Yooperbikemike's 2014 MotoGP Thread

CE must be about 60 years old by now...

Whatever happened to Ben Spies?

39 actually, for another month. Spies called it quits due to shoulder injury.

Didn't Colin "win" top CRT, at least in qualifying, once or twice, in 2013? Maybe even in a race?





It will be interesting to see if he has any impact on the "Open" class in 2014, if you find that kind of thing interesting, that is.

At least he can help Aleix get the electronics set up.

Will Yamaha step up with a full on "Open Category" program? Or will they stick with this "only the tip" charade?

I remember racing the Daytona Race of Champions and WERA Grand nationals back in 1991 (I think?) and this kid from Texas won like five titles in Daytona and another seven or so in Atlanta. We heard he was the son of a rich oil dude and his dad bought him all the best bikes and he won based on mostly that and some skill.
Guess we were wrong.

Agree, and I sympathized with Dovi who was unhappy at losing a seat while the guy that had lesser results but a bigger persona kept his ride.

I see it a different way. I don't see mourning for Simo's talent as much as I see mourning for his potential, both as a racer and as a much needed personality in The Show.

Stoner didn't exactly set the world on fire in his rookie season and he turned out okay in the record books...

Pole in his second race on a satellite bike and second-rate Michelins might not be worth anything in terms of points, but like all the other aliens, Stoner established very clearly and early he was among the fastest. There was no such early potential shown by #58. Granted, in his second MotoGP season he was knocking on the door of podium finishes, but when you look at the first year of both Pedrosa and Lorenzo, there's no comparison. And the Gresini bike was the unofficial factory bike, not like Stoner's '06 satellite LCR.

I think Redding will do very well with Gresini. He has a decent bike to start with and an experienced team behind him. Is it plausible that if he will show some results with the Honda PR he will eventually inherit Bautista's seat on the real thing?

Agreed there's no comparison, but I don't think anyone is trying to make that comparison. Nobody is saying he was right there with the aliens.

That said, just as its easy to look past a 8th place finish and highlight the good points of stoners rookie season, Simo definitely showed potential despite the official [premier class] record books, and that's my point. Friend or foe, pretty much everyone agreed that if he learned to control his style a little better, he could have grown into a real contender. Alien? No, but quite possibly a very close best-of-the-rest.

Then there's the personality...

He was on the podium at Philip Island the week before his death

When Stoner didn't crash, he finished in the top 6 every race but one from the start of the season. In his rookie year, Rossi was off the podium twice when he wasn't crashing. Pedrosa was only outside the top 4 four times (other than crashes) in his first year. Lorenzo had one win and three podiums in his first five races, then started crashing his brains out.

Simoncelli took 8 races to score his first top-6 finish, then scored four top-6 finishes in the last five races. That's a solid and impressive start, but not the level of a champion. That's Bradl or Crutchlow level, not Lorenzo or Pedrosa level.

MotoGP lost a lot of personality when Simoncelli died. But it did not lose a future champion.

enough of Simoncelli please ..lets talk about this year if that's ok

Chill. If there was something to talk about, we would be...

Stoner woulda coulda shoulda
Ok, NOW lets get back to this year!!! Im thinking jorge is working his ass off training, pedro? Dont know, first couple races will tell. Marqy, oh hell yeah, he's gonna be fast. Vale? Might get some podiums when others push too hard and crash.

It's a given that Honda and Yamaha will battle for supremacy, so I'm curious to see how Ducati responds to its recent dismal performance. And how will its riders cope if substantial progress isn't evident? I think it's about time to end the excuses and produce decent results or go home (WSBK).

Some plots I'm looking forward to seeing playing out:

Crutchlow vs. Tech 3. Will #35 make Poncharal deeply regret his contract decisions?

Rossi vs. Burgess. If he doesn't do better this season, his decision to drop Burgess is going to look a little shabby.

Pedrosa without Puig. Any difference?

Marquez vs. the world. Will he just keep doing what he did last year? Will the new rollover penalty points system eventually cost him?

What is this "new rollover penalty points system" all about?

I'm remembering watching Marquez stalk Pedrosa in Austin last year, then watching him win. We were talking about how that was probably just a fluke, beginners luck, etc. I'm expecting to see more of Marquez this year, much more, but really really hope that the others can take it to him and make it some real racing. That includes Rossi, I'd love to see the old dog bark loud one more time.

We will know it's real racing if people are getting pissed off about getting bumped during passes.

I wouldn't expect much from Ducati out of the box. ( )

I am not holding my breath for down the line, either.

Herve would have kept Cal if he could. The contract offer was up to Yamaha.

What are the chances they recall Burgess at some point?

Burgess is under contract to Yamaha for 2014. Would you put him with Espargaro? I would sure think about it.

Why would JB be interested in that? In all probability by his own high standards Rossi is a spent force in MotoGP and will continue to rack up fourth place finishes (with the odd higher finish if the Armada falters) until he retires. History will record that Rossi faded with age not because JB became anything less of a genius as a crew chief. I think Jerry will be happy enough to go forward into retirement as the guy who masterminded multiple championships for Rossi and Doohan rather than risk his reputation trying to regain past glories with a rider who is almost certainly destined to become Marquez's bridesmaid during the next era of MotoGP. The prospect of trying to overcome Marquez must be a daunting one for anyone in the sport for the foreseeable future!:eek1