Yeah, Vinales was widely labelled as the most talented from the Salom-Rins triffecta that dominated the 2013 Moto3 season but he loses so much time in the early stages of each race it's beyond pathetic. When Lorenzo used to make Marquez look silly with his mighty starts it was one thing, the days of reeling in the leader after a poor opening stint are over. You can't give someone like Marquez 3-4 sec. head-start at all these days. This being said, I believe Repsol whiffed on the chance to bring Vinales from Suzuki and extended Pedrosa beyond years. Let's see if they can lure Pol Espargaro away from KTM whenever the Lorenzo experiment is over.
Dovizioso is just the Italian Pedrosa aka MotoGP's Fisichella. He will win you some races and even mount a half-hearted championship campaign but he doesn't have the killer gene and never will even if Ducati is the best bike in the field at any stage. Jack Miller is just too erratic to be consistent enough to lead the Ducati charge going forward as Marquez has cut down on his "win or bust" antics. Dovizioso has become Marquez's whipping boy just like Gibernau to Rossi in mid 00s.
07.04.1968 - Flower of Scotland when will we see your like again? 01.05.1994 - We'll never forget...
There’s a good chance Zarco will be back on the MotoGP grid for the final three races of the season, on a LCR Honda. Nakagami has been suffering a shoulder injury, similar to what Marquez had in 2018, so will opt out of the remainder of the season to get necessary surgery.
kals wrote: ↑4 years ago
There’s a good chance Zarco will be back on the MotoGP grid for the final three races of the season, on a LCR Honda. Nakagami has been suffering a shoulder injury, similar to what Marquez had in 2018, so will opt out of the remainder of the season to get necessary surgery.
Great news for JZ if that's the case, I hope he has his head screwed on right and makes the most of it.
kals wrote: ↑4 years ago
There’s a good chance Zarco will be back on the MotoGP grid for the final three races of the season, on a LCR Honda. Nakagami has been suffering a shoulder injury, similar to what Marquez had in 2018, so will opt out of the remainder of the season to get necessary surgery.
Great news for JZ if that's the case, I hope he has his head screwed on right and makes the most of it.
It will also be a good opportunity for Honda to see how he gets on the bike and be a potential replacement for Lorenzo for 2020.
kals wrote: ↑4 years ago
There’s a good chance Zarco will be back on the MotoGP grid for the final three races of the season, on a LCR Honda. Nakagami has been suffering a shoulder injury, similar to what Marquez had in 2018, so will opt out of the remainder of the season to get necessary surgery.
Great news for JZ if that's the case, I hope he has his head screwed on right and makes the most of it.
It will also be a good opportunity for Honda to see how he gets on the bike and be a potential replacement for Lorenzo for 2020.
Yep. On a difficult bike though. Completely different from the KTM or Yamaha. Lorenzo aren't dog shit and he's absolutely nowhere. But it's a tough business and he's got talent, if he wants to stay in MotoGP he needs to at least deliver a few respectable finishes.
SB83 wrote: ↑4 years ago
Turned off after lap 2; just too demoralising to watch anymore.
I watched lap one, and then skipped five laps to see if anything had changed, skipped five more, etc etc until the race was over. I'll watch PI though, that race is usually a humdinger.
Rossi needs to fuck off tbh. He's too old for this shit anymore.
Polish journalists heard some paddock rumours if Zarco performs well enough in the last three races, Lorenzo will be dumped and Zarco becomes Marquez's teammate in 2020
07.04.1968 - Flower of Scotland when will we see your like again? 01.05.1994 - We'll never forget...
SB83 wrote: ↑4 years ago
Turned off after lap 2; just too demoralising to watch anymore.
I watched lap one, and then skipped five laps to see if anything had changed, skipped five more, etc etc until the race was over. I'll watch PI though, that race is usually a humdinger.
Same here, I always watch PI for the spectacle of the circuit alone.
Ducati MotoGP general manager Gigi Dall'Igna has suggested Yamaha rider Maverick Vinales could be an option for the 2021 season.
Vinales will be a free agent for 2021 - like the majority of other riders on the grid - after the expiration of his current factory Yamaha deal.
As Marc Marquez is already in early talks to remain at Honda beyond the end of 2020, and star rookie Fabio Quartararo is thought likely to remain in Yamaha's orbit, six-time MotoGP race winner Vinales is expected to be a key player in the rider market.
Ducati currently fields Andrea Dovizioso and Danilo Petrucci in its factory team, but relations between Dovizioso and Dall'Igna are thought to have become strained amid Ducati's continued difficulties this season.
Speaking to Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport, Dall'Igna admitted Vinales could be an attractive option for 2021 if it decides to reshuffle its rider line-up.
"He is one of the riders who has managed to beat Marquez," said Dall'Igna.
"We are evaluating what could be the best solution. But it does not depend only on us."
Speaking after the Thailand race earlier this month, Vinales suggested he is open to changing teams for 2021 once his existing Yamaha deal ends.
However, he rowed back on those statements a fortnight later at Motegi, saying he is committed to trying to win with Yamaha in 2020.
"What I wanted to say, above all, is that I am very focused on trying to get the most out of this Yamaha," said Vinales, who is joint third in the riders' standings this season.
"In 2020 we will see, it is far away.
"You never know, maybe I start like in 2017 [when Vinales won three of the first five races] and it changes the whole mentality, I have no idea.
"The important thing is to finish this year as well as possible and start next year with the belief of going to win."
Jorge Lorenzo sounded out Ducati earlier this year about a potential return to the Italian manufacturer's fold as early as 2020, before ultimately electing to stay committed to Honda.
Dall'Igna made it clear that Lorenzo is no longer seen as an option for the future, saying: "No, enough."
Brad Binder will be Pol Espargaro's teammate in the factory KTM next season. He was supposed to take Syahrin's place in the Tech3 satellite team but that will be taken by Iker Lecuona instead (who was set to replace Binder in the Red Bull Ajo Moto 2 team). I'm sort of okay with Binder on the works bike but it's too early for Lecuona in MotoGP. The Moto2 season opposite Jorge Martin was supposed to be the true test of his potential, he might outright sink in MotoGP next season.
07.04.1968 - Flower of Scotland when will we see your like again? 01.05.1994 - We'll never forget...