Austrian Grand Prix - Red Bull Ring

[René]

After the surprise but impressive win by Brad Binder, will we see another surprise result at the Red Bull Ring?

With Marc Márquez again not starting in this weekend’s Grand Prix and Andrea Dovizioso being invisible so far, there seems more space for new names. Quartararo and Binder as new winners and strong results from Morbidelli and Zarco among others are refreshing to see.

Like in F1 this will be a so-called double header in Austria. Dovizioso won here last year and in 2017 but if that means anything for this year's race remains to be seen. I would expect Yamaha and Quartararo to be very strong here.

[charleselan]

Austria was acknowledged to be a Ducati track, Lorenzo also won that memorable race there in 2018 as well. However the current issue with the Michelin tyres could change all of that, except for maybe Johan Zarco.

I have a feeling that the KTM machines will once again be a factor, and possibly another win for Brad Binder. Also if he has better luck Miguel Oliveira on the Tech3 KTM.

Don't think the Yamaha's will like that long straight power section René, they are desperately short of grunt at present.

By the way I did not mention it last time but Alex Rins performance was also outstanding in Brno considering the pain he is in with the shoulder injury. he is also having to be careful not to fall again as it could create lasting issues with that limb.

[chrisb]

what a beautiful photo Rene,

Austria has been sort of voted the best European country to ride motorbikes in and I would concur with that, although the circuit could do with a bit more of the old one added back, wasnt there talk of this?

I have gone for Zarco, he really is class, but suspect the KTM's and Suzuki's will be there, with Pol figuring he deserves the win and being over the top emotionally. Totally concur JC, Rins's ride was exceptional, again JC totally agree the Yamaha's are short of that grunt, maybe Dovi and Jack may have better races here but can't see them at the sharp end at the finish, Honda seems all at sea and maybe this is waking them up a bit, that one rider bike philosophy has been very successful but when that rider is unavailable you are nowhere must cause a lot of worries, especially as elsewhere there is speculation Marquez is looking at moving onto another team, something I do not think will happen, but there again,

[chrisb]

meant to add something about Cal and Naka but can't remember what now,

also the heat is on John McPhee and Sam for them to claim their first victories this year, so my hopes for victories are:

Moto3 - John
Moto2 - Sam
MotoGP - Johan
MotoE - haven't a clue

[chrisb]

great practice at a beautiful place, gosh the scenery is stunning, with an emotional Pol, will he be on pole? trying very hard, said to be angry but the number of people criticising him is growing and supporting John increasing, apparently the long lap cost Johan exactly 1 second, they may need a re-think here,

 nice to see Dovi up there but a strange statement from Ducati saying they will decide on their line up after the two Austrian races and Dovi smiling seems strange, lots of talk that Ducati bosses aren't that struck on Dovi, which makes one wonder if a certain Frenchman or Spaniard is higher up their lists.

bizarre rain falling on one corner only quite a torrential downpour, which certainly made things a bit more entertaining.

[charleselan]

MotoE has the same effect on me as the car version, no need for the Mogadon.

Apparently Michelin have changed the rear tyre a little and it suits Dovi a bit more, we will see.

[René]

Maybe I'm not that wrong afterall by chosing Quartararo as winner.  

The Yamahas certainly found some speed!

[charleselan]

Aug 15, 2020 15:10:08 GMT René said:

Maybe I'm not that wrong afterall by chosing Quartararo as winner.  

The Yamahas certainly found some speed!

You did very well there René, I was in shock seeing how quick those Yamaha's were; could be different in the race however as their lack of straight line speed will play against them in race conditions. Maverick will flatter to deceive I am afraid, so it will be down to Fabio in the end.

I see that Dovi has severed negotiations with Ducati; terminal now. I am astonished at how stupid Ducati are in how they treat their riders, and over time as well. The management at Ducati have no respect, and are quite happy to trash someone, only to live to regret the decision at a later date. Casey Stoner has "tweeted" that he thinks that it a big mistake, he should know as they did it to him, twice!

Miller may be second fastest today but history says he will not last at the front, might be proven wrong, but my gut says no. Ducati made a big mistake in signing him so early in the year in my opinion, Jack isn't championship material, period!

[chrisb]

Yamaha was great for the practice, surprised but pleased, hopefully they will go on and win now, and Honda, they must be panicking, possibly re-signing Dovi? what a farce, odds are that Lorenzo will be on a Ducati next year - is Miller a winner? he has won once, but it just doesn't seem so, I may be wrong, Pecca looks a good deal but a champion? not sure, am out on my bike again today so will watch the spoiler free later on, wonder what Ducati will do if Zarco wins? but it looks likely that Dovi will end up on an Aprilla - Esparago is giving out big invites 

[charleselan]

Today highlighted the very real dangers of motorcycle racing, even in this current age. The horrors that occurred in both the Moto2 and MotoGP races were something that should never be seen in this current age. Fortunately there were no serious injuries although in both incidents riders were milliseconds from being killed or maimed for life. Can anyone really imagine what the outcry would have been had that cartwheeling wrecked motorcycle struck and killed Valentino Rossi, let alone Maverick Vinales.

Blame is going viral on the internet as it usually does with many keyboard jocks blaming Zarco for the big accident in the MotoGP race which I believe to be unfair and misplaced. The blame lies squarely in my mind to the circuit itself, and in particular that part of the track. Zarco used both the draught and superior top speed of the Ducati at this point to pass Morbidelli, and I am certain that he felt with that big discrepancy in speed between them it was fine for him to move across. I am also certain that aerodynamics played their part as well as two passing motorcycles travelling at 200 mph create huge turbulence which can destabilise both bikes.

I am not certain if Franco knew or realised that Johann was pulling across, or due to the suction effect was unable to do anything himself anyway.

My feeling is that if it had not been for the controversy of the coming together last weekend in Brno with P. Espargaro then little would have been thrown at Zarco this afternoon. Let us be clear Marc Marquez has pulled many very dubious overtakes in his time, and some have caused riders to get unseated, P. Espargaro should know as he has been on the receiving end of a few. Zarco is no more reckless or hard than Marquez period.

Now let us return to P. Espargaro who yet again has a coming together with another rider after making an error himself and immediately chopping back onto the racing line partly or wholly filled by another rider. This time it was Miguel Oliveira who unfortunately also crashed out in the coming together. Yet again Espargaro blames the other rider for a mistake that as his own and shows truly appalling sportsmanship.

Miguel is one of the calmest characters but his anger was plain to see after returning to his pit box where he kicked the furniture around the room in an outburst of anger that was so uncharacteristic. My belief is that Espargaro needs to seek some  anger management counselling and also learn to stop laying the blame for his own failings with others. I wonder if some of this is as a result if him realising that has made a huge error in leaving KTM for Honda. His older brother is no better either after his disgusting display after holding up and ruining Danillo Petrucci in qualifying.

Now something more positive, what a great performance from Andrea to win and basically stick it to the Ducati management. It was a brilliant ride that as classic Dovi, and the look in parc fermé afterwards when big boss Ciabatti went to shake hands with him was the stuff of legend. Another great ride by thew still injured Alex Rins who should have won the race but lost the front just pushing a bit too hard at the wrong time, but Joanne Mir was superb in pipping Jack Miller for second place at the end, great ride by the young man.

Some final musings.

I have not seen a motorsport competitor look so haunted as Valentino when he returned to his pit after that near miss for decades now. He was in deep shock, but knew the gods had been with him then. Personally old chap I would hang up the helmet at the end of the season following that, it was a wake up call of the nastiest type.

Honda should tear up the contract that they have with P. Espargaro and sign Dovi immediately as he can develop a bike that all riders can ride. Marquez accident should be a wake up for Honda as well, as it must make them finally realise that they cannot just depend on him.

Who knows what Ducati will do to replace Andrea; Ciabatti said that they were looking at Peco Bagnaia and Zarco, although some say that Lorenzo's name may be on the table as well.

I feel that Valentino should retire now and if Lorenzo is fully fit and motivated he needs to be on the Petronas Yamaha, or better still replace the underperforming Vinales on the full factory machine.

[chrisb]

as I was out all day terrorising the border country with the Triumph club, great roads and some very good fun, so just watched the races, and am still shaking some 15 minutes later, a prayer of thanks that no one was seriously hurt in both incidents, the Moto2 was awful but, there were double waved flags, not sure why they kept on at that speed, anyway just so relieved that no one seriously hurt although am trying to find out if everyone is ok,

the Johan / Morbidelli crash, initially Valle and Morbidelli blamed Johan, who then went and spoke to Valle and explained what he did, Rossi concurred, and seems to have stopped blaming Zarco, they want to examine the footage but the relief and how close Maverick and Valle were to ending their lives, no wonder Mav went backwards in the second race, though Fabio was unlucky but the whole circuit was just so fast, is it too fast? and what on earth can they do to lessen the risks next week?

Dovi reinforced the point perfectly, Ducati were very emotional, I don't know if Bagnaia or Miller are race winners, or could be, maybe Bagnaia but Lorenzo is, and he can take it to anyone and beat anyone when the stars are aligned, and he will be hungry to prove his point,

Pol and Miguel's incident and Pol's reaction just reminds of a juvenile - however, there was an interview several hours later with them both and it was declared a 'racing incident' all smiles no ill-will, wonder what was said to them

Honda, mighty Honda, a one man team, all that money to field essentially a one man band who is injured and vulnerable to further injury, they must be absolutely furious - Dovi to Honda? he's been there would he go back, I still think Dovi will end up at Aprilla,

thought the Suzuki's were brilliant and really felt for Rins but also pleased for Muir's second place and for Brad's fourth and Valle's 5th . 

and leave us not to forget, there are some good youngsters coming through the ranks out there, hungry and less expensive - where will they go? 

[René]

I saw the Morbidelli/Zarco crash live and was amazed noone got hurt. Very nasty and dangerous.

Good to see Dovi win again though!

[chrisb]

Mat Oxley has done a great piece on this, which points out a few factors, namely aggressive driving, but my word I hope Rossi and Maverick have thanked their Gods

what is interesting is the other riders views of this, that is worth seeing again, it is clear that Johan is popular with some not with others, as is Franco, Dovi also made his views known,

[charleselan]

It appears that Rossi & Morbidelli both got quite a bit of airtime in Italy laying the blame with Zarco, Valentino without really looking in depth at the footage. I admire Zarco for his willingness to talk before publishing any comment and that had some benefit.

It is pretty obvious that some groups of riders stick together, and that is one of the downsides of there being so little diversity in nationality in MotoGP.

One thing is certain there has been an over abundance in recent years of overly aggressive racing in motorcycle racing and it started with a certain person who always got raves from the likes of Steve Parrish etc; I quote "motorcycle racing ain't your local whist-drive". Doubt that Sete Gibernau saw it that way!

With regard to Miguel Oliveira and P. Espargaro, I do not think that it has been patched up to well as Miguel is still spitting feathers, although Espargaro is now trying to make out it was a racing incident. Strange that as he still wishes to foist the blame on the innocent Zarco for the previous weekends incident which was more or less a carbon copy.

I also note that the riders are expressing concerns about the venue.

[chrisb]

Yes emotions ran high after the event, no wonder it was terrible yet so fortunate, also a warning, are motorbikes suitable to race at this circuit is my question, Dovi [as ever] is coming up with a really intelligent view of the whole thing and wants the accident broken down and assessed, before there is a serious injury, and is suggesting with a slight amendment to the circuit it will greatly reduce the risks,

aggressive riding has changed for me, it was aggressive in the 80's and 90's but you knew how close to the edge you were to a fatality so there was always some common sense, but initially Rossi but latterly Marquez have taken this to a much higher level, and a far more dangerous level, what puzzles me is that Dorna seem to be saying nothing, neither are the red Bull owners of the circuit, neither want a serious accident for many levels, but we hear nothing and it all starts again in a few days time -

PE is a temperamental emotional and aggressive rider who doesn't like people being aggressive to him, Miguel was quietened down by the team to roll out their political broadcast and totally agree John, he is furious and I am beginning to think KTM are doing well to let PE go to Honda where we will see some heightened feelings methinks