[Yorik]

Making this thread for any and all preseason chatter.

Well. The new Yamaha livery is a statement of bold new graphics. Not.

 

[BOTT]

I'm looking to see if Miller will jump on a new bike and adapt to it like water like he does jumping on any bike. Rossi could not ride the duc, and Lorenzo had to play with the tank to make it work for him. Miller just jumped on it and won.

MM is another iffy. Past his prime, but still has the will to win. Every time I wrote off Rossi he'd make me eat my words. So same with MM. He might surprise being 99% recovered. 1% being he'll never be 100% due to residuals for the rest of his life.

Still going with 'The Beast' for this year as did last year. Out rode factory bikes with that worn out hand me down, so I expect big things if he stays healthy.

Keeping an eye on moto2-3 and watch the cream come to the top. Locked in on Bastianini since moto3. Going to be fun watching the young ones move up.

 

[dilbeckw]

The new Yamaha looks slightly better, but I think Fabio will struggle more this year. He will probably have some good results because I think he is very talented, but I dont think he can challenge for the title again.

The situation at the factory Ducati team will be very interesting. Pecco should have a much better start to the season than he did last year, but will the crashes still occur? I hope not. But the Beast will be a problem. I dont think he is quite ready to compete for the championship, but he will win some races for sure.

It is also going to be interesting to see how Martin does. In some ways, this might be a defining year for him. He was upset at not getting the factory ride and this is his chance to show Ducati (and other manufacturers) just how good he is. If he has another lackluster year marred by injuries, he might not ever get to the top.

Finally, i am curious about Miller, Rins, and Oliveira. All are very good imo but Rins probably has the biggest mountain to climb.

 

[Yorik]

The situation at the factory Ducati team will be very interesting. Pecco should have a much better start to the season than he did last year, but will the crashes still occur? I hope not. But the Beast will be a problem. I dont think he is quite ready to compete for the championship, but he will win some races for sure.

I saw Bastianini's manager say that his contract triples the payout if he finishes in the top three in the championship. That right there puts any team orders out the window if there's any chance for him to get there. Should be interesting!

 

[Jorgy]

Thanks for starting a thread Yorik. I woke up Saturday and thought what the hell, another weekend without racing? This offseason is forever already.

I'm looking for Jacks early season quali pace. Can he get the magic lap out of a new bike?

I hope Rins doesn't break his ass off on that Honda, and I hope Mir isn't too lost.

The title fight should be spicy, I expect MM to be strong, also Fabio, and both will have to fight through a bunch of Ducatis every week. We should have lots of different race winners and hopefully it takes the whole season to decide the champ.

Will Alex M be my new underdog Ducati rider to root for? Maybe, I think he might come on strong on a good bike.

 

[Chuckracer]

I am mostly curious how the Saturday sprint races and the longer season is going to play out.

 

[Yorik]

I am mostly curious how the Saturday sprint races and the longer season is going to play out.

I get that it's another race that pays points towards the championship, but it's the same amount of on-bike time. They just got rid of a practice session, right?

 

[RD52]

I'm looking to see if Miller will jump on a new bike and adapt to it like water like he does jumping on any bike. Rossi could not ride the duc, and Lorenzo had to play with the tank to make it work for him. Miller just jumped on it and won.

Rather different bike Miller hopped on compared Rossi.

MM is another iffy. Past his prime, but still has the will to win. Every time I wrote off Rossi he'd make me eat my words. So same with MM. He might surprise being 99% recovered. 1% being he'll never be 100% due to residuals for the rest of his life.

Don't know that he's past his prime. He had arguably the greatest season ever in 2019 and has been hurt ever since. Finally healthy, I think he wins the championship this year.

Still going with 'The Beast' for this year as did last year. Out rode factory bikes with that worn out hand me down, so I expect big things if he stays healthy.

Should be a really interesting battle between him and Pecco this year.

Keeping an eye on moto2-3 and watch the cream come to the top. Locked in on Bastianini since moto3. Going to be fun watching the young ones move up.

Always great to watch.

 

[Crarrs]

I am mostly curious how the Saturday sprint races and the longer season is going to play out.

More points to play for means Pecco can have 5 DNFs in a season again and still come back to win the title if he gets hot to close the year.

All kidding aside, I think the sprint races are just going to let a few people pull 37 points out of a weekend instead of 25 because I don't see it really influencing Sunday strategy significantly enough to make a difference on the weekend. It's just going to make somebody like Binder or Bastianini (and sometimes Zarco) really get penalized on the Saturday because they tend to lose less than the others as the race goes on.

 

[Chuckracer]

Shamelessly copied and pasted from Autosport.com:

How will MotoGP sprint races work?

MotoGP sprint races will run to half of the total distance of the main grand prix. So, for example, the British Grand Prix at Silverstone consisted of 20 laps: therefore, the sprint race will be run over 10 laps.

To accommodate the sprint race, weekend's format will be altered slightly. Two practice sessions will continue to take place on Friday, but will be extended. It is not clear yet how long FP1 and FP2 will now be, however the new format will ensure actual weekend track time remains unchanged from 2022. This will also mean tyre and engine allocations won’t be altered.

The combined standings at the end of FP2 will determine who goes through into the first qualifying session and who goes directly through to the pole shootout session.

On Saturday morning, a 30-minute FP3 session will take place ahead of qualifying – with the current FP4 session essentially being replaced by the new FP3 session.

Qualifying will remain unchanged from the format that has been used since 2013, with the results from it decided the grid for both the sprint and the grand prix.

The 20-minute warm-up will be removed from Sunday’s schedule.

Half points will be awarded to riders in the top nine positions of the sprint races.

In a normal grand prix, the top 15 riders score points in a system of: 25, 20, 16, 13, 11, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1

In the sprint race, the winner will score 12 points, with the remaining eight positions down to ninth scoring 9, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.

 

[LA2SD]

I think the KTM is too inconsistent for anyone to be consistently good. Jack included. It's nowhere near the performance level of the desmosedici GP bikes, so Miller will probably have his work cut out for him.

As for the rest of the current Ducati lineup, I think Basta will be a handful. I predict he and Pecco will be neck and neck throughout the season.

VR46 and Team Gresini have strong lineups, and their riders may win a few races, or at the very least, podium.

Curious to see what happens this season with Rins and Mir on the Hondas.

Not sure what will happen to Morbidelli if he has another poor season. Maybe he'll end up on a Ducati?

 

[Chuckracer]

MotoE

 

[Yorik]

MotoE

My money is on Ducati.

 

[egomexico]

Shamelessly copied and pasted from Autosport.com:

How will MotoGP sprint races work?

MotoGP sprint races will run to half of the total distance of the main grand prix. So, for example, the British Grand Prix at Silverstone consisted of 20 laps: therefore, the sprint race will be run over 10 laps.

To accommodate the sprint race, weekend's format will be altered slightly. Two practice sessions will continue to take place on Friday, but will be extended. It is not clear yet how long FP1 and FP2 will now be, however the new format will ensure actual weekend track time remains unchanged from 2022. This will also mean tyre and engine allocations won’t be altered.

The combined standings at the end of FP2 will determine who goes through into the first qualifying session and who goes directly through to the pole shootout session.

On Saturday morning, a 30-minute FP3 session will take place ahead of qualifying – with the current FP4 session essentially being replaced by the new FP3 session.

Qualifying will remain unchanged from the format that has been used since 2013, with the results from it decided the grid for both the sprint and the grand prix.

The 20-minute warm-up will be removed from Sunday’s schedule.

Half points will be awarded to riders in the top nine positions of the sprint races.

In a normal grand prix, the top 15 riders score points in a system of: 25, 20, 16, 13, 11, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1

In the sprint race, the winner will score 12 points, with the remaining eight positions down to ninth scoring 9, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.

totally not confusing

 

[dadridesagain]

I'm looking to see if Miller will jump on a new bike and adapt to it like water like he does jumping on any bike. Rossi could not ride the duc, and Lorenzo had to play with the tank to make it work for him. Miller just jumped on it and won.

MM is another iffy. Past his prime, but still has the will to win. Every time I wrote off Rossi he'd make me eat my words. So same with MM. He might surprise being 99% recovered. 1% being he'll never be 100% due to residuals for the rest of his life.

Still going with 'The Beast' for this year as did last year. Out rode factory bikes with that worn out hand me down, so I expect big things if he stays healthy.

Keeping an eye on moto2-3 and watch the cream come to the top. Locked in on Bastianini since moto3. Going to be fun watching the young ones move up.

I understood everything you wrote here. Who the hell is this and what did you do with BOTT?

 

[dadridesagain]

"Qualifying will remain unchanged from the format that has been used since 2013, with the results from it decided the grid for both the sprint and the grand prix."

OK so now even more critical to place well in qualifying, whoever gets pole gets it for both races regardless of the outcome of the sprint race? wow.

 

[RD52]

"Qualifying will remain unchanged from the format that has been used since 2013, with the results from it decided the grid for both the sprint and the grand prix."

OK so now even more critical to place well in qualifying, whoever gets pole gets it for both races regardless of the outcome of the sprint race? wow.

All about getting riders to push harder. You know, "for the show".
More risk taken in qualifying, since it now impacts 2 races.
And if the sprint race set the grid for the main, then no one would risk crashing and starting the main from the back.

 

[BenF04]

Great topic, I was thinking the same thing just the other evening.

If you believe whats reported in the press then MM is not happy with the lack of progress that Honda have ( haven't?) made with the new bike but given that he should be fully fit I think he'll still be a title contender.

Bastianini should be a title challenger this year and you can't discount Quatararo either.

They'll be the occasional race that throws up an unexpected result but they're the 4 that I expect to see regularly at the top of the podium and fighting for the championship.

And not confusing the issue... Bautisata for the WSBK title again providing they don't strap 10lbs of lead to his bike.

 

[Chuckracer]

More than ever, if you don't have a working set-up out of the box you are hosed for the weekend, unless you can sort it out AND also decide on race tires for Sunday in one Saturday 30 minute session. Cause then you're going to set the bike up super-stiff with soft tires for Q1 and Q2 and then the Sprint race.

No Sunday Morning warm up? That's gotta be wrong.

My money is on anyone running last years bike.

 

[RD52]

More than ever, if you don't have a working set-up out of the box you are hosed for the weekend...

Yep.

My money is on anyone running last years bike.

Which bodes well for Ducati, given that it was best package last year. And they have the most data from last year, and will have the most from the first sessions each weekend this year.

But I still think Marquez wins it all.