Joined Oct 2015
2K Posts | 827+
Texas
2016 season is nothing like 2014 bro. Different tires, different electronics, Yamaha is stronger, and Ducati is stronger. Anything can happen.
2016 season is nothing like 2014 bro. Different tires, different electronics, Yamaha is stronger, and Ducati is stronger. Anything can happen.
Joined Oct 2015
2K Posts | 827+
Texas
Joined Oct 2015
2K Posts | 827+
Texas
It has always struggled on top end. Remember the Duc and RCV blowing the M1's paint off on the straight at PI last year?
Joined Feb 2007
11K Posts | 2K+
Tennessee
The Yamaha is still a great bike, by far the best on the grid. They are still figuring out the Michelins which is a moving target but overall a great package. Yamaha may not be the fastest top end bike, but that only matters on a few tracks. On the majority of tracks, acceleration is king and Yamaha has plenty of that and handles much better than the Honda or Ducati and is actually showing more top end speed than Honda this year, which makes sense with Honda's grip issues.My opinion,On a scale of 1-10 with the best in each group getting a 10
Acceleration
Ducati 10
Yamaha 9
Honda 7
Top end
Ducati 10
Yamaha 9
Honda 8
Set up Parameters
Yamaha 10
Honda 8
Ducati 7
Corner speed
Yamaha 10
Honda 9
Ducati 7
Braking
Honda 10
Ducati 9
Yamaha 8
Top rider
Honda 10 if allowed would give him a 12
Yamaha 9
Ducati 7
Team riders
Yamaha 10
Honda 9
Ducati 7
Yamaha 64
Honda 61
Ducati 57
The Ducati is slightly better than the Honda with the difference being riders. The Yamaha is considerably better than the Honda and should be running away with the title, but again, the difference is the rider. The moral of this story is, if Honda gets their .... together, it going to be a long next few years for everyone as you will see 2014 like domination if they give Marquez just an equal bike. I may get surprised, but i dont think Vinales is going to replicate Lorenzo's finish's on the Yamaha and Lorenzo is not going to replicate his Yamaha finish's on the Ducati. All of this points towards Marquez beating Rossi for the next few titles, further maddening the yellow horde who will blame his mere existence for Rossi not winning 13 titles as they will work it out in their head that 2014 and 2015 should have been his titles, as well as 2017 - 2018 when Rossi takes second in those years by default. Should be fun as a Marquez fan, excruciating as a bopper
Acceleration
Ducati 10
Yamaha 9
Honda 7
Top end
Ducati 10
Yamaha 9
Honda 8
Set up Parameters
Yamaha 10
Honda 8
Ducati 7
Corner speed
Yamaha 10
Honda 9
Ducati 7
Braking
Honda 10
Ducati 9
Yamaha 8
Top rider
Honda 10 if allowed would give him a 12
Yamaha 9
Ducati 7
Team riders
Yamaha 10
Honda 9
Ducati 7
Yamaha 64
Honda 61
Ducati 57
The Ducati is slightly better than the Honda with the difference being riders. The Yamaha is considerably better than the Honda and should be running away with the title, but again, the difference is the rider. The moral of this story is, if Honda gets their .... together, it going to be a long next few years for everyone as you will see 2014 like domination if they give Marquez just an equal bike. I may get surprised, but i dont think Vinales is going to replicate Lorenzo's finish's on the Yamaha and Lorenzo is not going to replicate his Yamaha finish's on the Ducati. All of this points towards Marquez beating Rossi for the next few titles, further maddening the yellow horde who will blame his mere existence for Rossi not winning 13 titles as they will work it out in their head that 2014 and 2015 should have been his titles, as well as 2017 - 2018 when Rossi takes second in those years by default. Should be fun as a Marquez fan, excruciating as a bopper
Last edited:
And Marquez is smarter
Sure stronger bikes can make a huge difference, but a smart racer who has the ability to make the most of any equipment they ride may well outweigh any bike improvements of others (as an example look no further than god and what he was able to do at Laguna Seca and other places - lesser bike, smart racer)
MM of 2016 is not MM of 2015, nor 2014 and not 2013.
MM of 2016 will happily settle for position rather than risk dumping it down the road (remember the post race Assen comments - my team said do not crash).
Whilst MM may well return to falling from time to time, he has greatly reduced his practice crash rate in 2016 and in many ways his performances have been somewhat unexpected in as much as his consistency of position as well as non-crashing as I am sure many expected different results (and perhaps, some hoped for worse)
Not my point at all; I am not sure what your point actually is, btw, other than to engage in wistful wishful thinking.
My point is that there is historic proof that MM riding according to the capability of his bike, whatever that capability, is capable of riding a season with few race crashes. You are running the same narrative as 2013, when he was riding seemingly much more on the edge, and against the expectations of many including Jorge Lorenzo's, Dani Pedrosa's and mine, didn't crash out of that championship either.
You may not have noticed, but he has garnered a 50 odd point lead by settling for position rather than wins when that was the best result available; why on earth would he change his approach and start crashing now when 3rd in every remaining race will just about win him the championship?
Last edited:
Joined Apr 2015
6K Posts | 5K+
NJ
Stoner is a ......
He's probably going to do the same .... he did in 2012 after Indy.
You know, be lazy, make excuses, do nothing, then Wild Card at Phillip Island since it's the only place he has a chance to win. Then he'll go back to sitting there and commenting about how Lorenzo is underachieving next year, while he refuses to race out of some moronic principle.
He's probably going to do the same .... he did in 2012 after Indy.
You know, be lazy, make excuses, do nothing, then Wild Card at Phillip Island since it's the only place he has a chance to win. Then he'll go back to sitting there and commenting about how Lorenzo is underachieving next year, while he refuses to race out of some moronic principle.
Not wanting to race doesn't make him a ....., he has nothing to gain even if he wins. Then there will be pressure to wildcard again and again and he isn't interested.
The bike is a race winner, if Dovi and Iannone can get so close do you really think that Marquez, Rossi, Pedro or Jorge couldn't put it on the top step?
Joined Jun 2016
642 Posts | 244+
Santa Cruz, Cal
You are talking about the injured Stoner, who finished fourth in a race his doctors told him not to race in? And then had surgery, and was not allowed to ride until the end of the season? This Stoner, below? You seem to be an angry man and perhaps a bit confused.
I sure liked Stoner's style and abilities. I am thoroughly disappointed that it appears he doesn't want to race MotoGP, again. The Suzuka crash last year probably doesn't help his motivation.
Attachments
Joined Jul 2007
5K Posts | 1K+
unda cheese
Unless its a concussion issue, Dorna is not stopping anyone from racing due to a broken bone.
Stoner broke his ankle during practice at Indy and continued to ride that weekend. He took the next 5 weeks off missing 3 races. If he was able to ride with a broken bone, then why was he unable to ride while it was healing? If he was physically unable then there is a strong possibility honda wizards could have fabricated thumb brake. Its been done before.
Upon his return, he cruised the next 3 races until PI where he was suddenly back on form. The final week he was back to cruising again.
His crash happened 2 months from the end of the season. He knew he was quitting so rather then grit out the rest of the year and go for broke, he decided to take the easy way out. He had the rest of his retired life to heal up that ankle properly.
Stoners talent is never in question, its his head that's the problem. He doesnt have mental grit and dedication it takes to be a professional athlete.
Look at these kids in the Olympics. Gymnastics, swimming,cycling etc... These sports are infinitly more grueling than GP
Watching Stoner ....., moan cry and quit about occasional,weekend motorcycle racing is laughable in comparison to these other sports,where their practicing 300 days a year, just for the love of it
The butt hurt must be big.
People seem to wish to criticise someone who came, saw, conquered, got paid handsomely whilst doing so and then left on his terms to enjoy the riches he had earned.
To some he may not have the bottle and may never have had the bottle but to others (like me) he showed far more bottle by leaving and staying away than have so many others who have stayed to long.
Each their own and may he continue to upset those that seem to need to be upset by him and his antics.
Actually JKD, DORNA can stop anyone riding if the condition is considered serious enough by the medical team involved as medical clearance is required after every accident (sure, it has been a long time since any injury aside from concussion stopped a rider but it is allowed under the rules)
As for cruising, well there are many riders who would love to cruise to 4 top 5 positions including 3 on the podium but hey, given that so many riders cannot race to the podium, why not cruise to it.
People seem to wish to criticise someone who came, saw, conquered, got paid handsomely whilst doing so and then left on his terms to enjoy the riches he had earned.
To some he may not have the bottle and may never have had the bottle but to others (like me) he showed far more bottle by leaving and staying away than have so many others who have stayed to long.
Each their own and may he continue to upset those that seem to need to be upset by him and his antics.
Actually JKD, DORNA can stop anyone riding if the condition is considered serious enough by the medical team involved as medical clearance is required after every accident (sure, it has been a long time since any injury aside from concussion stopped a rider but it is allowed under the rules)
As for cruising, well there are many riders who would love to cruise to 4 top 5 positions including 3 on the podium but hey, given that so many riders cannot race to the podium, why not cruise to it.
Joined Jul 2007
5K Posts | 1K+
unda cheese
Joined Nov 2015
872 Posts | 420+
Stratosphere
It wasn't said that "Dorna" stopped Stoner from racing. It says his DOCTORS advised against it. Even with all the miracle surgeries and hi-tech machines the profession uses, there are limits to what can and cannot be repaired in a meaningful way. If Stoner has no cards in the game, why would he risk an injury that might leave him gimpy or in a state of chronic pain for the rest of his life? Fans keep setting themselves up for disappointment by telling themselves that the chosen one is coming coming back, when he's repeatedly tried to disabuse them of that notion; and then they get angry at him for keeping his word.
Joined Feb 2007
11K Posts | 2K+
Tennessee
What bothers me is Stoner approached Honda about filling in for Dani and was turned down, hastening his departure from Honda. That showed a willingness and a want to race. Now he is he offered a perfect scenario to ride a dominant bike on a track no one knows and all of a sudden he is back to "keeping his word" . Its his decision on when and where he may or may not race again, but he couldnt have asked for a better chance to shine. Im thinking maybe the tracks safety issues spooked him a bit and if he is ever going to wild card, its going to be PI and thats it.
Joined Apr 2015
6K Posts | 5K+
NJ
PI makes more sense now that one of the contracted riders has finally ended the Ducati winless drought. It takes all of the pressure off of him to deliver the long awaited victory via wild card. It also doesn't put him in the position of delivering the win, and then putting pressure on the incoming Jorge Lorenzo. If anything, now it shows if Iannone, a rider with consistency and prudence issues can win on the Desmo, in theory the sky is the limit for JL in 2017. On paper anyway. I don't think he will wild card PI personally, but it's the only circuit that makes sense outside of Misano (which he is a big fan of). I'd wager right now it's a 50-50 proposition in spite of my feeling it's a no, that he makes a championship round appearance at Phillip Island.
I think unless Honda make a big step going into 2017 then Lorenzo will win at Qatar on the Duc. After that I don't think he will win consistently though.
