MotoGP Ciruit of Americas ***SPOILER ALERT***

[the Ferret]

What a crash fest. I will always be a Pedrosa fan. What a good sport and decent human being.

 

[redbirds_imp]

Danny showed real class after that incident. Poor Dovi, knocked out again through no fault of his own.

 

[Elipten_imp]

Danny was a class act for sure! After events last year I was thinking MotoGP was going to become like the Republican primary race.


2014 CB1100 DLX
2013 CB1100 Std
1990 BMW K75 RT

 

[the Ferret]

Yep Dovi is having some real buzzard luck in a position that doesn't see that much? Usually the first group has it pretty safe.

Marquez was masterful again. Rare event for Rossi to roll around in the kitty litter. Crutchlow is having worse luck than Dovi.

 

[Ulvetanna_imp]

Marquez's best qualifying lap was on the first of 3 attempts. Lorenzo and Rossi are right on his tail.

If the start is a normal one, expect Marquez to be 3rd, 4th or worse out of the first corner. I hope he has the patience and maturity to pick good spots to pass. He'll be worried the Yamahas and Ducati's get away.

I'll be watching the top 3 as well as Iannone and Vinales. I hope Dani can get into the mix.

Poor Jack Miller is out with an injury, having high sided during a FP.

No problem for Marquez this time. As soon as Rossi fell I skipped to the last two laps, no surprises. Not much of a race, though.

 

[CB4ME_imp]

The Suzuki battle was interesting. Nice to see 4 manufacturers in the top 4, albeit spread out quite a bit.

 

[redbirds_imp]

If you failed to watch the Moto America Superbike/Superstock race 2 you missed a good one. The duel between Yoshimura Suzuki riders, Hadyn and Elias was exciting even though Elias was finally able to pull away in the final laps. The Superstock, running with the Superbikes, was great also. Corti, Herrin and Eslick had a fine battle for the last two podium spots in Superstock. Best race of the weekend IMO.

 

[Pterodactyl_imp]

The Suzuki battle was interesting. Nice to see 4 manufacturers in the top 4, albeit spread out quite a bit.

When the cameras and commentators go to the "battle for thirteenth" with ten laps to go then you know it's all over bar the shouting. Well almost. I make no bones about my admiration for MM so, even though he was under no pressure, I didn't relax until he got the flag. Two years ago, in front of my eyes, he was way out in front, 3 seconds or more, when he lost the front end at Lukey Heights on the last lap. Rossi got gifted the win. Don't recall him saying "Thanks mate". .

There is a long way to go in the season so anything can happen. Poor bloody Dovizioso; he must be wondering how he can get to the podium. Maybe he should carry .

Cheers

 

[Ulvetanna_imp]

Got around to watching the rest of the race; tough break with Pedrosa doing the torpedo on Dovi but it was a legit mistake. A lot of crashes the last couple of races.

I appreciated Rossi's assessment of his own crash. 15 races to go; I believe Marquez had 6 DNF's last year. Plenty of time for anything to happen.

It does seem that front grip is an issue with the Michelins. There are a lot of lowsides, and they are happening frequently to the top tier riders.

Hopefully Michelin will get this sorted sooner rather than later. Never had much luck with Michelin on my motorcycles but really liked their bicycle tires.

 

[the Ferret]

I love Michelins, and have had great luck with them. Run them on every vehicle I own, motorcycles, cars, my truck and have for years. If the vehicle doesn't come with them, it gets them at the first and all subsequent tire changes.

 

[Ulvetanna_imp]

I love Michelins, and have had great luck with them. Run them on every vehicle I own, motorcycles, cars, my truck and have for years. If the vehicle doesn't come with them, it gets them at the first and all subsequent tire changes.

LOL I'm pretty sure we ride very differently! But in all fairness, I used Pilot Road3's on a sportbike, it had a front end shake around 110 mph that just could not be sorted. Switched to Dunlop Roadsmart 2's, same issue.

Switched to Dunlop Q3's, no more shakes. Rock-solid up to 130 mph which was fast enough. The carcass design is very different on a production race tire, although the load rating is the same. The amount and distribution and compound of rubber is also very different.

I don't have any brand loyalty, whatever works the best is what I'll run. The Conti RA2 CR's are as good on the CB1100 as the Dunlop Q3's are on the track bike, which is to say, very, very good. Never thought the CB1100 could feel so exquisitely linear and planted at full lean. And the grip...whew.
So just finally finished watching the race video with Videopass, and was ever more impressed with Vinales. His style very much reminds me of the young Freddie Spencer, he is obviously very comfortable, right in his element, but not at all reckless. Notice how he lifts the outside foot of the peg and points it upward; both Spencer and Kenny Roberts did that back in the day.

Marquez reminds me more of Schwantz. He is not a magician, any more than Freddie was in 1983-85. He's on the right bike, with the right team, at the right time. There are some very eager riders looking ahead to move in on him.

Looks like Maverick will be moving to Yamaha next year, which is too bad for Suzuki, as they are really starting to get their bike sorted. The one thing that bike has is handling. I would love to see the telemetry from the top five bikes in that race. I will wager a plug nickel that Vinales' cornering speeds were equal to #93 in many places.

 

[Cormanus]

I saw what you did Old Bird. Naughty, naughty.

 

[Pterodactyl_imp]

Ulvetanna, you're right. Viñales is a force to be reckoned with. It will be interesting to watch him develop. Great corner speed true, but not as late on the anchors as MM. Viñales is the complete package though, temperament, race craft, passing skills and more if, at this stage, a little slow on the start. His style is remarkably similar to MM. The only area that we haven't yet seen is whether he has that ruthless edge that is there in spades in the very best. Dedicated and intense, but ruthless? He is reputed to be a man who learns from his mistakes, something that Jack Miller might lack. Viñales is unlikely to have the six DNFs that MM had last season. He is dedicated, whereas Jack is not adverse to a late night or two. But Jack is a natural. I hope he develops well.

Good season coming up.

Cheers

Actually, "ruthless" is not the right word. In OZ we say, sometimes affectionately, "bastardry".