RE: MotoGP Phillip Island: PH2
Monday 20th October 2014
With the title under his belt it was a more relaxed Marc Marquez that lined up on pole at Phillip Island. But who was that in second? An amazing qualifying by Cal saw him next to Marc on the front row! Could we see the Brit get a good result?
After Honda dominance a Yamaha clean sweepWithin a few laps the race was effectively over as Marquez had a second lead, but the battle between Rossi and Lorenzo provided loads of mid-race entertainment! Fair play to Rossi, he has certainly had a hell of a season and has outshone his team mate for most of it. But then the unthinkable happened again, Marc fell off! Fingers of suspicion were pointed at the asymmetric front tyre, but the fans were jumping with joy at the fact Rossi was now leading the way! And Cal was in third and catching Lorenzo!
Not a bad way to celebrate your 250th GPMoto3 and could Danny Kent and John McPhee repeat their heroics of the last round? A mid-race crash briefly dropped the Brit pair from the leading pack as they were forced to lift off, but they soon recovered and a mental Moto3 race saw nine riders entering the last few lap with a shout of a win, until a flurry of crashes that claimed Kent reduced this to six, including McPhee. A determined Miller looked like he was in do or die mood and somehow managed to overcome his KTM's lack of top-end speed to take a thoroughly deserved win. McPhee finished fifth.
MotoGP Phillip Island: PH2
Just what The Doctor ordered!
A cracking start saw Bradley Smith right up with Lorenzo and Marquez while Cal dropped back. A bit of wild riding by Bradley saw him drop places to his team mate and Valentino Rossi, while at the front Marquez and Lorenzo were making good their escape. Could Jorge stick with Marc?
After Honda dominance a Yamaha clean sweep
Five laps to go and Cal easily slipped past Lorenzo, could he also catch Rossi? Six seconds was a hell of a gap, but you never know... In the end Rossi took the win in his 250th GP, Cal hurled it on the last lap, gifting Lorenzo second and Bradders third!
The Moto2 race was all about if Rabat could put 12 points on his team mate Kalio to take the title with two rounds to spare, something he made tricky for himself when he ran wide on the first lap! Having taken the lead, Kalio was doing his best to clear off but who was that in second spot? Sam Lowes! The Brit looked bang on form in Australia and started to challenge Kalio for the lead. Sadly for Kalio, it didn't take Rabat long to recover from his earlier mistake and he was soon in the leading pack of five. With Vinales clear for the win, the last lap excitement was between Kalio and Rabat as they fought for second spot with Luthi. In the end Rabat beat his teammate, but not by enough to secure the title at this round. Sam Lowes finished an excellent fifth.
Not a bad way to celebrate your 250th GP
The British Superbike championship's climax turned into a bit of a damp squib when Kiyo broke his collarbone in practice, handing his fourth BSB title to Shane Byrne. A lot of fans were rooting for Kiyo to take BMW's first BSB title and the Hawk squad, who are a great bunch, really deserved better than this sad finale. Never mind, that's racing, congratulations to Shakey and Kawasaki.
Results:
MotoGP
1. Rossi (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP)
2. Lorenzo (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP)
3. Smith (Monster Yamaha Tech3)
Moto2
1. Vinales (Paginas Amarillas HP40)
2. Luthi (Interwetten Sitag)
3. Rabat (Marc VDS Racing Team)
Moto3
1. Miller (Red Bull KTM Ajo)
2. Marquez (Estrella Galicia 0,0)
3. Rins (Estrella Galicia 0,0)
Brit watch
Cal Crutchlow (MotoGP) - DNF
Bradley Smith (MotoGP) - 4
Michael Laverty (MotoGP) - 13
Scott Redding (MotoGP) - 7
Sam Lowes (Moto2) - 5
Gino Rea - (Moto2) - 21
John McPhee (Moto3) - 5
Danny Kent (Moto3) - DNF
Previous rounds:
MotoGP Qatar
MotoGP America
MotoGP Argentina
MotoGP Jerez
MotoGP Le Mans
MotoGP Mugello
MotoGP Catalunya
MotoGP Assen
MotoGP Sachsenring
MotoGP Brno
MotoGP Silverstone
MotoGP Misano
MotoGP Aragon
MotoGP Motegi
Discussion
Perhaps incorrectly I do not think Marquez is much good. Certainly not as good as Rossi, Doohan and the Americans who rode the guts out of 500's. This might be my age but I think there are riders in Moto2 who yesterday showed they could ride adapt to bikes bikes not giving them anything like the best performance. In this case because the track temp dropped dramatically during the race and the top 5 closed up to a few bike lengths from each other.
Marquez is certaily quick and until recently there is no doubt the RCV was at least 0.3 to 0.5 secs a lap faster than Ducati or Yamaha. However at le Mans when pushed by Lorenzo on a clearly slower bike Marquez opted to use the Speed of the RCV to pass Lorenzo on several laps but in doing so looking very amateur when arrving at the first corner too quickly, he looked desperate. At Misano he had no answer to Rossi upping the ante to an extent that he rose to the challenge of delivering a home victory for his fans. At Aragon, he was just incapable of dealing with a less than perfect situation. In Motegi, where he should have done a Rossi and delivered a victory for Honda he did not. Finally at Philip Island he simply fell off whilst safely in the lead. Is this immaturity or a result of now having to race his RCV to victory. He is also unique in MotoGP that he has no competitor in his garage, yet every other rider has a team mate capable and able to beat their garage mate. Dovi and Lorenzo would vouch for that fact.
Rossi made the comment that the tires at Philip Island reminded him of how 500cc tyres used to blister and the need to rider round this issue. At 35, he is still able to put a GP bike on the podium and grab the occasional win. It seems therefore logical to conclude that riding GP bikes is and has become much easier with the tyres, electronics and engineering having taken care of many factors previous riders would have had to cope with. The illuminating disaster brought to Marquez when he bumped vital electronics off Pedroa's bike, redning it unrideable add to the idea. Perhaps this is the reason why Rossi is still able to get to the podium, his experience ensures he can usually ride round any adversity and also ride out of his skin when there is sufficient motivation to do so, like Misano. Those lacking in experience of riding more analogue bikes like Marquez have no answer because they are much more dependent on the electronics, tyres and engineers to smooth the way.
It is easy to take a pop at the new "king", sometimes though I think it is deserved.
Marquez is certaily quick and until recently there is no doubt the RCV was at least 0.3 to 0.5 secs a lap faster than Ducati or Yamaha. However at le Mans when pushed by Lorenzo on a clearly slower bike Marquez opted to use the Speed of the RCV to pass Lorenzo on several laps but in doing so looking very amateur when arrving at the first corner too quickly, he looked desperate. At Misano he had no answer to Rossi upping the ante to an extent that he rose to the challenge of delivering a home victory for his fans. At Aragon, he was just incapable of dealing with a less than perfect situation. In Motegi, where he should have done a Rossi and delivered a victory for Honda he did not. Finally at Philip Island he simply fell off whilst safely in the lead. Is this immaturity or a result of now having to race his RCV to victory. He is also unique in MotoGP that he has no competitor in his garage, yet every other rider has a team mate capable and able to beat their garage mate. Dovi and Lorenzo would vouch for that fact.
Rossi made the comment that the tires at Philip Island reminded him of how 500cc tyres used to blister and the need to rider round this issue. At 35, he is still able to put a GP bike on the podium and grab the occasional win. It seems therefore logical to conclude that riding GP bikes is and has become much easier with the tyres, electronics and engineering having taken care of many factors previous riders would have had to cope with. The illuminating disaster brought to Marquez when he bumped vital electronics off Pedroa's bike, redning it unrideable add to the idea. Perhaps this is the reason why Rossi is still able to get to the podium, his experience ensures he can usually ride round any adversity and also ride out of his skin when there is sufficient motivation to do so, like Misano. Those lacking in experience of riding more analogue bikes like Marquez have no answer because they are much more dependent on the electronics, tyres and engineers to smooth the way.
It is easy to take a pop at the new "king", sometimes though I think it is deserved.
Loook I know thew Playstation generation love their boy, however.
Andy XRV.
Lets have a look at your amazing list of records Mr Marquez.
The first thing everyone can agree on is that professional sportsmen are getting younger. This is not to do with the human race or an increase in talent but to do with the age at which sports men start, the focus delivered in their early career and better techniques to train and progress them as compared to previous generations.
Evidence for this: The average age of F1 drivers is dropping, especially with Verstappen, the youngest driver in F1 to start next yr. The moto3 age rules have already been changed to allow a younger rider to compete in moto3. Look at how and when previous champions got into the sport and progressed.
Ago and Rossi won their first races at 23. So this makes Marquez the better rider because he was younger when he won? Nope.
Usain Bolt was younger than Jessie Owens when he won Gold at the Olympics and is therefore the better runner for that reason alone? Nope.
Barry Sheene used to shag, smoke and drink alot during the season, does Marquez do any of these? Time have changed.
So 21 items on your list are simply attributable to his age. This is no indicator of a champion as such but how riders are developed and the favour shone upon them by Dorna in some cases.
Another 9, those concerning winning races in the first half of the year interestingly only focus on four strokes and the RCV, number of Hondas and competition arguement largely compromise this set of "records".
When Rossi won his 11 races, it was only the second year on what was 18 months earlier a stinker of a bike. The RCV since Stoner in 2011 has been the bike to be on. if not what has been the clear favourite? Ducati, Yamaha or CRV? So lets see him win 11 on the Suzuki or Apilia, the year after next before getting too excited. Unlikely.
Seeing as Moto2 600cc four strokes were introduced in 2010 and 2011 the first well estalbished year, after the easy to ride two strokes, his records there have not really had the chance to stand the test of time have they. Impressive though they are. Do you think it likely these will stand for many years, no I dod not either.
One of the best is his 209mph crash. This apparently can be attributed to his ability as a rider and not where the crash happened. I did not hear him say that his 209mph crash and lack of injury was due to his ability, or anyone else for that matter say i. It might have been to do with where and what he was wearing though. That one is comedy gold.
The dominance of the RCV. If you had to choose since 2010, what bike would you have chosen to ride in MotoGP. The Ducati? The Yamaha? A satelite Honda or perhaps a CRT bike?
Clearly the RCV has been the best bike on the grid since Honda implemented it's seemless clutch and additionally because of the tire changes by Bridgestone this year. Evidence for this is abundant. Apart from Rossi and Lorenzo's comments, the articles below shed some objective light on the RCV and how Hinda use their massive budget.
http://www.asphaltandrubber.com/motogp/sepang-seam...
and
http://www.asphaltandrubber.com/racing/yamaha-seam...
and
The important figure here is: Honda 8. During the last 2 years the only bike consistently capable of winning races was the RCV. Even Pedro managed to win a number of races on it in 2013.
Doohan did comment that he has been given the magic carpet ride........
In the last five races though Ducati and Yamaha have now made sufficient progress to match Honda and what are the consequences of this? The results are evident. Since Assen Marquez has won one race. Up until Assen, Rossi and Lorenzo had not beaten Pedro together. Since Assen they have beat him together 5 times.
When Doohan won 12 races in a year, there were 4 factory Hondas and no less than 10 Hondas on the grid. Doohan was also disabled having nearly lost his leg and unable to articulate his ankle. Marquez is in the best of health.
In the past 2 years and for the next 2 years there are 2 Factory spec Hondas and the other single rider in the Repsol garage has proved in the past year he is incapable of winning a single race against Marquez and has never won a championship in the time when four other riders at Repsol have.
Freddie took his first major class podium in his 3rd ever world championship event. It was Marc’s 78th. Freddie then took his first major class win after 8 events, for Marc it was 79. Finally, Freddie won his first major class title after just 24 races while it took Marquez 96. Also on a 2 stroke which of course were much easier to ride and there was no competition when this happened.
In response to Tight5's objective comments:
At Aragon he made a mistake.
He seems to be making many mistakes recently. Brno, Aragon, Philip Island, Misano. Perhaps you should read what I actually said about experience and ability.
At Motegi. Do you think Honda were happy that Yamahah now have four wins to Honda's three at their own test circuit. Do you think Doohan, Rossi, Roberts or Rainey would have settled for second? He did not strategically settle for second, he came second. He did beat his team mate (again) though.
At Brno. presumably you watched the race and saw the obvious lack of rear grip and his gesticulating in the post race debrief at his engineer? Marquez lost this race by making a mistake in set up. So it is just not evidence that Pedrosa is competitive. Dani beat him 3 times last yr and has yet to actually beat him at all this year.
As for traction control. So you are saying the RCV is competitive without the hugely complex GPS based traction control, torque sensing, wheel rotation to engine speed, gyro adjusted engine mapping and GPS engine mapping? Really? You have seen the unridables documentary haven't you.
One of the great results though is that there have been 16 comments on the MotoGP this weekend, which must be a record for PH. So that in itself can only be a good thing.
Lets see how good he realy is when he has real and consistent competition. Since Assen he has won 1 race.
How he does when not on the absolute best bike on the grid.
How he gets on when injured during the season.
How he gets on when his team mate is as good as he is.
Then we will know.
Andy XRV.
Lets have a look at your amazing list of records Mr Marquez.
The first thing everyone can agree on is that professional sportsmen are getting younger. This is not to do with the human race or an increase in talent but to do with the age at which sports men start, the focus delivered in their early career and better techniques to train and progress them as compared to previous generations.
Evidence for this: The average age of F1 drivers is dropping, especially with Verstappen, the youngest driver in F1 to start next yr. The moto3 age rules have already been changed to allow a younger rider to compete in moto3. Look at how and when previous champions got into the sport and progressed.
Ago and Rossi won their first races at 23. So this makes Marquez the better rider because he was younger when he won? Nope.
Usain Bolt was younger than Jessie Owens when he won Gold at the Olympics and is therefore the better runner for that reason alone? Nope.
Barry Sheene used to shag, smoke and drink alot during the season, does Marquez do any of these? Time have changed.
So 21 items on your list are simply attributable to his age. This is no indicator of a champion as such but how riders are developed and the favour shone upon them by Dorna in some cases.
Another 9, those concerning winning races in the first half of the year interestingly only focus on four strokes and the RCV, number of Hondas and competition arguement largely compromise this set of "records".
When Rossi won his 11 races, it was only the second year on what was 18 months earlier a stinker of a bike. The RCV since Stoner in 2011 has been the bike to be on. if not what has been the clear favourite? Ducati, Yamaha or CRV? So lets see him win 11 on the Suzuki or Apilia, the year after next before getting too excited. Unlikely.
Seeing as Moto2 600cc four strokes were introduced in 2010 and 2011 the first well estalbished year, after the easy to ride two strokes, his records there have not really had the chance to stand the test of time have they. Impressive though they are. Do you think it likely these will stand for many years, no I dod not either.
One of the best is his 209mph crash. This apparently can be attributed to his ability as a rider and not where the crash happened. I did not hear him say that his 209mph crash and lack of injury was due to his ability, or anyone else for that matter say i. It might have been to do with where and what he was wearing though. That one is comedy gold.
The dominance of the RCV. If you had to choose since 2010, what bike would you have chosen to ride in MotoGP. The Ducati? The Yamaha? A satelite Honda or perhaps a CRT bike?
Clearly the RCV has been the best bike on the grid since Honda implemented it's seemless clutch and additionally because of the tire changes by Bridgestone this year. Evidence for this is abundant. Apart from Rossi and Lorenzo's comments, the articles below shed some objective light on the RCV and how Hinda use their massive budget.
http://www.asphaltandrubber.com/motogp/sepang-seam...
and
http://www.asphaltandrubber.com/racing/yamaha-seam...
and
The important figure here is: Honda 8. During the last 2 years the only bike consistently capable of winning races was the RCV. Even Pedro managed to win a number of races on it in 2013.
Doohan did comment that he has been given the magic carpet ride........
In the last five races though Ducati and Yamaha have now made sufficient progress to match Honda and what are the consequences of this? The results are evident. Since Assen Marquez has won one race. Up until Assen, Rossi and Lorenzo had not beaten Pedro together. Since Assen they have beat him together 5 times.
When Doohan won 12 races in a year, there were 4 factory Hondas and no less than 10 Hondas on the grid. Doohan was also disabled having nearly lost his leg and unable to articulate his ankle. Marquez is in the best of health.
In the past 2 years and for the next 2 years there are 2 Factory spec Hondas and the other single rider in the Repsol garage has proved in the past year he is incapable of winning a single race against Marquez and has never won a championship in the time when four other riders at Repsol have.
Freddie took his first major class podium in his 3rd ever world championship event. It was Marc’s 78th. Freddie then took his first major class win after 8 events, for Marc it was 79. Finally, Freddie won his first major class title after just 24 races while it took Marquez 96. Also on a 2 stroke which of course were much easier to ride and there was no competition when this happened.
In response to Tight5's objective comments:
At Aragon he made a mistake.
He seems to be making many mistakes recently. Brno, Aragon, Philip Island, Misano. Perhaps you should read what I actually said about experience and ability.
At Motegi. Do you think Honda were happy that Yamahah now have four wins to Honda's three at their own test circuit. Do you think Doohan, Rossi, Roberts or Rainey would have settled for second? He did not strategically settle for second, he came second. He did beat his team mate (again) though.
At Brno. presumably you watched the race and saw the obvious lack of rear grip and his gesticulating in the post race debrief at his engineer? Marquez lost this race by making a mistake in set up. So it is just not evidence that Pedrosa is competitive. Dani beat him 3 times last yr and has yet to actually beat him at all this year.
As for traction control. So you are saying the RCV is competitive without the hugely complex GPS based traction control, torque sensing, wheel rotation to engine speed, gyro adjusted engine mapping and GPS engine mapping? Really? You have seen the unridables documentary haven't you.
One of the great results though is that there have been 16 comments on the MotoGP this weekend, which must be a record for PH. So that in itself can only be a good thing.
Lets see how good he realy is when he has real and consistent competition. Since Assen he has won 1 race.
How he does when not on the absolute best bike on the grid.
How he gets on when injured during the season.
How he gets on when his team mate is as good as he is.
Then we will know.
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