MotoMatters.com | Kropotkin Thinks

KTM would win their first motogp when the track was like a motocross. bravo

It seems like we've lived under the belief that the only viable challenge to MM would be MV, but only as soon as Yamaha got their act together and gave him the bike he needed. FQ was the first to put a hole in that idea. Now it's becoming clear that MV isn't going to be that challenger no matter what bike he's given, and the real challenge could come from several riders possibly on fourteen different bikes. I like that a lot more!
 

The end result is that KTM now have a much better bike than Honda. 

That's not the end result. The RC213V since 2019 has been a great bike. Marquez had his most dominant season on it, with the fewest crashes of his career. For the first time in years, he was able to run soft fronts as well as soft rears. Yes, he seriously hurt himself at Jerez, but so did Rins on a Suzuki, and Lorenzo on a Ducati in 2018. And that was also because Marquez was in the midst of an adrenalin rush and (unnecessarily) riding over the limit. 

Crutchlow is injured but that's a Crutchlow thing. He was a crasher in his Yamaha and Ducati days as well. More importantly, he hasn't been able to wrap his head around the early-braking-corner-speed style that this new Honda requires. Lorenzo arrived at Honda with a broken back (!) and a surfeit of confidence. Alex Marquez is a rookie, and he's doing a lot better than Iker Lecuona (even accounting for differences in natural ability) - finished just 2 secs behind Pol Espargaro at Andalusia.

Which brings us to Nakagami, who was barely mentioned in the article but is the one rider truly showing the potential of the Honda. They gave him the 2019 bike to test at Catalunya last year (in response to Crutchlow incessant whinging) and he was half a second quicker on back-to-back runs against the 2018 bike, despite getting only 20 laps on it. 

Nakagami was excellent at the Andalusian round and he was excellent again this Sunday. Finishing just 6 secs off the podium is an outstanding result when you're starting 17th on the grid. And he didn't arrive at Honda with the kind of stellar reputation that the likes of Espargaro, Binder and Oliveira arrived with over at KTM.

Simply put, Honda is in good shape and doesn't need to change anything.

Great read David, although I think Rins was worth a mention - for him to come within two tenths of a podium, in 30-degree heat with that shoulder injury was absolutely phenomenal IMO. 

Disappointed that Mir was so anonymous in the race, though.

Honda have built a bike specifically for their cash cow, Marquez.  It being a pile, dangerous, is something I'll never buy into.  Marc likes the bike that way, needing to manhandle it.  That's his riding style.  And Marc, like many of his HRC predecessors, likes the bike developed like this, so he can ride it well and the other Honda riders struggle.  Many factory riders have liked it done this way, it takes competition from same factory riders away so they can focus on competitive factories and riders only.  Marc will come back on it, and he'll win, this year, again.

All that RedBull money cannot be understated.  KTM has deep pockets, pockets that rival HRC.  I don't think I have ever seen this in the class until now.  With the tires, electronic hardware and software all being the same, Red Bull money, KTM willingness to beat Honda (the head of KTM hates HRC with such a passion, I've never seen anything comparable) at whatever lengths, and a real riding talent, the recipe is there.  Motorcycling journalism is to fawn all over the latest winner.  Binder will need to prove it again in Austria.  If he's on the podium, or can pull off another win, and hat tricks that at Misano or another circuit this year, then finally we may have another rider (Dovi pushing Marc at times) to push Marc to the limit, even though Marc does that himself just fine on his own.  The new Aliens, Marquez, Binder, and Fabio.  And maybe Morbidelli keeps coming along and makes 4.  3 different factories.  If Suzuki can get Mir going and Rins repairs, and Ducati can find that youngster factory rider to get at it, the coming few years will be some of the best in history due to all the factories being competitive, sans Aprilia for now.  As David said, Binder isn't the only rider at KTM showing some real progress.  So many moving parts moving forward at the same time.  It's getting real damn competitive in MotoGP.  Lots of riders and factories that could threaten.  Imagine a MotoGP class with 6 guys that could win the title, or 7, aboard 5 different mfr's.  That's cray crazy.

Today I could only think, damn Pol, you could have stayed man.  To me not the wisest decision.  And even if Zarco does well at Ducati, again, you could have stayed.  Decisions both may regret down the line.  It's like the opposite of what Ducati did, to Lorenzo.  A rider or factory cutting bait too soon.  No patience in this sport for most.  

It's tough to not like Binder.  He's earned his spot, shows some crazy crazy lean angles, and does go, as David said, 100% flat out all the time.  It's nice to have some different nationalities get up there.  Marc is full of himself, arrogant, the I can get away with banging people around stuff.  Maybe Brad will pull that, but he's one of the most level headed guys you listen to, off the bike, talking to the media.  That's not strictly PR training, that's him.  I hope the South Africans are partying it up tonight.  I can't wait to have an American rider like that in MotoGP again.  Spies, Edwards, Hayden, all missed.  

Dorna wins again.  Dorna deserves so much credit for getting us this 2020 season with all that's going on, and deserve so much credit for making the series this competitive.  I can remember Dorna letting HRC dominate the MSMA and Honda getting their way with the same weight limit for their bike with 5 cylinders as others with thier fours.  The Spies rule, then the Marquez rule change.  Eat the sandwich HRC, eat that baked crow.  KTM just came in and whooped yer ass, starting from scratch.  Spielberg should be quite the burnt toast for that crow sandwich.  I am enjoying it.

I remember Valentino starting from pit lane for an engine iirc.  Yamaha seems poised to repeat that feat this year.  I doubt Ducati is going to agree.  And finally Ducati, "Pol should get the penalty, he cost us second!" that's a bit rich.  I've talked to a particular HRC head before in person and he was a word I won't use here.  Ducati heads of state in that garage remind me of him.  I wouldn't have a drink with them if Jesus was pouring it.  

So grateful and thankful to have a 2020 season at all with this virus dominating the world.  It's such a nice break from all the madness and rioting, and political bickering here in the States.  What a hot mess it is.  And good news for MotoGP.  I'm seeing F1 people that never watch GP watch it, ask questions about the tracks that F1 doesn't go to as they are seeing them for the first time such as Brno.  And seeing other people not even into motorsports watch a race due to lack of content, and getting into it fast.  They are seeing it for the first time and seeing the massive difference between auto racing they have bee exposed to.  The injury comebacks, etc, that we are all used to, they are seeing again, for the first time, and marveling.  And marveling at the HP, the speed traps, the corner speeds, suit elbows being all scraped up.  MotoGP has gained some fans.  Most of us can remember the 800cc days, the processions, the utterly dull and lifeless competitive racing.  It's good they are seeing this Dorna dominated competitive era and not the dull 800cc era.  Even with the circuits having no fans in attendance, MotoGP viewership is expanding.  The one positive thing in all this.  

Are KTM the only teams using WP?  If so a lot of praise should go to them.

What I found was really telling was interesting was the interest in Zargo by the Ducati red shirts especially when he was penalised. It was almost like they had given up on their factory riders and had suddenly discovered they had a rider on a 2nd rate Ducati who could get a podium & they could start cheering for. Wonder whether Zarco's team will get a few more trick parts from now on?

I fully agree with Ducati on this one, 

Riding like he's trying to rip the handlebars off, runs wide, which you can definitely do in turn one and not lose time, a late apex will give good drive up the hill BUT...

With +0 on your pit board several laps in a row you can't run 10ft wide and expect someone on the comeback trail of zarco's ability not to be aiming for the gap. Motogp bikes are 135dB give or take! He knew Zarco was there and tried to chop his nose off, take the tight line out of the corner and misjudged it. Punished for the compound error. Imagine if zarco had come off and pol stayed on? It would look like Pol had cut aggressively across the track and knocked zarco off.

He must be absolutely gutted. By Midseason next year with Binder and Oliveira right on the pace he'll be part of the prologue in KTMs history while getting soundly beaten by his new team mate and his viciously recalcitrant bike under the cold, stern gaze of Alberto Puig. It all sounds really rather unpleasant. In fact it sounds bloody horrible.
 

I wonder if #2 at Repsol will become the archetypal poisoned chalice? How many careers will be ended by the atavistic allure of such a presitigious and hallowed legacy only to find it's a vipers nest of disillusion and displaced fractures. The grinning god king rubbing your face in it by mystically bending reality to his will as your dreams crumble in front of your eyes. hubris and Nemesis writ large.

MotoGP is the absolute best. This season hasn't been worth the wait, because that's a stupid reductive thing to say in the face of the predicament we are all in but, my goodness, is it surpassing all expectation.

Binder, WP suspension, closely followed by Zarco and Rins. Really glad for JZ. He had an awful last  year but is most definitely getting his mojo back. Seriously impressive ride. Ducati have some big decisions to make. Being ruthless here but they should consider Lorenzo and Zarco, both on one year contracts for the factory and Pramac spots. 

Loved it. Anybody who watched Brad last year could see he matured into a machine but i never expected him to ride like that so soon, impressive.

I thought it would be a strange race. After Friday i decided it would consisit of riders whose tyres dropped of a cliff, riders whose tyres fell off the the edge of the world and within that first group someone would find a way to cope with the bumps and surface, suffer less and the win would be an easy one. Which it was, excluding the fact that it was a rookie. What i didn't expect was that KTM would be head and shoulders the best bike on the grid.

However, i think it was an odd race where KTM and their package, shocks and all, found themselves more able to cope with the track surface than any other bike on the grid. Reminds me of Silverstone 2016. Suzuki were on the up, just like KTM, but the circumstances of that weekend (very cold track temps if i remember) made every other bike look slow and Maverick delivered their first win of their current stint and easy win. Outside of that, they were back to being nearly there. Don't get me wrong, KTM have got to being 'nearly there' and that's an amazing feat in itself but i think in Austria, KTM will be back to being impressive but behind. Having said that, KTM have obvisouly made a big step this year so it will be interesting to see exactly where they are at a track like Spielburg.

As for Pol and Zarco. Zarco put his wheel in a gap, which is normal. It's going to be hard for Pol to see anything being slightly ahead, and hard for Zarco to see anything because he's on the other side of the bike.

A lot of other riders did exactly what Pol did throughout that race.

Some other riders did exactly what Zarco did.

None of them crashed which i think is 50% being more cautious on both sides and 50% luck. So the reason for giving a penalty was because Pol crashed, Zarco was punished for a bad or unlucky outcome...but racing sometimes produces crashes where i think the only blame is that they turned up to race.

I read somewhere that F1 drivers are now told what to say over the radio after an incident on track. They know the what 'key words' to say which the stewards will consider. What an absolute load of dung that is. Lets hope they stay away from approaching that level of madness, even if in MotoGP's case it's only the pit lane people who are lobbying for outcomes.

Fabio nearly binned it for the first few corners, good that his head accepted the reality. I was thinking in the first laps that this could be a test, a comparison between the more experienced Morbidelli and Fabio. Maybe we would see Fabio unable to accept the inevitable and throw it down the road trying to reach his 'rightful place'. Good points finish in difficult circumstances.

Honda is a fast bike, maybe just not easy. Nice to see Taka Naka showing some potential again. I think their grid placings in Brno demonstrate exactly why they hired Pol. They need strength in depth just like Yamaha, KTM and Ducati.

It's only race 3...this race was the first of the season i shouted at the laptop. Seems the season really has started

This great article is the kind of stuff that makes me value my subscription a lot!

2020 is a box full of surprises, and most of them good ones as seeing lot of riders with win options (the bads are the frecuent injuries).

My words to Rins, so good to fight for the podium after the crash.

The last paragraph is what I've been saying for years about Honda....

They can't build a good MotoGP bike. But what they can do is generate horsepower and throw huge money at talent. Like you said that was fine when there were only ~5-6 bikes at the front. The field is much tighter now. The gap to 10th in Marquez' first outing at Brno was 56 seconds- compared to just over 15 yesterday. Hell, Stephan Bradl finished less than 56 seconds back from Binder and he was the last man to cross the line. Back in the day you might have had 5 race winners and maybe 7-8 podium contenders on the grid. You can add half to the first number and double the second. It's a new time and Honda needs a new approach.

Like you said as a rookie it makes no sense to jump on a Honda. I'd wager whatever recruitment money they have is tied up in Marc's 4 year contract. You hop on that bike, you're gonna need surgery. And with it not looking good for many of the MotoGP seniors (Dovi, Petrucci, Vinales, Crutchlow) I think there will be seats available for fresh blood that won't come at such high incremental risk for bodily harm.

The big question mark is what happens when Marquez comes back. I hope his arm fully heals so we can get a real litmus test of this new crop of talent. Imagine race long 3 way fights between him and these new kids! What a time for the sport.

You've gotta love Brad Binder, what a class act, might have a small wager on KTM going 1-2 in Austria... 

Very happy to see Zarco on the podium, it's always a pleasure to hear him speak about his race or session.

It's a shame we cannot see Dani Pedrosa race the KTM, he'd do a much better job of it than Iker "the torpedo" Lecuona...

I wonder if KTM would be willing to sign Marquez, given the "hatred" of HRC at the management level; it would be a much better story for them to beat HRC with Marquez on board the Honda.

There has been hype surrounding Brad Binder for years, ever since his Jerez 2016 back of the grid to top step of the podium trouncing of the Moto3 field. A few years ago, Kenny Roberts said that he had given up believing the hype and did not see what everyone was talking about. I don't know what to say about that statement. What I witnessed yesterday certainly made an impression on me. I'll bet the neighborhood bully is restlessly squirming in his hospital bed, anxiously awaiting the moment he can put this new upstart back in his place.

Binder said he could hardly touch the throttle on Friday for fear that the bike was going to launch him into the sky. The guys in his team told him not to worry. On Saturday the bike was completely transformed. After the race he used descriptions such as "insane motorbike" and "awesome weapon". There must be a lot of brains and computing power behind the scenes.

That was possibly the most refreshing post race presser I have ever witnessed. There was so much joy and gratitude being expressed by Binder, Morbidelli and Zarco. It's very powerful and peaceful. Lovely. It reminded me of a Moto3 race at Indy in 2015. It was a wet race and Livio Loi's team changed to dry tires on the grid. John McPhee did the same but had to start from pit lane. Loi won the race, McPhee came second and Philip Oettl finished third. For each one it was their first podium in Grand Prix and these guys were so happy. They were all smiling so much on the podium and so grateful. It was a powerfully moving experience.

Quantum theorists have been debating for the better part of 100 years whether or not this reality is deterministic or random. If it is random, then we are truly on our own, this is all we've got and there is no "other." But, in order to comfort ourselves and make us feel less lonely, we create stories about purpose and karma (doing). When one uses the power of the imagination to create a dream, such as a child dreaming about winning a motogp race one day, it seems like unseen forces are put in motion. The dream is created inside the mind's eye of the dreaming imagination. The dream is inside "I". Then through a lot of hard work, assisstance (uncanny at times), challenges and setbacks (because this is the world of opposites and there can be cannot be assisstance without hindrance also, they both come from the one, unified source), one day the dream may manifest into reality. Then the dream is "realized". And suddenly life can take on a surreal texture. Life feels like a dream. Life is the dream. And not only that, those that observe the manifestation of the dream are affected in some joyous, peaceful way. If one is paying attention, this can call into question the source and whereabouts of "I". Who, what and where is this I? Is it inside or outside? And what is it? And again, there is the question of differentiating between self and other.

In these weird times with empty grandstands, the competitors become the fans on the cool down lap. And the rest of the motogp paddock become the fans back at parc ferme after the race. It really is strange.

If the Honda is the most difficult handling bike on the grid, and that's a big if that we cannot ever know, I am still of the opinion that Marquez likes it that way. He is the lead rider that, along with HRC engineers, heads the development direction of the RC213V. His power at HRC is uncontested and holds sway in so many ways that have been documented during his career at Honda. I believe the neighborhood bully enjoys winning championships on a bike that other Honda riders struggle with mid pack. He loves sowing seeds of doubt in the minds of other Honda riders as they question their abilities while comparing themselves to his results. There is no mountain too big, no challenge too great and no injury too severe for Marquez to overcome. "Let's create a nasty beast that only I can tame" (which instantly eliminates some of his competitors and occassionally bites him in the arse). I am also of the opinion that the RC213V is the best bike on the grid because the results prove it. The best bike is the one that wins the championship and Honda have won more championships than any other manufacturer than any other in the modern era. The bike doesn't ride itself and there is no way to separate the rider from the analysis. But this perspective allows for the least amount of assumptions.

Lecuona better grow up quickly and stop crashing. His spot at Tech 3 suddenly looks very desirable. And speaking of growing up, the Ducati management need to look inside and make an honest assessment about what's really going on. The rage they are feeling about the alleged rightous indignation concerning the Zarco penalty is actually the mind's reaction to the shame experienced from the reality in red - the pathetic performance of the GP20 riders. Seeing Reuben Xaus wave off Tardozzi mid-tantrum outside of the Avintia pitbox was hilarious. (Leave us alone our rider is about to get us our first podium). If Herve will take him, Dovi should split. The Ducati heads act like real jerks.

Motogp is awesome. I love it!

Pedrosa to KTM with the RC16 being a similar bike to the RC213V is such a genius move it almost feels illegal. Like having someone be undercover at your biggest rival brand for years, only to reel him in and apply everything he has learned to engineers that actually listen. Honda must be kicking themselves so hard I don't want to know.

>Dani Pedrosa, meanwhile, joined KTM, where he became a key player in helping turn their MotoGP bike into a genuine weapon.<

That right there... says everything... there are riders... and then there are racers... those that understand what makes a bike "good"... and you have to wonder if Pol hasn't jumped from the frying pan into the fire.. with his move over to HRC for next season... It will be interesting to see if he gets the full "Lorenzo treatment"... from the bike... only time will tell...

In the two minutes prior to Pol crashing out I had a sinking feeling that something was about to happen to him. Not for the first time, he had wrecked his tyres before half-distance, and was starting to go wide and deep every few corners. Obviously we'll never know what would have happened if he hadn't crashed into Zarco, but to me it looked like his time left in the race was one or two laps maximum. We've seen it happen to Pol again and again.

KTM's 2021 lineup is looking formidable.

I think a hidden story in the many stories here is about suspension. I recall I think Simon Crafar mentioning in the feed about "having a better front end" or even about rear grip (a dynamic between the tire, riding style, mechanics, and of course suspension). One wonders if KTM is able to maximize their testing in part because they always have the suspension R&D to directly respond to the excellent test rider feedback, and in a way that is truly bespoke for the RC16

Being Zarcoed is when the leading rider leaves the door open on the inside of a turn and the trailing rider takes a tighter line to the apex, but does not overtake position on track - meaning his front wheel is still behind the front wheel of the leading rider. And the trailing rider refuses to back off when the leading rider closes the door. And the leading rider refuses to back off also (if he is even aware of the presence of the trailing rider) due to the agreement that the leading rider has authority to said real estate should anything happen. Because, this is the only reference a ruling authority has to determine fault and administer penalties - who is in front. Contact occurs and the leading rider skittles off the track. 

In racing it is common to see racers take a look up the inside of open doors in the turns and try a pass, only to back off at the last moment when they see they cannot get ahead on track and the leading rider is intent on closing the door (because the leading rider doesn't see them or simply won't be intimidated). The trailing rider cannot take the authority of the track position. If everyone pulled Zarcos in the GP races, there would be a lot more tire marks on leathers and more riders and machinery littering the gravel traps.

Miguel Oliveira had to have shoulder surgery after being Zarcoed last year at Silverstone. It was important that race direction gave Zarco some penalty for the move he pulled up the inside of Espargaro at Brno in Sunday's race. And it wasn't much considering Espargaro got a zero out of the entire weekend. The last thing race direction wants to do is set a precedent that encourages this behavior, because it leads back to the conundrum of riders being a danger to each other on track. Unless this is where Grand Prix racing is heading because this is what everyone wants. Be careful what you ask for...

I watched it a bunch of times as a club racer. Pol went wide and left the race line.  to me it was Zarco's obligation to fill the gap. he didn't change his line, he didn't lunge. I'm my view, Pol brought the bike back to the line he deviated from without consideration that someone else was now on the race line.  For me, Pol's fault, but overall, a racing incident. 

Could win in Austria? 

I am not convinced that Binder could be enticed by the HRC Repsol juggernaut. For one thing, Red Bull has deep pockets. Plus, Binder strikes me as a guy that walks the talk. I hope he does not allow his character to become corrupted by the success, money and fame that may possibly open up in his life. Brad Binder displayed humility, gratitude and appreciation during all press media debriefs. Things would have to become sour at KTM for him to cut ties with those that offered him the opportunities that he is now taking advantage of. 

Meanwhile, HRC looks a bit desperate with the signing of Espargaro. Last year, they were searching for someone whose riding style resembles Marquez' just in case they find themselves in the current situation they find themselves. This is the same energy Espargaro displayed in last Sunday's race as he frantically tried to catch up to his rookie teammate ahead on track, which resulted in small mistakes and his eventual predicament with Zarco.

It'll be interesting watching it all play out.

and I'm sure there will be more. All congratulations to him, his crew, and his supporters, it's very very well deserved.

But there is another young man who is also polite, affable and well spoken and deserves mention (besides amazing Franco Morbidelli), and that young man is Fabio Quartararo. He didn't bin it chasing the unobtainable, and that deserves mention as well. Championships are won on what you achieve on your bad days just as much as when you're P1.

Good on Pedrosa for developing an outstanding KTM ride.  Finally showing Puig and HRC what he is worth, and that you need to develope a bike that everyone not named Marquez can ride. Herve is licking his chops too, and is vindicated by his decision to leave Yamaha and their second rate satelite bikes.  Won't be long until Tech 3 KTM are on the podium as well.

As mentioned earlier that was one of the very best post race interviews I've watched. Zarco explained his race in remarkable detail. Morbidelli was calm and almost quiet. He was disappointed to have Binder pass him but not badly because he just wanted his podium most of all and knew he had nothing left. Binder was simply grateful... 

Can you imagine how crap Pol must feel.  To be heralded as KTM’s best rider.  To work hard and push hard over the last few years. To get results above expectations.  To have the pace all weekend to challenge for the win in Brno……  and then crash in the race and have your rookie teammate take KTM’s first win.  Someone please hide the razor blades!!!

You can add Iker Lecuona to that list too.  After being told by his boss two weeks ago “DO NOT CRASH” and promptly doing so, Iker goes ahead and crashes again at Brno, this time taking Space Station Mir out with him. Hey don’t hide the razor blades….. get him a bullet proof vest because Herve is loading his magazine as we speak!

Miller managed to salvage a relatively crap weekend for ducati.  Nakagama is starting to get a rep amongst the riders for being a bit reckless and he seemed to be in the mix in the opening laps (standing Miller up at least once).  For Miller to get back in the groove and pass Dovi, is not helping Dovi’s cause any.

Congrats to Binder, cracking win!

As an ex racer of a one make series there has, to my mind, always been an understanding that if you leave a gap, expect it to be filled.

When you close the gap back down in an attempt to rejoin, it is immaterial how much overlap one has over the other, you left the racing line and no one else should be expected to keep the door held open for you to get back in.

Pol caused the incident by his attempt to regain the 'accepted' line.

I enjoyed this one the most for a long time. The set-up rulers in the back room must have some questions thrown at them. Rossi diverges and has a good race. Ducati and HRC wreck races for potential winners with rigid internal rules (or so we are told). Rules need to flex, just like chassis'.

The 'nicest' podium too - all three of them make me feel that we will cope without Rossi's personality to lighten things.

Poetic justice for Mr Z too. If you want to see how not to do it watch Andrew Irwin take out Brookes at Hollywood during BSB race 3 on Sunday. He was disqualified and demoted to the back of the grid for the next race. 

According to Dovizioso's post race comments at gpone, the team is worried because the analytical approach that has served them so well over the last three seasons no longer works. Theory, when put into practice, is not replicated in reality. And that has these guys confused. Combined with that perplexity is the lack of an agreement concerning Dovizioso's contract and whether or not he will even be racing next year. So the question is, are all of these unknowns contributing to the lack of understanding taking place? Is the tension in the pit box interfering with understanding the technical side of the problems with the bike? They probably don't help.

Solutions start first as ideas. It hard to say where they really come from since we cannot really say what consciousness is, the source of thought or how thoughts arise in the consciousness. One thing is for sure is that Ducati Corse Sporting Director is saying that Dovizioso's worth is less than what he and his manager claims. Is the current situation in the pit box simply a confirmation of the beliefs of the managerial heads of the Ducati racing department?

I don't know what anybody has been testing, but I thought that Honda was busy at Qatar checking back to back between the 2020 RC213V and the 2019 model. They probably did this because they had so much difficulty understanding their problems with the new bike and were trying to make some sense of the situation. If the factory Ducati team has not yet tested the 2019 model with the new Michelin rear tire, then they have opened the door to assumptions. Regardless of how similar the bikes may be, how could they not want confirmation that the problems exist with last year's bike? They must have already tried this. If not (and it's kinda incredulous to think that Ducati haven't conducted back to back tests with last years model) they have the perfect opportunity to put a couple of 2019 models in Pirro's pitbox this weekend. I wonder if the engine rules would allow this...

When Stoner moved to Ducati in '07, he burst onto the scene at the peak. He won 10 races his first season enroute to taking the championship crown with races to spare. The next year he won 6, in '09 he won 4 and in his last year he won 3. Win results started at the top and slowly tapered off resembling the second half of a bell curve. If we include Capiroosi's win results and look at Ducati's win rate as a whole, they won one race in '03, 2 in '05, 3 in '06, 11 in '07, 6 in '08, 4 in '09 and 3 in 2010. Then they went winless for five years. This changed with 2 wins in 2016, 6 in '17, 7 in '18 and 3 last year. The win stats resemble bell curves, and for someone that only understood statistics and knew nothing about what the numbers represented they would say that the number for this year would most likely be less than 3 and possibly zero, but more likely it would be 2 or 1. Considering the shortened and unknown season length that we are all aware of, I wonder if Ducati will win a single race this season. And if they do, I wonder what color the bike will be. The mood at the Ducati garage must be pretty dark right now. For what it's worth, Dovizioso's statements posted on gpone are quite clear and thoughtful. He's not lashing out or throwing anyone under the bus considering the duress that they are all working under.

Life has ups and downs. Fear, or a lack of understanding, travels in waves. It's going to be interesting to see how it all plays out this year. Hope there is a lot of racing still to come. 

MM Folks,

Request: can we please note where the level of consideration is in the readership here? It looks like there are many new members. The tone in the comments section is in a bit of change again.

David offers us a wonderful journo job, AND a second to none community from around the World. It is us that keeps the comments section culture vibrant. Poignant? Edgy? Contrarian? Sure.

I for one can see that my comments can be more considered. Will snug up bias and minimize making anything personal or dead horse tired tropes. We can liken it to touring on the race line in FP. I will try to be more aware and adjust accordingly. Can other folks consider doing the same?

Please and thank you! And forgive the occasional contact, rubbing is racing. Sincere apologies where I have been out of line. I will do a bit better. This place Moto matters.

Can't say that I've noticed a change in tone (things do click up a gear following an action packed weekend such as we've just witnessed), but I agree with the sentiment Motoshrink. 

A brilliant post race report and 104 comments, following a remarkable weekend of MotoGP action - This is such a great community.

The pre race, race and post race report write ups are excellent and the reader comments are enjoyable, engaging and often enlightening (whether I agree with them or not). It's a pleasure to visit the site each week.

Did I miss something? I hope Jinx is fine. I miss those amazing comments.

Motoshrink, you really crack me up. I feel like I'm talking to a 9 year-old whose membership is older than his age (because that's what I read in your profile and I'm joking). This comment is surprising considering the way you have slagged off on Puig and the RC213V recently. I recall a race in '06 where Nicky Hayden crashed and Puig looked like a man possessed as he ran out to the pitboard and put HAYDEN OUT on it. Then the camera showed him panting slightly while restlessly fidgeting with bulging eyes like a madman next to the pitwall waiting for Pedrosa to come down the straight. I thought, "Wow, that guy really is bonkers." 

Then comes the race at Estoril and Pedrosa outbraked his bike into the back of Hayden taking them both out of the race. I was really fuming. What a teammate! Puig and Pedrosa were officially the enemy. But, at Valencia, Pedrosa was a real team player (unlike Lorenzo at Valencia in 2017). Pedrosa helped out and let Hayden by in the race. Since then, over the years I have found a lot of respect for Pedrosa, his character and his philosphy. And I have even found respect for Puig, also.

Even though I have sounded off on the management of Ducati, I have a respect for those guys, too. Dall'Igna is the man within the Ducati inner circle supposedly with the most strained relationship with Dovizioso. And yet, while listening to Dall'Igna on the "Undaunted" video expressing his opinion of how he believes the Ducatista would like to see Dovizioso ride the dark horse more in racing, I have discovered respect for his position. And seeing the current struggles of the Ducati factory from the outside, I cannot help but form an opinion. And the opinions are all personal in that way. They are opinions, they are stories, they are personal truth and are true for me, but they are not the Truth.

I'm not a fan of the way Zarco puts his bike up the inside and does not get his wheel in front. And yet, he has a very likeable character. And I can respect his perspective about it all and those that disagree with mine. It's just the way one sees it.

In time the reaction of the mind subsides and the respect grows. But, it is the person that gets the most attention from consciousness in this world. It's almost as if this world suffers a bit from person-itis.    

I used to look forward to the comments section by ways of a quick snap shot into the mind of the discerning fan but these days it appears to be more who can deliver quantity over quality (motoshrink aside) please refrain from repeated "in-depth" analysis, & hearten youresleves to the fine & discerning words of Mr Emmett please. 🙏🏻