Jorge wins at Mugello

It had been a odd year so far championship wise. Rossi and Vinales have been major benefactors of that because their championship position flatters them for what has been so far a fairly ordinary year.

Around this time though is when the factories start sorting their .... and the cream starts rising to the top. The only question is if Lorenzo is going to be part of the few who can be consistent enough to make a serious challenge for the title.

synn said:

I note that you’re still a ..... ... chickenshit.

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You sir have reached the pinnacle of biting comedic commentary. What incisive revealing wit. Really put him in his place.

Gaz said:

Thanks Jorge, and congratulations

Now to go claiming on the bets that he would get wins on that machine

First bet I have already been paid by one ($100), a second has already been in touch to organise payment

Now, if he gets the 2nd there is more to come.


Also, big congrats to Libby who has stuck with Jorge through thick and thin (as has MikeM).

Hope you are all feeling a bit better knowing that Jorge just gave a very big .... You to a number of people and doubters

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cheers.i have been very lucky to have met ma boy several times he is absolutely lovely, what you see is what you get, but the thing i have loved about Jorge since i first became a fan in 2008 is his BLOODY MINDED desire to succeed at whatever he does...a good trait if you are racing

libby said:

cheers.i have been very lucky to have met ma boy several times he is absolutely lovely, what you see is what you get, but the thing i have loved about Jorge since i first became a fan in 2008 is his BLOODY MINDED desire to succeed at whatever he does...a good trait if you are racing

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Is it possible for people to adopt parents?
If so, George should adopt Libby as his mum lol.

synn said:

We also got to see a very human side of him after the victory.

George has been very entitled at his peak (Not just him, every other multi time champ including Rossi were), so if nothing, the Ducati Years can be counted as a humbling experience, yet he can now go out with his head held high, on his own terms and start winning a lot again (Hopefully) on an M1.

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That's a good point. I think seeing life from the side of not winning and there being low expectations of him (I confess that I'd become dis-heartened with his performances) will help make him more rounded and perhaps demonstrate those that stuck with him when he wasn't being feted will stick with him now.

I will always respect him (like Stoner and Gibernau) for having the balls to take on Rossi when the paddock and mass media were clearly favouring the other side.

However, I'm not getting carried away and appreciate that it was just a single win with no one really challenging him for the lead. He's great at being metronomic but would he still be capable of fighting like he used to be.

Either way, it's good to see him get a win under his belt and will hopefully fire him up to try to win a few more this year which will benefit everyone in more entertaining racing.

libby said:

cheers.i have been very lucky to have met ma boy several times he is absolutely lovely, what you see is what you get, but the thing i have loved about Jorge since i first became a fan in 2008 is his BLOODY MINDED desire to succeed at whatever he does...a good trait if you are racing

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That is pretty much what I admire about him as well, getting past all the crashes and concussions his first season, his fierce defence of his title in 2011 probably on an over-matched bike, riding 2 days after shattering his clavicle etc. He beat Stoner fair and square in 2012, and I had to respect that also.

I really was starting to wonder if his riding style and the Ducati could ever meld, but it looks as though there has been some meeting in the middle ground in this recent race anyway, and credit to him for being able to adapt at this stage in his career. I think he has been underestimated as a sorter of bikes as well.

synn said:

Is it possible for people to adopt parents?
If so, George should adopt Libby as his mum lol.

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yes please pmsl

Holypuck said:

I've been lucky enough to talk with some motoGP riders and even had a beer with Petrucci once (GREAT guy ) but never got to chat with Lorenzo, may I ask (out of mere curiosity) how he is in "real" life and why he is lovely? If you wanna tell, of course.

I am always interested in riders' "real" side

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we have been to three fan club dinner parties that included a disco of which Jorge was so much fun to be with, singing on the karaoke and dancing around with everyone, lol was the coolest time he treated us all like old friends you could go up have a chat hes totally natural and funny and very nice, even when i bumped into him at the reception desk in 2016 i said ello sweetie, like you do he kissed me on both cheeks as a greeting, continental greeting style, ( bearing in mind he doesnt know me from Adam) my face must have given it away i was ok, probably grinning like an ..... ha ha, loved him before totally after that <3

libby said:

we have been to three fan club dinner parties that included a disco of which Jorge was so much fun to be with, singing on the karaoke and dancing around with everyone, lol was the coolest time he treated us all like old friends you could go up have a chat hes totally natural and funny and very nice, even when i bumped into him at the reception desk in 2016 i said ello sweetie, like you do he kissed me on both cheeks as a greeting, continental greeting style, ( bearing in mind he doesnt know me from Adam) my face must have given it away i was ok, probably grinning like an ..... ha ha, loved him before totally after that <3

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I got to go to an event with Troy Baylis and Lorenzo Lanzi and had a similar experience (no singing though )

Troy was cool as ....!

Arrabbiata1 said:

Softer tyre, flowing circuit, love of Mugello, high track temperature.

What do you reckon?

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...all you say, and 11 seconds slower than last year's winner (Dovi, who won lapping in the 47s compared to 48s this year for JL). Of course conditions change, but Jorge didn't complete this race much faster than last year: it looks more like a set of favorable circumstances for him (main rivals either crashing out and/or choosing the wrong tire) than a real revolution produced by, ahem, a... tank in a slightly different shape? I'm with Domenicali on this one.

J4rn0 said:

...all you say, and 11 seconds slower than last year's winner (Dovi, who won lapping in the 47s compared to 48s this year for JL). Of course conditions change, but Jorge didn't complete this race much faster than last year: it looks more like a set of favorable circumstances for him (main rivals either crashing out and/or choosing the wrong tire) than a real revolution produced by, ahem, a... tank in a slightly different shape? I'm with Domenicali on this one.

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All very valid points, and the result is of course a one -off unless he repeats it, but as is mostly the case conditions were the same for everyone and did not involve typhoons, earthquakes, plagues of locusts or anything else remarkably untoward as far as I could tell, admittedly only from watching TV from many thousand kilometers away.

Jorge has had competitive one lap pace on many week-ends starting from the second half of last year, and has maintained his ability to make jack rabbit starts. His problem has been wearing out his tires, and he appeared to have more tire than others at the end of this race which I see as a quite hopeful sign for him going forward.

Given the judgement of Ducati management for the last 10 years, including signing Jorge for all that money in the first place when most even on a fan forum such as this one thought his riding style would be unsuited to the bike, I wouldn't necessarily give any comment by Domenicali immediate credibility though. I personally do give credence to your opinion however, and am doubtful the tank is such a major issue, although there is a hallowed story from the Mick Doohan days of Honda reputedly totally destroying the balance of one iteration of their 500 2 -stroke bike by moving the fuel tank a few centimeters.

Jorge saved his own career by winning on Ducati, nobody else was going to do it. Suzuki should have signed him for peanuts when it looked most bleak 2 weeks ago, with this result it makes him high rent again.

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

libby said:

we have been to three fan club dinner parties that included a disco of which Jorge was so much fun to be with, singing on the karaoke and dancing around with everyone, lol was the coolest time he treated us all like old friends you could go up have a chat hes totally natural and funny and very nice, even when i bumped into him at the reception desk in 2016 i said ello sweetie, like you do he kissed me on both cheeks as a greeting, continental greeting style, ( bearing in mind he doesnt know me from Adam) my face must have given it away i was ok, probably grinning like an ..... ha ha, loved him before totally after that <3

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That's lovely! There has been the impression that JL is grumpy but I never felt for that.

michaelm said:

Jorge has had competitive one lap pace on many week-ends starting from the second half of last year, and has maintained his ability to make jack rabbit starts. His problem has been wearing out his tires, and he appeared to have more tire than others at the end of this race which I see as a quite hopeful sign for him going forward.

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Do we know for a fact that it tyres problem? Because he was saying that it was fatigue, but as far as I remember this came up this year, so I figure that last year he was slipping back through the order cause of wear issues but this year it was really down to bike's ergonomics.

billkar said:

Do we know for a fact that it tyres problem? Because he was saying that it was fatigue, but as far as I remember this came up this year, so I figure that last year he was slipping back through the order cause of wear issues but this year it was really down to bike's ergonomics.

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No. Jorge is incredibly tough though, and rode as you will recall 2 days after shattering his clavicle and having it internally fixed, and I find him fatiguing less plausible. Then again I argued, probably correctly and very much against the herd opinion, that Stoner should be believed when he said fatigue was his issue in 2009, so I guess I should extend Jorge the same courtesy ie of believing him.

J4rn0 said:

...all you say, and 11 seconds slower than last year's winner (Dovi, who won lapping in the 47s compared to 48s this year for JL). Of course conditions change, but Jorge didn't complete this race much faster than last year: it looks more like a set of favorable circumstances for him (main rivals either crashing out and/or choosing the wrong tire) than a real revolution produced by, ahem, a... tank in a slightly different shape? I'm with Domenicali on this one.

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^^^ This. It was a perfect storm for Lorenzo. Won't happen again.

Jumkie said:

Jorge saved his own career by winning on Ducati, nobody else was going to do it. Suzuki should have signed him for peanuts when it looked most bleak 2 weeks ago, with this result it makes him high rent again.

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

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Not if he can't repeat the performance. He's not going to get crazy money from teams other than Yamaha if his next race mirrors all his other Ducati outings.

Jumkie said:

Jorge saved his own career by winning on Ducati, nobody else was going to do it. Suzuki should have signed him for peanuts when it looked most bleak 2 weeks ago, with this result it makes him high rent again.

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

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Stupid Suzuki.