2021 Motul TT Assen

Keshav said:

And he does it without all the practice crashes.

BTW - WTF, why was Miller black flagged?

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He does, doesn't need to push the front so hard to make time.
Dunno that Marc mk2 is going to be capable or willing to keep doing that.

I don't know why Jack was black flagged yet either.

warthog1 said:

He does, doesn't need to push the front so hard to make time.
Dunno that Marc mk2 is going to be capable or willing to keep doing that.

I don't know why Jack was black flagged yet either.

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They said it was for a mechanical issue with his bike; I don’t what issues other than dropping oil fall into that category.

warthog1 said:

He does, doesn't need to push the front so hard to make time.
Dunno that Marc mk2 is going to be capable or willing to keep doing that.

I don't know why Jack was black flagged yet either.

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They said it was for a mechanical issue (?meatball flag), but didn’t say anything further as to whether it was dropping oil or something else.

I consider it likely MM will get back to a physical status that will allow him to ride like he did formerly, and that Honda can tweak the TC. No-one no matter how brave can tolerate repeated high sides like the one he had at Assen though.

I am wondering whether the Michelin tire now doesn’t suit his riding style as well as not suiting his bike, the latter something the commentators raised after the highside. I tend to believe contentions for that being one factor in Rossi’s decline, and previously both Lorenzo and Stoner have been affected by tire changes, so maybe the higher grip rear Michelin stops him doing what he formerly did. Ironically the tire know seems to favour a Lorenzo riding style and some have speculated possibly the current Yamaha bike does as well, a style FQ can ride but Vinales cannot. As has been the long term view on this forum Vinales also appears totally incapable of riding around problems, like Dani Pedrosa needing the bike to be perfect for him, except to a greater degree. FQ also seems to have developed an ability to pass, always a weak spot for Vinales.

Perhaps the softer front construction is stopping him pushing the front as hard.
I would say his injuries definitely are currently, in terms of strength, or lack thereof, and possibly confidence, or lack thereof also.

Have never seen anybody able to consistently hold and save a front, that is gone for all money, like he has made a habit of.
It is a physically costly habit, though, as even he can't save them all.
The honda has needed a hard front apparently more than other bikes. Maybe those softer fronts are going to be beyond even his ability to ride around if fully fit.

Second half of the season is where I think we will find out if Fabio has dramatically improved or not since last year. Historically the races on the first half of the calendar have favoured Yamaha over the other factories. With a few tracks coming up that *should* favour Ducati we will see how he reacts and also how well the Ducati riders perform at tracks where they should be expecting good results. Zarco is putting together a Mir like season so far and I wouldn't be surprised if he leaves the 2 rounds at Austria leading the championship. I think despite the early dominance Fabio has shown, this title race could go down to the wire.

Fabio was flawless from start to finish, Mavericks starts again cost him a chance at winning, whether his nose was chopped off at the start or not.

Aleix is riding the wheels of that Aprilia and I have said for a long time that he is the better of the two brothers. I can't help but think he may have been a better option for Honda if for no other reason than his experience on the developing but smooth Suzuki's and Aprilia's. Both bikes improved during his time there and while it's not a certainty it would be the same as Honda, I doubt he would have been any worse than Pol.

I won't be surprised if Marquez manages to finish 3rd in the championship this year which would be IMO a successful comeback season. 59 points to the guy sitting in 3rd currently despite 2 less races and 3 straight DNFs bodes well for his chances there IMO. His first lap was brilliant and he was able to stick to what seemed to be the race plan of not pushing the bike too hard on a circuit that IMO looks like a fair bike of physical work over race distance.

Can't help but feel that Rossi's crashes and lack of point scoring results are karma for his fans behaviour. I just can't see him wanting to continue like this for another year.

michaelm said:

I consider it likely MM will get back to a physical status that will allow him to ride like he did formerly, and that Honda can tweak the TC. No-one no matter how brave can tolerate repeated high sides like the one he had at Assen though.

I am wondering whether the Michelin tire now doesn’t suit his riding style as
ell as not suiting his bike, the latter something the commentators raised after the highside.

FQ also seems to have developed an ability to pass, always a weak spot for Vinales.

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Yes, this, FQ can pass and Mav cannot, unless everything is going his way.

Marquez has to be approaching the physical limit for his style of racing.

Yet he seems incapable or unwilling to change his approach to the challenge.

Fabio seems in good shape, but there was the comment about lingering arm pump issues. It wasn’t that cryptic.

FQ - very fit and strong barring the arm pump. He is quite something on that Yamaha these days.
I thought MM did well in the race. His recovery is coming along and hopefully that Honda's electronics issue will not lead to another serious injury.
Nakagami - Ah dear..... everytime opportunity knocks for a podium, something happens. He's mentally toast.
Zarco/Rins - I know I do not have a popular opinion regarding Zarco, but yet again, he is embroiled in an incident for which he thought he did nothing wrong.
Rossi - the misery continues. Time definitely up.
Maverick - miserable after second. That attitude is what starts a careers decline.

Marquez has apparently tired of the constant wear and tear on his body from riding around Honda’s crap handling and actually made a public statement expressing his dissatisfaction. Clearly he sees other riders on Yamahas and KTMs equally competitive, minus the constant crashing. I guess the ego gratification from being Honda’s glorious poster boy is no longer sufficient motivation for him to be the band-aid on their boo boo. https://the-race.com/motogp/marquez-demands-more-safe-honda-after-huge-assen-crash/

Keshav said:

Marquez has apparently tired of the constant wear and tear on his body from riding around Honda’s crap handling and actually made a public statement expressing his dissatisfaction. Clearly he sees other riders on Yamahas and KTMs equally competitive, minus the constant crashing. I guess the ego gratification from being Honda’s glorious poster boy is no longer sufficient motivation for him to be the band-aid on their boo boo. https://the-race.com/motogp/marquez-demands-more-safe-honda-after-huge-assen-crash/

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Finally some sense knocking on the door of Honda.

Keshav said:

And he does it without all the practice crashes.

BTW - WTF, why was Miller black flagged?

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I was just watching a video about this on MotoGP.com. Miller actually had a turn 5 crash in the race. I didn't know this. He managed to get going again but them smoke spewed from the bike's exhaust for a while which raised concern that he could be spewing oil unto the track.

Quartararo's elation and Viñales' muted celebrations

Good stuff.

Brings to mind one of my favorite sports quotes of all time, and one of the shortest:

“There is only winning and misery.”

Pat Riley

Bern1 said:

Brings to mind one of my favorite sports quotes of all time, and one of the shortest:

“There is only winning and misery.”

Pat Riley

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I don’t know about that. The guys coming 2nd and 3rd (Vinales excepted) generally don’t look all that miserable.

Now Mr. 9 Times not being on the podium in how many races, struggling to beat the rookies at the back… he’s not exactly looking radiant.

Mr. 9 times was always mostly celebratory, even when he didn’t win. It’s a good trait to have. The (mostly) young guys in contention are new and a podium will feel like a victory……for a while.

Once you get to Dovi level appearances on the 2nd and 3rd step, it becomes……fairly routine.

Rainey and Lawson always looked pretty much the same, win or lose. It may confirm the validity of a poker face.

Bern1 said:

Mr. 9 times was always mostly celebratory, even when he didn’t win. It’s a good trait to have. The (mostly) young guys in contention are new and a podium will feel like a victory……for a while.

Once you get to Dovi level appearances on the 2nd and 3rd step, it becomes……fairly routine.

Rainey and Lawson always looked pretty much the same, win or lose. It may confirm the validity of a poker face.

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Any rider who's come up through the ranks riding pee wee class, novice lightweight, Superbike, Moto 3, Moto 2 has seen enough guys have dreams of being #1 crushed and others giving up altogether, will necessarily be pretty much a realist. I think that some folks look at the guys now coming up through the ranks and having much better support than guys their age did 40 years ago and think of them as pampered pretty boys as compared to the gritty, sunburned hard-..... of the '70s and '80s, but anyone who's got through a few years in Moto 2 knows realistically the odds against garnering a surfeit of top-of-podium finishes.

Bern1 said:

Brings to mind one of my favorite sports quotes of all time, and one of the shortest:

“There is only winning and misery.”

Pat Riley

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"If you ain't first, yer last."

Ricky Bobby