Joined Apr 2015
6K Posts | 5K+
NJ
Marc Marquez was hit with a 16 second penalty over tire pressure, he's classified as P10 now.
2024 MotoGP Round 8: Motul TT Assen - TT Circuit Assen
- Thread starter JPSLotus
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Joined Aug 2007
11K Posts | 3K+
Pomona NY
With tinfoil hat firmly in place, myself and other are doubtless considering the possibility that that Ducati has, so to speak, spiked Martin's drink now that he's confirmed with a new team. Ducati after all, don't give a crap about close racing. They just want revenge for all the fallow years at the hands of the Japanese teams. I for one am not looking forward half a season of Pecco walking away from the field. Despite being a HUGE fan, I got tired of it even when Casey did it consistently, tho, that was largely offset by the fact of Ducati being the underdog, that and way it pissed off the Rossifumi.
BTW - wtf is this auto-censoring on this forum??? Also - recently, I came on the forum and found my avatar had been edited? Are we now being hosted by a Christian fundamentalist AI? I mean, it's not as if this is a forum for 5 year olds.
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Thats what's going to happen the next two years imo...MM will be strong on the factory Duke, but FB will still pull ahead.
Joined Nov 2012
992 Posts | 997+
I still predict that MM93 will win a race this year.
As above, I noticed that the podium was packed with Ducati GP24s. As was the last feature race. And, we have to go back to America to find a podium that isn't all Ducati. Pecco scored pole, fastest lap, sprint win, and feature race win. Where to from that? Pecco seems to have falling a bit behind and then coming back again built into his blood.
Acosta is repeating, sort-of, his Moto3 season. Fast at the beginning, then he fell back a bit. Then came back enough to win. In Moto2 his first season started unimpressively including a run of four non-points finishes before he came good and won the 8th round. I'm sure he'll be back in MotoGP. Apart from the fall, this was a better result for him, being nearer the pointy end.
In terms of VR46 having some GP24 bits, could this be the start of Ducati ramping up for VR46 to have current year bikes in the future? I.e. this isn't a Diggia vs Marquez thing, but VR46 versus Gresini as to who will inherit the Pramac role. In which case, being able to pay for it will be key.
There was discussion in the other thread that Morbidelli needs to put in some good performances to impress his current and potential future employers. Today's race is not what he needs to do. That's the best bike on the field he's on - seemingly by some margin.
Great to see Ogura's win. I supported him in his previous championship challenge, and was disappointed with how it finished. I sort of took my eye off him a bit, despite his previous win. But, now he's only 14 points off Garcia's lead, and there are a lot of races to go. Boscuscuro are doing well, but more the MSI Helmets team, rather than the factory team. That raises the question of why. I see nothing to suggest that there is anything wrong with the Speed Up team - quite the opposite. And, they are usually great talent spotters.
I haven't seen the Moto3 race yet, and am looking forward to it based on what has been posted.
Joined Sep 2015
733 Posts | 1K+
Office cubicle
Mine was changed too.
And he did everything he could to avoid that during the race. People blame aero for the dull racing nowadays but we had aero from 17 to 22 without problems - it was the tire pressure what really killed most of the aggressive racing, riders can't be themselves and have to constantly monitor these things that lead to processional racing. I really wish we would return to Bridgestone.
From a personal point of view, I've rarely seen a non competition Moto3 race.
For the Quali nothing beats the top class, for last lap(s) battle though it's the kids who deliver on a consistent basis.
And often MotoE as well.
Joined Aug 2007
11K Posts | 3K+
Pomona NY
That would confirm the speculation about why his signal the other rider to pass him. His air pressure nonsense is really really getting on my nerves.
Fantastic race all in. Comparisons to Prost for Pecco are becoming apt. Metronomic excellence and making it look effortless. Kudos to Martin for making up the deficit at the start and staying within sight of Pecco without making a mistake, all the while dealing with the medium tires at the end of the race. Impressive. Huge improvements in consistency for the two championship front runners, they are coming into their own.
Pretty good from Mav, despite losing the place to MM on the track. Great rides from all those in that battle for 3rd 4th. At least Acosta waited until the last lap for the big mistake, he’s getting there. He almost came unglued a couple of times on the way that we saw, there were probably more.
Bring on the next race!
Pretty good from Mav, despite losing the place to MM on the track. Great rides from all those in that battle for 3rd 4th. At least Acosta waited until the last lap for the big mistake, he’s getting there. He almost came unglued a couple of times on the way that we saw, there were probably more.
Bring on the next race!
Joined Aug 2007
11K Posts | 3K+
Pomona NY
I could imagine why a fundamentalist AI would change your avatar, being as it utilized "the bird", but could not for the life of me conjure up a reason why it switched out my original image of Rodney, tho, now I have switched it back, and call me crazy, I think its because my image of Rodney has him smoking a cigarette. This trigger warning, nanny state nonsense has gotten way out of hand.
Joined Aug 2007
11K Posts | 3K+
Pomona NY
Not saying Acosta isn't a wonderful talent, but I would not be surprised, if now, with the Ducatis properly dialed in, that Acosta looks quite a bit less special for the remainder of the season, tho I wouldn't mind seeing him on a factory Ducati, just for comparison.
It's frustrating, particularly since several teams and riders still believe there is inherent value to operating the tires at the legal limit. Porsche never actually made a car that disintegrated as it crossed the finish line. It was an interesting though exercise that never made sense because premature failure would result in a non-score. GP riders and teams are willing to operate exactly on the legal limit, while also gambling on the circumstances during the race. The decisions made by the teams and riders are closely related to the consequences of breaking the rule. It seems the punishment is not sufficient to convince riders that they need not run the risk of incurring penalties.
I would prefer not to have penalties, but MotoGP has a control tire, and Michelin is renowned for their grip imbalance. I'm not sure what else can be done. A repeat of Shinya Nakano's get-off at Mugello could have dire consequences for the sport as the insurers (perhaps host governments) would surely overreact.
Possible. Next year will be the real test, imo. Right now he is operating without any pre-conceived notion of how a MotoGP bike should behave. That will change next year. He will be adjusted to the 2024 bike, but KTM will undoubtedly be making major changes as Guidotti and company are under severe pressure to outperform Aprilia.
But Acosta could be a genuine savant who gives excellent input into the design of the 2025 machine, and finds himself even closer to the front. Winter testing will be interesting this year.
I actually noticed the change in your avatar, and I'm relieved you didn't self-edit. If you had felt compelled to remove a cigarette from your avatar due to some pang of social conscience, it would be a sign that the Western World was on its death bed. It's alarming that automated services are scraping our avatars and posts for censorship opportunities (and who knows what else), but as long as we all know that the Matrix is not real, we will be okay.
Joined Feb 2020
979 Posts | 1K+
Bendigo Vic
You've got to say that Pecco is a fair way ahead in his ability and understanding on the Ducati even leaving out that he is on the factory 24.
He never had anyone in front of him for both races and still won comfortably, presumably with a higher front tyre pressure.Yes the circuit is a favourite of his, nonetheless impressive and must be giving Marquez something to think about over the scale of his task next year. New team, new staff, new relationships, vs someone who has likely done the business 3 years running on that same team.
VR46 is damn lucky to have Fabio G. on the team this year, otherwise they'd really suck !
He has been incredible in the last few races. He is a genuine chance to head into 2027 as a 5 x world champion.
Joined Mar 2023
1K Posts | 1K+
Australia
First and Second were predictable, I had wondered about Martin using a medium front but it appears that there was little difference between the Hard and Medium fronts. Third was where the action was and that made the race more entertaining.
GP24's are unstoppable with the podium not only been all Ducati but all GP24's too.
Championship wise Martin is now only 10 points ahead of Bagnaia, MM's off in the sprint plus a penalty induced 10 in the race has seen him slip away and now has Bastainini only 6 points adrift.
For the non-Ducati cup Vinales is now 17 points ahead of Acosta
Japanese cup Quartararo is killing it and will be unbeatable. Mir's crash has allowed Zarco to make ground and is now only 1 point behind Mir for second place in the Japanese cup
Marini could end up doing the entire season without scoring a single point, the only time I can think of a factory rider doing zero points in a modern season was MM in 2020 when he was injured
GP24's are unstoppable with the podium not only been all Ducati but all GP24's too.
Championship wise Martin is now only 10 points ahead of Bagnaia, MM's off in the sprint plus a penalty induced 10 in the race has seen him slip away and now has Bastainini only 6 points adrift.
For the non-Ducati cup Vinales is now 17 points ahead of Acosta
Japanese cup Quartararo is killing it and will be unbeatable. Mir's crash has allowed Zarco to make ground and is now only 1 point behind Mir for second place in the Japanese cup
Marini could end up doing the entire season without scoring a single point, the only time I can think of a factory rider doing zero points in a modern season was MM in 2020 when he was injured
It was well deserved, as it was for pecco in previous race when he done the same, and received exact same penalty. No conspiracy, and I can't understand why people think there is.
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