Round 5: 2024 Michelin Grand Prix de France - Le Mans Bugatti Circuit

JPSLotus · May 3, 2024

2023 Race Winner: Marco Bezzecchi
2023 Race Time: 41:37.970
Race Circuit: Bugatti Circuit

Notable Storylines: Marc vs Pecco. Might give good cover to Jorge Martin since the spotlight is shifting off of him unless he manages to crash out again in either race. Have the other satellite Ducati riders finally figured out the GP23 or was Jerez a one off? Maverick's A vs B spec Aprilia issues might have been holding him back, but who really knows, could just be another excuse. Also will be interesting to see how Pedro Acosta bounces back after a more challenging Jerez race weekend that seemed to really go south when he had that crash. Hopefully this follows up Jerez as another barnstormer.

mikesbytes · May 3, 2024

Winners of the French GP who are currently on the grid;
Marc Marquez 2014, 2018, 2019
Maverick Viñales 2017
Jack Miller 2021
Enea Bastianini 2022
Marco Bezzecchi 2023

Looking at 2023
Qualifying 1. Bagnaia 2. M Marquez 3. Marini
Sprint 1. Martin 2. Binder 3. Bagnaia
Race 1. Bezzecchi 2. Martin 3. Zarco

That's a lot of different riders however since 2020 we are seeing the usual dominance of Ducati but still possible for another ,manufacturer to mix it with them.

MdubSTYLIE · May 6, 2024

I can't help but think of the cat fight in the kitty litter from last year. Mav passes Pecco. Pecco goes for the undercut the rest is history. More proof that history repeats itself. Meow!

JPSLotus · May 6, 2024

MdubSTYLIE said:
I can't help but think of the cat fight in the kitty litter from last year. Mav passes Pecco. Pecco goes for the undercut the rest is history. More proof that history repeats itself. Meow!

I honestly wouldn't be surprised to see Pecco crash out this weekend. I think he's going to continue thinking he can get away with pushing Marc on the track, no doubt because his patron in VR probably has him believing his own hype. Marc's going to return the favor at some point to Bagnaia.

MdubSTYLIE · May 6, 2024

JPSLotus said:
I honestly wouldn't be surprised to see Pecco crash out this weekend. I think he's going to continue thinking he can get away with pushing Marc on the track, no doubt because his patron in VR probably has him believing his own hype. Marc's going to return the favor at some point to Bagnaia.

I agree anytime MM passes Pecco I see Pecco trying to put the bike somewhere it can't go.

Bern1 · May 6, 2024

JPSLotus said:
I honestly wouldn't be surprised to see Pecco crash out this weekend. I think he's going to continue thinking he can get away with pushing Marc on the track, no doubt because his patron in VR probably has him believing his own hype. Marc's going to return the favor at some point to Bagnaia.

Perhaps possible, anything is possible. I hope, and tend to think, that Pecco is now more his own man than the other vr mafiosi. He doesn’t show overt signs of continuously drinking the yellow koolaid. But we will see.. I think he is a smart racer and is gaining experience. He has been lucky at the end of the year to continue to be in the points lead even with his own self induced dnfs. He’s the lead rider on the factory team with a fast bike, so I hope he is smart enough to think this all through. I would think that at least somebody (perhaps he himself) has told him what he no doubt already knows: with all the competition out there old and new, he has to improve the consistency of his riding to have a chance at retaining the number one plate. Contact with other riders does not favor this consistency. These are definitely things that make me think that knows contact, especially with MM, is a dangerous game, and one not to be taken lightly by Ducati management.

michaelm · May 6, 2024

Bern1 said:
Perhaps possible, anything is possible. I hope, and tend to think, that Pecco is now more his own man than the other vr mafiosi. He doesn’t show overt signs of continuously drinking the yellow koolaid. But we will see.. I think he is a smart racer and is gaining experience. He has been lucky at the end of the year to continue to be in the points lead even with his own self induced dnfs. He’s the lead rider on the factory team with a fast bike, so I hope he is smart enough to think this all through. I would think that at least somebody (perhaps he himself) has told him what he no doubt already knows: with all the competition out there old and new, he has to improve the consistency of his riding to have a chance at retaining the number one plate. Contact with other riders does not favor this consistency. These are definitely things that make me think that knows contact, especially with MM, is a dangerous game, and one not to be taken lightly by Ducati management.

Rossi is very much in the news since the last race claiming Bagnaia as a protege, with which I don’t have a problem, but he is much more vocal about same now Bagnaia is involved in contretemps with MM, more so than when Bagnaia actually won the 2 titles to my recollection which admittedly may be biased. Rossi is also claiming to be coaching Bagnaia about how to deal with MM, which may or may not to be true, but is why I got somewhat irked with claims about the re-pass on MM last race being great riding.

I don’t recall MM ever doing Bagnaia much wrong btw, and his only sins this season that I can see seem to have been to make two fairly clean passes on him. I won’t go there again but I consider the evil done to Valentino by MM to be largely an invention, perhaps even a delusion, on Rossi’s part as well, although I would make no claims about MM being an angel in general obviously.

#22 · May 7, 2024

I'm gonna be bold and say, Marc Marquez to win.

MdubSTYLIE · May 7, 2024

#22 said:
I'm gonna be bold and say, Marc Marquez to win.

As long as he doesn't get Pecco'ed again.

mmnumaone · May 7, 2024

Hoping that Marc can have trouble free weekend.

Keshav · May 7, 2024

As I recall, at the last race, Rossi was waving and trying to get the attention of Bagnaia from the periphery of parc free, and Pecco walked right by him as if he didn’t exist.

michaelm · May 7, 2024

Keshav said:
As I recall, at the last race, Rossi was waving and trying to get the attention of Bagnaia from the periphery of parc free, and Pecco walked right by him as if he didn’t exist.

There was apparently more interaction and congratulations later on.

I have no problem with Rossi regarding Bagnaia as a protege and being proud of his achievements, I am sure he contributed considerably to his development, and have acknowledged previously that the VR academy seems to have been integral to a renaissance for Italian riders in the premier class.

I don’t see why a dual world champion in his prime needs any advice from Rossi in regard to beating MM though, something Valentino was not particularly good at doing himself, although they competed when they were at opposite ends of their careers of course. Whatever faults MM may have he didn’t cheat or do anything dastardly to win his premier class titles, he won by outstanding riding as Pecco did his titles. I am not aware of MM ever having wronged Pecco, and if they are going to be season long competitors this season the rider who needs to beware of questionable riding is MM on evidence thus far.

Bern1 · May 7, 2024

Well for sure at some point we will see if Pecco has been able to walk out from under the shadow of the vr mafia and stand on his own. I can only hope that will be the case. He has the ability to do so. Does he have the will?

As far as “clean racing” goes, the era of Senna in F1 and that of Rossi in MotoGP has forever altered the landscape. As good as they were, and they were, they both ushered in an era of unsportsmanlike conduct hitherto unknown in their respective sports. Forcing people off the track, pushing the limits beyond acceptable regarding safety. They were aided in this regard by improved track and equipment safety. This is the main reason neither are in my personal gallery of the greats.

The main result of this change has been to bring about an emulation of their conduct by subsequent younger drivers/riders and this kind of behavior has been baked into the cake of modern racing. Schumacher was a dirty racer and so was/is Marquez. There isn’t only one in either discipline any longer.

Whatever, I’ll keep watching. For the time being.

PRS717 · May 7, 2024

Bern1 said:
Well for sure at some point we will see if Pecco has been able to walk out from under the shadow of the vr mafia and stand on his own. I can only hope that will be the case. He has the ability to do so. Does he have the will?

I feel Pecco very much wants to remove the shadow of Rossi. As Michaelm said, I'm sure Pecco considers himself fortunate to have the tutelage of Rossi but at the same time wants to make his own name. It's gotta suck a bit for Pecco because with the shadow of a 9-time champ hanging over you, 2 or 3 titles may not be enough for him to step into the light and create his own shadow. Then again, maybe he's fine with it. My American friends may remember an episode of the Brady Bunch where middle sister Jan had enough hearing about oldest sister Marcia. "Marcia, Marcia, Marcia!!"

"Rossi, Rossi, Rossi!!!"

JFM01 · May 7, 2024

Difficult to say what will happen this weekend, this is a wet race more often than not.

Mrpurple · May 7, 2024

Keshav said:
As I recall, at the last race, Rossi was waving and trying to get the attention of Bagnaia from the periphery of parc free, and Pecco walked right by him as if he didn’t exist.

Rossi was jonesing for some of that sweet, sweet limelight...

#22 · May 7, 2024

Bern1 said:
Well for sure at some point we will see if Pecco has been able to walk out from under the shadow of the vr mafia and stand on his own. I can only hope that will be the case. He has the ability to do so. Does he have the will?

As far as “clean racing” goes, the era of Senna in F1 and that of Rossi in MotoGP has forever altered the landscape. As good as they were, and they were, they both ushered in an era of unsportsmanlike conduct hitherto unknown in their respective sports. Forcing people off the track, pushing the limits beyond acceptable regarding safety. They were aided in this regard by improved track and equipment safety. This is the main reason neither are in my personal gallery of the greats.

The main result of this change has been to bring about an emulation of their conduct by subsequent younger drivers/riders and this kind of behavior has been baked into the cake of modern racing. Schumacher was a dirty racer and so was/is Marquez. There isn’t only one in either discipline any longer.

Whatever, I’ll keep watching. For the time being.

Great post. I don't totally agree about Marquez being a dirty racer though. And I try and be impartial, realising I'm a fan of Marquez and Senna. I would not count Marc with the likes of Schumacher, who actively cheated in terms of crashing into other drivers to win titles (Adelaide 94 and his failed attempt in Jerez 1997), along with parking on track in Monaco 2006. I never recall a case of Marc doing things like that.

I do agree though, he brought a new level of ruthlessness to the sport, just like Senna did.

Bern1 · May 7, 2024

#22 said:
Great post. I don't totally agree about Marquez being a dirty racer though. And I try and be impartial, realising I'm a fan of Marquez and Senna. I would not count Marc with the likes of Schumacher, who actively cheated in terms of crashing into other drivers to win titles (Adelaide 94 and his failed attempt in Jerez 1997), along with parking on track in Monaco 2006. I never recall a case of Marc doing things like that.

I do agree though, he brought a new level of ruthlessness to the sport, just like Senna did.

I might be just a little hard on Marc, but not much. He has moderated his approach somewhat. I am absolutely a fan of both Senna and Marc as far as their ability to drive/ride goes.

It’s true Schumacher pushed the boundaries more than anybody else in either sport. As for driving into others to win a title, Senna did it to Prost.

However, there is no denying Senna’s greatness behind the wheel. I’m not a fan of Dean at SuperbikePlanet but this post was great:

https://superbikeplanet.com/story/959/racing-titans-senna-and-lawson-s-unforgettable-encounter

MdubSTYLIE · May 7, 2024

Pre-GP Marc was a menace to society. I don't see Marc as a dirty rider but an overly aggressive one. It could be argued that those are the same thing I suppose. Marc has been penalized rightly so for his moves. But dirty riders are premeditated and are ......... Marc is just a livewire. He is so happy to battle even when he loses, dirty riders tend to be angry and malicious even off track. I really enjoy his ability to be so cut throat on track and so respectful and friendly off. Thats not easy to be as a racer and I find it commendable.

JPSLotus · May 7, 2024

Bern1 said:
Perhaps possible, anything is possible. I hope, and tend to think, that Pecco is now more his own man than the other vr mafiosi. He doesn’t show overt signs of continuously drinking the yellow koolaid. But we will see.. I think he is a smart racer and is gaining experience. He has been lucky at the end of the year to continue to be in the points lead even with his own self induced dnfs. He’s the lead rider on the factory team with a fast bike, so I hope he is smart enough to think this all through. I would think that at least somebody (perhaps he himself) has told him what he no doubt already knows: with all the competition out there old and new, he has to improve the consistency of his riding to have a chance at retaining the number one plate. Contact with other riders does not favor this consistency. These are definitely things that make me think that knows contact, especially with MM, is a dangerous game, and one not to be taken lightly by Ducati management.

I'd like to think he would be more of his own man by this point. But I find it interesting how VR appears to be practically speaking for him in the press regarding how to race MM. If Pecco's taken that advice to heart in any regard, I think that's bad news since I don't see how he can expect to stay upright on the bike if he is busy making contact. Agreed otherwise about the consistency. While he made a great comeback from the sprint race crash by winning the main race the next day, I just don't see how you can constantly ride trying to make up points from ill-advised moves that end with you in the gravel. I'm extremely curious to see how he approaches this coming weekend because he's really got to start riding consistently to have a chance of retaining the title this year since dynamics have changed in my opinion.

Round 5: 2024 Michelin Grand Prix de France - Le Mans Bugatti Circuit

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