2024 MotoGP Discussion Thread (No Links - May Contain Spoilers

fmp said:
What a wild sprint! If all races were like that Liberty stock would reach the moon.
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Not so much of a fan of half the field crashing out, but yeah.... it would sell tickets.

Some crazy passes and more aggression than I have seen in awhile.
 
And Damn… FFS…

The Hard Drive I stored all my motoGP/WSBK races from 2015 decided to crap out. And. The drive was only 3 months old. Sigh.
 
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Aleix Espargaro announced today that he's retiring at the end of the season. For a guy who bounced around the paddock for many years, he was a heck of a survivor, and eventually found a home with Aprilia that gave him some real palmares to wrap up his career. Always wore his heart on his sleeve, and was certainly easy to cheer for. I think this may be only the second season of his career that he's likely to finish behind his teammate, which says a lot.

Opens up some real silly season possibilities, too, with the Ducati game of musical chairs likely to spill over onto Aprilia. If it's not Martin, it'll be Bezzechi, or maybe even both if Viñales doesn't re-sign. My guess is Maverick stays for continuity, and the best Ducati rider who doesn't end up in red moves to Aprilia. Have a feeling R Fernandez doesn't come back for Trackhouse unless he finds some top-5 finishes, so there will be an opening there, too.
 
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No spoilers, but I wonder when they're going to reevaluate the safety of the "misano curbs". The leader of the Moto3 race nearly high-sided himself on them today. A lap or two later someone did high-side on them and chucked both himself and his bike back onto the racing line, where he was promptly run over by the guy behind him. Red flag, race restart.
 
I got suckered into some of today's headlines and thought MM93 had signed with factory Ducati, but there's nothing from official sources yet
 
I think the odds of MM to the factory Duc just got way, way shorter. With Acosta going through the formality of signing with KTM, unless Ducati is very much in love with Bastianini or Bezzechi, this has to mean Marc in red next year.

Would be an interesting choice, and could be a bit of a gamble pissing off Bagnaia, especially if Marc has another big crash or other health problem. I thought they'd try to keep Marc on a satellite bike or let him go to KTM (the only other factory who could afford him) rather than piss off more kids, but I guess his sponsorship value is just too high.

Either way, Aprilia has to be happy, as Martin is an obvious step up from Bezzechi based on past performance, and it increases the odds of Aleix staying on as a development rider. The announcement video was hilarious, too ..
 
Aleix is going to Honda to be a test rider.


Agree with everyone, MM93 to factory Ducati for sure. Even if they only get a couple more good years out of an aging superstar, the marketing benefits alone are worth whatever they need to pay him.

And yes Pecco will be p1ssed at not being the Golden Child any more.

I don't think Martin will do well at Apriilia that first year, but at least he will be the number 1 rider there and they'll develop the bike around him instead of him always having to ride Pecco's bike.

2027 with the new bikes will be quite an interesting year.
 
Lightcycle said:
Aleix is going to Honda to be a test rider.

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Probably, but Martin was going to Lenovo Ducati until he wasn't. Until it's signed and announced, you never know.

Still, with Honda in as deep a quagmire as they are, I could see them paying Aleix big bucks to try and save their project.

Lightcycle said:
Agree with everyone, MM93 to factory Ducati for sure. Even if they only get a couple more good years out of an aging superstar, the marketing benefits alone are worth whatever they need to pay him.
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Good for Lenovo, but the benefits for Ducati are more limited. They already dominate the series, are the best selling sports bike brand, and have a stable of quality riders. The best case scenario is they win a title with MM, which they were going to do with Bagnaia or Martin anyway. Add that MM is deeply unpopular in Italy, partly because of the Rossi feud, partly because they see him as unsportsmanlike, and there is also a cost at home. And if they don't win with Marc, or even worse, he and Pecco split points to allow someone like Acosta or Martin (or both) to come up the middle, the cost could be high.

Lightcycle said:
I don't think Martin will do well at Apriilia that first year, but at least he will be the number 1 rider there and they'll develop the bike around him instead of him always having to ride Pecco's bike.
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He's built very differently to Aleix, short and stocky rather than long and lanky. But if Aprilia has shown anything, it's that when they commit to a rider, they really commit.

Lightcycle said:
2027 with the new bikes will be quite an interesting year.
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Biggest question will be whether it brings the Japanese brands back to the podium...
 
Marc is a win purely from the marketing perspective. Martin is the better rider at the moment. He already knows the Ducati bike well. It could go either way between him and Peco who wins over the next few years. Marc is on his last legs. Hes still a top rider but doesnt have the same time left in him as Martin.
I think this is going to turn into another gong show at Ducati between Peco and Marc on the same team. Wait and see what starts to happen when typical Marc shows up and starts to take them both out the races when they are both fighting for position.
 
Enia Bastianini to KTM as well!!!
 
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Winales_2017 said:
Argentina was unfortunate, but the hyperinflation there is insane and makes total sense from a fiscal standpoint.
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Speaking of Argentina, for a funny story look up Roger Lane-Nott. He was F1 Race Director and Safety Delegate for one year in 1996. He was sent to Buenos Aires to inspect the Galves track. Upon his arrival, his hosts asked if he had ever seen Buenos Aires before? He answered: "Only through a periscope".

I laughed like phvck when I read that in Motorsport Magazine! FYI, in 1982 I was scared gormless I'd get a suggestive letter from Her Majesty.
 
The postponement of the Kazakhstan GP left a big hole in the calendar that I'm filling with FIM JuniorGP. They live-stream and post their entire set of races on YouTube.

The 'Misano' curbs continue to interact poorly with the narrow tires of the little bikes. The highsides from stepping off the curb are typically throwing the riders back onto the racing line, which is a disaster waiting to happen. There's slow-mo replay of yet another highside from Portimao today (at timestamp 3hr 21 minutes):
 
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