|
Post by truenorth on Oct 8, 2023 8:37:47 GMT -8
MotoGP™ On the mend! Marco Bezzecchi shared his first words after his collarbone surgery Get well soon, Marco!
|
|
|
Post by truenorth on Oct 8, 2023 8:47:59 GMT -8
Mat Oxley Such a shame. Bezzecchi was the wild card in the title fight - 51 points down with 204 points up for grabs - so he had nothing to lose and would’ve added a very cool extra dimension to the Bagnaia versus Martin title duel
|
|
|
Post by truenorth on Oct 10, 2023 9:43:44 GMT -8
motociclismo.es BOOOOOOM 💣
"As I have learned, Marc Márquez had the opportunity to sign for Pramac to ride an official Ducati, but the condition that Paolo Campinoti gave him was that the contract had to be for two years and Marc did not accept it.
It is clear that if Márquez only wants to sign for one year, it is because in 2025 he will sign for KTM."
|
|
|
Post by truenorth on Oct 10, 2023 9:46:47 GMT -8
Motorsport.com Miguel Oliveira is now Honda's primary target as it searches for a replacement for Gresini-bound Marc Marquez.
|
|
|
Post by truenorth on Oct 10, 2023 9:52:27 GMT -8
Marquez signs on to join exclusive top five club Former MotoGP™ commentator Nick Harris takes a deep dive into other great World Champions that jumped to different machinery during their careers The news on Wednesday afternoon still came as a shock. The rumours had been rife for a couple of months but seeing it in black and white made me fully realise this was big, very big. After 11 years HRC and Marc Marquez are parting company. Six premier class world titles, 59 Grand Prix victories and 101 podiums relegated onto the history book pages. One of the truly great World Champions still hungry to win more titles making a monumental decision to leave his extended family. A 30-year-old Champion seeking fresh pastures to give him the chance to join a very exclusive club. In the 74-year history of Grand Prix racing only five riders have won the premier class world title on two different makes of machinery. It’s a very special list. Geoff Duke, Giacomo Agostini, Eddie Lawson, Valentino Rossi and Casey Stoner need no introduction. Next season Marquez grabs the chance to join them realising time was running out at Honda. He had to move before he was too old. Duke switched to Gilera in 1953 after winning the 1951 500cc world title for Norton. It was a great move for both. The combination went on to dominate the Championship for three successive years. In 1972 Ago won his last 500cc Championship for MV Agusta. The two-strokes were coming, and he switched to Yamaha in 1974. It was a massive moment for the sport, and a year later Ago became the first two-stroke winner of the premier class winning the last of his 15 world titles. Without a doubt, Lawson’s move to Honda from Yamaha in 1989 was the biggest surprise. I was the Media Manager of the Rothmans Honda team at the time. Lawson had won three 500cc World titles for Yamaha and was expected to continue meeting Honda head on. I was dispatched to California on a secret mission to interview, photograph, and film Eddie at home in Uplands before the announcement he was joining his great rival Wayne Gardner in the same team. Eddie just loved the new challenge and made it world title number four with second place in that final round in Brazil Rossi’s move to Yamaha was so brave and the defection of a rider brimming with confidence and at the very top of his game. Typically, Vale had been drip-feeding his intention to leave Honda for months. His bye-bye baby helmet was a clear indication he was leaving a Honda team that he had brought three premier class titles on both two and four-stroke bikes. The move to Yamaha was announced after that final Grand Prix of the 2003 season in Valencia. The rest is history. Stoner’s move to Honda from Ducati was certainly no such shock but produced the same result. Casey had brought Ducati their first premier class title in 2007 but the Italian factory was struggling, and the Australian switched to Honda in 2011. He dominated the Championship in typical style, and was 90 points ahead of Jorge Lorenzo at the finish. The biggest bombshell from Casey came just two years later when he announced his retirement in a shocked press conference in Le Mans. It looks certain that Marquez will be on Ducati next season. As with those five other World Champions, some people will question his ability to make the switch. Great riders are World Champions for a reason. Eddie Lawson proved his point by winning the title for Honda in that first year and then returned home to Yamaha the next season.
|
|
|
Post by truenorth on Oct 10, 2023 9:59:00 GMT -8
Three points in it: MotoGP™ primed for a pivotal return to Mandalika The title fight is on a knife edge as the triple header puts 111 points on the table across three weekends – starting in Indonesia Reset? Recharged? Ready to go? You'd better be as a triple header is about to light up the Championship fight, with the top two split by just three points and a whopping 111 on offer across the next three weekends. And it all starts in front of one of MotoGP™'s most passionate crowds as the sport returns to Indonesia and the fabulous Pertamina Mandalika International Circuit on the island of Lombok, with the billboards in place and hero's welcome assured. So where were we? We were in the pouring rain, watching Championship leader Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) hold his nerve just as Jorge Martin's (Prima Pramac Racing) continued march towards the top required him to. So now it's just three points, with Pecco stlil just ahead and having dealt with that pressure, but Martin very much looking like a man on a mission. The mission is simple for both: Martin's is to keep going, Bagnaia's is to stop him. Can either reign Mandalika? Just behind them, there has already been a frisson of drama as well. Title contender Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) suffered a broken collarbone in training, giving the Italian a race against time to not lose too much ground to the top. The team haven't yet confirmed when he'll be back, but say they will soon. Luca Marini, meanwhile, is expected to travel to Indonesia. The same is true of Alex Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™), with the team saying he'll at least be travelling to test out or begin a return to action. And it's a huge week as rumours continue to swirl around the seat currently occupied by teammate Fabio Di Giannantonio, not an easy situation for anyone involved. The one thing we do have confirmed, however, is that Marc Marquez will split from HRC at the end of 2023. After weeks and even months of speculation, it would be easy for some to take the official confirmation, received last week, as a formality. But huge decisions are never such a thing, with hours, days, and weeks of negotiation and emotion behind the scenes. Especially when you've rewritten the record books and raced together for over a decade. So what does the future hold? Regardless of the longer term answer, on the coattails of a "romantic" podium in Japan for the number 93, there are six race weekends to go. And we can bet on Marquez giving it more than just a go, starting now. Alongside him, it's also a final stretch with the brand for Alex Rins (LCR Honda Castrol) ahead of his switch, if he can get back out there this weekend. For Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu) it's a new era within the marque as his 2024 was confirmed with Honda, and for Joan Mir (Repsol Honda Team) it's a look across the box wondering who will be there next season. It's also, in some ways, an opportunity, and off the back of two points scoring finishes including that glorious return to the top five in India. Speaking of which, Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™) got back on the podium in India and then had a tougher – but didn't everyone – Japanese GP, so it'll be interesting to see how he goes in Lombok after a frontrunning round last season. Teammate Franco Morbidelli, meanwhile, will be looking to start a run of races signing off from Yamaha in style. So too for current Prima Pramac Racing rider Johann Zarco as he looks to get back on the podium before leaving the team, and the Ducati armada Zarco is currently part of could see Enea Bastianini back in the fold at Ducati Lenovo Team too, although the 'Beast''s return hasn't yet been confirmed. Over at KTM, it's now truly the final stand in the fight for the Constructors' crown, against that aforementioned Ducati armada. After Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) crashed out in Japan it suddenly looked like Ducati were going to paint Motegi red, but in the end Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) did more than just enough and ensured the fight rolls on. Miller will still want more in Indonesia though, and Binder certainly will as the venue has only seen KTM on the top step so far as they won the first Grand Prix at the venue last year. The headlines from the Austrian contingent come more from GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3 on the way into the Pertamina Grand Prix of Indonesia though. The news is finally out and the MotoGP™ line-up for the squad next year will see Augusto Fernandez pair Moto2™ Championship leader Pedro Acosta, taking a little pressure off both. Pol Espargaro will still be with the project, however, and will want to use the remaining races of 2023 to show quite what he's got to offer. As will they all! Finally, Aprilia are looking for a lot more in Lombok. Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing) arrives from a solid Japanese GP but wants to get back to that stunning summer form, and teammate Maverick Viñales had a bit of a dramatic Sunday at Motegi and most definitely wants to bounce back. Raul Fernandez' (CryptoDATA RNF MotoGP™ Team) form continues that upward arc though, and they also now have the only winner at Mandalika in their ranks: Miguel Oliveira (CryptoDATA RNF MotoGP™ Team). Yes, it was wet. There's no guarantee it won't be again. Regardless, there are some good memories at the track for the Portuguese rider, and the drama of his earlier season seems to have calmed down too – or more, his rivals have allowed it to after that dunk of bad luck early on. What can he do returning to the venue with Aprilia? We're about to find out!
|
|
|
Post by truenorth on Oct 10, 2023 10:26:57 GMT -8
MotoGP World Championship Classification Oct 10 2023
1 BAGNAIA 319 Francesco [ITA] 2 33 MARTIN 316 Jorge [SPA] 3 BEZZECCHI 265 Marco [ITA] 4 BINDER 201 Brad [RSA] 5 ESPARGARO 171 Aleix [SPA] 6 ZARCO 162 Johann [FRA] 7 VIÑALES 139 Maverick [SPA] 8 MARINI 135 Luca [ITA] 9 MILLER 125 Jack [AUS] 10 QUARTARARO 111 Fabio [FRA] 11 MARQUEZ 108 Alex [SPA] 12 MORBIDELLI 77 Franco [ITA] 13 OLIVEIRA 69 Miguel [POR] 14 FERNANDEZ 67 Augusto [SPA] 15 MARQUEZ 64 Marc [SPA] 16 DI GIANNANTONIO 53 Fabio [ITA] 17 RINS 47 Alex [SPA] 18 NAKAGAMI 45 Takaaki [JPN] 19 FERNANDEZ 36 Raul [SPA] 20 PEDROSA 32 Dani [SPA] 21 BASTIANINI 25 Enea [ITA] 22 MIR 20 Joan [SPA] 23 ESPARGARO 12 Pol [SPA] 24 SAVADORI 9 Lorenzo [ITA] 25 FOLGER 9 Jonas [GER] 26 BRADL 8 Stefan [GER] 27 PIRRO 5 Michele [ITA] 28 PETRUCCI 5 Danilo [ITA] 29 CRUTCHLOW 3 Cal [GBR] 30 LECUONA 0 Iker [SPA]
|
|
|
Post by truenorth on Oct 10, 2023 10:32:47 GMT -8
Dani Pedrosa has more points than BASTIANINI Enea, MIR Joan, ESPARGARO Pol, SAVADORI Lorenzo, FOLGER Jonas, BRADL Stefan, PIRRO Michele, PETRUCCI Danilo, CRUTCHLOW Cal, and LECUONA Iker. Not bad for a retired guy!
|
|
|
Post by truenorth on Oct 10, 2023 11:45:38 GMT -8
|
|
|
Post by truenorth on Oct 11, 2023 8:16:18 GMT -8
David Emmett Interesting. Marc Marquez' solo press conference has been cancelled, he will appear with Bagnaia in the main conference. Apparently he has been asked by Honda not to speak of his future or other manufacturers until his contract ends on 31/12/23.
How do Gresini announce now?
|
|
|
Post by truenorth on Oct 11, 2023 8:24:23 GMT -8
Mat Oxley Super-hang-off guy Jorge Martin could become 2023 MotoGP champ for independent-team Pramac Ducati. But will he be the first indie #MotoGP king? No! Since 1949 there's been just two: 'King' Kenny Roberts & Eddie Lawson. Here are their amazing title tales
|
|
|
Post by truenorth on Oct 11, 2023 8:26:33 GMT -8
|
|
|
Post by truenorth on Oct 11, 2023 8:38:08 GMT -8
Mat Oxley Enea Bastianini will be back in action at Mandalika this weekend after mangling a hand and hurting a leg in a Turn One pile-up at September's Barcelona GP
|
|
|
Post by truenorth on Oct 11, 2023 10:57:25 GMT -8
Mat Oxley Bezzechi's right collarbone will be as strong as ever - titanium and steel are stronger than bone - but he will definitely be in pain after his Sunday op. Marini less so, his left collarbone should be fine after his Turn 1 fall at Buddh
|
|
|
Post by truenorth on Oct 11, 2023 11:12:34 GMT -8
Motorsport.com Marc Marquez has received permission to sample Ducati’s Moto GP bike in the post-season test at Valencia next month.
|
|
|
Post by truenorth on Oct 11, 2023 11:21:00 GMT -8
David Emmett Aprilia boss Rivola saying they have no intention of releasing anyone from their contracts early to solve Honda's problem. Oliveira has a factory contract, and won't be released
|
|
|
Post by truenorth on Oct 12, 2023 7:28:49 GMT -8
Gresini Racing IT IS OFFICIAL: @marcmarquez93 JOINS TEAM GRESINI MOTOGP “This is a historical moment for the Gresini Family. The fact that Marc Marquez chose to race with us in the upcoming season is absolutely fantastic and I’m extremely happy to be able to make it official.” —Nadia Padovani Gresini
|
|
|
Post by truenorth on Oct 12, 2023 7:33:09 GMT -8
Well there it is. He has lived his career with the highest level of support. Let’s see how he goes in an Indy team where gearshift linkages fail..
|
|
|
Post by truenorth on Oct 12, 2023 7:54:52 GMT -8
Mat Oxley If Rins, Marini & Bezzecchi are able to race at Mandalika this weekend it will be the first time this season that MotoGP has had a full grid of full-time riders.
Alex Rins is on the plane to Lombok, hoping to ride after having to pull out of Motegi. The reason the tib & fib he broke at Mugello are taking so long is because one of the bones basically exploded inside
|
|
|
Post by truenorth on Oct 12, 2023 8:01:30 GMT -8
David Emmett The disparity between how fans see Marc Marquez and how about 99% of the paddock see him is immense. Talk to pretty much anyone in the paddock about Marquez and the question is how soon he wins his first race, and whether Qatar is too soon.
We might all be wrong. We'll see.
|
|