2025 Silly Season

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AnnoyingTwit said:
Having done more searching, I think the one I was thinking of was the Vyrus Moto2 bike.

vyrus-moto2.jpg
Click to expand...
The problem with leading link suspension like this one is that they lack front end feel so its difficult to tell when the front end is going to let go.

This one I don't know if it would of had the same front end feel problem
1724234748855.png
 
Sennas_Caress said:
Well, if you look at his season so far, there are reasons to be optimistic.
He is pitted against a very good rider, in Oliveira. He has had last years bike uptil he started to crash recently.

Before that he was:
- Faster than his teammate in the Qatar quali
- Almost identical time in the Portimão quali
- Faster in the race and quali in COTA
- Beaten in Aragón
- Best quali for Trackhouse uptil that point in Barcelona, and and impressive race well ahead of Oliveira
- Ahead in Mugello
- Only Trackhouse in Q2 in Assen, well ahead in the race
- Front row in Sachsen
- Identical quali in Silverstone

I can see why he is highly rated. He has already almost equaled his points from last season. He is as fast as his vastly more experienced, multi race winner, teammate. If he continues this trend, he'll be looking at factory bike contracts in '27.
Click to expand...
Very good post, and all good points. I will admit I did not look into it in as much detail as you.

My issue, is people seem to think of him as the second coming. He has had so much hype about him since joining GP, and even in Moto2 where he seemed to have Pedro Acosta levels of hype, hype he has failed to live up to by a long shot. He was neck and neck with Remy Gardner in his rookie season and it was Gardner, the Moto2 champion, who couldn't find a ride. It irks me he was cast to the weeds so quickly, yet Raul is given so many 'second chances'

If he does continue that trend, I don't see it as good enough. Certainly not a TOP factory would want him. Why? Because champions don't take 4-5 years to find their feet. I realise this is an exaggeration but every. single MotoGP champion since 2001 has 1. Utterly dominated their team mates from the get go (the exception being Lorenzo, who was paired with Rossi, and Mir) and 2. Won a title within 3 years.

There are some exceptions of course, Hayden being one, and Dovi fighting for titles after 10 yrs in the sport, but they are exceptions. I'm happy to be proven wrong and I genuinely hope he fulfils his potential. But I also think, for whatever reason, he's been given a lot longer leash than other riders.
 
I understand where you are coming from, and I do think that the search for the next Alien is a bit too tabloid by the tabloids.

You can be a brilliant rider, without having your name mentioned in the same sentence as Doohan and Stoner.

Raul though has expectations to live up to, being a junior world champion. He took well to Moto3 and in his second year, his first at a proper team, namely Ajo, almost nicked the title. He came even closer in his only season in Moto2.

Then all hell broke loose, and I can see how that could affect a young mind.

When he got promoted to the KTM satellite team, he clearly didn't want to. After a year of misery, he ended up in RNF. That was another non-functioning team that imploded whilst he was there, trying to rebuild his reputation.

Now, at Trackhouse, he is continuing to rebuild his short career. And doing well.

He is still young, yet having said that, he doesn't come across as a World Champion level rider. But keep improving, and he'll be fighting for a factory Aprilia seat come 2027 if Bezzecchi fails to deliver (can happen), Martin is lured away by a resurgent Honda (always a positive) or Yamaha (less so).

I would not be shocked if Fernandez became a Binder, Bastianini, Mir level rider. A solid, multiple race winner, who can grab the second seat at a factory.
 
It seems at the moment KTM is not the bike to have if you want to win. KTM have a sort of VR46 academy rider pipeline but what’s the point if you don’t have championship capable bikes for those riders?
 
#22 said:
Very good post, and all good points. I will admit I did not look into it in as much detail as you.

My issue, is people seem to think of him as the second coming. He has had so much hype about him since joining GP, and even in Moto2 where he seemed to have Pedro Acosta levels of hype, hype he has failed to live up to by a long shot. He was neck and neck with Remy Gardner in his rookie season and it was Gardner, the Moto2 champion, who couldn't find a ride. It irks me he was cast to the weeds so quickly, yet Raul is given so many 'second chances'

If he does continue that trend, I don't see it as good enough. Certainly not a TOP factory would want him. Why? Because champions don't take 4-5 years to find their feet. I realise this is an exaggeration but every. single MotoGP champion since 2001 has 1. Utterly dominated their team mates from the get go (the exception being Lorenzo, who was paired with Rossi, and Mir) and 2. Won a title within 3 years.

There are some exceptions of course, Hayden being one, and Dovi fighting for titles after 10 yrs in the sport, but they are exceptions. I'm happy to be proven wrong and I genuinely hope he fulfils his potential. But I also think, for whatever reason, he's been given a lot longer leash than other riders.
Click to expand...


Gardner shouldn't have publicly criticised the bike he was on. Doesn't go that well when you have no results in the class to back up your criticism. Tough lesson but there it is.
 
Last edited:
Havey said:
Well I think it was that, the bike was a piece of ...., that he didn't have any results.
Click to expand...
Probably a large part of the reason.
Pays to keep your trap shut rather than run it down when you are new with no results.
Giving you a ride and paying serious money providing a team.
See you later is a predictable result imo.
 
Sennas_Caress said:
If the bike is bad, work on it. If it's bad, even the tea lady knows, and doesn't need to be reminded.

Also, from what I've read, Gardner's manager was not someone the higherups at KTM wanted to work with.
Click to expand...
Doubtless Remy was more impressed with his moto 2 title and family lineage than Pit Bierer and others at KTM were.

I will reluctantly have to praise Valentino again, the graduates from the VR46 academy have gone and are going to rides on better bikes than a KTM. KTM are burning through all manner of talent they get from the Red Bull programme, often ditching them after 1 year in the premier class riding what Remy was probably correct in calling a crap bike. The best talent to join the premier class in years is currently struggling on the .2024 iteration of the thing. It was widely reported that Raul Fernandez wanted to stay in moto 2 for another year, but if contracted to KTM it would appear a rider goes to where he is told to go.
 
warthog1 said:
Probably a large part of the reason.
Pays to keep your trap shut rather than run it down when you are new with no results.
Giving you a ride and paying serious money providing a team.
See you later is a predictable result imo.
Click to expand...

I guess that you may not have followed it at the time.

When Raul and Remy were drafted into Tech3 they were just left with no body, to help them adapt to the Moto bike. Their boss Herve Poncharal just told them to “stop winging and get out and ride it” so it was no wonder that they did no good with it.

Sure Remy told them what he thought of it, as any Ozzie would, and ‘They decided he would not be a suitable team member’ so they black band him, but it was not just Remy, Raul got the same treatment. They came out of there 12 months later just the same as they went in, a year wasted for both. Raul after 12 months learning is now getting to do it.

Remy rides for Yamaha in WSBK and doing well often the leading Yamaha. He did two rides for Cal Crutchlow testing for the GP team, he was asked to do it again for the next months testing, but refused saying that the testing and the racing were two full time jobs, so it was either one or the other, and he preferred to fight for the Podium in WSBK.
 
Havey said:
I guess that you may not have followed it at the time.

When Raul and Remy were drafted into Tech3 they were just left with no body, to help them adapt to the Moto bike. Their boss Herve Poncharal just told them to “stop winging and get out and ride it” so it was no wonder that they did no good with it.

Sure Remy told them what he thought of it, as any Ozzie would, and ‘They decided he would not be a suitable team member’ so they black band him, but it was not just Remy, Raul got the same treatment. They came out of there 12 months later just the same as they went in, a year wasted for both. Raul after 12 months learning is now getting to do it.

Remy rides for Yamaha in WSBK and doing well often the leading Yamaha. He did two rides for Cal Crutchlow testing for the GP team, he was asked to do it again for the next months testing, but refused saying that the testing and the racing were two full time jobs, so it was either one or the other, and he preferred to fight for the Podium in WSBK.
Click to expand...
I followed it a bit. Yeah the bike wasn't the best. Shut the F up and ride it, I remember thinking. Running it down publicly ain't going to do you any favours. I don't remember Raul publicly whinging. Perhaps I am wrong but Raul is still there and Remy isn't.

Yes good call on him knocking back the testing as he stated the bikes are so different. That showed maturity imo.
 
Havey said:
Their boss Herve Poncharal just told them to “stop winging and get out and ride it” so it was no wonder that they did no good with it.
Click to expand...
I don’t think that was a Herve problem, he was known for nurturing young riders during the Yamaha years; not to mention setting the unwritten standards for team conduct as the head of IRTA.

I think it was more of a KTM thing and Herve was basically forced to follow the script.
 
warthog1 said:
I followed it a bit. Yeah the bike wasn't the best. Shut the F up and ride it, I remember thinking. Running it down publicly ain't going to do you any favours. I don't remember Raul publicly whinging. Perhaps I am wrong but Raul is still there and Remy isn't.

Yes good call on him knocking back the testing as he stated the bikes are so different. That showed maturity imo.
Click to expand...
Raúl is still there, but not on a KTM however.

He did STFU as far as I know but KTM still ditched him after one year in the premier class despite dragooning him to ride for Tech 3 KTM in the first place.
 

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