Race 1 of Moto-E was entertaining. Riding onboard with Aegerter was pretty cool. The whirl of the motor, the rumble when they go over the curb and you can hear rubber chirp under hard braking. I like the real-time tire temp graphic. Aegerter doing double duty between Moto-E and WSS. That's got to be a grueling schedule.
Joined Jul 2011
1K Posts | 872+
Dont Know
Not really imo. The Honda downfall appears to correlate strongly with the appointment of Puig. He is by his own record simply not a team player nor a proponent of the 'greater good' in any way, only the 'Puig is good' mantra whatever that is. Why Honda keeps him there I have no idea. Why put 'that guy' in charge as opposed the likes of a Suppo or Bravio, both who by their record achieved more - ala championships?
Who knows, maybe he even resents MM's success compared to his own. Would'nt put it past him (narcissist?). Puig has somehow turned MM from the GOAT to an injury prone DP. Now we marvel at a fourth place, when Taka came home 7th. No saves on the elbow for FQ, but is he the one who derailed MM in 2019?
FQ and PB ride the wave, maybe better than MM ever did. Afterall they don't crash to the limit or require the elbow to finish miles ahead.
Witnessing this, I wonder how many championships DP may have won if not for Puig? I mean Pedrosa on Lorenzo's Yamaha, how about that as a scenario. I think we may already know about Lorenzo on a Honda.
Joined Feb 2020
979 Posts | 1K+
Bendigo Vic
I may not have that high an opinion of Puig either but I am not attributing MMs injuries and extended recovery time to him.
The bike has had less/no MM input so not that surprising it is less tailored to his preference.
This link may get blocked but it was a good save [emoji41]
The bike has had less/no MM input so not that surprising it is less tailored to his preference.
This link may get blocked but it was a good save [emoji41]
Seems to be good at picking and developing young riders before they get to GP bike racing but otherwise disorder and dysfunction seem to be his calling cards. I suspect Dani Pedrosa would still be better now than anyone who has followed him in the second HRC seat.
Joined Aug 2007
11K Posts | 3K+
Pomona NY
Not sure Puig condemned Dani. Alberto was just the little devil on Dani's shoulder blaming him for Honda's misadventures. The Yamaha was built for Rossi. If Puig had guided Dani to Yam, I don't think it would have ended well. Dani was in the right spot at the wrong time.
Honda was dazed and confused at the beginning of Dani's career, and by the time they realized maybe betting on Dani wasn't a bad idea, they already had Stoner on the way. Marquez followed shortly after.
I think the Ducati strategy for 2022 became a bit clearer at Jerez. It's not just about flooding the grid with 8 bikes, and hoping someone brings it home. It's a bit more sophisticated.
Looks like the Miller side of the garage is Ducati's answer to Honda/Marquez. Jack breaks late. Squares corners. Etc.
Pecco is Ducati's answer to Yamaha/Quartararo. He rides cornerspeed style in metronomic fashion.
The satellite riders fall somewhere in one of these camps. Bastianini apparently being more in the Pecco vein of operation.
No matter how the tires alter the grip balance, no matter what circuit they are racing, Ducati has their bases covered, and if the satellite riders do their job, 1 or 2 of them will be snatching podium points from the other manufacturers.
If this operational strategy is how Ducati works, it might explain why they were incensed with Jack's 3rd place at COTA, a track that Marquez owns.
Looks like the Miller side of the garage is Ducati's answer to Honda/Marquez. Jack breaks late. Squares corners. Etc.
Pecco is Ducati's answer to Yamaha/Quartararo. He rides cornerspeed style in metronomic fashion.
The satellite riders fall somewhere in one of these camps. Bastianini apparently being more in the Pecco vein of operation.
No matter how the tires alter the grip balance, no matter what circuit they are racing, Ducati has their bases covered, and if the satellite riders do their job, 1 or 2 of them will be snatching podium points from the other manufacturers.
If this operational strategy is how Ducati works, it might explain why they were incensed with Jack's 3rd place at COTA, a track that Marquez owns.
Great to see Pecco and Fabio riding so smooth at the front. I'm very impressed with Aleix's riding this year. He's shown speed in the past, but now with that Aprilia.....Glad to see the pair of them succeeding. His complaining surely is starting to get old already. After getting more of a glimpse of how his temperament is from the Amazon series, and all of the talk of his pissed he was that passing Jack and Marc was, well, lame. That's racing babe. No one is going to roll out the red carpet for them to waltz by, outside of VALEncia of course.
He should pretty much have been jailed for attempted murder when he hung out the fake pit board at Sachsenring in the wet that year.
As I recall Dani eventually sacked him as his manager and Puig returned the favour when he was hired by HRC.
Wow. Completely forgot about that. Darth Puig at his lowest for sure. Alberto always seemed to be extra nuts at the Sachsenring. After Dani notched his first win of the season in 2007 at Germany, Puig said “when Dani ride the bike, he can do”.
At that moment, I realized Dani was not the aggressor at Honda. He was just another victim. Alberto held Dani responsible for the shortcomings of HRC spring valve pocketbike.
Joined Oct 2015
985 Posts | 634+
Siebenbürgen süße Heimat!
Joined Oct 2008
6K Posts | 5K+
In Cider
I'm still gutted about that.
Aleix is such a whiner. Well it appears both the Asparagus brothers are. He (Aprilia) are doing well but lets see what happens when 1. Other manufacturers get their act together and 2. They lose they concessions for 2023 (or possibly earlier if the results keep coming)
Oxley says the GP of Jerez features too few passes. If Marquez is removed from the equation, only one overtake occurred among the top 7 riders after the first lap.
His stats seem manipulated to achieve a point, but aero and active suspension could be creating two-wheel F1
His stats seem manipulated to achieve a point, but aero and active suspension could be creating two-wheel F1
Joined Sep 2015
734 Posts | 1K+
Office cubicle
Oxley overreacts to the latest thing every time. Why is it that he never writes an article like this just after CotA or Portimao for example? he's super reactionary.
Why the hell are they even racing at jerez? When was it ever a great race there? A total ....-track.
He does, but to be fair he’s also the only journalist who noticed the dearth of overtakes (to my knowledge). It will be something to watch going forward as the rear shapeshifters and aerodynamics get more sophisticated.
Joined Oct 2015
985 Posts | 634+
Siebenbürgen süße Heimat!
Welcome to the sport!
btw, you don't need a sock account to ask what the different championships are.
Joined Aug 2007
11K Posts | 3K+
Pomona NY
Felt a little too much like the 800 era for me. The best part of the race was between the start and turn 2.
