Round 7: 2017 Gran Premi Monster Energy de Catalunya

This place is turning into a morgue for GP discussion activity.

It's Thursday and we have a race this weekend and no topic till now.

The circus moves to Catalunya and it's ̶r̶e̶v̶i̶s̶e̶d̶ horseshit layout that did nothing to address the actual issue with where Luis Salom was killed last year. It alters how the final corner at the circuit will approached for riders. My initial feeling is that the configuration change will hurt the racing for the last sector as I don't think it will be possible to get enough to speed to make any kind of possible last corner overtake ala Rossi/Lorenzo 2009.

That being said, Yamaha is going to be favored here too like every other circuit. Talk was the Honda can get through the final chicane better than the other bikes, but that will not make a difference if the other bikes are getting through the rest of the corners faster. For that new chicane section to benefit the Honda, they need to be in front going into that section.

The X factor for this race is Ducati and we will know one way or another whether their test last month here will make any difference in race setup.

My prediction for top 5:

1) Vinales
2) Dovi
3) Marquez
4) Zarco
5) Rossi




12) Lorenzo
DNF: Cal Crutchlow

JPSLotus said:

This place is turning into a morgue for GP discussion activity.

It's Thursday and we have a race this weekend and no topic till now.

The circus moves to Catalunya and it's ̶r̶e̶v̶i̶s̶e̶d̶ horseshit layout that did nothing to address the actual issue with where Luis Salom was killed last year. It alters how the final corner at the circuit will approached for riders. My initial feeling is that the configuration change will hurt the racing for the last sector as I don't think it will be possible to get enough to speed to make any kind of possible last corner overtake ala Rossi/Lorenzo 2009.

That being said, Yamaha is going to be favored here too like every other circuit. Talk was the Honda can get through the final chicane better than the other bikes, but that will not make a difference if the other bikes are getting through the rest of the corners faster. For that new chicane section to benefit the Honda, they need to be in front going into that section.

The X factor for this race is Ducati and we will know one way or another whether their test last month here will make any difference in race setup.

My prediction for top 5:

1) Vinales
2) Dovi
3) Marquez
4) Zarco
5) Rossi




12) Lorenzo
DNF: Cal Crutchlow

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This has become the safest pick you could possibly make. Who's going to win? I don't know but cal finish? Hah!

MdubSTYLIE said:

This has become the safest pick you could possibly make. Who's going to win? I don't know but cal finish? Hah!

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I kind of hope he has some clash with Pedrosa again that causes the DNF since the watching the meltdown will be totally worth it.

JPSLotus said:

I kind of hope he has some clash with Pedrosa again that causes the DNF since the watching the meltdown will be totally worth it.

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He's a side show. They need a camera on him at all time. I wish they would do a mic'ed up on riders while racing the way other sports have done.

Prediction. Honda Strikes Back!

Marquez
Vinales
Rossi
Pedrosa
Zarco
Dovi

Brit riders - not in top ten. :boredom:

MdubSTYLIE said:

He's a side show. They need a camera on him at all time. I wish they would do a mic'ed up on riders while racing the way other sports have done.

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I wonder if Cal talks to himself during the race.

"Don't bin it, don't bin it, don't bin it. ...."

Looks like Honda have been shafted with the new Michelin so Dovi,Vin,Zar,

JPSLotus said:

I wonder if Cal talks to himself during the race.

"Don't bin it, don't bin it, don't bin it. ...."

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He prob sounds like Arya fm GOT reciting her nightly hit list. Im coming for you Vale the Yellow, Dany the imp, Maverick the lucky, Dovi the damned and Marquez the Repsol thief.

JPSLotus said:

I kind of hope he has some clash with Pedrosa again that causes the DNF since the watching the meltdown will be totally worth it.

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The trouble is, I think he is calming down with his new family persona. He may control himself, unfortunately. Speaking of which, I would like to see the heart-rate and sweat level on Lucy every race. I wonder if she even watches anymore.

"Oh, look honey, here comes Daddy." He is taking the day off early, again. Isn't that nice," Lucy smiles.

Jack Miller wins the weekend.

In all seriousness though in glad that no one was near him when he was navigating those corners. It really could've ended badly.

Honda Honda Ducati Honda...FP1
A sign of things to ponder.

JPSLotus said:

I kind of hope he has some clash with Pedrosa again that causes the DNF since the watching the meltdown will be totally worth it.

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really!
I thought we where all motogp fans on here?

Marquez and Rossi talk of the track changes - some good aerial footage of the changes that show an extended gravel trap

Jack overshoots the corner ............

Jack has been a naughty boy - https://streamable.com/rbqim

And again - this one shows the team reaction - https://streamable.com/ad6se

yakamoto san said:

really!
I thought we where all motogp fans on here?

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Crutchlow is a piece of .....

Marquez topped the timesheets in both FP1 and FP2. He's looked pretty comfortable on the RC213V going around the circuit. He might have broken into the 1:43's in FP2 if he doesn't have to avoid the bike out on circuit in the final chicane section. But I was mesmerized watching him sliding around the track like he was on a MX bike.

Interesting also was watching Lorenzo in FP2 braking down into turn 1. He was backing in the GP17 into the corner beautifully and was able to that elsewhere on the track. It looks like that may be the easiest way to try and get around the lack of mid-corner speed on the Ducati. If you can back the rear into corners, you can change the shape of how the bike goes through the corner and not have to spend all that time trying to get the bike to turn like the M1. Just go heavy on the brakes and slide your way through like Stoner did and use the rear brake as a rider controlled traction control system to prevent the front from lifting on acceleration and to also provide increased stability to the bike. The question is always going to be can he do this and continue dropping his lap times down in FP3, FP4, and qualifying? If he can, he has a great chance at making the podium.

Yamaha has their work cut out for them and they will close up the gap over the next couple of sessions. But man, Vinales was 1.5 seconds adrift of Marquez's time and 7 tenths off Rossi's time. Admittedly, he was not happy at all with the bike in FP2, but still waiting to see what problems they are having with the M1 here.

I didn't notice George doing the Casey slide in. Too sleepy, I guess. I will have to watch again. That would be quite amazing considering all these races with him riding the front end and turning in earlier, etcetera.

I don't have a clue how much Lorenzo is changing and how much Ducati is changing. There will be a meeting of the two, I am pretty convinced at this point. Lorenzo doesn't like to crash anymore, so he doesn't really push his limits like he use to do, but that doesn't mean he isn't still one of the fastest guys in MotoGP.

EDIT: I love my double negative. Writing like a chump, I mean champ. lol

Iamapony said:

I didn't notice George doing the Casey slide in. Too sleepy, I guess. I will have to watch again. That would be quite amazing considering all these races with him riding the front end and turning in earlier, etcetera.

I don't have a clue how much Lorenzo is changing and how much Ducati is changing. There will be a meeting of the two, I am pretty convinced at this point. Lorenzo doesn't like to crash anymore, so he doesn't really push his limits like he use to do, but that doesn't mean he isn't still one of the fastest guys in MotoGP.

EDIT: I love my double negative. Writing like a chump, I mean champ. lol

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I didn't say he was doing the Casey slide in, I said he needs to go heavy on the brakes and slide through the corner the way Stoner used to. I've actually been wondering if at the test here back in May if maybe they did a follow-the-leader sort of deal with Lorenzo following Stoner around the circuit to try and show him how to get through the corners faster. I mention the sliding because it's the only way he is ever going to get that bike to turn faster since it allows far greater control over rotating the bike through the corner than trying to rely on his normal riding style which is not going to turn that bike quick enough. Riding looser is a start.

Lorenzo has definitely changed because he has started to back the bike into corners more than he ever used to. Going off memory, I don't recall him doing it much if ever on the M1. Not saying he never did it on that bike, but it wasn't exactly necessary on that bike. Think about it, getting the Ducati to turn is really the biggest issue. Going fast in a straight line has never been the issue, it's how do you get that bike to turn. Whether he can change enough is the real issue, and I'm skeptical that he can. For some circuits yes, for others no...and it's about converting all of it into a good result when you are having to battle among 22 other machines.

Even if he does manage to master that type of cornering there's still the matter of his consistency.

It's a big job for him to change his style, but an expert will do it given time.

Can he ever conquer the demons in his mind is the problem.