani’s private press conference. Dani said he has several options available. If he was going to retire he would have announced it today. My bet or guess is Jarvis is trying to get him for the SIC/Petronas outfit for next year. And HRC is trying to retain him on a satellite bike. Since the sat Yam outfit isn’t setup yet we wait.

Watched and re-watched Sunday's race. Mostly a snooze fest but man is J-Lo fucking methodical or what? Mofo put down times so consistent, I couldn't even believe what I was watching. With Dovi biffing it, the points have certainly tightened up. Absolutely flabbergasted when he grabbed too much brake and threw it into the litter.....AGAIN!!!! My daughter remarked that maybe J-Lo and Dovi swapped bodies during their collision with Pedrosa at Jerez, Freaky Friday style Anyways, Petrux on the satellite Duc has 5 more points than either factory guy.

Viñales needs to learn how to drag his bike off the line. He had the pace to finish ahead of Pedrosa and Crutchlow, but can't get off the line to save his life.

Rossi looked like he was on cruise control as did Marquez. Neither was trying to push which suggests they are both comfortable with the points they knew they were getting.

Zarco hasn't performed as well as he needs to since he crashed out at Le Mans. I think he needs to unass his head and get back into contention.

My boy Syahrin biffed it too He was doing so well. Shit, he would have been ahead of Ianonne, but no, he had to high side...

Tito Rabat looked a bit warm at the end of his ride


Jorge Lorenzo in Rain Man mode:

1 1'45.078
2 1'40.411
3 1'40.271
4 1'40.142
5 1'40.205
6 1'40.330
7 1'40.121
8 1'40.055
9 1'40.021
10 1'40.114
11 1'40.047
12 1'40.079
13 1'40.185
14 1'40.502
15 1'40.487
16 1'40.321
17 1'40.498
18 1'40.436
19 1'40.452
20 1'40.706
21 1'40.322
22 1'40.606
23 1'40.928
24 1'41.249

Rossi was managing his tires. The Yamaha won’t go any faster. They’re spinning on corner exit, which is affecting acceleration top speed as well. Yamaha hasn’t been this shit at fixing their problems since pre-2003. No updates until after Brno.

The one race I can’t watch and Rins & Maverick both get a podium! Damn!

That was the best race I have ever watched. Plenty of passing, bumping knees/elbows, and even some young guns trying to muscle their way into the front. I think the commentators earned their pay check today. Don't think they took one breath while announcing the race.

Rossi and Dovi fucking around cost themselves a podium which both should have seen coming. The racing was tight all the way back to 8th for most of the race, so them dicking with each other was bound to end in finishing off the podium.

Good job to Rins. That guy was pushing....Hard. Vinales surely had no tires left at the end of the race either. Glad to see him finish higher than he has been. Kinda surprised to see Petrux crash out, though it was only a blurb in the background. Never actually saw what happened, the action was so tight, none of the cameras shifted from the front of the pack

So many overtakes mid-corner only to get passed back, or even dropping 4-5 spots each time someone else wanted to get in front. It was like watching Moto 3 for sure.

Wonder if Lorenzo is trying to figure out why he has whiplash right now? That shit was CRAZY!

Now, if Yamaha could find some straight line grunt, I think the races would be this tight all of the time. Here's to hoping!

Not the best race I have ever seen by a long shot (2002 Imola WSBK race 2) but definitely the best race of 2018. Proabably a hundred overtakes. I’m surprised nobody at the front put it in the litter. The race was good due to Mother Nature, specifically the wind. But I watch all the practice sessions and there was never any doubt that Márquez would win this one, that much was pretty predictable. He was untouchable in practice on all tire combinations.

I remember reading that Suzuki was close to losing concessions. Does this podium by Rins mean they lost concessions?

Who is ready for the second half of the season? ME

Can’t wait until Sunday morning.

quote:

Originally posted by stickman428:
I remember reading that Suzuki was close to losing concessions. Does this podium by Rins mean they lost concessions?

I think one more podium dude, and they lose it. Davide (Team manager, used to be Rossi/Yamaha team manager) said Suzuki wants to lose it. I wish Yorga would have went to Suzuki. He’d be a nightmare on the thing even though I hate the prick.

Off to watch FP1 and FP2. Brno is always awesome. Cheapest GP to visit in Europe and Czech women are fucking stunning!

I said Dovi for the win yesterday with Marc and Whoregay on the podium. Result was predictable from practice. Some great passes today though, Brno always serves up solid races.

Was surprised Rossi was able to lead for a while. Rear tire of the Yamaha just spins up. Hopefully Yamaha has something tomorrow in the test. 18 months of the same issue without them fixing the problem now. Maverick got a stern talking to this weekend by Lin Jarvis. Mav’s been airing out the dirty laundry. He basically fired Forcada. He is frustrated with the bike but he’s throwing out the baby with the bath water.

Pedrosa seems like he is one foot out already. I’d bet the Ducati’s will rule the day in Austria at the drag strip (shittiest circuit layout ever in the championship). And after Austria, Márquez will be 50+ points in the lead of the championship. So he could take two races off and still lead. I think I said it was over by race 3 or 4.

Holy schnikes! I’ll wait until later today to post more but those last few laps were FUN.

Yes they were!!

It was cool to see Rins work his way towards the front of the pack at the beginning. They still have lots of work to do to be competitive towards the end of races. Still, overall it’s progress for Suzuki and a move in the right direction. I think their idea of finding new talent over veteran riders may pan out in the long run if they continue to pick up VERY good rookie riders and IF they can get that GSX-RR more power and work out their traction issues. I’m rooting for em.

Those last few laps were pretty sweet. Those damn Ducatis are fast at Austria. There was a moment where I was sure MM was going to crash. That guy is either insanely lucky or just that damn good. JL was sliding around a bit too but MM elevates it to a near artform.

WTF Yamaha?