It has racers in it who generally had a reputation for racing cleanly while winning.
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It has racers in it who generally had a reputation for racing cleanly while winning.
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This excludes one guy who is considered a MotoGP great by his followers. Turning into competitor to slow him down (once resulted even in a crash in Argentina), plus all other kinds of dirty tricks. On track and off track.
In F1 Vettel was one such dude, once Webber did not yield and they crashed, Vettel was angry!
In F1 Vettel was one such dude, once Webber did not yield and they crashed, Vettel was angry!
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Well Senna used to stuff it up the inside or place the car where you needed to make a decision as to whether or not you wanted to crash. Then there was the whole spec Mercedes race at the newly opened Nurburgring GP circuit in 1984 when no one told him it was just an exhibition and he was racing balls to the wall just to win...which he did.
I haven't seen too much of this outside of the video where MM came from a long way back. Was avoidable. Not even sure what the point was. But the dude is wired differently when that helmet goes on. Murder Mac back.
It's not just Toprak though
I think it's been proven, more than once, that ex GP riders don't just waltz in to WSBK and win races/championships
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I was also thinking too, I saw another video just now where it looks like there actually was no contact between Marc and Bulega. Looks like Bulega panicked when he saw MM up the inside and just grabbed too much brake. This is turning into the JFK assassination plot. No one has clean footage. It's just blurry ... smartphone footage which I didn't think was possible in 2024.
That being said, Ducati probably loves this. More free PR. No one has ever cared about this race in any year till this year because of MM simply lining up. Once again he has people talking (whether it's for the right or wrong reasons is obviously up for discussion) about Ducati. They got more PR out of this year's race than they've ever gotten with all previous years combined now.
That being said, Ducati probably loves this. More free PR. No one has ever cared about this race in any year till this year because of MM simply lining up. Once again he has people talking (whether it's for the right or wrong reasons is obviously up for discussion) about Ducati. They got more PR out of this year's race than they've ever gotten with all previous years combined now.
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I think the fact he basically embarasses the factory riders when he does wildcards, 6 years after retiring, shows the level he and others at the time were at.
Alvaro is getting greedy I hear. Ducati want to spend only 1 million EUR for both riders. They just gave Bulega a new contract for 400k which means Bautista would have to take a pay cut, but he wants more.
Last time he moved from Ducati for the money didn't work out too well.
I believe it's why he and Rossi began to fall out. He was invited to the ranch and took his crew with him to set up the bike etc when it was meant to just be fun. Doohan was the same to an extent. HAD to top every session, even though he didn't need to.
To quote Ayrton Senna:
By being a racing driver means you are racing with other people. And if you no longer go for a gap that exists, you are no longer a racing driver because we are competing, we are competing to win. And the main motivation to all of us is to compete for victory, it's not to come 3rd, 4th, 5th or 6th. I race to win as long as I feel it's possible. Sometimes you get it wrong? Sure, it's impossible to get it right all the time. But I race designed to win, as long as I feel I'm doing it right.
I'm not saying it's right. It was an exhibition race. But Marc won't change.
Was it Rossi on the grassy knoll?
Even I, a latter day MM fan would consider him taking his crew to the ranch excessive but while MM is very definitely as ruthlessly competitive a rider as there has ever been he doesn’t actually exceed Rossi in this regard imo, and the adage in Rossi’s glory years even from compatriots was that he was your friend until you started beating him.
Doohan has been mentioned, and I would be interested to know if he meets Bern’s standards, as I am sure more than one of the great American 500 GP riders would, I was and am a huge fan, actually posted on the old Crash forum as Doohanfan, and esteem him above Rossi or MM even though both eventually surpassed him. Perhaps my glasses are rose coloured, but while he was fairly close to being the ultimate competitor I didn’t see him as racing unfairly other than perhaps being unfairly better in his prime or in a fashion dangerous to his rivals other than to their prospects of victory. In one of his most dominant title years I do remember him crashing out of a race, perhaps at PI, when 10 seconds or further in the lead still pushing for more.
I remain interested to see some definitive footage on the Bulega incident.
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I kind of saw this as well. I don't know that Bulega panicked but he did seem to sit up as if startled by MM being there. Again, don't be the guy between Marc and a visit to parc ferme but if you are, keep your head on a swivel.
Rumor has it Bulega quickly reached out to VR46 to learn how to strengthen his left leg and what exercises he should do improve his left knee thrusts should this ever happen again.
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Marc wanted it more. End of story.
Hard to see if there was any contact from the video shared. It looks to me like Bulega wasn't expecting MM to be there, he shat himself sat up while having a fist full of brake.
ETA: To those saying it is just an exhibition race, it is absolutely for bragging rights, make no mistake about it. Pecco absolutely would have stuffed it up the inside of Marquez ala Portugal if they were racing for position again. Don't expect riders to be logical when the very reason to be a racer is pretty illogical.
ETA: To those saying it is just an exhibition race, it is absolutely for bragging rights, make no mistake about it. Pecco absolutely would have stuffed it up the inside of Marquez ala Portugal if they were racing for position again. Don't expect riders to be logical when the very reason to be a racer is pretty illogical.
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While I don't disagree, it was one mechanic IIRC and are we to believe that Rossi doesn't have guys setting up his bikes on his ranch?
The flip side of the competitive argument is that having the bike setup correctly will make you less likely to crash and injure yourself before the race.
As an aside, Rossi strikes me as a guy that probably likes to work on cars and bikes etc. IE I could see him having an old Ferrari that he is working on bit by bit as his own project. Marquez on the other hand doesn't really strike me as a guy that has much interest in working on bikes or cars, just riding them as hard as he can.
Agree with you. It was a full on Murder Marc pass and to be fair to Bulega it’s something he’s never experienced previously.
Came from a long way back but the door was open. As I edited above, I don't buy this 'it's only an exhibition BS' most elite athlete, regardless of the sport are going to end up going way too hard by the end of the event.
Here there was a 'legends' AFL game they used to have every year for charity. The idea was getting ex AFL players to put on the boots again and play a exhibition game and raise money. The first quarter was always almost a game of kick to kick, by the last quarter, while they weren't poleaxing each other in tackles and bumps, there were all of a sudden running full speed, chasing the guy with the ball etc.
As I later recalled, I believe correctly,, another story was that what Valentino disliked was MM beating him at the ranch, perhaps being less polite or faster, than previous attendees.
I am sure MM does want to win all the time , but so does Valentino.
Yes, no one is criticising Bagnaia for actually trying to win the race, and succeeding in doing so. Martin and Bautista pretty obviously didn’t try to win, I would guess breaking a leg at this event would not have best pleased Aprilia.
I don’t think a full on torpedo can be defended in this context or in general, but I haven’t yet seen evidence it was a torpedo.
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I think the way both Marc and Valentino are wired, that clash was inevitable.The room simply wasn't big enough for two riders of that stature who were both consumed with winning on a level unlike any others.
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I'm hoping for the yellow Yamaha blocks as a throwback to King Kenny, but I suspect we'll get the white and red blocks. But maybe I will be wrong.
Honda I heard a rumor they are doing the Doohan era Repsol livery. I wouldn't mind seeing the Rothman's style "RACING" livery to avoid the obvious cigarette inferences. I guess Gresini will probably run some sort of tribute to Fausto's younger racing days as the only other notable livery they ever had was the San Carlo Honda livery. Ducati I'm thinking a throwback to the 1978 Mike Hailwood Ducati livery. Their only other livery anyone remembers are either the Marlboro logos or the Marlboro barcodes, and neither would fly now.
