IT'S RACE WEEK!!!! Round 1 - PT Thai Grand Prix

Sennas_Caress said:

It's only a sprint, at the first track of a long season. Having said that, it looks ominous. If this is a peak into the future, the next two seasons will be much more boring than the last few seasons, at least regarding the first spot.

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It's very possible.
But the last two years would have been equally boring if Frantisek hadn't screwed up so damn often.

I for one am ready to witness the comeback of the century and more importantly Marc equalling and hopefully beating Valentino's records.

JFM01 said:

It's very possible.
But the last two years would have been equally boring if Frantisek hadn't screwed up so damn often.

I for one am ready to witness the comeback of the century and more importantly Marc equalling and hopefully beating Valentino's records.

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So what you are saying is that the last two years would have been more boring if it hadn't developed as it did?

Sounds like it was a fight for the first spot

Arrrr rats, I was hoping to see Miller beat the KTM riders

Should we start a conspiracy for Alex beating Bagnaia but still behind Bro?

Ogura ahead of baby Jesus

Sennas_Caress said:

So what you are saying is that the last two years would have been more boring if it hadn't developed as it did?

Sounds like it was a fight for the first spot

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It was a great fight, but the excitement was helped by the fact that Frantisek binned it quite often.

warthog1 said:

What is a firestick?
I pay for a motogp pass and it streams through appletv using my mobile phone as a hotspot when away at work and wifi at home.

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Amazon Firestick just Google it. You can download an app that lets you access sports channels around the world, get movies and internet provided television. You need a subscription from a local “provider” who will also set it up for you. Not strictly legal so ask in your local pub someone will know someone but beware not all providers are equal so get recommendations.

MichaelBolton said:

Boring sprint, F1-esque with the lack of overtaking, although as a Marc fan I'm delighted with his win, untouchable. First time he leads the championship since 2019.

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Honestly, I know this is going to be an unpopular opinion, but I couldn't give a toss if Marc won every.single.race this yr. After the .... he's been through, I want him to crush everyone so I can drink the tears of all his haters.

As others have said, Ogura was sensational and utterly embarrassed Fernandez. If the status quo continues like that then maybe Trackhouse will FINALLY realise that Raul is never going to deliver.

Great to see Mir up there and looking fighty. It was a shame he lost places at the start but the fact he was able to attack and make places up is very encouraging.

Pecco finished over 3 seconds behind Marc...in a sprint.

#22 said:

As others have said, Ogura was sensational and utterly embarrassed Fernandez. If the status quo continues like that then maybe Trackhouse will FINALLY realise that Raul is never going to deliver.

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I don't rate Raul but he's still hurt from the pre-season injury. It was a middling result but not as bad as it would've been a year ago. I must say I'm glad because it looks like Aprilia has stepped up this season, although the jury is still out on whether they're built a bike able to consistently perform across all tracks. Maverick left for idiotic reasons and now he has to watch the Aprilias finish all ahead of him.

#22 said:

Pecco finished over 3 seconds behind Marc...in a sprint.

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It will be an upgrade if he settles down with 3rds in the sprints over throwing the bike down half of the time. He needs to be more consistent than ever if he dreams of beating Marc over a season.

How can so many young men be on the fastest bikes in the world be so dull?

I barely made the end of the race...

#22 said:

Honestly, I know this is going to be an unpopular opinion, but I couldn't give a toss if Marc won every.single.race this yr. After the .... he's been through, I want him to crush everyone so I can drink the tears of all his haters.

As others have said, Ogura was sensational and utterly embarrassed Fernandez. If the status quo continues like that then maybe Trackhouse will FINALLY realise that Raul is never going to deliver.

Great to see Mir up there and looking fighty. It was a shame he lost places at the start but the fact he was able to attack and make places up is very encouraging.

Pecco finished over 3 seconds behind Marc...in a sprint.

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So crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and hear the lamentations of their women ?.

I too wouldn't mind seeing MM dominate, particularly to spite Valentino. I have warmed to Bagnaia somewhat though, and wouldn't be so happy about him being totally crushed, I believe him to be at least his own man, and if he is beaten it will be because of how good MM is, he has been the master of riding these aero bikes, although I don't really understand why he threw his bike down the road so often last season.

MichaelBolton said:

I don't rate Raul but he's still hurt from the pre-season injury. It was a middling result but not as bad as it would've been a year ago. I must say I'm glad because it looks like Aprilia has stepped up this season, although the jury is still out on whether they're built a bike able to consistently perform across all tracks. Maverick left for idiotic reasons and now he has to watch the Aprilias finish all ahead of him.

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Ogura got 4th in his first race. Im not saying he'll do that every race but Fernandez continues to underperform. His injury was his own doing, and the second time he had a serious accident on the first day of pre season testing.

michaelm said:

So crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and hear the lamentations of their women ?.

I too wouldn't mind seeing MM dominate, particularly to spite Valentino. I have warmed to Bagnaia somewhat though, and wouldn't be so happy about him being totally crushed, I believe him to be at least his own man, and if he is beaten it will be because of how good MM is, he has been the master of riding theses aero bikes, although I don't really understand why he threw his bike down the road so often last season.

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I agree about Bagnaia, he is a master of riding the Ducati the way they want it ridden.

warthog1 said:

What is a firestick?
I pay for a motogp pass and it streams through appletv using my mobile phone as a hotspot when away at work and wifi at home.

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Never mind the Firestick. Had one. Started out working great, and then quality of service continually degraded.

So, while not "exciting" in the sense of there being a lot of duels, the sprint was nonetheless fun to watch as a possible preview into the remainder of the season. Honestly, I don't expect riders to take huge wild risks, going tooth and nail in the first race of the season anyway.

Pleased to see Schmarkles run away with the first race leaving Pecco in the dust. Pleased to see Alex outpace Pecco on equal machinery - having me thinking that Alex may well be truly coming into his own. And of course anticipating the possibility that Pecco will typically up his game on Sunday.

Happy to see Miller looking so good on the Yamaha, while similtaneously counting the seconds before he would throw it away.

Very much hoping that Ogura can continue in this vein over the course of the season.

Not terribly surprised that Acosta is not the 2nd coming. Not that it matters in the big picture, but personality-wise I always perceived him as being a bit of a self-entitled, hubris-heavy, grumpy little twerp, who was buying big-time into all the hype about him.

Bummed to see Quartararo (never seem to spell his name right the first three times) being out-paced by Miller, reinforcing the thought that he's waited wayyy.... too long to jump ship (assuming that's ever been in his plans) but still hoping one way or the other, he has a good season.

And freakin' Martin - what a disappointment. Been champing at the bit to see what he'll do on the Aprilia.

Still can't comprehend why the hell Vinales still has a seat.

Anyhoo . . . 1st race of the season - totally brightens my day here at the tail end of long, grim winter.

MichaelBolton said:

Boring sprint, F1-esque with the lack of overtaking, although as a Marc fan I'm delighted with his win, untouchable. First time he leads the championship since 2019.

Ogura is the other standout rider this race, what a debut for him. Let's see if he keeps this up. Martín must be hurting spiritually with how good the Aprilias look. Bezzechi botched the start but had good pace.

Acosta, much like in the previous season, was the sole provider of action, overtaking his teammate first and Quartararo next, but the KTM couldn't do much more. Best of the second group. Miller doing his Miller bit, looking like a good candidate for the Crutchlow trophy this season now that Mir seems happier with the Honda.

Let's hope for a livelier race tomorrow.

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Sad but true. The announcers are required (like F1) to strain in their voices about fluctuations of .1 or .2 on the lap times. Visually, almost nothing is happening regarding relative movements of the riders. Occasionally someone falls or someone makes a desperate lunge. The sparring and jabbing and rope-a-dope, the roundhouse sucker punches, etc. are all gone. The electronics and data engineers run the show now.

#22 said:

Honestly, I know this is going to be an unpopular opinion, but I couldn't give a toss if Marc won every.single.race this yr. After the .... he's been through, I want him to crush everyone so I can drink the tears of all his haters.

As others have said, Ogura was sensational and utterly embarrassed Fernandez. If the status quo continues like that then maybe Trackhouse will FINALLY realise that Raul is never going to deliver.

Great to see Mir up there and looking fighty. It was a shame he lost places at the start but the fact he was able to attack and make places up is very encouraging.

Pecco finished over 3 seconds behind Marc...in a sprint.

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I don't care if Marc wins everything, but I'm disinclined to see Ducati rewarded for bad behavior. They conned the sport into accepting hydraulic ride height devices. It de-emphasized the rider, and moved MotoGP's preeminent star to the back of the grid. To mitigate the damage wrought by Ducati and Gigi, Dorna have moved Marc to the front so fans can see MotoGP's most marketable talent. The only highlight is that Ducati's rider empire was dismantled prior to Marc's move.

The 2025 season is a diabolical remix of 2007. Back then, they cut displacement 20%, but only cut fuel capacity by 5%. Desmo was a huge advantage. Bridgestone's tire strategy was a major advantage. Stoner blew the field away, and then the MSMA turned the sport on its ear, and famously gifted Valentino a Bridgestone contract to keep him near the front.

Enough is enough. Punish incompetence, deceit, etc. Stop rewarding it, and then hoping the sport will earn more money. If a manufacturer cons the FIM and GPC, and turns MotoGP into a relic of the manufacturer bloodsport era, dismiss them. The manufacturers have demonstrated over the decades that they cannot be allowed to compete in a meaningful way at the track. Their appetite for spending could bankrupt a small G20 nation. The racers compete. The manufacturers enable the competition. If they don't like it, they should be shown the door.

It's sad. For many years I thought they would just make a better formula, but that's obviously not going to happen. MotoGP is an opportunity and a threat, and they've decided that ruling over an ash heap, and stealing money from taxpayers has the least potential downside. /rant

Anyway, congrats to Ogura. Top Aprilia, and kept fans engaged by nipping at Bagnaia's heels the entire sprint.

If the first sprint of the year gives us insight for the year then as anticipated we see a continuation of Ducati dominance however the other manufacturers have reduced the gap a little.

Does Ogura’s result suggest that Martin will be up to speed quickly ie not a lot of adaptation time needed? We won’t know until perhaps round 4 or 5

Keshav said:

Never mind the Firestick. Had one. Started out working great, and then quality of service continually degraded.

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Thanks

warthog1 said:

Thanks

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Exactly why I warned to get recommendations if you go down that road.