2021 Silverstone British Grand Prix

Keshav said:

I would be surprised if those two weren't the main show at Silverstone. Fabs is in a great position. His confidence is well-earned and he'll want to beat Marc again to make it clear he's the new kid in town. OTOH - if things get too hairy towards the end, such as tires worn etc, he can afford to back off and let Marc take one, with little hazard to his championship standing. It should be a great weekend for him, as long as he avoids the hamburgers.

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Little Walter said:

It's been a huge reversal of handling characteristics. Marc is now doing for Honda, what Stoner was doing for Ducati. It is looking increasingly like Marky is at the end of his rope with the ill handling RC213V. Like Stoner after several season on the Duc, he's burning out. It has not happened as quickly as with Stoner, presumably because he is physically and mentally tougher, but the cracks are beginning to show. A rider can only suffer so many high speed crashes before the injuries take their toll. He would do himself a big favor if he left Honda and went with Ducati or Suzuki. He has nothing to prove with Honda.

IMHO - a better choice of tire would at best be a band-aid for HRC. They need to get their heads out of their collective ..... and make some radical changes in the chassis. That's what Ducati finally did, and it paid off.

Michelin tires are a clusterfuck. They have had multiple seasons to get their act together. Bridgestones were so much better across the board, right from the get go. And Bridgestone were at a disadvantage compared to Michelin in that their manufacturing plant is in Japan, far away from any of the European rounds. Essentially, IIRC they designed and built all or most of the tires to be used at all the rounds, something like 6 months before the beginning of the season. Michelin OTH, seems to be making a few virtual SNS (available to all riders) practically on demand, and yet still can't get it right.

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MdubSTYLIE said:

Any time Marc has been this quick in practice this season, he has had a chance to win. It will be him vs the front tire. Martin and Fab will fight for pole. Pol? Thats a first this season.

FP2

1 20 Fabio QUARTARARO FRA Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Yamaha 329.2 1'59.317
2 43 Jack MILLER AUS Ducati Lenovo Team Ducati 335.4 1'59.829 0.512 / 0.512
3 89 Jorge MARTIN SPA Pramac Racing Ducati 334.3 1'59.939 0.622 / 0.110
4 44 Pol ESPARGARO SPA Repsol Honda Team Honda 335.4 2'00.035 0.718 / 0.096
5 93 Marc MARQUEZ SPA Repsol Honda Team Honda 331.2 2'00.051 0.734 / 0.016
6 63 Francesco BAGNAIA ITA Ducati Lenovo Team Ducati 334.3 2'00.102 0.785 / 0.051
7 41 Aleix ESPARGARO SPA Aprilia Racing Team Gresini Aprilia 335.4 2'00.219 0.902 / 0.117
8 33 Brad BINDER RSA Red Bull KTM Factory Racing KTM 330.2 2'00.315 0.998 / 0.096
9 42 Alex RINS SPA Team SUZUKI ECSTAR Suzuki 329.2 2'00.392 1.075 / 0.077
10 46 Valentino ROSSI ITA Petronas Yamaha SRT Yamaha 328.2 2'00.400 1.083 / 0.008
11 27 Iker LECUONA SPA Tech 3 KTM Factory Racing KTM 328.2 2'00.413 1.096 / 0.013
12 23 Enea BASTIANINI ITA Avintia Esponsorama Ducati 330.2 2'00.548 1.231 / 0.135
13 36 Joan MIR SPA Team SUZUKI ECSTAR Suzuki 330.2 2'00.725 1.408 / 0.177
14 5 Johann ZARCO FRA Pramac Racing Ducati 335.4 2'00.810 1.493 / 0.085
15 30 Takaaki NAKAGAMI JPN LCR Honda IDEMITSU Honda 328.2 2'00.870 1.553 / 0.060
16 35 Cal CRUTCHLOW GBR Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Yamaha 330.2 2'00.882 1.565 / 0.012
17 10 Luca MARINI ITA SKY VR46 Avintia Ducati 328.2 2'01.058 1.741 / 0.176
18 9 Danilo PETRUCCI ITA Tech 3 KTM Factory Racing KTM 330.2 2'01.405 2.088 / 0.347
19 88 Miguel OLIVEIRA POR Red Bull KTM Factory Racing KTM 331.2 2'01.412 2.095 / 0.007
20 73 Alex MARQUEZ SPA LCR Honda CASTROL Honda 330.2 2'01.496 2.179 / 0.084
21 96 Jake DIXON GBR Petronas Yamaha SRT Yamaha 324.3 2'02.601 3.284 / 1.105
22 32 Lorenzo SAVADORI ITA Aprilia Racing Team Gresini Aprilia 322.3 2'05.138 5.821 / 2.537

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MdubSTYLIE said:

Excellent post. I agree with all of it. I would love to see Marc go to another manufacturer. Any of them except aprilia. It seems to me honda has the worst bike on the current grid. Everyone is having their worst season on it.

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Albert Tatlock said:

Stick a fork in Marc, at least for the short term. He used to be able to straddle that edge, and know the limit. Sure the bike seems to be .... but so does his judgement.

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MdubSTYLIE said:

I think marc is the same marc he has always been. Sure he isn't 100% fit yet but to me if that bike is even 10% shittier than previous years his saves turn into bins. How many races did he miss and he is still the leading honda in points. The other riders have fallen off more than marc. Tacrashy Origami was constantly running top 10 last season and this year I haven't even seen him. Slow Marq also ran a much better pace last season. The bike is trash and Marc needs to give them an ultimatum, fix it or I am gone.

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MdubSTYLIE said:

Excellent post. I agree with all of it. I would love to see Marc go to another manufacturer. Any of them except aprilia. It seems to me honda has the worst bike on the current grid. Everyone is having their worst season on it.

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MdubSTYLIE said:

I think marc is the same marc he has always been. Sure he isn't 100% fit yet but to me if that bike is even 10% shittier than previous years his saves turn into bins. How many races did he miss and he is still the leading honda in points. The other riders have fallen off more than marc. Tacrashy Origami was constantly running top 10 last season and this year I haven't even seen him. Slow Marq also ran a much better pace last season. The bike is trash and Marc needs to give them an ultimatum, fix it or I am gone.

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Albert Tatlock said:

His fitness keeps being brought up as a detriment but I am doubtful of that. Its been over a year and he trains like a fiend.
Barring his gimme track in Germany,he’s crashed every time he pushes. His qualifying is ..... as well.
Samson had his hair shorn off and he’s as bald as the ballbags in 22’s paddock

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michaelm said:

I think they need to re-design the engine which originated when they had bespoke electronics to tame it. I also don’t think think he has been fully recovered physically, and may have lost a slight edge due to no longer believing he is completely invincible and indestructible after the injury saga.

I think he would scare the field rather than himself on a Ducati or Suzuki, or maybe even on a KTM. I am not so sure he would dominate FQ on a Yamaha though, I tend to believe FQ extracts most of that bike’s potential.

Even on a Honda if he wins another race or two in the remainder of the season he is not far from where Mick Doohan was in the season after the leg injury.

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MdubSTYLIE said:

I think all the honda riders crash when they push. It reminds of ducati a couple years back. I'm not ready to say he lost his edge but rather the bike has lost something. I'm just glad to see it hasn't stopped him from being Marc. He is going to find the edge or crash trying that has always been his style. He has always crashed a lot but not this much and I don't think it his him.

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Albert Tatlock said:

Lol.
Yes but they have always crashed when pushed.
The argument can be made, that the other three Honda riders are talented, but not enough for the GP class

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MdubSTYLIE said:

Pol had better results on ktm. Taka his always been prone to crash but until this year ran a good pace most races. Mini-marq who knows. They need a vet, someone they can get data from to build off of. They blew it letting Dani sign with KTM. They blew it with Jorge. They just assumed no matter what pile of .... they lined up with marc would win on it.

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misfit said:

Amazingly, he has already won on the thing and seemed to be on the way to pulling it off again last race before the weather threw things up in the air a bit.

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misfit said:

Amazingly, he has already won on the thing and seemed to be on the way to pulling it off again last race before the weather threw things up in the air a bit.

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MdubSTYLIE said:

Which is why I think he still has it. He has over performed every race compared to where he qualifies. His immaculate saves are a product of two things. First, and foremost him. Second, having a fraction of a second from when they bike starts to let go to save it. This year the bike seems less predictable not giving him time to save it. All four riders have had lots of quick front end losses numerous times this season. He needs a slightly better bike to save it IMO. The rain crash was on him. Even he admitted that. He said the track was damp in some places and dry in others but when he got to corner 1 its was really wet and he misjudge it. You can see the 4 riders behind him also blew the first corner they just didnt bin it. Had he not done that he would have finished on the podium.

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