[Porschefire]

Though I managed to miss out on both the qualifying and the race, I did watch the highlights on some youtube channel (with 0p quality and the screen size set to the smallest of configuration) and WHAT A CLINICAL PERFORMANCE BY THE G.O.A.T!!!

I do not remember the last time Rossi dominating an entire weekend but it was fully satisfying to know that he did!!! I hope this is the flavor of the season and the elusive 10th comes his way! More than that, beating the Spaniards in their own backyard must've been an enthralling experience! Kudos to the Doctor!!!

Moaners will moan and cry babies will cry but the support for Rossi will not die! Sorry for being cheesy!!!

[mayankk]

While I am an unabashed fan of Rossi, I was completely taken aback by the performance yesterday. For 15 laps, I was under the impression that he is pushing it to the edge, the tyre, and this will fizzle out. Its extremely uncharacteristic for him to ride like that. His qualifying problems typically throw up the grand show that he puts out in the final quarter of races.
I was squirming, and leaning into the corners on my recliner but finally calmed myself down thinking he's been doing this 2 decades, so the performance has to be on tap, and not an exploit.
Is it a sustainable riding style? Or has he found some grit to finish off the 10 this year hoping to retire?
I don't know, but this has become just like the final quarter of last year.

Now, to give something back to the master.
Understood, Lorenzo had issues, so he was kept at bay. But you see, Marquez was also out of the equation with Lorenzo. If Lorenzo was at 80%, Marquez then was at even lesser, presumably.
I don't think Rossi would be lucky twice over in one race.

Next up is france, and then its Italy. Will they be able to do to him what he did to them in their country? I hope not.
I hope the old goat really has found something.


PS: Marquez's celebration stop. It seemed geared for a win, no?

[Hatari]

Nice to see Rossi back on top. Hope this title fight becomes a 3 way till the end.

[Omkar]

Originally Posted by Porschefire

I do not remember the last time Rossi dominating an entire weekend but it was fully satisfying to know that he did!!! I hope this is the flavor of the season and the elusive 10th comes his way! More than that, beating the Spaniards in their own backyard must've been an enthralling experience! Kudos to the Doctor!!!

As far as I remember, Rossi dominated the whole weekend last year at Assen. A pole position and victory in the name of the Doctor!

Brilliant performance, a stat that came through was that Rossi in the course of 27 laps, used his brakes for about 12 minutes.

Nothing exceptional from Marquez, though he isn't fond of the track because of it's raised and restrictive curb(He likes to use the curbs for extra grip and a wider racing line).

What was lost in the celebration was the fact that Lorenzo became the third rider to reach 100 podium finishes.

Nothing taking away from the old warhorse, 113th victory. Amazing to watch the Doctor just gliding his way to the finish line.

Another huge disappointment for Dovi. An engine failure was the last thing he expected.

[VW2010]

Atleast Marq has respect. I would love to see Marq shaking hands in one of the races genuinely appreciating superior performance.

Loz is all but not showing his hatred towards Rossi. He knows he is under his shadow and is getting quite unpopular everyday. He is not generous in defeats(Never he was and always had a way to blame one thing or another).

Marq clearly said, Rossi was riding at a different level like he did in Austin. Thats respect. Loz simply decided to pick a blame, claim he could have won and was riding at 80%. Ok what about the entire weekend. Twice he was beaten to the top and i would say thrice if we include the qualifying as well.

I know Loz is one of the top riders ever to ride that 2 wheeler but he is not going to add new fans if he continues to be bitter. In fact I feel Marq will probably win over rossi fans by the end of this season and a single handshake will make him a hero from where he was by the end of the year.

[wolfy]

Originally Posted by VW2010

In fact I feel Marq will probably win over rossi fans by the end of this season and a single handshake will make him a hero from where he was by the end of the year.

While I do agree with your entire post, I feel MM did a lot of damage to his own popularity last year for a long time to come. The kid is definitely maturing for his own career's good and will come back faster, stronger. Will probably beat records after records. But to get a fan base like Rossi, will probably take a while (a couple of decades? Never?). It'll take a big heart for Vale to forgive and forget 2015. I do not see that happening.

Great to see the old rascal riding like the wind at 37!! what a weekend!
sour pusses all around otherwise... meh!

[badri]

Originally Posted by VW2010

I know Loz is one of the top riders ever to ride that 2 wheeler but he is not going to add new fans if he continues to be bitter.

Agree! There are times when I feel Lorenzo would have been much better off by just keeping quiet.

But he must know it better.

For example, in 2014 there are instances where Lorenzo would storm to Bridgestone garage after a practice session, bitterly complaining about lack of edge grip in the tyres. He went on repeating it whenever he felt the tyre performance was less than optimal.

I was under the impression that a pissed off Bridgestone would make his life even more miserable. However, they came up with edge treatment for tyres which gave the much needed additional edge grip.

Coming back to Jerez, the spin in straightline was mentioned by few other riders (Smith, Crutchlow) but if someone like Lorenzo makes a noise about it, Michelin may sit up and listen. If this works and the tyres improve ( preferably in his favour) Lorenzo will he happy to lose few more fans as a tradeoff.

On the whole, his PR skills are one of the worst that I have seen in sports stars but looks like he is not bothered much about it. I opine that his statements are mostly honest and straight forward. More a bane than boon.

Originally Posted by VW2010

Atleast Marq has respect. I would love to see Marq shaking hands in one of the races genuinely appreciating superior performance.

In fact I feel Marq will probably win over rossi fans by the end of this season and a single handshake will make him a hero from where he was by the end of the year.

Agree again. He will eventually take over the mantle when Rossi retires. Marc was on the path to be a true replacement for Rossi's legacy until the Sepang 2015 incident. He lost many would be fans over there. But he is young and has a long way to go. Time will heal and some of those fans would probably come back.

Regarding shaking hands and making up with Rossi, I think it's better avoided until both of them get back that mutual respect for each other. Without that it would just be a show and fans would definitely know. At this moment, they do not like each other. Rossi even mentioned that he is glad that Marc is not his team mate which would have forced him to shake hands with him once in a while.

From my perspective, Marquez is a deadly combination of Rossi and Stoner. Sly, adaptable and aggressive like Rossi, naturally talented, supremely balanced on bike with great feel and control on the edge like Stoner. Regarding show, there is no one out there like him. I'm awestruck every time I see him slide into a corner with the rear wheel kicked out, front squirming in opposite lock and about to give up. He seems to be losing time and about to throw it away, yet, he would have produced a fastest sector time or a lap time. We are seeing something special here and it's only going to get better.

[VW2010]

Marq is pure talent. He is just stunning the way he rides and makes use of the entire bike and its geometry and his age is such that he is absolutely fearless. He will continue to break records and even in this season i am positive that there will be a situation between Marq and Loz itself.

My prediction is before the end of the season Rossi and Marq will indeed bury the hatchet. But Loz will continue to be bitter.

Ducati stint will be interesting to follow. Loz will get impatient and that bike is not probably currently suited for his style of smooth riding. It will be interesting to see the time he goes through the development stages.

Viniales coming into Yamaha will be great or even someone like Ianone. I like both of them and they can be do well in that Yamaha.

[badri]

Originally Posted by VW2010

My prediction is before the end of the season Rossi and Marq will indeed bury the hatchet. But Loz will continue to be bitter..

It'll be good if they can bury the hatchet but I doubt it can happen (if it ever does) this year.

Rossi says relationship with Marquez “can never be recovered”

"After last season, nothing will be the same,” Rossi told Motosprint. “But our fight will be more genuine. Everyone can see what he really thinks".

“I said I won't forget what he did. It would be hypocritical to say that it's over and shake his hand, because it's not true. I'll never forget what happened.

Source:
http://www.motorsport.com/motogp/new...overed-678396/

[Rachit.K.Dogra]

Very nicely penned down and I completely agree with him on most points.

http://www.motogp.com/en/news/2016/0...onstant/199882

[badri]

Very well written article! Looks like his experience from the "no electronics" era has paid off. It's indeed an awesome performance to beat Lorenzo in such a convincing manner. Marquez is not on the best of the machines and probably would have fared better if the Honda is not such nail.

Talking about electronics (or lack of it), the current crop of riders who graduate through moto2 should have some experience in this area as moto 2 machines do not have complex electronic management systems. However, it's a big difference managing a 140 bhp bike by modulating throttle to that of a 260 bhp machine.

[badri]

Originally Posted by Rachit.K.Dogra

Very nicely penned down and I completely agree with him on most points.

http://www.motogp.com/en/news/2016/0...onstant/199882

The above article mentions Luca Cadalora's contribution to Rossi's racing.

Here's what Cadalora has to say about Rossi.
"I consider him a kind of Frankenstein-rider. He’s focused on the goal just like Eddie Lawson ingenious on and off track like Kevin Schwantz, able to improvise like Wayne Rainey, but also tenacious like Mick Doohan".

http://www.gpone.com/en/201604292488...ed-talent.html

gpone.com/en is a very good website for motogp and has some interesting articles / interviews

[five46]

The silly season gets some tadka from MCN which reports that Suzuki is apparently trying to retain Maverick.

What's more interesting is, Yamaha considering Dani to fill in Jorge's shoes if shopping Maverick starts burning a hole in their wallet.

From here.

[badri]

Originally Posted by five46

The silly season gets some tadka from MCN which reports that Suzuki is apparently trying to retain Maverick.

What's more interesting is, Yamaha considering Dani to fill in Jorge's shoes if shopping Maverick starts burning a hole in their wallet.

From here.

It's important for Yamaha to have a Spanish rider to please their main sponsors Movistar.

The options (in possible order of preference) could be Vinales, Pedrosa, Pol Expargaro, Alex Rins. Pol hasn't proven much yet and Yamaha is not interested in directly getting Rins on a factory bike.

In this scenario, the best option after Vinales would be Pedrosa. It would possibly be a good move for him too because the Yam is said to be more suitable for his style of riding.

One thing I don't agree about the article is that Pedrosa is looked as an ideal team member to back Rossi. No Motogp rider plays second fiddle to his team mate, atleast not as long as he is mathematically still in race to beat him. Pedrosa being a more mature rider may not jeopardize Rossi's race though.

About Cal to factory Honda, it may not be so easy. Honda is interested in Rins too and may offer him a factory ride if Yamaha balks.

[five46]

Originally Posted by badri

Honda is interested in Rins too and may offer him a factory ride if Yamaha balks.

Rins may be a complicated proposition at Honda as:
- His form this year (though too early to write him off) has been average &
- His relation with Alzamora has lot of bitterness since he lost title to Alex Marquez in his moto3 days.