2021 MotoGP Discussion (Spoilers)

[Paul_E_D]

I agree with the need to have MM back .. But do you really think he's just going to show up and be at the front again? I think it might be awhile before that happens! Be interesting to watch but he's been out of the game for over a year.. is he even riding yet? plus is the Honda even a good bike now?

He's been riding the RCV-S at a few tracks including protimao. He's not planning to ease back into it!

[Philkinson]

I still like Jack and don't like Zarco.

Used to like Jack, now I feel like he's trying to be Cal. Except Cal was able to finish in the top 6 at Qatar while on the factory Ducati.

I have nothing but respect for Zarco, the guy successfully rebuilt his career and has (so far) proven that he's worth the "risk".

It should be noted that I'm a fan of Lorenzo as well

[Yev]

I was happy to see Fabio earn that W but super bummed for Franky (WTF Peturdass?!).

The Mir/Miller incident: it's been discussed/beaten to death but let me throw my 2 pennies in: Mir did make a shitty call that resulted in some unintentional rubbin' but Miller intentionally collided with Mir putting both of them in danger for no good reason. This post from another forum did shine a different light on the event:

A second look at Miller vs Mir



I had the same feeling as most of this sub feeling like Jack was 100% at fault in this situation, and it was done maliciously. I decided to rewatch the clips in slow-mo to get a better idea of what happened. All I wanted to look into was the final turn incident, not anything leading up to it. The clip I used was here at 2:08 [MEDIA=youtube]gJp0QlZqbR0[/MEDIA]



The first thing I wanted to watch was other riders lines through this corner. I chose Peccos since he is a bit ahead of Jack, and is on the same bike. You will notice Pecco comes very close to the end of the curbing, but does not ride on it at all. His tire is probably a few inches from the curbing and is near the end of the striping before he starts leaning the bike back toward the pitlane side of the track. Keep this placement in mind when looking at the incident.



Looking further back, Rins and Mir both ran very wide coming out of this turn. I would think Mir ended up matching Rins brake point which caused him to miss the apex just like Rins. At 2:11 both are on the far side of the track, and are well away from the typical line the rest of the riders were following.



So, why did Miller look left? Prior to this corner, Mir was ahead, but seeing as he ran wide following Rins, Miller likely lost visual of Mir soon after the apex. I would think Miller was just checking where Mir was at, but Miller doesn't want to compromise his drive out of the corner onto the straight, and it should likely be up to Mir to enter the racing line safely.(I believe this is a bit of a grey area and is why it ended up being a racing incident. Its hard to say who should be giving up the line/advantage, the guy who runs wide and is ahead, or the guy who is on line but technically further back coming into the incident.)



Now, to the collision. Earlier in the post I talked about Peccos line, where he gets close to the end of the curbing. Rewatching the incident, that is right where the two come together. Miller did not take an abnormal line. It does look fishy because of the incident prior, because of Miller looking over, and because Miller seemed to gesticulate at him afterwards. I think Miller could have done a bit better to clear the air after the race, but who knows. I'd guess at this point Jack is much more worried about being the 4th place Ducati(Even behind A.Espargaro in overall points) while being on the factory team, rather than having people on the internet mad at him when race direction already cleared it.

I was taken aback by Jorge Martin's performance; he is definitely at the very top of my ROTY list!



And lastly, I was super impressed with Acosta! I don't want to jinx anything and it's really way too early to say this but Acosta is looking very MM93-esque.

P.S. MM93 will be back next race.

[Philkinson]

2021 (second qatar race)
Rossi finished 16th and out of the points.
Compare that to his 2018 race where he finished third.

How much slower was he over race distance? 2.792 seconds. That's an average of 0.1269 seconds slower per lap

Round 1 - 3.954 seconds slower over 22 laps, or 0.1797 seconds slower per lap.

I wouldn't call it washed up

[JettaJayGLS]

2021 (second qatar race)
Rossi finished 16th and out of the points.
Compare that to his 2018 race where he finished third.

How much slower was he over race distance? 2.792 seconds. That's an average of 0.1269 seconds slower per lap

Round 1 - 3.954 seconds slower over 22 laps, or 0.1797 seconds slower per lap.

I wouldn't call it washed up

Can't look at him in a vacuum. If everyone is getting better and he isn't....

[jim v]

MM cleared to return at Portimao. FP1 will be must-see TV

Marc Marquez has finally been given the green light to return to racing. On Friday, the Repsol Honda rider visited the doctors in Madrid who have been treating him since his decision to have a third operation on the right humerus he broke at the opening round in 2020 in Jerez, and the doctors assessed that the bone growth in his humerus was finally strong enough to assume the normal risks associated with racing, and crashing. That means that Marquez will make his MotoGP return next Friday, the 16th of April, when he takes to the track at Portimao for free practice..

[union]

I'm pumped for Marc's return next week. The races without him have been great to watch but I agree with what Stoner said last year about without Marc the series is pretty much chaos although i do think he should have stay quiet. No idea what to expect from him but what I want to see is him come into next weekends race and just dominates this weekend. Let everyone else know the good times for them are over.

[MUZ720]

Still not 100% convinced that MM93 will dominate out the gate... But I did add him to my fantasy team. Just hope he keeps it on two wheels the 1st weekend

[gixxer72]

I'm pumped for Marc's return next week. The races without him have been great to watch but I agree with what Stoner said last year about without Marc the series is pretty much chaos although i do think he should have stay quiet. No idea what to expect from him but what I want to see is him come into next weekends race and just dominates this weekend. Let everyone else know the good times for them are over.

I am pretty stoked for his return, but respectfully disagree on the domination aspect. I hope the field and current champ put up one hell of a fight and if he’s going to win they make him earn every inch of it.

[Paul_E_D]

I have to think MM will podium. Other than the last crash he has podiumed every race for a long time. That kind of mental dominance doesn't just go away. He believes he is that good.

[MUZ720]

So whos the biggest disappointment so far?? I think Jack Miller and Franco Morbidelli for various reasons. But Franco for me is the biggest one. Yamaha seems to think he's not worth the trouble to supply him with new equipment. He's riding a 2019 spec bike with mods And its effecting his attitude. And both of the 1st two rounds has had its issues..... Had high hopes.. Maybe arm pump surgery will help Miller but I am not sure?

[union]

So whos the biggest disappointment so far?? I think Jack Miller and Franco Morbidelli for various reasons. But Franco for me is the biggest one. Yamaha seems to think he's not worth the trouble to supply him with new equipment. He's riding a 2019 spec bike with mods And its effecting his attitude. And both of the 1st two rounds has had its issues..... Had high hopes.. Maybe arm pump surgery will help Miller but I am not sure?

Ya they both disappoint this year so far. Miller just seems to fold under pressure. I think Morbideli is getting shafted. It's more the bike then his riding. Talk about being let down by your boss.

For me Rossi is the biggest disappointment. He has a factory bike and isn't doing anything with it. The other factory bikes are winning. I'd say if his poor results continue he's out of MotoGP the end of the year.

[JettaJayGLS]

Not his best article...but maybe because I think what he is saying is so perfectly clear that I don't need an expert to tell me that Marc can win. I already know it.

https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/a...otogp-comeback

[OreoGaborio]

Still not 100% convinced that MM93 will dominate out the gate... But I did add him to my fantasy team. Just hope he keeps it on two wheels the 1st weekend

Fantasy salaries only change AFTER a round, right? They can't go up mid-weekend can they?

Anyone know what held Morbidelli back in round 2? I know round 1 it was the launch device... but I expected him to do much better round 2. I'll have to look up his lap times to see how they compared.... Was everyone else just that much faster Round 2 or did he just not have it again?


EDIT: Asked & answered...


Round 1:
1st Maverick VIÑALES 42'28.663
18th Franco MORBIDELLI 42'52.555

Round 2:
1st Fabio QUARTARARO 42'23.997
12th Franco MORBIDELLI 42'29.784

So he was almost 23 seconds faster over the course of the race, and his total race time in Round 2 would have been good enough for 3rd place in Round 1.

[Philkinson]

Fantasy salaries only change AFTER a round, right? They can't go up mid-weekend can they?

Anyone know what held Morbidelli back in round 2? I know round 1 it was the launch device... but I expected him to do much better round 2. I'll have to look up his lap times to see how they compared.... Was everyone else just that much faster Round 2 or did he just not have it again?


EDIT: Asked & answered...


Round 1:
1st Maverick VIÑALES 42'28.663
18th Franco MORBIDELLI 42'52.555

Round 2:
1st Fabio QUARTARARO 42'23.997
12th Franco MORBIDELLI 42'29.784

So he was almost 23 seconds faster over the course of the race, and his total race time in Round 2 would have been good enough for 3rd place in Round 1.

Holy smokes.

I'm trying to figure out salary questions too... basically.. do I grab Marc now while he's affordable?

[OreoGaborio]

do I grab Marc now while he's affordable?

The question for me isn't "Do I?"
The question is which Franc do I trade? Franco or Francesco?. Thankfully I've got enough cap space to trade either one.

Morbidelli qualified 2nd and finished 3rd at Portimao last year...
Pecco qualified 15th and DNF'ed, but is looking strong this year...

[Yev]

It's going to be a good one this weekend - I can taste it.

[jimmycapp]

Oh Shit. I thought they were off this weekend. I think I lost a week in my brain. thanks!

[Philkinson]

The question for me isn't "Do I?"
The question is which Franc do I trade? Franco or Francesco?. Thankfully I've got enough cap space to trade either one.

Morbidelli qualified 2nd and finished 3rd at Portimao last year...
Pecco qualified 15th and DNF'ed, but is looking strong this year...

Dropped Miller for Marc

[union]

It's going to be a good one this weekend - I can taste it.

Dropped Miller for Marc

Keep in mind they are going to a track Marc hasn't raced at. Not saying he wont do well but everyone else has a 1 year head start on him. Also the Honda looks to be a real piece of shit again this year.

[Yev]

Keep in mind they are going to a track Marc hasn't raced at. Not saying he wont do well but everyone else has a 1 year head start on him. Also the Honda looks to be a real piece of shit again this year.

This comment didn't age well. Dude is rippin'!

[Tricky Mike]

He's not planning to ease back into it!

Even if that were the plans MM doesn't have the ability. That dude is a carnivore.

[Philkinson]

Dropped Miller for Marc

Should've dropped Morbidelli instead of Miller

[MUZ720]

Love this track. I would be twenty seconds slower on it on a good day but would kill to ride it! I wouldn't do the wheelie over the crest to the down hill left, but still what a rolling coaster. Turn 15 is were the balls show for sure! Should be a barn burner in all three classes. Early start times so be aware!

[MUZ720]

Morbidelli and Rossi need to switch bikes!