MotoGP thread

BluesyDave

gubble said:

o yesterday was interesting.

As for MM93. Stalling a bike on the grid, refusing to follow the rules by letting the marshall assist you off the grid. Then riding the wrong way on the grid back to join the rest of the riders whilst holding up the start was stupid & dangerous. They should have black flagged him straight away. Then for him to carve up Espagaro leading to being forced to drop a place before then doing the same to Rossi was just reckless and immature.

If it had been any other rider (excluding VR46 as i'm adamant he and MM93 get special treatment as they're the big ticket draws) they would have been black flagged for sure.

The officials for GP need to grow a pair and properly penalise MM for his latest antics.  He is undoubtedly a pheonominal talent but unfortunately he is also dangerous.  Racing on two wheels is already perilous to life without introducing an immature idiot with no respect for other riders saftey.  

MM should have been black flagged at the start of that race for disregarding the rules for a stalled bike.  The way he rode after that would have seen any other rider disqualified.  It was very fortunate that no one was seriously injured as a direct result of collisions that he caused.

I'm hoping that there will be further action taken to prevent this sort of mind set from becoming the norm.....Or perhaps a rider has to die first?

gubble

@BluesyDave i agree with you 100%. I've no idea why they're afraid of issuing the correct penalties. Sure he and VR46 are the biggest crowd pullers for the sport but at the end of the day rules are rules regardless of how popular the sportsman is and they must be followed. I admit i'm a Rossi fan but if he'd have pulled this stunt then i'd have screamed for him to be black flagged too. 

The result of the starting grid issues made MM93 frustrated and hence he acted like a moron during the race. Similar to how he was in 125 and Moto 2 days -  just ask Ratthapark Wilairot how dangerous Marquez can be. I was hoping he had matured - clearly not. I felt the race penalties issued were fair for the crime, however he should have been black flagged before the end of the first lap. 

It's not like these guys are kicking a ball around a field or running on a track. They're racing 250BHP missiles and it is very dangerous. 

gubble

ChuckManual said:

I can't pretend to be absolutely bang up on all the rules, but surely everyone other than Jack Miller should have started from pit lane, after changing their minds about what tyres they were going to use?

That's the rule for sure !
Very similar thing happened in a previous race (Phillip Island a few years back i think but i could well be wrong).

What happened was everyone took the bikes back into the pits and queued up to start the warm up lap. 23 bikes leaving pitlane all at once side by side is obviously very dangerous so they decision was made to delay the start in the name of safety. This of course sucks for Miller who was essentially penalized for making the correct decision however i understand why they had to delay the start.

From what i understand they then decided on the spot to move everyone as far back as they could on the grid to give miller some advantage at the start.

BluesyDave

gubble said:

ChuckManual said:

I can't pretend to be absolutely bang up on all the rules, but surely everyone other than Jack Miller should have started from pit lane, after changing their minds about what tyres they were going to use?

That's the rule for sure !
Very similar thing happened in a previous race (Phillip Island a few years back i think but i could well be wrong).

What happened was everyone took the bikes back into the pits and queued up to start the warm up lap. 23 bikes leaving pitlane all at once side by side is obviously very dangerous so they decision was made to delay the start in the name of safety. This of course sucks for Miller who was essentially penalized for making the correct decision however i understand why they had to delay the start.

From what i understand they then decided on the spot to move everyone as far back as they could on the grid to give miller some advantage at the start.

Yup, muppets making it up as they go along.

The race should have been started with Miller (having made the right call) in the driving seat.  All riders would then have to come in to the pits to change bikes/rubber.  The marshalling was pretty farcical.

I really feel for Miller.  Aside from Rossi, he was the biggest loser.  Should have had a podium at the very least.

ChuckManual

Despite the far worse outcome for Rossi in that assault, Marc's incident with Espagaro was by far the more heinous attack. I can't believe Marquez got off as lightly as he did. Ride-through penalties and the docking of 30 seconds off your eventual finish time are simply not enough of a punishment for a rider who, throughout his Moto 3 (when we were told it was down to youth and inexperience), Moto 2 (when we were assured it wouldn't be carried through to the premier class) and now Moto GP careers, has made a habit of deliberately playing bumper cars.

He needs whole race bans. It's the only thing that'll make his inappropriate behaviour sink in.

rsvmark

Did anyone see MM's save this weekend? Can't find anything yet on yt but it was immense!

gubble

rsvmark said:

Did anyone see MM's save this weekend? Can't find anything yet on yt but it was immense!

The laws of physics were broken with that one !

ChuckManual

Two amazing saves, actually. There was another one in Free Practice.

rsvmark

Assen this weekend. Flipping fantastic race. Best of the season for me me so far. Rider of the days was Rins imho. #93 MM was on form and out thought the lot, smaller about #99 Gorgeous George- he fell back toward the end but was on fire initially. Great racing.

shoodurs

Agreed! Assen was AMAZING. Even the comentators thought it was one of the best races ever. Cant beat the moto gp and mm93.

ChuckManual

A great race, for sure, but Dovi robbed us of a barnstorming finish when he put 46 off the track.

rsvmark

Anyone at Silverstone today? Looks a bit moist....

ChuckManual

What a balls-up Silverstone was!

Will Moto GP even come back?!

gubble

It was a massive balls up which falls squarely on the shoulders of the circuit and the contractors who relayed the track.

From what i understand there have been complaints over the last month about the lack of drainage and standing water. The rain itself wasn't the problem, it's rained harder at previous years GP's. The rain didn't drain away meaning a near 300bhp motorbike would simply aquaplane, as they did during qualifying the day before.

Will it come back to Silverstone?

Dorna will insist that the track is resurfaced - quite rightly so as i'm sure the F1 guys were complaining about the new track themselves. As it stands it's unsafe in the rain and being in the UK rain is a fair certainty at some point over a race weekend. 

This will however be very costly. It looks like Silverstone are refunding tickets so that's a huge loss of money and i'm doubtful they will get the contractor who did the surface to do it again for free. Racing circuits aren't often in the best financial states so it could cause them severe hardship.

There literally is nowhere else in the UK to host it though. The only circuit that stands a remote chance is Donnington Park, which is updating itself slowly however is a good few years off being able to host a modern MotoGP race. 

The British round of MotoGP is far too important for Dorna they will host it next year and it will be Silverstone - by hook or by crook.

rsvmark

@gubble ;

if if the contractor laid the surface in accordance with the design, then they won't be liable. If they laid it out of spec then possibly but I would not expect a project like that not to have some sort of oversight and quality control to ensure the work done is compliant with the spec.

Returning to to to design- Depends where the design liability lies. If they used consultants, it might lay at their door. They will carry PI insurance so Silverstone might go after that. However, if Silverstone themselves set the spec, their designers might not be on the hook.

I understand major events like these may carry insurance so that might be the first call but insurers will do anything to offset their liability.

in a nutshell there is not enough information in the public domain to form an informed conclusion.






Other than it was a cock up

ChuckManual

gubble said:

The rain didn't drain away, meaning a near 300bhp motorbike would simply aquaplane, as they did during qualifying the day before.

...as did the safety car.

...the SAFETY car!

quarky

I see the BSB this weekend at Silverstone is doing the National Circuit beacuse of the concerns.

The last Motogp race in Austria was incredible. What an ending with Marquez and Lorenzo. Even the kids were glued to watching it!

gubble

Well yesterday's Moto2 race was 'interesting thanks to a certain Mr Romano Fenati (it even made national news).

I'm hearing this morning that his current team have fired him and his contract for next year with MV has also been torn up.

Such a shame that the guy can't control his temper - it's not the first time he's let it get the better of him (or been fired from a team) and to do something so insanely dangerous to another rider is beyond comprehension.

I'm genuinely surprised the FIM haven't revoked his racing license altogether.

rolls1392

In respect of Fenati,  despite his ability, I think something needs to be done by the FIM.
If nothing else happens what will he do next?
Anything is possible!

Cols

The boy seems to have a history.  He’s now been dropped by Marinelli, MV Agusta have cancelled his contract for next year and I’m guessing no other team will go near him.  Looks like a ban has been rendered unnecessary for all practical purposes.