I don’t think “the next superstar” is racing in any of the classes right now. Agree Fabio is the closest thing we’ll get/we’ve got though, especially as he’s started to transcend into the world of “soccer”. Won’t see another 46 or 93 for a very long time though imo. Who are genuine superstars.
Lowes. Dixon. Wtf is it with Brit riders? Disappointing on borderline of no point being there. Dixon interview after race he looked ready to commit harikari. Tbh I don’t blame him! He needs a few finishes or I can’t see how he can keep a ride.
The margins are so fine nowadays, a small thing makes a huge difference, besides, one race doesn't make a whole season.
Couple of thoughts from the armchair. The new 22 Ducati is finally starting to look like a winning package, well it's won a race so far. Bastianini may be on a 2nd, 3rd tier 21 Ducati, but they have the data from all of the circuits on the calendar last year, the team is already starting from a known base setting unlike anyone on the 22 bike. Also, as has been seen this year Bastianini rides a bit like Lorenzo, doesn't slide the bike around and gets the most out of the tyres, with what 8 laps to go and he overtakes Pecco, Pecco should know he (Bastianini) is on the better rubber and not tried anything stupid. Suzuki's exit was driven from above, it's financial, they're the smallest team on the grid in terms of funding and with the imminent switch to biofuel etc there's more money to be spent to develop engines to get the most efficiency, plus the bigger EV revolution, and let's not forget we're in a recession although the politicians wouldn't let you believe it. Also, maybe they won't be the first to quit, maybe they have done the smart thing and got out early to save money in the longer term. The Miller to KTM rumour, well I suspect that will be announced soon, possibly as soon as the next round in Mugello where Ducati will apparently announce Pecco's team mate, if it's not Miller I'd expect an official KTM press release to follow. Is that a good move, from a podium finisher no definitely not, financially I think it's a great move. I like Jack, and clearly he plays the team game, he knows his place in the factory team and will duly do whatever is asked when required. He is never going to be a MotoGP champion that has been clear for a while now, I don't know whether it's his approach to racing, the bike characteristics, who knows, but he never has tyres by the end of the race and unless he's clear from the field there's only one outcome. I suspect because of his team player attitude he would be a great asset in a team which has slightly lost its way. Will it be a factory KTM or Tech3 though? It may be a good shout to place his a Tech3 and he can be a development lead to let the factory guys focus on the racing maybe, Fernandez doesn't want to be there, Remy hasn't set the world on fire and Tech3 do have a reputation of clearing house of late. Moving on to Yamaha, the factory must be pulling their hair out in Japan, this year above others and all of the comments over the last 4-5 years from Rossi and Vinales have come home to roost. Fabio is the only one capable of dragging that bike into a decent position and the points when you look at it. You could argue hat Morbidelli could still be suffering, he's literally invisible these days, Dovi, a year out and he's just nowhere, again rumour suggests he'll quit after Mugello, if so I'd guess a Moto2 rider, Dixon maybe takes his seat for the remainder of the season, and then Binder, it just looks like it's a step too far from Moto3 to MotoGP, a bit like it was for Jack all of those years ago. Clearly Yamaha need to sort their bike, rear grip, power, do they need a V4? That's going to be a huge ask as it would be a brand new untested bike and to try and secure top riders would be difficult (unless they have deep pockets). Plus RNF could switch to satellite Aprilia's if that rumour is to be believed, Yamaha would then be down to two grid slots and it would be really REALLY difficult to see a way forward, even retaining Fabio could be a challenge. Then the future, well I had my hopes like many on Acosta but the transition to Moto2 just hasn't happened (yet), I really hope he figures it out as I'd love to see him elevated to the premier class, I guess he'll have another year in Moto2 and that will be the decider for him and any possible decent move to the top class. With Rins and Mir on the market that possibly helps Acosta though as the expectation would be somewhat reduced I guess, it will be interesting to see how that pans out, will say Mir end up on Honda or there's a chance he could replace the underperforming Vinales at Aprilia. What does this mean for Toprak now with Suzuki out of the picture, Yamaha on their knees and RNF possibly jumping to another manufacturer, it's very very interesting and complicated for sure. Every year I think we're at the best level we have been, but every year there's another step up in recent years, next year already seems that way and we're not even a third into this years races yet.
Agree. A couple of races back when the top eight all went out a one corner and they had a 7 lap restart. Dixon I believe was on pole and started well. I actually shouted at the tele.'now,don't bin it' and what happens.He only throws it down the road. Sadly, I give up all hope there and then. Hope I'm proved wrong but I doubt it.
Maybe and maybe that’s your answer. You knew straight away with 46 and 93 they were going to be superstars didn’t you.
Don’t get the hype about bastianini he’s only had 9 wins across all classes in his whole 9 year career (and three of them were in the last few weeks/months) and they’re talking about giving him a factory ride all of a sudden.. Worlds gone nuts. Yeh he can ride last years ducati but who’s to say he could do a better job than miller or pecco on this years? Moto gp is nearly as bad as the football for short-termism.
Sometimes it just ‘clicks’. The confidence from a win can be a trigger for greater and better things. Like most performance, belief often overcomes talent to a large extent.
You could say the same about the current MotoGP world champion he had a single win in the grand prix classes (Moto2) before getting a MotoGP seat.
