2021 MotoGP Discussion (No Links - Contains Spoilers!)

2022 entry lists were released a few days ago, full list here:

2022 provisional entry lists announced

No real surprises, though I did miss the official announcements about DiGi and Bezzecchi, though both have been all but official for ages. The only thing of note is Rossi's team is just called VR46, not Aramco VR46, so time will tell how that plays out.

Have to feel for Honda (who knew?) with both their factory riders out for a critical test at Jerez at the end of the week. Bradl will have a lot of work to do...

Brian P said:
There is plenty of talent in the field to keep MotoGP interesting ... look how close the lap times were. There are plenty of good personalities, too. And Rossi is still going to stay connected somehow, even if he's not on the grid. It will be fine.

World Superbike had a great season, too. They've got one more round to go ... and Toprak/Yamaha has the edge! No cakewalk for Jonathan Rae this year.

I find it hard to play favourites. They are all great riders.
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It's weird, but I like all the riders from this year, which has rarely been the case in the past. This is probably the product of much more carefully stage managed public personas, but guys like Bagnaia and Quartararo seem to both be genuinely nice kids. Marquez is the closest there was to a villain for most, particularly with his wheel-sucking QP shenanigans, but having the supernaturally talented rider (literally) come crashing down to earth has definitely humanised him.

For 2022, Darryn Binder and Remy Gardner are less likeable for different reasons, the former for on-track carelessness, the latter for old-school prickliness with journalists...
 
Priller said:
2022 entry lists were released a few days ago, full list here:

2022 provisional entry lists announced

No real surprises, though I did miss the official announcements about DiGi and Bezzecchi, though both have been all but official for ages. The only thing of note is Rossi's team is just called VR46, not Aramco VR46, so time will tell how that plays out.

Have to feel for Honda (who knew?) with both their factory riders out for a critical test at Jerez at the end of the week. Bradl will have a lot of work to do...



It's weird, but I like all the riders from this year, which has rarely been the case in the past. This is probably the product of much more carefully stage managed public personas, but guys like Bagnaia and Quartararo seem to both be genuinely nice kids. Marquez is the closest there was to a villain for most, particularly with his wheel-sucking QP shenanigans, but having the supernaturally talented rider (literally) come crashing down to earth has definitely humanised him.

For 2022, Darryn Binder and Remy Gardner are less likeable for different reasons, the former for on-track carelessness, the latter for old-school prickliness with journalists...
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Diggia was announced several months ago - well, it wasn't really announced insofar that he already had a contract with Gresini. I admittedly am not high on him - I don't expect much. Bezzechi was announced this weekend but I suspect they did not make a big deal out of it because the next natural question to ask is about Aramco, and I don't think they want to talk about it. It's the only logical reason why someone like VR46 wouldn't make a big deal about launching their own team.

Re: Honda. I am not sure if AMarquez and/or Nakagami have factory contracts, but they are the best possible candidates besides Bradl to test, so you might as well use what you got.

I hate to sound harsh, but I really don't expect much from the new crop of Moto2 riders in MotoGP except Raul Fernandez - he is getting quite a bit of adulation about his prospects. Apparently Yamaha and Honda are eyeballing him now. So I don't think we will see or hear much about Binder (unless he goes kamakaze) or Gardner.


Other random thoughts:

3 current/former VR46 Academy riders are leaving/losing their seats: Baldasarri, Bulega and Manzi.

Fenati has moved back up to Moto2 after his previous antics banished him back to Moto3.

The moto2 field is not very deep. If Acosta is as good as he is touted to be, he should be a contender next year. He's joining the best team to boot. Maybe Augusto Fernandez or Canet will give him a run. My darkhorse is Tony Arbolino.

Logic now suggests that Foggia is the odds on favourite to win in Moto3, but Guevara and Garcia will contend too. I don't see any other riders that will make that jump.
 
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sempre1 said:
Last show down in WSBK this weekend i can't wait!! I'm hoping for Toprak to win the title this year;-)
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Srsly!

I've watched Toprak throughout most of his career and I've seen his progression first with the Kawis and now with the Yamaha. He has come a long ways and based on his performance this year, he truly deserves the championship. Especially considering all the mechanical DNFs he's suffered and being taken out by other riders. He should have clinched the title weeks ago, but it's come down to the last race weekend through no fault of his own.

This coming from a huge JRea fan.

Go Stoprak!

stoprak.jpg
 
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Lightcycle said:
I heard Aramco would only sponsor VR46 if Rossi was riding one of the bikes. Obviously, that is not happening.
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Nobody knows for sure, or at least none of the journos who would tell are in the loop. They were pressuring him to return, and he admitted as much, but it's also caught up in the murky world of Saudi royal politics. They also just bought Newcastle in the Premier League, so may be shifting priorities.

The bit that's confusing people is that if the Saudis aren't sponsoring the team, why haven't they announced anything or announced another sponsor? When asked, the VR46 reps either avoided the question or implied that things are proceeding as planned. Rossi won't talk about it at all...
 
Priller said:
Nobody knows for sure, or at least none of the journos who would tell are in the loop. They were pressuring him to return, and he admitted as much, but it's also caught up in the murky world of Saudi royal politics. They also just bought Newcastle in the Premier League, so may be shifting priorities.

The bit that's confusing people is that if the Saudis aren't sponsoring the team, why haven't they announced anything or announced another sponsor? When asked, the VR46 reps either avoided the question or implied that things are proceeding as planned. Rossi won't talk about it at all...
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Was it ever stated why Sky is leaving the team?
 
Chaos said:
Was it ever stated why Sky is leaving the team?
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No idea, though it may have been reported on one of the Italian racing websites like GP-One. Maybe they're sticking with Aprilia or following Gresini? Of the three choices, you'd think VR46 would be the most appealing by far for an Italian media company.

There were rumours WithU would move to VR46, but not long after they were announced with the RNF Yamaha team.
 
sempre1 said:
Last show down in WSBK this weekend i can't wait!! I'm hoping for Toprak to win the title this year;-)
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Mother Nature helping to keep the suspense going. I’m pulling for Toprak to win as well. Been a great Wsbk year.
 
I'm pulling an all-nighter to watch WorldSBK live. Judging by the local weather forecast, it seems likely that race 1 will be a rain race. That'll shake things up. Stoprak so far has been better in the dry, but JR historically has been good in the rain.
 
Brian P said:
I'm pulling an all-nighter to watch WorldSBK live. Judging by the local weather forecast, it seems likely that race 1 will be a rain race. That'll shake things up. Stoprak so far has been better in the dry, but JR historically has been good in the rain.
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Hopefully they get through all the races. I was disappointed they didn’t race on Day 1. Will be PVRing the Eurosport 2 feed. Enjoy the all-nighter Brian .


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Brian P said:
I'm pulling an all-nighter to watch WorldSBK live. Judging by the local weather forecast, it seems likely that race 1 will be a rain race. That'll shake things up. Stoprak so far has been better in the dry, but JR historically has been good in the rain.
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@Brian P I can't find this on my program guide.....can you share what channel this will be on?
 
I'll be watching race1 @10pm, race2 is at 2am hmm i don't think i'll be up till 3am.
I have motogp and wsbk passes so i can watch race2 tmrw morning.;-)
Let's go Toprak!!
 
Mike Leitner out at KTM apparently:

KTM set to axe MotoGP team boss Leitner - The Race

To be replaced by Francesco Guidotti of Pramac, if the story is true.

Not a huge surprise, considering their regression this year, but still a big change. Wonder if Pedrosa will also be a casualty, and it may signal intent from KTM to move on from trying to copy the Honda engineering philosophy...
 
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