planetf1.com

Okay I'll go ahead and get it started this year. Season's about to begin. Any thoughts? Predictions?

As I'm in the UK and it's no longer free to air, quite frankly I couldn't give a damn!

I suspect I'm not alone in this.

Shame.

After last year, which was scintillating and sensational, it’s hard to fathom that this could be a better year—but it could be. So many contenders, so many stories. Rossi extending with Yamaha for two more years. Dovizioso primed for his biggest push for the title. New talent in Morbidelli—what will he be able to achieve this season?? Lorenzo slowly creeping back up towards the front. Suzuki also steadily improving in testing, and a healthy Rins I’m going to keep a close eye on. Iannone fighting for his career this season. Aprilia—can they make any gains to the front? Pedrosa a decade on the works Honda, how much longer do they keep him on that bike....especially with Zarco easily becoming the superstar of the youth movement. In fact, I’ve read that HRC are sniffing around Zarco for next year, which is obviously writing on the wall for Pedrosa, if we are honest. Tech 3’s last year with Yamaha before being equivalent to the Factory KTM team. Hervé wants to keep Zarco, but I doubt he makes that move irrespective of how much money they wave at him, which we know they will.

My favorite sport in the world, can’t wait to tune in tomorrow. 👍

_________________
I'd rather die than be overtaken.

I guess that depends on how much you rate it, I bought BTSports specifically for MotoGP, this also allows me to watch WRC, Indycar, Premier league Football, Champions League Football, Top boxing fights from America, UFC, maybe I missed more?

Anyway regarding the title I can't look past Marc Marquez, maybe he doesn't have the best bike but he's the fastest and most complete rider there is.

_________________
PF1 Pick 10 Competition

2013: 5th Place
2014: Champion
2015: 3rd Place
2016: 4th Place
2017: 9th Place
2018: 7th place

Wins: Canada 2018, Abu Dhabi 2017
Podiums: (6)

One of the joys of having btinternet-free btsport! Just a shame Ive got to listen to Heuwen.

Hoping for a good race. All very close and Suzuki look like theyve improved enough to be in the front group.

Think Marquez will waltz to the title. Lorenzo still disappointing, even the Pramac riders looking better.

Moto3 race very disappointing. Ktm look to be miles behind now and gulf between the title protagonists and the field looked huge all weekend.

Moto2, very unlucky for Marquez jr.

Don't mind the btsport commentators although there ramblings during free practice got very tedious. Opening race and in the lower classes they didn't say anything relevant to what was happening on track or anything from the off season.

Simon Crafer was painful to watch in the motogp shows. Don't see what Dorna see him in.

That was a fantastic race! I feel a bit for Zarco, but he can hold his head high. Glad Dovi did it, but I didn't quite see how Lorenzo crashed. Did he avoid somebody?

_________________
Use every man after his desert, and who should scape whipping? Use them after your own honour and dignity.

Maria de Villota - Jules Bianchi

Regarding Moto3 if all the riders were the same then were do the new stars come from?

Martin and Canet did look the favourites going into the season so no real surprise to see them dominate the race.

Moto2 is looking a bit wide open, I would say that Marquez and Oliviera looked to be the favourites with Bagnaia somewhere about but Baldassarri on perhaps a better bike and Binder who's looking close to the pace of his teammate Oliviera seem also to be in the mix.

Sam Lowes crashed out yet again after crashing in qualifying, being quick now and again is no good when you can't stay on the bike.

In MotoGP pre-season favourites I guess would have been Marquez and Dovi and so nothing has changed much from last season, this track was difficult for Marquez with Dovi being able to pass so easily on the long straight on the more powerful Ducati, but other tracks are much better for the Honda.

Rossi showed he's still very relevant whilst Lorenzo was just awful, no better than last season, whilst Vinales is more and more looking like a younger version of Lorenzo, they both look a bit lost.

_________________
PF1 Pick 10 Competition

2013: 5th Place
2014: Champion
2015: 3rd Place
2016: 4th Place
2017: 9th Place
2018: 7th place

Wins: Canada 2018, Abu Dhabi 2017
Podiums: (6)

When push came to shove Zarco was not quick enough, as for Lorenzo it looked like something might have broke on his bike causing him to crash but nevertheless he was having a poor race anyway.

_________________
PF1 Pick 10 Competition

2013: 5th Place
2014: Champion
2015: 3rd Place
2016: 4th Place
2017: 9th Place
2018: 7th place

Wins: Canada 2018, Abu Dhabi 2017
Podiums: (6)

Motogp - Petrucci was disappointing but other than that race ended pretty much exactly as expected. Main positive for me was Rossi being so close to the front. The championship is miles better when he's competitive purely due to his magnitude

Moto2 - Lowes was awful this weekend. Last time he was in moto2 he absolutely flew at Qatar. The races went wrong (crash when chahing zarco, and false start) but was rapid all weekend. This year he looked miles from the top guys.
Think it could be a very good championship this year at the front though.

Moto3 - reminded me of the 125 days. There's a massive lack of depth in the field. Lots of the riders in the second group are really experienced and just haven't made the grade.

where has this version of dovi come from? he has always been good and a safe pair of hands (very good in the wet), but was generally outpaced by pedrosa as team mates. i thought they should have kept iannone as he was a touch quicker generally but crashed alot. now he seems to have the pace the match the top guys, great race craft , cool head, keeps his tyres well, destroying lorenzo. fair play to him but i didnt see it coming. would like to see him win it but cant look past marquez unfortunately.

rossi just incredible for his age. vinales needs to work on his starts cos last season also he generally loses places at the start but he had great pace at the end and if he had been on 8th to 10th after lap one instead of 15th he could have been on the podium easily. also if i was him i would just ask for zarcos bike in argentina to compare (if he hasnt already).

I agree with most of your comments. Definitely expect to see Martin vs. Canet for the Moto3 title. I would also expect Marquez and Olivera to battle for the Moto2 titles this year.

As for MotoGP, Ducati is a really strange team. It seems that they consistently make bikes with high potential but that are difficult to unlock. I think Lorenzo is one of the strongest riders out there but he can't seem to come to terms with the bike at all. We've seen a lot a top riders struggle at Ducati and I think Dovi is only the second one (Stoner of course being the first) to really fully maximize the potential of the bike. Oddly enough, Ionnone seemed to have the higher ceiling when they were teammates there but he kept crashing and the team decided to play it safe with Dovi. No doubt they assumed that Lorenzo would be the team's #1 rider but that just hasn't panned out.

I think the Ducati is the best bike on the grid. If you put Marquez on that bike, he would dominate like he did in 2014. In fact, if I were Marc, I would really consider a move to Ducati. They seem to be coming into their strongest ever period as a team.

What's happening at Yamaha is baffling but remember that Zarco finished behind both Rossi and Vinales.

_________________
PF1 Pick 10 Competition

2013: 5th Place
2014: Champion
2015: 3rd Place
2016: 4th Place
2017: 9th Place
2018: 7th place

Wins: Canada 2018, Abu Dhabi 2017
Podiums: (6)

I heard that Marquez has signed to Honda until 2020, I think definitely one thing that helps Ducati is the engine, it breezes past other bikes on the straights.

_________________
PF1 Pick 10 Competition

2013: 5th Place
2014: Champion
2015: 3rd Place
2016: 4th Place
2017: 9th Place
2018: 7th place

Wins: Canada 2018, Abu Dhabi 2017
Podiums: (6)

It's also really easy on the rear tire (at least in Dovi's hands). They were really hamstrung by the wing ban too. Without that, they would be well out in front of the rest.

As for Marquez, yeah I've heard that as well but I think it's a mistake. If Lorenzo doesn't get it together this year and if Marquez is able to beat Dovi to the championship again, Ducati will know that they've lost 2 championships that they should have won. I think Ducati is the place to be right now honestly. Rossi continues to camp out at Yamaha and basically block the likes of Zarco from getting a factory ride. I think all riders should be pushing like hell to get a seat with Ducati.

I believe that they will replace Jorge after his contract expires. They are not paying him to be Dovi's #2 and unfortunately, that's what he has been. I think it's been long enough to wait for him to get on top of things. He was looking promising last year towards the end but, as of now, he doesn't look to have made that step forward that everyone was hoping to see. Perhaps it was just a bad weekend but if Jorge doesn't turn his form around this season, he will find himself out of a seat.

zarco has generally been stronger in quali then races and maybe in qatar he is genuinely quicker over a lap then rossi or vinales regardless of bike. but i would expect rossi and vinales to drag more race pace out of the tech 3 in theory so it would be interesting to try his exact bike. i know vinales has basically gone back to the bike he had at the start of last season which was based on 2016 chassis. its probably not that different from zarcos.

it is bizzare at yamaha and i actually think it will cost them this season aswell, to be looking back to 2016 for answers instead of being able to improve year on year like ducati and honda seem to.

What a spicy race. Melbourne has some serious competition..

_________________

One things seems clear; just as in F1, it seems extremely difficult for a team to decide which rider has the style to suit their bike. I was surprised that Rossi got beaten by Lorenzo on the Yamaha, and failed to follow in Stoner's footpegs on the Ducati. I wonder whether Casey might be able to shed light on this from the rider's point of view, but it seems the teams themselves easily get lost in the matter. Puzzling!

_________________
Use every man after his desert, and who should scape whipping? Use them after your own honour and dignity.

Maria de Villota - Jules Bianchi

I think this is very hard to say given the fact that very few riders seem to be able to unlock the best from the Ducati. Didn't we all expect Lorenzo to go there and be the team leader?
Not that I think Marquez is not a much better driver than Lorenzo but would he be able to gel with the Ducati as well? Are we sure of that when so many don't succeed on it?

_________________
Go Vandoorne - Verstappen - Vettel!

You're forgetting about Petrucci who was up there in the other 2018 Ducati but chose the wrong front tyre for the race and fell back a bit towards the end.

Regarding Lorenzo he has a unique riding style and both the Ducati and the Michelin tyres are wrong for him, he needs a strong front end so he can carry a lot of speed into the corners, the Ducati has a weak front end and the Michelins have a weak front tyre in comparison to the Bridgestones which Lorenzo won all his titles on, I see a lot of similarities between him and Kimi Raikkonen who never looked the same after the Michelin tyres.

Comparing bikes Jack Miller has gone from the Honda to the Ducati and finds the Ducati a lot easier to ride.

_________________
PF1 Pick 10 Competition

2013: 5th Place
2014: Champion
2015: 3rd Place
2016: 4th Place
2017: 9th Place
2018: 7th place

Wins: Canada 2018, Abu Dhabi 2017
Podiums: (6)

The Ducati is much more an up and down motorcycle, point and squirt, Throttle wide open and then brake as late as possible. Since D'alligna has taken the helm, it certainly turns much, much better, but it still suffers understeer. Dovi has been able to maximize his riding style to accentuate its strengths while minimizing its weaknesses, but he still struggles too. Phillip Island last year being a good example, on a track with fast corners, which hindered both of them greatly.

Also, as Pokerman stated, Lorenzo has probably the most unique style in that he glides into corners off the throttle and carries high corner speed. If you watch from helicopter shots, it's extremely odd, nobody rides like him. The Yamaha is all about that, great stability in turning. At least it was when he was there. What he came to is an entirely different world in terms of motorcycle.

The michelins, as well, have caused Lorenzo issues. Of course it is the same for everybody, so I don't want to sound like I'm making excuses for him, but he suffers because of it and has been trying to alter his style. At the end of last year, he was riding very well. And, his comments regarding Qatar were that he had a massive brake failure and had to jump off the bike, but he was improving his pace much like Vinales was, who had a very odd race, starting poorly, but finishing extremely well.

Overall though, I agree with Sandman. Lorenzo has to produce this year. It seems to vary greatly from track to track. In Malaysia in testing, he was scorchingly fast. In Thailand, he was way, way off. We'll see in Argentina, a great track from my perspective with a very long straight, which should suit the Ducati---however it also has fast, sweeping corners, which may not suit the Ducati at all. That's why we watch!

Can't wait for Argentina. Oh, buy the way, if any of you gents are going to the GP in Austin, I will be there, let me know.

_________________
I'd rather die than be overtaken.

Honda riders have it rougher than anyone these days with that temperamental front tire under braking and the poor traction in the rear. All the delicacy that the Honda requires would actually better prepare Marquez for the Duke. In general, the Yamahas in recent years have been all about edge grip and cornering speed while the Hondas and Ducatis have been more about power and braking. That's why the M1 generally has pulled ahead through the twisty bits while losing out on the straits and sometimes under braking. I think it would be a much easier transition for Marquez than it was for Jorge. In fact, Jorge might never come to terms with the Ducati. His style was uniquely suited to the M1. I would say that Suzuki and Yamaha are more compatible and Ducati and Honda are more compatible.

I'm not forgetting anything. Crutchlow was up there just as well on a 2018 Honda. And I don't think Petrucci would have held on with the top 2 anyway once they started giving it their all.



A GP2 car is probably also easier to drive than an F1 car - doesn't mean it is faster is it? We'll see how far Miller gets on it but I'll repeat - the number of ridres that succeed on the Ducati is not that high so I have my reservations about how easy it is.

_________________
Go Vandoorne - Verstappen - Vettel!

Dovizioso speaking to Honda and Suzuki, while waiting on Ducati to pony up some cash...

https://www.motorsport.com/motogp/news/ ... l-1016867/

_________________
I'd rather die than be overtaken.

Petrucci chose the wrong tyre, the days of the Ducati being a difficult bike to ride are long gone, that's why we are seeing more Ducati's near the front of the field, and like I say Miller is more than happy with his decision to join Ducati.

_________________
PF1 Pick 10 Competition

2013: 5th Place
2014: Champion
2015: 3rd Place
2016: 4th Place
2017: 9th Place
2018: 7th place

Wins: Canada 2018, Abu Dhabi 2017
Podiums: (6)

That doesn't take away the fact that on the day we had a very good mix of Ducati's, Yamaha's and Honda's in the top 10. Regardless of how easy of hard it is to drive whatever bike out there, they all seem pretty close.

_________________
Go Vandoorne - Verstappen - Vettel!

I believe the Ducati was seen as being the best bike last year, the original statement was that Marquez would dominate on the Ducati and we have just seen a race were Dovi thought he was going to have an easy win and was perplexed by Marquez being able to stay with him on such a strong Ducati track.

_________________
PF1 Pick 10 Competition

2013: 5th Place
2014: Champion
2015: 3rd Place
2016: 4th Place
2017: 9th Place
2018: 7th place

Wins: Canada 2018, Abu Dhabi 2017
Podiums: (6)

Which points to the Honda being better than most think.

_________________
Go Vandoorne - Verstappen - Vettel!

Dovi wasn't perplexed, think there were a lot of mind games going on in the press conferences. They've had extensive testing at the circuit and the race played out as most expected. He was ran close at Austria by Marquez last year which was much more of a shock.

Neil Spalding has a motogp tech book that is a great read.

Marquez is to motogp what Messi is to football. The Honda is now a very good bike, with the competitiveness of all teams he would be a title contender on the Ducati, Yamaha, suzuki or Honda. He'd still get race win(s) on the KTM or Aprillia

Yes it's better than last year's bike.

_________________
PF1 Pick 10 Competition

2013: 5th Place
2014: Champion
2015: 3rd Place
2016: 4th Place
2017: 9th Place
2018: 7th place

Wins: Canada 2018, Abu Dhabi 2017
Podiums: (6)

Dovi said that he expected to be alone at the front, I believe this track favoured Ducati and he knows Marquez being so close doesn't bode well for him because track for track the improved Honda is liable to be the equal of the Ducati, you don't beat Marquez on equal bikes.

_________________
PF1 Pick 10 Competition

2013: 5th Place
2014: Champion
2015: 3rd Place
2016: 4th Place
2017: 9th Place
2018: 7th place

Wins: Canada 2018, Abu Dhabi 2017
Podiums: (6)

Way too early to talk about the Suzuki, and very optimistic about the KTM and Aprilia.

_________________
Go Vandoorne - Verstappen - Vettel!

The Suzuki has made huge jumps over the winter. Theyve regained the concessions again after last years performance. Only had one race so far but wouldnt surprise me at all if it was in the best bike discussion a few rounds down the line. Last year was just a disaster for them with an injured rookier and Iannone disappointing. Ive been to Silverstone since since Motogp returned and Vinales' was the most dominant win I can recall. He bolted in first race and did exactly the same in the restart.

On KTM, Aprillia it would be specific tracks only where he'd be int he mix, Sachsenring springs to mind

Suzuki certainly look competitive but I'd hold off on the "best bike" stuff for a while. Most likely they will be in the mix with the Honda and Yamaha satellite teams.

With Suzuki it's interesting how much their performance has improved since they got their concessions back, they now seem back at the level they were at when Vinales was around.

_________________
PF1 Pick 10 Competition

2013: 5th Place
2014: Champion
2015: 3rd Place
2016: 4th Place
2017: 9th Place
2018: 7th place

Wins: Canada 2018, Abu Dhabi 2017
Podiums: (6)

Great first race and loved watching the confidence Dovi now rides with.

_________________
"I'd rather lose a race going fast enough to win it, than win one going slow enough to lose it".
-Stirling Moss

He's a changed man isn't he? I remember when he was losing titles to Jorge Lorenzo in 250cc back in 2006-2007. Must be particularly good for his confidence to have Lorenzo covered so thoroughly.

https://www.asphaltandrubber.com/racing ... en-misano/

Glad to read this. Gone, but not forgotten. RIP, legend.

_________________
I'd rather die than be overtaken.

https://www.crash.net/motogp/results/89 ... -2-results

Honda looking ominous in Argentina.

_________________
I'd rather die than be overtaken.