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

ApriliaRS250 said:

Thats because there is only about 3 overtakes in a F1 race

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Have you watched any races in this decade?

Keshav said:

Somebody has to pump gas and make cardboard boxes.

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Sadly they vote and worse still, they reproduce. We've all seen Idiocracy....

The GP23 was better in 23 than it was in 24 due to a change in tyres that didn’t suit the GP23

This years engine is the GP24 engine and that cannot be changed though they can change the chassis and other bits

Miller got burnt due to the loose faring
https://www.crash.net/motogp/news/1...maha-result-feared-loose-fairing-would-deploy

mikesbytes said:

The GP23 was better in 23 than it was in 24 due to a change in tyres that didn’t suit the GP23

This years engine is the GP24 engine and that cannot be changed though they can change the chassis and other bits

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Sure. The net result was that the bike wasn’t great, if only in comparison with a GP 24 rather than the other bikes on the grid.. Even in 2023 it wasn’t a great advance over the GP22, and the late season version that the satellite teams probably didn’t get in 2024 was better than the early season version.

#22 said:

But that is my point. Marc pushed the front because he HAD to. The Honda was designed to be a front end beast around the Bridgestones and struggled ever since they went to Michelins imo. I rewatched most of the sessions over the weekend, and Marc looked on the Ducati more like Jorge Lorenzo did on the Yamaha, sikly smooth. Maybe it's coming out that he was all over the place on the Honda because he absolutely had to ride it that way.

Again, I reiterate. I don't think we are going to see that level of dominance at every race. But it certainly is a wake up call. Especially with the developments that even when he was gapping the field by 0.5s per lap, he was not pushing the front tyre enough to heat it up to the expected operating window.

An interesting article here states that, like most people have considered on here, Marc has matured tremendously since his 2020 accident, and arguably is now a better, more complete version of his previous self.



https://www.motorsport.com/motogp/news/most-extraordinary-version-marc-marquez-motogp/10700081/

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My point is that the ability to push the front so far past its' limit was a large part of what separated him from the rest.Just stuff it into a corner far harder than anyone else was able to, made it possible for him to get past almost anyone most of the time. That appears to have been largely negated.
Yep he has matured, I hope enough that he doesn't over ride, like he had to on the Honda, when Pecco is fast. There will be tracks where that is the case. Pecco is not without talent.

Taking that race and preseason he has the ability to get away from others on a machine that will improve. It is just one race however.

warthog1 said:

My point is that the ability to push the front so far past its' limit was a large part of what separated him from the rest.Just stuff it into a corner far harder than anyone else was able to, made it possible for him to get past almost anyone most of the time. That appears to have been largely negated.
Yep he has matured, I hope enough that he doesn't over ride, like he had to on the Honda, when Pecco is fast. There will be tracks where that is the case. Pecco is not without talent.

Taking that race and preseason he has the ability to get away from others on a machine that will improve. It is just one race however.

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Some are saying on the basis of the laps when MM wasn’t worried about tyre pressure that he might have had more than 10 seconds on the field. It would appear he can learn to ride a bike quite differently than he did the HRC bike all those years and faster than a very talented rider brought up with the bike, a bike specifically designed to negate the advantage of MM’s previous riding style, and all this at the age of 32. He is clearly a genius on a bike in addition to having the fast reflexes upon which Nakamoto remarked in his early years with HRC, which I suspect he retains.

Digi riding with a recently broken collar bone says the GP24 is much better than the GP23, maybe by a second a lap.

The way Marc rode that Ducati this weekend........ God damn. Good old Marc from his Honda days. No one will touch him this season on that Ducati. Those special one of a kind riders down show up alot in the MotoGP class. We had Rossi, then Stoner, then Jorge and now Marc.

michaelm said:

Some are saying on the basis of the laps when MM wasn’t worried about tyre pressure that he might have had more than 10 seconds on the field. It would appear he can learn to ride a bike quite differently than he did the HRC bike all those years and faster than a very talented rider brought up with the bike, a bike specifically designed to negate the advantage of MM’s previous riding style, and all this at the age of 32. He is clearly a genius on a bike in addition to having the fast reflexes upon which Nakamoto remarked in his early years with HRC, which I suspect he retains.

DigiI riding with a recently broken collar bone says the GP24 is much better than the GP23, maybe by a second a lap.

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I keep saying he is the best I have seen and I've been watching since Gardner won.
10 seconds in front? Dunno. He sat behind his brother getting heat and pressure into the front tyre and also saving the rear tyre. With the hammer down the whole race he'd have likely not had the markedly better grip in the rear he had at the end.

Again one race. It looks very promising, but if it were as predictable as that after one race there'd be far less point in watching for the bulk of people. I am personally still happy to see him march away with the season, but will want to see that dominance at a few more rounds first before I am jumping all over it as a certainty.

You're right about having to wait a few more rounds. But it's also obvious to me he's WELL above Pecco on the same machinery with just this race. Remember Pecco raced with basically the same bike the entire 2024 season, so he should have been the one in front right now. And then it's not that Marc won, but how. He made Pecco look more like a rookie (Ogura), than an ex-Ducati champion. I'm almost sure he'll win at least one race, but Marc's talent and ability to adapt to basically Pecco's GP24 bike right away, and blow him away, tells me he's the superior rider, and not by a small margin. For the benefit of the sport, hope other riders catch up to him for better battles, but so far he seems at another level entirely.

I was laughing when Pecco was asked if he expected Marc to play 'mind games' with him. Well, after yesterday's race, I don't think he has to. You could tell by his body language that he felt relegated to #2 on the first race already. The good news is Pecco has proven he can get over losses better than most. On the other hand, this time seems different. He was at his limit, while MM was basically just cruising. So he'll have to work harder. Might not be enough to beat him this season, but maybe next. And again, remember any fall could change everything in an instant, and Marc is more vulnerable than all others in that respect. The good news for him is he doesn't have to over-ride a slower bike to win anymore; he can push only enough to win. And apparently he has quite a bit of margin at the moment, which should result in minimal falls. I've never seen him ride so smoothly. Didn't realize he had to over-ride his slower Honda super hard to be able to win until he commented that this weekend; just thought he liked to ride that way. But it was just his motivation to win, even in a slower bike. And he still has the motivation, after busting his butt to get in shape for years. Glad we're seeing the results now, even at his age. Hope he sets a riding school after retiring; he'd do really well.

To quote the wise old man #22, "Lets not start stroking each others cocks just yet."

JCtx said:

You're right about having to wait a few more rounds. But it's also obvious to me he's WELL above Pecco on the same machinery with just this race. Remember Pecco raced with basically the same bike the entire 2024 season, so he should have been the one in front right now. And then it's not that Marc won, but how. He made Pecco look more like a rookie (Ogura), than an ex-Ducati champion. I'm almost sure he'll win at least one race, but Marc's talent and ability to adapt to basically Pecco's GP24 bike right away, and blow him away, tells me he's the superior rider, and not by a small margin. For the benefit of the sport, hope other riders catch up to him for better battles, but so far he seems at another level entirely.

I was laughing when Pecco was asked if he expected Marc to play 'mind games' with him. Well, after yesterday's race, I don't think he has to. You could tell by his body language that he felt relegated to #2 on the first race already. The good news is Pecco has proven he can get over losses better than most. On the other hand, this time seems different. He was at his limit, while MM was basically just cruising. So he'll have to work harder. Might not be enough to beat him this season, but maybe next. And again, remember any fall could change everything in an instant, and Marc is more vulnerable than all others in that respect. The good news for him is he doesn't have to over-ride a slower bike to win anymore; he can push only enough to win. And apparently he has quite a bit of margin at the moment, which should result in minimal falls. I've never seen him ride so smoothly. Didn't realize he had to over-ride his slower Honda super hard to be able to win until he commented that this weekend; just thought he liked to ride that way. But it was just his motivation to win, even in a slower bike. And he still has the motivation, after busting his butt to get in shape for years. Glad we're seeing the results now, even at his age. Hope he sets a riding school after retiring; he'd do really well.

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It looked that way to me but I think it is more likely just to be over that race rather than being as defeated as he seemed to be season long. These guys are drained when they get off the bike in Thailand which is going to make their body language look more negative than it already is.
I doubt Pecco is ready to give up on the season already.

MdubSTYLIE said:

To quote the wise old man #22, "Lets not start stroking each others cocks just yet."

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Yep, very early in the season to start making declarations. As an MM fan it does indeed look promising, but its a long season, tracks and conditions change, injuries happen, crashes happen without fault of one of the falling riders etc.
Thailand is also physically demanding due to the heat among other things, from what I have seen MM is the hardest worker, fitness wise in the grid, his brother trains with him and may or may not push himself to the limit the way that Marc does but it may not be a coincidence that the guys who are the hardest workers (and on the right bikes) on the grid are able to come in at number 1&2 in physically draining conditions.

p4p1 said:

Yep, very early in the season to start making declarations. As an MM fan it does indeed look promising, but its a long season, tracks and conditions change, injuries happen, crashes happen without fault of one of the falling riders etc.
Thailand is also physically demanding due to the heat among other things, from what I have seen MM is the hardest worker, fitness wise in the grid, his brother trains with him and may or may not push himself to the limit the way that Marc does but it may not be a coincidence that the guys who are the hardest workers (and on the right bikes) on the grid are able to come in at number 1&2 in physically draining conditions.

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All very true, even Vinales was untouchable on one track last year, and this might not be one which suits Pecco for reasons other than the physically taxing conditions. He had the occasional finish off the podium in his title years, and you wouldn’t expect Alex Marquez to continue to be faster than him. I have nothing against him now and would not like to see him totally crushed as I said earlier, although Valentino and the Valeban being peeved wouldn’t upset me greatly.

What was impressive for me was MM having perfected a different riding style and being faster than the guy who had been the master of the aero bikes pace wise on this track at least. But sure Pecco has looked down/been behind early season before and come back to win 2 titles and go close a 3rd time.

p4p1 said:

Yep, very early in the season to start making declarations. As an MM fan it does indeed look promising, but its a long season, tracks and conditions change, injuries happen, crashes happen without fault of one of the falling riders etc.
Thailand is also physically demanding due to the heat among other things, from what I have seen MM is the hardest worker, fitness wise in the grid, his brother trains with him and may or may not push himself to the limit the way that Marc does but it may not be a coincidence that the guys who are the hardest workers (and on the right bikes) on the grid are able to come in at number 1&2 in physically draining conditions.

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Seeing as Rossi is his mentor/guru mayhaps Pecco is taking work-out advice from him too.