Moto GP 2024

[Zarco]

FourWheelDrift said:

Zarco said:

You never know. It's COTA next which is another odd track where the rider can really make a difference.

Cheeky £10 on Zarco on the Honda?

Nah, I don't rate him that much

Its MM/Rins that I'd go with if I was a betting man.

[FourWheelDrift]

I was thinking what Rins did on the LCR Honda last year and this years bike is supposed to be better. Unless the bad bit that made it work at Cota has been removed

[hiccy18]

I think a top 10 for Honda would be pretty momentus.

[HybridTheory]

When the camera pans to the KTM paddock and two of the three at the front are in a wheelchair makes you think

[Zarco]

FourWheelDrift said:

I was thinking what Rins did on the LCR Honda last year and this years bike is supposed to be better. Unless the bad bit that made it work at Cota has been removed

I doubt it. It's was Rins that did that, not LCR Honda.

He's the only one to take it to MM in a straight fight at COTA that I can remember. Nearly beat him on a Suzuki IIRC.

[wc98]

Hungrymc said:

I’m surprised a few are on the fence over Pedro.
He’s only 19, and very few can / have manhandled a Motogp bike for an entire race the way he did yesterday. It was an exceptional ride.

I’ve spent the last few years thinking Toprak is the most exciting rider we get to see. Marc will most likely get back to that level of crazy bike control as he settles on the Ducati (maybe he’s already there)… but Acosta is only a kid and is very special.

Spot on, my only worry is he spanners himself before he reaches his peak, if it wasn't for him in recent years i wouldn't have watched much racing at all. He really was dragging that bike round the track and the fact he was so far in front of what it was doing allowed him to sort it out when it went over it's physical limit on a fair few occasions. An absolute joy to watch and anyone worried about boring dominance in the future should really be thinking how boring multiple years of Pecco being champ would have been
I haven't said anything about him being champ but to me it's been about being best of a less than stellar bunch the last few years, although we have been spoiled over the years so the standard to match is high. The last few years have been KRJR style champions for me, even though Pecco won it twice.

Marquez is past his peak and is carrying physical damage that will never heal, probably only 80% of the rider he was for me. I still think he will win handily at COTA now he has his eye in on the new to him bike at race pace, will be a brave man that bets against him there.

[Johno]

Acosta makes me reflect on how st the current rules for MotoGP are and what it's doing to the races.

His performance was outstanding, he is approaching it without the constraints of the other front runners, he's operating to a different set of norms, he is unconstrained by the experiences of the last few seasons. He's taking it as he finds it and pushing the absolute envelope.

What do I mean. He has outrageous talent, is brave, smart and doesn't appear to give much credit to the issues around front tyre life or rear tyre life. Portimao favoured this a bit, Qatar didn't. Other track will vary.

If it wasn't for Marquez and Acosta, think how intensely dull that GP would have been. Once the first 3-4 laps were done it was another snooze fest, follow the leader, wonder if they're saving their tyres etc etc .... However, throw in Marquez and Acosta and we've been treated to another race where an individuals approach is making the spectacle.

In summary, we need more of the individual riders approach and skills on display and less of the engineer determined racing. I know it's been said thousands of times already, we so need to ditch the ride height, holeshot blah blah bullst. Aero is here to stay, but needs reigning in a lot and let the riders ride.

Well done Canet, finally. I don't think any dams are bursting there though.

[wc98]

Johno said:

Acosta makes me reflect on how st the current rules for MotoGP are and what it's doing to the races.

His performance was outstanding, he is approaching it without the constraints of the other front runners, he's operating to a different set of norms, he is unconstrained by the experiences of the last few seasons. He's taking it as he finds it and pushing the absolute envelope.

What do I mean. He has outrageous talent, is brave, smart and doesn't appear to give much credit to the issues around front tyre life or rear tyre life. Portimao favoured this a bit, Qatar didn't. Other track will vary.

If it wasn't for Marquez and Acosta, think how intensely dull that GP would have been. Once the first 3-4 laps were done it was another snooze fest, follow the leader, wonder if they're saving their tyres etc etc .... However, throw in Marquez and Acosta and we've been treated to another race where an individuals approach is making the spectacle.

In summary, we need more of the individual riders approach and skills on display and less of the engineer determined racing. I know it's been said thousands of times already, we so need to ditch the ride height, holeshot blah blah bullst. Aero is here to stay, but needs reigning in a lot and let the riders ride.

Well done Canet, finally. I don't think any dams are bursting there though.

As great a rider as Pecco is, his attitude is more akin to the corporate drone ste you see in F1. I want to see lunatics with their arse on fire that look like they don't care if they exit every corner they enter.

[daniel-5zjw7]

Yea very pleased for Canet, although I don't particularly favour him over other Moto2 riders, having watched him for all these years I've been hoping he can get a win for a long time now! Here's hoping he can repeat it a few more times this year.

Gutted for Vinales, I know mechanicals happen but that late in the race after the job he'd been doing, feels like that podium was stole from him. If he'd got that second he'd have been third in the championship, instead he's down to 8th. Plenty of time to recover of course but thats got to hurt.

[rallycross]

Really enjoyed watching this live
Two great races
MM back in the lead pack is good to see
Also good to see Vinales back at the front
And the new guy moto 2 champion giving us all some excitement.

[Far Cough]

The latest rumour is that Quatararo is talking with Aprillia - Will he leave Yamaha finally ?

.......and on the subject of next years Ducati factory team , who is going to lose their ride as there are some serious names linked to the red bike so far , the latest being Fermin Aldegeur.

So far we have Marc Marquez , Jorge Martin , Fermin Aldegeur , Pedro Acosta and the 2 incumbents Bagnia and Beast - They cant all be in red !!!

[FourWheelDrift]

Far Cough said:

So far we have Marc Marquez , Jorge Martin , Fermin Aldegeur , Pedro Acosta and the 2 incumbents Bagnia and Beast - They cant all be in red !!!

Aldegeur will go to Pramac. Martin will leave Ducati if he doesn't win the title, if Fabio goes to Aprilia Martin might take the money at Yamaha. Acosta is handcuffed at KTM

[Chipchap]

On the "Red Bikes" Pecco has a new contract that assures him of a seat on the "Red Bike". As mentioned above there are many contenders for the second red bike.

I predict 2025 as folows:-

2025 Factory bikes in Red for Pecco and Enea

2025 Factory bikes at Pramac for Aldeguer and Digiantonio

2024 ex Factory bikes at VR46 for Morbidelli and Bezecchi

2024 ex Factory bikes at Gresini for Marc and Alex Marquez


The others could be as varied as:

Factory Aprilia for Quarteraro and Maveric

Factory Aprilia at Trackhouse for Oliveira and Fernandez

Factory KTM for Binder and Acosta

Factory Gas Gas for Jack and someone from Moto 2

Factory Yamaha for Rins and Mir

Factory Honda for Marini and Martin

Factory Honda at LCR for Zarco and Nakagami

[ajprice]

Far Cough said:

The latest rumour is that Quatararo is talking with Aprillia - Will he leave Yamaha finally ?

.......and on the subject of next years Ducati factory team , who is going to lose their ride as there are some serious names linked to the red bike so far , the latest being Fermin Aldegeur.

So far we have Marc Marquez , Jorge Martin , Fermin Aldegeur , Pedro Acosta and the 2 incumbents Bagnia and Beast - They cant all be in red !!!

KTM will want to keep Acosta, Miller's contract is up at the end of this year and so far moving Acosta up would be a good idea for 2025. Aldegeur is being lined up for Pramac, probably in place of Morbidelli as Martin seems to be doing ok . I think Ducati and Gresini will stay as they are.

[Zarco]

Chipchap said:

On the "Red Bikes" Pecco has a new contract that assures him of a seat on the "Red Bike". As mentioned above there are many contenders for the second red bike.

I predict 2025 as folows:-

2025 Factory bikes in Red for Pecco and Enea

2025 Factory bikes at Pramac for Aldeguer and Digiantonio

2024 ex Factory bikes at VR46 for Morbidelli and Bezecchi

2024 ex Factory bikes at Gresini for Marc and Alex Marquez


The others could be as varied as:

Factory Aprilia for Quarteraro and Maveric

Factory Aprilia at Trackhouse for Oliveira and Fernandez

Factory KTM for Binder and Acosta

Factory Gas Gas for Jack and someone from Moto 2

Factory Yamaha for Rins and Mir

Factory Honda for Marini and Martin

Factory Honda at LCR for Zarco and Nakagami

Not bad.

Not convinced Digi is going to do enough this year to get a Pramac ride next year. He doesn't seem to be gelling with the 2023 bike (like Bezzecchi). Could see Digi losing his spot to Morbidelli simply because the latter is a VR46 Academy rider.

[Turn7]

There’s rumours that VR will become sat Yams, but I’m not sure I can see that happening currently.

I think the KTM would be a better bike for 93.

Mav is unreliable and mentally fragile, not sure he’ll get another factory ride.

Frankie got to be out.

Fabio on the Aprilia could be a good move for both, but I think as a team they need to step up professionalism and qc .

Pedro was stunning to watch this weekend, so much confidence it’s unreal.

[Yazza54]

Is there still the possibility of (KT)MV Agusta team?

I think while Marc looks super happy at Gresini he's going to want some factory support, not necessarily a red bike but just on the latest kit, of whatever manufacturer he's with.

I think a KTM would suit his style even more than the Ducati tbh.

Acosta is 100% taking Millers seat. No doubt about that.

I really wanna see Fabio on an Aprilia, I'm currently not bothered who's seat he takes. I'm not about to believe that "Mav is back", did he ever arrive in the first place?

Similar to Aleix he has flashes of brilliance and then disappears. Unless he becomes a consistent front runner I don't think either of them should be considered safe. The Aprilia is potentially the second best bike on the grid and has been for a while but the results don't back that up.

[Zarco]

Dorna don't seem to be keen on a third KTM team. They are holding the slot left by Suzuki for another manufacturer. BMW in 2027 rumours have got stronger.

You know who will be riding that bike.

[wc98]

Zarco said:

Dorna don't seem to be keen on a third KTM team. They are holding the slot left by Suzuki for another manufacturer. BMW in 2027 rumours have got stronger.

You know who will be riding that bike.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed for that, plus as Yazza intimates Fabio on the Aprilia, that would make for fantastic racing.

[Turn7]

I genuinely don’t think Toprak is interested in GP….

It’s much much more work, way harder to get results.

And if BM did go that way, it’ll be 3/4 years of learning….