MotoGP 2019

MM being a pork chop in qualifying ends up in him having a nasty stack and starting 11th ( hey I can almost see JLo from here).

Yamaha 1,2,3 on the grid but neither of them is Rossi.
 
Moto3 qualifying was a joke. I understand why they do it although I would argue that starting on the first two rows in moto3 is less important than MotoGP.

But I'd hate to see them go to a single timed lap for qualifying, it'd be so boring.
 

beeb

Dr. Beebenson, PhD HA, ST, Offset (hons)
I'd prefer the spot goes to Zarco than Crutchlow TBH.

Crutchlow has been on basically factory equipment for years now and still rarely cracks a podium. Zarco's aggressive riding style would probably suit the Honda, and IMO he was surprisingly quick at Phillip Island.

Glad that Lorenzo is retiring TBH. He was an amazing rider in his day, but no point just rolling around making up the places.
 

Scotty675

Cable thief
Lorenzo was in his day a gun rider no doubt about it, hats off to him for a successful career. Was time to hang up the boots and move on to the next chapter.
I would love to see Alex Marquez take the ride now there is a good bike available but I don’t see it happening.
 

beeb

Dr. Beebenson, PhD HA, ST, Offset (hons)
I'm not sold on Alex Marquez. I haven't been watching the lower classes the last couple of years, just see the results. He seems very inconsistent. Can either be winning or podiums, or way back in the pack. Has his bike been a dog, or getting bumped off-track by other riders, or does he just not fire some days?
 

born-again-biker

Is looking for a 16" bar
It will be interesting to see how it plays out....
HRC now has the pick of at least 3 riders.

Cal - IMO too old and not consistently fast enough. He'd prolly fight with everyone too.

Zarco - Definitely worth a punt. Could be a good top 5 "B" rider to prop up Marc Almighty....

Jnr Marquez - I reckon' he's better than an outside chance. May not quite have the raw talent of Marc (but who does?)....but he's quick enough for a factory team. Anything with Marquez genetics would be considered gold at HRC right now - I heard they've invested heavily in a bio-lab genetics program to clone another Marc as a spare.

Side note - I'm really looking forward to seeing Brad Binder step up to the 1000cc class. He's got some serious skills & coconuts to match.
I think he'll shake things up much like QuarterRaRa has.....and he's not a precious Spaniard.
 

beeb

Dr. Beebenson, PhD HA, ST, Offset (hons)
Side note - I'm really looking forward to seeing Brad Binder step up to the 1000cc class. He's got some serious skills & coconuts to match.
Shame he's going to KTM really, I agree that he's got great skills and well deserving of a decent 1000cc ride.
 

born-again-biker

Is looking for a 16" bar
Shame he's going to KTM really, I agree that he's got great skills and well deserving of a decent 1000cc ride.
Yeah the KTM is not quite fast enough yet....but I reckon it's still improving. KTM are a pretty determined bunch...and they are used to winning in the dirt arena. I have a feeling the reason they've walked away from Moto2 is to channel more $$$ and energy into the 1000cc program (??)

If Suzuki can do it with less bikes and a relatively smaller budget then hopefully KTM is not too far off podium/victory pace.
 

beeb

Dr. Beebenson, PhD HA, ST, Offset (hons)
Yeah the KTM is not quite fast enough yet....but I reckon it's still improving. KTM are a pretty determined bunch...and they are used to winning in the dirt arena. I have a feeling the reason they've walked away from Moto2 is to channel more $$$ and energy into the 1000cc program (??)

If Suzuki can do it with less bikes and a relatively smaller budget then hopefully KTM is not too far off podium/victory pace.
Yeah, I certainly hope so. Damn the KTM looked scary at Phillip Island though! I chuckled at Pol Esp's aborted Q1 lap where he just sat up and shook his head after the bike got the speed-wobbles between turn 2 and 3. He just looked like he wanted to go to the next round.
 

Scotty675

Cable thief
I'm not sold on Alex Marquez. I haven't been watching the lower classes the last couple of years, just see the results. He seems very inconsistent. Can either be winning or podiums, or way back in the pack. Has his bike been a dog, or getting bumped off-track by other riders, or does he just not fire some days?
He will be like his brother, in fact Marc has said he is the fast one. He has won a moto 3 world championship and now moto 2 this year so he goes alright
 

born-again-biker

Is looking for a 16" bar
same can be said for rossi :)
I am a huge Rossi fan, have been since he was racing 125's. I have to agree that it's time for him to hang up the boots. Even though he is contracted for next year I'd hoped he would retire this year.
You wash your mouth out!
He's just toying with the opposition.
He'll be back - it's just a blip

(Seriously, I struggle to imagine motorcycle racing without him )
 

Scotty675

Cable thief
I can't imagine him not on track. He is still rock star status. I tried to get a helmet signed by him at PI, I was in line for 2.5 hours and failed (i needed to line up 4.5 hours early to be in with a chance). If he is still riding next year I'll line up for 5hrs. He is far from riding round making up numbers but unfortunately his best years are behind him. His performance in the opening laps at PI showed he still has pace but everything needs to align perfectly. He is still GOAT to me.
 
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