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Why it's time to stop whining about Marquez's MotoGP qualifying tactics
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It has been said it is the only way to get the shitbag honda up to speed coming out of corners. I hope we won't see this anymore once he is on the ducati.
Stoner was pilloried for complaining about it. I am a Stoner tragic admittedly , but could understand his attitude when he was on the Ducati and had to nearly crash the thing to get through every corner as JB and VR put it.
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MotoGP is about getting the best outcome within the rules. I don't like it but he's within the rules so he should do it. I'd like to see things changed to stop it happening, perhaps single lap times ie riding by yourself
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It will be ironic if others are doing it to him.
Others did do it to him for years without any complaint at all from him.
MM has his foibles obviously, but hypocrisy is not among them imo.
IMHO they need to do something when you have a gaggle of riders all cruising on track waiting for a tow. Didn't they start handing out penalties for this in Moto3? If so, the same should be done in MotoGP.
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They did, they introduced minimum sector times.
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I think we'll see it on the Ducati because it's going to be part of the way he figures out where the limit of that bike is as they go to the different circuits next year.
This is a complex issue.
On one hand, towing is not against the current rules, and towing around the track in close proximity is what the riders are paid to do. "He's following me too closely!!" is a strange utterance. Yeah, we know. He's paid to follow you around, maybe even launch several hopeless overtaking attempts during 50 laps of competition at each event. It's similar to the Mav situation. "I can't believe he just bounced the engine of the rev limiter!". Really? Well, I hope you don't put him in prison when you find out he downshifts the bike and sends the rpm to the moon in every braking zone.
On the other hand, practice and qualifying are not points-scoring affairs, and the notion that Marquez is trying to maintain a competitive edge, when he and his teammate have racked up 50 crashes this season, is a disingenuous claim, imo. Marc is deadwood this year. There is no viable strategic component to his towing behavior, other than making other riders in the paddock uncomfortable and disrupting their sessions. Similarly, there was no strategic advantage to Mav opening the throttle on his way into pit lane, and that's why he was fired from Yamaha.
How does the saying go? Something like: Maximalists benefit others to benefit themselves. Altruists disadvantage themselves to benefit others. Thieves disadvantage others to benefit themselves. Morons disadvantage themselves to disadvantage others. Marc the unrepentant thief is a sexy counter-culture trope to bolster a struggling legend, but if you look at the results dispassionately, rather than through the rose-tinted glasses of a speed-drunk fan, you'll see (imo) that we are much closer to Marc the moron. He's not really poaching undeserved results, he's just causing occasional calamity for himself, and inflicting psychological damage on the paddock. The benefit of this strategy is not manifest in the points log, and could be categorized as mainly illusory, especially if you consider the opportunity costs of seeking a tow, rather than working on setup and bike development.
The rules cannot be selectively applied based upon the perceived risk-reward of the stewards during practice, but Marc has proven this season that risk-it-for-the-biscuit is not the SOP for everyone. A rider might introduce pointless risk to deprive others of the risk-reward benefit they currently enjoy. That strategy should only remain relatively unregulated on race day, and only to protect the riders' ability to take risks. Even on race day the stewards necessarily hand out penalties to prevent sport from devolving into a war of attrition. I don't see any reason to allow towing to persist during practice sessions.
On one hand, towing is not against the current rules, and towing around the track in close proximity is what the riders are paid to do. "He's following me too closely!!" is a strange utterance. Yeah, we know. He's paid to follow you around, maybe even launch several hopeless overtaking attempts during 50 laps of competition at each event. It's similar to the Mav situation. "I can't believe he just bounced the engine of the rev limiter!". Really? Well, I hope you don't put him in prison when you find out he downshifts the bike and sends the rpm to the moon in every braking zone.
On the other hand, practice and qualifying are not points-scoring affairs, and the notion that Marquez is trying to maintain a competitive edge, when he and his teammate have racked up 50 crashes this season, is a disingenuous claim, imo. Marc is deadwood this year. There is no viable strategic component to his towing behavior, other than making other riders in the paddock uncomfortable and disrupting their sessions. Similarly, there was no strategic advantage to Mav opening the throttle on his way into pit lane, and that's why he was fired from Yamaha.
How does the saying go? Something like: Maximalists benefit others to benefit themselves. Altruists disadvantage themselves to benefit others. Thieves disadvantage others to benefit themselves. Morons disadvantage themselves to disadvantage others. Marc the unrepentant thief is a sexy counter-culture trope to bolster a struggling legend, but if you look at the results dispassionately, rather than through the rose-tinted glasses of a speed-drunk fan, you'll see (imo) that we are much closer to Marc the moron. He's not really poaching undeserved results, he's just causing occasional calamity for himself, and inflicting psychological damage on the paddock. The benefit of this strategy is not manifest in the points log, and could be categorized as mainly illusory, especially if you consider the opportunity costs of seeking a tow, rather than working on setup and bike development.
The rules cannot be selectively applied based upon the perceived risk-reward of the stewards during practice, but Marc has proven this season that risk-it-for-the-biscuit is not the SOP for everyone. A rider might introduce pointless risk to deprive others of the risk-reward benefit they currently enjoy. That strategy should only remain relatively unregulated on race day, and only to protect the riders' ability to take risks. Even on race day the stewards necessarily hand out penalties to prevent sport from devolving into a war of attrition. I don't see any reason to allow towing to persist during practice sessions.
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I could see that. I would bet him and his brother come out together every practice.
Off topic a little and maybe a dumb question but....why don't riders do more of this? I know you always want to beat your teammate but I've noticed in WSBK, the Yamaha boys (Toprak and Locatelli) follow each other, particularly in qualifying. They switch up who leads and who follows. Wouldn't it be say, in KTM's best interest to have both Brad and Jack on the first 2 rows of the grid?
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Good point but it's hard to say. I feel some riders prefer a clear track in front of them and some prefer a marker. I think it would come down to personal preference. Stoner as mentioned before liked a clean track with no one in front or behind him.
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Yeah no complaints, but not as consistent as MM needs to do now and recently on the Honda. It will be interesting if we see some of the complainers doing it was my point.
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I've honestly got no issue with him following anyone. It's a good way to get the most out of the machine. Will be interesting to see what tactics are on display at Losail in March which can't come soon enough. Really haven't been a fan of this season and have skipped a lot of races because I don't agree with the aero .....
Actually JPS, I think in the opposite, to me the more changes of all kinds that come along, both during a season and in the off season, the more interested I become in the outcomes. I continue to enjoy MotoGP races (have had the VideoPass for a few years), and I really look forward to both the testing after the Valencia race and the 2024 season.
Bring it !
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Totally agree. I went from hating the sprint races to enjoying them more than the actual race. There is more action and if the race does suck at least it doesn't last as long.
My major fan allegiance these days since Lorenzo retired is to MM, but if he seeks tows just to mess with other riders I can’t defend that. I usually watch qualifying but mostly don’t watch the free practice sessions currently (I do look up the results), along with others not being overly keen on aero bikes and 8 Ducatis with a performance advantage.
I had hitherto thought MM mainly went after tows in the interests of setting a fast lap time, which is important in both FP1 and FP2 given the best lap time in those sessions determines whether a rider is in Q1 or Q2 in qualifying, and one session not infrequently determines same if conditions are different due to temperature/weather, the laying down of rubber, etc.
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