MotoMatters.com | Kropotkin Thinks

Still leading Honda.

Not scored a point since April 16th

It's wild to see Dani leading MM93 in the championship, even if only momentarily.

Makes you think Dani would have had a chance to collect that championship once MM’s problems started. Provided he had a good bike…

The Beast, MM, and Rins. My picks have not aged well. 

When was the last time Dani Pedrosa led Marc Marquez in the championship standings?

Historical race results for Aprilia this weekend, and that is also doing wonders for my team, having three riders on the Noale machines! Cloverleaf, Binder not scoring this time in the full GP race made the difference for our current duel at the front, but he'll definitely be back at it again in the coming races. Your Martin and Binder are tough opponents for my Bezzecchi and Aleix, and then there's Quartararo vs Marini. I'm not opening the champagne bottle yet. Well, that's not entirely true, to be honest. I did open a nice Bellussi Brut to celebrate and enjoy the warm summer weather here in the eastern part of The Netherlands ;-) 

And just like in de actual race results and championship standings, we have some prominent names in the bottom regions here (although I know the JINX entry is not serious, originally it even had Rossi and Emmett in it, brilliant. Did he ever respond? I miss his excellent long comments)... Including our reigning champion! Riesjart, what a contrast with last year! Apart from Bagnaia your riders are all having their worst season ever..! Crazy season.

And thanks again to the Sponges! This was posted really quick!

Thanks again Spongedaddy for computing all the numbers!

I''ve been passed by Cloverleaf coming out of my slipstream, but only just! Your Binder, Martin and Quartararo have been doing better than my Bez, Aleix and Marini. Those two trios seem to be pretty evenly matched for now and for the upcoming races too. We're only halfway!

Motoshrink, amazing how you can be in 4th with Marc, Bastianini and Quartararo in your team (who would have thought they would be low-scorers...)! You sure made better use of the 'independent rider' rules! Two Martins in your team is serving you nicely! If only I had put Bez there, as logic would have dictated... But I just liked the idea of adding Oliveira on the Aprilia. Hoping he'll be escaping further bad luck in the second half of the season. Losing balance weights from your front wheel, pffff... Isn't that something the Michelin guys take care of? Surely the teams don't do the balancing themselves..? Maybe an RNF guy mistakingly treated the rim with silicone spray to clean it?

I can see Shrink, SAXT and Whooligan entering the chicane just ahead of me three abreast. I can catch them!

Thanks Sponges!

You are very welcome, Powervalve58 and St. Stephen. And thanks to Sponge Jr. for creating the program. Only takes a few minutes to calculate the standings.

Hiya folks! Pvalve, you are doing great! Oldholla is right there too, well done. Hard to believe that with Marquez, Bastiannini I am tied for 4th. Bonuses will come into play btw - I just glanced and not sure if the "corrct position" bonuses are included...if not Mr Pvalve is out front? Via the old way I calculated things SATXwest you are ahead of me half a bike length via Martin in 3rd vs 5th. Sponges, feel free to swap us if you are inclined (maybe place a letter "a" in front of his name bumping alphabetically?). Not meaning to tell you what to do! Just being gracious, you are nailing it THANK YOU!! 

Cloverleaf, it is getting uncanny how you carve your way to the front here. Certainly not luck several seasons in. Cheers mate! Great person too, hope you and yours are well.

Sorry to be a downer, but in the interest of sharing...I am on a screen diet post Pandemic. It helps that I am attached to the 2017 - 2021 MotoGP era. It has been literally painful to see (mostly) Dorna let the course go uncorrected. Quartararo rots on the vine, Marquez was battered to rot on the ground. Bastiannini and Oliveira were both victims of the same crap early season. I still mourn dear Suzuki. Literally, there is grieving.

Thank goodness for KTM. Enjoying Bezzecchi. Rins at COTA! Marquez has stopped his hari kari. Sprints are added fun. There is a 2nd Aprilia Team. Japanese Manu hubris has set their Sun, and it has Karma sense. Gigi deserves his success and will go down in history as this Era's Alien. Pol Espargaro recovery to fitness and performance, WOW!

Hey, the Michelin tires are outstanding! The Rear, can you believe this thing? It is FANTASTIC. The front had to take steps to match it. It got a third of the way there, then was ignored. It is NOT Michelin's fault! They are a provider and Dorna is the boss. Reasonable Aero, no Shapeshifter, one more step on the F Michelin? Boom, fine.

Acosta is coming, and it will be good. A.Fernandez is going to be added as a replacement/tester unless Pol takes a downturn. 

Good luck everyone and I will be back here now and again. Sponge Jr and Sr, thank you a ton!

 I have a shirt bet on Binder vs Miller with Rusty Trumpet. If I lose, you'll get one! But...

;)

Jorge Martin’s move in Turn 1 definitely paid off nicely for him in the championship. All those six riders had no right to be in front of him anyways. And he just stayed on his inside line, so even though there was no room, he did nothing wrong. Good that he opened his brake just before the corner, otherwise all those guys would have been in front of him and taking points away. Brilliant move.

It's quite a list after nine MotoGP rounds, especially at the bottom end. Not just because Marc Marquez is in 19th spot with a meagre 15 points (and still zero points from the Sunday races!), but also seeing the name of Dani Pedrosa in the list so close behind Marquez, from a single wildcard appearance four-and-a-half years after retirement from actual racing (and just one other wildcard two years ago at Spielberg). Dani even has more than double the points of former world champion Joan Mir... Who also sits behind test riders Lorenzo Savadori and even Jonas Folger, who wasn't even scheduled for replacement rides yet!

It's also remarkable that Quartararo and Morbidelli are almost equal on points, while the general impression still is that Morbidelli is completely outclassed by his teammate and former world champion.

Apart from that, given Bagnaia's speed and consistency (even though he occasionally blunders), it seems difficult for any of his rivals to make up a lot of ground. On the other hand, one or two two more Bagnaia blunders and all is open again. We've seen how Quartararo lost a huge lead of more than 90 points halfway last season, so who knows. And I really hope Aleix can hold on to his recent form in Assen and Silverstone, and go at least one better than last year's great (and at the same time disappointing) 4th place in the final standings. It would make things more interesting to see the Aprilias back at the front in the second half of the season. Rooting for Oliveira as well! And a fast Viñales is still wonderful to watch, let's see if he can find consistency in that zone...

Furthermore, I'm eagerly awaiting the prestigious Motomutterer's standings! Maybe the Sponge family is on holidays..? ;-)

Yes Powervalve58, we soaked up some rain in Northern Europe for a couple of weeks. After returning to the Western Hemisphere, jet lag, bumbling around in the wee hours, and forgetfulness due to the lengthy summer break (plus senior citizenry) conspired to cause this mutterer to lose his way with the program. Had to ask Sponge Jr. for help straightening out the missteps. Took him two days to recover from an eight hour time-zone adjustment. Youth? Dunno. You're at the top and duelling it out with Cloverleaf. Still plenty of points left this season everyone. 

You two are very welcome, Powervalve58 and Cloverleaf. And actually I enjoyed the cool, wet weather in France and Germany. Been splitting time this summer between SW Colorado, which has been dry, hot and windy, and southern Baja, which is always broiling.  

That may have been the most exciting boring Assen Motogp race I have ever watched.