Japan Grand Prix at Twin Rings of Motegi

BarryMachine said:

So a second rate italian rider is going to block Marquez!??!

Cant see that happening.

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Wow, what a race. I didn't expect to see Dovi raise the bar in the last couple of laps to keep the pressure on Marc. Great to see such riding on the limit without either rider being taken out.

Cuntslow managed to crash twice in the one race. Is that a personal best?

https://streamable.com/s2932

Jumkie said:

Agree, its amazing that Dovi was able to apply the brakes to absolute perfection. Dovi's last three laps were perfection. Marc is awesome though somerimes his spectacular style is overstated; Dovi didn’t stand Marc up nor make a dive bomb bonsai move, which is mistaken for a lack of commitment or fighting spirit. But it takes far more skill and self control to execute perfectly under such pressure, conditions, and a rival that is willing to risk crashing.

You may want to book a trip to PI. Btw compa, Dodgers won game 1 tonight of the NLCS (semi final, best of 7).

If you live in a glass house don't throw rocks.

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I'm booking PI as we speak. Ain't no way I'm going to miss history in the making, maybe. My flight is $100, what about you, might need to add a zero or two compa.

Salud a shot of Patron to the Dodgers and Dovi win. Actually better make that two.

moto vudu said:

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2015 ..... thats real current .... pffft..

And you dont think thats why Marquez is now miles away fron rossi ...... as was Stoner post Laguna 2008

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Motokitty said:

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Ha ... saw him on the grid and thought ..... hes a bit of an "old groover" still sticking with the long hair of the 60s and 70s.

Good snap! ...... bring some hair clippers next time lol.

All credit to Dovi, anyone who can win 5 races on a Ducati particularly including beating MM twice in a last lap stoush is very obviously a “contender” and completely worthy of any and all success extending to winning the 2017 title. MM at the least will need to employ 2015 tactics/strategy at PI this year.

I fear Rossi is fairly completely irrelevant to the denouement of this season RCV.

michaelm said:

All credit to Dovi, anyone who can win 5 races on a Ducati particularly including beating MM twice in a last lap stoush is very obviously a “contender” and completely worthy of any and all success extending to winning the 2017 title. MM at the least will need to employ 2015 tactics/strategy at PI this year.

I fear Rossi is fairly completely irrelevant to the denouement of this season RCV.

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I'm on the Dovi as contender train.
MM was brilliant, occasionally, erratically innovative, but Dovi was smart, disciplined and uncompromisingly classical in difficult conditions. Awesome race. Perfect result.

Rossi, not in play.
I don't know why he was out on slicks in Q2, I did offer a half-arsed theory but, to me, he had the look of "Er, scusi, which way to the 5pm buffet?"

I enjoyed the comments from Jack (we found out he lost his phone) sitting in my home town talking about how dry it is and how we need the rain (That's how it always is in Townsville). Oh, and his take in the comp was considered and interesting.

Please forgive my crimes against punctuation.

33 Coupe said:

Thats gunna be some kind of dive bomb from 10 seconds behind.
.

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He'll just cut the track...again.


If you live in a glass house don't throw rocks.

The Burning Barber said:

Cuntslow managed to crash twice in the one race. Is that a personal best?

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No.



If you live in a glass house don't throw rocks.

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birdman said:

Watch that Dovi pass down the back straight. I tell ya there was no way he was going to make the turn, expected him to be in the gravel. You know he was in way too hot because Marquez didn't even bother trying to hold position, in fact he's sitting back waiting to cut inside. Pass of the year way to go Dovi.

Yeah at the end Marquez smiled in the interview but his eyes say something different, he went from a lock to win the race and more or less be champion to absolute game on in the space a few turns. Bring on PI, I think it suits Ducati.

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Jezus K-Rice Cakes! Who'd a thought a rain race might end up being one of the best events of the season?

Looks like Lorenzo is the Hole-Shot Haslam for a new generation. Shoots his wad in the first lap and fades away.

When Dovi cranked the throttle down the back straight, he was all over the ....... place! Talk about "going for it". That last lap was so good - I was practically shedding tears of relief when Dovi didn't crash.

MM was for sure obliquely referring to the fact that PI is a Ducati track when he said "maybe" things will be different there. I think his camaraderie and smiling way when greeting Dovi in parc ferme was genuine. He loved the challenge. Natch - he wouldn't want to get beat at PI, but if it wasn't totally clear in his head before, he sure as hell knows that Dovi's challenge in 2017 is no fluke. This is shaping up to be one of the best seasons in the last twenty years.

Congrats to Ducati for all the work that went into creating a bike with the potential to break the Japanese stranglehold on MotoGp.

Keshav said:

Jezus K-Rice Cakes! Who'd a thought a rain race might end up being one of the best events of the season?

Looks like Lorenzo is the Hole-Shot Haslam for a new generation. Shoots his wad in the first lap and fades away.

When Dovi cranked the throttle down the back straight, he was all over the ....... place! Talk about "going for it". That last lap was so good - I was practically shedding tears of relief when Dovi didn't crash.

MM was for sure obliquely referring to the fact that PI is a Ducati track when he said "maybe" things will be different there. I think his camaraderie and smiling way when greeting Dovi in parc ferme was genuine. He loved the challenge. Natch - he wouldn't want to get beat at PI, but if it wasn't totally clear in his head before, he sure as hell knows that Dovi's challenge in 2017 is no fluke. This is shaping up to be one of the best seasons in the last twenty years.

Congrats to Ducati for all the work that went into creating a bike with the potential to break the Japanese stranglehold on MotoGp.

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Interestingly, in all the hoopla about the parity between Honda and Ducati, little has been said in the press about Yamaha's having dropped the ball this year. Not a word from the boppers about how great Rossi is at development.

Keshav said:

Jezus K-Rice Cakes! Who'd a thought a rain race might end up being one of the best events of the season?......

When Dovi cranked the throttle down the back straight, he was all over the ....... place! Talk about "going for it". That last lap was so good - I was practically shedding tears of relief when Dovi didn't crash........

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The damn thing stressed me out and I didn't get any sleep afterwards. I can't take too many races like that, where I am so worried about the leaders going down that I can't catch my breath. Truly a classic race that I will watch more than once. There were a couple of MM races his first year with JLo and VR that made me a nervous wreck, but this one was over the top. My jaw still hurts from clenching.

The Ducati {Edit: and Dovi ;-) } look the best. And they still have a power advantage. Without MM, Honda might be fighting with Aprilia for points.

Thank you, Moto Kitty. I adore personal pictures from the races. They almost make me feel like I was there.

moto vudu said:

Behind is perfect for repeated dive bomb block passes that force MM to brake while Dovi fades away into the distance. After the race Rossi can say he was simply racing.

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I knew it!! Rossi has always been a dirty rider all along. if he can kick a rider on the track, anything is possible

Little Walter said:

Interestingly, in all the hoopla about the parity between Honda and Ducati, little has been said in the press about Yamaha's having dropped the ball this year. Not a word from the boppers about how great Rossi is at development.

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Actually I've seen many blaming Viñales for this year's development woes. As if Yamaha were gonna let a rookie tell them what to do with the bike

If it was raining harder Cal would have won. Those slower raindrops on the racing line, caused him to crash

MichaelBolton said:

Actually I've seen many blaming Viñales for this year's development woes. As if Yamaha were gonna let a rookie tell them what to do with the bike

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They also conveniently forget that Rossi got the chassis 'upgrade' that he demanded much to Vinales' protest which then with the drop in their results necessitated the need for a third chassis in the middle of the year.

Great race , Dovi is in with a real chance of taking this championship . Imo Sepang is likely to suit the Ducati more than the Honda .
Definitely not the cakewalk for MM that some have mentioned.
Despite the fantastic duel at the end people still end up talking about Rossi even though he crashed out.....
Sad.

:fishing1:

Sensational race, easily race of the year to date, but we still have three more so it's uncertain as to what will come out of those. Phillip Island is probably going to be epic. Hats off to Dovi for finally taking the risks that I felt he was not willing to take years ago, that will make the difference in the end when you tally up the points. I think regardless of the outcome, Marc is learning something here about what it takes to manage under enormous pressure.

I'm actually going to tip Dovi to win the title because I feel at this point the pressure is all on Marc rather than Dovi. Another wet race at Sepang in two weeks will surely favor the Ducati. Question is more generally speaking, if we get another titanic battle between these two, can Dovi hold off Marc at the final corner for a third time?

Either way this is the best title battle we've had since Nicky/Rossi in 2006. 2015 doesn't even come close to this, and it's nice that it is between two genuinely likeable guys.

Hats off to both of them for the performance they put on at Motegi. I couldn't help but think during the race that on some level the whole thing was insane from the point of view that they are out there risking their very lives for our enjoyment, and I do admit I was starting to feel rather uncomfortable with the entire thing because of the stakes involved. Yes, I know this is what they do for a living and I am sure they wouldn't have it any other way. But I just hope for our sake both walk away from this season unscathed regardless of who wins the title. I love wet weather racing, but there were far too many crashes in the race, and Marc had that massive moment on the last lap. Kind of reminds me that this is all entertainment at the end of the day and I don't want to see any of them getting hurt over this stuff.

Edit: One thing I do think that is coming is the Ducati fairing is probably going to get banned. I don't see HRC letting that fairing make it to Losail 2018. It does provide a major advantage in the wet and is covering up chassis deficiencies with the Ducati. I am on the fence about these aero fairings. I like the ingenuity involved with them, but I despise the Formula Aero aspect of them. Double-edged sword.