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Post by René on Apr 9, 2022 9:54:43 GMT
Yes Chris indeed, Circuit of the Americas this weekend. Can Johann Zarco finally break the spell and take his first win in MotoGP? That would be something!
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Post by chrisb on Apr 13, 2022 19:06:08 GMT
It was a pretty astonishing race, Ducati was so dominant to begin with and Bastianini was sheer class - how he manages his tyres is a real gift, Jack rode a godo race as did Alex Rins who is showing a maturity and an ability to keep sunny side up, Yamaha are in deep trouble and without Fabio they are a disaster, Marquez rode a brilliant race dropped to last at the start and fought his way back to 6th, without too much argy-bargy - he was good,
Moto2 was a crash-fest all the favourites kissing the kitty litter and poor Sam Lowes was the victim of a serious misjudgement by Chantra, the good news was that at long last Jake rode a sensible race and finished an emotional 3rd. it was a very emotional podium
Moto3 was er interesting - the great news was the young Brit Scott Ogden who finished a great 12th, bearing in mind this is a completely new team and showing some established teams the way to go,
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Post by René on Apr 20, 2022 17:17:41 GMT
Portuguese Grand Prix - PortimãoNot only the Formula 1 circus returns to Europe, also the MotoGP boys are back in the spiritual homeland. The wonderful Algarve circuit near Portimão is the scene of already round 5 of the MotoGP championship.
Can home boy Miguel Oliveira repeat last year's success or will it be Enea Bastianini who seems to be on a roll this season and the only man with two wins. Defending champion Quartararo is yet to win this year.
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Post by chrisb on Apr 27, 2022 15:42:33 GMT
what a race! Fabio and Johan vive Le France, great rides by these two guys and a number of others- really felt for Jack, he really was trying so hard to get past Joan who looked like he was slowing him down and I thought was braking later than normal - I see crash.net are wondering why Jack isn't getting a penalty for this accident I am not sure about that - Fabio was clearly my rider of the race but Alex and Aleix were close, both rode exceptionally well and with their brains I felt. Miguel got a good 5th place but a poor 6th for the most talked about racer - Marc Marquez- as usual, one had hoped that once Steve Day had departed the Marc Marquez sycophantic club would have been wound up- sadly not - but he only just beat his little brother whose contract is coming under scrutiny I understand, - Yamaha have a serious problem - without Fabio their top finisher was Dovi in 11th with Frankie in 13th, although it appears Frankie is still having problems with his knee- Dovi wants a better handling bike Fabio wants more power - wonder who will win that argument?
Moto2 was a disaster for everyone bar the American rider who kept it sunnyside up Joe Roberts won his first race and rode a sensible re-started race- which we wish him many congratulations for, however, the main story was one of immense relief as there was an almighty series of accidents that we were so so fortunate no one was seriously injured or worse, Aron Canet had been riding beautifully along with a number of other rides including the luckless Sam Lowes when a very brief heavy rain shower turned a corner into an ice rink and off they all tumbled - Jake Dixon survived that to take pole on the re-start only to tragically bin it on the downward sweep, totally gutted for him
Moto3 didn't start well as John McPhee was again declared unfit to race- Sergio Garcia rode a masterful race to win and a special praise to the Vision Track racing team who qualified brilliantly and Scott finished a fine 13th drawing praise indeed from the likes of Simon Crafar - which is praise indeed
off to Spain this weekend and sadly yet again no John McPhee
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Post by René on Apr 30, 2022 11:07:25 GMT
Spanish Grand Prix - JerezIt's getting exciting in the south of Spain where Francesco Bagnaia was fractionally faster than defending champion and points leader Fabio Quartararo in FP3. The Hondas of Nakagami and Marquez not far behind.
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Post by charleselan on Apr 30, 2022 17:12:20 GMT
Even though carrying a shoulder injury Bagnaia seems to have re-found his Mojo, what an absolutely stunning pole lap that was. However I think second fastest Fabio will be much closer in race conditions and may well still be favourite. Great lap by Aleix on the Aprillia also in third place, he is riding very well this year and the bike has come on in leaps and bounds.
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Post by chrisb on May 2, 2022 11:15:47 GMT
From what I understand Ducati have reverted back to the 2021 engine set up, hence Pecca's and Jack's pace -
but what a race, a great ride by Bagnaia and Fabio - sheer class and a well-judged 3rd place from Aleix after a fierce tussle with Marquez and Jack, some very disappointing rides followed, especially by Maverick who qualified well and slipped to last as he can't get the new tyres up to temperature - he did climb up the field to 14th but I am wondering just when Aprilla start wondering why they are paying him so much money, Alex Rins had a subdued end to his good run finishing 19th after a tumble. My saddest disappointment was Frankie who was much quicker in the warm-up I think 6th or thereabouts and looked like the guy who finished runner up in 2020 but no, false dawn as he finished 15th -
Without Fabio Yamaha are in deep trouble, someone has likened this to Marquez at Honda and whilst one rider can manage the bike the other 3 can't, now we are seeing at Honda some improvements by their other 3 - with Taka finishing 7th Pol 11th and Alex 13th- whereas Yamaha were 2nd 15th, 17th and DNF, mind you KTM were 10th, 12th, and 20th with one DNS -
They are testing at Jerez today and fastest after the mornings session was Fabio with Franco 19th - ok only 0.864 behind and I have no idea what their respective programmes are but that must be disheartening
Moto2 was another poor day for the Brits and I am very saddened by that - in Moto3 Scott Ogden continues to impress and finished a fine 12th in a very competitive race
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Post by René on May 2, 2022 15:48:49 GMT
That was a good race indeed, one of the best so far this year!
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Post by charleselan on May 2, 2022 18:26:06 GMT
Encouraging to see The Caravan actually use his head at long last and finish in the points rather than the Kitty Litter. Great rides by both Pecco and Fabio, the absolute class of the field without a shadow of a doubt. Also an excellent ride by Aleix on the Aprillia which sort of puts his team mate into some kind of perspective, as the BT Sport team noted Maverick cannot keep blaming his equipment and really needs to look inward.
An absolute disaster for the two British lads in Moto2, both need to stay on the bike from now on. Absolutely no doubt that in his current team Jake Dixon has proved without a shadow that he has the speed, just needs to stay on. Time for a change of formula/class for sam I feel.
Scott Ogden simply outstanding.
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Post by chrisb on May 3, 2022 14:40:03 GMT
Big breaking but sad news is that Team Suzuki are [yet to be confirmed?] pulling out of MotoGP, that is a real shame to and all those excellent staff who propelled Suzuki from nowhere to championship material - good luck, methinks the grid is sadder without them but it does open up the riders market,
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Post by René on May 14, 2022 11:04:15 GMT
French Grand Prix - Le Mans
The home Grand Prix for points leader Fabio Quartararo and of course for Johann Zarco who just smashed the Le Mans lap record in FP3! Francesco Bagnaia also looking very fast so far.
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Post by chrisb on May 17, 2022 19:48:51 GMT
well, what a race, fabio unable to do anything about the flying Ducati's and Aprilla with Pecca sliding off and Jack being clever but Bastianini just sheer class and odds on for the works drive next year - more disappointment for Maverick, Frankie and of course the Suzuki team. who both managed not to finish. Once Johan managed to get passed the Honda's rode a fair race to 5th whilst his team mate also fell off. Honda are asking for patience and a lot of seats must be under threat there.
Moto2 was one of domination and disappointment, Acosta just shot away following by his team mate, and then went down the road leaving his team mate Augusto Fernandez with a huge lead and he cantered for an easy win, good rides from a battered Canet and Chantra and the Americans are making big noises with Beaubier the leading American in 5th. for us Brit fans - it was a disaster, Jake who was mighty in practice, qualifying on the front row, awful start and then down the road he went, he did remount to finish 21st but oh really feel for Jake, as I do for Sam, who was 4th in practice when he had a nasty high-side and couldn't start.
Moto3 was a curates egg, John McPhee was back and finished a sore 12th, which seemed to be some sort of heroic attempt, sadly Scott fell off but Josh Whately - the youngest rider there is starting to get to grips with this series, ok he finished 21st but he improved by nearly 3 seconds a lap over the weekend, watch this guy later on in the season, he hs somerthing about him
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Post by Carl on May 17, 2022 20:57:29 GMT
Moto2 was one of domination and disappointment, Acosta just shot away following by his team mate, and then went down the road leaving his team mate Augusto Fernandez with a huge lead and he cantered for an easy win, good rides from a battered Canet and Chantra and the Americans are making big noises with Beaubier the leading American in 5th. for us Brit fans - it was a disaster, Jake who was mighty in practice, qualifying on the front row, awful start and then down the road he went, he did remount to finish 21st but oh really feel for Jake, as I do for Sam, who was 4th in practice when he had a nasty high-side and couldn't start. Americans always make big noises  but need bigger results. Cameron Beaubier, the California native with a French name, finished 4th and almost made the podium. I remember his great display of talent in AMA Superbike and he could do well in MotoGP. |
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Post by chrisb on May 18, 2022 16:20:12 GMT
Carl, I do think the Americans are coming [again!] there are more and more of them in MotoGP and WSB, and they are getting better and better, after all you are up against kids who know these circuits like their own back yards and have been tutored endlessly - coming through Moto3 first, no wouldn't it be a thing if with Suzuki departing that those extra slots available were taken over by the Americans and we have two very good riders in the premier division,
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Post by René on May 27, 2022 11:30:11 GMT
Italian Grand Prix - Mugello
Enough Italian favorites for this race but it's LCR Honda’s Takaaki Nakagami who dominated the opening practice! 1. Takaaki Nakagami, Honda RC213V, 1'46.662 2. Aleix Espargaro, Aprilia RS-GP, 1'47.070 0.408 0.408 3. Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Desmosedici, 1'47.070 0.408 0.000 4. Alex Rins, Suzuki GSX-RR, 1'47.071 0.409 0.001 5. Enea Bastianini, Ducati Desmosedici, 1'47.186 0.524 0.115 6. Maverick Viñales, Aprilia RS-GP, 1'47.191 0.529 0.005 |
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but need bigger results. Cameron Beaubier, the California native with a French name, finished 4th and almost made the podium. I remember his great display of talent in AMA Superbike and he could do well in MotoGP. 
