This Weekend.....

[wombat666]

Can Jack make it a trifecta? Be great if he could but this time round it is something of a Honda/Marc Marquez circuit.
Then again.....Mugello is Ducati's home circuit and it has a 210+MPH main straight!
Errrrrrrrr.........and this is last years bike!
Must have been a Senior Moment.

 

[Victory103]

Haha, he's "factree" now! Just caught up on Q1/2 and WSBK, busy 2-wheel racing weekend.

 

[huub vink]

It was a sad weekend for the motorsport. A tragic accident from a 19 years old kid.

The Ducatis were not as successful as in previous years. Jack didn't get his third win in a row, and Ducati didn't even end at the podium today.

One thing puzzles me. Oliveira was demoted one place due to exceeding the track limits in the last round. As Mir on third place did the same, Oliveira got his second place back. However when Mir also exceeded the track limits why wasn't he demoted and why didn't Zarco get third place?

Huub

 

[wombat666]

A very sad weekend Huub.
Jason Dupasquier was only 19 and in his second Moto3 season showed promise, scoring points in all of the first five races.
Despite age differences across the three categories most know one another, and most are young.

Even though Jack only ended in P6 it was a small victory, he stayed on the bike, unlike the previous four years!
I think he may have decided to keep it upright and collect points, the 'win it or bin it' approach doesn't work as demonstrated by Pecco!

I won't spoil it for any others but it was a terrific race and it is great to see the mix of makes at the sharp end.
Re the 'penalty': I think the stewards decided that resetting the order was the right thing to do, unlike certain 'other' operations.

OT: We Victorians are back into a seven day lockdown! Probably an overabundance of caution but with the assorted COVID variations emerging seven days is good insurance.

 

[joe bob]

I am not familiar with the sport, what does exceeding the track limits mean?

 

[Victory103]

Sensors beyond the rubble strips (corners) detect if a bike is using all of the racetrack and more, possibly leading to an advantage. The extra pavement is there so one doesn't go from track to grass for safety on a motorcycle that easily exceeds 200 mph.

Nice to see even the WSBK podium guys give their condolences. Just thinking about the guys that have been in the sport for many years (VR46) and the loses they have seen as others pursue their racing passion.

 

[Panther_99FS]

However when Mir also exceeded the track limits why wasn't he demoted and why didn't Zarco get third place?

Huub

Trying to remember what was done in the 70s-90s with 'track limits'?

 

[wombat666]

And this weekend we have the Catalan MotoGP at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, with Fabio on pole alongside Jack and a couple of KTM riders in the top half dozen, should be entertaining.

This has surfaced....."Yamaha and Petronas SRT have begun sounding out potential candidates to replace Valentino Rossi in 2022 should the MotoGP legend retire at the end of this year."

I'm a long time Rossi fan and remain so but IMHO Valentino really should have stepped away a couple of years ago.
Considering his age (42) compared to Fabio Quartararo (21) and the fact that they riding the same Yamaha the writing is on the wall.
This weekend Fabio made it 5 poles straight while Vale is languishing in P11!
Perhaps a graceful (and uninjured) exit at season's end would be a very wise move.



"Trying to remember what was done in the 70s-90s with 'track limits'?"
ARMCO and haybales Ed.

 

[Panther_99FS]

What's your take on Marquez?

 

[wombat666]

What's your take on Marquez?

I expect he'll finish this season on the podium and possibly with a win Ed.
He's getting stronger and I think (only 'think') Honda might be considering de-tuning the bike a little as they did (rather as Gerry Burgess did!) back in the two stroke days with Mick Doohan and Darryl Beatty.
Right now Marc is the only Honda rider showing any speed, Espargo is a dud and Nakajap usually bins the bike, so it would make sense to set the bike up to be more user friendly.
If Honda don't make at least one podium this year they end up with concessions for 2022, not something that Marquez would be that unhappy about but I believe he would rather score this year.
He's a fierce competitor, and each time he falls off he ratchets up that competitiveness up another notch.
And FWIW, he's a thorough decent young man, always polite and pleasant to the 'fans', my impression from the couple of times I've met him at the AGP rounds.