Moto GP 2023

Hope Bagnaia recovers soon, it was terrifying.
Also hope Bastianini will recover soon - he screwed up big time, but injuries are not a desirable punishment.

 

Well, Barcelona.
Too many crashes. in both Moto 2 and GP ...makes my body ache watching.
Seems Bag ... is okay with nothing broken.
And Bas...oh boy, hand and ankle breaks as I recall reading.
Moto 2 had 14 bikes on the last lap, all within a second.
Many passes in that last lap, worth watching, if not the whole race.
Moto GP... again oh the crashes.
Good up-front battle.
Entire race worth watching.
At one point lead went to 1.7 seconds, then second place caught up.
No spoilers as to what happens next.
Front tire wear is unbelievable; how the tire still grips in corners (there are some still pictures of what I am writing about) I am amazed.
The spoiler, yep Quat again, lully 7th.
Lastly, I enjoyed that the winner had his children on the podium with him, and his boy, raising the trophy....made me smile.
NEXT... San Marino...SEPREMBER 10, 2023

 

Impressive damage limitation from Bagnaia after his frightening crash last week - he loses some points to Martin, but still achieves podium positions in both sprint and race. He now has two weeks to fully recover before India round.

 

Add to that a nice helping of "feel good" as Dani Pedrosa rode well all weekend.

 

Yes, "hats off" to Bag.
His stamina is impressive.
I was not surprised he needed help getting off the bike at the end, I could see myself needing that help too
Dani is certainly getting a lot of positive press.
Team VR46 is becoming my new underdog team, and again I am so impressed with riding with injuries, yet that has been the way.
Also enjoyed the Ducati color change from red to yellow (and their leathers) for this race.
Testing the following day was of interest.
Yamaha seemed to make a betterment, especially noting their engine improvements.
Not sure about Honda; I read that rear traction is still an issue.
I did not find any detailed photos of the testing's, for year 2024, upcoming tech or changes, except visible aero changes.
Otherwise, just a race, Moto 2 better than moto 3, Moto GP just not as spectacular as previous races IMO.
Next...INDIA...Sept 24, 2023

 

I was half watching it, and I heard "Pedrosa in 4th". What? Who? Didn't he retire? Maybe it's his son? Great job Dani; never too old.

Side note, the Moto America Superbike races at COTA were great.

 

The other side of Dani's fairytale.

https://www.gpone.com/en/2023/09/12/motogp/mat-mladin-pedrosas-results-are-embarrassing-for-the-blokes-he-flogged.html

 

F*** me, my DVR did not record India.
Read and saw some MotoGP highlights only.
Nothing on Moto2 & 3.
No big spoilers from me.
The GP championship title is now very close.
M Marquez apparently had a through-the-pack recovery.
Oh, Bag, s**** happens.
And Qut, great to see him have a chance.
I really wanted to see this new track as the riders said it was awesome.
Next...JAPAN...Oct 01, 2023

 

Sign up for MotoGP.com. I think it is 70% off now for video pass to access any remaining races and past races. I downloaded MotoGP through Apple TV and watch on my TV. Easy and I have poor technical skills.
Japan is worth the watch.

 

Japan, ah, high-speed riding in the rain, personally I miss that.
The championship title is very close.

I am so amazed at the traction these 300-hp bikes have, in the wet yet still
the race was reflagged because of (deluge) rain.... rider vision plus bike hydroplaning as I understood.

Also noticed the rain tires have at least a soft and medium rubber compound option.
There were also two choices of front brake rotors, which I believe, are related to the amount of heat they generate.
There was KTM carbon fiber frame that was of new tech interest.
There were also rider comments that Honda's exhaust has a "trumpet" sound, so perhaps something unique to Honda or its rain setup?
Remember the "big bang" motors? Unique piston firing/ rotation order.

M Mar got a well-deserved (finally) finish, plus MM gets points from me for as, a long-time rider and champion, he knows how to ride in the rain.
Good race to watch, as again, I am so amazed that 300-hp bikes can be ridden so quickly in the rain.
When I rain raced it was only with 100 HP... such a squid LOL.
No spoilers from me, only the title chase is closer.

Next (if not mistaken) .... INDONESIA ... Oct 15, 2023

 

Wow... for me what a great race.

I may even watch the race a second time... Again to me this was a great race.

Spoilers below !!!!

Duc, App, Yam 1,2,3 and within a second.
Bag 13 to 1st I believe.
Quat well deserved.... demonstration of a former World Champ.
Not sure what it is with Quat's difficulty passing for 2nd.
Tire, power, can't believe it is desire.
M Mar I heard this was his 23rd ! crash this season.
You may know the new. M Mar is leaving Honda next year to ride a Duc, same team as his brother, A Mar.
I enjoyed the track layout.
Seems turn 10 was difficult, I actually hope "they" don't change it.
Moto 3 still impresses me with the entire pack "there" at the finish.
Bag...back to leading the world championship.
And "poor" J Mar, crashing with a 3-second lead around lap 13 of 27.
Front tire challenges or the track difficulty the cause?
In regards to difficulty, it seemed to me the racing line was important, as off-line seemed to cause troubles.
As I recall, 5 riders crashed out.
And B. Binder, double long lap penalties, he was quite aggressive banging shoulder to others bikes.
I am not so sure about that aggression or if it is just racing.
Lastly, Ducati launch control....what an asset.

NEXT...Australia...OCT. 22, 2023

 

Wow, Australia, worth watching, surprise filled action.
At the very least watch the last 5 laps of Moto GP.
This was a dry weather race.

Moto3 also had an exciting, if not sad for 2nd place, finish.
Moto 2 too many crashes, it was wet weather.

NEXT...Thailand... OCT. 29, 2023

 

Thailand...what a great race... the entire race.
No spoilers, but the Premier class podium had the 4th closest finish in GP history...within a second.
Championship is now about10 points between 1st & 2nd.
Next... Malaysia...Nov 12, 2023

 

Moto3 was also exciting as always, with rookie and fellow Dutchman Collin Veijer finally on the podium!

 

Anf today he followed up with a maiden win!

 

Also great to see The Beast on top again.

 

Malasia.... high speed track.
200 mph + straight.

Moto 3 was again great racing.
Moto 2 Championship decided.
Moto GP, well kind of boring at the front.
No spoilers.
GP, to me, the rider issues were extreme environment heat, front tire pressure, and tire life.
It seems 1st and 2nd just had everything "dialed in".
I think 3rd was tire managing and 4th had their tires not optimized.
This track had many corners where elbow scraping was the norm.
The bikes seemed to move around a lot, strain line wheelies, skipping fronts, heavy front braking.
Ya, that track had high speed "action".
And those tire issues, I think that made the riders not want to follow to closely, except that second group 5 -10 place position desires.
That 5-10 place was perhaps the most interesting racing.

I'd like to mention Quatario.
Love him or hate him, he was a World Champ.

To me it seems his Yamaha is an issue.
It does not seem to have the HP to pass the Ducati's.
The Yam seems to brake well, and as far as I can tell suspension and chassis are good.
I also have a "love" for Yamaha.
The DT1, YZ, RD, M1, Vmax what a history.
Then there is their history in the GP two-stroke racing.
Who can forget K Roberts and W Rainey?
I miss the close action of Rainey, Doohan and Schwanz; I just love those "explosive" 2 strokes
So, I look as Quat as the underdog.

I hope Yamaha make a great stride/ improvement for next year.
And again, Quat, I would love to see all the World Champs (inc. M Mar on his new Ducati ride) at the front.

Next...QATAR ..... November 19, 2023

 

What a return! Amazing performance.
La Bestia is back (from injuries) and finally he could adjust to factory GP23 bike !

@Kenny94945 - Quartararo is no slouch, for sure he can ride, and Yamaha is a more tamed bike than brute Ducati-s, so it can help with tyres etc. on some tracks especially in extreme temperatures.
But this is not enough when this year's race was 15 seconds faster than last year.(in a 20 laps race)

 

Now the championship is really uncertain between Bagnaia and Martin - I initially thought Bagnaia was safe because the other contenders were sharing points whereas he was always placed, but eventually Martin emerged as the only - and dangerous - challenger.
It's amazing how things change in motogp from one day to the next: yesterday Martin won while Bagnaia had an anonymous result, but today (although Bagnaia did not win) it was the other way round, and even worse for Martin.
With only one GP weekend left, Bagnaia has the advantage though.

 

The race highlights made premier class this race exciting.
Race for 3rd - 6th was the action IMO.

Dare I say poor Jorge Martin, and for us fans, his rear tire, from the start, and one of the worst starts I recall seeing, set the stage.
His launch reminded me of dumping the clutch on a wet road.
I am unsure if this was a "bad" Michelin construction or if it was a tire pressure choice.
I recall both Bag and Jorge choose hard front/ hard rear compounds.
From that start and on Jorge struggled.
Quats pass on Jorge was an awesome move.
Then Bag leading most of the race, well I could expect that .. Ducati and World Champ.
I was surprised at Bag motivation to win, well being a racer, maybe not so surprised, over points.

I understand Bag could win the championship during the sprint race, yet I sure would like the championship decided in the actual GP race.
Valencia is the final race of this season.

Next....VALENCIA...Nov. 26, 2023


----- QATAR SPOILER BELOW -------
Fabio Dig winning, made me smile.
He has no ride next year (true? not sure of the background/ story) and this win was his first Premier class win.
That is so great for him and his future reminiscing.
Now down to Valenica with a 21 point lead for Bag over Jorge.

 

Great sprint race today! The final race of the season should be fantastic.

I don't think Martin should blame Michelin for Qatar. He was faster in Sprint than Pecco and Pecco was faster in main race on Sunday.

 

.... and so Bagnaia is champion again. To be honest, it's been closer than expected at some point during the season; but probably it took too much time to Martin to emerge as the only challenger.
Ducati has had many riders fighting for wins this year; I wonder how it will work out whenever another manufacturer (Aprilia or KTM most probably) will release a bike really able to counter Ducati's domination.

 

Yep, 2023 season is over....

THERE ARE SPOILERS BELOW.

Bag - 2 years in a row - world champion and I understand this is his 3rd # 1.

The racetrack looked like a sold-out event and Valencia has beaches.
Maybe a great place to travel to for a season finale.
(Maybe Austria, for F1 cars or MotoGP, Redbull Ring would be good for a mid-season visit; but +1 for the beaches)

To many crashes in Valencia
Because of this, I found the race itself not that exciting.
With the Championship points decided early in the race, the thrill was lessened for me anyway.

And Jorge Martin, what a downer for him, and maybe us fans too.
I was looking/ awaiting a fantastic race between Bag & Jor.
But it was not to be.
I think Jor was out around lap 10 of 27.

After race start, Jor & Bag 1 & 2.... then Jor error to about 8th place and then, a race through the pack until a f**k up, taking M. Marquis out.
Great that M. Mar seems uninjured, but ouch, sure looked like that one hurt.
That is another thing from this season, didn't M Mar have 27 crashes? Just wow.
M Mar 8 time world champ - missing luck or time to be a team owner?

And my underdog Quat, seems he had a 100-degree fever/ illness, yet I believe he finished 10th (out of 15 or so). ...again, too many crashes in Valencia.

For me the best part of watching this race was after Bag was told Jor was out. To me it seemed the pressure/ nerves were lessened so Bag just calmly applied the gas and brake. In other words, he began a Sunday afternoon ride for fun. In that regard, his for fun speed placed him a solid 3rd. I just loved seeing a world champ cruising and showing his skills. He'd probably lap me if he was riding a Honda 50 before I began lap 2 and I was riding a Ducati 1000. Again, to me, Bag cruising with less pressure, cool and calm, was an awesome display of riding skill.

As mentioned by a co-member above, hopefully the other manufacturers will have bikes equal to Ducati next year. I sure hope Quat's Yamaha shows major updates. And M Mar, with his brother A Mar on the same team, w/ Ducati power will be interesting. I hope M. Mar has not "aged out" and can podium. Plus, with his bro, some "Grasshopper/ Master" (old USA TV show - Kung Fu - reference) teaching occurs.

In closing, I hope all that contributed to or read this thread enjoyed it.

Here's a wish/ toast to your 2023 Holiday season and New Years 2024.

I am looking forward to the next Moto GP season.

Kenny

 

This was one of the best seasons I can remember.

 

It was a great season, I mistakenly heard that FB won, so I dont think I watched the last 1 or 2 races. I stream them on the Moto GP site. I was hoping Martin was going to win . Im looking forward to the next season as well.

Big G