Joined Aug 2007
11K Posts | 3K+
Pomona NY
I'm guessing it was strictly a matter of practical logistics, not booked, and close proximity. Stands as I predicted looked pretty empty.
2024 Round 21 Valencian GP of Catalunya
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Joined May 2009
6K Posts | 4K+
Shovel's Club
I guess they could only sell 50,000 tickets do to parking limitations.
Joined Aug 2007
11K Posts | 3K+
Pomona NY
Yes . . . and I also noted (unusual for me who is not great at picking up subtle stuff off live races) that the tail end aero fins on the Factory Ducatis and those on the Marquez Ducs were significantly different.
Good race, plenty of end to end battling throughout.
As long as Martin is able to launch well off the line tomorrow, I can't see him not being inside the top six.
If Bagnaia leads the pack after the first lap, and Martin is inside the top six, I can't see him wanting to pull away.
The young'uns race will be a good one, Alonso lookin to win yet another race, while there are so many potential winners in the intermediate class, it can be a good last outing, even if the title is decided.
As long as Martin is able to launch well off the line tomorrow, I can't see him not being inside the top six.
If Bagnaia leads the pack after the first lap, and Martin is inside the top six, I can't see him wanting to pull away.
The young'uns race will be a good one, Alonso lookin to win yet another race, while there are so many potential winners in the intermediate class, it can be a good last outing, even if the title is decided.
Joined Aug 2007
11K Posts | 3K+
Pomona NY
Did anyone notice at like 4 laps from the end, Vast-Ninny had his leg WAY the .... out, intitially as a vain attempt to prevent Martin's pass, and then . . . how he extended it even further, as if he were about to re-create the Rossi high kick. It felt like he was truly contemplating kicking Marquez and then suddenly remembered that there were cameras watching?
Edited after fact checking. LOL!
Edited after fact checking. LOL!
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Wasn't there an issue with security for the race, that they couldn't permit a larger crowd?
Bastianini and Marc were in different groups in today's sprint
Prolly meant Alex, easy to confuse when Alex is ahead of Marc because that's very rare.
Jörg didn't do anything stupid once again, didn't take the bait from Enea and I'm sure finishing 9th tomorrow isn't a tough task?
Nice to see Aleix run well during his final weekend. That 125cc looked like a pocket bike.
Joined Aug 2007
11K Posts | 3K+
Pomona NY
Wow! My prejudice showing through. In the heat of the moment after an exciting live sprint, I totally misremembered the moment. It actually was Martin who seemed (at least from the way it looked on the camera of the moment) who looked to have his leg out in a very exaggerated fashion. Hey - if I'm right 80% of the time - I'm okay with that.
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UNHEARD: Let's go get it!
Pecco Bagnaia, Enea Bastianini and Jorge Martin reflect on a brilliant Tissot Sprint that keeps the title fight alive in Barcelona!
www.motogp.com
That grin!!!
Hoping for a tense and exciting race, yet after seeing that face, I must admit, I would not be disappointed if Martin just cruises into third again
Joined Mar 2023
1K Posts | 1K+
Australia
To state the obvious Martin can only loose the championship with a DNF, he would need to loose 10+ seconds to finish lower than 9th and that's assuming nobody in the top 9 or so DNF’s which is 6 Ducati’s, 2 KTM’s and a Yamaha. Martin would survive a trip thru the gravel (not falling off) or 4 long lap penalties
The track totally lacks character. I am also in the camp of the brass at Dorna either not knowing a thing about bike racing, which seems unlikely since they are Spaniards and presumably talk to Marquez, Lorenzo, Martin, etc., or they are so money driven so as to lose track of the big picture, ie increasing the fan base and attendance.
I’ll admit they haven’t done too badly with the sprint races. However, we live in an era of incredible growth in everything, and all endeavors pull in more than they used to just because there are so many more people added to the population, so it remains to be seen how Dorna are really doing with MotoGP. I am not an analyst.
Joined Nov 2012
995 Posts | 999+
Followed by a fairing whopping. But, yeah, Acosta was fast in qualifying. I have hopes for the race on Sunday.
If Bagnaia wins the title this year (unlikely as it is) then Marc would look even better if Marc beats Pecco next year. I think Marc would enjoy the challenge of beating a 3x in a row champion.
I thought it was a great race. Apart from whatever that was between Acosta and MMarquez, there were a lot of hard but fair passes. And, nobody fell off at all. (Acosta did DNF, but not due to a fall). There were even five, count 'em: five, Hondas finishing.
There have been 2/19 feature races this year where Pecco has won, and Martin has retired. That's a 10.5% chance. Nowhere near zero. Those are the only two races where Martin has retired. Martin has that 15th place in South Africa, and Pecco was only second there. That would give Pecco the championship. So, I'll make Pecco's chances 3/19 = 15.8%
In Moto2, Canet is on pole again. His roll continues, and I predict a Canet win tomorrow. I think Ogura will play it safe - he needs to be in good shape for MotoGP post-race testing.
In Moto3, Alonso just gets better and better. It's only his seventh pole - one more than Ortola. I predict that Alonso will have another masterful race tomorrow, and extend his records even further.
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Joined Feb 2020
979 Posts | 1K+
Bendigo Vic
Pecco is showing he has significant speed and can maintain that, despite significant pressure. Marquez has a big hurdle to overcome next year.
Yes I rate Marc ahead, but again, aero and ride height have drastically reduced that corner entry advantage he had over the rest of the field. Pecco is very, very good on corner entry on these bikes and has more experience on the Ducati and in the factory squad.
Yes I rate Marc ahead, but again, aero and ride height have drastically reduced that corner entry advantage he had over the rest of the field. Pecco is very, very good on corner entry on these bikes and has more experience on the Ducati and in the factory squad.
So Crafar's final on-air tech talk was a good one IMO. If you missed it, he was talking about team rankings and differences in engine & tyre allocations for next year and rules for testing, etc. I've given Simon a lot of .... for struggling to get his words out but I am going to miss him. I've really grown to appreciate him. Is Jack Appletwat taking over paddock duties full time next year? He's bloody awful.
I still find him hard to take. Apart from his voice which I (unfairly of course) still find grating to me he is one of those fake humble guys who beneath it all really thinks he is smarter than everyone else, and I partly gave up on watching practice yesterday because of all the self congratulation and mutual admiration with Matthew Birt, who really is an ..... with poor knowledge of the sport. I don't of course dispute Crafar's knowledge, and admired him as a rider, particularly for that one race win which shouldn't have been possible given his equipment..
I don't have great hopes he will be a free and fair chief steward, then again I doubt Dorna would appoint any sort of maverick and have appointed someone widely popular with whom they hope people are less likely to take issue. In my obviously jaundiced view they probably thought Freddie Spencer would be immune to criticism because of his stature in the sport, which didn't quite work out, and Freddie imo largely toed the Dorna line.
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Joined Mar 2023
1K Posts | 1K+
Australia
Good analysis. In those 3 scenarios Bagnaia still needs to finish 2nd so you would need factor in the probability of Bagnaia finishing 1st or 2nd. BTW if Bagnaia does come 2nd then Martin needs to finish 14th and the worse that Martin has done apart from the 2 DNF's and the 15th is 4th so it looks comfortably like that Martin will finish in the top 9 if he doesn't DNF
Joined Mar 2016
2K Posts | 2K+
FNQ
Imo, Martin just needs to survive the first lap. If need be, let the yellow crew through and cruise around in 5th. The boy better not get the red mist, as likely will cost him an absolute sitter of a world title.
Joined Mar 2023
1K Posts | 1K+
Australia
Dothan liked to seal the world championship with a win even when it wasn’t necessary, I bet Martin would like to as well
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