As Marquez likened Bagnaia to a Ducati title contender of old, it appears the Italian rider could finally start to fight for wins on a more regular basis. But the circumstances that have led to the former Ducati rider ending his sabbatical point to his signing being one more of convenience than a long-term commitment. It was something of a full-circle moment that highlighted just how far MotoGP has come in the last decade. But the track's fast, flowing circuit provides the best racing and should be regarded as its best bet for the foreseeable future.
The MotoGP season was an enthralling affair, but few would argue with you if you thought the world championship was a poorer place without Marc Marquez. In an exclusive interview, he explains the challenges he's faced in his comeback from injury and what he makes of the current MotoGP landscape.
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Next article Smith to replace Iannone while doping ban lasts. His raw talent, obviously, which he developed doing dirt-track racing from the age of four. Dirt track teaches so much because grip changes all the time. Stoner therefore learned to adapt, not just from one bike to another or from one track to another but from one corner to another.
His skills were stratospheric. Stoner was probably the first rider to overlay the front brake and throttle, using both at the same time in corners to increase front grip and turn the bike. Most of all he always listened to the motorcycle and did what it wanted him to do. Stoner at home in Queensland. Stoner stayed with Ducati for four seasons. He fell out of love with the Italian marque when he was struck low by a mysterious illness and went home to Australia to get better, missing three races.
Motorcycle racing is full of so-called heroics — rider breaks bone, has it plated, races two days later — so Ducati management had little sympathy for him. Stoner was an immediate sensation in MotoGP in In fact Stoner was very ill. After numerous tests he was diagnosed with lactose intolerance. Only later was it discovered that he probably had Epstein-Barr Virus, which may have triggered the chronic fatigue syndrome that plagues him now.
The Honda move was another immediate success. In Stoner once again won more than half the races to win his second MotoGP title. Stoner made an excellent start to his title defence in , winning two of the first three races to lead the points chase.
There is a good bit of dirt stuff that is televised, they seem to get it a more than the roadrace guys or maybe their production costs are low enough to allow it. A dedicated roadrace channel could be supported by lots of medium to low quality shows and anchored by a few high quality GP and WSBK events.
There are lots of baseball commentary shows that broadcast the commentators from what looks like a radio booth. Most sports fans would prefer knowledgable commentary above a fancy set. Some of the more recent ball sports commentors on ESPN have been recruited from the best of the independent bloggers, similar to how David's successes stem from passion and skill. The perfect time for a new motorcycle sports channel that can be anchored by both of those high profile series and supported by intelligent and low cost commentary and lots of back story filler.
Oh what a dreamer am I! Without the hardware, his antics would've been relegated to the dust-bin of history long ago and forgotten. The sheep would've flocked elsewhere. And I've been to the drags, they're a fun one off no doubt, but it isn't going to keep real "road" guys satiated for long. Well, it's not the fans. If it was, then we deserve the credit for all the other stuff too. It's money and the media's pursuit of it. As far as the fans are concerned, bring it on.
We do need something to read. The drag of it all, for me, is that any mention of Casey reminds me that he won't be there next year. Between Motomatters and Superbikeplanet, you would think there is a concerted effort to mention his name as often as possible in an effort to cajole him into returning to the grid.
I wish it were that simple. Being a huge fan of his, and yes, he does have fans i'm all in for what ever it takes. But it's not going to happen, so it's time to move on. His retirement makes Marco's absence all the more profound and the sooner Marquez battles for the podium, the better.
Dovi made a career mistake moving to Ducati. He'd have been better off going to SBK. Cal, of course, will benefit in a big way because of his move. Rossi will have a good year and that is always good for thr sport. But I think that by half way through the season he will realize that his chance for another world championship can only occur in SBK. Too bad there is such an age difference between he and Max.
It would have been great to see those two on the same track at the same time again. If Dani does in fact retire in two years, Jorge will rewrite the record books. Too smooth, too fast, too consistant, and no Casey. Stoner merely made a tweet comment. He didn't hold a press conference. He isn't part of MotoGP anymore. Rossi on the other hand is very savvy when it comes to media and definitely would have know about the comments in the dainese publication and knew it would have been seen as a jab at Stoner.
His motivations are odd though and at best, considered slightly sad. To think this is what he feels he needs to do to get interest in his sellable image. In addition motoGP. It really is an "eggs all in one basket" kind of deal with them In 2 years time JL99 will continue to pad his resume, but what about Ben Spies Ducati , or whatever he might be on after ?
Have all of the "Elbowz" fans given up on the Texas Terror? I know it hasn't been smooth sailing the last few years but there have been some bright points.
I am also disheartened by Casey leaving, he really knows how to kick everyone's ass on the track from time to time and he has a couple of World Championships, also a great personality to have in the paddock and at the track. He'll be riding a Dead-Duc, so you can't blame anyone for taking a wait and see attitude.
As for Casey, his departure leaves a gaping hole in the sport. And not one bit of it has to do with twatting or any other sort of off track melodrama. Is that comment that Rossi made? Is it old as in a week ago, or a few years ago. That is what I would love to know. Actually laughed at Casey's comment back. Too bad he retired, because I would love to see them battle next year. Ever since Catalunya , I have been a fan of Casey's riding.
But no he is gone. A very unique talent. Him and Rossi making comments about each other, then racing against each other will be missed. Which give the race so much more tension.
All this does for me is further cement in my mind the uselessness of Twitter. This is not an insult to Casey but the service Regular blogs are fine All Stoner's retirement does for me is show what a hole simoncelli left in the sport when he was killed in maylasia.
I've not felt the same about the race since his departure because he was genuinely charming, a free sprit, and could race the hell out of those machines even though he was a physical giant compared to his competitors. The sport has not been built around a continued Rossi presence, it has simply defaulted there.
Every sport needs a charismatic figure. Much as Babe Ruth really solidified baseball as a major sport, Rossi has been the face of Motogp in the modern age. Despite his skills on a bike, Casey Stoner simply rubs an awful lot of people the wrong way. Lorenzo is coming out of his shell, but he is a spaniard, and spaniards are pessimists at heart.
I have high hopes for Cal, but he needs to keep that bike rubber side down. Also, I think it was simoncelli's death that hastened Stoner's retirement. He has a very young wife, he is actually very young himself, and they have a child. All those factors make for emotional decisionmaking--which he seems to be prone to. Had sic still been in the mix this year, I'm not sure that Rossi would have been back at yamaha.
Is anyone else tired of this sort of thing? The MC media perpetuates this to sell hits and magazines, nothing more. The media are more responsible for this rivalry than what happens on the track. X site publishes this which infuriates fans of either rider and heated exchanges proceed. Having fallen victim to this "duping" prior I'll just give a yawn instead. I also noticed that they didn't apologise to Casey either.
Has Rossi come out and said he never actually uttered those words? I'd be very surprised if Rossi or his minions bothered to read anything from the sponsors other than the bank deposit statements.
When Lorenzo started "entertaining" in , he was blasted by the public for immitating Rossi. Although I did find some of his exploits funny, especially Mario and Luigi with "Game Over", that is not why I watch motorcycle racing. Simoncelli's RIP antics were overlooked because he was close friends with Rossi. His comments about women and Spanish riders and including his "hard" style of racing.
When a Spanish up and coming rider does the same he is labled as wreckless. Yet more double standards. Perhaps Rossi has become bigger than the sport, which IMO is a shame. If as much effort went into supporting and promoting the other riders as the media does generating these rivalry stories, it would be able to stand on it's own without one central "Star". The sad reality is these types of stories generate revenue for publishers, and they will continue to do so as long as people keep buying into them.
I get the fanatics, I get the need to make themselves feel better by supporting a winner. I prefer to cheer for the underdog, but that's me. The constant one upping of one's favorite rider is tiresome and idiotic see post 2 of this thread. Clarifications and apologies more and more appears in media as official language which is a good sign of wake up. PR isn't an easy task as it was few years ago.
It easily can turn against the author's idea. To be clear - especially in this scenario happen everywhere in media sport, political, celebrity, etc and is surely a topic to think about in future. In one hand media and pr need some 'exaggeration' as it's in their nature but in other hand the communication needs some rearrangement.
Private statements are too easy and too often taken out of context and intention. Especially in web social media it's very easy to get into something I would call 'simulation of a light schizophrenia' where something you're sure is a fact it turns to a fantasy but people still belive in it as true fact.
Clear communication is a key to keep people conscious in their reality's interpretation. Speculation is ok but isn't always the key to success.
It's worth remembering that Rossi has a very considerable business interest in keeping his name up there; 'brand Rossi' makes him a lot of money and good luck to him for managing that as well as he has - there is absolutely no disrespect in acknowledging how successful he has been as a businessman as well as a fantastic rider - accountancy glitches aside.
Dorna's focus on Rossi as 'the' story of motoGp and Rossi's own commercial interests are sympatico. Stoner doesn't have the same sort of commercial interest to protect; his response, in fact, helps Rossi far more than it hinders him. Stoner raced for the express purpose of riding as fast as humanly possible on the given bike and track and day; Rossi operates on a bigger picture.