Joined Nov 2015
242 Posts | 144+
Australia
Agreed. To see him 3rd quickest in the first practice session blew my mind. How his arm holds up over a full race weekend is the only unknown now.
Agreed. To see him 3rd quickest in the first practice session blew my mind. How his arm holds up over a full race weekend is the only unknown now.
It’s looking now like the race will be a bit of a struggle. I think a top 10 finish is a realistic goal, top 5 might be out of reach due to the fatigue. Clearly today his arm was saw and tired.
As misfit says it is probably only a matter of time, as misfit again said and he himself pretty much said he probably needs to ride a motogp bike at full roar to completely re-condition the muscles in the arm, whatever exercises he has been doing probably can't completely mimic wrestling a motogp bike at ten tenths, and he also had a prolonged period in a brace, and a possible nerve injury initially. His pace is enough to demonstrate he is pretty close to not holding back due to anxieties about the arm, which is extraordinarily impressive/ tough given there were doubts about the bone ever healing properly at all not many months ago. Who knows how he will go when the adrenaline cuts in for the race, I wouldn't put top 5 as totally beyond him, but I really hope he doesn't push past his current physical capacity.
That was an amazing lap by Bagnaia cancelled by what seems an unfair rule, but perhaps he should have put a banker lap in a little earlier. On all evidence other than that cancelled qualifying lap it is hard to see FQ being challenged by anyone. Zarco continues to impress, may well be still leading the championship after 3 rounds.
Yes, agreed Zarco is one tough nut.
Bags not the only one to have a lap canceled for yellow flag reasons. Whatever, it seems the rule is applied uniformly.
Fabs has good pace for sure but it remains to be seen how he holds up race distance, which has been a problem for him before.
Although not at the top of the charts, I imagine the specter of Marquez coming from behind will play with some riders minds.
Can a Ducati contest for a victory here?
Bags not the only one to have a lap canceled for yellow flag reasons. Whatever, it seems the rule is applied uniformly.
Fabs has good pace for sure but it remains to be seen how he holds up race distance, which has been a problem for him before.
Although not at the top of the charts, I imagine the specter of Marquez coming from behind will play with some riders minds.
Can a Ducati contest for a victory here?
I was going on FQ's 8 sub 1:40 laps against none by anyone else in FP4 which I didn't watch and seldom do watch, but sure he has faded in a race even starting from pole before, and I am not sure how much of a guide FP4 is, I do think different riders have differing objectives in that session.
I think the weekend was very positive for Marquez. Arm issues by all reports are muscle related, that’s to be expected. The loudest voices are the haters and the fanboys who are at opposite ends of the spectrum. The haters opinion I believe is based completely on hope rather than facts or experience. Some of them are saying because his arm was fatigued it’s a clear sign that the injury will impact him for some time to come. Realistically it won’t take that long to get used to riding the bike again. Last weekend is supposedly one of the most physically demanding circuits on the calendar which only bodes well for Marquez.
I think Fabio, Mir and any other title hopefuls will need to build as big of a buffer as possible before the halfway point of the season. After which I believe the chase down really starts from Marquez as by then he should be at 100% or close enough to it to return to previous form if he ever does again.
Sachsenring will be make or break IMO, no win there for Marquez means no title. A win at Germany results in Marquez having a strong chance to win 4 or more of the remaining races to end the season. That *could* be enough to give him a real shot this year in terms of wins, the consistency required is up to the top guys and if anything like last year 5 wins could almost guarantee enough points to win a championship.
I think Fabio, Mir and any other title hopefuls will need to build as big of a buffer as possible before the halfway point of the season. After which I believe the chase down really starts from Marquez as by then he should be at 100% or close enough to it to return to previous form if he ever does again.
Sachsenring will be make or break IMO, no win there for Marquez means no title. A win at Germany results in Marquez having a strong chance to win 4 or more of the remaining races to end the season. That *could* be enough to give him a real shot this year in terms of wins, the consistency required is up to the top guys and if anything like last year 5 wins could almost guarantee enough points to win a championship.
Joined Aug 2013
902 Posts | 509+
USA
Following PF2 I thought MM might be a real threat for pole and even a podium. However on Saturday he looked a bit more fatigued, and by the end of the race on Sunday it was obvious that race took a lot out of him. Most of that is probably due to not being on a MotoGP bike for the better part of a year. I expect him to be more of a factor in Jerez.
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