2018 Moto GP/WSBK/BSB etc thread

twitcher
We need something controversial to happen, so we can get on the forums and be like, “these damn commentators have no idea what they’re talking about, this is what really happened!!” ;) :P

You’ve been doing a mighty fine job 👍 You sounded perhaps a little bit nervous those first couple of races, but you’ve found your feet and you sound right at home now. Keep up the good work.
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Some would say I still don't know what I'm talking about! Thanks so much - it's been a challenging but exciting learning curve.
 
JockeP22
What the heck kind of strategy was that by the #46 team during Q1? Very strange. O_o


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The most telling thing about Rossi is that he set his fastest time on lap 2 of 6.

If you watched Moto 3 qualifying you won't be surprised to learn there has been a heap of penalties handed out. Bezzecchi has been given a 12 place penalty and will start 18th.
 
What are people's thoughts on what happened Sunday? Lorenzo has been very vocal in blaming Marquez for running him wide and therefore causing his crash.
Personally, I think he has a point that Marquez braked too late and ran off track which started things off. In that sense maybe there should be a penalty of some sort, but in reality Lorenzo crashed because of a highside which was his own doing. All you could do to Marquez is drop one position.

Cracking race afterwards though!
 
adamp93
What are people's thoughts on what happened Sunday? Lorenzo has been very vocal in blaming Marquez for running him wide and therefore causing his crash.
Personally, I think he has a point that Marquez braked too late and ran off track which started things off. In that sense maybe there should be a penalty of some sort, but in reality Lorenzo crashed because of a highside which was his own doing. All you could do to Marquez is drop one position.

Cracking race afterwards though!
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No was his own fault...if you would blame Marc for this you could always blame someone when there is a highsider!... yes Marc braked late,but thats what happens in racing isnt it?

As you said, cracking race! :bowdown:




Spy.
 
Carbon_6
Jonny Rea makes it WSB title #4 in France, and Ana Carrasco is crowned champion in the Supersport 300 series. :cheers:

http://www.worldsbk.com/en/news/2018/Thats+a+wrap+Rea+takes+the+win+and+the+title+in+style
http://www.worldsbk.com/en/news/2018/Ride like a girl Carrasco makes history to become WorldSSP300 Champion
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Carrasco did a great job this season and it really is an important piece of history. I do however feel a little sorry for Scott Deroue, his bike broke down on him 2 out of the last 3 races and he finished 13 points behind.
 
Think Chang Circuit, and Thailand in general, can be pretty happy with how things went for their inaugural GP event.

The racing was pretty spectacular, particularly in Moto3: as many as two thirds of the field in the lead group for the entirety of the race, with pretty much all of them in with a shot of a podium finish.

MotoGP was a bit of a slow burner, but the last quarter of the race was an absolute treat. And it was fair, square and didn't end in disaster, which have to be the biggest endorsements of these encounters so far between Marquez and Dovizioso. :cheers:
 
Looks like it's a no show again for Lorenzo in Japan.

The injuries from Aragon plus the high-side in Thailand meant that completing a sighting lap in FP1 was confirmation enough that he can't ride properly.

Australia might be off the cards as well when MotoGP heads to Philip Island in a weeks' time.
 
What an exciting race it turned out to be today, especially with eleven laps to go when Marquez kicked up that dust from going too wide and the top 5 subsequently getting squeezed together in a pretty tight group.

I had a feeling Marquez would clinch it today despite starting down in 6th.
Saturday results, be they good or bad, doesn't matter to Marquez. He's right up there anyway after a lap or two. A very deserving race winner and 2018 champion and it feels as though he will only get better. Amazing rider.

Pretty odd celebration after the chequered flag though, funny as it was I've never seen Dorna pre-plan a celebration with a championship winning rider before in my almost twenty years following the sport.

Dorna and/or FIM actually had graphics and sound effects all ready for Marquez little 8-bit game.
That's something I've never seen before. Rossi's, Lorenzo's, Stoner's and Hayden's and even Marquez previous championship winning celebrations (as far as I recall) were all pre-planned yes, but they were not in conjunction or co-ordination with the actual organiser and/or sanctioning body. They were between the rider, his team and track side fans setting up something (like those seven dwarfs with snow white for instance).

I'd rather see Dorna remain neutral and only point the cameras at what is happening at the circuit, but that's just me.
 
JockeP22
Pretty odd celebration after the chequered flag though, funny as it was I've never seen Dorna pre-plan a celebration with a championship winning rider before in my almost twenty years following the sport.

Dorna and/or FIM actually had graphics and sound effects all ready for Marquez little 8-bit game.
That's something I've never seen before. Rossi's, Lorenzo's, Stoner's and Hayden's and even Marquez previous championship winning celebrations (as far as I recall) were all pre-planned yes, but they were not in conjunction or co-ordination with the actual organiser and/or sanctioning body. They were between the rider, his team and track side fans setting up something (like those seven dwarfs with snow white for instance).

I'd rather see Dorna remain neutral and only point the cameras at what is happening at the circuit, but that's just me.
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I suspect with the elaborate setup required to produce an arcade machine on a plinth on that sort of scale (which was nothing short of brilliant if I do say so 👍), it would need the collaboration of the race organisers to pull it off seamlessly. If anything, it's a risky strategy because there is no guarantee that the title will go the preferred way of either competitor. All the time spent would've been for nothing if Dovizioso had won in Japan, and no-one watching on TV at least would've been any the wiser.

Turns out the reason Marquez laid out flat on the ground not long after doing the burnout was that he needed to have his shoulder relocated after Scott Redding got too excited when congratulating him. :ill:

Away from that, despite not going down to the wire, it was an amazing race from Marquez and Dovizioso, as it has been perhaps since the start of 2017. Their duels have been among the finest I've seen in the time I've been watching this sport: fast, bold, daring, but above all else, fair and respectful. The sportsmanship between the pair is to be commended. :cheers:

As for Moto3... Holy moly what a race! :bowdown:
 
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It's as if nobody is able to handle the pressure of having Marquez tailing you towards the end of the races anymore. Dovizioso a couple weeks ago and now Rossi yesterday. :boggled:

It's too bad Rossi went down because they could have had another epic fight, and it wouldn't have been the first time at Sepang either. The two has quite some history there to say the least.
 
Well I guess that's one way to end a season.

What an amazing day for KTM: a first time winner in Moto3 for the Red Bull Rookies champion Can Oncu (as a wildcard!), victory in Moto2 courtesy of Oliveria, clinching the team championship, and the first MotoGP podium courtesy of Espargaro (his first podium in the class)!

With 2018 coming to a close, all three championships have not failed to disappoint: Moto3 has been nothing short of phenomenal :bowdown:, Moto2 has showcased some world class rides 👍, and MotoGP has once again delivered a season to remember. :cheers:

Congratulations to the 2018 champions Jorge Martin, Francesco Bagnaia and Marc Marquez. :cheers:

Who know what lies in store for 2019. Personally? The first race in Qatar can't come round fast enough. :D
 
I knew Oncu would do well, especially when it rained, but to win so comfortably was ridiculous. I tried to bet on him to win beforehand but William Hill weren't doing Moto 3 :banghead:
When he had that moment on the final lap I nearly pooped myself. Everyone in the stand must have thought I was Turkish haha.
 
adamp93
I knew Oncu would do well, especially when it rained, but to win so comfortably was ridiculous. I tried to bet on him to win beforehand but William Hill weren't doing Moto 3 :banghead:
When he had that moment on the final lap I nearly pooped myself. Everyone in the stand must have thought I was Turkish haha.
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It was a crazy outcome to say the least, but what a way to make an impression ahead of his full campaign in 2019. Yes, the weather was bad, but from FP1 on Friday he was inside the top 10 on pace.

The scenes on the KTM pit wall reminded me of when Pawi left everyone standing in 2016 at Argentina in mixed conditions: whenever he completed a lap a team member was leaning over the pit wall telling him to slow down and not crash by waving their arms at him. Then another member joined in on the next lap. Then another. Then another. Then another, until pretty much the entire crew were on the pit wall on the last lap all frantically doing the same thing. :lol:
 

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