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2020 - Motorcycle Racing (MotoGP, WSBK, etc)


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#1 ch103

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Posted 14 January 2020 - 01:13

Mods feel free to merge if there is already a thread on this.

 

If Aprilia really do go ahead and give Biaggi the ride for 2020, I feel like it will really diminish their credibility.  It would make sense to give the ride to Bradly Smith.  

 

Onward to 2020!



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#2 InSearchOfThe

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Posted 14 January 2020 - 03:15

I thought it was just a test day ride at Sepang?  No way he goes full time.



#3 messy

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Posted 14 January 2020 - 05:28

Biaggi is just an option for the Sepang test, Smith will be their race rider if Iannone can’t compete.

Edited by messy, 14 January 2020 - 05:28.


#4 Risil

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Posted 14 January 2020 - 14:26

I would die of happiness if Aprilia gave a 48-year-old Max Biaggi a wildcard. I don't think they will of course.



#5 ch103

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Posted 15 January 2020 - 12:02

I also think all of this talk about MM93 being distracted by having his brother in his team is BS.  The only things that can slow MM93 down are if his shoulder isn't 100% and if the other manufacturers come up with a superior bike.  

 

If I had to make a dark horse bet for the World Championship it would be either Vinales or Rins.  I don't think Dovi and Ducati will be the #2 contender this year either.



#6 DS27

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Posted 15 January 2020 - 15:54

Biaggi getting a wildcard and then getting in a tangle with Rossi would be somewhat amusing - not much likely to happen on an Aprilia though.

 

Marc is obviously the favourite and a virtually unstoppable force, but I'll predict Fabio comes out as No.2 this year.


Edited by DS27, 15 January 2020 - 15:55.


#7 messy

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Posted 15 January 2020 - 18:59

I also think all of this talk about MM93 being distracted by having his brother in his team is BS.  The only things that can slow MM93 down are if his shoulder isn't 100% and if the other manufacturers come up with a superior bike.  
 
If I had to make a dark horse bet for the World Championship it would be either Vinales or Rins.  I don't think Dovi and Ducati will be the #2 contender this year either.


I think Vinales or Quartararo. Ducati are let down by their utterly ordinary rider lineup, with all respect to Dovizioso and Petrucci. Quartararo became quite a consistent frontrunner last season and if anyone has the potential to mix it on merit with Marquez (which is a question in itself) I think it’s Vinales. Rins needs to become a stronger qualifier to be up there enough to challenge, for me.

#8 HPT

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Posted 15 January 2020 - 23:08

I also think all of this talk about MM93 being distracted by having his brother in his team is BS. The only things that can slow MM93 down are if his shoulder isn't 100% and if the other manufacturers come up with a superior bike.

If I had to make a dark horse bet for the World Championship it would be either Vinales or Rins. I don't think Dovi and Ducati will be the #2 contender this year either.


Personally I think Rins is vastly overrated. He has a couple of good races a year but he’s no where near strong enough for a sustained challenge. His qualifying is also very weak. Vinales and even Quartararo (bike permitting) are more realistic challengers.

#9 ch103

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Posted 16 January 2020 - 11:32

I think Vinales or Quartararo. Ducati are let down by their utterly ordinary rider lineup, with all respect to Dovizioso and Petrucci. Quartararo became quite a consistent frontrunner last season and if anyone has the potential to mix it on merit with Marquez (which is a question in itself) I think it’s Vinales. Rins needs to become a stronger qualifier to be up there enough to challenge, for me.

 

I agree with Rins needing to qualify better but keep in mind the strength of the Suzuki is being gentle on the tires so that at the end of races the riders can push harder than other bikes.  So he and Suzuki basically prioritize race set ups over the course of a GP weekend and this, I think, it what costs the qualifying.  

 

Personally I think Rins is vastly overrated. He has a couple of good races a year but he’s no where near strong enough for a sustained challenge. His qualifying is also very weak. Vinales and even Quartararo (bike permitting) are more realistic challengers.

 

Clearly I am biased towards the Suzuki team but Rins is a legit title contender.  He just has to eliminate the mistakes he makes which come from a lack of patience.  You could tell after his win in the USA that he wasn't content to get podiums.  He is pushing it, 100%.  



#10 DS27

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Posted 16 January 2020 - 14:00

I wouldn't rule it out that an injury free Mir with a season under his belt starts to get the better of Rins throughout the year. He flew under the radar a bit last year, but the potential is there, and I also think that Rins lack of qualifying pace is a concern if we are talking about a season long title challenge.



#11 messy

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Posted 16 January 2020 - 16:15

Yeah Mir was creeping quietly up on Rins the second half of last year.

 

Must be said, in exactly the same way Rins crept up on Iannone and Vinales crept up on Espargaro. 



#12 Silberpfeil

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Posted 16 January 2020 - 20:50

Yeah Mir was creeping quietly up on Rins the second half of last year.

 

Must be said, in exactly the same way Rins crept up on Iannone and Vinales crept up on Espargaro. 

 


Up until this very moment, I had completely forgotten that Aleix was a Suzuki rider at one point.

#13 ehagar

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Posted 17 January 2020 - 02:04

 Ducati are let down by their utterly ordinary rider lineup, with all respect to Dovizioso and Petrucci. 

 

Is anyone going to beat Marquez though?

 

One of the questions I ask myself is what if Marc Marquez was not on the grid. Would Honda have won a race? I think the answer might have been no. Dovi *did* finish second last year. 

 

I think what we are all really asking is who has an upward career trajectory to actually manage a serious challenge Marquez. We automatically dismiss the established riders because we have seen enough to show that they cannot. 

 

Silly season this year might be a monumental shake up.


Edited by ehagar, 17 January 2020 - 14:08.


#14 messy

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Posted 17 January 2020 - 07:37

Is anyone going to beat Marquez though?

 

One of the questions I ask myself is what if Marc Marquez was not on the grid. Would Honda won a race? I think the answer might have been no. Dovi *did* finish second last year. 

 

I think what we are all really asking is who has an upward career trajectory to actually manage a serious challenge Marquez. We automatically dismiss the established riders because we have seen enough to show that they cannot. 

 

Silly season this year might be a monumental shake up.

 

It really reminds me of the mid 00s when Rossi was being 'challenged'  (- read "not really") by a bunch of older riders like Gibernau, Edwards, Melandri.

 

We need someone to break through and take the fight, but where are they? I fear a lot of expectation on young Quartararo to be just that, with only limited evidence so far, from one good season on a satellite Yamaha. 



#15 Risil

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Posted 17 January 2020 - 11:25

Quartararo has raised expectations very high so it'll be interesting to see if he continues his upward curve or if the tail end of 2019 proves to be the crest of a wave.

I would like this to be the year that Vinales or Rins (autocorrect: Finales and Runs) put a whole season together but so much of that is confidence- and therefore bike-dependent.

Ducati are frustrating because we've probably seen all we're going to see from Dovi, but there are no obvious candidates to take the outfit to the next level. If Marquez wasn't there, no doubt Dovi would be the protagonist of a thrilling title battle. But Marquez has this Doohan or Rossi like way of making everyone else's efforts seem insufficient.

That said I'd like to see Jack Miller back on the top step of the podium. I think he's improving.

#16 messy

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Posted 17 January 2020 - 14:12

Quartararo has raised expectations very high so it'll be interesting to see if he continues his upward curve or if the tail end of 2019 proves to be the crest of a wave.

I would like this to be the year that Vinales or Rins (autocorrect: Finales and Runs) put a whole season together but so much of that is confidence- and therefore bike-dependent.

Ducati are frustrating because we've probably seen all we're going to see from Dovi, but there are no obvious candidates to take the outfit to the next level. If Marquez wasn't there, no doubt Dovi would be the protagonist of a thrilling title battle. But Marquez has this Doohan or Rossi like way of making everyone else's efforts seem insufficient.

That said I'd like to see Jack Miller back on the top step of the podium. I think he's improving.

 

Maybe the runs would make him qualify better. 

 

I like Miller too. He had an excellent 2019 IMO and probably in truth should have been swapped with Petrucci. 



#17 Atreiu

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Posted 17 January 2020 - 14:59

I think it's possible Alex becomes a distraction to Marc. Blood runs thicker than water, or whatever.

 

Emotional attachments at work can wreck people up, like suddenly dating a co-worker or when you have to work with your significant other on a given project.

 

I still think Vinales should be Marc's greatest challenger, but it seems so hit or miss with Yamaha nowadays.



#18 InSearchOfThe

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Posted 17 January 2020 - 19:29

You'd have to think Yamaha will be stronger which puts 4 riders in the loop.

 

Suzuki are hampered by only having 2 bikes and no satellite data. Rins is still the #1 there despite other thoughts and will carry their flag. Mir hasn't really battled with the big boys up front. imo

 

The 3 Ducati riders,( Dov, Pet, Mil,) need a full season effort. They seemed to peter out near the end. Yes Miller rode well which makes the factory team look bad.  Dovi is soooo overdue.

 

Obviously Marquez is still the favorite, but my optimism says the other 3 factory have got to be better in' 20. They all got embarrassed last year.

 



#19 ehagar

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Posted 17 January 2020 - 21:48

The thing I find crazy about Quartararo is he looked like the next big thing in the Spanish CEV championship classes, but disappointed in Moto3 and Moto2... when he was initially selected there were many questioning the decision.

 

They aren't now of course... he had almost DOUBLE the podiums in his MotoGP rookie season as compared to 4 years in Moto2/3.



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#20 midgrid

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Posted 17 January 2020 - 22:01

It makes you wonder who else in the lower classes could have the potential to do the same.

#21 messy

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Posted 18 January 2020 - 00:33

The thing I find crazy about Quartararo is he looked like the next big thing in the Spanish CEV championship classes, but disappointed in Moto3 and Moto2... when he was initially selected there were many questioning the decision.
 
They aren't now of course... he had almost DOUBLE the podiums in his MotoGP rookie season as compared to 4 years in Moto2/3.


Never tell by Moto2 results, can you. Not really. I mean, Tito Rabat’s Moto2 record was superb, at times he looked unstoppable. But you dig a bit deeper and despite that, he was never considered quite talented enough to make a real success of stepping up. Quartararo is the opposite - his results in Moto2 were pretty ordinary but there was a spark there.

You could even argue that Casey Stoner’s Moto2/3 record was fairly ordinary compared to the abundant talent he had. Not saying Fabio’s on that level but he’s on the right path. He made Morbidelli (who was much better in Moto2) look so average last year.

#22 ehagar

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Posted 18 January 2020 - 03:03

It's always been difficult to judge... but in the past with the 250cc class you had to be on the absolute best Honda or Aprilia or you weren't going anywhere.  The first season of Moto2 was an insane axe-murderer class. It's settled down considerably but now it's a case of if you have a bad day qualifying and are a second off the pace you are starting 20th or worse. The grid is super tight and sometimes it's hard to know.

 

In the last 10 years I think the only rider you *really* knew that was special was probably Marquez. 

 

re. Casey Stoner... He was very, very good, even in the lower classes. What people failed to realize was he was not just good, but a moto-genius (and better than 250cc champion Dani Pedrosa). For whatever reason (tyres?) he developed a reputation as a crasher in his rookie campaign. Ended really quickly when he left LCR and went to Ducati.

 

Last year in Moto2... the rider I was most impressed with was Brad Binder. The KTM was a piece of work and he almost won the title. He had to ride it aggressively into the corners as on the gas it was not a match for the Kalex.


Edited by ehagar, 18 January 2020 - 18:58.


#23 messy

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Posted 18 January 2020 - 07:41

Binder was amazing last season. Hoping for great things from him - though his testing so far has been a bit of a struggle by his own admission.

Edited by messy, 18 January 2020 - 07:41.


#24 ch103

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Posted 24 January 2020 - 02:40

Ducati showing off their new livery today - https://www.autospor...ils-2020-livery

 

This season cannot start fast enough!



#25 realracer200

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Posted 28 January 2020 - 13:21

https://www.motorspo...ension/4677656/



#26 NixxxoN

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Posted 28 January 2020 - 13:39

This could be a sign of Rossi retiring soon



#27 Ncedi

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Posted 29 January 2020 - 10:23

Seeing reports that Rossi will be replaced by FQ in 2021. Rossi to choose between retirement or Petronas.

#28 messy

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Posted 29 January 2020 - 11:14

Sadly, he's got to go hasn't he. 

 

It's funny, I never in his earlier years, ever expected him to linger past his sell-by date. 



#29 ch103

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Posted 29 January 2020 - 11:46

Personally, I would rather see VR46 on the Petronas rather than retire but whatever decision he makes I think we all need to support.  



#30 Marklar

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Posted 29 January 2020 - 13:11

Quartararo confirmed https://www.yamahamo...2-rider-line-up

Rossi decision will be made during the season https://www.yamahamo...de-future-plans


Edited by Marklar, 29 January 2020 - 13:11.


#31 Ncedi

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Posted 29 January 2020 - 13:11

Quartararo confirmed at Factory Yamaha team for 2021.

#32 Ellios

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Posted 29 January 2020 - 13:25

Yamaha running 3 riders in the same factory team ?

 

Grand Prix racing legend Valentino Rossi will complete his astounding 15-year run with the Yamaha Factory Racing MotoGP Team at the end of the 2020 season.

 

Autosport suggesting otherwise:

 

The move will leave Yamaha stalwart Rossi with the option of taking Quartararo's place at SR or retiring from MotoGP altogether.


#33 JHSingo

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Posted 29 January 2020 - 13:29

In before Quartararo has a shocking season this year, and Rossi has a really good one. Because that's usually how these things work. :p

 

Curious that Yamaha are so keen on Fabio, given he hasn't even won a race in MotoGP yet. I guess the rush to find the "next Marquez" leads to manufacturers taking quite big risks.



#34 Risil

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Posted 29 January 2020 - 13:55

Rossi will be 42 in the 2021 season. It's pretty extraordinary (and a testament to the safety of bike racing nowadays) that he's even considering signing on for another year. I think we'll know by the summer whether Rossi is able to return to his 2015-2018 levels, when he was a step behind the fastest guys but certainly in the picture. Last year was pretty uninspiring but you might put that down to sterner competition from Suzuki and stronger performances from younger riders. Sometimes it's time that catches up with you but more often it's your competitors.



#35 Atreiu

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Posted 29 January 2020 - 14:10

I don’t think he will return to a stronger form unless the 2020 tyres suit him perfectly. Last year he never found a set up to suit them and this year the struggle will likely be the same.

#36 Ncedi

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Posted 29 January 2020 - 14:14

My feeling is he won't want to move to a satellite team even with full support. Pretty much we should expect a announcement at Mugello that he will be retiring.

#37 messy

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Posted 29 January 2020 - 14:29

Yamaha running 3 riders in the same factory team ?

 

 

 

 

Autosport suggesting otherwise:

 

 

Nah, they're saying the same thing aren't they? Rossi will end his time at the factory team at the end of 2020. 



#38 NixxxoN

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Posted 29 January 2020 - 14:45

Oh, it finally happened. Cant believe this lol

Rossi retiring, or maybe stepping aside from the top teams and "doing a Kimi".

About time



#39 DS27

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Posted 29 January 2020 - 19:41

The only logical choice for Yamaha to make. They couldn't risk losing Fabio to another team, he's showed way too much promise for that. He did everything but win last year.



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#40 ch103

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Posted 29 January 2020 - 20:49

If I am Dorna - the best outcome for me is to arrange for Yamaha to support the VR46 team and for the Petronas team to become the satellite suzuki team.  



#41 Yoshi

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Posted 30 January 2020 - 09:22

https://www.yamahamo...st-team-in-2020

 

Lorenzo joining Yamaha Factory Test Team



#42 Ncedi

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Posted 30 January 2020 - 09:28

Man, if Jorge is devastatingly fast again on the Yamaha, I wonder if there'll be room for him at a race team. He needs to want to race though...hopefully he does some wildcards

#43 RPM40

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Posted 30 January 2020 - 09:50

Lorenzo on that Petronas bike by mid season



#44 Lennat

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Posted 30 January 2020 - 10:17

I can't get past the thought of Lorenzo finding his mojo again and putting Yamaha in a tricky situation. Some times one can get really tired of something and think the motivation is gone, but a change of scenery can ignite that spark in an instant. Not saying it will happen here, but I still think it COULD.



#45 f1rules

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Posted 30 January 2020 - 11:24

talk about missing your deadline... why on earth Rossi didnt quit years ago, someone just really dont know when to stop, just like raikonnen in F1


Edited by f1rules, 30 January 2020 - 11:36.


#46 Atreiu

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Posted 30 January 2020 - 13:30

That was quick for a guy who feared he’d end up paralyzed.

This is also what HRC should have done, given Lorenzo all of 2019 off once it was clear his return was premature.

#47 THEWALL

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Posted 30 January 2020 - 14:43

I can't get past the thought of Lorenzo finding his mojo again and putting Yamaha in a tricky situation. Some times one can get really tired of something and think the motivation is gone, but a change of scenery can ignite that spark in an instant. Not saying it will happen here, but I still think it COULD.

Yes but where would he go? Yamaha works already has Quartararo and Viñales. Unless Petronas is very close to them, I don't think he'd want to be in the B team...


Edited by THEWALL, 02 February 2020 - 18:28.


#48 SenorSjon

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Posted 30 January 2020 - 14:51

Rossi will be 42 in the 2021 season. It's pretty extraordinary (and a testament to the safety of bike racing nowadays) that he's even considering signing on for another year. I think we'll know by the summer whether Rossi is able to return to his 2015-2018 levels, when he was a step behind the fastest guys but certainly in the picture. Last year was pretty uninspiring but you might put that down to sterner competition from Suzuki and stronger performances from younger riders. Sometimes it's time that catches up with you but more often it's your competitors.

 

I think traction control in MotoGP prolonged a lot of careers due to less painful highsiders.  



#49 InSearchOfThe

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Posted 30 January 2020 - 15:04

Yes but where would he go? Yamaha works already has Quartararo and Viñales. Unless Petronas is very close to them, I don't he'd want to be in the B team...

 

Exactly.

Only way this works is if Rossi retires mid-season. Never going to happen. Or Franky gets the boot. I don't see this as an option either.

The other rub that I see is the rumors are Rossi will take over the SIC Team with the VR46 Team when he retires. Do we honestly think Jorge would want Vale as his boss, or vise versa?

No, let's not put the cart before the horse just yet. Let JLo be a Yamaha tester and see where things progress. Nothing is an impossibility just highly improbable.



#50 THEWALL

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Posted 30 January 2020 - 22:26

Exactly.

Only way this works is if Rossi retires mid-season. Never going to happen. Or Franky gets the boot. I don't see this as an option either.

The other rub that I see is the rumors are Rossi will take over the SIC Team with the VR46 Team when he retires. Do we honestly think Jorge would want Vale as his boss, or vise versa?

No, let's not put the cart before the horse just yet. Let JLo be a Yamaha tester and see where things progress. Nothing is an impossibility just highly improbable.

On the other hand, accepting a return to MotoGP so quickly, even as a tester, makes one wonder if the whole too-injured to race retirement thing was just a way to get out of Honda quickly and return to the team whose bike he likes the most...