Sepang MotoGp 2023

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A Marq looked amazing! He will be the man to beat tomorrow. It was good to see Enea on the pointy end for once. Hopefully tomorrow he won't be a moving roadblock for his teammate. That was an enjoyable race. I expect tomorrow to be the same.
Gotta agree about Bestia, it was great seeing him up there! Let's hope it isn't a 1 off. I definitely feel he was playing blocker for Pecco towards the end.
Hats off to Alex, rode an incredible race and I agree that he will be up there tomorrow too.

Did anyone see Binders pass around the outside of Bastianinia at the start of lap 2?!
 
Great to see Enea in the podium battle but man I wish he would have made a move on Pecco. As I understand, Ducati is not big on team orders and I realize his move would have had to have been squeaky clean but I was a bit mad when he did not make it. IMO he clearly had the bike under him to pull it off. Maybe showing Ducati that not only does he still have it, but he's also a team player?

Too bad Honda cannot find any talent to ride their dominant bike. I guess the riders' luck has run out. :rolleyes:
 
Boring boring boring. But I watched it anyway. Good for Bastianinni. Good to see Fabio making some passes and winding up 5th.
 
I somehow didn't find the race boring despite how it panned out. It was more suspenseful with me wondering whose tyres would 'run out' or which of the leaders would crash out. Great showing by Bastianini... really happy for him. Great weekend for A Marquez. Fabio was a trojan as he so often is.
 
I somehow didn't find the race boring despite how it panned out. It was more suspenseful with me wondering whose tyres would 'run out' or which of the leaders would crash out. Great showing by Bastianini... really happy for him. Great weekend for A Marquez. Fabio was a trojan as he so often is.
The boring part is the lack of passing. I guess it's the tire pressure thing. But really, these days after the first couple of laps, everything seems to stay pretty much the same until somebody crashes. Kind of the same monotony as the few times I've watched a nascar roundy roundy. I get that there can be suspense due to the tire wear issue, and that is the entire reason to watch the long race. But most of the time there doesn't seem to be any surprises. I don't even bother watching the sprint.
 
Crash sorry but interesting anyway. Seems like a .... rule if that is how you use it and how much difference it makes.


It is thought some riders and teams took a tactical decision to risk using up their one available warning at Sepang this weekend.

That's because Qatar (night event) and Valencia are likely to be held in cooler conditions, meaning rising tyre temperature and pressure when behind other bikes should be less of a problem.
 
after this weekend, Pecco at minimum to lock out Jorge from the title requires a second in each race and sprint. Of course, should Pecco pick up a race win, the task will be getting exponentially easier.

And as we know, each event that passes is one less opportunity for Jorge to gain back and the pressure and desperation will be rising.
 
Did Ducati game the tyre pressure rule to have Pecco and Digia in front of Jorge this race?
Sure, possible I guess, and I presume they can’t mess with the engine power or whatever under the current regulations with the control ecu. This isn’t Jorge’s favourite track though.

If the factory team did tactically cheat, I wonder whether Jorge will be allowed to do something similar ?. it may well in any case come down to the race he crashed out of in the lead and the tyre choice at the race where he lost the lead on the last lap, so down to him in the end whatever happens. I strongly suspect he is the faster rider, and that the factory team has more resources, as well as not liking the sense of entitlement Bagnaia gives every appearance of having, but Bagnaia has re-gathered after looking shaky and I will have to consider him a worthy title winner again if he wins. if FQ last year and to a much lesser extent JM this year want to throw away titles that is not Bagnaia’s problem.
 
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after this weekend, Pecco at minimum to lock out Jorge from the title requires a second in each race and sprint. Of course, should Pecco pick up a race win, the task will be getting exponentially easier.

And as we know, each event that passes is one less opportunity for Jorge to gain back and the pressure and desperation will be rising.

Sure, possible I guess, and I presume they can’t mess with the engine power or whatever under the current regulations with the control ecu. This isn’t Jorge’s favourite track though.

If the factory team did tactically cheat, I wonder whether Jorge will be allowed to do something similar ?. it may well in any case come down to the race he crashed out of in the lead and the tyre choice at the race where he lost the lead on the last lap, so down to him in the end whatever happens. I strongly suspect he is the faster rider, and that the factory team has more resources, as well as not liking the sense of entitlement Bagnaia gives every appearance of having, but Bagnaia has re-gathered after looking shaky and I will have to consider him a worthy title winner again if he wins. if FQ last year and to a much lesser extent JM this year want to throw away titles that is not Bagnaia’s problem.

This is what makes the end of a season interesting, even such an uninteresting season as we are currently experiencing. (imo of course)

Not that long ago, Martin declared that he felt no pressure to win the championship, since he was not on the factory team..... That comment is becoming mildly funny. All top riders seem to crash from time to time, they are trying hard after all! For sure the title pressure is there. I'm liking all these guys in and around the title hunt this year and will be pleased for whoever prevails.
 
While the race wasn't that interesting, we saw the importance with the championship. It's looking like Bagnaia will take it however 1 DNF in the last 2 races will dictate who is champion
 
Congratulation to Enea Bastiannini for putting his troubles behind him, and riding at the level required by a factory rider. Nice to see him back atop the podium. Alex Marquez also punched above his weight class at Sepang with a hard won 2nd place. Pecco did what he needed to do. He is under considerable pressure, but he has the luxury of knowing that clock management will be good enough to win. It will be a nail-biting win, but technically, staying equal on points with Martin will be enough to take another riders' title. Easier said than done, particularly since Martin seems to have an edge during the sprint races.

Miller and Quartararo also had solid race weekends. Yamaha proved they still have an edge grip advantage, even if their engine is mediocre. They should be strong during the 850cc era.

Besides early fireworks from Bagnaia and Martin, the race didn't have much to offer, but it didn't hurt the season storyline.

Unfortunately, quite a few riders and teams had a dreadful weekend. RNF Aprilia accomplished nothing at their home grand prix (?), and Aprilia as a team went backward. Aleix had 5 crashes during the weekend. Perhaps they were heavily affected by the ban of their auto-clutch; though I thought it mainly helped at the start (?). Brad Binder had an uncharacteristically poor weekend, with a crash on Sunday battling in the midpack. Repsol Honda achieved 50 crashes as a team during Saturday and Sunday races.
 
If the factory team did tactically cheat, I wonder whether Jorge will be allowed to do something similar ?

Jorge already did. He previously got his official front tire pressure warning where Bags and Enea had that in their pocket so they cashed it in at Sepang. Warnings are all used up and the next violation(s) will result in time penalties. Pretty smart tactical play by the factory.
 

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