Motogp 2018 News & Chat

h3000

As expected Iannone off too Aprilia.
https://twitter.com/MotoGPKiko/status/1005133084990345217

Magown3

Who are the current riders without a ride for next year?

Pedrosa
Smith
Redding

To be honest, wouldn't miss the last 2. Would love to see Pedrosa on the Yamaha or Suzuki

Infoanon

h3000 wrote: »

As expected Iannone off too Aprilia.
https://twitter.com/MotoGPKiko/status/1005133084990345217

And then there was 5 - 5 seats remain to be filled - the second LCR,Avintia and MarcVd and both Nieto aka Aspar.

Unlikely to see any changes at LCR and Avinta that leaves 3 rides with possibly Nieto ,Marc Vds (or a new Petronas backed team) having a factory Yamaha !

Infoanon

Hector Barbara has been dropped by Pons after being stopped for drink driving on Thursday in Valencia

h3000

Infoanon wrote: »

Hector Barbara has been dropped by Pons after being stopped for drink driving on Thursday in Valencia

Hector doesn’t seem to be the most stable or responsible man in his personal life.

CJhaughey

I can't see the Honda suiting Lorenzo, its a short high and twitchy machine that most riders have trouble with, Lorenzo is all about 250 style high corner speed.
I might be wrong but both Miller and Crutchlow have said the RCV iis not an easygoing machine.
Pedrosa's ex manager Puig has been trying to get Pedrosa out for a while now, and I think that the HRC garage next year wil be a very interesting place with both Marquez and Lorenzo being such strong personalities.
The grid next year looks like 6 Honda, 6 Ducati, 4 Yamaha, 4 KTM and 2 Suzuki and 2 Aprilia
Lots of new talent being promoted from Moto2 as well, good to see young riders being given a chance.
I hope that Zarco's move to KTM pays off, he's a good rider and could take a championship on the right machinery but I fear that KTM may find the gap to the podium gets exponentially harder from their current grid standing, those last 10ths are very hard to find.

Infoanon

CJhaughey wrote: »

I can't see the Honda suiting Lorenzo, its a short high and twitchy machine that most riders have trouble with, Lorenzo is all about 250 style high corner speed.
I might be wrong but both Miller and Crutchlow have said the RCV iis not an easygoing machine.
Pedrosa's ex manager Puig has been trying to get Pedrosa out for a while now, and I think that the HRC garage next year wil be a very interesting place with both Marquez and Lorenzo being such strong personalities.
The grid next year looks like 6 Honda, 6 Ducati, 4 Yamaha, 4 KTM and 2 Suzuki and 2 Aprilia
Lots of new talent being promoted from Moto2 as well, good to see young riders being given a chance.
I hope that Zarco's move to KTM pays off, he's a good rider and could take a championship on the right machinery but I fear that KTM may find the gap to the podium gets exponentially harder from their current grid standing, those last 10ths are very hard to find.

4 Hondas as it's highly likely that Marc Vds will switch to Yamaha or if Marc Vds drops to Moto 2 only then it's moto gp replacement will be Yamaha satellite. 8 not 6 Ducati looks more likely at this moment

Pugzilla

What's the chance of Jonathan Rea switching to Moto GP next season?
WSBK is awfully boring at the moment with him dominating.

CJhaughey

Pugzilla wrote: »

What's the chance of Jonathan Rea switching to Moto GP next season?
WSBK is awfully boring at the moment with him dominating.

He didn't dominate Race2 at Brno?
Maybe the high track temps don't suit the Kwaka ?
Sykes as well found it tricky.

Infoanon

CJhaughey wrote: »

He didn't dominate Race2 at Brno?
Maybe the high track temps don't suit the Kwaka ?
Sykes as well found it tricky.

Joan Mir confirmed at Suzuki for 2019/2020

h3000

Pugzilla wrote: »

What's the chance of Jonathan Rea switching to Moto GP next season?
WSBK is awfully boring at the moment with him dominating.

There was talk of a MotoGP switch but he has just been confirmed with Kawasaki for two more years. It must be really fun breaking records and having a competitive bike help him to do so. No point switching to MotoGP on a slow bike.

https://www.crash.net/wsbk/news/898116/1/rea-signs-new-kawasaki-deal-stay-until-2020

CJhaughey

Zero point in Rea going to MotoGP on anything other than a Factory ride.
It would make sense from a SBK point of view but GP is snobby like that, they tend to just promote from within GP circles.

Infoanon

h3000 wrote: »

There was talk of a MotoGP switch but he has just been confirmed with Kawasaki for two more years. It must be really fun breaking records and having a competitive bike help him to do so. No point switching to MotoGP on a slow bike.

https://www.crash.net/wsbk/news/898116/1/rea-signs-new-kawasaki-deal-stay-until-2020

The facrory moto gp options all dryer up unfortunately - would have been good

Pugzilla

I thought he would want to test himself against the best in the world. It's like dominating the Europa League, sure it's a great achievement in its own right, but he should be competing in the top competition.

h3000

Pugzilla wrote: »

I thought he would want to test himself against the best in the world. It's like dominating the Europa League, sure it's a great achievement in its own right, but he should be competing in the top competition.

Only if he got the right bike to fight on though. The right bike just doesn't seem to have been available. His Kawasaki SBK is as fast/faster than some of the lower end MotoGP bikes. I'm sure he want's to be fighting for wins rather than 10th or 11th.

CJhaughey

He had a ride with Honda back in 2012 when Stoner was injured, Finished 8th I think which was pretty decent for the amount of time he had on the bike.
Honda don't take superbike seriously, I heard once that Nakamoto regarded any money spent on WSBK as being directly removed from the MotoGP effort.
Rea overrode that Fireblade for years to get the results he got, the current WSBK effort isn't any better and has shown to be less than stellar even with good riders aboard.
Only two factories take SBK seriously, Kawasaki and Ducati the rest aren't up to much.
Honda and Yamaha have no real interest.
Aprilia don't have enough money to do both MotoGP and WSBK and look likely to drop out of WSBK next year
Suzuki are where in WSBK? Apart from Wildcards by Bradley Ray and Gino Rea they aren't racing.
BMW have Loris Baz on a privateer team and Jordi Torres is pedalling that old MV around as well.

tommyboy26

i know kawasaki dropped out of motogp because of the cost of having a bike in it but whats the chance they ever come back to motogp?

Infoanon

tommyboy26 wrote: »

i know kawasaki dropped out of motogp because of the cost of having a bike in it but whats the chance they ever come back to motogp?

Dorna are happy with the 6 teams they have in moto gp - they also run wsbk and are happy to keepKawasaki there.

Dorna long term moto gp plan is 6 teams with 2 factory entries and 2 satellite entries - with a proviso that a VR46 entry would be accommodated making a 26 bike grid.

Infoanon

Dani Pedosa announced at 3.15 today

tommyboy26

no sign of an announcement yet.

i get a feeling he isnt going to be riding a motogp bike next year.

maybe a test rider or retirement

Infoanon

tommyboy26 wrote: »

no sign of an announcement yet.

i get a feeling he isnt going to be riding a motogp bike next year.

maybe a test rider or retirement

I was fearing retirement but Dani has said that he has good options for 2019 - the satellite 2019 Yamaha must be still in play.

Lin Jarvis was very honest in his BT Sports interview and said that the rumoured Petronas SIC deal with take a few months to put in place.

tommyboy26

Infoanon wrote: »

I was fearing retirement but Dani has said that he has good options for 2019 - the satellite 2019 Yamaha must be still in play.

Lin Jarvis was very honest in his BT Sports interview and said that the rumoured Petronas SIC deal with take a few months to put in place.

he was asked if he would retire and he said he would not comment on his options.

redding is saying he learned he had lost his aprilla ride on social media and that the team had not said anything to him.

that cant be right?

Infoanon

Pedrosa would be a welcome addition to the Yamaha family according to Lin Jarvis with Maverick Vinales apparently very open to Pedrosa being on a Yamaha in 2019.

Satellite options for Yamaha are apparently Angel Nieto and now less likely MarcVds

The Nal

How much are Ducati going to regret the decision to let Jorge go?! Seems to have finally got to grips with the bike.

Magown3

The Nal wrote: »

How much are Ducati going to regret the decision to let Jorge go?! Seems to have finally got to grips with the bike.

How much is Jorge going to regret the decision to move to another unknown bike after finally getting to grips with the Ducati
:D

Infoanon

The majority of the factory riders are locked in for 2019/2020 - this 2 year cycle being one of Joan Mirs reasons for going to Moto GP in 2019.

One obvious exception is Petrucci who had today stated that it was his decision to sign for 19 only to give him a stronger bargaining position in 2020.

I find this odd especially with Miller and potentially Rabat possible factory riders at Ducati in the future.

The rumours that MarcVds will only compete in Moto 2 is strengthening though MorbidellI will almost certainly be on a satellite Yamaha next season

legrand

Assen , one word -  cracker!

h3000

legrand wrote: »

Assen , one word -  cracker!

I was away at the beach today and was looking forward to sitting down this evening and watching the races to find out that the series link never worked. No MotoGP for me :mad:

Pugzilla

Good race, but the championship is effectively over with half the season left.

The Nal

Pugzilla wrote: »

Good race, but the championship is effectively over with half the season left.

A DNF or two from Marquez would change that. Hes just so good though.

Frank Bullitt

http://www.motogp.com/en/news/2018/07/12/pedrosa-announces-retirement/264728

Pedrosa calls it quits, the right decision I think. Great career.

tommyboy26

Gintonious wrote: »

http://www.motogp.com/en/news/2018/07/12/pedrosa-announces-retirement/264728

Pedrosa calls it quits, the right decision I think. Great career.

was it the right decision? Probably

however i would have liked to see him compete on a different make of bike even for one year just to see how he would preform outside of honda.

he had a great career it will be sad to see him go!

Pugzilla

Most successful Moto GP racer to never win a championship.

Max Headroom

Pugzilla wrote: »

Most successful Moto GP racer to never win a championship.

Most successful riders win, Dani while a brilliant rider lacked that killer instinct imo...

Pugzilla

Yawn

Infoanon

Alex Marquez has been confirmed at MarcVDS for moto 2 in 2019.

Knock on effect is that it probably confirms MarcVDS withdrawal from MotoGP which in turn releases Frankie Morbidelli from his MarcVDS contract to move to SIC Yamaha.

Dani was being lined up but has announced his retirement, Bradley was also being lined up but was told after Assen to look elsewhere.

Fabio Quartararo is rumoured to have signed !but Alvaro Bautista is still in the frame and his performance at Sachsenring will have helped his cause.

Xavier Simeon is rumoured to be out of Avintia (no 2 year contract...) ,Tito Rabat should be a shoe in for the GP18 bike with Karl Abraham or Alvaro on the second bike (a GP18??).

Scott Redding has been offered a test rider role at Aprilla,Dani has a similar offer at Honda,but Bradley and Thomas Luthi are almost certain to be out of MotoGP with Luthi possibly going back to Moto2

legrand

Great dice, enjoyed that.

Infoanon

[quote="Infoanon;107546610".

Fabio Quartararo is rumoured to have signed
Luthi possibly going back to Moto2[/quote]

Lin Jarvis has confirmed Fabio and Frankie (Morbidell ) at SIC Yamaha in 2019.
Luthi confirmed in moto 2 with Bautista possibly going to Moto 2 or WSBK.

Abraham rumoured to be joining Rabat at Avintia.

Randy de Puniet being lined up as a KTM replacement rider in Silverstone - Jonas Folger turned down an offer to ride for KTM in Austria.

Cracking racing yesterday

The Nal

https://twitter.com/MotoGP/status/1028929520022245376

tommyboy26

The Nal wrote: »

https://twitter.com/MotoGP/status/1028929520022245376

i was very surprised this happened i dont ever remember anything like this ever happening before. i was also surprised lin jarvis didnt do the talking.


cracking race. lorenzo has totally changed his riding style. its great to see him back to his old fighting ways. i would say ducati are sick they didnt sign him when they had the chance

tommyboy26

i see Scott reading has a lengthy apology to aprilla on his Instagram account for comments made on sunday after the race.

does anyone have a link to the interview?

Magown3

tommyboy26 wrote: »

i see Scott reading has a lengthy apology to aprilla on his Instagram account for comments made on sunday after the race.

does anyone have a link to the interview?

https://www.crash.net/motogp/news/903411/1/redding-heartbreaking-weekend-hell-start?amp&__twitter_impression=true

Comes off as a right childish tool. Wonder who had words with him to make him apologise the way he did and what did they actually say to him!

tommyboy26

Magown3 wrote: »

https://www.crash.net/motogp/news/903411/1/redding-heartbreaking-weekend-hell-start?amp&__twitter_impression=true

Comes off as a right childish tool. Wonder who had words with him to make him apologise the way he did and what did they actually say to him!

bloody hell he didnt hold back.

i wouldnt say childish i would imagine he is just extremely frustrated. why doesnt aliex have the same issues?

pablo128

tommyboy26 wrote: »

bloody hell he didnt hold back.

i wouldnt say childish i would imagine he is just extremely frustrated. why doesnt aliex have the same issues?

He does. He just isn't as frank when discussing them with the media. I doubt if anything Scott said wasn't true in fairness to him.

GBX

Hes obviously had his knuckles rapped ...

https://twitter.com/Reddingpower/status/1029401983285948416

https://www.instagram.com/p/BmdzfzSFGD2/?utm_source=ig_twitter_share&igshid=sr47tcfo26tl

h3000

MotoGP will be the first race tomorrow followed by Moto3 then Moto2. Some are saying it may not happen at all.
https://twitter.com/MotoGP/status/1033407803317211137

Tito Rabat has had a very nasty injury due to an off in FP4. Rins, Espargaro and Morbidelli all went off in the same place (as Rabat) within seconds of each other I hope he recovers well.

https://twitter.com/denkmit/status/1033360016655491073

Magown3

Wait, why wouldn't it happen at all?

h3000

Magown3 wrote: »

Wait, why wouldn't it happen at all?

There is a large amount of standing surface water in places when the rain is very heavy, which is causing aquaplaining. I think five riders went down/off in the same place in FP4.

tommyboy26

not looking good for any racing today

legrand

Predicting short flag to flag. Roll up roll up anyone's a winner...