Surprised there are no MotoGP threads currently active! Lot's of interesting stuff going on so far this year: 1) Rossi is looking really good so far, he's keeping pace/beating Pedrosa & Jorge so far! 2) Marquez broke his leg, but I doubt that will really slow him down come race day. 3) Team Ducati has officially withdrawn from the Factory Class and will be racing in the new Open Class (an extra 4L of fuel, softer rear tire option, no engine development freeze, and a control ECU) 4) Despite playing in the "lower" class, Dovi and Crutchlow are both riding really well and appear ready to play in the top 4-6 potentially. 5) The Honda Open Class racer appears to be severely down on power compared to the Yamaha Open class bike (last year's M1 factory bike). Looks like Nicky Hayden cant catch a break
You can't gauge anything from preseason testing. I hope Rossi is back on form. After letting Burgess go after all of those years with him, I hope something positive comes from it. If he has another lackluster year, I think it might be his last.
1) Rossi's best days are behind him, IMHO, I can't see him winning a GP, let alone a championship. Team mate Lorenzo is my favourite this year. 2) Marquez may miss a few GPs early in the season. Still a favourite though. Pedrosa got a reality check last year, I think! 3) Ducati is playing clever; the Open Class may be imposed across the field in future. It's a no brainer that who adopt it first will have an advantage in future years. In between, it cannot hamper Ducati's results that were abysimal since Stoner left. 4) With continuous engine development, more fuel allowed, the Ducati should get regular podiums at least this year. 5) For Hayden, read Rossi, it's the same. How Nicky still gets a ride after so many bad results is a mystery to me, when there are plenty of talented GP2 riders begging for a seat.
no worries! just an FYI. I have no problems with a MotoGP thread in this section, but if we do that we should have a mod change the title to "MotoGP 2014 season" or something similar. btw Art what's up with your boy John Hopkins? WSB again this year or...?
Hayden should have jumped ship many years ago. He should have tried to get on the Tech 3 or Gresini Honda. Keep in mind that they are trying to introduce the F2 class. If you do to well as open class; they limit you to less engines and something else. Can someone else confirm?
Yes, fewer engines and less fuel. Still more than the factory teams and still with the availability of the super soft tyre. Ducati agrees, so there would not be the unanimity required to veto it.
I absolutely agree. As both a Ducati and Hayden fan, I really wanted to see Hayden on the Gresini bike and Ducati make a miraculous turn around. They sure look foolish now that nobody has come close to matching Stoner's success. That bike has been garbage the past couple years.
John is doing British Super Bike. He's trying to make a come back into MotoGP riding a Suzuki, who just happens to be coming back to MotoGP in 2015. I wouldn't take any bets against Rossi yet. Art
Was an exciting race! Was great to see Rossi looking a little like his previous self. It would have been awesome if he could have pulled off the win. It would have been interesting to see where Lorenzo would have finished though....... Marquez seems to have just picked up from where he left off at the end of last season, but Rossi sure made it interesting.
Looks like a new face will be employed at COTA this year: Kevin Schwantz joins Circuit of The Americas? as motorcycle racing ambassador