Motogp 2023 preseason notes.

[grado]

For starters, there are 2 things being added
this year that may effect the series.  

First off, Sprint Races.  
Every event will hold what they are calling
a Sprint race every Saturday motogp runs.
The Sprint race will pretty much take the place of free practice 4.  It will be half the distance as the following days
GP.  It will pay half the points as the GP. These points will
not count towards the traditional GP Championship.
But, they will be recorded. There will be some kind of recognition and money awarded. The races are mandatory.
One sees it as a kind of series in a series.
Why they are doing this, well, maybe someone can explain their reasoning.
Apparently most of the riders don’t like it, Quartanarno has voiced his displeasure on it.  Miller says he’s for itThe rest are keeping a bit mum on it.  

Second, tire pressure real time electronic monitoring.
With as yet to be determined penalties if a riders tire pressure exceeds or drops below the tire manufacturers recommended specs.
None of the riders like this one.  
Apparently some have been known to run a lower pressure in qualifying, feeling a better time can be had if the tire doesn’t have to go 30 or so laps.  
Thing is, who says how a hot or cold day will effect the pressures?   Or if a guy gets stuck behind a line of guys and has very little air hitting the tires to cool them down?
Plus, many feel tire pressure is really a rider or team choice,
a kind of race setup/preference that is nobody else’s business.  Especially the competition.
They say the data, which will transmit from the bikes real time, will be encrypted.  But we all know how that goes.  

At the first preseason meet, last month,
Ducati had the strongest bike with the fastest times.
Current Champion Bagnalia says he’s feeling it and if anyone
thinks they can take the crown……bring it.

KTM’s Jack Miller isn’t happy.  Not so good vibes from Camp Katoom.

Aprilla is hoping Vinalies, who always seems good till things get heated, will deliver.  Apparently they are working feverishly on a new motor for this season.

Honda has a healthy Marc Marquez, who had 4 bikes to choose from at the test as his best bet for 2023.
They had the 2022 bike.  They had a 2022 bike with a lot of upgrades. They had what they deemed a 2023 bike. They had a 2023 bike with a lot of unproven trick stuff on it.  
Rumor has it MM dismissed the first 3 and feels they should concentrate on the 4th.  
Rins has no baseline to work with as he’s the new guy on Red. They ran a few simulated Sprint races at Sapang.  
Rins was half a second off the pace per lap.  
And no, Marquez isn’t sharing anything with Rins.

Yamaha apparently has given Quart a stronger motor this year.  That team needs it.  

[whatarush]

Little under a month to go and I’m getting excited

[grado]

Word has Bagnaia will run the #1 number on his plate this year.  Very cool.

Alex Marquez is kinda dissing the Honda camp.  Says he feels good at Ducati. Likes the bike and just feels more at home.  Says Honda will need time, in a slight dig on how they work over there.

Aprilla has lost their “Consession” status as a team.  
This means they did well enough last year they will get no breaks as far testing, or the number of engines they can use (from 9 to 7, like everyone else).

MM still feels Honda needs to give him a better bike for 2023.  Apparently they have made improvements with the issue of sudden highsides the bike would throw, without warning, last year.

Mums the word over at KTM.

All the Ducati guys and teams seem happy.

Not so much at Yamaha.  

[motogrady]

Teams and riders at this point.

Honda
Marc Marquez
Joan Mir

Yamaha
Fabio Quartararo
Franco Morbidelli

Ducati
Francesco Bagnaia
Enea Bastianini

Aprilia
Aleix Espargaro
Maverick Vinales

KTM
Jack Miller
Brad Binder

Gresini (Ducati satellite)
Alex Marquez
Fabio di Giannantonio

Prima Pramac (Ducati satellite)
Johann Zarco
Jorge Martin

Mooney VR46 (Ducati satellite)
Luca Marini
Marco Bezzecchi

RNF (Aprilia satellite)
Miguel Olivera
Raul Fernandez

GasGas Tech3
Pol Espargaro
Augusto Fernandez

LCR (Honda satellite)
Alex Rins
Takaaki Nakagami

[motogrady]

Looking around they had another test meet last week.
8 out of the top 10 bikes were Ducati.
Bagnalia set a new track record, dropping a full second of the previous time.

Quartanaro was freaking out because it wasn’t until the last session he finally got into the top ten.
Yamaha tried some off the wall wing on the rear fender.
Looked like something I woulda made in 11 grade metal shop.
Morbidelli was told he needs to pick it up.

Miller as usual was in good spirits, but still a full second of the leader.

[oldironnow]

Bummer….

Ducati Cup…

Can Quart keep dragging the Yamaha along?


.

[motogrady]

oldironnow wrote

Bummer….

Ducati Cup…

Can Quart keep dragging the Yamaha along?


.

No worries.  
Yamaha has it all figured out.  

[whatarush]

Looks like Honda has thrown in the towel was far as the chassis goes. They are apparently turning to Kalex for a new chassis. With hopes of having it for the May test in Jerez

https://m.gpone.com/en/2023/03/15/motogp/sensational-honda-has-asked-kalex-to-redesign-the-motogp-bike-chassis.html

[Mad4TheCrest]

CONTENTS DELETED

The author has deleted this message.

[oldironnow]

whatarush wrote

Looks like Honda has thrown in the towel was far as the chassis goes. They are apparently turning to Kalex for a new chassis. With hopes of having it for the May test in Jerez

https://m.gpone.com/en/2023/03/15/motogp/sensational-honda-has-asked-kalex-to-redesign-the-motogp-bike-chassis.html

That. Is. Amazing.

Has the mighty HRC machine atrophied that much?

That's a complete inversion of their old rule of not selling crate engines.

[oldironnow]

There's a reference to Beethoven's Ninth.


https://www.superbikeplanet.com/motogp-gets-new-theme-music/

[motogrady]

everybody kind of fixating on number of Ducatis…..I dunno.

It’s hard to believe, that KTM, rumored to be really struggling to find pace, will be constantly kept off the box.
Especially with the likes of Miller and Binder.
They are one of the most, ah, flexible, and responsive to riders input manufacturers out there.
Stories abound on how, in the motocross quest for titles, they would take a riders suggestion on Monday, fab it up,
and have it to the next event by Friday.
It’s a long season, they have 2 very, very capable riders,
and one believes for them, the time is now.

And they know it.

The Ducati herd………the sheer numbers of entries, the caliber of riders, you gotta think they are the favorites to keep the number 1 plate.  
But, racing can be a fickle thing.  
It’s not like they won last years title by light years.
Stuff happens. And a lot of times does.
That’s why they run races.  

GasGas, who knows.  To just put a bike in the top 10 at years end would be an accomplishment.

The Aprilla camp.
Believe it or not, some believe they have the strongest bike
after the Ducatis.
Question is, do they have the riders to match?
Has Vinales really ever delivered when things got heated?
Or Espargo?
One thinks their best chance might be on their satellite RNF
Team with Olivero

And then there’s Honda.  
Marc Marquez, again, the great unknown.
The big gamble.  He seems to be fit.
His head seems right.  
Even if Honda doesn’t deliver a good enough bike, which
is hard to believe, MM will still be a solid top 5.
If he survives the series, you can not count him out.
Rins, Mir, they…..heck it’s expected they would need a year to just get used to, well, everything Honda.
Nakagami….he’s proven he’s a 6/10 place guy.
On a good day.
So really, at Honda, same old song and dance really.

That leaves Quartanaro.  And Yamaha.
The Great Blue Hope.
Morbidelli…..his ship may have sailed.
That fire seems to have died.
But with a motor that might have leveled the field a bit,
one believes Fabio and Company are still contenders.
Dark horses, maybe so.
But contenders to be reckoned with, definitely.

Ya, it might look like 2023 will be the year of The Big Red Show.

Maybe yes…..maybe no.  

[oldironnow]

^ That's a sweet write up !

[motogrady]

oldironnow wrote

^ That's a sweet write up !

Why thx guy

Just thinking out loud OIron.

I wonder if “the races that don’t mean anything”,
aka the Saturday Sprint events, will claim anyone
by injury.

I mean, they are Sprints.  
Theoretically, in a sprint race you kinda go for it.  
Someone crashes and gets hurt it’s hours, not days,
before suiting up for Sundays race.

Would it not be a bummer for a series points leader to break a wrist or something on Saturday, late in September?

[oldironnow]

You have my attention.

Thanks for getting me to think about this....

[oldironnow]

https://us.motorsport.com/motogp/news/the-flawed-motogp-sprint-evolution-that-is-a-necessary-evil/10355740/

At first I was feeling as did Quart' - this is totally stupid.

Now I feel it's totally stupid, but I'm often wrong, so give it a try.

But I am attracted to the idea that Sprint Races will dilute the point of the meeting - The Grand Prix.

We build up to a race, then a race happens.

Not, we're gonna waste your emotion with a vapor-points race that can damage the Real Race.

So I see two, no, three paths -

1. Everyone toes the line, and they all race like trained sheep.

2. Some riders/teams race, and some riders/teams have a 'labor action' and use Sprint Time as FP4, coming in off the track to make changes to find a set-up for the GrandPrix.

which may lead to

3. World Superbike was correct all along, and now MotoGP is going to have two valuable, points-paying, meaningful races in a weekend, the first one on Saturday with only half the setup time of the traditional Sunday race.

This I like. I feel there's more drama for the fans. More variability in outcomes. If Dorna wants to make the Saturday race the same distance as FP4 to keep parts' lifespans the same, that's even better for the teams that don't have long-run pace.

I think MotoGP needs to commit to this or get out now.


.

[Fatfatboy]

Mad4TheCrest wrote

Well, this is good, but they could have said something before I let my GP subscription auto-renew!

https://www.roadracingworld.com/news/motogp-nbc-sports-broadcasting-all-21-rounds-to-the-u-s/

Yeah,, but think of all the great hours of practice, sprint races and qualifying you would miss. Plus no commercial interruptions.

[Fatfatboy]

motogrady wrote

Ya, it might look like 2023 will be the year of The Big Red Show.

Maybe yes…..maybe no.

Nice write up Grato.

Yeah,, I'm thinking Ducati's have a good chance of stealing the show. At least get the manufacturers trophy. With more bikes on the track and other manufactures with new guys and trying to play catch-up it sure give them an advantage.
They had six of the top 10 places at Portimao testing.

I want to see Quart get a good bike. I think if anyone can chase the Italians it's him.
I have to wonder if the I-4 has gone as far as it can and if yamerhammer will switch to a V-4 of some sort if the extra HP they have found still doesn't cut it.

[motogrady]

Here’s the lineup again.  

Honda
Marc Marquez
Joan Mir

Yamaha
Fabio Quartararo
Franco Morbidelli

Ducati
Francesco Bagnaia
Enea Bastianini

Aprilia
Aleix Espargaro
Maverick Vinales

KTM
Jack Miller
Brad Binder

Gresini (Ducati satellite)
Alex Marquez
Fabio di Giannantonio

Prima Pramac (Ducati satellite)
Johann Zarco
Jorge Martin

Mooney VR46 (Ducati satellite)
Luca Marini
Marco Bezzecchi

RNF (Aprilia satellite)
Miguel Olivera
Raul Fernandez

GasGas Tech3
Pol Espargaro
Augusto Fernandez

LCR (Honda satellite)
Alex Rins
Takaaki Nakagami

Looking at the lineup……and no these are not claims for the league, just thoughts for the league, 2 teams kinda stand out.  

The most sane picks imho………
Bagnalia
Quartanaro
Bastranaia

But…..a bit out of the box thinking, one might
end up with……..
Miller
Olivera
Martin

Or…….
Rins
Binder
Vinales

With the replacing any of any guy, on any team,
with Marc Marquez as a perfectly good option.

🤔

[whatarush]

motogrady wrote

It’s hard to believe, that KTM, rumored to be really struggling to find pace, will be constantly kept off the box.
Especially with the likes of Miller and Binder.

KTM looking for ideas?


I feel it will be an Aprilia vs Ducati Italian showdown this year. Let’s hope M. Marquez & Quartararo can ride their ass off to at least make it interesting.