MotoGP 2022

[geepers]

• Opening race this weekend at Lusail cct, Qatar.
• 1st season in such a long time with Valentino Rossi no longer riding.
• Longest season ever with 22 races scheduled.

 

[Tom K.]

• Opening race this weekend at Lusail cct, Qatar.
• 1st season in such a long time with Valentino Rossi no longer riding.
• Longest season ever with 22 races scheduled.

Thanks for the reminder!

Gotta figure out the US tv feed....

EDIT: Looks like a mix of CNBC and NBC. DVR set, but damn, I'll miss Rossi (and the "Alien" era in general).

 

[geepers]

Learnt a few things from Qatar.

1. Marquez is still short of fully recovered.
2. The Honda is still fast as shown by Espargaro up to the closing laps. Had that been the 2018 Marquez aboard it would likely have been the top step of the podium.
3. Suzuki have taken a giant leap in power development. Ducatis unable to power past on the front straight of Lusail is astounding. Now we wait to see if they have lost any agility.
4. Yamaha are currently somewhat off the pace. Does this repeat every time they win a Championship?
5. The Euro manufacturers, Ducati and KTM, are looking fast.

This could be another wide open championship year.

 

[Tom K.]

Suzuki have taken a giant leap in power development. Ducatis unable to power past on the front straight of Lusail is astounding. Now we wait to see if they have lost any agility.

Also my biggest surprise.

And happiest, since I used to race Suzukis!

I'm an very interested, but fairly uneducated, fan. What is the first circuit where we will see if Suzuki has given up some of their legendary handling/cornering/agility in exchange for the newly-found speed?

 

[geepers]

Also my biggest surprise.

And happiest, since I used to race Suzukis!

I'm an very interested, but fairly uneducated, fan. What is the first circuit where we will see if Suzuki has given up some of their legendary handling/cornering/agility in exchange for the newly-found speed?

Bit of a soft spot for Suzuki myself. Owned a few of 'em as road bikes that I also raced. Including a1972 T350 Rebel back when two strokes ruled and a 1977 GS750 (the one with the spoked wheels and single disc front brake) when Suzuki at last saw the light and gave up on the water bottle (the GT750 2 stroke).

When it comes to MotoGP, suspect most of us are fairly uneducated as fans. So will go out on a limb... MHO Mir and Rins will adapt pretty quickly to the extra power. Don't expect that it will be anything like the old days of the hair trigger power curves on the 500cc 2 strokes. Indonesia is a new cct for MotoGP so who knows how that will play. Argentina is a bit stop/go and CotA has been a Marquez charity gig for the last 7 years. But maybe we'll see M&R more competitive there this year.

 

[Tom K.]

Bit of a soft spot for Suzuki myself. Owned a few of 'em as road bikes that I also raced. Including a1972 T350 Rebel back when two strokes ruled and a 1977 GS750 (the one with the spoked wheels and single disc front brake) when Suzuki at last saw the light and gave up on the water bottle (the GT750 2 stroke).

When it comes to MotoGP, suspect most of us are fairly uneducated as fans. So will go out on a limb... MHO Mir and Rins will adapt pretty quickly to the extra power. Don't expect that it will be anything like the old days of the hair trigger power curves on the 500cc 2 strokes. Indonesia is a new cct for MotoGP so who knows how that will play. Argentina is a bit stop/go and CotA has been a Marquez charity gig for the last 7 years. But maybe we'll see M&R more competitive there this year.

My Dad had the same vintage GS1000 as your 750. I loved that thing. I had the stepchild to the old Water Buffalo: a GT550 two-stroke triple. Loved it. Came from my dirt bike sponsor who sold it to me for the $250 of parts he had in it when I went away to college. The owner had been a no-show for over two years.

You're dead on about MM and COTA. Pre-race commentary and discussion has become "who will get second"?!

FYI, Bruce Allen is back at MO, and writing about MotoGP. I really enjoy his writing (though I haven't read this one yet):

THUNDERATION - MotoGP 2022 Cleared for Takeoff

Bruce Allen takes a look at the 2022 MotoGP World Championship and what promises to be one of the most competitive seasons in history.

www.motorcycle.com

 

[geepers]

My Dad had the same vintage GS1000 as your 750. I loved that thing. I had the stepchild to the old Water Buffalo: a GT550 two-stroke triple. Loved it. Came from my dirt bike sponsor who sold it to me for the $250 of parts he had in it when I went away to college. The owner had been a no-show for over two years.

You're dead on about MM and COTA. Pre-race commentary and discussion has become "who will get second"?!

FYI, Bruce Allen is back at MO, and writing about MotoGP. I really enjoy his writing (though I haven't read this one yet):

THUNDERATION - MotoGP 2022 Cleared for Takeoff

Bruce Allen takes a look at the 2022 MotoGP World Championship and what promises to be one of the most competitive seasons in history.

www.motorcycle.com

Amusing article - look forward to the Round 11 edition.

 

[Tom K.]

First "real" race this weekend. Qatar is seldom a predictor of much, kind of like Anaheim 1 in Supercross.

 

[geepers]

Some vid from Friday's practice... blocked from imbedding...

(DORNA must subscribe to FIS Alpine doctrine of video unhelpfulness - apologies, DORNA dudes, for wanting to help promo your sport.)

What we learnt Friday practice


Some pretty good saves here. The technique of the outside foot waggle.

 

[geepers]

Not too sure we learnt much from Mandalika other than this is likely to be a wide open season. New track so the teams won't have much data on it yet. And a rain soaked event made it a challenge. Four different brands in the top 5 - one of the missing brands being Aprilia is not much surprise. But Honda was - still too heavily dependent on Marquez.

Marquez was out with suspected concussion after a horrific high side in the morning session. That was a fast place to get off with speeds around 180-190 kph. Not posting vids or images of that one. Stuff of nightmares. At least he was up and walking. He's an incredible rider but really wish he would take some off to either fully recover or park it for good. No point battling on like this until there's a Lorenzo like loss of confidence. Or something worse.

Gees, these riders earn their pay....



Edit: Should add that Quartararo has learnt to ride in the rain!

 

[Tom K.]

Not much life in this thread, and I admit my interest has waned a bit as the Aliens have aged out, but how about the emergency of Bastianini as the king of tire conservation and late race speed?

Makes for interesting viewing in the second half of the race.

 

[scott43]

I've completely lost interest in MotoGP. which is telling at I used to actually be a track rider...

 

[geepers]

I've completely lost interest in MotoGP. which is telling at I used to actually be a track rider...

Kind lost track of it as well. Who eventually got the trophy?



Anyhow, a little something to maybe revive interest for next year... This loooooooooong (4 hours!!) interview of Casey Stoner is quite fascinating. Some bits worth a listen...

• How his terror of losing the front end (and I thought these guys were fearless) caused him to adapt his technique for, say, turn 3 at Phillip Island. Just before he got to the turn, at 265kph, he'd gas it up to get the rear to step out. This meant he go into the corner with the front wheel cocked a little out of the turn making it impossible to lose the front end. Worth listening to the few minutes at 47:25 for a description of the why and what of that.
• How the pressure of expecting to be a winner would at times become so overwhelming that he'd curl up in a fetal position in his motorhome. (Worth reflecting on how that pressure must be for some-one like Shiffrin.)
• How he'd take a work-it-out or crash approach when having problems in the rain. (Yep, these guys really are fearless!)
• And much more...

 

[Tom K.]

Kind lost track of it as well. Who event

Kind lost track of it as well. Who eventually got the trophy?

Same, and I think it's because there are no more Casey Stoners or Aliens in general.

Still the wildest motorsport on the globe.

Or perhaps tied with sprint car racing == ya gotta love a "car" with more than 1 hp per lb.

EDIT: I guess not quite at ~1,400 lbs and only 900 hp. Still wild to watch.

 

[geepers]

Same, and I think it's because there are no more Casey Stoners or Aliens in general.

Still the wildest motorsport on the globe.

Or perhaps tied with sprint car racing == ya gotta love a "car" with more than 1 hp per lb.

EDIT: I guess not quite at ~1,400 lbs and only 900 hp. Still wild to watch.

Isle of Mann TT (and Irish road racing in general) is probably wilder. 200mph on narrow country lanes.... We skiers think it's bad when Kilde has a near miss with the wall at Kitz at 80mph (and that was a hairy moment) - the TT riders are probably having one or more such incidence per lap at twice the speed.

Can no longer watch that live - too much chance of carnage.

 

[Tom K.]

Isle of Mann TT (and Irish road racing in general) is probably wilder.

Can no longer watch that live - too much chance of carnage.

Totally agree, on both counts.

I'd love to see -- and hear! -- IoM live, but probably out of reach for me.

 

[geepers]

Totally agree, on both counts.

I'd love to see -- and hear! -- IoM live, but probably out of reach for me.

Can spectate pretty close to the action....



It's one I'm happy to see via vid replay.