2023 FIM MotoGP World Championship.

[AMG.Tzan]

Now he is talking about top speed, acceleration, the traction but not turns. Joan Mir also said he was happy with his lap times. So there is an improvements. Maybe top speed is also because of lack of traction.

An impressive ride from Marc Marquez at the French MotoGP unfortunately ended with a crash, meaning he is still yet to finish a grand prix in 2023.

Marquez, likely exhausted in his first full-length outing since the season-opener due to recovering from a hand surgery, lost the front of his Honda on the penultimate lap, while Jorge Martin overtook him.

He had previously offered a reminder of his brilliance by passing Francesco Bagnaia to take an early lead.

Was Marquez’s efforts in Le Mans enough to remind his rivals that he is officially back in business?

“I enjoyed it a lot,” he smiled. “It was one of my better races, a long time ago.

“It’s true that I crashed, but I enjoyed it a lot, I was riding well and felt well with the bike.

“It’s true that I was losing where we were losing - in the straights, top speed, acceleration, in the traction area.

“But we were riding in a very good way. This was very, very important.

It’s a shame that, in the end, after all that work we didn’t receive a good result.

“But we showed to everybody that we are there.

“Now it’s time to analyse, to keep working, and to be better in Mugello.”

Asked if he had any regrets, he said: “No, no. I’m happy. It’s true that I would like to finish the race.

Marc
“But with the tools we have, it’s difficult, for the moment, to fight for those positions.

“I saw that I was able to do it, but not in the best way.

“We have to fight in that position with less risk.

“So we have to work together with the team.”

Marquez was racing for the first time since Portimao, the first round of 2023, when he crashed into Miguel Oliveira causing injuries to both men.

https://www.crash.net/motogp/news/10263 ... -less-risk

Yeah there were positives from Le Mans!

The Honda looked much more stable on the brakes and on turns! But it still loses out on traction out of corners and thus loses top speed at the end of the straight! So apparently the Kalex chassis at least made the bike easier to ride! When Mir manages to finish a race I’ll say the Honda is good

Marc had huge pressure from Martin and in the end he made a small mistake “leaning too much” he said…I was also thinking that he should let Martin go but there was Zarco behind so there was no point really!

KTM looks like a promising prospect for Marquez! But he’ll want a factory machine not a Gasgas or a Husquvarna! Aprilia is also a great bike and then if he wants Ducati the only great seat is Pramac really!

KTM has Red Bull helping them aerodynamically so they might be the best bike on the grid given a bit more time! It already looks quite good…

[etusch]

The Honda looked much more stable on the brakes and on turns! But it still loses out on traction out of corners and thus loses top speed at the end of the straight! So apparently the Kalex chassis at least made the bike easier to ride! When Mir manages to finish a race I’ll say the Honda is good

He does not like to see chequered flag

Marc had huge pressure from Martin and in the end he made a small mistake “leaning too much” he said…I was also thinking that he should let Martin go but there was Zarco behind so there was no point really!

He also lost race line. I think both his mistake and his line caused it. Maybe tyre wear too.

KTM looks like a promising prospect for Marquez! But he’ll want a factory machine not a Gasgas or a Husquvarna! Aprilia is also a great bike and then if he wants Ducati the only great seat is Pramac really!

Apprilla is useless. They are like Ferrari in F1. Then don't bring results with that fast bike.
I believe MM will win with that KTM. But I don't know if he choose to go there. Maybe Honda can show some improvements.

[AMG.Tzan]

Isn't it time they banned the use of the rear height device during the race too??

I was watching the race at Mugello and it was unbelievable how even exiting from the last corner 0,3 behind they couldn't get past using the slipstream! It's like there's no slipstream effect anymore...

Other than that I think they should reduce the aero bits a little since a lot of riders lose balance at the end of a straight when close behind another bike! It's like a vacuum that pulls them in and they can't stop the bike...it's getting dangerous now I think!

[Cuky]

Aero is a tough one for me. On one hand I like it how with already pretty restricted area where they can work something out manufacturers are producing such intricate designs that obviously do work for them, but on the other hand I don't like how bikes are getting harder to race.

But what can FIM and Dorna do? If they ban wings, manufacturers will start incorporating them into the fairing slots. If they go down F1 route and tightly define every single curve on the fairings then we end up with 22 bikes that are all looking the same. Not only would that make the grid look dull it would just direct R&D money into electronics or some trick suspension designs to get the desired effect.


As for rear rideheight device, I wouldn't be against banning it. They already have anti wheelie assists so let them work with that and with rider positioning

[Andres125sx]

What a race for Jorge Martin, impressive face to face with Bagnaia, I was afraid any of them could crash becase they both were at the very limit constantly

Now Peco will have a tough fight for the title, great season!

[Bill_Kar]

What a race for Jorge Martin, impressive face to face with Bagnaia, I was afraid any of them could crash becase they both were at the very limit constantly

Now Peco will have a tough fight for the title, great season!

Martin is a very fast rider, but he is inconsistent. Otherwise, he would have been picked for the factory seat last year over Bastianini.

He is impressive so far this season, but I do not really think he can take the challenge to PB63.

[Andres125sx]

Well, the table says otherwise. Peco is not a rock solid rider either so I think it will be quite even, or I hope so!

[Bill_Kar]

Well, the table says otherwise. Peco is not a rock solid rider either so I think it will be quite even, or I hope so!

Well, yeah he is close. But Bezzecchi was also close at the start of the season (he was actually leading the standings). The thing is that the other Ducatis are inconsistent. PB63 is always fighting for 1st or 2nd, Bezzecchi or Martin find themselves well outside of the podiums a decent number of times. Martin also has a habit of laying his back on the gravel, quite regularly.

Don't get me wrong, I personally like Martin. But a great streak of three races doesn't automatically make you a championship contender, just as it didn't Bezzecchi. I would like to see this momentum carrying over multiple races. Especially because Martin is a volatile rider.

And if PB63 stop having brainfart moments as he did in the first races (Argentine,Texas), he will simply run away with this championship.

[Andres125sx]

That was my though too, but looking at the results, both Martin and Bagnaia have had similar consistency

Bezzechi was on top at the beginning of the season, but now we are not at the beginning of the season, so some good result will not put you on top of the table like at first GPs of the season with Bezzechi. Consistencyis a must, at least similar to those on top.

Bezzechi didn't prove it, but Martin did, that's the reason for their positions in the table

We could also consider brainfarts those crashes from Martin, then if he avoid any more and repeat last results, he will win the title

I think both Martin and Bagnaia will fight for the title, and probably consistency will be the key, only that I'm not sure about who will be stronger in this regard

Exciting season ahead!

[Bill_Kar]

That was my though too, but looking at the results, both Martin and Bagnaia have had similar consistency

Bezzechi was on top at the beginning of the season, but now we are not at the beginning of the season, so some good result will not put you on top of the table like at first GPs of the season with Bezzechi. Consistencyis a must, at least similar to those on top.

Bezzechi didn't prove it, but Martin did, that's the reason for their positions in the table

We could also consider brainfarts those crashes from Martin, then if he avoid any more and repeat last results, he will win the title

I think both Martin and Bagnaia will fight for the title, and probably consistency will be the key, only that I'm not sure about who will be stronger in this regard

Exciting season ahead!

Thanks for the discussion!

I agree with you, and trust me, I am not a PB63 fan, I don't want him to run away with it

I don't mind if he wins B2B championships, but after EB23 injury, I was strapped for a boring title run. So, let's go Martin!

Also, Pedro Acosta to satellite KTM for 2024 (not official yet). I also suppose he will be in the factory seat in 2025. Fingers crossed KTM doesn't bottle their bike because I long for manufacturer champ battles.

[Andres125sx]

Agree, and thank you too

Right now Peco is the man to beat and Martin still need to prove consistency along a whole season, I agree with that. Only that this season he´s improving in that regard a bit, and also I don´t consider Peco as extremelly strong in that regard either, so I hope for a tight title battle

But who knows, some more DNF while the other wins could change everything

Acosta to KTM in 2024? Not sure if that´s a good move, even if KTM is improving I´m not sure, I think he could sign with a stronger team. But he need to prove his talent in MotoGP too so for a maiden in MotoGP maybe it´s a good option

[Wouter]

[Cuky]

IMHO Marc should be suspended until the end of the season, both to protect him and more importantly all the other riders around him.

That Honda bike doesn't seem to work, making me wonder what woodoo stuff Mir did in US to win with it. But it also seems that Marc doesn't seem to work that well at the moment too. And that combo, of Honda and Marc not being fit is a dangerous one and if it is allowed to continue it won't take long for a disaster to happen.

Just that clash with Bastianini.. they are both off line, Bestia looking for traffic so to not impede anyone that might be on a hot lap while rejoining the racing line and Marc just straight up runs into him. For what is in many people's eyes a GOAT that is an embarrassing lack of spatial awareness, common sense and should be looked into more. We all remember that he had a lot of problems with double vision at some point in last 2 years. Could it be that those problems are recurring, especially with all those crashes week in - week out?

I mean, in last 2-3 years Marc has either been missing races due to injuries or wreaking havoc on the track either for himself or for others.

[AMG.Tzan]

IMHO Marc should be suspended until the end of the season, both to protect him and more importantly all the other riders around him.

That Honda bike doesn't seem to work, making me wonder what woodoo stuff Mir did in US to win with it. But it also seems that Marc doesn't seem to work that well at the moment too. And that combo, of Honda and Marc not being fit is a dangerous one and if it is allowed to continue it won't take long for a disaster to happen.

Just that clash with Bastianini.. they are both off line, Bestia looking for traffic so to not impede anyone that might be on a hot lap while rejoining the racing line and Marc just straight up runs into him. For what is in many people's eyes a GOAT that is an embarrassing lack of spatial awareness, common sense and should be looked into more. We all remember that he had a lot of problems with double vision at some point in last 2 years. Could it be that those problems are recurring, especially with all those crashes week in - week out?

I mean, in last 2-3 years Marc has either been missing races due to injuries or wreaking havoc on the track either for himself or for others.

Can’t believe these kind of comments exist in here! This is not Twitter just to remind you…

It was really an unfortunate accident! Same goes for Portimao and Saschenring with Zarco! Even Bastianini had the same accident at Mugello on the warm up lap a few years ago and he even mentioned it himself in the interview!

As for the Zarco accident you just have to watch Vinales losing Alex Marquez by cm about 1-2 minutes before Marc’s accident with Zarco!

And Portimao was also the same unfortunate situation! Anyone locking the front would have ended up the same way as Marc! Remember Nakagami at Barcelona last year…

A lot of people have been talking about Marc pushing a lot and all these things! But he isn’t doing anything new really! The bike is just ridiculous and that shows when you’ve got another 2 brilliant riders on the deck all the time (Rins and Mir)

Marc is just in an unfortunate and bad situation right now! When it rains it pours they say and that’s exactly what’s happening right now for him! There are way more dangerous riders in there if you’re looking for a suspension…

He just needs a new environment and everything will fall back into place again…

[AMG.Tzan]

Agree, and thank you too

Right now Peco is the man to beat and Martin still need to prove consistency along a whole season, I agree with that. Only that this season he´s improving in that regard a bit, and also I don´t consider Peco as extremelly strong in that regard either, so I hope for a tight title battle

But who knows, some more DNF while the other wins could change everything

Acosta to KTM in 2024? Not sure if that´s a good move, even if KTM is improving I´m not sure, I think he could sign with a stronger team. But he need to prove his talent in MotoGP too so for a maiden in MotoGP maybe it´s a good option

But KTM seem to be improving rapidly right now! I think they’re the ones that could fight Ducati in terms of development if you also take into account their relations with Red Bull technologies!

Acosta though has to prove himself in the top category! Augusta Fernandez beat Acosta last year yet he’s just now starting to shine…though I wouldn’t call his speed really promising! So let’s wait and see about Acosta next year!

Question is: where do KTM place him? Is there really any chance of a third KTM team?