2023 MotoGP Discussion (No Links - Contains Spoilers!) | Page 2 | GTAMotorcycle.com

2023 MotoGP Discussion (No Links - Contains Spoilers!)

I think Dorna has kind of put itself in a rules trap.

Ducati has excelled at the aero and squatting, which has given them the competitive advantage.
When it was more about chassis and engine, it was Honda and Yamaha that excelled.

Ducati will not want to give up their competitive advantage, especially when it then overindexes into the strengths of the competitors.

The 5 Yes - 1 No rule allows any manufacturer to veto changes. If Dorna bullies changes through, they will piss off at least one manufacturer, potentially to the point of dropping support or withdrawing. Manufacturers are all self-serving. They generally don't have a particular care for the greater good.
 
It is interesting to wonder how the bikes would evolve without any restrictions at all, but it's also reasonable to expect that the racing would end up being one manufacturer dominating for a decade or two and everyone else dropping out and the series dying from lack of audience interest.

I too would like to see what could be done if some of the existing technical prohibitions were removed in the context of managing the tire temp/pressure, specifically to promote close racing:
  • The prohibition on movable aero pieces prevents any kind of ductwork that can be opened or closed during a race to channel airflow to the tire. Would it make a big difference? Maybe not, but it would be super cheap to try.
  • The prohibition against on-the-fly tire inflation/deflation systems means that you can be circling around in 14th if you get the pressure on the grid wrong by 1psi, or that you can't attack for the lead if you end up stuck behind someone for a couple of laps. ATIS is a technology that already exists for transport truck tires
 
Ok... i don't feel like working yet, so here is my rider "power rankings" for 2023. If I were starting a team, here is who I would want on my team.

Tier 1 - Proven Championship Level
Bagnaia - Defending champ
Quartararo - Fast rider on a slower bike

Tier 2 - Potential Championship Level
Bastianini - could easily be a championship fighter, but he's not been tested with factory team pressure
Martin - Enigmatic rider but he is fast. He definitely be a championship contender.
Mir - I know he's won a championship, but he's only really had one win. Is it him or the bike?
Marquez - Hard to tell what his level is right now. Bike is dogshit and he's had serious injuries the last 3 years.

Tier 3 - Race Win Level
Binder - Fast rider on a slower bike
Rins - Fast rider that has wins.
Miller - He wins races, but he's not a championship threat. He's had the best bike and has found ways not to win
Oliveira - Another enigmatic rider that can be fast. He's won races.
A. Espargaro - Last year, he proved he belongs in this tier.

Tier 4 - Potential Race Win and Podium Level
Zarco - Still hasn't won a race. He's a solid rider though good for podiums.
Marini - He will be a podium contender. I know it's testing, but his testing pace shows he can run at front. He might still be Tier 5 though.
Vinales - I am not sure where to put him. He has won, but after his Yamaha meltdown, he's not been the same.
Morbidelli - I am biased here - he has shown to be a Tier 5 rider the last few seasons.
R.Fernandez - I am basing this primarily on his Moto2 form. His first season was a disaster, but Tech3's bikes tend to destroy riders.
Bezzechi - Shown enough speed to show he can fight for podiums
A.Marquez - Also basing this on his history. He is a Moto2 and Moto3 champion, and showed good results in that one season with the Factory team. The LCR bike/team has been purgatory for him.

Tier 5 - Potential Podium Level
Nakagami - you know what you get with him
A.Fernandez - I don't think his Moto2 career was remarkable. He's only won when there was a mass exodus of talent in Moto2 the last few years.
P.Espargaro - you know what you get with him - but he's still a good rider that can be a solid podium contender with the right equipment (I don't think "GasGas" is going to do it.)
DiGiannantonio - another rider with an unremarkable Moto2 and Moto3 career.
 
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Chaos said:
Tier 4 - Potential Race Win and Podium Level
Zarco - Still hasn't won a race. He's a solid rider though good for podiums.
Click to expand...
Surprised that he hasn't won one yet. He always seems to get so close. My wife and I would always joke on the last flying lap of qualifying that it would be Zarco again, and the number of times he ended up popping up near the top was quite funny. Hope he gets a win this season.

Chaos said:
Vinales - I am not sure where to put him. He has won, but after his Yamaha meltdown, he's not been the same.
Click to expand...
Tough one for sure.
 
Lightcycle said:
www.crash.net

Revealed: Bagnaia made suspicious comment about Bastianini

Francesco Bagnaia questioned Enea Bastianini’s loyalty in a moment of anger last season, new footage has revealed.
www.crash.net www.crash.net

Prediction: The factory Ducati paddock will be the biggest source of on and off-track drama this coming season.
Click to expand...

This is something that low level bothers me about racing. In its purest form, racing every man for himself, but the idea of teammates in racing would be so bizarre if it weren't so normalized. Even worse, in the case of motogp, you have a case where it's not only teammates, but everyone on the same bike to some degree are now teammates - another bizarre situation normalized in motogp. In the case of Ducati, you have a situation where over 1/3 are now "teammates".

You then get these weird scenarios where riders feel entitled to win and/or demand "loyalty" aka be a pushover from their peers. Just bizarre.
 
Chaos said:
This is something that low level bothers me about racing. In its purest form, racing every man for himself, but the idea of teammates in racing would be so bizarre if it weren't so normalized. Even worse, in the case of motogp, you have a case where it's not only teammates, but everyone on the same bike to some degree are now teammates - another bizarre situation normalized in motogp. In the case of Ducati, you have a situation where over 1/3 are now "teammates".

You then get these weird scenarios where riders feel entitled to win and/or demand "loyalty" aka be a pushover from their peers. Just bizarre.
Click to expand...

I don't think it's normalized. In every race, 2 wheels or 4, I keep hearing the commentators say, "The first person you have to beat is your team mate". Guys like Miller are a rarity in the sport.

And in the case of Ducati, their incentive program from the factory where you get paid for podiums and race wins is actually conducive to "every man for himself", despite what the grey-hairs with the red shirts in the paddock say when they cross over to the other side of the garage to have harsh words with errant racers.

At the end of the day, if Ducati really wanted to enforce team orders, they would change the individual race win incentives to team wins or scrap the Euros-for-Podiums program entirely.
 
Was browsing Spanish Youtube and stumbled upon Aleix’s vlog - such a nice guy! His last episode about his garage and all the toys, memorabilia collection - wow!
And it’s so cute his little one invited all to the first race of the season at the end :)

Check it out here:
 
P1 (no longer FP1, apparently) in the books. The season has officially kicked off.

Alex Marquez leads over a surprise showing by Mir, though the session started damp, so the usual suspects will likely have been taking it easy on their time attacks. Expect the order to reshuffle later today. With the sprint races, though, every practice has taken on much larger importance.
 
Reshuffle it did. KTM nowhere this year and nowhere in P2 today until Miller blitzed a fast lap out of nowhere.

Most worrying news is Pol had kind of a nothing crash but got tangled with his bike while tumbling through the gravel and had to be airlifted to hospital with 'back and chest injuries', though he is apparently conscious. The session was red flagged and it took a long time to get him into the ambulance, praying there's no permanent damage...
 
i guess it just goes to show you can't trust pre-season testing, myself included.

The sprint race should be interesting tomorrow.
 
Rev TV has the race listed on Saturday @10:30 am and Sunday@ 9:00 am

Ok just checked schedule so heat race on Saturday. (New for 2023)

Race on Sunday.

REV is great value ($4) for the casual MotoGP fan.

WSBK and tons of other racing including IMSA
 
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Crazy qualifying today. 5 riders absolutely smashing last year's all time lap record...

For anyone with a VPN (set to Austria) you can watch the sprint race at 11am today - ServusTV.
 
I know I sound like a grumpy old man, but I'm still very not sold on this format. We're going to see a lot more injuries this year, with Bastianini already losing a minimum two rounds (and four races!) to a broken collarbone in an incident that he had zero control over. A number of other incidents could have been equally costly.

Aleix described it like a gladiatorial arena, and I can't disagree. The chaos can be exciting, but if the cost is a big jump in crashes and injuries, what are we actually watching for? Sure it's less predictable, but it's also not necessarily going to be a true measure of who's best...

As for the actual race, Marquez there partly because he continues to get away with wheelsucking in QP, Aprilia looking like they have a solid package, Yamaha in trouble, but it's still very much looking like Ducati (and Bagnaia) are in control...
 
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