Knees up Mother Brown Forum:

RIP Nicky Hayden, a quite appalling tragedy. Gone too soon.

:cry:

Excellent day out for the Ducatis. First win in Italy for the team from Bologna, with an italian rider, for decades. Petrucci in third was the Man of the Race, imo. Viñales is so thouroughly pro, he'll end the WC before the show leaves Europe, after Aragon.

Bautista holding off Marquez and Zarco ahead of Lorenzo were also very good results for the non-Factory riders.

Lorenzo is an interesting case. Clearly a very special rider but he seems to lack the ability to ride around a bikes problems. I know Rossi struggled on the Ducati when he went there but so did his teammates at the time - Lorenzo is being beaten by riders on the same machinery.

Dovi making it two from two, and bringing Ducati its first back to back for some time.

Very strange to see both factory Yamaha's struggling, while the non-Factory teams are soaring.
The Tech3 team with Zarco and Folger have had an impressing season so far. Shame the new Aprilia blew up half way, would have been fun to see what that bike was capable of. Aleix Espargaro had a good race before the machine gave up.

Lorenzo is a strange case. He rides superbly if sitting in front, with no-one attacking him. Multiple World Champion as well. Yet, when he is under attack, more often than not these days he crumbles. Was it two or three places he managed to slip down when under pressure?

Think KTM made the right call with Bradley Smith...that finger looks awful!

They're back in action

http://www.gpupdate.net/en/standings/25 ... standings/

RIDER STANDINGS

1. Marc Marquez - 129
2. Maverick Vinales - 124
3. Andrea Dovizioso - 123
4. Valentino Rossi - 119
5. Dani Pedrosa - 103
6. Johann Zarco - 84
7. Jonas Folger - 71
8. Danilo Petrucci - 66
9. Jorge Lorenzo - 65
10. Cal Crutchlow - 64

Haven't been this competitive for many, many years.
And the rookies haven't been this good either.

Another flag to flag race in which Yamaha/Rossi messed up.

Sad news in BSB @ Thruxton - RIP Mark Fincham

Oxonhammer wrote:
Sad news in BSB @ Thruxton - RIP Mark Fincham

And sadly Jamie Hodson at Dundrod ( his last twitter post is very poignant )

https://twitter.com/hodsontt2010" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Life goes on

Yet another twist to this season's story.

Marquez's engine blowing up just laps before the end, giving Dovi, Viñales and Rossi a chance to pass/catch up.

6 races to go, four riders still in it to win it.

Was at Silverstone in the Suzuki stand (Copse A) on Sunday for the race - excellent day.

The last two times I've been to Silverstone for MotoGP MM93 has had a DNF - 2015 crashing right in front of us at Copse and the engine giving up on Sunday...the cheer that went up in the stands next to us (Copse B & C) from the sea of yellow was quite loud on both occasions.

It would be a Leicester type surprise if Ducati manages to nick the title.

Stoner managed to pull of the sensation in '07.
Apart from that single season, the Japanese manufatures have won every single year, after MV Augusta ended their dominance back in '74. '58 - '74 was MV Augusta's every season. Interestingly enough '76 was the last year Harley-Davidson won a title. Been just Japanese in anythin above 250ccm since then.

What a finish to the race at Motegi :raver:

Dovi manages to regain the momentum he lost in the last race, and narrow down Marquez's lead enough to make the next couple of races important again.

Great to see Zarco grabbing pole, for the second time in his rookie season. Give that man a factory Yamaha. Same with Rins on the Suzuki. He deserves a factory bike soon.

That was some last lap!

Another great race at Phillip Island. The best track of the calendar for me.

With Dovi having an absolute mare and Marquez being the pro he is, this season's world championship is in the bag for #93.

Zarco very unlucky not to make pole. What a season he has had

Shame Dovi was so poor (tho best of the Ducati's again). The title is Marquez' barring some kind of disaster/miracle, depending on your viewpoint.

I'm not that well up on the whys and wherefores but two things struck me about Phillip Island.
1. Why are the KTM's so competitive all of a sudden?
2. Why is Pedrosa gone so crap (this has been happened a few times lately tbf)?

Pedrosa is a conundrum. The little fella has stayed loyal to the Honda factory team, and vice versa.
He is the perfect wing-man. Never a real threat for Marquez, and apart from the '12 season, never really managed to make a stab at the championship. He is grabbing wins, podiums and pole positions though. Fantastic team player.

The KTM-s have been improving throughout the season. Espargaro have been riding well ever since Assen, finishing somewhere round tenth every race.

http://www.motogp.com/en/news/2017/04/0 ... ars/222940
They'll raise the bar next season imo, and will be a force to reckon with in the coming decade. Red Bull & KTM for the 2020 is worth a punt.

I agree that pedrosa has been a great team player and usually can be relied upon for solid points and podium finishes. Although clearly not in marquez' class he usually get somewhere near. However lately he's been struggling to get in the top 10. He's not just behind marquez, he's miles behind.

The Rossi - Lorenzo team at Yamaha was rather special. Both potential world champions.
Speaking of potential - Morbidelli just won the Moto2
Him, along with Oliveira and Alex Marquez will take the step up soon.

Nice win by Dovi today, and yet another great race by Zarco, who should be in contention to a Factory contract soon. Pedrosa has only one more year left on his contract. Same with Viñales. And who knows when Rossi will stop.

Espargaro again in the top ten with the KTM. Both riders had a good spell while wet.

Onto Valencia for the decider
:raver: