MotoGP Round 14: Gran Premio di San Marino

MotoGP is back on our screens this weekend with the 14th round of 18 and things are... hotting up? Winding down? In any case, this time they're racing (not for the last time this season) at the Misano circuit in the pleasant Italian seaside city of Rimini. Last race saw Pecco Bagnaia in a tight duel with Marc Marquez, whose injured arm was again feeling the benefits of an anti-clockwise layout in Aragon. In the last few laps Marquez didn't so much run out of ideas as try the same idea over and over, but the Ducati rider was a picture of patient resistance and a debut victory in the MotoGP class was his. Equally excitingly, or perhaps not, Espargaro followed up Aprilia's first podium at Silverstone with a fourth place, Bastianini got sixth with an ancient Esponsorama Ducati, and points leader Fabio Quarataro faded to a disappointing 8th. Championship implications? It closed up slightly. More needed.

This week? Business time is closing fast. In all three categories the championship leader has a 40-50 point lead over the massed opposition: Quartararo in MotoGP, Remy Gardner in Moto2 and the prodigy Pedro Acosta (who fell off last week) in Moto3. Only 5 rounds left, including this one, so it's time to close this one out / throw it all away, as applicable. If you want my opinion, Moto2 is the most compelling points race simply because the championship leader has a consistent winner for a rival, namely his teammate in the KTM/Ajo stable, Raul Fernandez.

Races are on at the normal time, which is to say Moto3 at 10am BST / 11am CEST, Moto2 11.20am/12.20pm, and MotoGP 1pm/2pm. Two MotoE races this weekend two, one at 3.20pm/4.20pm on Saturday, then one on Sunday at 2.30pm/3.30pm.

But! Practice gets going tomorrow morning. Exciting!

The FP champ is back.

Dovi back in action with Petronas Yamaha, Morbido back in action with the Factory Yamaha, Vinales leading FP1 on the wet with Aprilia!
 

We're in for an exciting weekend 

Edited by thegamer23, 17 September 2021 - 08:57.

Dovi back in action with Petronas Yamaha, Morbido back in action with the Factory Yamaha, Vinales leading FP1 on the wet with Aprilia!
 

We're in for an exciting weekend 

Just to clarify, times were set in the dry, only the last 5 minutes or so were wet.

Vinales on top, and Aleix in the garage with a face like a smacked arse.

Edited by DS27, 17 September 2021 - 10:25.

Interesting news that has just come out: Michael Laverty will be entering a new all-UK team in Moto3 next year, with British mechanics and rookie riders, backed by current PBM title sponsor VisionTrack.

Lecuona in good form in the wet, riding for his future seemingly?

He was always very good in the wet. 

I really don't want to see Lecuona dumped off into World Superbikes. He's finally coming good. 

Interesting news that has just come out: Michael Laverty will be entering a new all-UK team in Moto3 next year, with British mechanics and rookie riders, backed by current PBM title sponsor VisionTrack.

Lol when I read that I thought Michael Laverty was going to be one of the riders but that's probably because 1) I haven't thought about Michael Laverty for about 10 years and 2) Jeremy McWilliams set my expectations too high about how long you can spin a Grand Prix career out for.

Vinales stays on top overall after Friday, after a pretty soaked FP2. Rain at Misano always brings to my mind the 1989 edition, in which after a major shower all the factory riders boycotted the restart except Italy's Frankie Chili, who scored his only Grand Prix victory for Honda.

The best bit is Juan Manuel Lopez Mella (I had to look him up) getting his private Honda RS to the first corner in the lead, but the illusions of glory immediately dissolving as he fails to make it past the apex. The other good bit is what look like home-made Coca-Cola advertising boards at various points around the circuit. And of course the 19th-century lean angles that are probably mostly due to the slippery track.

I really don't want to see Lecuona dumped off into World Superbikes. He's finally coming good. 

I thought he was as good as confirmed at Honda WSBK, but could be wrong.

Edited by krapmeister, 18 September 2021 - 12:28.

No gonna lie, Moto GP's qualifying sessions have never been so boring. Watching riders wait for tows and then run around in conga lines has completely killed my enthusiasm for Q1 and Q2.

edit: not to mention the cameras only follow MM (the worse offender), so of course I none of Bastianini's fast lap...

Edited by Atreiu, 18 September 2021 - 12:31.

Edited by krapmeister, 18 September 2021 - 12:55.

4 Ducatis in the first 5 positions on a relatively slower track like Misano!? Even Bastianini looked very fast.

Should be a great race tomorrow.  Will be interesting to see how Mir races given his P11 starting spot.

Lol marquez

crash #20 this season, this doesn't bode well.

Rain is expected tomorrow in race by the looks of things.

Championship battle could get dramatic

Whenever I hear Tony Arbolino's name this song is stuck in my head for the next hour lol.

Someone needs to tell Marquez to calm the **** down. His main fight should be to recover and help develop the bike. Qualifying P2 or P7 makes zero ****ing difference in the big scheme, but every time he crashes he risks delaying his recovery even more and jeopadizing their 2022 plans, or worse. And every time he crashes he gives the grid more reasons to not fear him anymore.

This lack of restraint is directly responsible for his premature return in 2020 and subsequent complications. And over a year after it just doesn’t seem as if anything was learned from it.

Why the **** does nobody in the press call this out?

Yeah, he's only one bad landing on that arm away from putting his career to a potential end. I get the lack of restraint, as he's a racer. It's the people around him I question.

Edited by Disgrace, 18 September 2021 - 13:46.

Given how many crashed today, they might want to reconsider the rules regarding those aerodynamic devices and the tires.

I do wonder if the aerodynamic devices create some kind of dirty air for those following. MM tried to shadow Bagnaia and that's when he crashed. 

 

Yeah, he's only one bad landing on that arm away from putting his career to a potential end. I get the lack of restraint, as he's a racer. It's the people around him I question.

Without MM they don't have to show much for the time being, so they are also in a hard spot.

It seems anyway the biggest issue is with MM himself. Last week there was a short interview where MM said, he doesn't know how to ride differently than on the limit and also that he believes most of those crashes of this season he could have saved if not for his injury. That's probably the hardest issue for him to accept. Seems to me that is something for him to deal with in off season, where he doesn't have to push to the limit.

Crazy crashualifying...I don't know if those were business-as-usual crashes for Marquez or Misano 2021 special crashes. If it's dry, expecting Ducati to dominate, especially with no. 93 2 rows down, and Quartararo's anonymous weekend at Aragon.

Quartararo's race pace was great in the race simulations, while in Aragon he was struggling all weekend long.

We should see quite a battle ahead for the victory tomorrow.

Whenever I hear Tony Arbolino's name this song is stuck in my head for the next hour lol.

https://www.youtube....h?v=qFqov8a9iL4

The hard front looked a bit marginal, no?

Quartararo hasn't gone well in the rain lately, things will get interesting if it does rain. 

Given how many crashed today, they might want to reconsider the rules regarding those aerodynamic devices and the tires.

 

I do wonder if the aerodynamic devices create some kind of dirty air for those following. MM tried to shadow Bagnaia and that's when he crashed. 
 

Most of the others who crashed had no one in front of them (Nakagami, Rossi, Quartararo, Bastianini just for example)

Currently raining not far from Misano.

Moto 3 Race about to go!

Fenati blows a certain victory, wowzers.

Another great Moto2 race. Moto3 providing the least excitement of all lately.

Gardner nearly managed to catch back Fernandez there at the last lap.

Mighty! 
Shame for that huge moment, costed him the win.

Thought he was heading off into the gravel with that moment on the last lap.

Once he got bumped back to 6th on the first lap, with Lowes and Raul gapping the field a bit as well at the start I thought it was all about damage limitation for Remy today. So to see him almost snatch a win at the death there was a mighty effort   Thankfully that huge moment didn't cost him a podium or result in a DNF.

Congrats again to Raul for the win - championship is going to go down to the wire!

Not sure if this clip is only a week old as it says, or if it's been recycled. Bit of a laugh while waiting for motogp to start anyway.

Worth a caption competition!   

 

Edited by thegamer23, 19 September 2021 - 11:21.

Light drizzle already.

Interesting interpretation of the Italian hymn

I enjoyed it!

Here we go! Pressure's on Bagnaia to keep his momentum up, I think.