MotoGP - Qatar race

valleyrider

valleyrider

New member
Thursday night officially begins the MotoGP season with the first race on Sunday.

Ducati has gone open class and we're waiting to hear about the latest rule changes Dorna is about to announce. Marquez is recovering from his broken leg so his fitness level will be unknown.

Rossi might be competitive again this year and Hayden has been hit hard with a huge dose of bad luck and slow bikes with the latest being the Honda customer bike.

The open class with A. Espargaro will be something to keep an eye out for and I'm still pulling for Dovi to get a win this year and hopefully a few podiums.

My top 5 for the first race:
1 - Lorenzo
2 - Marquez
3 - Rossi
4 - Pedrosa
5 - A. Espargaro

Too early to put the Ducati's up in the top 5 but hopefully that will change very soon.
 
I have a feeling about Rossi this year. He looked good, from what I read, in testing and I think Yamaha might be strong. Of course, it's Marquez that was the challenge last year, so who knows. Since Lorenzo is on a roll, winning the last few last year and the Championship, it's a smart pick. He's only 21 or 22, though, and a world title defense can prove daunting, like with Keslowski in Cup in 2012. Honestly, any in the top 5 can do it.

I think the testing and regulation freeze contributed to the change to Open from Factory. To be honest, I don't follow MotoGP as closely as auto racing, since that's what I've grown up with, but I am trying to follow it more and more. NASCAR, F1, Sports Cars, Endurance, Indy, and open wheel - that's more in my wheelhouse, no pun intended.

Hey Todd, any chance you're going to COTA for the MotoGP race this year? If so, I may have to make the drive down there and check it out!
 
radarryan said:
I have a feeling about Rossi this year. He looked good, from what I read, in testing and I think Yamaha might be strong. Of course, it's Marquez that was the challenge last year, so who knows. Since Lorenzo is on a roll, winning the last few last year and the Championship, it's a smart pick. He's only 21 or 22, though, and a world title defense can prove daunting, like with Keslowski in Cup in 2012. Honestly, any in the top 5 can do it.

I think the testing and regulation freeze contributed to the change to Open from Factory. To be honest, I don't follow MotoGP as closely as auto racing, since that's what I've grown up with, but I am trying to follow it more and more. NASCAR, F1, Sports Cars, Endurance, Indy, and open wheel - that's more in my wheelhouse, no pun intended.

Hey Todd, any chance you're going to COTA for the MotoGP race this year? If so, I may have to make the drive down there and check it out!
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I don't know if I have a feeling about Rossi, but I sure have hope. The early tests of him at Sepang have been AWESOME, and the video's of him dragging elbow are certainly encouraging! In my fantasy, Rossi would win the championship (whether skill or good fortune) and retire, although he really has nothing less to prove. Even a hyper competitive season would be amazing.

I won't be going to Texas this year. Too much going on, and with my father being sick, I would rather spend the time with him. However, a riding buddy of mine graduates med school soon, so her, her boyfriend, my girlfriend and I may make a trip up to Indy for the Brickyard race.
 
Thanks for the warning! I want to make this season the first season I actually follow MotoGP. I'm sick of watching short clips and highlights on YouTube. Do you guys watch online or is it payperview on TV?
 
It's on FoxSports1....

The MotoGP package is great, you can get it from MotoGP.com and covers everything...

In the meantime, go home and watch FASTER and FASTEST on Netflix... It is mandatory!!!!!
 
Todd Helme said:
It's on FoxSports1....

The MotoGP package is great, you can get it from MotoGP.com and covers everything...

In the meantime, go home and watch FASTER and FASTEST on Netflix... It is mandatory!!!!!
Click to expand...

It's in SUPER HD if you're able to watch Netflix on your TV, rather than your computer or iPad.

Seeing it in SUPER HD... Well, there's not much better. Crank up the volume, sit back, and smile! :)

:rockon
 
Vega@Autopia said:
Thanks for the warning! I want to make this season the first season I actually follow MotoGP. I'm sick of watching short clips and highlights on YouTube. Do you guys watch online or is it payperview on TV?
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If there was ever a good season to begin watching this is it, should be the most competitive in a long time!

I was at Laguna Seca last year and got to see Marquez pull a Rossi on Rossi in the corkscrew, now that was definitely a moment to see! Couldn't believe it.

I watch it online MotoGP.com
 
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I just looked at the Guide to set my recording and it is on at 2:30PM EST (1:30PM CST) on FOX Sports 1. I have AT&T U-Verse, and it is channel 1652 for the HD.

So for everyone: 2:30 Eastern, 1:30 Central, on FOX Sports 1

I am thinking it is on a recorded tape delay from live, so there is no need to record extra time, since it's not live, if you are needing to DVR it.
 
radarryan said:
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I just looked at the Guide to set my recording and it is on at 2:30PM EST (1:30PM CST) on FOX Sports 1. I have AT&T U-Verse, and it is channel 1652 for the HD.

So for everyone: 2:30 Eastern, 1:30 Central, on FOX Sports 1

I am thinking it is on a recorded tape delay from live, so there is no need to record extra time, since it's not live, if you are needing to DVR it.
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That is right. The first race is a nighttime race in Quatar, so it maybe close to live. Except for the USA and South America races, they are always taped on a delay and they never go over.

Mandatory watching:

Stoner's Ducati had a 10 horsepower advantage, Rossi put's on an unreal performance of late braking.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JY9mrKR5SkA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J73XRDGPcpE
 
Check out these apps to enhance your viewing experience!


Todd Helme said:
That is right. The first race is a nighttime race in Quatar, so it maybe close to live. Except for the USA and South America races, they are always taped on a delay and they never go over.
Click to expand...

Todd, good thing you're here, because you're right! In fact, FS1 goes live 30 minutes before the lights go out, so if recording make sure to add time just-in-case.


I'm central, so you can see it starts at 14:00, or 2:00 PM CSDT - an 8 hour difference. The local time is 22:00, if you're not in the US.
 
Todd i hope your not talking about the Brickyard 400 boooo!

A little tip for you guys if you do make it Indy I had to miss last year but anyway if you want to see the riders up close go to the riders auction in the infield. Two years ago I was about 5 feet from all the GP guys as they were on the stage. As you can tell by my avatar I'm a big rossi fan and to see him that close up was great. Edwards is a jokester for sure he was cracking everybody up with his sayings.The auction is to raise money for injured riders. Each ridergets on stage and auctions something off that is related to them to the crowd. Some items are actual race used gear like boots, gloves, knee sliders or signed memorabilia. Its a lot of fun. Speaking of Ducati they have found a loop hole in the rules and are using it to their advantage, Honda is crying foul!!!

from Superbike Planet


MotoGP's Cuban Missile Crisis

The lesser known aspect of the schism between Dorna and Honda regarding Ducati being included in the "Open" category of the now multi-leveled MotoGP class is the software used by the "Open" teams, or specifically the software Ducati is using on their "Open" machines.

The ECU and software used by the Open teams is supplied by Dorna as a control measure. Open teams are using a presumably "dumbed-down" version of Magneti-Marelli software. Nicky Hayden said the software supplied at the first Sepang test to the "Open" teams had only one wheelie control setting, whereas it's known that "factory" level teams can program wheelie control corner by corner.

As per the new MotoGP rules, "Factory" teams have the ability to write their own code for the software whereas "Open" teams have to use the software supplied by Dorna.

Ducati's progress at the second Sepang test raised eyebrows around the globe because Ducati MotoGP rider Andrea Dovizioso finished the test third-fastest, just a tick off the times set by Honda rider Dani Pedrosa and Yamaha pilot Valentino Rossi. This was an amazing step forward. What's more, Ducati's factory bikes were quick almost immediately when they switched to the "Open" configuration.


From Honda's perspective if an "Open" team can write or use their own software then what is the difference between an "Open" and "Factory" MotoGP bike?
An unconfirmed story has circulated since the second Sepang test which suggests that Honda had their programmers look at the coding update given to the "Open" teams at Sepang 2 and found telltale signs that the updated software had been in part coded by Ducati, or was simply Ducati's 2013 software re-purposed for the 2014 "Open" MotoGP bikes.

The rules are clear: "Factory" teams may write their own software. "Open" teams must use the software as supplied by Dorna. That Ducati had decided to choose the "Open" class with its supposedly weaker software but may in fact be using software written by Ducati was more than Honda could take. From Honda's perspective if an "Open" team can use their own software, then what is the difference between an "Open" and "Factory" MotoGP bike?

Clearly the "Open" electronics were not as crude as some expected them to be. And there is much to fear from a supposedly "Open" configuration Ducati running on its own software--especially one that has access to more fuel and softer tires than the "factory" bikes.

This was either brilliant rulebook interpretation or smelled like unsportsmanlike collusion between Dorna and Ducati, depending on who you talked to. The sense that Dorna would be the unmovable wall of justice when it came to the "Open" software crumbled quickly. Really how different are "Factory" and "Open" if "Open" teams can write their own software?

Rivals teams were aghast that Ducati's software was already the accepted version given to other "Open" teams.

Ducati's viewpoint is pinned by their steadfast belief that they simply went racing by the rules provided in the rulebook and are updating software in the process that was agreed upon by all the teams.

Ducati's response is that in all meetings between MSMA members and Dorna it was agreed that the "Open" software would be "continually developed". And that any team could ask for updates, but if the updates were not of use to all teams, then the team applying for the changes would bear the costs of the new code.

The "Factory" and "Open" designations of the MotoGP class were initially well-defined, but in practice MotoGP has quickly become a rat's nest of rulebook interpretation. The situation has left one manufacturer livid.

Honda was asked to produce a MotoGP racer for a set price, one that would be sold to prospective teams for an affordable price, which they did with the RCV1000R. This is the only "Open" bike actually produced specifically for the class within a class.

Yamaha didn't produce so much a customer M1 as it did basically hand over M1 engines and other components to the Forward team--those bikes left the Sepang test faster than the actual satellite Tech 3 Yamahas.

Ducati chose "Open" for their factory bikes and in just a matter of days became the most feared manufacturer on the MotoGP grid. This happened when rival teams mulled Ducati's lap times from the second Sepang test and calculated what that bike might be capable of in a race with more fuel and a softer tire, not to mention more development time during the season.

Yesterday's development, that MotoGP will now have three different ultra-fan-confusing classifications of machinery in the MotoGP class, and that the newest addition, Factory 2, will have stricter rules than "Open" might be enough to appease Honda and head off a major confrontation between Dorna and the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer. If not, Honda and Dorna are on a collision course in MotoGP.

In 1967 Honda walked out of Grand Prix motorcycle racing because of a conflict with the FIM over technical regulations. They didn't return until late 1979.
 
Practice results. 3 Yamaha's in the top 5 :)

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