Team-BHP - The 2016 MotoGP Thread

Quote:

Originally Posted by Parth46 (Post 4039444)

And, JLO - The "world champion" who needs a very,very,very particular set of circumstances and weather conditions to ride like a "champion" is no champion in my book at least.

Lorenzo was fastest man on track when he pitted for slicks. He was on same tyres as Rossi and faced the same conditions as others.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thirugnnanam (Post 4039453)

Lorenzo's desperate switch to Slicks hoping to do "Marquez in Sachsenring" bombed, and had to switch bikes second time and got lapped.
--
Cheers

Correction. He didn't pit for slicks as a gamble. His front tyre had destroyed.

Before, Lorenzo bashers say "another excuse", please do go through the full content at the link below. Even team director seconds this.

"Jorge's race was impressive. Without the problem of the front tyre, he could have been on the podium," said team director Massimo Meregalli."

http://www.crash.net/motogp/news/232...e-tore-up.html

Quote:

Originally Posted by ecenandu (Post 4039521)

Here is a photo of the same.

That's some serious tyre degradation! This could have easily led to a disaster on track.

Coming back to the current topic: tyre failures in form of big chunks tearing off, bursting etc cannot be induced by rider, his skill (or lack of it). At max, a rider can wear the tyre out due to improper tyre management. Any failure of this sort can happen due to structural issues, improper tyre pressure or a combination of both. It's reasonably fair on part of rider (worthy world champion or not) to compare it with an engine failure / mechanical failure. Both are beyond control of what a rider can do.

It's never Lorenzo's fault or weakness. It's always someone or something that is the root cause of all his misery.

Visor fogging, wet track, bad tyres, dangerous riders, ill-fitting leathers...you get the drift. It can always be pinned on some external factor far beyond poor Lorenzo's control that leads to complications, otherwise when the sun is out, he's happy churning out laps with a consistency that would give Usain Bolt a "run" for his money.

A "world champion" should not be dependent on how bright the sun is, or how dry the track is, how perfect the tyres are, how safe and polite the other riders are.

Everybody has faced bad luck this season, and a lot of it is due to tyres, but people have taken it in their stride rather than justifying everything.

That said, with a new tyre post the second bike swap and the resulting warp-speed he possessed, how do you "explain" the epic charge for victory by overtaking Marquez and others when he was, err, a lap down. :uncontrol

If Rossi had done the same thing, Lorenzo would've rushed to race direction asking them to demote him to the back of the grid or something.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Parth46 (Post 4040131)

A "world champion" should not be dependent on how bright the sun is, or how dry the track is, how perfect the tyres are, how safe and polite the other riders are.

It is widely agreed that Lorenzo's weakness lies in unpredictable grip of track. i.e track conditions changing from wet to dry and vice versa. When the grip is predictable either in dry or in wet, he is quite fast. He was quite bad in some races and openly agreed that he was the reason for the poor performance. The problem is Lorenzo bashers seem to overlook these incidences and complain when he talks about some issues. At the end of the day, he has enough strengths which can cumulatively land him world titles and that's all that matters.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Parth46 (Post 4040131)

That said, with a new tyre post the second bike swap and the resulting warp-speed he possessed, how do you "explain" the epic charge for victory by overtaking Marquez and others when he was, err, a lap down. :uncontrol

If Rossi had done the same thing, Lorenzo would've rushed to race direction asking them to demote him to the back of the grid or something.

Haven't seen the race but read about this incident. Agree that Lorenzo shouldn't have done this being a lap down. If he was at the receiving end he would have definitely kicked up a fuss about it. In this aspect Rossi and Marquez have a much more sportive demeanor.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mashblue (Post 4040133)

For me this season has been all about Marquez, he has truly matured and no longer has that "Win it or bin it" attitude, the kid deserves the title this year.

Can't agree more. With this new found maturity he can rewrite all records in few years time. Also, what he's doing on track with the Honda is phenomenal. Just look at the other Hondas' (dry) results and you can see how special this kid is. We are witnessing a magic era in Motogp and should be glad about it.

Unpredictable weather provides exciting races, no two ways about it. It will include a dog fight, attrition, unexpected winner and what not. Cal Crutchlow rode a brilliant race, he was way too fast for every one else, talk about making the right tyre choice. The slow pace of Rossi during the initial laps would have conserved the front tyres a bit and he could pull it through with good pace. He certainly has the knack of riding with worn tyres at good pace in the finishing laps.

Probably Lorenzo's riding styles takes more life out of the front tyres, Motegi last year, this year at Catalunya and Bruno.

Marquez is other end of spectrum from being a all or nothing to smart guy accumulating points and wins, which will most probably get him his 3rd title. Unless he has a couple of DNF, there is very little chance of Rossi or Lorenzo winning it this year.

Andrea Iannone rode with the front tyres with literally pieces flying off. He surely got some skill.

PS: A big thumbs down to Ten Network. Thanks to them I have subscribed for a Videopass for the rest of the season. :Frustrati

Quote:

Originally Posted by badri (Post 4040144)

Not just that. He is sticking on with the Honda knowing that there are better options and winning with Honda. Legend in the making.

A quick comparison of the three front runners of 2016 Motogp Championship. This data is for their premier class performances till date.

Marc Marquez
Seasons: 4
Starts: 65
Wins: 27 (41.5%)
Podiums: 48 (73.8%)
Poles: 35 (53.8%)

Valentino Rossi
Seasons: 18
Starts: 281
Wins: 88 (31.3%)
Podiums: 180 (64%)
Poles: 53 (18.9%)

Jorge Lorenzo
Seasons: 9
Starts: 149
Wins: 43 (28.8%)
Podiums: 103 (69.1%)
Poles: 37 (24.8%)

While Rossi and Lorenzo are more or less similar in the percentage stats, Marquez's numbers are simply out of this world. 41.5% win rate and 73.8% podium rate? Wow!

Source: www.motogp.com

Quote:

Originally Posted by badri (Post 4041105)

While Rossi and Lorenzo are more or less similar in the percentage stats, Marquez's numbers are simply out of this world. 41.5% win rate and 73.8% podium rate? Wow!

It would be "Wow!" if he can sustain that percentage for a while longer. It's impressive no doubt, but what's more impressive is that Rossi's comes from 18 seasons. One can't always be on the up throughout his career. Marq is 'accelerating' now. The figures will certainly drop during the 'cruising' and the 'decelerating' phases of his career. At the end, if they are better or even anywhere close to Rossi's, then it would most certainly be, "Wow!". :)

Quote:

Originally Posted by badri (Post 4041105)

Valentino Rossi
Seasons: 18

The real kicker and the elephant in the room. All the more reason for everyone to see how these percentages (for the so inclined) have held up for almost TWO DECADES. :thumbs up

Despite being dragged down a bit by the Ducati years. If one normalizes the outlying Ducati era, these percentages would jump up even higher. Not that there's any need to, the mind already boggles even with Ducati included.

Quote:

Originally Posted by schakravarthy (Post 4041120)

Our posts overlapped. You couldn't have put it better. Cheers

Quote:

Originally Posted by schakravarthy (Post 4041120)

You have a point there..Looking at the first 4 years of Rossi in premier class..Win rate is 51.5% and Podium rate is 84.3%. Double WOW!

However, a small difference here. Rossi was on Honda NSR500 and RC211V during these 4 years and had the best possible bike on the grid. On the other hand, Marquez had a relatively under performing bike in 2015 and this year is not so great either. Look at the performance of Honda's in dry weather this year and it is easy to understand the difference Marquez is making.

A short technical summary by Lorenzo on his adaption to Michelin wets. Surprising to know that for him a well worn Bridgestone with more feedback / feel is better than a not so well worn, grippy Michelin which doesn't offer much feedback. Shows how important tyre feedback is for some riders even at cost of grip.

“Well it looks like this front tyre is very soft, but didn't consume very much no. While the Bridgestone was harder, the consumption was much, much more. So it looks like because of the construction and softness of the tyre you always have this feeling that the tyre is very soft and is moving and is at the limit.

“So you have to get used a little bit to this limit, to trust that you are not going to crash and brake harder to stop more the bike. So probably my problem in Assen and Sachsenring, or one of the problems, was the setting, because I had too much weight on the front. On the rear it was like on the dry setting.

“But also the front was already moving so I didn't trust to push more with the brake. Now I start pushing a little bit more, the front is moving a lot but for the moment you don't crash no? So maybe next time I will make another step and we'll see what happens.”

Read more at http://www.crash.net/motogp/news/233...E6dSXhfAgdB.99