Grand Prix of Qatar 2018

RCV600RR said:

Agree with all of that. I'm just having a bit of a victory dance after certain posters spent the winter claiming that the guy only won titles due to SNS, Dorna, the gravity of the moon and Max Biaggi's goatee.



Age matters. Desire matters. They both matter. The human sense of balance, largely controlled by the inner ear (and also affected by muscle strength and flexibility) deteriorates from the early 30s. Reflexes also blunt.

Click to expand...

RCV600RR said:

And what does this have to do with my post? I didn't discuss the rest of the season.

I was explaining how the 39 year-old fraud only finished up front because he had a special ball massage. Apparently extra-virgin Spanish olive oil was used from the fertile earth of Catalunya. Use the search function.

Click to expand...

Albert Tatlock said:

This is wishfull thinking that can only be based on illogical emotion.
Rossi typically finishes in the top 5 and frequently on the podium. You have nothing concrete to base this assumption on. It is a foolhardy declaration given that he is on a factory bike.

You can debate that one is not at the pointy end of their talent at age 39, but it is not a detriment to his racing because he is weary of travel. Maybe in 29 years when you are 39, you will understand this.
You should try thinking through your prolific, knee jerk reactions before tapping away at the keyboard

Click to expand...

JPSLotus said:

Still in denial over the reality of SNS tires and whose preferences they were tailored to.

:giggle::giggle:

Click to expand...

Keshav said:

He's had all winter to rest up. As races go back to back - expect him to be further back in 6th and 7th place. Good race for a 39 year old, but with constant travel - he'll start to unravel. He himself complained about this
last year.

Click to expand...

michaelm said:

He is extraordinarily good for a 39 year old, both in having the mental strength/will to continue at that age after such a long career, and in being fast enough to be close to other all time great riders who are 10 or 15 years youinger, such as MM who is 25 with the reflexes of a scalded cat.

My gripe is not with his quality as a rider either at his absolute peak or now, but with his off-track manipulations including the employment of the crazy element of his fan base as a weapon against his rivals, which admittedly he doesn't seem to be doing much so far this season and pre-season. As I have said previously it annoys me that he both expects to be treated and pretty much is treated as though he has just won his 9th title or is in the middle of his run of his run of 5 premier class titles despite not having won the title since 2009, while another definitely all time great rider, who is doing pretty much what he did when he was in his 20s and may even have prospects of surpassing him, seems to be an afterthought for many. As Birdman pretty much has said, if he chooses to continue at 39 in pursuit of an elusive 10th title then that is his freely made choice, and he shouldn't be regarded or treated differently than other riders imo as well as his.

Click to expand...

Keshav said:

I used to race Middleweight Superbike, Battle Of The Twins and a few years of endurance racing. I quit at the age of 36. Not because I was too old - but because I’d sustained too many injuries. While I was racing guys much younger - I was largely self sponsored and wasn’t sitting on one of the 6 fastest bikes in the sport and incapable of using it as effectively as a younger rider.

Click to expand...

Albert Tatlock said:

He was the victor yesterday due to the bikes ability to strip the paint off it's competitors as it blew past them down the stretch. Put him on Cals bike for that race and he wouldn't have been anyone near the front

Click to expand...

synn said:

“Middleweight superbike” is what they call a malnourished water buffalo in New Delhi fyi.

Ramesh retired when his buffalo kicked him in the nuts when he tried to cop a feel before a race. Witnesses claim he sang a Kirtan for about 15 minutes before he passed out.

The search function is your friend.

Click to expand...

darkkakashi said:

the guys hate the guy but keep talking about him all day long.

the guys have a high standard of ethic and obviously a very high self esteem but can't deviate their thoughts from basic instincts such has hatred, criticism, the will to bring down their "opponent" and who rejoy themselves in bashing.

the guys have implicit claims of superior intelligence yet keep running in circle and denature the purpose of this public forum to turn it into a barstool banter.

the guys proclaim their love of the sports yet keep talking about nothing but the sport, or mainly about conspiracy theory related to the sport or basically all the cons of the sport just to show that they have superior analytic capacity versus the others, that they have a critical point of view and that they can't be fooled so easily, that they know their .... because they are ex racer, that this is what they would do, blabla

ok great, the situation is not the one you wish it would be, they are some things you dont like, you think you would handle things better, FINE, please get over it !

i am not sure what your purpose are but as said, there aren't many motogp forums on the net and what an eyesore to have to go through all this boring self centered repetition to get actual information...this is valid for both sides, i.e. pro Rossi and anti Rossi : which is mainly the constant subject here...like if the guy cares really...lol he has enough wealth for 3 generations, is doing the sport he likes, in a way in wants to do it (using his power to keep a great bike, paying mind games) that maybe true or just your point of view WHATEVER but you are not him, maybe you would do it better but sorry you won't be able to prove it so rather than theoritize all the time, could we actually discuss the sport ?

what about Miller's race ?

Redding what a waste.

Nakagami did his confidence got ...... up by the fall ?

Funny how Petrucci wasn't able to get the results, looks like battling through the field isn't one of his best skill.

Cal good ride. Sorry to hear about his doping drama, "NEEDLES, WE CANNOT DO NEEDLES" alright some when in thailand with 85% humidity and 40 celsius degrees a rider is feeling bad after 92 laps in one we should let him die rather than rehydrate with intra venous. Obviously that could be for other stuff but as of anything in anything, if you are really looking for it, you will find it. the good news is that the impact is minimal in a mechanical sport.

WTF happens to Bautista ? i was almost betting on him during early testing.

Aleich ESP seemed really delusional at the end of the race, as was the boss of Aprilia, basically they made a step forward but the field did a massive step forward.

Which leads to KTM...hopefully they get back on track rapidly because to sign a decent rider in these conditions it will be tough. Maybe a way for Bradl to get back on the market (they need an experienced rider to make the project viable). Maybe Iannone for the dollars.

Rabat, Morbidelli, happy for them.

Luthi i was expecting more.

Pedrosa seemed to have a rear tire issue from what he says. Not making all the make up about it as Zarco is making it though.

Lorenzo, bad luck, he has the potential, i think the post race comments of Ducati are a bit insulting given he had a technical issue because of them (we want to keep Dovi. Lorenzo ? anything can happen). It would be crazy if lorenzo gets Dani's seat !

Zarco well i dont like the guy, for many reasons I have already explained...plus he represents a ...... market commercial wise and he is already 28.

for those with a notion of french you should watch the race on Eurosport france...the guy in charge has a football back ground...such a mess (Yamaha has deliberately put a bad bike for Zarco and all that crappy sensationalist buzz feeding journalism from the soccer world...)

will defo see a teammate war between Rins and Iannone this year

anyway at the end of Jerez race we will get a clearer picture.

Click to expand...

darkkakashi said:

because the notion itself of pro and anti is by nature disrespectful towards the riders.

we should be pro all of them, on different scales, because they are still much better than all of us in the sport.

It is very different to know the path rather than to walk it. who are we to judge them ?

Even if Keshav have been competing on motorbikes, he never was in motogp, so he does not know.

Just by that we should all have respect towards all of them, i.e. we should not be focusing on only one rider as you are currently doing with Rossi. The other deserves to be talked about.

obviously everyone is entitled to an opinion and I am entitled to say that I don't like Zarco so be it, lets not keep focusing on that for 30 pages.

I think there is enough to discuss on the sport rather than focusing only on Rossi.

You are speaking of making this forum pro-someone else, who is it ? You have been speaking so much of Rossi I cannot distinguish who you are supporting.

Stoner ? Have you actually met the guy ? I was once in Lausanne with my 2 years old daughter, we were walking (well she was trying) and she lost her teddy bear while walking. Before I could make a move someone grabbed it and gave it back to her. It was Stoner and his wife. I told him I was a fan of the sport, we spoke 5 mins and he left.

He seemed like a genuinely good guy and I could see the "father instinct" in him, it was around the time his wife was at the beginning of her first pregnancy.

However when he kind of burnt out during the season and not showed up at the next race despite having a contract in place with a manufacturer I thought he was being not professional and kind of a mentally fragile guy...but then I remembered of the moment I saw him and these guys are just like us with the difference that they have to deal with a heck of more pressure than most of us do (plus all the sacrifice/skill/etc.. running these bikes implies) so okay, they make mistake, as we do, lets forgive them.

I once heard there are 3 kinds of people : the ones that have ideas, the ones that speaks of ideas and the ones that speaks of people.

i'd rather not be in the last pack.

btw I also met Dani and Sete has they both live around here.

Coming back to the sport, I think Zarco will stay at yam on that 3rd official bike that Jarvis just spoke about and it will be with VDS. Obviously HRC must be very tempting but he knows he is already 28, he starts to know the Yamaha well, that could maybe be the best choice for him but obviously if HRC makes him an offer, he might accept.

I would like to see Lorenzo on the Honda rather than Suzuki but I doubt it will happen due to the potential tension in the box between Lorenzo and Marquez.

Dani might be tempted, if he is getting shown the exit by honda, to go at KTM for the dollars and to work again with Leitner (whatever his exact name is), his ex crew chief.

Also wonder how the cohabitation works between Dani, Sete and Alberto right now...Alberto did state againg recently that it was, basically, thanks to him that Dani was as successful as it was. We will never know as we were not there to see what the relationship was between them and some will always say that Dani would have been better off Alberto but that is only speculation.

However if Dani sees this relationship has something that has hurt his young years, both personally and professionally, he might never be able to get along with Alberto again.

BTW interesting interview of Bartholemy who basically implies that Alberto is not a bullshiter unlike the italian guy who left HRC recently (forgot the name)

Click to expand...

darkkakashi said:

BTW interesting interview of Bartholemy who basically implies that Alberto is not a bullshiter unlike the italian guy who left HRC recently (forgot the name)

Click to expand...

darkkakashi said:

because the notion itself of pro and anti is by nature disrespectful towards the riders.

we should be pro all of them, on different scales, because they are still much better than all of us in the sport.

It is very different to know the path rather than to walk it. who are we to judge them ?

Even if Keshav have been competing on motorbikes, he never was in motogp, so he does not know.

Just by that we should all have respect towards all of them, i.e. we should not be focusing on only one rider as you are currently doing with Rossi. The other deserves to be talked about.

obviously everyone is entitled to an opinion and I am entitled to say that I don't like Zarco so be it, lets not keep focusing on that for 30 pages.

I think there is enough to discuss on the sport rather than focusing only on Rossi.

You are speaking of making this forum pro-someone else, who is it ? You have been speaking so much of Rossi I cannot distinguish who you are supporting.

Stoner ? Have you actually met the guy ? I was once in Lausanne with my 2 years old daughter, we were walking (well she was trying) and she lost her teddy bear while walking. Before I could make a move someone grabbed it and gave it back to her. It was Stoner and his wife. I told him I was a fan of the sport, we spoke 5 mins and he left.

He seemed like a genuinely good guy and I could see the "father instinct" in him, it was around the time his wife was at the beginning of her first pregnancy.

However when he kind of burnt out during the season and not showed up at the next race despite having a contract in place with a manufacturer I thought he was being not professional and kind of a mentally fragile guy...but then I remembered of the moment I saw him and these guys are just like us with the difference that they have to deal with a heck of more pressure than most of us do (plus all the sacrifice/skill/etc.. running these bikes implies) so okay, they make mistake, as we do, lets forgive them.

I once heard there are 3 kinds of people : the ones that have ideas, the ones that speaks of ideas and the ones that speaks of people.

i'd rather not be in the last pack.

btw I also met Dani and Sete has they both live around here.

Coming back to the sport, I think Zarco will stay at yam on that 3rd official bike that Jarvis just spoke about and it will be with VDS. Obviously HRC must be very tempting but he knows he is already 28, he starts to know the Yamaha well, that could maybe be the best choice for him but obviously if HRC makes him an offer, he might accept.

I would like to see Lorenzo on the Honda rather than Suzuki but I doubt it will happen due to the potential tension in the box between Lorenzo and Marquez.

Dani might be tempted, if he is getting shown the exit by honda, to go at KTM for the dollars and to work again with Leitner (whatever his exact name is), his ex crew chief.

Also wonder how the cohabitation works between Dani, Sete and Alberto right now...Alberto did state againg recently that it was, basically, thanks to him that Dani was as successful as it was. We will never know as we were not there to see what the relationship was between them and some will always say that Dani would have been better off Alberto but that is only speculation.

However if Dani sees this relationship has something that has hurt his young years, both personally and professionally, he might never be able to get along with Alberto again.

BTW interesting interview of Bartholemy who basically implies that Alberto is not a bullshiter unlike the italian guy who left HRC recently (forgot the name)

Click to expand...

Gaz said:

I would tend to trust Bartholemy who seems to call a spade a spade as well plus it does fit with some other comments I have read from time to time, but hey, it is a cut throat world where everyone has an agenda and all would sell their soul for a benefit (riders and hangers on alike).

That said, Bartholemy made no secrets that he would rather have kept Miller and had him on a factory bike and that he was prepared to pay for it, all he wanted was Honda to pony up but they did not and the rest is trying to write their own history.

Your call of MarcVDS to Yamaha is of course a possibility but would VDS go there if it is only a short term gig with the imminent arrival of VR or, as I suspect may be the case for whoever goes there, will they end up as team VR.

To me, MarcVDS are in the game for the long haul so would not likely jump for a 1 or 2 year gig with a specific manufacturer due to the dollars without a long term chance to recoup something, but that of course is based on only a short term gig.

I do not think that Suzuki are a worthwhile option and do expect MarcVDS to leave Honda at some stage so you may well have hit something

Click to expand...

synn said:

MarcVDS was not part of HRC's photoshoot during the Qatar test weekend. That's an indicator of where things are heading.

I strongly believe Lin Jarvis' comments about Yamaha being prepared to put more than 4 bikes on the grid and even offer factory bikes to satellite teams are intended to appease prospective applicants for the satellite deal in 2019, of which MarcVDS is the front runner.

Anyway, it was public knowledge that MarcVDS did indeed have a meeting set up with Yamaha during the Qatar GP weekend. And Mr. Van Der Stratten himself was there.

We will hear more about this very soon I feel. Probably before the European rounds start.

Click to expand...

Gaz said:

Jarvis will say whatever he feels he needs to say as (IMO), the loss of Tech3 is in some way a public relations nightmare given how everyone associates Tech3 with Yamaha so in some way Yamaha are losing a fair bit of satellite history, albeit history that has not bought a win.

My thinking is that Yamaha today have 4 bikes on the grid, all factory just that one team is a year older so in that regard Jarvis is not wrong, but whether they would put 4 full factory bikes of the current year, that is interesting as it one-ups HRC who only put 3 and (correct me here) as do Ducati with Suzuki 2.

But as I have said, for mine, if it is MarcVDS I feel it needs a long term assurance of kinds from Yamaha although at the same time (as I alluded to earlier), MarcVDS do not seem to feel that HRC are treating them in the manner they want which for mine, means shop yourself around.

If it happens, actually I like the idea as stagnation can breed issues of their own so with Tech3 heading one way and if MarcVDS head as well, that to me is an awesome upheaval that then only really leaves the HRC seats currently occupied by MarcVDS (interesting as well will be Miller's position at the end of season 2018 as he seems to have a good relationship with MarcVDS and is on a 1 year deal)

Click to expand...

synn said:

Ducati currently puts three 2018 bikes on the grid (third one going to Petrucci), HRC puts 4 bikes (Cal and Nakagami both on 2018 bikes).

The way I see this unfold is MarcVDS getting one 2018 and one 2019 bike next year (With the 2019 bike going to Zarco if they manage to sign him, Luthi is on a 1 year contract IIRC). And then perhaps in 2021/22, VR46 gets two further bikes (Current or year old, we will have to see).

Another reason why Yamaha might push to get MarcVDS signed is that it will get Morbidelli away from HRC and into the Yamaha-Rossi constellation.

Click to expand...