MotoGP?Assen **SPOILER ALERT**

[Cormanus]

I'm not giving it away. If you didn't see it, stay away from the news and watch it. It's the race of the season. Maybe even the race of the past few seasons.

Wow! Just Wow!

 

[the Ferret]

Omg what a race. i was in the middle of posting to your ride report when the race came on and got transfixed for the whole race.

 

[use2b_imp]

Yea Honda . will watch it tonight from the cheap seats ......

 

[Henrik_imp]

Yep, MotoGP does Moto3! Just amazing, and I think I need to watch it again.

 

[the Ferret]

you'll be on the edge of the cheap seat lol

 

[emptysea]

Thanks to a little dehydration this morning caused by a bit too much gin last night, I was at the TV just in time to watch the whole race. I do not follow MotoGP to the extent others here do, but this was an amazing race from beginning to end.

 

[use2b_imp]

Thanks to a little dehydration this morning caused by a bit too much gin last night, I was at the TV just in time to watch the whole race. I do not follow MotoGP to the extent others here do, but this was an amazing race from beginning to end.

Do not follow it ether but love watching when the resident enthusiast tip me off. was a cliff hanger with all the contact and i wondered who " might be cheering " when the Yamaha was in the lead but in the end that Honda just said goodbye to the crowd. great race - watched it on Youtube

 

[Roper_imp]

"The power of the Ducati..." Man, I'm tired of hearing that phrase. It's not the power of the Ducati or any other bike which determines races. It's the ability of the rider to use the tool he's given. Dovizioso and Lorenzo are unbelievably talented riders. I'm not a believer in the mystical "power of the Ducati" any more than the "soul of a Harley." But, it sells motorcycles.

 

[the Ferret]

LOL well the MotoGP Ducati's do have the highest top speeds in the paddock (only by a few mph mind you) but they have terrific acceleration, evident on any long straightaway. The record holder is Dovi's Ducati I think at right at 220 MPH. Dani Pedrosas Honda held the record for a long time at 217 mph.

In recent years Ducati as claimed the top 5 fastest recorded speeds

The Official Home of MotoGP

 

[Roper_imp]

Sure. But if "the power of the Ducati" is so noteworthy, as that annoying announcer proclaimed ad nauseum, then why aren't Ducati riders always on the podium? Because, it's the talents of the riders and their teams which are a much more important consideration. If Assen is any indication, announcers should be touting "the supremacy of the Spaniards" in Germany in two weeks.

 

[the Ferret]

Oh sure there is a lot that goes into winning a race, not just outright speed. Combination of speed, handling in corners, braking, tire selection, bike set up and experience and heart of the rider and luck to win a race. All of these bikes are pretty close in most aspects. Ducati may have the most speed, Suzuki may have the sweetest handling, Yamaha may have the best braking and with Rossi the most experience, but Honda has Marquez, who has the most outright talent and heart and just refuses to lose.

 

[Roper_imp]

Oh sure there is a lot that goes into winning a race, not just outright speed. Combination of speed, handling in corners, braking, tire selection, bike set up and experience and heart of the rider and luck to win a race. All of these bikes are pretty close in most aspects. Ducati may have the most speed, Suzuki may have the sweetest handling, Yamaha may have the best braking and with Rossi the most experience, but Honda has Marquez, who has the most outright talent and heart and just refuses to lose.

+1. The way he opened up on the last two laps was unbelievable. It looked as though he had just been playing with the other boys for the whole race, and then he broke away for the finish. Nobody could catch him. They all just kept falling farther behind. If he keeps racing for as long as Rossi...

 

[emptysea]

The announcers talked about the Ducati speed and about Marquez's skill in just about equal measure. Keep in mind that the question on everyone's mind, including the announcers, was "Can they catch him?" The most likely place for the Ducati riders to catch him were on the straights and that's what they did. I was pretty amazed at how quickly the Ducatis were able to close gaps.

Marquez ran a great race, but he was unable to pull away until near the end. I don't know enough about motorcycle racing to say for certain, but I suspect that tires played a part in his ability to leave the pack behind. I know that in auto racing, the chasing vehicles tend to burn up their tires and brakes much faster because they are carrying more speed into the turns. If this is true, it does not denigrate his skills--it has to take tremendous skill to get in front and then stay there.

 

[rboe]

Why not talk about the power of the Ducati's? Early in the race, on the straights, they flew down the track. That is great eye candy. It's a legit observation.

Having said that, where was the power of the Ducati's on the last two laps when the Power of Marquez was dropping jaws?

I rarely watch races so I have no feel for all the in's and out's; but the impression I got was that Marquez was fighting pretty hard in the first two thirds of the race (maybe it was only to stay with in the top 3 spots). Once he got into first place on the last couple laps; it seems to this newb that with no one in front to set the pace he could fly (lap times got impressive for him then) but I wonder if also the field behind him had spent their wad and it was not so much that he had a reserve, but that they had nothing else to give. In any event, Marquez has proven he has serious skills (especially at avoiding a crash!). I agree, if he races as long as Rossi, oh boy.

 

[Roper_imp]

Oh, I'm not denying that Ducatis have superb acceleration. It just seemed like every time a Ducati rider closed the gap, the announcer immediately said, "And here we see the power of the Ducati" instead of mentioning the way Dovizioso moved up by carving inside of a corner or how Lorenzo positioned himself to attack. It's really no big deal. I just got tired of that one announcer saying the same thing almost every lap.

EmptySea, I think you're right about tires. Overall, the lap times were slower than expected. I think most of the riders were being careful with those soft rear tires so they had some left for the last laps. Apparently, Marquez had enough.

 

[Pterodactyl_imp]

LOL well the MotoGP Ducati's do have the highest top speeds in the paddock (only by a few mph mind you) but they have terrific acceleration, evident on any long straightaway. The record holder is Dovi's Ducati I think at right at 220 MPH. Dani Pedrosas Honda held the record for a long time at 217 mph.

In recent years Ducati as claimed the top 5 fastest recorded speeds

The Official Home of MotoGP

You’re right there Ferret. But, as Dall’Igna said, “We are not here to set land speed records, we are here to win races”. The power advantage of Ducati is evident not only in straight line speed but also in great drive (acceleration) out of corners. A draught (draft US) horse is a powerful beast but can it outrun a thoroughbred? If the jockey is Casey Stoner, yes. He was the exception. Even Rossi couldn’t get the Duck to the top step. Casey had the rider qualities Ferret mentioned, talent and heart, and was on a powerful beast. To my, and to many others, dismay he pulled the pin just as MM arrived on the scene. Could have been an epic battle, or two.

As for the Fox Sports commentary team, well I can empathise with Roper’s irritation. They give me the the screaming “irrits” too.

Cheers