MotoGP 2014

[Huntresa]

As soon as the Melanie sykes (the new motoGP commentator, who is already annoying me with her inane comments)just before qualifying said that A.Esp was ''faultless all weekend, cool, calm and collected'' it was inevitable that he was going to crash - as it turns out twice.

The new rules have done something and guaranteed another. The rules have brought much of the field closer yet those over worked and overly complex rules make it an almost certainty that bizarre penalties and/or situations will develop over the course of the season which will leave everyone scratching their heads.

Yahama factory are nowhere. Ducati don't seem to have made any significant steps forward. Honda seem to have dropped down a bit too. The satelite honda and yahama teams though have done a decent job to qualify 2nd and 3rd.

Stand out riders from quali are Marq, Bautista and Smith. A. Esp should have been front row but looked like he was trying a little too hard. Smith is proving a lot of people wrong, it was only in the test after the final race last year that we all realised Smith was riding a bike which was greatly inferior to Crutchlows. As far as I am aware Smith and P. Esp are riding identical bikes this year so it will be interesting to see how that battle develops over the season.

Rossi, and I hate to say this because I still dare to hope, needs to retire, and Pedrosa is even looking a bit passed it nowadays as well. It is only the first race of the season, but again it looks like a another data point which in my view suggests that both riders have been on a downward sloping trend in terms of performance.

I agree with you on everything except the Ducati bit, i mean Dovi qualified 4th, that must be a step forward no ? Now i havent seen the race simulations during Practice so maybe you know something bout their race pace that i dont so if so ignore this

[JimClarkFan]

I agree with you on everything except the Ducati bit, i mean Dovi qualified 4th, that must be a step forward no ? Now i havent seen the race simulations during Practice so maybe you know something bout their race pace that i dont so if so ignore this

You are probably right, I was thinking more of average position and Crutchlow was bringing it down. I guess if we look at Dov by himself, which provides a more stable bench mark when comparing to last year, then you are probably correct.

I'm disappointed by Yamaha factory, might even go as far as saying hurt lol

[Huntresa]

I agree with you on everything except the Ducati bit, i mean Dovi qualified 4th, that must be a step forward no ? Now i havent seen the race simulations during Practice so maybe you know something bout their race pace that i dont so if so ignore this

You are probably right, I was thinking more of average position and Crutchlow was bringing it down. I guess if we look at Dov by himself, which provides a more stable bench mark when comparing to last year, then you are probably correct.

I'm disappointed by Yamaha factory, might even go as far as saying hurt lol

YEah i dont understand what Factory Yamaha are doing... The swedish commentators were commenting on that the Moto2 class is such a good class cause of the spec tyres and the way they worked last year in contention with A.Esp cause he could rive on pretty much dmged tyres last year and still win, and so the conclusion of the debate was that the new guys from Moto2 just drives what they get and have compared to the likes of Lorenzo who wants a special tyre and a special feeling in them for him to perform at 100%.

Dunno how accurate that is but its no secret its gotta be good coming from Moto2 having to manage driving on crap tyres at the end of races.

Edit: Adding this qoute from Smith

Smith however says his performance should be taken as proof that the issues are not insurmountable.

He argued that testing for three days in Qatar prior to the season-opener - a test the Factory outfits did not attend - had been enough to make a breakthrough with the set-up.

"I don't really know what the other Yamaha riders are complaining so much about," Smith said following qualifying.

"We knew this was going to be the situation, Bridgestone made it very clear from the first test.

"I accepted it didn't work that well on the first day, but between me and the team we continued to work more and more.

"Of course we had three days advantage here; I have three days more information than them.

[oT v1]

I think after a few races, the utter dominance of the Repsol boys and Jorge will be back, with the usual Rossi/Baut/Tech-3 battle in the next group down. Remember the Sepang times guys. I think Rossi will have a better year overall than last year but i'm not sure about a win, he got lucky with the injuries (even though it pains me to say it).

The season will be a re-run of last year, Dukes falling back, Tech 3 and Rossi/Baut having the best battles, Jorge whining every time he gets near a microphone, Marq smiling a lot.

[JimClarkFan]

Edit: Adding this qoute from Smith

Smith however says his performance should be taken as proof that the issues are not insurmountable.

He argued that testing for three days in Qatar prior to the season-opener - a test the Factory outfits did not attend - had been enough to make a breakthrough with the set-up.

"I don't really know what the other Yamaha riders are complaining so much about," Smith said following qualifying.

"We knew this was going to be the situation, Bridgestone made it very clear from the first test.

"I accepted it didn't work that well on the first day, but between me and the team we continued to work more and more.

"Of course we had three days advantage here; I have three days more information than them.

I don't really understand why Bradley says that, because brad can qualify on the "extra soft" and I believe he did yesterday but the two teams in the factory class cannot use that tyre at all. Same for the race.

[mx_tifoso]

Lorenzo punted himself off during the first lap! Cocked up the braking and lost it while leading.

This season is going to be another impressive one! Hopefully the Ducati's keep their upward stride.

[Huntresa]

Edit: Adding this qoute from Smith

Smith however says his performance should be taken as proof that the issues are not insurmountable.

He argued that testing for three days in Qatar prior to the season-opener - a test the Factory outfits did not attend - had been enough to make a breakthrough with the set-up.

"I don't really know what the other Yamaha riders are complaining so much about," Smith said following qualifying.

"We knew this was going to be the situation, Bridgestone made it very clear from the first test.

"I accepted it didn't work that well on the first day, but between me and the team we continued to work more and more.

"Of course we had three days advantage here; I have three days more information than them.

I don't really understand why Bradley says that, because brad can qualify on the "extra soft" and I believe he did yesterday but the two teams in the factory class cannot use that tyre at all. Same for the race.

Yeah i wonderd the same, cause the rule is that if a team under factory hasnt won a dry race last year they can use Open Class Rules, but the commentators in sweden hasnt mentioned this or does the Satelitte teams inherit the main factory teams wins ? But then again the tyre structure is new as in the wall etc so even if they can run softer it might not make things better.

Cause if they dont all the sat teams should be in the open class rules no ? Or am i missing a win last year ?

[Huntresa]

So is this the track or the new tyre causing the falls ? I mean we have had Ducati, Yamaha and Honda fall over with a front wheel letting go pretty much so we cant blame one bike.

[Rikhart]

Rossi, and I hate to say this because I still dare to hope, needs to retire

Uh uh...

[JimClarkFan]

To be honest Huntresa, I am utterly confused by the rules. I have no idea what is going on after the commentary on that race and I thought I was getting a handle on things.

I am pleased to say that Rossi looked great today... he was faster in the race by quite some margin compared to qualifying which is very encouraging although there was also a false dawn for Rossi last year at this track as well.

Rossi, and I hate to say this because I still dare to hope, needs to retire

Uh uh...

Hey, I'm happy to eat my words on this occasion like I said above though, it was a similar story last year here for Rossi.

[Huntresa]

What we can take from the race tho is that Factory Honda and Factory Yamaha with Production/Last Year Yamaha is faster then Factory Ducati which seems to be on par with Production Honda more or less.

[oT v1]

Hey, I'm happy to eat my words on this occasion like I said above though, it was a similar story last year here for Rossi.

But he wasnt so close in testing though, it would be amazing if the switch away from Burgess brings him back to the front i didnt think he'd be able to match Marquez this year but i was wrong! Forza Vale!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

EDIT: also i'm not quite sure why Bridgestone didnt have a dual compound front, as well as rear, most of the crashes happened on the front end in left hand corners.....

[JimClarkFan]

Rossi was fairly close to the front in Sepang, and I think one other test during the year.

Strange how the Yamaha was so fast during the race, I wonder if it would be better for Rossi to just go out and keep running on the same tyre during quali and try and build his speed up rather than coming in for a new set of tyres.

[oT v1]

"Rossi hints at contract renewal with Yamaha"

http://www.motogp.com/en/news/2014/Vale ... is+renewal

I'm happy for him! (and for me, i am a broke 3rd year student, it means i have another year to save up to see him on track again haha)

[JimClarkFan]

"Rossi hints at contract renewal with Yamaha"

http://www.motogp.com/en/news/2014/Vale ... is+renewal

I'm happy for him! (and for me, i am a broke 3rd year student, it means i have another year to save up to see him on track again haha)

I hope he stays provided he remains competitive, I don't want to see an un-competitive Rossi.