MotoGP2018 (spoiler)

[Paul_E_D]

What a race! I'm impressed and surprised to see Dovi picking up where he left off last year. Can he win a championship? This could be his best chance ever.

That pass marquez put on Zarco though! He was pointed off track well past the tip in point, and he still made the corner and held the position. Gah!

[JettaJayGLS]

Great race! That pass was classic Márquez, yet I’m still astonished everytime he does something like that.

Rossi looks different this year. He looks like he came straight from moto 2. I was going to “write him off” this year for maybe a race win, but now I’m hopeful he’ll be able to challenge for multiple wins.

Pretty pumped on the Suzuki’s (specifically Rins) progress, but I’m concernered that it’s just Qatar. Let’s hope it isnt.

[OreoGaborio]

SUCH an awesome race!
I couldn't believe the lead pack stuck together like that for so long. It was as close as a Moto3 race there for a while!
Awesome kick off to the season. If this is a sign of things to come, I'm fuckin PUMPED!

And yeah, that MM pass on Zarco was a thing of controlled chaotic beauty.


And ROSSI!!! FUCKIN ROSSI!!! RIGHT THERE WITH EM! Fuckin old man's still got it. I want him to win so fucking bad.

I know the chances of it happening are SO astronomically slim with this field, but I would so love him to win another championship before he retires. I will forever root for that guy.

[loudbeard]

Really was an awesome race, the lead pack held with 6-7 riders pretty much the entire time. Vinales was the fastest man on track at the end of it and he was reeling in the lead group, another 5 laps and he could have been in the mix for a podium.

Zarco picks up right where he left off last year; which is to say fast as fuck for 3/4 of the race then fades into obscurity. Most of last season he would opt for the soft/soft tire choice almost every race which would of course make sense with fading at the end. Yesterday he was on medium/soft just like almost the entire field, still fades. Will he put a whole race together this year and win one? Over/under 1 win for Zarco this year?

BTW, For most of the races this year Degsy and I along with a few non-NESRians will be watching at the Hungry Goat in Pawtucket. Great food, great beer selection, and they've agreed to always air MotoGP for me.

[Paul_E_D]

Nice! We have a similar thing going at Seymour, the bar in Greenfield. Owner is a massive fan. People bring food. It's growing in popularity. Was pretty crowded specifically for the race last night. He airs them at 6pm. Easy drive from woostah area if anyone is looking for a fun place to watch the races this year.

[gixxer72]

Nice! We have a similar thing going at Seymour, the bar in Greenfield. Owner is a massive fan. People bring food. It's growing in popularity. Was pretty crowded specifically for the race last night. He airs them at 6pm. Easy drive from woostah area if anyone is looking for a fun place to watch the races this year.

That's very cool.

BeIN's coverage was a little thin I thought. I did not buy the GP pass this year, but noticed you can get it by the month. Paying for the entire season saves you one months cost. Seeing that they are now off for a month, and a month later in the season I am thinking about buying it as I want it. We like to watch the pre-race shit and all of the post race interviews...

Great race!

[csmutty]

Link for anyone that missed it like me...

Full Race MotoGP RACE - Losail Qatar 2018 - Video Dailymotion

Race was epic.

[MHenry600]

Just watched it tonight. Great race. I think what kept it so tight was Zarco was a hair slower than the others and kept them all bunched up. Fast enough to not let anyone pass though.

Good exciting start to the year in any case.

[Tricky Mike]

Marquez is a cunt

[Paul_E_D]

Holy Hell, WHat a shit show from start to finish for Marquez. I have been a fan of his riding, but this was really bad. Rookie stuff.

[Tricky Mike]

It was a really good demonstration of the power of the red mist.

[gixxer72]

Marquez is a cunt

His popularity rating must be down around Lorentho territory today. I thought it was pretty funny that Rossi's boyfriend wasn't having any part of the apology post race. Awesome ride for Cal and Rins.

[Tricky Mike]

Ha, yeah, I thought the same thing.
I wouldn't have let him in either. I don't believe for a second that he's actually sorry. He just needs the hand shake to mitigate the damage.
Let him stew a bit.
Man, I love this sport

[OreoGaborio]

Fantastic race. GO CRASHLOW!!! Championship leader!!!

Was bummed Miller didn't find his way onto the podium after that amazing Qualifying run Saturday but glad he was right there in the mix of it.

And yeah... Marquez.... holy shit, man. Use your head. He needs to rub one out before the race or something.

[tsorfas]

Publicity stunts. No differen than Mcgregor throwing dollies at buses.
In all seriousness MM is very aggressive. Makes great entertainment. That’s what sells.
Many people have been complaining when he was winning races by miles. This makes great TV

[JettaJayGLS]

Wow oh wow. My thoughts:

The start: Bummer, but I think it was the best solution. Maybe they could have waiting 15 seconds to start the rest of the grid?
Jack: A bit short changed. He may have been able to save his tires better if he had a bigger head start, but they went off pretty early. Not sure he had it today, but it was a great qualifying and great race anyway.
Winning fight: Amazing the entire race. Those last 5-6 laps were some of the most exciting we've seen.
Cal: I love his confidence. This is how you make a series entertaining.
Rins: He's got that Moto2 talent. The old school riders are useless on anything but a Ducati unless they change their style. Won't be long til they are all phased out.
Zarco: The move on Dani was a mistake. To me it looks like he tried braking, started to lose the front and then had to release. It was either lose the front into the rear end of Dani and 100% crash him out, or let it go and stand him up. Other than that, he put in an awesome ride.
Dani: Why oh why did you crack the throttle open right after?! I'm glad this crash is overshadowed by all the other shit that went down, because I don't think Zarco was overly aggressive.

Rossi: Did his best to salvage points. Bummer what happened. I actually believe him when he says he is nervous when he sees Marquez on his pit board. I remember that feeling with a certain racer back in my day..."oh crap, I know something dumb is coming."
Marquez: Rookie moves start to finish. If you haven't seen it, his press release was an absolute disgrace. Feels the rules don't apply to him just because he's fast. Big step back from the Marquez we saw last year.

It was a tricky race, in very tough conditions, with several drawbacks. Just before the start I had an issue with the engine, which stopped. We’ll look into it later. Anyway, I put my hands up but nobody was there. I was able to restart the bike and then I looked for some input from the marshals, as I wasn’t sure if, with the bike running again, I should go to my place on the grid or back to the pits. One marshal raised his hands, and a second one gave the thumbs up, which I interpreted to mean I could stay. When I saw the penalty message on the dashboard, I didn’t understand why, but I of course complied. Then I obviously tried push to recover and unfortunately I made some mistakes, the biggest one I believe being with Aleix. I approached faster than him and I didn’t realize it. I tried my best to avoid contact but unfortunately I wasn’t able. I saw the penalty and, to be safe, gave up two positions, not just one, before starting to push again. With Valentino it was different, as it was a consequence of the track conditions. I touched a wet patch, locked the front, and released the brakes. I tried to turn, again making my best effort to avoid contact. When he crashed I immediately apologised. It was a racing incident as happened earlier with Zarco and Dani, and then with Petrucci and Aleix. It was a tricky Sunday. Of course today I made some mistakes, which I recognize. Other mistakes were made by Race Direction on the grid, and others were due to the difficult conditions, but one thing I know for sure: never in my career have I intentionally hit another rider.

There are things to be cheerful about after the Argentine GP. Not the...distortions of the truth and insults to readers’ intelligence in the Repsol Honda and Estrella Galicia teams’ subsequent press releases. The link there, by the way, is Emilio Alzamora who models his management style on Vladimir Putin but without the personal charm.

[Imbeek]

Publicity stunts. No differen than Mcgregor throwing dollies at buses.

That will end up being the exact moment the UFC jumped the shark, I’m predicting. What a joke...

[backinthesaddle]

At the start of the race Miller was on the front of the grid, then there were empty rows between him and the next 3 riders. Why was that?

[Paul_E_D]

At the start of the race Miller was on the front of the grid, then there were empty rows between him and the next 3 riders. Why was that?

Just before the race, all teams but miller went to the pits for tire swaps. Miller was the only one ready to go. Normally a team that did that would start from pit lane, but since all teams did it, they felt that would be dangerous, so they let the teams out onto the grid, but put them as far back as they could.

[isaac_]

Wow oh wow. My thoughts:

The start: Bummer, but I think it was the best solution. Maybe they could have waiting 15 seconds to start the rest of the grid?
Jack: A bit short changed. He may have been able to save his tires better if he had a bigger head start, but they went off pretty early. Not sure he had it today, but it was a great qualifying and great race anyway.
Winning fight: Amazing the entire race. Those last 5-6 laps were some of the most exciting we've seen.
Cal: I love his confidence. This is how you make a series entertaining.
Rins: He's got that Moto2 talent. The old school riders are useless on anything but a Ducati unless they change their style. Won't be long til they are all phased out.
Zarco: The move on Dani was a mistake. To me it looks like he tried braking, started to lose the front and then had to release. It was either lose the front into the rear end of Dani and 100% crash him out, or let it go and stand him up. Other than that, he put in an awesome ride.
Dani: Why oh why did you crack the throttle open right after?! I'm glad this crash is overshadowed by all the other shit that went down, because I don't think Zarco was overly aggressive.

Rossi: Did his best to salvage points. Bummer what happened. I actually believe him when he says he is nervous when he sees Marquez on his pit board. I remember that feeling with a certain racer back in my day..."oh crap, I know something dumb is coming."
Marquez: Rookie moves start to finish. If you haven't seen it, his press release was an absolute disgrace. Feels the rules don't apply to him just because he's fast. Big step back from the Marquez we saw last year.

What do you mean about Rins and style?

[backinthesaddle]

Just before the race, all teams but miller went to the pits for tire swaps. Miller was the only one ready to go. Normally a team that did that would start from pit lane, but since all teams did it, they felt that would be dangerous, so they let the teams out onto the grid, but put them as far back as they could.

Thanks!

[JettaJayGLS]

What do you mean about Rins and style?

The over-exaggerated, elbow dragging look we're all getting so used to these days.

[Tricky Mike]

What's wrong with elbows?

[JettaJayGLS]

What's wrong with elbows?

Nothing, I'm saying this is taking over. The ones not doing it are going to be phased out soon.

[SteveM]

It’s been almost a year since we lost Nicky Hayden, this thread brought that back for me. His rice through the AMA series coincided with my sport riding. I miss him