2024 Season warmup - Let's go!

MotoGP Forum

Help Support MotoGP Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
MdubSTYLIE said:
Stoner being brought up on the forum always stirs up the feistiness. I like it!

The beast looks to be back on pace. I said last year the 2023 ducati was not as good as the 2022. First reason was how many riders won on the 2022. Also the way Enea fell off pace. Which he seems to have found again on the 2024. The new duc seems to be really good. Hopefully Enea can smoke the other 2024 ducs this year.
Click to expand...
Don;t forget the Beast went from a GP21-GP23 last yr, a big step. He said at Valencia that the GP24 was stronger in Braking and he preferred it. It is encouraging though because he really struggled throughout preseason last yr. So for him to top the times hopefully bodes well for 2024.
 
MichaelBolton said:
Things might be shaping to be like in 2022 where the official Duc and Pramac ran different specs. Apparently Jorge is not quite happy with the new fairing and is thinking about going into the new season with the old one. Ducati wants Jorge/Pramac to go with the new one. Tomorrow they will give it another go and decide:

www.crash.net

Jorge Martin and Pramac miss deadline: “Should’ve decided fairing but we didn’t”

Jorge Martin did not enjoy using the new Pramac fairing but admits Ducati want him to persevere
www.crash.net www.crash.net
Click to expand...
Interesting...I suspect he may be voluntold to use the new fairing. I can;t see Ducati wanting their data scewed by their 2 factory teams running different fairings. I'll be curious to hear what Pecco says about it.
 
So, full transcript from ATF of what Simon Crafar said about Marc Marquez.

"He's obviously not got parts to test, because he is in a satellite team with no factory parts. But he's getting to know the GP23 Ducati and he's changing the bike, a lot. It's going up, and down, he exploring, which is what testing is for. To find out what works, what he likes.
Something I've noticed. Is, the riders that are up the top (of the timesheets), they'll head out on a soft rear and bang, do this time. The next run they do on that tyre, because they've taken so much life out of it, it's no longer in the 57's, it's in the 58's. And the next time they go out, it's in the 59's. Where Marc, hasn't been doing the time attacks, he's been trying to keep it in the 58's as long as possible. He'll do 3 runs out there, and they're very consistent while changing the bike so my impression is he's testing, which is what this is, not trying to time attack.
When I go out on track, the only place he is aggressive, the Marc that we know, is in the braking area. He is looking impressive. I predict he is going to be the hardest Ducati rider in the braking zone this year. Pecco has been, but he's been threatened by Martin and Enea, But I think Ducati are going to have a new braking area champion! But the rest, he's been doing very smooth and just consistent.
One more thing. The last turn, he's been doing it consistently wide, and it's not the sort of thing an 8 time world champion would do, always taking the last corner wide. So that, to me, points to sandbagging a little. Losing time consistently on one corner that he knows that he can just go 'bang' and the lap time will come down when he wants it after putting all the rest together and make everybody go like that (shocked). So it;s only my gut feeling. It doesn't mean I think he will win the first race yet, but I don't think we have really seen what he can do and he's genuinely working hard, to make friends which this bike. He's trying everything with Frankie Carchedi, everything from positions on the bike to all the normal geometry settings.
 
 
MdubSTYLIE said:
Stoner being brought up on the forum always stirs up the feistiness. I like it!

The beast looks to be back on pace. I said last year the 2023 ducati was not as good as the 2022. First reason was how many riders won on the 2022. Also the way Enea fell off pace. Which he seems to have found again on the 2024. The new duc seems to be really good. Hopefully Enea can smoke the other 2024 ducs this year.
Click to expand...
I agree, the likes of Bagnaia and Martin didn’t seem all that happy with the GP23 early in the season. Bastianini was also really good in the previous season and probably more was expected of him than of Martin. Fairly significant injury issues last season as well.
 
MdubSTYLIE said:
Stoner being brought up on the forum always stirs up the feistiness. I like it!

The beast looks to be back on pace. I said last year the 2023 ducati was not as good as the 2022. First reason was how many riders won on the 2022. Also the way Enea fell off pace. Which he seems to have found again on the 2024. The new duc seems to be really good. Hopefully Enea can smoke the other 2024 ducs this year.
Click to expand...

Stoner was a feisty dude. We honor to his career every time we fight with each other in his name ;)

I agree with michaelm, too. Casey was not destined to ride in his 30s. He was a manic perfectionist. The moment he felt the need to reduce his pace to address his declining skills and reflexes, he would have walked, even if he had race-winning pace, imo.

Following Casey's career helped me understand Fast Freddie's career. I never understood why riders revered Freddie (other than the 500cc/250cc double), and he was before my time so I didn't get to watch or read about him in real time. After watching Casey, it's clear that some riders operate so far over the line that they can't age gracefully. Maybe chronic fatigue or alcoholism takes them away a bit early, but they don't age gracefully. Depending on the rest of Marc's career, he may fall in that camp as well. We'll see.
 
michaelm said:
All in a day's work for which premier class world title winners exactly ?. Stoner proved what he wanted to prove and indeed left, while Rossi who indeed had absolutely no need to prove anything to anyone went on for more than a decade after his last title and mainly proved that he had a strong sense of entitlement and that it was not just an element among his fandom who had a soccer hooligan mentality. He did rather prove that winning races on an 800 Ducati was rather hard to do though.
Click to expand...
I'm not one of the Rossi fans, don't get me wrong. Actually I have always seen Rossi as the "bad guy", the guy to be beat. So if Stoner's life goal was all about getting into MGP to be world champion and beat his own idol, that's great man.. cheers for him. But what else he could expect from beating and being rival of the possible greatest rider in history, fandom-wise? I wouldn't expect anything different. See that while I don't sympathize with Rossi character, I reckon how big and important to the sport he has been. And he is the greatest rider and the most important rider of modern MotoGP by a large margin.
 
gui22a said:
I'm not one of the Rossi fans, don't get me wrong. Actually I have always seen Rossi as the "bad guy", the guy to be beat. So if Stoner's life goal was all about getting into MGP to be world champion and beat his own idol, that's great man.. cheers for him. But what else he could expect from beating and being rival of the possible greatest rider in history, fandom-wise? I wouldn't expect anything different. See that while I don't sympathize with Rossi character, I reckon how big and important to the sport he has been. And he is the greatest rider and the most important rider of modern MotoGP by a large margin.
Click to expand...
Greatest rider? By what standard? Most important rider? In the terms of revenue and ratings sure but I could argue he has made motogp a more toxic place. He hasn't really helped the sport. His academy maybe but as Michael has said, he used those younger riders so he could practice. Now he benefits from it by having his own team. The only thing Rossi ever cares about is his self. But I agree he probably is the most important rider but not the greatest. Largest ....... in the history of motogp for sure.
 
MdubSTYLIE said:
Greatest rider? By what standard? Most important rider? In the terms of revenue and ratings sure but I could argue he has made motogp a more toxic place. He hasn't really helped the sport. His academy maybe but as Michael has said, he used those younger riders so he could practice. Now he benefits from it by having his own team. The only thing Rossi ever cares about is his self. But I agree he probably is the most important rider but not the greatest. Largest ....... in the history of motogp for sure.
Click to expand...
Any sport can only get big and attract money if there is interest and enough audience and this is something Valentino Rossi excels the most. One can't deny the enormous interest and money he has brought to the sport, whatever the character of the people that jumped in. If MotoGP get this big today, in terms of investments, it's thanks to Valentino Rossi and exactly by being an ....... and playing the "hero" vs "rival" (although for me he was always an .......). Yes, he has 9 world titles so for now he's the greatest in modern motogp too. What could I do about it? Nothing but admit. I'm not saying he's the most talented or the fastest or the coolest, but he definitely knows how to play the game and bring the interest down to his feet. He completely transformed the sport (including how he influenced all current motogp riders lineup since kids) and MotoGP can be understandable as "before VR" and "after VR". Don't you agree? Ok... that won't change reality.
 
gui22a said:
Any sport can only get big and attract money if there is interest and enough audience and this is something Valentino Rossi excels the most. One can't deny the enormous interest and money he has brought to the sport, whatever the character of the people that jumped in. If MotoGP get this big today, in terms of investments, it's thanks to Valentino Rossi and exactly by being an ....... and playing the "hero" vs "rival" (although for me he was always an .......). Yes, he has 9 world titles so for now he's the greatest in modern motogp too. What could I do about it? Nothing but admit. I'm not saying he's the most talented or the fastest or the coolest, but he definitely knows how to play the game and bring the interest down to his feet. He completely transformed the sport (including how he influenced all current motogp riders lineup since kids) and MotoGP can be understandable as "before VR" and "after VR". Don't you agree? Ok... that won't change reality.
Click to expand...

I agree. But motogp would be fine without him. It would still be here. The rich might not be as rich but still rich. The real motogp fans like most of us would still be here. JLo might have stuck around longer. Stoner might have lasted a couple more years. Who knows. But to the purest of motorcycle racing fans, he means .... all. Its actually annoying that the only thing casual fans know is Valentino Rossi. Every time I see a VR helmet on a bike night I ....... cringe. Like I said, I do agree with what you said.
 
#22 said:
Interesting...I suspect he may be voluntold to use the new fairing. I can;t see Ducati wanting their data scewed by their 2 factory teams running different fairings. I'll be curious to hear what Pecco says about it.
Click to expand...
One year the Factory Ducati team elected to use something from the previous year but Pramac were required to use the current year something, can't remember what it was
 
gui22a said:
Any sport can only get big and attract money if there is interest and enough audience and this is something Valentino Rossi excels the most. One can't deny the enormous interest and money he has brought to the sport, whatever the character of the people that jumped in. If MotoGP get this big today, in terms of investments, it's thanks to Valentino Rossi and exactly by being an ....... and playing the "hero" vs "rival" (although for me he was always an .......). Yes, he has 9 world titles so for now he's the greatest in modern motogp too. What could I do about it? Nothing but admit. I'm not saying he's the most talented or the fastest or the coolest, but he definitely knows how to play the game and bring the interest down to his feet. He completely transformed the sport (including how he influenced all current motogp riders lineup since kids) and MotoGP can be understandable as "before VR" and "after VR". Don't you agree? Ok... that won't change reality.
Click to expand...
This evaluation of Rossi as "greatest" essentially boils down to - Most Charismatic, making him not "The Goat" but rather the most well-known entertainer in the 4-stroke MotoGp era. Objectively (or subjectively) over the course of the different eras in the sport, there have been others who were just as or even more influential to the sport, including Mike Hailwood, Agostini, Roberts, Barry Sheene (who was universally beloved by fans from all countries), Spencer, Schwantz, Lawson etc. - all of whom raised the bar, and depending which set of metrics, were in their own way, giants in the sport. The perception of Rossi as the GOAT - is a shallow one promoted by people who've only been following the sport since 1997.
 
mikesbytes said:
One year the Factory Ducati team elected to use something from the previous year but Pramac were required to use the current year something, can't remember what it was
Click to expand...
Engine, the factory Ducati of 2022 ran an engine spec that resembled the one from 2021 while Pramac were forced to go with the more aggressive version intended for 2022 that Bagnaia/Miller rejected. It ended up being a mediocre season for the Pramac boys.
 
gui22a said:
You say so as if only Stoner had made all that in his career. That's the life of EVERY professional rider, since kid. It's not a thing exclusively for him.
Click to expand...
So every professional rider has moved half way across the world, with relatively little money, next to no contacts, no financial backing, no guaranteed entries into any series at 14 years old?
Please give me a list of riders who have done that.
 
gui22a said:
I'm not one of the Rossi fans, don't get me wrong. Actually I have always seen Rossi as the "bad guy", the guy to be beat. So if Stoner's life goal was all about getting into MGP to be world champion and beat his own idol, that's great man.. cheers for him. But what else he could expect from beating and being rival of the possible greatest rider in history, fandom-wise? I wouldn't expect anything different. See that while I don't sympathize with Rossi character, I reckon how big and important to the sport he has been. And he is the greatest rider and the most important rider of modern MotoGP by a large margin.
Click to expand...
Eddie Lawson says hi. 4 world titles for 2 different marques, and the unique distinction of winning premier class races for 3 different marques, with his last 2 wins on a Cagiva of all bikes. And he was competing against other great golden age 500 riders.

Speaking of golden age 500 gp bike racing, perhaps where you differ from those disagreeing with you on this thread is that a significant proportion of the remaining posters on here are traditionalists (or old fogeys as the case may be) who followed the sport before Rossi and were fine with how the sport was then as MDub has said. The more intensive media coverage now adds a little but not that much for me, with part of my nostalgia for the old days being for when the likes of Barry ....... Sheene were on the commentary team.

As I have said pretty much everyone including me, a Doohan fan well before I was a Stoner fan, acknowledged Rossi as the greatest after his 7th premier class title win, but I don’t think the rest of his career helped his legacy much, particularly his years on the Ducati after appearing to assume he would have no problems being competitive on a bike which won races piloted by Stoner. I had no animus against Rossi at all until 2015 when he demonstrated to the world that he controlled and orchestrated the element among his fans I had previously blamed for the soccer hooligan stuff.

And that’s the thing, if you think the soccer hooligan thing is transferrable to a sport where the competitors are risking life and limb fine, you do you, but I don’t agree, and both Stoner and MM have remarked upon on this. And the sport is obviously still dangerous, if not as dangerous as it was when I started following it in those days of the 500s.
 
Last edited:
Keshav said:
This evaluation of Rossi as "greatest" essentially boils down to - Most Charismatic, making him not "The Goat" but rather the most well-known entertainer in the 4-stroke MotoGp era. Objectively (or subjectively) over the course of the different eras in the sport, there have been others who were just as or even more influential to the sport, including Mike Hailwood, Agostini, Roberts, Barry Sheene (who was universally beloved by fans from all countries), Spencer, Schwantz, Lawson etc. - all of whom raised the bar, and depending which set of metrics, were in their own way, giants in the sport. The perception of Rossi as the GOAT - is a shallow one promoted by people who've only been following the sport since 1997.
Click to expand...
Didn’t see this before. To be fair Rossi was widely acknowledged as the greatest even by me at one time. Povol put it best imo, events post 2009 showed that while he was one of the greats he was not on his own pedestal above the other greats including some of the riders you mention.

What 2015 demonstrated to me was that while being competitive against other highly elite but much younger riders was further proof of his quality as a rider the light shone on his character was not so favourable. I don’t know what word best describes Using a deranged element among your fandom for tactical advantage against your competitors, but chickenshit springs to mind.
 
Last edited:
Last edited:

Similar threads

mikesbytes
2024 season by math's
Replies
19
Views
656
AnnoyingTwit
AnnoyingTwit
#22
2024 silly season!
39 40 41
Replies
804
Views
26K
#22
#22
#22
MotoGP Lineup 2025.
2 3
Replies
45
Views
4K
Sennas_Caress
S
#22
MotoGP 2023 silly season.
4 5 6
Replies
108
Views
12K
#22
#22
mikesbytes
Moto2 the path to MotoGP
Replies
9
Views
505
mikesbytes
mikesbytes

Recent Discussions

Recent Discussions

Back
Top