MotoGP

[LowRyter]

@GuzziMoto

They've been dropping like flies this year.  COTA lost 1/3 field.   First and third places crash within a couple of laps.   Rins won the first time there after MM#39 crashed from the lead.   It's a tricky place with uneven pavement and lots of bumps.  

[GuzziMoto]

45 minutes ago, LowRyter said:

@GuzziMoto

They've been dropping like flies this year.  COTA lost 1/3 field.   First and third places crash within a couple of laps.   Rins won the first time there after MM#39 crashed from the lead.   It's a tricky place with uneven pavement and lots of bumps.  

It seems they did not perform sufficient base prep before paving the first time. Not sure it is possible to sufficiently prep the base to prevent this, but if not they probably should not have built a racetrack there. Usually it is a matter of doing the required base prep before putting the actual pavement on top. By repaving, they only correct the issue for a little while. By repaving sections of the track you end up with those transitions. And they are an issue all to themselves. Sad that a track would so quickly descend to this state. It did not take long to go so far downhill.

But good for Rins. I bet Marc Marquez was frustrated, that could have been his win. Even with a double long lap penalty.

[LowRyter]

@GuzziMoto

The soil there caliche.  Which is used to make cement.  When it dries it's very hard.  I'm not sure if it shifts when it gets wet.  

[GuzziMoto]

56 minutes ago, LowRyter said:

@GuzziMoto

The soil there caliche.  Which is used to make cement.  When it dries it's very hard.  I'm not sure if it shifts when it gets wet.  

I don't know. But a number of people who live in the area have said that subsidence is a common issue with the ground there. The ground is not stable where they built the track.

Whatever it is, the track has had issues with bumps developing, far more so than a track should have. Whatever the reason, it should not be like that and it is bad for racing.

[Joe]

I'm happy to see Rins win again, now with Honda. Suzuki had a really good team, the factory riders Mir and Rins were top tier talent in my humble opinion.

[GuzziMoto]

46 minutes ago, Joe said:

I'm happy to see Rins win again, now with Honda. Suzuki had a really good team, the factory riders Mir and Rins were top tier talent in humble opinion.

I was more impressed with Rins than Mir, even though Mir won the title. Mir was not as fast as Rins, but he was consistent. He only won one race on the way to the title, and that was at the end. He nearly won the title without winning a single race. I hope Mir is able to adapt to the Honda, but I am concerned it is going to end his career as it has for others. But it was nice to see Rins riding like he rode the Suzuki. I hope he is able to do that again. And I hope Rins can stop crashing. I don't think he will ever win a title if he can't stop crashing.

[LowRyter]

1 hour ago, Joe said:

I'm happy to see Rins win again, now with Honda. Suzuki had a really good team, the factory riders Mir and Rins were top tier talent in humble opinion.

They were the prettiest bikes on the grid even with those awful wings.   

[Joe]

28 minutes ago, LowRyter said:

They were the prettiest bikes on the grid even with those awful wings.   

Not the fastest but were able to preserve their tires better than the rest of the grid. 

[GuzziMoto]

They also had more motor than the Yamahas while handling nearly as well. They weren't as fast as the Ducati's, but what is? Even the Honda doesn't seem to have the speed down the straights of the Ducati's.

Rins was riding his Honda like it was a Suzuki at COTA.

[Tomchri]

Rins had a demand riding for Honda, not sure how many, but his Suzuki mechanics, technicians has to be part of the deal. Seems a smart move. Really enjoyed his win. He won there before, 👀 like he enjoy that track.

Cheers Tom.

[bbolesaz]

COTA is built on black clay which overlays the caliche/limestone base rock.  The clay subsides like a cheap mattress. If you think the track is bad, try riding around the parking lots and the local streets. It's a great place to test ride an adventure bike, because the test ride loop has more bumps and G-outs than most dirt roads.

They didn't talk about it on TV, but I think most of the crashes were due to the wind shift and rapid temperature change during the MotoGP race. I think it caught the tire engineers out.

BTW, I was there, 10th COTA GP in a row.  The Moto3 race was spectacular. 

[GuzziMoto]

15 hours ago, bbolesaz said:

COTA is built on black clay which overlays the caliche/limestone base rock.  The clay subsides like a cheap mattress. If you think the track is bad, try riding around the parking lots and the local streets. It's a great place to test ride an adventure bike, because the test ride loop has more bumps and G-outs than most dirt roads.

They didn't talk about it on TV, but I think most of the crashes were due to the wind shift and rapid temperature change during the MotoGP race. I think it caught the tire engineers out.

BTW, I was there, 10th COTA GP in a row.  The Moto3 race was spectacular. 

Thanks for the info. I have been hearing that sort of thing about the track ever since it was built.

Glad you had fun.

[PJPR01]

On a slightly different subject there is a good series profiling Marquez called Marc Marquez.All in.Season 1 in Apple TV…might be available elsewhere also.

As always some interesting insights into the man and his thinking and his self admitted more aggressive behavior on the track.  Enjoyable to watch like the series on Alonso from Formula 1

[p6x]

On 4/22/2023 at 9:29 PM, PJPR01 said:

On a slightly different subject there is a good series profiling Marquez called Marc Marquez.All in.Season 1 in Apple TV…might be available elsewhere also.

As always some interesting insights into the man and his thinking and his self admitted more aggressive behavior on the track.  Enjoyable to watch like the series on Alonso from Formula 1

I did not watch it, but it is also available on A.com;

Warner Bros will make a MotoGP inspired movie too:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/movies/news/warner-bros-to-produce-motogp-inspired-feature-film/ar-AA1agb6e

 

 

[p6x]

Marquez will not compete at Jerez either. He is expected to resume at Le Mans.

Doctors said his bones have not yet consolidated enough.