SlowLane

Me too. Rossi should have pitted sooner, but after the race he said that it probably wouldn't have mattered. He said that he didn't have a good feeling from the intermediate tires. I think Dovi pitted at the same time and was able to finish 3rd.

F-C

Amazing call by Marquez. You'd think that after going off the road in the rain, he would be even more cautious. Instead, he comes in for full slicks. That's what makes him a champion I guess.

With all the controversy regarding the radio ban in F1, I think MotoGP perfectly illustrates the benefits of no radios. It causes chaos, which is good if you don't want a predictable race where Mercedes wins every week. I think it's a shame that F1 rescinded the radio restrictions.

F-C

Finally, some racing this week. Red Bull Ring should be a good challenge for MotoGP.

F-C

I cannot lie. I fell asleep watching this race.

knight rider

iTrader: (1)

So did I, around lap 20. I woke up for the last 4-5 laps though. It wasn't even a fair fight. Just goes to show you how fast the Ducs are in a straight line.

F-C

I recorded the race and watched it pretty late on Sunday. I watched the first few laps and then dozed off. Then I woke up mid race and nothing changed, and I think I convinced myself to have another shut eye. Then I woke up for the last few laps and noticed that still nothing changed.

SlowLane

You weren't excited about Ducati winning their first race since 2010? I like that track. Too bad the race was boring. Made me miss the days when Marquez wouldn't settle for anything but 1st place.

F-C

Considering that Marquez dislocated his shoulder prior to the race, I think I'll let him off easy this time.

Legend2TL

Damn FiOS coverage coincided with Olympic coverage so our TiVo missed it, sounded like a boring race but nice to see the Duc's back on the top podium.

F-C

Great race in changing conditions at Brno. Always exciting to see an underdog win.

Wow, what a mess up from Lorenzo resulting yet another disaster this year. Certainly looks like it's Marquez's year.

knight rider

iTrader: (1)

I agree. What an amazing race. Even though Marquez didn't win, I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of this race. One of the better one's this year.

SlowLane

Did anyone see Iannone's front tire after the race? The center of the tire was missing the top inch or two of tread. I am surprised he was able to finish the race.

That is the reason why Lorenzo had to pit the first time. His front tire was losing chunks of rubber. His pit crew realized what was wrong and replaced the front tire on his "wet" bike prior to the 2nd pit stop. Michelin said that the soft compound wet tires were never meant to last on a drying track.

Hard to believe that Marquez has already tied Lorenzo and Rossi with 63 pole positions.

TrackDayRdr

Marquez is supernatural. A non-whine ass, smiley Casey Stoner without the phantom excuses...illnesses...I meant phantom illnesses. Still not my favorite racer though. If only Sic was alive. I don't think he would have held Marquez off, but his personality and fierce track face are notably absent from today's field of riders.

F-C

Yeah, I heard that during the race, too. Hard to believe. Do they mean all grands prix, including Moto2, Moto3, 250cc, 125cc??? I don't think Marquez has been in MotoGP long enough to get 60+ poles just in MotoGP.

knight rider

iTrader: (1)

Valentino Rossi admits Marc Marquez has 2016 MotoGP title in sight

Source: Valentino Rossi admits Marc Marquez has 2016 MotoGP title in sight - MotoGP - Autosport

Valentino Rossi believes he now cannot beat Marc Marquez to the 2016 MotoGP championship, though his Yamaha team-mate Jorge Lorenzo still holds hope.
Marquez has led the championship since Barcelona in June and increased his lead again at Brno on Sunday even though he finished third, one place behind Rossi.
The Spaniard - who is targeting at least two more race wins this year - is now a season-high 53-points clear of Rossi with seven races to go, Rossi having moved ahead of Lorenzo, who was a lapped 17th after tyre issues in the Czech Grand Prix.
When asked if he had enough races left to catch Marquez and win his first MotoGP crown since 2009, Rossi said: "No - because of too many mistakes, being a little bit unlucky and I'm too far [behind].
"And also Marquez this year is not only fast in all of the conditions but he makes always the right choices."
"So it's very difficult to close the 53 points."
"We can be strong and we won't give up to the end, but I think it's very difficult."
Rossi suggested his focus was more on securing second in the points and winning one last intra-team battle with Lorenzo before the Spaniard moves to Ducati in 2017.
"The fight with Lorenzo for second place is very open," he added.
"It is very important to gain these points and stay in front, but at the same time Lorenzo is very strong, very fast."
"So already from Silverstone, he will try to win, so I think we have to try to fight with him to the end."
When Rossi's remarks were relayed to Lorenzo, he said: "I want to be champion.
"I have finished a lot of time in second place, and I'm very proud to stay - in the last seven, eight years - first or second [in the championship] and third in 2014.
"I don't think about the championship, just think about riding at my best and getting the best result I can and then after the race we see the standings and you see how we are.
"I really just think to win as much as possible."

F-C

Don't know how you can "save" for next year.
It's going to be a whole new ballgame next year, especially with Lorenzo on the Ducati.

knight rider

iTrader: (1)

I think he's being realistic, but will still race to win. Who knows? Marquez could have mechanical problems or crash out before the end of the season. Not likely the way he's riding (smarter) now, but possible. I think that is what Rossi is hoping for. But yeah, Lorenzo is going to do amazing things on that Duc next year. And let's not forget about Vinales on the factory Yamaha... I love MotoGP.

SlowLane

Yes, that is total pole positions across the 3 classes. Marquez was a monster in his last year of 125 cc and two seasons in Moto 2. He had 28 poles across the lower classes, compared to 26 for Lorenzo, and 10 for Rossi.

If you only count Moto GP, Rossi has 53 poles, Lorenzo has 37, and Marquez has 35.

Counting the last race in Brno, Marquez has started 65 races in Moto GP. That means he's been on pole more than 50% of the time.

F-C

Those are some crazy stats. All three of them are aliens.

SlowLane

Definitely. Lorenzo and Marquez have a long way to go to catch Rossi. Rossi has 88 victories in the 500 cc/Moto GP class. Lorenzo has 43 and Marquez has 27. Pedrosa has 28.

F-C

I've only been watching since 93, but to me, the greatest riders in this era are Doohan, Rossi, Stoner, and Marquez.

I think part of why Doohan was so dominant was because of some lack of competition. But hard to argue against 5 straight championships.
Rossi is Rossi.
Stoner was able to win in inferior bikes. If not for illness and his machines, he should have more championships.
Marquez is simply incredible.

I feel that Lorenzo is just a step behind these four. Still an alien, but not quiet a legend.

Legend2TL

I agree with a minor exception that perhaps Stoner is a little behind the other three.

The amazing thing about Marquez is in his first MotoGP year, he
a) won championship
b) won 6 races
c) on the podium for all other races except for one DNF and one DSQ
d) he had incredible competition with Lorenzo, Rossi, and Pedrosa

Even Rossi only got 2nd place in his first season standing (with the older 500cc 2 strokes) with two wins.
This is the one area that Rossi sorta shares with Doohan, two incredible talented riders but also had relatively weaker competition when they were winning multiple championships years in a row than Lorenzo and Marquez had since they started.
Rossi beat Lorenzo in 2008 and 2009, his first two years in MotoGP but then Lorenzo took the championship in 2010 (Rossi was sidelined with a broken leg, but Lorenzo was already beating him the races before that) and beat him again last year.

F-C

The reason why I have Stoner in my top four is because nothing came easy for him but he still won. He entered MotoGP on a satellite team. Rossi came into 500cc on a de facto factory bike from Honda. Marquez joined the Honda factory team. Lorenzo joined the factory Yamaha. Then Stoner went to Ducati and won races and championships that no one else could, including Rossi.

SlowLane

Interesting article about the Honda engines used in Moto 2.

Building Moto2 Honda CBR Race Bike Engines | Take a Behind-the-Scenes Look...

Any Honda Racing fans? I’m a big sucker for what goes on behind-the-scenes when it comes to motorcycle / sport bike racing whether it be Moto2 like we’re going to be talking about today and of course the usuals with MotoGP, World SuperBike etc. The things that these companies have to do to show up on race-day and actually race are amazing! There’s so much that goes on behind closed doors that none of us will ever get a chance to see and that’s what today’s blog post is about. We’re going to dive into the Moto2 race series, a race series that is the breeding-ground for the likes of MotoGP etc. Every team that races Moto2 uses the same engine, a Honda CBR600RR engine. Of course this little gem of an engine gets worked over and that’s what we’ll be learning a little more about today with what goes on over at ExternPro who takes care of the CBR engines for Moto2…

Edward'TLS

This is a given, considering that age-wise, Rossi is an "old man" when compared to Marquez.

SlowLane

Where did that performance come from? Pedrosa hasn't looked that strong in a long time. He made out-racing the other 3 aliens look easy. Marquez should thank him for beating for Rossi. Great win for Dani.

knight rider

iTrader: (1)

Ditto. The Hondas are much better on tighter tracks than the Yamahas. Misano certainly favored the Hondas. That being said, if Maquez would have choosen the right tire setup him and Dani could have done a double podium. BTW I love how competitive it is this year.

TrackDayRdr

Just goes to show what difference a good tire choice makes.

Go fast and take chances!

F-C

When was the last time 8 different riders won in a single season? Maybe never? Sure, some were due to changing conditions, but it's still incredible how competitive the year has been. Standard ECU? Tires?

Legend2TL

It's been a inconsistent year for Dani so yeah that was a good win for him.

Just starting watching the race and the announcers mentioned the tire combo at the start that Pedrosa had. He was one of two who choose that IIRC.

, yeah it's good to see a tighter field and better racing. Nice to see some secondary teams on the top podium.

F-C

Marquez was on rails at Aragon. It's hard to see him losing the championship now.

TrackDayRdr

Rails? Understatement! As much as he doesn't appeal to me (and I don't have a good reason why), I have to admit that he is simply amazing. That front end slide that he saved? Awesome! Maybe the new GOAT.

I keep holding out hope for Rossi (still my favorite racer), but it's hard to cheer him on today because of what he was yesterday. Getting passed by Lorenzo so late in the race then left behind is a pretty damn good representation of where his career is at this point. He's superb at his own right, but surpassed by simply amazing younger racers.

Is anyone else excited to see what Maverick V is going to do next year?

F-C

Too bad Maverick is leaving Suzuki. It would've been great if there was a battle between all the factories. Now I have a feeling that Suzuki won't be that competitive next year.

TrackDayRdr

I wish we had someone with Simoncelli's personality and Marquez's riding style and aggression.

SlowLane

Don't lose hope. Alex Rins finished 2nd overall in Moto 2 as a rookie last year. He is currently in 2nd this year, but only 1 point behind the leader. He could be as competitive as Vinales in a season or two. I am not sure what to expect from Iannone when he moves to Suzuki next year.

F-C

:gold: Marquez

Bizarre race. What's the likelihood of both Yamaha riders falling off their bikes by themselves?

TrackDayRdr

It's interesting that when Rossi was winning other racers were copying his style, most notably with the swing out of the inside leg coming into a turn. Yesterday the leg seemed to be more exaggerated than normal, but for the most part, he was the only one waving that flag.

Time for Rossi to retire.

SlowLane

It was a tough weekend. Pedrosa had a huge high side crash in free practice 2. He may be done for the season. Then Lorenzo had a really bad high side crash in free practice 3. He was limping heavily.

Great race for Marquez.

Legend2TL

Pretty amazing Marquez has won 3 championships in his first 4 years of MotoGP, and with such competitive riders as Lorenzo and Rossi.
At this rate, as long as he avoids injury he'll surpass Rossi's 7 championships.

Pedrossa broke his collar bone in 4 places


Honda MotoGP rider Dani Pedrosa has surgery after Motegi crash - MotoGP - Autosport

F-C

I noticed that too. Seemed like Rossi was doing that just as a blocking move.

He might be getting old, but he's still ahead of Lorenzo.