[desmonator]

Good qualifying by VR46. Looks like it won't be another MM93 exhibition.
Rossi, Miller, Quartararo, Rins, Vinales and Dovizioso all in the 1.58's.
I'd like to see them all in a group trying to outbrake each other into the last corner of the last lap:devil:
Improved Zarco 14th on the grid.
Lorenzo qualified 21st so he can't do much damage from there.
My money is on
1st Quartararo 2nd MM93 3rd Jack

 

[Mayhem]

What the heck happened to Lorenzo? My $ is on the Doctor, the best there ever was.

 

[desmonator]

What the heck happened to Lorenzo? My $ is on the Doctor, the best there ever was.

Would like to see Rossi win. Depends on his tyre management and what pace the race is run at. Not sure if he'll have enough tyre left for the last few laps.

 

[YoungLion]

My prediction for the podium is:

Marky Marc, The Joker, the new GOAT, MM93 - 1st. (Unless he pulls a COTA where he checks out but goes "bam-ba-lam".
Quattro Putas, Fabulous Fabio, Zee flyin frenchman, #20 - 2nd
The Bridesmaid, DesmoDovi, #04 on the track but ... well, #4 in your hearts too - Andrea Dovizioso - 3rd

Curious George aka Lollipop lickin', scarf wearing, injury havin' Jorge #99 "Lorentho" - nursing a spinal fracture and really shouldn't be on a bike but has to because HRC are mad as his flirtation with Ducati and he needs to show up and cut his mid-summer holiday in the Maldives short and, oh, um, race bikes as he's paid to do.

Cal - in the gravel as usual.
Rins - 5th cause thats where the bike and talent dictate
Neon dayglo 40 year old Tavullia dood - 4th which is still respectable.

 

[Pgm]

MM can’t see it not happening unless has been said he does a cota. So frustrating to see Crutchlow bite the dust again but he may just get on the podium.

 

[J D]

This.. :grin:

 

[Pgm]

What do I know anyway 😂

 

[QCS]

LOL... Watch the race.

 

[YoungLion]

Well, I had some things right, and some things WAY wrong LOL...

Solid race overall but sad about losing 2 of the podium contenders so early on.

 

[QCS]

Indeed.Will have significant impact of the championship.

 

[desmonator]

Well, I had some things right, and some things WAY wrong LOL...

Solid race overall but sad about losing 2 of the podium contenders so early on.

Going to be hard to get motivated to watch rest of this years races after that incident.
More challengers next year, Rins on a bike with (hopefully) more HP, Quatararo on a factory spec '20 Yamaha(?).

 

[YoungLion]

Going to be hard to get motivated to watch rest of this years races after that incident.
More challengers next year, Rins on a bike with (hopefully) more HP, Quatararo on a factory spec '20 Yamaha(?).

Agreed.

- I'm an admitted Marquez fanboy but first and foremost a racing fan so to see this level of points gap at this stage of the season it's pretty clear that title #6 is mostly assured barring injury of course. He can finish 3rd at the remaining races and still lock up the title now if my math is correct. If you look at his finishing order in the past 20 or so races he's finished 1st or 2nd in EVERY race he's not crashed so that tells you his (not Honda's, HIS) level right now.

- Rins with more low-mid range grunt from the GSX-RR would be formidable next year.
- Fabio is already on a current Factory spec bike minus 500rpm and engine allotment so I think the biggest thing for him is actually just more seat time and race craft experience being his bigger opportunities for growth - which is scary already!
- Dovi is a perennial Bridesmaid and no spring chicken any longer so unless Gigi and crew revamp the Duc and find some additional strengths to exploit for '20 I don't see any challenge from the Bologna boys next year.

Fingers crossed the all new Aprilia and '20 KTM are much improved though - bo cool to see them up front more often.

 

[QCS]

Good analysis. I would add that Mavrik might surprise if Yamaha finds something in the M1. And although he had a very bad start with Honda, Jorge can win races.

Main problem last year and this is that by mid season, when the other teams managed to get competitive with their bikes and riders, Marc was already gone and the gap in the championship was impossible to close. It will have to get much closer in the beginning of the season if anyone expects to dethrone him.

 

[YoungLion]

Good analysis. I would add that Mavrik might surprise if Yamaha finds something in the M1. And although he had a very bad start with Honda, Jorge can win races.

Main problem last year and this is that by mid season, when the other teams managed to get competitive with their bikes and riders, Marc was already gone and the gap in the championship was impossible to close. It will have to get much closer in the beginning of the season if anyone expects to dethrone him.

Also totally agree with this - those two are supremely talented and with the right mindset (which has been both of their downfall the past 3 years) can win on any given Sunday.

Mav was on a torrid pace the last 10 laps of the GP yesterday but let down by his usual lost-at-sea first 15 laps. On clear track he's insanely quick - when battling, it all goes to ****.

Jorge is a head case, similar to Zarco and Mav - except he has the titles to back up the drama.

Marc has honed his racecraft to perfection - yesterday he knew he had no edge grip but one helluva grunty motor so parked Rins in the corners and then blasted him down the straights - sadly for the 2nd race in a row he lost the win from last corner miscalculations.

 

[J D]

Not making excuses, as MM did a terrific job, (even though I despise the lil facker, lolZ), Rossi won everything, when he was on the Honda, everything, by huge margins, iirc. Love to see MM on a different brand, and see how he acclimates.
That being said, I was happy to see Vale take 4th, but would have preferred to see him on the podium.

 

[QCS]

Also totally agree with this - those two are supremely talented and with the right mindset (which has been both of their downfall the past 3 years) can win on any given Sunday.

Mav was on a torrid pace the last 10 laps of the GP yesterday but let down by his usual lost-at-sea first 15 laps. On clear track he's insanely quick - when battling, it all goes to ****.

Jorge is a head case, similar to Zarco and Mav - except he has the titles to back up the drama.

Marc has honed his racecraft to perfection - yesterday he knew he had no edge grip but one helluva grunty motor so parked Rins in the corners and then blasted him down the straights - sadly for the 2nd race in a row he lost the win from last corner miscalculations.

Marc has some way to go before being crowned the GOAT. That said, some of what he does on the Honda is science fiction. At times, it seems like Honda is really focused on developing the bike to suit his slipping and sliding riding style, while other companies are developing more holistic packages. The RCV is so not what Jorge needs. It is opposite to his style. With Crutchlow it's a lot of hit or miss. March is just so talented and seems to have the the biggest pair on the grid.

Looking at the races it is clear that Marc makes saves that others will not. Although they are all riding on the edge +/- it seems like Marc is a little over the edge and the only thing between him and not finishing races is his HUGE talent. Not sure it can be enough for much longer. time will tell.

Not making excuses, as MM did a terrific job, (even though I despise the lil facker, lolZ), Rossi won everything, when he was on the Honda, everything, by huge margins, iirc. Love to see MM on a different brand, and see how he acclimates.
That being said, I was happy to see Vale take 4th, but would have preferred to see him on the podium.

As I mentioned above, a lot of it is in Marc's extremely aggressive riding style, that the Honda caters to. Not sure that it will work the same on any other bike on the grid.

And, BTW, it was amazing to see how much faster the Suzuki (Rins) is on its side. Rins managed to brake later and was gaining a few bike lengths in the turns. It really looked like Marc is in his way. Marc needed to take very defensive lines towards the end.

One more interesting thing to notice is how much time Marc is spending with the rear in the air. Huge amounts of load on the front, in an era where the rear provides a lot of grip, including during braking.

With all that load on the front and so much spinning on the rear, no wonder he is only riding H/H and still loosing a lot of grip in the last few laps.

Anyway, 2019 is a done deal.

 

[J D]

Yes, that Suzuki put on an excellent show, very impressive to see him right at the finish line, lolZ! Must've made MM sick. IT was a great day, haha.