This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

2023 IndiaOil Grand Prix of India

Pedrosa on Spanish TV had a theory that the harder rear tire compound for this round is mitigating Honda's rear grip issues, obviously not by helping Honda in that regard but by making the field more equal with all other bikes struggling for rear grip too, thus 'masking' Honda's woes here
Repsol Honda seem to have found something here, before Mir crashed he was challenging M Marquez for the podium and that could explain it.

Only 3 Ducati's in the points though that was 1st, 2nd and 5th though that was partially due to 3 DNF's and 1 DNS.

Morbidelli nowhere near Quartararo, did he run off track or something?
 
I worked in IT for more than 30 years, doing software development and support, when outsourcing to India became the rage I was forced to start working with various Indian IT companies on various projects for a major auto manufacturer. I quickly came to realize (at that time, not sure about now) that for every competent person you dealt with one-on-one there were many back in the shop who didn't have a clue and were focused on getting their next job before they got found out. Eventually after many painful years most of the development and support was brought back inhouse.
Yeah, that's so in line with the the education system there. Even at the top universities, the teachers are so badly paid. On average, in a classroom of 30 students, there will be two of them who comprehend the syllabus, and rest are rich kids who bribe the teachers for a passing grade. That's why when people ask me about being prepared to travel there, and they worry about a little Delhi Belly, or culture shock, or not having a command of the language, or will the food be too spicy etc. I tell 'em, the only thing you really need to be afraid of, is the inside of a hospital.
 
  • Like
Reactions: mikesbytes
Dull, dull race again. Maybe they will do something about the aero when the pockets start emptying.

Ok, I didn’t watch the race, but let me guess: at lights out everybody went for it for the first couple of laps, maybe a couple of passes, then things settled in for the typical modern snooze fest of a “race.”
 
Morbidelli nowhere near Quartararo, did he run off track or something?

He may have run wide (I forget at the moment) but he also had to ride around other riders' mishaps on a couple of occasions. Still probably wouldn't have been near Fabio though.

IMHO Marini overcooked T1. Where else was Bez gonna go? Never got the best look at Bradl's incident but it kind of looked like he did the same. I don't think this circuit will make Pecco's list of favorites. Barring any drama tomorrow, looks like Bez and Martin could have a proper scrap.
 
I'm going to follow this round more closely being a new track for all riders, across all classes. The cream will rise. Interesting to see what happens.
I haven't seen all the Moto 2&3 practice this weekend yet, but the result in sprint race follows above.

Martin
Bagnaia
Marquez
Binder
Bezzechi
Quartaro


For me, these are the riders with most talent in the current field. Not in this order however.
 
  • Like
Reactions: mikesbytes
It didn't work out for him today but that Veijer dude will be one to watch in the coming years. Pretty impressive how he's able to perform on the Moto3 even though he's pretty damn tall.
Will Sasaki get a penalty?
 
Pecco is getting nervous, we have a championship battle Ladies and Gentlemen!
I was expecting Bez to battle for the victory after yesterday but this level of domination surprised me.
Extremely happy for Quartararo and Mir who both finally caught a break.
Marc with an incredible recovery up to 9th(!) despite the crash.

Great battle between Roberts and Garcia in the Moto2 race btw.
 
Seeing the state of Martin when he got back to the pits, I'm amazed he managed to finish the race. Quartararo, on the other hand, looked like he'd just had a gentle stroll in the park.

Great race, and Bezz had an absolutely faultless ride. And now there's less than 70 points between the top 3 with 7 races and 7 sprints to go, so the second half of the season looks like it will give some exciting racing.
 
  • Like
Reactions: mikesbytes
t only takes a DNF to narrow the championship
  • Martin -13
  • Bezzecchi - 44
It would be great for Martin to win the world championship as when was the last time that a championship was won by a satellite team?

Mir has scored more points in this race that the entire season prior

Miller not looking pretty

Was surprised to see Marini racing, thought he had done a collarbone

Good to see Quartararo on the podium
 
  • Like
Reactions: warthog1 and JFM01
A typical processional modern race, spiced in moments here and there. I can't imagine what is like to be a fan of Pecco, he's easily the most frustrating top rider to watch, he bins it on his own too many times. Maybe this will wake him up and win 4 in a row like a year ago. Bezz, no surprises here, I expected great pace and he delivered, over 8 seconds of gap in a dry race is nothing to scoff at, probably the most dominant ride a satellite bike has had in a long time, if ever. Martín was on the limit all the time and it's understandable after seeing his physical state after the race, he was absolutely cooked, but he'll go to Japan with great hopes, 13 points behind the championship leader is nothing. Marc would've been in the podium if not for the usual Honda shenanigans, which makes Mir's finish even more meritorious. Fabio will be content to be back to the podium even though he'll probably waste no time to ..... about the bike again next week. Binder saving the horrid time the KTMs had, but that's more than any Aprilia rider can say, a weekend to forget for them. This season is looking a bit like 2022, it seemed a done deal halfway in but then we suddenly got a championship race.

It would be great for Martin to win the world championship as when was the last time that a championship was won by a satellite team?

Technically, Rossi in 2001, but that was a satellite in name only.
 
Good weekend for Martins championship chances! Thought his pass on Fabio when he ran off track was pretty ballsy but fair and was a statement that he was riding for a championship in which I hope he’s successful. Pecco feeling a bit of pressure and showing same errors he’s prone to. Marc and Mir showing well but Marc forgetting it’s still a Honda. Let’s see what the Honda head honcho has to tell him next week.
 
  • Like
Reactions: JFM01
Martin had the medium front. Not a good choice in the heat it appeared.
Had to work very hard.
Should have been a win for Bez in both races this weekend if it wasn't for his team mate.
I still rate Pecco as the favourite and is great on the brakes but yeah needs to stop crashing.
 
I was sure Martin was going to receive a penalty for zippergate part 2. So now the question is did Martin open his leather because he was overheating or did aplinestar have another malfunctioning zipper? The fact that he was able to zip it back up and it stayed makes me wonder if he did it. If he did he probably deserves a penalty. Either way aplinestar is going to have to explain all this to save face again.
 
  • Like
Reactions: mylexicon
I was sure Martin was going to receive a penalty for zippergate part 2. So now the question is did Martin open his leather because he was overheating or did aplinestar have another malfunctioning zipper? The fact that he was able to zip it back up and it stayed makes me wonder if he did it. If he did he probably deserves a penalty. Either way aplinestar is going to have to explain all this to save face again.
I suspect he was near delirious from the heat, it sounds like he pretty much collapsed when he got off the bike.

Nick Harris (FWIW) said he hadn’t removed his chest protector which was what led to FQ being penalised. I am pro Martin but if he deliberately unzipped his suit even to cool down that probably should be a penalty, but if the conditions brought a young fit guy like him to such a state wearing a suit over the distance of a motogp race perhaps they come into question as well. FQ looked cool as a cucumber as has been said though.
 
I suspect he was near delirious from the heat, it sounds like he pretty much collapsed when he got off the bike.

Nick Harris (FWIW) said he hadn’t removed his chest protector which was what led to FQ being penalised. I am pro Martin but if he deliberately unzipped his suit even to cool down that probably should be a penalty, but if the conditions brought a young fit guy like him to such a state wearing a suit over the distance of a motogp race perhaps they come into question as well. FQ looked cool as a cucumber as has been said though.
He was complete run down after the race. They said he fainted in parc ferme. Not sure if this is true but I've been there. I have fainted after a race from heat. I have felt the chills of heat exhaustion. He did a great job getting to the finish line but I think they last lap mistake may have been caused by heat exhaustion.
 
He was complete run down after the race. They said he fainted in parc ferme. Not sure if this is true but I've been there. I have fainted after a race from heat. I have felt the chills of heat exhaustion. He did a great job getting to the finish line but I think they last lap mistake may have been caused by heat exhaustion.
Yes, that was my thought as well.
 

Recent Discussions