Clearly a bit early to be writing off Jorge on the Ducati this season. But I may as well... I am thinking that Ducati have repeated the Rossi mistake, only worse. With Rossi, if the bike had been any good, he could have won on it. Now the bike is good, but I still don't think that Lorenzo will be doing the business on it. It really isn't suited to his ultra smooth style. He is all about high corner speed, and that isn't the Ducati's forte, which is ironic when it is one of the great fortes of their road bikes... Then there is Lorenzo himself. You will remember how he basically just ground to a halt last season the moment there was a little rain. It seems he needs conditions to be perfect to have confidence and find his top speed. Not quite what you want for riding what appears to be a bit of an animal. Viñales hops on the Yam and is instantly fast, Jorge hops on the Ducati and is instantly slow. Will he learn and adapt to it over the season? Personally, I doubt it. I don't think his head is in the right place. His body language is terrible. He looks awfully disappointed. It's funny, isn't it? You probably wouldn't buy a bike without a test ride, whereas these guys stake their careers on machinery they have never ridden. I think I would have stuck with Crazy Joe. He's a lot more entertaining in any event.
I agree about Lorenzo, crazy Joe to many crashes. I think Crutchlow should of stayed for the second year, bet he's kicking him self. I like to see Rossi get his 10th title but I think Maverick will do it and with Pedrosa as an outside bet. 50p says Aprila will win a race this year but not Lowes. I predict that KTM will be world champs in MOTO GP in three to four years and Binder will be the rider. KTM for MOTO 2 title this year. Any one else got predictions
I'm really not surprised And it's nothing against Lorenzo but that Ducati just doesn't suit his style, I honestly think Marquez would be a better bet on the Ducati with his aggressive style...
I haven't watched the race yet, it is on the recorder for later, but the disparity between Jorge's style and the needs of the Ducati is not exactly new, yet the deal was done by people much more "in the know" than us. Very strange.
Yes it is. Last year nine different riders won MotoGPs on four different makes of bike. This season there has only been one race thus far, so it's much too early to call. Incidentally, is it just me or do Maverick Viñales and Jorge Lorenzo look so similar it is hard to tell them apart?
I'm just pleased to see the racing back on. MV is clearly something a bit special, but his comments at the weekend show a fair bit of vanity. If VR wants to win races then I predict we'll see him trying to get inside the head and under the skin of MV... another grand tiff might be brewing. Poor old Marquez seems to be hobbled by Honda for years now, but then other than Yamaha who else has a reliable package? Even the M1 seems to swing wildly between handling, power and tyre-wear challenges. JL... Rossi's 10th... don't care, BSB is where my racing Ducati interest lies, and my actual excitement is for the road racing again this year. So much good stuff going on with the roads, can't wait for it to get going. Spring Cup just around the corner and Tandragee the same weekend. It's going to be a corker, and am hoping that by TT time there'll be some great racing to come. Actually cannot figure out who to support most on the roads, just not Hutchy... whiny bugger.
Dan Kneen. I vaguely know him (FOAF), and he's a lovely bloke. also first met him as a pimply teenager at Jurby when said friend said "this is Danny - he's going to be great!". and he's not wrong. That and rocking up a Derby Phoenix meet for a shakedown, p1ssing off into the distance in the 1000cc race (and pulling in to avoid messing the points up) and then stopping to chew the fat afterwards.
Still think that Dovi will win before JL. TBH, I really had no idea what Viñales looked like... I'm quite keen for Spanish riders not to win things. They have won far too much over the last decade.
Does anyone else find Dovi a bit boring to watch? Maybe boring is the wrong word, maybe his consistency (which is a good thing) comes off looking like he has no fight in him.
Get little Loris back I say, he was like a bull fighter on the Ducati back in the day, only an Italian one if you know what I mean.. As for JL I think he saw the lottsa € sign and said "Si senior I'll av some of that my Son" I'll wobble around on that for a couple of years for that Italiano wonga...
I am delighted to have been proven comprehensively wrong today. The Hondas may have been too fast for Jorge and the Ducati, but then they were too fast for the Yamahas too - as was Lorenzo on the Ducati. So there is hope, it appears. You get the impression that everyone having to ditch their winglets from last year (on the Ducati, they were like the wings on a Jumbo) has redistributed the cards this season. The old Yams seem faster than the new ones (or not much slower) and you could say the same for the Ducatis. But it also appears that things are bedding in, so there could be some Ducati wins from the official team before the end of the season - who knows? And as Crazy Joe binned it again today, it is looking as if Dall'Igna was right after all. Who would have thought he'd know more about motorcycle racing than me?
