Marquez

https://www.marca.com/motor/motogp/2019/02/04/5c572c0e22601d62328b4588.html

He sounds really sensible, grounded, fair, ambitious...

Certainly he's extraordinary

I'm so sorry for Lorenzo, he won't stand a chance at Honda while Marquez is in da house.

gui22a said:

I'm so sorry for Lorenzo, he won't stand a chance at Honda while Marquez is in da house.

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I'm not sorry can't stand him, but I agree he's washed up with MM in this frame of mind.

IMHO - People are prematurely writing him off. I’m not betting money on him stealing Marquez’s lunch - but if his wrist properly heals - he’s going to give Marquez a run for the money. Lorenzo is not a guy who will be overmuch awed by Marquez. He’s a tiny guy with a burning resentment against his main competitors and a massive ego that won’t allow him to back down. His confidence if anything should be higher than it has been in a while considering his performances last season on the Ducati. A lot of people talk about his sulky demeanor and how unappealing it is - and those same folks would probably feel the same way about Lawson if he were racing now. That whole grim determination thing worked well for him and may well carry the day for Lorenzo who like him or not is undeniably talented and competitive.

Keshav said:

IMHO - People are prematurely writing him off. I’m not betting money on him stealing Marquez’s lunch - but if his wrist properly heals - he’s going to give Marquez a run for the money. Lorenzo is not a guy who will be overmuch awed by Marquez. He’s a tiny guy with a burning resentment against his main competitors and a massive ego that won’t allow him to back down. His confidence if anything should be higher than it has been in a while considering his performances last season on the Ducati. A lot of people talk about his grim demeanor and how unappealing it is. - and those same folks would probably feel the same way about Lawson if he were racing now. That whole grim determination thing worked well for him and may well carry the day for Lorenzo who like him or not is undeniably talented and competitive.

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It's crazy to write Lorenzo off. He's a 5 time world champion. Sure, he's fighting on Marquez' turf, but we're talking about one of the finest riders in history.

Sure he's an excellent rider, its just I can't see him doing anything at Honda with Marquez, as we have seen in seasons past he gives up when under pressure, then he whinges and whines. A few years ago he was rated riding in the rain, then he lost it, but hold on he didn't, he gave up, its like people today who take a look out the window and say "oh its raining" what they mean is they can't be arsed to get wet, as if they'll shrink in the wet. Pathetic!

Keshav said:

IMHO - People are prematurely writing him off. I’m not betting money on him stealing Marquez’s lunch - but if his wrist properly heals - he’s going to give Marquez a run for the money. Lorenzo is not a guy who will be overmuch awed by Marquez. He’s a tiny guy with a burning resentment against his main competitors and a massive ego that won’t allow him to back down. His confidence if anything should be higher than it has been in a while considering his performances last season on the Ducati. A lot of people talk about his grim demeanor and how unappealing it is. - and those same folks would probably feel the same way about Lawson if he were racing now. That whole grim determination thing worked well for him and may well carry the day for Lorenzo who like him or not is undeniably talented and competitive.

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I personally believe the championship will be between either of the Repsol riders. One getting the title & the other 2nd to the title.

Theo said:

Sure he's an excellent rider, its just I can't see him doing anything at Honda with Marquez, as we have seen in seasons past he gives up when under pressure, then he whinges and whines. A few years ago he was rated riding in the rain, then he lost it, but hold on he didn't, he gave up, its like people today who take a look out the window and say "oh its raining" what they mean is they can't be arsed to get wet, as if they'll shrink in the wet. Pathetic!

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My take if anything is, that sometimes in the face of adversity he forgets tactics and just goes balls out, destroying his tires trying to get to the front to run away - instead of settling for a smart 3rd or 4th place. I think there were more than a few times during his stint at Ducati where the bike just let him down, because there were just a few of the thousand and one mini adjustments not properly tweaked to suit him. A great talent, yes. But just riding around problems like Stoner - was never his strength.

evo9 said:

I personally believe the championship will be between either of the Repsol riders. One getting the title & the other 2nd to the title.

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Could be - or mayhaps Dovi gets his .... together and puts in a more consistent 2019 season. Got my fingers crossed.

Theo said:

Sure he's an excellent rider, its just I can't see him doing anything at Honda with Marquez, as we have seen in seasons past he gives up when under pressure, then he whinges and whines. A few years ago he was rated riding in the rain, then he lost it, but hold on he didn't, he gave up, its like people today who take a look out the window and say "oh its raining" what they mean is they can't be arsed to get wet, as if they'll shrink in the wet. Pathetic!

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Usually agree with most things you post Theo, but have to disagree with this.

Lorenzo is a guy who rode the same weekend he broke his clavicle and had it plated. Colin Edwards was called superhuman, correctly imo, for riding 9 days after a similar injury. Jorge became chary of the rain after a second fall re-broke the clavicle and twisted the plate, missing that race and subsequent races which is probably the reason he is not a 6 times world champion as we speak. Physical toughness unquestionable.

He is also the guy who prevailed against the complete circus on the other side of the Yamaha garage to somehow win the 2015 title, which was certainly not the preferred result for Jarvis and probably not for Yamaha in general. Mental toughness unquestionable.

He has a prickly personality like several of my favourite riders such as Lawson and Stoner, and for that matter Doohan probably the most of all. Dislike of his personality is a matter of personal preference, but imo his quality as a rider is undeniable. If Honda really do tailor a bike for him he will win races against MM, he is one of the few riders (perhaps the only one actually) with the raw pace on his day to beat MM outright by just being faster. I really can’t see him or anyone beating MM over a whole season on the same bike, although he is actually the only rider to win a premier class title against MM, but if MM starts flirting with a move from Honda who knows ?. Honda have pretty much hired him to remove the possibility of him beating MM on a faster bike should Yamaha or Ducati manage to produce one, and as insurance if MM decides to pursue his destiny elsewhere. He might also help with the development of the Honda bike itself, in recent seasons quite unfriendly towards customer riders. the one area where MM’s ability is uncertain imo.

Theo said:

Sure he's an excellent rider, its just I can't see him doing anything at Honda with Marquez, as we have seen in seasons past he gives up when under pressure, then he whinges and whines. A few years ago he was rated riding in the rain, then he lost it, but hold on he didn't, he gave up, its like people today who take a look out the window and say "oh its raining" what they mean is they can't be arsed to get wet, as if they'll shrink in the wet. Pathetic!

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Agreed with MichaelM. His tenure at Ducati proves he anything but gives up. He had a torrid start to 2017 and was a front runner at the end, and in 2018 he had a torrid start and before Aragon was the guy to beat.

Talk about twist things, I said he was a good rider, but in the wet he isn't, name one race in the last 5 years he's won in the wet.

Theo said:

Talk about twist things, I said he was a good rider, but in the wet he isn't, name one race in the last 5 years he's won in the wet.

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No doubt he has not been good in the wet, or probably more accurately in the damp, since that crash at Assen in 2013 which likely cost him a championship, which I suspect rankled him more than the injury. For whatever reason that crash in the damp does seem to prey on his mind.

It was your contention that he gave up easily which I disputed, he does the opposite of that in general imo.

michaelm said:

No doubt he has not been good in the wet, or probably more accurately in the damp, since that crash at Assen in 2013 which likely cost him a championship, which I suspect rankled him more than the injury. For whatever reason that crash in the damp does seem to prey on his mind.

It was your contention that he gave up easily which I disputed, he does the opposite of that in general imo.

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Yes could well be, but my point is that he will never amount to much again as wet weather plays with his brain and yet rain is an assured commodity at certain races every year, this is why he'll never repeat 2010/2012/2015, especially with MM in the same team.
Maybe I should have made it clearer.

How come he managed 2015 when the wet crash was 2013 and that's when he supposedly became so rubbish?

Furiosa said:

How come he managed 2015 when the wet crash was 2013 and that's when he supposedly became so rubbish?

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The main reason (imo) Rossi got ahead of him that year was his superiority in an unusual number of wet and damp races. Jorge did manage a podium in Japan iirc when Rossi caught him because he ran out of tyres, and blew up a tyre when he was the fastest rider in the race in his first year with Ducati, so I guess we will see how he goes, I wouldn’t permanently count him out in the wet on a tyre with which he is happy.