Sepang Testing

It looks like Rossi and Lorenzo's relationship had improved somewhat. Jorge has been coaching him today...

I kind of got the feeling things were better between them by some of their interactions last season

Macca said:

It looks like Rossi and Lorenzo's relationship had improved somewhat. Jorge has been coaching him today...

I kind of got the feeling things were better between then by some of their interactions last season

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Their relationship only sours when they're on the same team competing against each other. They got along great while Rossi was at Ducati, they were always talking and joking during that period. Last year after Lorenzo's torpedo in Spain, Rossi was quick to just call it racing (and pointed out that it's a dangerous corner that's not good for bikes) while Maverick and Dovi were calling for Lorenzo to be penalized.

moto vudu said:

Lorenzo in his prime on the M1... many of his victories were by numerous seconds as well. I recall one year at LeMans when Lorenzo made the entire field look like they were on Moto2 bikes. Again, we don't KNOW Marquez would be able to do the same thing on the M1. But Lorenzo gets criticism for not being able to do what Marc does on the RCV (a bike that's been developed for him specifically)!

Until Marc actually does switches bikes, I don't know what he can do on a machine that has a different design philosophy. But I'm not going to assume he'll automatically adapt and keep winning. Back when Rossi jumped from Honda to Yamaha, there was no assumption that Rossi would win right away. Even Rossi himself was surprised and that's why he was emotional after his first win on the M1 at Welkom. Marc rides the RCV is far more of a "wild" fashion than Rossi did, so I have to question his ability to ride bike that doesn't suit that style.

As for Rossi's records, I don't care about that type of stuff.

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Lorenzo - for all his accomplishments is clearly the lesser rider. Marquez has done far more in a shorter span.

You imply that the Honda was developed around Marquez’s style, but it’s exactly the opposite. Seasoned observers have noted how Marquez. - in Stoner fashion - owes his success to his ability to adaptively ride around handling issues - unlike Rossi and Lorenzo both known for requiring bikes and tires tailored to their specifications.

Macca said:

It looks like Rossi and Lorenzo's relationship had improved somewhat. Jorge has been coaching him today...

I kind of got the feeling things were better between them by some of their interactions last season

Click to expand...

United by their disdain for the young usurper?

I'm tired of looking at Dovi's face of discouragement and dismay. Always looking for an excuse to make sure of yourself. And I'm sure Gigi is too. As expected Dovi is done, the new Michelin tires have just put the last nail on his coffin chance for the title. I say more, I say Dovi won't win a single race this season.

I think Ducati absolutely needs to promote Jack and observe Pecco. Time to Dovi and Petrux to get out. Dovi's best match was 2017, from that on was down hill.

If Ducati signs Dovi it will be another big mistake because they won't have a single chance for the title anymore with #4, not even for the vice. Let alone Petrux, lol. And so, if that is the case, they need to restart with fresh blood. But as the italians like to commit absurd mistakes that nobody understands, maybe Dovi has a chance to get the job for two more years and fill his pockets even more.

moto vudu said:

Oh I beg to differ. Lorenzo's smooth in-line style has been proven to be the quickest way to ride the current M1. Marquez has never had a smooth in-line style of riding. Yamaha would have to make drastic changes to the bike to suit Marc's riding style, or Marc would have to try to ride like Lorenzo... that's just as big of a challenge as Lorenzo attempting to ride the Honda like Marc does.

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I would wager that MM is riding the Honda as he needs to in order to unlock its performance. He has always asked for the same changes the other riders ask for, frequently commenting on the difficulty of the Honda, especially last years. He previously sited the 2014 Honda as the one that most allowed him to ride the way he wanted, that championship year being his most enjoyable to ride to.

gui22a said:

I'm tired of looking at Dovi's face of discouragement and dismay. Always looking for an excuse to make sure of yourself. And I'm sure Gigi is too. As expected Dovi is done, the new Michelin tires have just put the last nail on his coffin chance for the title. I say more, I say Dovi won't win a single race this season.

I think Ducati absolutely needs to promote Jack and observe Pecco. Time to Dovi and Petrux to get out. Dovi's best match was 2017, from that on was down hill.

If Ducati signs Dovi it will be another big mistake because they won't have a single chance for the title anymore with #4, not even for the vice. Let alone Petrux, lol. And so, if that is the case, they need to restart with fresh blood. But as the italians like to commit absurd mistakes that nobody understands, maybe Dovi has a chance to get the job for two more years and fill his pockets even more.

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Name one currently active rider who has accumulated more points on a Ducati.

Keshav said:

Name one currently active rider who has accumulated more points on a Ducati.

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What's the point of accumulating points and not being champion? Maybe Dovi is using his points to exchange on travel bonus.

gui22a said:

What's the point of accumulating points and not being champion? Maybe Dovi is using his points to exchange on travel bonus.

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Winning the championship may be the ultimate goal. But it’s not the only one. Only one team and rider combination gets to win the championship. When you look at Marquez’s record thus far, factor in his ability to ride head and shoulders above all the other riders, coming in second or third in the championship is hardly a thing to be ashamed of. Nobody who has graduated the playground sandbox or competed at this level in a sport would shame or demean a rider for merely being a second or third place competitor in the world’s most demanding sport.

Keshav said:

Nobody who has graduated the playground sandbox or competed at this level in a sport would shame or demean a rider for merely being a second or third place competitor in the world’s most demanding sport.

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Your opinion doesn't matter, you are not the Ducati boss.

https://www.crash.net/motogp/feature/935605/1/gigi-i-have-only-one-target-my-life

"This is my clear target; win the championship in MotoGP."

https://www.gpone.com/en/2020/01/24/motogp/dalligna-the-regulation-cages-us-in-a-bit-but-i-know-we-have-improved.html

"For us, coming second means losing because it means that someone was better than us."

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1QkigCKCSke3KMQkNRJamNWZgjUDYjvFX test sepang day 2

gui22a said:

Your opinion doesn't matter, you are not the Ducati boss.

https://www.crash.net/motogp/feature/935605/1/gigi-i-have-only-one-target-my-life

"This is my clear target; win the championship in MotoGP."

https://www.gpone.com/en/2020/01/24/motogp/dalligna-the-regulation-cages-us-in-a-bit-but-i-know-we-have-improved.html

"For us, coming second means losing because it means that someone was better than us."

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Sure my opinion matters.... to people who matter.

The Ducati statement is nothing more than hyperbolic press release chest-beating. If winning the championship was the only thing of consequence - why then do factories and sponsors pour millions of Euros into teams, year after year that have never won? To be too stubbornly pedantic to acknowledge the value of what the other teams do - is to ignore reality for the sake of being cussedly contrary.

I don't know why I give you attention, the guy who other day said Dovi won more races than Pedrosa. It seems you don't even follow the sport but your favorite rider.

Keep your faith in your man then, I'm moving on.

gui22a said:

I don't know why I give you attention, the guy who other day said Dovi won more races than Pedrosa. It seems you don't even follow the sport but your favorite rider.

Keep your faith in your man then, I'm moving on.

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Even though I’ve followed the sport since’79, I’m fallible and may mis-speak on occasion. I’m not, however so allergic to reality that I can’t concede a mistake. I also don’t waste people’s time by diverting from a given topic by introducing irrelevancies to muddy the water.

Keshav said:

Winning the championship may be the ultimate goal. But it’s not the only one. Only one team and rider combination gets to win the championship. When you look at Marquez’s record thus far, factor in his ability to ride head and shoulders above all the other riders, coming in second or third in the championship is hardly a thing to be ashamed of. Nobody who has graduated the playground sandbox or competed at this level in a sport would shame or demean a rider for merely being a second or third place competitor in the world’s most demanding sport.

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All true, but this doesn't change that Dovi's competitiveness is progessively declining. Sure his peak performance at Ducati was very creditable and will remain so, but Ducati are ruthless as well as stupid cf them looking to unload Stoner 3 years after he won their only title. Gigi has fairly clearly decided Dovi isn't taking him anywhere, with reports their relationship is less than cordial, and they have apparently chased both Lorenzo to return in the past and Vinales recently.

I agree he is unlikely to win races any more, and I believe Ducati do require that from their lead rider on the large salary he held out for last contract, which was not unreasonable for him to demand given how he had performed leading up to that contract.

michaelm said:

All true, but this doesn't change that Dovi's competitiveness is progessively declining. Sure his peak performance at Ducati was very creditable and will remain so, but Ducati are ruthless as well as stupid cf them looking to unload Stoner 3 years after he won their only title. Gigi has fairly clearly decided Dovi isn't taking him anywhere, with reports their relationship is less than cordial, and they have apparently chased both Lorenzo to return in the past and Vinales recently.

I agree he is unlikely to win races any more, and I believe Ducati do require that from their lead rider on the large salary he held out for last contract, which was not unreasonable for him to demand given how he had performed leading up to that contract.

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Agree w all above. Just weary of internet trolls who only come here to shame and denigrate riders who are the backbone of the sport they pretend to care about. That said he is still the highest scoring Ducati rider thus far. I will happily support the rider who succeeds him, without throwing Dovi under the bus.

moto vudu said:

Lorenzo in his prime on the M1... many of his victories were by numerous seconds as well. I recall one year at LeMans when Lorenzo made the entire field look like they were on Moto2 bikes. Again, we don't KNOW Marquez would be able to do the same thing on the M1. But Lorenzo gets criticism for not being able to do what Marc does on the RCV (a bike that's been developed for him specifically)!

Until Marc actually does switches bikes, I don't know what he can do on a machine that has a different design philosophy. But I'm not going to assume he'll automatically adapt and keep winning. Back when Rossi jumped from Honda to Yamaha, there was no assumption that Rossi would win right away. Even Rossi himself was surprised and that's why he was emotional after his first win on the M1 at Welkom. Marc rides the RCV is far more of a "wild" fashion than Rossi did, so I have to question his ability to ride bike that doesn't suit that style.

As for Rossi's records, I don't care about that type of stuff.

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I am a Lorenzo fan obviously. The issue for me is not whether MM could dominate like Jorge did on a day when he really had the butterhammer down/going, and as Pedrosa did about twice a year when everything worked for him, but whether he could adapt his riding style to the Yamaha, in which case I wouldn't bet against him over a season, he is a born killer. I guess there will come a time when he is too set in his ways cf Jorge on the Honda, but I suspect that time hasn't as yet arrived. He was as dominant as anyone in history on the 2014 bike which did really suit him, and I am of the opinion in agreement with Keshav that after learning in 2015 that having a bike that was both great intrinsically and suited his style wasn't going to apply every year he has mostly been riding around the flaws of whatever Honda has been current. Sure those bikes have had significant strengths as well, but strengths which can only be exploited if you can ride around the flaws.

The thing about Rossi's Ducati adventure was that the then current Ducati was a horrible pig of a bike, and it was what Stoner could do on the thing which included even winning races which was remarkable rather than someone like Rossi, who had been demonstrating for many years pretty much the apotheosis of the conventional riding style, not being able to ride it similarly.

Those whom have not Italian blood running inside their veins maybe will never understand.

Italians in general demand emotional intensity, thus 2nd places does not fulfill this requirement. I'm sorry for Dovi, but he is an unusual Italian.

Minchiata. Half my family is from Napoli: and I’ve lived in Rome. In my 20s I lived in Little Italy and drove a truck for a mob owned printing supply company. Go on, tell me how I don’t understand Italian culture.

Fab is showing scary speed yet again.
26 1:59 laps yesterday.
MM is saying the one lap testing pace is different to having race pace over the full distance.
Mav was fast on used tyres in the heat of the day yesterday.
Interesting season coming up. [emoji106]