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Hurricane, WV
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In Cider
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San Diego
I think AI was saying that because he thought Rossi was trying to pass him at the last corner, he wanted to go a bit more inside. But he hit the dirty track and went down with Dovi. I don't think he is blaming Rossi. More like he is admitting his mistake as in first part of his comment.
Red Bull Grand Prix of The Americas
Circuit Of The Americas
United States
Circuit Information
LENGTH: 5.5 km / 3.43 miles
CORNERS: 11 left - 9 right
WIDTH: 15 m. / 49.21 ft.
LONGEST STRAIGHT: 1200 m. / 3937.01 ft.
Laps: 21
2/3 of laps: -
Total distance: 115.8 km - 72.0 miles
Weather courtesy of Weather.com
| DAY | HIGH/LOW | DESCRIPTION | PRECIP | WIND | HUMIDITY |
| THIS WEEKEND, 04/08 | |||||
| FRI Apr 8 | 81°F / 54°F | Mostly Cloudy | 0% | E 14 mph | 39% |
| SAT Apr 9 | 80° / 61° | Partly Cloudy | 20% | SE 15 mph | 53% |
| SUN Apr 10 | 83° / 66° | Cloudy/Wind | 20% | S 20 mph | 68% |
This Weekend's Rivalry: Strakes vs. Skins
It's no secret, rivalries sell. Well actually ... sells, but rivalries sell tickets. Well....
Either way, I think you get my point. If you're a fan of the fight game, you've no doubt become inured to the spectacle of two combatants pushing and shoving all through the lead up to fight night, getting in each other's faces and hurling obscenities. Yet once the tickets are sold, the pay-per-views calibrated and the final bell has rung they are nothing but complimentary to each other, and extol on how virtuous a competitor the other was.
Yeah, that ain't happening in MotoGP. At least not this year. There are some very real rivalries going on and Austin seems poised to set the stage on how these will go for the rest of the season.
Strakes vs. Skins
Thought it was just a title? It's not. There's a very real revolution going on in MotoGP right now, with aerodynamic performance right at the forefront. Strakes (those micro-wings protruding from half of the factory bikes these days) are hardly new to MotoGP. Forgetting the historical precedence, Ducati has been experimenting with them for one or two seasons now. In fact, astute viewers will note that they've been present since 2010. However their initial presence was deemed something between the idiosyncrasies of the crazy village ..... and an abomination against the racing gods. The latter view may still be held, but that village ..... may not have been so crazy after all. Ducati may not have the wins to their name, but Gigi has steadfastly been turning the factory's fortune around and the Desmosedici has been crawling slowly towards the front of the pack. Evidence of just how worried the competition is can be seen in the fact that Yamaha has begun adopting Ducati's latest iteration of strakes on their M1; and if you need further proof you can always check the results from the season opening at Qatar, where the top 2 steeds were equipped with the aerodynamic devices. Yet that hardly tells the story, as the Argentina podium was strangely devoid of any such bike. With MotoGP apparently poised to ban strakes just as they begin to take off in the premiere class Austin will be the battleground for a rematch on whether they are even effective.
Strakes' key to victory: Win! However, that's a double edged sword. One of the key criticisms is that strakes make it hard to draft behind the bike. Yet the ability to draft is hardly a right, so something makes it difficult it would seem to be up to the rider to adjust. Additionally Lorenzo seemed to have no problem drafting other bikes, and the Ducati bikes don't see to have much of a problem drafting Lorenzo or (ahem) each other (double DNF?). I for one applaud Ducati, and now Yamaha, for trying something different and seemingly evolving the sport, and the aesthetic of motorcycling in general, in a way that doesn't involve a USB drive or tassels. Barring that, strakes will need to find a way to become less expensive to research and develop. Honda has indicated that the investment necessary to research effective use of this aerodynamic utility is cost prohibitive, regardless of what Ducati is doing; and if one of the best funded teams on the grid is telling you that aerodynamic research is too expensive then you really should think twice about it.
Marquez vs. Rossi
Personally I can't believe the picture works so well, but if you don't get it just keep looking. Back to the point, we all knew that this had to end badly. There isn't a lion, hippo or average dad in the world who's happy when the young upstart comes along and starts making inroads. In the animal kingdom this kind of thing is typically settled by displaying your peacock feathers, barring teeth and then generally ripping chunks out of each other. As we're more socially advanced we have determined that there are better ways to settle it - like playing bumper cars and 20000 miles an hour (nope, no exaggerations here). With all of the drama that has followed the on track antics of the past two years it was absolutely inevitable that we would end up at this point. The important thing now isn't to rehash the reams of electronic paper written about the last two races, but rather to focus on where we go from here. Rossi still wants that 10th title, and Marquez wants his 3rd premiere trophy. Those to things simply don't mix. Thus far Marquez has come out on top in the opening two races, and critically leads the championship by 8 points. Right now he seems to have the championship by the horns, which is incredibly surprising considering:
A) He's on a Honda and crippled by the development problems experienced adapting to the new tires and ECU
B) He's on a Honda and the manufacturer has categorically refused to invest in the fad of adapting strakes because the research into aerodynamics will be too expensive (isn't this the team that ran 3 factory bikes to win a championship? and imported electronic research from Asimo, one of the most advanced robots ever? and owns their own wind tunnels?)
C) He's on a Honda.
Marquez's key to victory: Wake up. That is all. He's 3 out of 3 at COTA, including last year at the beginning of what would prove to be a disastrous season. If he's matured at all during the winter, and there is certainly some indication that he has, then regardless of any perceived problems with the Honda he's the odds on favorite to win.
Iannone vs. Gravity
We're not quite sure where the feud between Andrea Iannone and one of the most fundamental forces of nature began. Perhaps Iannone popped an impossible wheelie at some point that Gravity simple didn't approve of. Or maybe Iannone pinched the rear of a female in Gravity's personal acquaintance. Whatever the reason this agreement has begun to take its toll, and Iannone is definitely on the losing end. The Italian has shown incredible speed and an affinity for the upgrades being thrown at Ducati's in-house missile. He's led races, given the established order a very hard time, and basically proven that he can be very, very fast. He is also falling. A lot. In the past 4 races Iannone has failed to cross the finish line all 4 times. To find his last finishing race one would have to go all the way back to Australia 2015 where Gravity sent in the notorious Pigeon Assassin to do away with his rival. Like a true barbarian Iannone defeated his foe and mounted it on his helmet, but ever crafty Gravity has found more subtle ways to have his revenge. Gravity 4: Iannone 1.
Iannone key to victory: Finish. Simples! At the moment he does neither himself nor Ducati's bank account much good by personally examining the quality of asphalt at every track he visits mid-race. The worst thing that will happen to him as a racer will be if he loses confidence in himself. That or taking out his teammate so many times that they relegate him to a tricycle. That would be bad too.
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Joined Apr 2015
1K Posts | 731+
neptune
yeah, but why couldn't he just say "yo - i ...... up. end of story"? - i just find it a little strange that's all. i guess i'm looking into .... deeper than normal, i love both of them & would hug & kiss both iannone & rossi.
just was kind of set back that iannone would even bring up vale's name.
sidenote: maverick is classy as .... & super mature. this kid is going to shine bright.
Joined Apr 2012
150 Posts | 26+
United States
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United States
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Your Mom's House
That's exactly what he said and meant. And it totally makes sense. After reviewing his move a few days ago, I went back to a discussion I had with a buddy (Roger) the day of the race. A couple of days ago watching it over I came to the realization I no longer thought it was an unreasonable maneuver. In fact, my buddy Rog, who has an amazing eye for racing told me the day it happened, while I was still pissed off that Iannone took out Dovi gifting a podium to Rossi. After listening to Iannone elaborate it makes complete sense. If I had time I'd right you an 8000 word post titled: Why we have misjudged Iannone's crash at Argentina. I have it in my head, but just haven't put thumb to keyboard.....yet.
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Joined Jul 2015
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Hurricane, WV
Joined Oct 2006
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Your Mom's House
MudStylie: 2/10. The wisecrack on the Donald Trossi 'Wall' was what got him 1.9, the other 0.1 was based on initiative.
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Shovel's Club
Oh my god you finally wrote a post I didn't fall asleep halfway through. My next one will be good, I promise.
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United States
Are you surprised his intro sucked, Monkie? Mdubsuckie last job was director of Flint water works
Wheres my boyfriend SuperShina 56? Has anyone heard from him?
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Shovel's Club
Says the person who drank nothing but supercross rider .... for an entire year. Why don't you update your profile pic with one that includes your five kids and five fathers.
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United States
Did you make the trip from your moms ... crack to her ovaries on your BMX bike?
Joined May 2009
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Shovel's Club
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United States
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Shovel's Club
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