MotoGP 2017

[S griffin]

I just hope Dovi can keep it together, as I’m sure he can do it

[GORDON STREETER]

Originally Posted by merak1974

Wow - Fantastic battle between Dovi and Marques at the Japanese round. ...and the Championship remains rather open. Will Vinales be able to catch up?

Yes it was good and right up to the wire Marquez pushed right to the end. Lorenzo seems to be getting it together at long last but Dovi seems to be the only "Stoner" on the Ducati's at the moment.
As for Vinales, at this moment I don't think he can catch up and I think unless Mark has a "big one" and injures himself he is the rider to be the champ again.

I am not the biggest fan of Marquez, although I live in Spain a fair amount of the year you can't not like the commitment of a guy that pushes his luck all the time and does his fair share of falling off finding the limit in practice and qualifying

[GORDON STREETER]

Well what a good old "ding dong" battle to the end, Rossi shows he is still a top rider and it could have been any of those front runners that could have won today.
How the hell those riders make it through those very fast corners when leaning on each other beggars belief ! Well done Mark Marquez (AGAIN)

[justracing]

Originally Posted by GORDON STREETER

Well what a good old "ding dong" battle to the end, Rossi shows he is still a top rider and it could have been any of those front runners that could have won today.
How the hell those riders make it through those very fast corners when leaning on each other beggars belief ! Well done Mark Marquez (AGAIN)

Absolute blinder of a race, I thought I was watching a 250 2 stroke race from Brands Hatch! These guys are so skilled, Zarco is like a hand grenade, absolutely fearless and my admiration for Rossi just grows, the guy is a legend. great to see Cal Crutchlow up there as well. Such a shame that Dovi qualified so badly but hats off to Marquez for another great ride.

[wnut]

Originally Posted by GORDON STREETER

Well what a good old "ding dong" battle to the end, Rossi shows he is still a top rider and it could have been any of those front runners that could have won today.
How the hell those riders make it through those very fast corners when leaning on each other beggars belief ! Well done Mark Marquez (AGAIN)

Tyre burns all over their leathers, Rossi on his left shoulder and armpit, Marques on his leg, WOW!

Puts a whole new dimension on "rubbing is racing".

Great race.

The Moto3 race was unbelievably good too, probably the best race of the day.

[GORDON STREETER]

Originally Posted by wnut

Tyre burns all over their leathers, Rossi on his left shoulder and armpit, Marques on his leg, WOW!

Puts a whole new dimension on "rubbing is racing".


.

I wonder how much the top riders get paid in comparison to the top footballers ? who obviously risk life and limb at every match

[wnut]

Originally Posted by GORDON STREETER

I wonder how much the top riders get paid in comparison to the top footballers ? who obviously risk life and limb at every match

I think whatever the bike guys are paid it is not enough, motorcycle racing is more a vocation than a profession. Love it to bits.

Pity the F1 crowd can't get bike mentality.

[chunder]

I would think guys like Marquez are on considerable retainers, rumour is Lorenzo is on at least 10 mill a year plus endorsements, leathers, Shark lids probably an extra mill a year, etc etc.

Marquez probably on similar, Rossi took a huge cut when he came back to Yamaha, but is probably on a good wage, and must surely be worth 100 mill plus by now.

[S griffin]

That was a proper race. Old and new, so many different makes and above all else, passing every lap, nearly every corner.

Shame for Dovi though, his best hope is the Honda has a reliability problem in Malaysia

[chunder]

Dovi has no hope, Marquez was born a winning machine sadly.

Always amazes me how people are shocked by a good race at Phillip Island.

It usually is the best race of the year, no matter what the class.

[NaBUru38]

MotoGP factory riders get better paid than Superbikes factory riders, I guess.

[justracing]

They should get a bonus for the entertainment value at Phillip Island, just rewatched the highlights again, fantastic race, roll on next Sunday!

[GORDON STREETER]

I found this but I don't know if it's really up to date or indeed true

[justracing]

Originally Posted by GORDON STREETER

I found this but I don't know if it's really up to date or indeed true Attachment 50633

Fractionally more than my own income! But then the last bike I rode was a 350 AJS!

[Dani Filth]

Originally Posted by GORDON STREETER

I found this but I don't know if it's really up to date or indeed true Attachment 50633

can't be .. Lorenzo is no longer at Yamaha

[GORDON STREETER]

Originally Posted by Dani Filth

can't be .. Lorenzo is no longer at Yamaha

True, but it's only a fraction of my income however it does give us some sort of an idea.

[GORDON STREETER]

Found this. http://www.totalsportek.com/motogp/riders-salaries/

[S griffin]

Dovi 3rd, Marquez 7th after crashing. This title is not over yet

[GORDON STREETER]

The 2017 MotoGP World Championship comes down to the final race at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Valencia, Spain on November 12. Respol Honda Team’s Marc Márquez—the defending MotoGP World Champion—goes into the last round of the season with a 21-point lead over Ducati Team’s Andrea Dovizioso. Here’s what it will take to win, as well as other battles down the field.
Andrea Dovizioso must win. If Dovi is to become the 2017 MotoGP World Champion, he must win the Gran Premio Motul de la Comunitat Valenciana. Second place in Valencia will mean second place for the year for Dovizioso. There is no room for error for the Ducati rider.
Marc Márquez can clinch it with an 11th place finish. With a 21-point lead, Márquez needs to score five points if Dovizioso wins—that mean 11th place or better. If Dovi wins in Valencia, Dovi will have more wins than Márquez—7 to 6. That means Dovizioso will take the 2017 MotoGP World Championship if they end up tied on points.

The thing is will Marquez use his head and ride a sensible race for a place and the title, or go balls out for a win in his home race ? Whatever it will be good to watch and if I was still in Spain this week I would have gone for the great atmosphere ! the Spanish just love their bike racing.

[S griffin]

Dovi has already said he is not fast enough to win on merit, so he needs to play his cards right to do it. He's also said Marquez can be a bit fallible at times, so we'll see

[GORDON STREETER]

Originally Posted by S griffin

He's also said Marquez can be a bit fallible at times, so we'll see

Agreed, he falls off more than a lot of the field in practice and qualifying to see just how much he "push the envelope" he even did it today ! luckily he normally lowsides as he did this afternoon and gets away without any serious injuries.
However I recon that he will use his head in the race unless he happens to be in a podium place on the last lap and go for it.
I don't think he will get involved in too much fairing banging with Zarco and Co and Honda will probably give him a good talking too before the race starts. Saying all that, he is what he is and hates loosing

[S griffin]

Marquez on pole despite crash, Dovi down in 9th. Looks like the title is all but wrapped up now, but we will see

[Razzzor]

How about that almost crash from Marc! On the pavement, somehow gets back on and keeps it up in the gravel!

Lorenzo... fire him. He's been pathetic in 2017, not a team player at all refusing to let Dovi past. The same last week when he was ordered to move aside and wasn't going to until he made a mistake. I think he's got it in him to beat Dovi next year if he returns to his old Yamaha form - Ducati had a bike that probably should have been champs this year. But I don't rate Dovi anyway and Lorenzo could just as easily flounder around like he has the last 2 years now. No idea why.

Put Zarco on the Ducati for 2018. He's killing the main works Yamaha riders. Vinales down it 15th 35sec behind Zarco, ouch.

[wnut]

Originally Posted by Razzzor

How about that almost crash from Marc! On the pavement, somehow gets back on and keeps it up in the gravel!

Lorenzo... fire him. He's been pathetic in 2017, not a team player at all refusing to let Dovi past. The same last week when he was ordered to move aside and wasn't going to until he made a mistake. I think he's got it in him to beat Dovi next year if he returns to his old Yamaha form - Ducati had a bike that probably should have been champs this year. But I don't rate Dovi anyway and Lorenzo could just as easily flounder around like he has the last 2 years now. No idea why.

Put Zarco on the Ducati for 2018. He's killing the main works Yamaha riders. Vinales down it 15th 35sec behind Zarco, ouch.

the "crash" was unbelievable, 30 m of knee slider to pick up the bike, motor cross through the gravel trap and back on it! Now that's talent!

Nice to see Pedrosa get a win, great pity it was at the expense of Zarco who really deserved the win.

Put Zarco on a works bike, he knows how to ride the Yamahas and is clearly a step up on what they have got.
Jack Miller should be interesting on a Duke next year.
Will be interesting to see if Jorge can get his head around the Ducati next year. I think you are underrating Dovi though, I think he has come of age and is going to be really difficult to beat on the same bike.

[chunder]

I would argue it is not JUST talent, there is luck in there too.

Anything could have happened just then, he admitted he lost concentration, missed his braking point and made a mistake. He fcrashed 27 times this year, far too much and at some point one of those is going to mean injury somewhere. You simply cant keep crashing like that for an entire career.

As for Yamaha, the old bike is clearly very good, Poncheral will not want the 2017 bikes he is going to get!

Zarco and Folger were showing good form, Folger was actually getting the better of Zarco a bit before his illness. But Johan has been good all year.

My dark horse for 2018, Rins.

Major useless years for Lowes who did himself no favours by crashing fairly routinely and being slow, Redding who was pathetic this year.