Joined May 2009
6K Posts | 4K+
Shovel's Club
I agree with Dovi coming to win only after Lorenzo get on a Ducati, but we must not forget that Lorenzo also started winning coincidentally after considered being replaced by mid tier riders (Miller or Petrux). Ah, the old ego motivation.
The reality is that most riders are accommodated inside their positions, as long as they have some excuse for not pushing. In the entire field there are - in my opinion - right now only two riders that never accommodate: those are Marquez and Rossi.
As a chief I would have kept Lorenzo and fired Dovi since 1st January 2018, no matter what. Dovi will never fight for the title again (and next year I highly doubt he's going to win a single race, probably he'll come back to his 2014/2015 form).
I think it's time for Domenicalli to get away from Ducati Corse and stay inside his office playing with some Excel sheets. This guy is done. The main difference among Japanese and Italian garage is that, the Japanese don't mix company CEOs and racing things together.
Joined Jun 2015
488 Posts | 303+
Cornwall England
I became a Jorge fan in 2008 when randomly picked him in an MCN fantasy league, at the time he was 20 years old and racing with be broken ankles; being lifted on and off the bike to race.This caught my attention I couldn't decide if he was brave or crazy.Decided brave.He came 4th in China like this. I decided I really liked this scowly lollipop sucking kid lol,the more I watched the more I realised he was very talented. I watched him for years.In 2015 I inherited some money;we joined the official fan club and we went out to the End of season party in Barcelona and I met him for the first time.He was and is, sweet and natural,and patient with the fans young and old.We have met him several times since then he never changes.What you see is what you get <3
Of course he is all happy and smiling.
I was going to make this my profile pic....I still might even though I'm not his fan.
I don't think I've ever seen him this happy for such a long period of time. Usually it's just for one dayThis time it was the whole weekend, 2 days during test, even on photos from Milan with Shark event and in Madrid with some other sponsor. He looks like a different person when he is relaxed. Good for him.
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Joined May 2009
6K Posts | 4K+
Shovel's Club
Thanks for sharing your story Libby, thats really cool. This site is so insane we have the craziest moments or should I say, we are constantly a little bat ..... But there you are a breathe of fresh air. You are like the forum mum and I'm glad you are around.
Vinales: “I seem to be the only Yamaha that cannot start well. I don’t understand it. In 2016 I used to make good starts with the other manufacturer. They need to give me a bike that works better”.
Hahaha .... off.
Hahaha .... off.
Joined Sep 2015
734 Posts | 1K+
Office cubicle
Joined Jun 2015
488 Posts | 303+
Cornwall England
Thank you
Not sure about the Mum bit lol I feel most of the time like an 18 year old trapped in a 48 year old body ha ha xGreat work by Jorge and I'm so pleased at the boost of confidence it will give him along with the righteous 'screw you' to the people at Ducati that wrote him off.
It's great that he's the first to get a pole and a win on a Yam and a Duc. Fingers crossed that he does the same on a Honda to give him an achievement that will be hard to replicate.
I'd like Jorge to bang in another win but maybe in a few races time so that these two can't be dismissed as some kind of stars aligning fluke.
Had to laugh at the knob end Hodgson continuing to go off on Jorge saying he was a constant whiner and then finish with a statement on what a nice man Rossi is.
It's great that he's the first to get a pole and a win on a Yam and a Duc. Fingers crossed that he does the same on a Honda to give him an achievement that will be hard to replicate.
I'd like Jorge to bang in another win but maybe in a few races time so that these two can't be dismissed as some kind of stars aligning fluke.
Had to laugh at the knob end Hodgson continuing to go off on Jorge saying he was a constant whiner and then finish with a statement on what a nice man Rossi is.
Joined Aug 2007
11K Posts | 3K+
Pomona NY
Resurfacing the track is never without some kind of consequences. Haven't watched the Moto 2 yet. Was stuck at the Jersey Shore
with relatives this morning. The things a guy will do to keep a marriage going.
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Joined Aug 2007
11K Posts | 3K+
Pomona NY
Good job for Robo-Georgie. Winning so convincingly two times in a row after looking like crap for so long, against all expectations is the kind of throw-you-a-curve surprise that makes Moto GP so exciting: much welcome considering how boring the actual race was. Pretty much everybody has been saying he wouldn't get competitive unless he learned to ride the bike like Stoner, but apparently, against all odds, he's finessed everything to the point that he can ride it like Lorenzo, using the softs no less. I note people saying that Dovi didn't start to win till Lorenzo joined, which is interesting from the point of view that Lorenzo has more consistently stayed with the extra large wings, whilst Dovi while being more competitive, has done so more often on the smaller, more discrete ones. I find it hard to believe that he's just lost his confidence or lost his skills over the winter, so the more logical assumption would be that despite his valiant efforts and great results last year, that Gigi has been skewing the development in Lorenzo's direction. Whether that's his agenda or that of the over-bosses is the question that begs to be answered. Seems there's a lot of hindsight wisdom now regarding Ducati's decision not to keep Lorenzo, but it seems mostly to be coming from the same people who thought Ducati had wasted enough time on him. Personally - I don't fault them in that regard. Even if he doesn't end up in 2nd or 3rd at end of season, observing the arc of his results will provide the animus for lots and lots of interesting speculation for the fans. As to Dovi, even if he doesn't recover his mojo, I take exception to the taunts of fair weather fans who now trash talk him. His duels last year with Marquez were nothing short of astounding, and absolute treat for everyone who saw them, they simply cannot be discounted.
Not surprised that Vinales is falling apart before our eyes, nor am I surprised to see Zarco fade away, tho the latter because the plug is being pulled on his effort in light of his move for 2019. They can't have loved how crap he's been making Rossi look in 2018.
Syahrin's crash was really quite ugly. Very happy he didn't damage his spine. Really lucky considering the way he came down on his head.
If Lorenzo looks this good in practice at Assen, one wonders will MM be moved to try and race on say a medium front: the hards have not served him well these last two races. I will get to find out up close in person. Packing my bags even now.
Not surprised that Vinales is falling apart before our eyes, nor am I surprised to see Zarco fade away, tho the latter because the plug is being pulled on his effort in light of his move for 2019. They can't have loved how crap he's been making Rossi look in 2018.
Syahrin's crash was really quite ugly. Very happy he didn't damage his spine. Really lucky considering the way he came down on his head.
If Lorenzo looks this good in practice at Assen, one wonders will MM be moved to try and race on say a medium front: the hards have not served him well these last two races. I will get to find out up close in person. Packing my bags even now.
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It's kinda hard to believe that he'll be able to mount a championship challenge. I think that MM got it in his pocket, but you never know?
One more DNF or two for 93 would make it interesting, but also how will Jorge cope with the next 3 races which aren't so Ducatisque.
One more DNF or two for 93 would make it interesting, but also how will Jorge cope with the next 3 races which aren't so Ducatisque.
Joined Aug 2007
11K Posts | 3K+
Pomona NY
Most would have said the same thing about Dovi this time last year. Lorenzo at his best has been known to be consistent. If he can do two in a row... anything is possible.
I guess you're right on this one. JL is consistent and better than Dovi and certainly this bike is at its best under his command. As I said, it'll be interesting to see how he'll cope in Assen, Germany and Brno in which Ducati last year suffered. If he's close there and maybe with a bit of luck he cuts off the lead heading to Austria, I would say game on.
Joined Jun 2007
10K Posts | 1K+
Norah Head
This could be one of the greatest comebacks of all time. Imagine if he takes the WC out this year!
The fact Im speculating about it is I guess testament to just how good Lornenzo can be.
I cant wait to see him on a Honda.
I would say Gigi has been skewing the development in favor of what makes the bike fastest; Dovi rode great the second half of last year, but seldom showed absolutely dominant pace on the thing, or MM dominating pace anyway, which Jorge has done before on the Yamaha.
MM, like Stoner, and Rossi to an extent in his latter years, is not as good on a soft tire/in conditions which favor a soft tire, and didn't even ride the mediums in this race, although the riders were saying all available Michelins were pretty hard. For the tinfoil hat wearers among us, if Dorna did happen to wish to thwart MM, encouraging Michelin to provide a tire which suits Jorge might help such an endeavor, although MM still managed to finish 2nd in this race riding hards front and rear.
I am something of a fan as the last 2 races have demonstrated, but confess to thinking really did think even before he sat on the bike that Jorge might never meld with the the thing, although I have noted previously that he has had 1 lap place for some time, even at the end of last year, but has been unable to make his tires last up till now. I think I have also previously said that he has not always ridden the extreme corner speed style he rode in his latter years at Yamaha, which I saw as a response to MM and the only way he could get close to him when the Honda bike was good as well as MM.
He won't do so well at some tracks, but even in his former heyday still managed to be on or close to the podium in conditions which suited hard tires. It will be interesting to see how he goes in damp conditions with his current level of confidence in general, he wasn't such a bad rider in wet or damp conditions before his clavicular injuries.
I take it he doesn't like Mick Doohan then either, who was wont to whinge after races, quite often after winning though. Jorge wouldn't even be on the podium as a whiner in the current field, given the presence of the two Yamaha factory riders and one Cal Crutchlow (of whom l am a fan btw); whether or not Rossi is the GOAT rider, he certainly has made the GOAT whine/whinge at a certain Sepang pre-race press conference, closely followed by his after race comments following the Valencia race the same year.
Joined Sep 2016
38 Posts | 20+
A winding country road.
I prefer to think of him as the guy that took the bike that the GOAT couldn't even win on, and worked his ... off with the team to produce a genuine title challenging machine for the 2017 season. He certainly was essential to Ducati's success- the DNA of which Lorenzo is enjoying success on now. Admittedly I wasn't aware of Lorenzo's engineering credentials and help to design the new 2017 engine
