Me too, he earned it, he should wear it if he wishes, as long as Aprilia does not advertise in some form or fashion that the Aprilia bike itself is the winner.
2025 Silly Season
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Lawson took the #1 plate to Cagiva but that was a different time
I agree. He's earned it and while I believe he wants to run it, I keep hearing a little voice saying he will not. I'm probably way off base but I've been getting a feeling that Jorge is a bit of a humble guy. He's also no longer on the best bike and podiums will be difficult to come by in 2025. Having the #1 as an also ran isn't a good look but I know nothing of such things.
That might be a reason why Aprilia doesn't want him to use #1 (if that's the case).
Number 1 shows this guy was the best rider on the grid in the last season. If Jörg is running 11th with that number it indicates the bike isn't very good.
I have to say I think the Ducati not having the number 1 plate next season was always. a minor sidelight, Riders carrying that number have not necessarily prospered even for the same team, cf Casey Stoner,, and the likes of Rossi preferred and made a brand name out of his original number.
I don’t recall MM ever changing from 93 in the premier class either.
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If I recall correctly Rossi was the first not to take the #1 plate
My Dad was keen on speedway and took me as a kid. I recall one year the 3/4 midget driver who was the champion the previous year came 2nd in the championship and was required to wear the #2 plate which he refused to do insisting on using #21 which made the officials furious
My Dad was keen on speedway and took me as a kid. I recall one year the 3/4 midget driver who was the champion the previous year came 2nd in the championship and was required to wear the #2 plate which he refused to do insisting on using #21 which made the officials furious
I am sure you are correct. Looking back at the years Rossi and MM never carried it and Jorge did after his 2010 title but not the 2012 and 2015 titles. Iirc Casey Stoner would have preferred to stay with 27.but the teams wanted him to use the number 1 plate. So a lot of winners haven’t carried it this century and by my reckoning only Bagnaia has repeated carrying the plate, so the riders themselves may regard it as something of ill omen by now. I don’t remember much being made of it recently until the stuff this year about Ducati possibly being upset about the number going to Aprilia with Jorge. As I said I doubt Gigi cares, his bike won everything, and Ducati Corse doubtless cares about a satellite rider winning but I doubt care too much about the plate per se.
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Axel Pons now lives a very different lifestyle. Apparently he has not worn shoes for six years. He has walked to Pakistan looking to find God.
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Fabio Quartararo says that 2024 was his best season yet.
www.crash.net
Personally I think he's an in-form extremely talented rider, but stuck on a Yamaha. I wonder what the year would have been like had both MMarquez and Quartararo been team-mates at Gresini.
Fabio Quartararo has an usual description for his 2024 season
Yamaha rider sums up his year in unexpected fashion
Personally I think he's an in-form extremely talented rider, but stuck on a Yamaha. I wonder what the year would have been like had both MMarquez and Quartararo been team-mates at Gresini.
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Hmmm . . . Not as weird as some might think. I went that route (tho in India not Pakistan) back in ‘89. That’s why I lost track of MotoGp from then till 2006. I didn’t do the dreadlocks, bare feet and long beard, but pretty much the same deal, mostly up in the Himalayas. That’s how I ended up with the honorific Keshav. You can bet even money there was some kind of emotional upheaval in his life that led to his taking that path. Odd that he would choose Pakistan tho. Not a country that is welcoming to western tourists, and certainly not ones going for that whole Sadhu look. Most people going that way eventually grow away from it once they realize there’s nothing to gain “spiritually” that can’t be found in the local church, synagogue, AA meeting or whatever. While these days I identify as a non-theist, I can appreciate Pons’ desire to find something bigger than fame and shelves lined with trophies. Hope he stays safe over there. Pakistan is in general not a very safe place for anyone - especially with all the back and forth terror skirmishes between the government and the Taliban.
BTW - Love the way the dopey sports press describe Pons’ journey as a “new lifestyle”. Just goes to how superficial those people are.
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Yeah it is.
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Well - for those who cling to the easy comfort of middle class conformity and the tribal vacuum of socially acceptable western conventionalities - it’s easy to understand why they get disturbed by the idea of the road less traveled. I suppose it can seem threatening when someone with wealth and privilege that most people aspire to, turns their back on materialistic values, because the average person rarely steps outside their comfort zone to question their entrenched imperatives. It’s so much easier to just go along with the rest of the sheep.Yeah it is.
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I interpreted thew new lifestyle as being new to Axel Pons.
It depends which bits of Pakistan Pons went to as to the safety. There are parts of Pakistan that I would avoid, but others I would be fine with visiting. It depends where he went. People told me I was putting myself in danger when I went on (separate) backpacking trips to Iran and Iraq, but both were absolutely fine.
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As he has walked from Spain he could be in Pakistan as that’s the direction he is walking and will eventually end up in India ?
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Unless he's travelled by boat part of the journey (which it sounds not) then probably he would have come through Iran and Balochistan. Balochistan is one of the parts of Pakistan that isn't typically described as safe for tourists. It's hard to get there because tourists need a No Objection Certificate, but if he crossed the border from Iran he would likely have received one. Walking through Balochistan is, in my eyes at least, certainly adventurous.
I rather enjoy my current comfort zone actually.
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I spent time in Lahore about 10 years ago. It is considered the safest place for Western travelers in Pakistan. In the span of two weeks, there were three separate bombings of different mosques. Numerous journalists have disappeared in Pakistan. Politicians are regularly gunned down in the street by their opposition. The cities are hairy enough, but once you get out into the countryside and up in the mountains, It really is the Wild Wild West. The air pollution in small towns and big cities is beyond what you can conceive of. Sanitation-wise Pakistan is a century behind even India. Iran and Iraq have citizenry that are largely opposed to government policy. Many people from those countries would love to live anywhere with Western values. Pakistanis on the whole have a much lower level of education and are very supportive of any given regime, any one of which is very anti-American. God help you if you get sick there. Confident medical care is practically nonexistent. And natural disasters are a regular feature. If you went to a newsstand you could probably find a copy of earthquake of the month magazine.
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30 years ago, it was safe to share a meal and a cuppa with the Pashto and their Talib friends... How time flies....
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