Joined May 2009
6K Posts | 4K+
Shovel's Club
I've been saying it. I think he will wrap this season up with 3 or 4 rounds to go. This current crop ain't got .... on the guys MM has already beat.
2024 - Valencia Pre Season Test
- Thread starter #22
- Start date
Gigi keeps saying that Ducati didn't want him, but we know they do, as they tried to hire him several times in the past. All this BS it's just for the sake of avoiding trouble with his riders and italians fans. What factory on earth would not want Marc Marquez?
Yes we both said it in the poll at the beginning,. took him a day to get use to the bike, and he's ready for the first race.
Joined Apr 2015
6K Posts | 5K+
NJ
I think his new race engineer responding this way is ominous. I was thinking, if Marc is smart he'll just keep himself out of the top spot on the timesheets at the next tests. What better way than to go into Qatar next March and just pulling the pin on everyone? Avoids any Dorna preseason machinations.
Yes, a reverse Stoner at the 2010 post season test, getting off the horrible 2010 Ducati which had repeatedly tried to kill him and on to a much more tractable Honda, Stoner’s relief was similarly obvious after a couple of laps.
Casey couldn’t help himself, he seemed impelled to ride pretty much every lap as fast as was possible, which Dorna didn’t like the look of when he was streeting the field in testing leading up to the 2012 season, and I agree it would be smart for MM not to show his full potential until the season is underway and the bikes and tires are set for the season such that no machinations are possible with the tech regs, or with how good a bike Ducati give their satellite teams for that matter.
On a bike which is somewhat competitive and intrinsically more stable than the 2023 Honda he is likely to be right in the mix Imo, and as opposed to birdbird’s view what is remarkable again imo was how competitive he was on that pig of a bike including during the race week-end just completed. Again drawing a line through Stoner who went from multiple crashes on the Ducati for which many blamed him, particularly the Rossi camp and to some extent Ducati, to hardly crashing the next season I can see the same thing happening with MM on a stable Ducati next season, although few except those with a particularly strong animus against MM fail to see fault with the 2023 Honda.
It will be interesting to see Ducati’s attitude if MM is competitive, he is not exactly the most popular motogp rider in Italy, and may be off somewhere else such as Red Bull KTM after one season, but then again him demonstrating that the Ducati is a much better bike than the Honda would not displease them, having a rider well in GOAT contention win a title on their bike would presumably not be unattractive either and they did sign Lorenzo despite the Valentino Rossi view that he had colluded with MM to steal the 2015 title from Valentino.
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Joined Dec 2020
147 Posts | 196+
Germany
7 ducati riders are shitting their pants right now, one is not
Joined May 2009
6K Posts | 4K+
Shovel's Club
When I read this my first thought was you must be hitting the meth pipe. Then I thought about it. The current crop has never competed against a fully fit Marc on a competitive bike. Well, that race at Aragon(?) I believe where Marc threw everything at Pecco and Pecco took it and said; "that all you got?" Don't know if Pecco and the boys could handle that for an entire season especially with the sprints.
Joined Mar 2023
1K Posts | 1K+
Australia
While we can't read too much into lap times in a test, it does appear that MM will adapt quickly to the GP23. Add to this that I doubt that any bike including the GP24 is going be light years better than their 2023 bike, then MM is in a good position on the GP23, only the quality of the team will hold him back.
Was that in 2019 ?. Unless senescence has set in my recollection is that MM sustained the bad unusial humeral fracture very early in 2020.
You don't recall anyone predicting it!? Come on! LOL
As for the rest of your post, that is the exact reason why I said "we shall see". I think the fanboys need to hold on to their horses a bit.
He has won 8 titles. It hardly requires fanboyism to give a healthy MM a chance on a 1 year old Ducati given other riders including his brother have been competitive on such a bike. If he is past it he is past it, but saying he is past it or no chance at this particular point in time requires at least as much presumption imo as to say he will be competitive for the title. I personally would give him more chance than Brad Binder, whom I rate fairly highly, for a start.
While I have come to dislike Valentino Rossi after his latter career neither I nor anyone else can deny his greatness as a rider, as his 9 titles demonstrate..
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Let me first be clear, I DO NOT deny his greatness. I am very sure he will be in contention. However, there are some people already willing to bet their mortgages that he will be the champ next year. I'm just saying it's not 2019 anymore. Lets just see what happens....
Joined Oct 2008
6K Posts | 5K+
In Cider
2021, on a Honda that was going downhill and Marc with a right arm 30 deg out of rotation.
Taking nothing away from Pecco that day who impressed me greatly, but it wasn't an equal fight.
I mostly agree and am tempering my hopes. But it is more often than not a healthy indicator.
2010: Stoner was fast on the Honda and dominated 2011. Rossi was 15th on the Ducati and flopped. For example.
2021.
Yes, that was my point as well, MM was hardly fully healthy at Aragon in 2021.
Bagnaia in his own pomp has never faced a fully healthy MM. FQ did however, and not very arguably took it to MM, to the extent MM felt the need to prove a point to him, the genesis of his career altering injury.. While I don't particularly like Bagnaia for reasons other than his riding talent a good case can be made imo for him being equal or better than FQ, otherwise FQ would be the rider with 2 premier class titles rather than one, given he did have the equipment to win the 2022 title, if not for the 2023 title obviously..
Joined May 2009
6K Posts | 4K+
Shovel's Club
I fall into that category no doubt. If I am wrong so be it, but I know he will be a contender. I do believe he will mop the floor with the competition. Why do I think that? Mainly because of how much better he is than anyone else on a honda. We aren't talking about a few positions. We are talking about 10's and 15 positions every race no matter the track. The crashes are happening to all the Honda riders not just him who is over preforming on that bike by miles. These riders we are talking about are Mir a world champion. Rins a multiple race winner. No matter the track no matter the conditions Marc was there this year. No other rider can say that on honda. Now lets look at what Ducati riders did. His brother is now a race winner. Zarco is now a race winner. DiGi is a race winner. None of those riders are nearly as good as Mir and Rins. So Using this formula Marc could podium every race next season. Rain or shine. Hot or cold. It does not matter Marc will be there as he has proven in the past and on the shitcan honda. God damn I sound like a fanboy but these are facts. So until I am proven wrong on track, this is what I believe will happen.
Joined May 2009
6K Posts | 4K+
Shovel's Club
How many championships do you think Pecco would have if he was Fabio's teammate on Yamaha instead of ducati?
Joined May 2009
6K Posts | 4K+
Shovel's Club
Haha I'll admit I have a problem when I am proven wrong. Hopefully that isn't next year. Its not like I have gone online and looked for a MM Gresini sweatshirt already."The first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem."
If someone has can they link me to it.
