2019 "Dutch TT" Motul TT Assen Race

imunderandoverit said:

We all know barcelona would have ended a whole lot different. But then lorenzo happened. Another easy win at sachsenring for marc on sunday. 100% honda track more or less. Will be interesting to see what rins can do and quartararo. Pretty sure they will hang pretty good and can surprise. And crashlow. Ducati wont be there at all. Pretty slow track and it aint a ducati track at all. They have been pretty bad there over the years, even with stoner. Yamaha factory showed great pace there last year and they have looked pretty good the last two races.

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Sure. My point is that if MM is that much better then he is that much better, and if the points standings reflect this then that is the way it is. MM scored no points in one race this year himself as has been said. At the moment it certainly doesn’t look as though the Honda bike is the cause of his dominance, rather it seems difficult to ride as the aforementioned Lorenzo is demonstrating.

MichaelBolton said:

In retrospect I find it funny how everybody lost their minds over the Ducati "rain-deflector" earlier this season, as if it was the final piece of the puzzle to give them total dominance. Seems like Ducati have regressed this year... or maybe they stayed the same and everybody else got better?

I'm unimpressed by them, they can put 3 riders in the top 10 consistently but suffer to get into the podium. They don't have the speed advantage anymore, even the Suzuki looks competent in the straights, and the bike can't turn. Maybe they shouldn't have told Petrucci to hold back when fighting his teammate, he seems to have better pace and race craft than Dovi these days. They need to reinvent themselves and the bike I fear.

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One does wonder how much Lorenzo +/- Stoner had to do with the strength of the bike in the 2 seasons prior to this one.

michaelm said:

Sure. My point is that if MM is that much better then he is that much better, and if the points standings reflect this then that is the way it is. MM scored no points in one race this year himself as has been said. At the moment it certainly doesn’t look as though the Honda bike is the cause of his dominance, rather it seems difficult to ride as the aforementioned Lorenzo is demonstrating.

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Good point...well made.

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Both Stoner and MM have the ability to make a fast but difficult bike, go fast.

I pretty sure that there's performance left in the Ducati that's not consistently being unlocked by the current rider lineup.

OTOH, the Yamaha does seem to have its issues with pace over a race distance at many circuits.

misfit said:

Both Stoner and MM have the ability to make a fast but difficult bike, go fast.

I pretty sure that there's performance left in the Ducati that's not consistently being unlocked by the current rider lineup.

OTOH, the Yamaha does seem to have its issues with pace over a race distance at many circuits.

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I’m not so sure about this anymore.
Qatar - Rossi 5th +0.6
Argentina - Rossi 2nd + 9.8 - no one was getting close to Marquez
Cota - Rossi 2nd + 0.4
Jerez - Vinales 3rd + 2.4 - Fabio was more than likely going to finish ahead of both Maverick and Rins
France - Rossi 5th + 3.0
Mugello - .........
Catalunya - Quartararo 2nd + 2.6 - Rossi and/or Mav may have finished closer than him to Marquez or in front of Marquez
Assen - 1st & 3rd

Last Year
Valencia was a crashfest
Sepang - Rossi crashes out of the lead, Zarco 3rd + 2.4
Japan - Rossi + 6.4
Thailand - Vinales 3rd + 0.27
Aragón - total ....... failure

I’m just not sure that the actual times show the current common thoughts. If you took Marquez out of the equation the gaps at the end of the race would be smaller for most races. I’m wondering if it’s rider inconsistency rather than bike inconsistency because on most weekends it seems someone can get a Yamaha within a few seconds of the race winner.

I also question how much of the change has to do with Honda/Ducati catching up to Yamaha who have had the easiest bike to ride for years. One rider is now 40 years and old was never Marquez’s equal, it could be argued that h2h it has been shown he wasn’t Lorenzo’s equal either. The other rider is consistently inconsistent, perhaps more so than any top rider in recent memory. Their top satellite rider is a rookie who has had his best two results while injured. I’m just not convinced it’s the bike, as I said above take Marquez out and the times all of a sudden are much closer most weekends to the race win.