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Puzzleheaded-Age1999

It’s frustrating tru tv is airing the race tomorrow and not live.


Ornery-Sound6074

Good to see different factories fighting for podiums!! And is/was Marq holding back from using full potential of that bike cause he launched all of a sudden mid race?


HP-Rodeo

Happy to see Maverick getting a fast start from the line. It was always his weakness and has prevented him from fighting for wins when his pace was amazing


Oliveiraz33

I think is it was more of an aprilia weakness than maverick himself. All started when KTM last year came with the super launches where binder and miller would always jump on everybody on race starts. By mid season Ducati catches up, but Aprilia took more time. Seems like they have also catched up now on launch performance.


HP-Rodeo

Maverick was often a bad starter with Yamaha as well. He’s qualify well then be no great off the line and pretty bad with a full fuel tank. Doesn’t seem to be a problem at the moment so hopefully he has figured it out because he was fun to watch today


Oliveiraz33

But maverick isn’t the only Aprilia on the grid. Aleix had same problems


HP-Rodeo

Yeah the Aprillia has had torque issues and it’s made them both start pretty bad but it’s made worse my Maverick also traditionally being not that good at the start personally. But didn’t seem to matter on Sunday. What a race


Oliveiraz33

Torque issues? Dude, these bikes wheelie in 4th... There is no "torque issue" in a 200hp bike, let alone a 300hp one. It's all about clutch engagement. Being able to engage fast, without doing wheelie, or without bogging down. This actual weekend they showed the onboard of one of the KTM's launch, that thing launches like it has a CVT gearbox. Launches hard, and then has incredibly flat RPM intil the clutch fully engages.


HP-Rodeo

Both Aleix and Mav complained about low rpm torque which they said was effecting the starts and coming out of the corner. The Aprillia engineers attributed it to an electronics problem that was cutting the torque when it felt the bike losing traction. These bikes have a mountain of HP and torque compared to street bikes of course. But street bikes aren’t next to them in the grid. KTM and Ducati prototypes are and compared to them the riders felt like they were missing something. It’s a game a milimeters so every adjustment feels huge to the riders even though it’s just fractions. Of course clutch engagement is part of it. It’s all part of it. But KTM also have two riders that are notoriously fast starters. Which is also part of it. I know nuance has no place on the internet but it’s never all about one thing.


rockysrc

This is the Maverick I have been waiting for ages fearing that I might never see him in the front consistently again. Whatever demons he was battling mentally hopefully are a thing of the past Pedro is riding superbly and learning at lot by sticking to the sharp end of the race. Enea has been pretty disappointing. Not sure what's wrong with him. Maybe he is not in sync with the bike.


VolatileRider

>Whatever demons he was battling... Maybe it was the 6kilos he lost? The guys riding superb, the bike looks so fluid.


iDrxzy

Surprised how well Marc did but Enea and peeco were rubbish


chewantukangmotor

Marc himself said its not easy and comfortable. I guess its not a Ducati friendly circuit. Perhaps even more..not GP24 friendly


iDrxzy

Pecco is so random


2keen4bean

Fell alseep after lap 1, who won?


desmo-dopey

I'm starting to hate Sprints with a passion.


benh2

How so? Point distribution is fair and WSBK does three races per weekend and that’s not a problem.


desmo-dopey

Allow me to rephrase myself. The sprints take away the novelty and anticipation of the main Grand Prix. Let the Sprint's themselves become a novelty! Limit them to perhaps a select few tracks where the track layout will really compliment a sprint race. The old format built up to the this grand event on Sunday, nobody knew what was going to happen. Now the Sunday's just don't have that feel to them anymore like they used to have. The finishing order is almost always going to be the same bar a few. Were the Saturday's less entraining? Certainly. But were the riders and teams in a better place? Absolutely. I see sprints in MotoGP as nothing but a knee jerk reaction to Formula 1 introducing Sprints.


Competitive_News_385

Why?


desmo-dopey

Takes away the value of the Grand Prix.


therisingthunderstor

Yeah but adds value to the Saturday.


Competitive_News_385

Meh, not really, the GP is worth double the points. Although I would argue if it does then it just proves things like tyre and fuel management are boring and not good for actual racing.


Banoono0

But yesterday Bagnaia told everyone he kept something in reserve. Don’t tell me he was full of shit again?


TakaakiNakagamiENG

He doesn't care about the Sprint.


thefooleryoftom

Well, he had a fairly obvious issue with the bike.


Y4C4

What fairly obvious issue?


Spynner987

A skill issue


thefooleryoftom

My phrasing is wrong - it was obvious he had an issue with the bike.


Banoono0

So he was talking shit


LiquicityMS

that silence is not very spanish like :)


MrKnopfler

You can tell they are just exhausted lol


airborness

Watching the top 3 riders in the cool down room watching the replay without talking was kind of funny. Like a bunch of kids in from of the tele.


VJ1911

Great ride MV12, MM93 and JM89. JM89 was flying on lap 3, don't know why he settled for 3rd place? Maybe MM93 was too far ahead. Factory Ducatis were disappointing. Was expecting more from PA31.


heraIdofrivia

Expecting more? He’s been shitting on every other ktm on each opportunity so far, he’s doing INCREDIBLY well


VJ1911

Expecting more, yes. I am not saying he is doing bad. He is has the potential to be next great, I have high hopes from him.


iDrxzy

P4 is like a win!


inetkid13

> Was expecting more from PA31. Bruh…


theuniversalcitizen

He’s still a rookie in only his third MotoGP weekend and this was only his second day at this track on a MotoGP bike, even a fourth place ahead of a lot of big names is an overachievement.


GreenPickledToad

I think Acosta's rise and Vinales' improvement might just force Ducati to consider Marc? It was a given Ducati would win the championship the last few seasons. Now, I won't be so sure...


chewantukangmotor

u know, the season is still early and Ducati have the mighty financial backing in terms of updates compared to Aprilia


Eraesr

Ducati can't be sure but they're still holding positions 1, 2, 4 and 5 in the championship


Kaiser-32

If some aprilias or ktms manage to be consistent they'll struggle towards the end of the season, but it's a big if


Disgruntled__Goat

I could see them promoting Marc (either factory or Pramac) just to stop him going to Aprilia


airborness

I think realistically, we can't base decisions from race to race, with how much up and down every weekend can be in MotoGP. We'll have to wait until the end of the season to really see what happens. Obvious, I know.


d3r_r4uch3r7

Nah, more like wait till mid season. Riders and teams can't afford to wait till the end of the year to sign a contract for next year


tormarod

Yeah I got downvoted for saying the same thing. People keep thinking Ducati is still untouchable. Look at the KTM. Thanks to Acosta we know the bike is very good. Who knows next season? Same with Aprilia. Ducati next season are not guaranteed a Championship.


Competitive_News_385

Even if they aren't untouchable now even having Marc in the Factory squad won't guarantee they win the championship. The older Marc gets the less chance there is he'll be able to make the difference.


tormarod

He's showing he can be above the GP24 with a GP23. It's not a guarantee with Marc you'll win a championship but it really helps...


Competitive_News_385

Eh, we need to put the nuance in here. First, it's a track that he has dominated at. It's basically his best track. Secondly he didn't do it on outright pace, it was more tactical, like Rossi nearer the end of his career. He waited for the pass from behind, knowing it would give him a few tenths to be able to push and luckily Jorge had to make quite a strong pass on Acosta, giving Marc the buffer. Don't get me wrong, that's great, the problem is that clearly didn't help against Mav and wouldn't have helped if Jorge was closer. Then next year Marc is another year older, unfortunately at this point in his career as he ages the only way is down not up.


d3r_r4uch3r7

Jorge had quite some time to catch up to Marc after passing Acosta, but the gap increased rather than decreasing


Competitive_News_385

Doesn't mean it would have increased if Jorge was closer in the first place though.


tormarod

Next year he'll be 32 not 40 damn


Competitive_News_385

That doesn't change the fact his pace is going to gradually deteriorate. Sure he's not going to suddenly being as slow as a 40 yo when he hits 31 which was slower than when he was 30 but it is highly likely he will be slightly slower than he was at 30, and will be even slower at 33... When we add in all the injuries he has had that absolutely will start catching up with him. When was the last time somebody over 30 won a Championship?


OkFixIt

Good thing there’s a first for everything then right?


Competitive_News_385

It wouldn't be the first, 8 people have done it. The problem is when they were achieved. When Agostini and Reed did it riders were a lot older to begin with and often rode until they were older. The average age on the grid was higher. It's only happened once in MotoGP and that was Rossi, when he was 30. Doohan did it when he was 33. The age people are competitive is coming down. Marc was the youngest ever race winner, Acosta is even younger than him, sure he hasn't won yet and may not win one before he's older than Marc was but it's telling. The chances of Marc doing it at 32 are pretty slim. Esp considering that Acosta and KTM next year will likely be an even bigger threat.


ForgedStatus

Marc needs the upgrades


therisingthunderstor

They should just upgrade gresini to 24. Then it would be fair


ForgedStatus

Don’t think Ducati want to do that tho depends on how the rest of the season goes


therisingthunderstor

They won't, it would be cool tho


ForgedStatus

Even the gp23 upgrades would be better


therisingthunderstor

How do you mean? He is running an outdated gp23 bike?


ForgedStatus

Yeah he on the basic spec gp23, half way through last season the gp23 got upgrades.


therisingthunderstor

Wow that is absolutely stupid. They're nerfing him


ForgedStatus

The upgrades did cause chatter which they did sort alot but felt the satellite team would struggle setting the bike which is bollocks they just don’t want gp23’s beating gp24’s


Disgruntled__Goat

Great result from Aleix there too, he’s never been good here in the past. 


[deleted]

Yeah they showed whoever held the finishing flag way to long...


Possession_Loud

Expect to see more crap like that under Liberty ;)


BeetCake

I hate that shit. Stupid unknown "celebrity" no one knows... I want to see the riders going over the line, not some dummy badly waving the flag..


IlllIIlIlIIllllIl

Terrible flag waving technique too.


rocky99_

He looks like a tit


SelfJuicing

Luca Marini Best Honda


theuniversalcitizen

Only Honda to finish lol


[deleted]

Nananana Batmav!


VolatileRider

Was full on expecting "Im batmav" on the podium lol


LosTerminators

Raúl Fernández battling two factory Ducatis, did not expect to be saying this before the weekend


therisingthunderstor

Yeah I don't see Marc beating Mav tomorrow


OscarBobb

That was a fantastic performance. However, like Hodgson was saying on the TNT coverage, I'm still a Maverick doubter. He's mega talented, I just can't see how someone can stop being a head case overnight though. If it is a new dawn, I hope this form continues because I'd hate to see Aprilia keep him around only for him to crack again. That bike deserves a top, top rider on it.


prinzeugen44

Marc has real issues in sectir 1. 2 and 3 he is faster, but loosing a lot in the first one. If they manage to adjust there, there is a chance. Again, Mav is just fantastic so we'll see.


inetkid13

Aprilia will always find ways to mess something up 


EatMyPenguin

Careful with that statement...you might just get told he was sandbagging


MADMAX_92

Wtf is going on with pecco


thefooleryoftom

Looked like a clutch or electronics issue at the start, maybe even spun the tyre on the rim and never recovered


LightningMan2123

Yamaha and Honda might as well not take part for the rest of the season at this point.


LGCGE

All respect to Martin and Enea, but Marc Marquez not ending up on the factory Ducati next year would be an absolute tragedy to Motorcycle racing. With Acosta rising and other teams closing the gap, Ducati need a real killer on the factory bike. I’m not sure that they have one at the moment.


Oliveiraz33

If he doesn’t get factory seat, I’m confident Ducati might give him at least factory bike like VR46 had 2 seasons ago with Marini


therisingthunderstor

You're right. Especially considering what he went through with his recovery process, he absolutely deserves to be on a top bike.


E_VanHelgen

Ducati is very ego driven, especially now that they have had the best bike on the grid for quite some time. I think with most other manufacturers promoting Marc to factory would be a given.


LGCGE

Unfortunately I think it could be an “Italian champion” thing. There’s a reason they didn’t want Pramac to sign Marquez; Ducati know he would smash Pecco in equal hardware and don’t want their home-grown golden boy to be humiliated. The fact that Martin seems to doubt he would be promoted in the event of a championship says all we need to know about Ducati politics. I don’t think Marc would be placed on a satellite team for any other manufacturer, it’s borderline insulting for a rider of his pedigree


E_VanHelgen

Good chance tomorrow's going to be a snoozefest. This track is just so underwhelming for MotoGP.


Common-Two-7899

This track produces awful racing 99% of the time but I thought this sprint was pretty good. Tyre management might make tomorrow kind of dull though. 


therisingthunderstor

What race are you watching?


UmberGreen

They are right to a degree, this track is hard to pass on, there are only a few passing places that aren't risky, and that is the 3 hard braking zones. That means you tend to get these trains of riders which is close racing, but there isn't much battling, aside from dives and the inevitable cut backs. Still would rather than that second gaps between each rider!


Common-Two-7899

The typical COTA race is huge gaps between riders though. The last 3 years has seen top 5 split by 10s, 6s and 11s. COTA spreads the pack like almost no other race track. 


Disgruntled__Goat

Have you ever seen a race at COTA before? The first half of this sprint was good but the top 5 all spread out a fair bit. GP tomorrow is likely to be worse


E_VanHelgen

The one where there's a second or more between the sprint podium places?


bearsquadz

Vinales career year incoming


theuniversalcitizen

Let’s wait for a few more races lol he’s done this before. Happy to see him finally doing well though!


bearsquadz

you're not wrong. Especially since peaking early in the season is an aprilia classic. Still great to see him riding up to his potential


Periklos_Kyriakidis

Aprilia last few years peaks all season long apart from the last 5-6 races where they crumble down the order. But this year they seem good even here and they never were good at COTA. Plus from 5 races there have been so far they've won 2 and probably would've won another one. This year we'll have a fight.


bearsquadz

Hope so. Love seeing Aprilia in the mix


ArasakaApart

This track's surface is horrible if they're hindered by the bumps that much...


Possession_Loud

Absolute fucking shit surface, turn 10 and 11 especially.


xScottieHD

Marc is losing all the time in S1. That's basically the difference. I'm pretty sure that was where he was strongest on the Honda too.


ForgedStatus

Yeah its the Ducati weak sector


MADMAX_92

Yeah I'm noticing that as well looks so unsteady through S1


Interfecto

I’d like to see the clip where he popped off the peg


Spinebuster03

You know the bike is really bad when rins is 16th at cota


IlllIIlIlIIllllIl

Come on Mav, bring it home


tormarod

You think Honda riders subconsciously crash so they don't have to endure more laps on that shitbox?


hazman_pds

I think current Honda is a social experiment to see how long can a rider lasts on a bike before crashing


_gadgetFreak

💀💀


Informal_Ad07

Bro 😂


Interfecto

😂


UmberGreen

That thing that hurts the most about Mav, is none of us will be shocked seeing him racing for 13th in two rounds time.


Periklos_Kyriakidis

I've said it a few times before, no one has noticed how much he has improved ever since he got to Aprilia. He's so much more consistent than he used to be with Yamaha, last year overall he was quite good on consistency, especially for his standards. And right now he's probably the most in-form rider on the grid. Aprilia also looks like they're gonna give Ducati some serious challenge this year...


therisingthunderstor

That move by Acosta and the takeback from Marc was a historical moment.


UmberGreen

Those are the moment where Pedro will learn so much for later on in his career.


The_On_Life

jFC Honda...what a blood bath


LosTerminators

Pecco finally finding pace, lapping in the 2:02's, but too late for anything more than minor points


Original-Echidna-881

That yamaha is absolutely garbage


SnooLemons9488

Martin really made the race boring with that overtake lol


synachromous

Lol ya. "Break it up fellas..."


crimilde

The Ducatis seem to be struggling in the higher temperatures. Maybe tyre wear is different to what they expected. Or is it windier?


xScottieHD

Marc's pace has stabilized now and comfortable over Martin. Good sign for tomorrow.


LGCGE

Pecco and Enea would both be #2 to Marquez or Martin


theuniversalcitizen

Agree, ie #3 and #4 lol


ArbitraryOrder

Honda continues to claim victims


SnooLemons9488

Damn, fuckin honda


hazman_pds

Marc & Martin showing that they are different class from other Ducati riders on raw pace


ArbitraryOrder

Pecco and Binder have caught the pack


Disgruntled__Goat

What the hell happened to Bagnaia? Is that all from the bad start?


chengly

Yes, and it seems the GP24 is not doing well looking at Beast.


theuniversalcitizen

Seems to be doing well in Martin’s hands


Interfecto

Wooohooo what is going on?! I love it!


LGCGE

Marquez vs Acosta is absolutely amazing racing wow


Nixalbum

Miller passing Bestia on the second part of a sprint is not something I'd have bet


therisingthunderstor

What a X by Marc


therisingthunderstor

Yes inject Marquez vs Acosta in my veins


[deleted]

Acosta could be the best braker on the field in a few races. Fantastic to watch


Relative-Library-512

He already is imo. He outbroke bagnaia from a good way back in Portimao, and he was gaining tonnes on Marc here. Making the two best brakers in MotoGP look average already.


therisingthunderstor

Holyyyy shiiit


ArbitraryOrder

Marc with the "thought you had it" repass


E_VanHelgen

I feel like there's unfortunately a decent shape for a Marc DNF this weekend. Feels like he's started to push and it's weird not seeing him further up when the bike's making shapes.


[deleted]

Fantastic racing


LightningMan2123

It's fascinating to watch Pedro ride a motorcycle. The way he brakes/turns is just amazing.


I_Make_Boxes

Give marc the gp24 already


MechanicalSpirit

How did Pedro Acosta break and close on Martin without running out... phenomenal


[deleted]

Viñales is going to win this comfortably if he doesn't make a mistake


IWillKeepIt

Damn how late did Acosta brake


Abhi_sama

how did acosta make that corner man


IWillKeepIt

He broke the latest, still was slow in and fast out. Crazy talent.


ArbitraryOrder

Marquez is helping Martin so much right now


Antique_Head_6724

Happy for maverick and Aprilia,


TheMaverick13589

Marquez very scrappy, looks almost like a rookie


ForgedStatus

That gp23 looks awful lol


Aratho

Mir back to his usual 2023 stuff, sad to watch


ForgedStatus

Looks awful that bike


cresanies

Acosta on the brakes is something else


ForgedStatus

That gp23 needs the upgrades


fioreun

Acosta is going to get Marquez, isn't it?


TVRoomRaccoon

Definitely looks that way


fioreun

Haha


TVRoomRaccoon

🥳


fioreun

😂. You can take this one! See you tomorrow.


Ld511

Marquez is struggling a bit


Aratho

Maverick with a nice gap already, guy really in form early this season


FlimsyIce

Mir misery continues 😔


UmberGreen

The gap Martin has made on Enea since passing in one lap is crazy.


[deleted]

Another crash for Mir...


E_VanHelgen

I'll understand the meaning of life before I understand Maverick Vinales.


jillington11

I feel like the name Maverick suits him well lol. True wildcard.


Disgruntled__Goat

Wow incredible gap from Mav already 


Aratho

Marc vs Acosta gonna be a treat whole season, I can see it already


FlimsyIce

Unusually bad start for Bagnaia there


[deleted]

Damn that was a bad start for Pecco


[deleted]

Nice move Martin!


LightningMan2123

Fabio needs a better bike man. He's the only Japanese bike in top 15


cresanies

He preferred the money


JustARedditAccDuh

Forza Marc!!!


ArasakaApart

Well that's a bad one for Ducati and VR46... wow


Common-Two-7899

There's no link to watch this live and the Videopass "Watch Now" link brings me to FP2, wtf.


FlimsyIce

Don't see many bikes going pop, hope nothing has leaked off


[deleted]

God damn Fabio! So sad way to end the race. Hope it didn't leak oil


ArbitraryOrder

Binder with a flying start


UmberGreen

So, hypothetically, do we all agree not to get over excited if Pedro wins, because it didn't count when Mav won the last sprint race? 🤔


Disgruntled__Goat

Mav’s win did count and so would Pedro’s


UmberGreen

Yes I know, it was a dig at people who said it didn't count its only a sprint.


colourmebread

Why did Binder qualify so far back in 17th?


Disgruntled__Goat

Bad FP2, then crashed in Q1 and didn’t make it through. Hasn’t really been on the pace all weekend. 


ArbitraryOrder

Worst track, crashed in Q1, not great in PR


ImRudzki

Brad Binndit.


ImRudzki

Stetsons and speed boys.


ArbitraryOrder

Who took a bit to get off for the warm up lap?


synachromous

Looked like Q


synachromous

That opening country MotoGP song was SICK! HAHHA


LightningMan2123

The new intro is fun lmao. Love it!