Thread watched MotoGP: 2024 Round 3 Grand Prix of The Americas April 12-14

[Keshav]

Rarely make a prediction for any race . . . but surely, given the lineup, the first laps will interesting. Acosta may have no wrinkles of age spots, but he has for the longest time, looked to me like a wizened old man. Maybe a reincarnation of . . . ?

 

[JFM01]

I bet they turned down the power on all the 23's don't want them faster than the Factory guys

Tbh I think the GP22 and the GP24 both have a more complete package than the GP23. Just look at how bad the other GP23's are doing this year.

Quali results should make for an interesting couple of races.

 

[JFM01]

Can they please keep this intro for all the remaining rounds?

 

[MichaelBolton]

Boring sprint, spiced up by a couple of laps where Marc/Pedro/Jorge got tangled up and the last lap battle for the 6th-11th places. Mav looked in complete control and made it look easy, he even afforded a small mistake that had no relevance in the end result. Marc looked unstable during the first half of the sprint but calmer afterwards and finished 2nd comfortably despite a couple of tentative attacks by Acosta, later surpassed by a Martín who should be happy to finish ahead of Bagnaia, the Italian with a pretty bad start that compromised his race. Good comeback from Binder, even if it ended up being fruitless in terms of points. Shootout to Marini for keeping his streak of last place finishes intact. Let's hope tomorrow is better but COTA isn't known for exciting racing.

 

[warthog1]

Marc appeared to be struggling on corner entry and was holding up Acosta and Martin mid race. Got his head down once passed by Acosta briefly. Vinales just marched away.
You aint doing that on the Yam anytime soon Fab.
Jap bikes, and particularly Honda, nowhere.

 

[JPSLotus]

Is it wrong that I genuinely like Maverick Vinales? He seems to be a likeable guy who let his temper get the better of him. Can't say I haven't been there so I can understand it.

I know the way his time at Yamaha came to an end was bad. But even though I didn't think he could win a title there, his raw speed was unbelievable on the M1.

He seems to be coming together with the RS-GP now, and boy is it the right time. I think we could have a really interesting season in front of us if he has figured out to translate that speed into a race weekend. With all of the experience he has now, and the work he has put in mentally, I hope it pays off for him somehow. His speed was just incredible to watch today even if there was little else of note happening.

 

[ApriliaRS250]

Always when you think Mav has got it finally figured out he is nowhere in the next racetrack

 

[mikesbytes]

Making it difficult for Aprilia to work out which rider to ditch

So Miller had a bad grid slot compared with his usual and then moved forward to where he usually finishes LOL

Acosta showing he is the future but did he run out of tyre at the end?

 

[michaelm]

Always when you think Mav has got it finally figured out he is nowhere in the next racetrack

What is hopeful from his point of view is that he has both qualified well and been fast from the start in recent races as opposed to plunging backwards on the first lap or the first few laps before having good pace at the end of races when it was too late.

He has had dominant wins on the occasional race weekend for Suzuki and Yamaha without ever showing consistent ability to contend, so I agree he needs to perform for a few rounds consecutively before we get too excited about his title prospects.

I basically don’t dislike him and wish him well, but with others find it difficult to be an out-and-out fan givien some of his past behaviour, particularly quitting on teams, and flattering to deceive so often in the past.

You would think FQ would be dynamite on this bike, so I trust he has foreknowledge of major investment and improvement on Yamaha’s part.

 

[michaelm]

Marc appeared to be struggling on corner entry and was holding up Acosta and Martin mid race. Got his head down once passed by Acosta briefly. Vinales just marched away.
You aint doing that on the Yam anytime soon Fab.
Jap bikes, and particularly Honda, nowhere.

If MM had the 13 points from the last full race he could be considered to be working well into the season while learning a new bike, with him having 40 points to Martin’s 60 and Bagnaia’s 48. His main hope would still seem to consistency, so far he has been capable of 4th or 5th at worst while adapting to the bike. Martin and Bagnaia are both young and fast, and on better bikes, but still might give him a sniff by continuing to be prone to throwing it away. I guess MM’s own actions have damaged the seasons of a few riders in the past though.

 

[michaelm]

Tbh I think the GP22 and the GP24 both have a more complete package than the GP23. Just look at how bad the other GP23's are doing this year.

Quali results should make for an interesting couple of races.

I agree, I think Martin and Bagnaia both being really fast riders/better than the guys on GP22s was the main factor last year, but Bagnaia at least struggled early and they seemed to improve the bike over the season. I saw an article somewhere which suggested it wasn’t a certainty the satellite riders got the end of season GP23 rather than the start of the 2023 season bike.

 

[mylexicon]

Is it wrong that I genuinely like Maverick Vinales? He seems to be a likeable guy who let his temper get the better of him. Can't say I haven't been there so I can understand it.

I know the way his time at Yamaha came to an end was bad. But even though I didn't think he could win a title there, his raw speed was unbelievable on the M1.

He seems to be coming together with the RS-GP now, and boy is it the right time. I think we could have a really interesting season in front of us if he has figured out to translate that speed into a race weekend. With all of the experience he has now, and the work he has put in mentally, I hope it pays off for him somehow. His speed was just incredible to watch today even if there was little else of note happening.

I’m on team Mav. He has natural talent, but he’s been hampered by youthful exuberance and a hot temper throughout his career. The Yamaha situation was bad, but I suspect it spiraled quickly because it was the second time someone tried to grenade a Yamaha engine.

I’m cautiously optimistic that Mav’s new settings will allow him to factor in some races this year. We’ll see. Tomorrow might be his best chance to win races for three manufacturers, though the Ducatis seemed to get stronger as the sprint progressed. They might have the tire life for tomorrow.

 

[warthog1]

If MM had the 13 points from the last full race he could be considered to be working well into the season while learning a new bike, with him having 40 points to Martin’s 60 and Bagnaia’s 48. His main hope would still seem to consistency, so far he has been capable of 4th or 5th at worst while adapting to the bike. Martin and Bagnaia are both young and fast, and on better bikes, but still might give him a sniff by continuing to be prone to throwing it away. I guess MM’s own actions have damaged the seasons of a few riders in the past though.

I dont see him vying for the title realistically. Race wins he may be a shot. He is still learning the bike against good riders who know the bike already and are on machinery that will continue to develop.

 

[ApriliaRS250]

Tomorrow might be his best chance to win races for three manufacturers, though the Ducatis seemed to get stronger as the sprint progressed.

Two sprint wins count as a race win in my book as they are half a race distance each

 

[mikesbytes]

I saw an article somewhere which suggested it wasn’t a certainty the satellite riders got the end of season GP23 rather than the start of the 2023 season bike.

I think that’s the way with aerodynamics, ie the GP23 riders have the start of year aerodynamics. If you can find a photo of Martin’s and Zarco’s bikes at the end of the 23 season you can spot the differences as Zarco didn’t get the updates

 

[techDmn]

Mav, specialist in going fast on days that are not Sunday. I kid! Would be nice to see a repeat today, mostly to break up that wall of Ducatis.

Marc v Pedro was exciting. Pedro was faster on corner entry, but Marc was faster on exit. MM best finishing Ducati! Must have been tough for Binder to be outclassed so thoroughly by Pedro so early in the season.

Surprised Jorge didn't have anything for Marc after passing Pedro. Not sure if he opted for safe points, or just didn't have the speed. Either way, if he can maintain the speed he had last year without desperation driven mistakes, he'll be in good shape.

 

[warthog1]

The circuit was hard on the soft rear apparently. A no go for the longer race then.
I have read both Pecco and Marc spent a fair bit of time on the medium rear in practice.
Did Martin, did Mav?
Interested to see how it pans out.

 

[PRS717]

Surprised Jorge didn't have anything for Marc after passing Pedro. Not sure if he opted for safe points, or just didn't have the speed.

I think had he been able, Jorge would have had a sniff at getting by Marc. Perhaps he's matured to the point of not taking the risk of throwing away valuable points but I don't believe he would have not given it a shot had he been able.

 

[Mick D]

Mav, specialist in going fast on days that are not Sunday. I kid! Would be nice to see a repeat today, mostly to break up that wall of Ducatis.

Marc v Pedro was exciting. Pedro was faster on corner entry, but Marc was faster on exit. MM best finishing Ducati! Must have been tough for Binder to be outclassed so thoroughly by Pedro so early in the season.

Surprised Jorge didn't have anything for Marc after passing Pedro. Not sure if he opted for safe points, or just didn't have the speed. Either way, if he can maintain the speed he had last year without desperation driven mistakes, he'll be in good shape.

I'm thinking that after the red haze and consequences of qualifying, he opted for points... maybe

 

[michaelm]

It

Two sprint wins count as a race win in my book as they are half a race distance each

Iirc we have been there before, but Crash are again saying Mav has the chance to be the first motogp rider to win for 3 different manufacturers. Presumably they mean in the 4-stroke motogp era, because Mamola won on 500 GP Suzukis, Yamahas and Hondas, and Lawson on 500 GP Yamahas, Hondas and (amazingly) Cagivas.