MotoGP Argentina 4/27/2014

**RaysWay** · 04-26-2014, 11:41 AM

I completely forgot we`ve got another race this Sunday! What do you guys think? 3peat inc for Team Honda?

I think Marquez will dominate while I cheer for Pedrosa. I think Lorenzo will take a questionable lunch break around the 5th lap to ruin another race for him. What do you think? I`ll be on Twitter during the race @Autogeekray if anyone wants to chat during the race.

**valleyrider** · 04-26-2014, 06:18 PM

I think Marquez` style with to way he backs it into those corners is incredible!

I`m thinking Lorenzo gets a great start and stays in front till lap 15 when Marquez gets done playing with him and he passes them runs away with it.

Top 5
Marquez
Lorenzo
Pedrosa
Rossi
Dovi

**tropicsteve** · 04-26-2014, 07:43 PM

crap did you see that guy almost lose it on the painted line in that turn ? amazing he was able to keep control. those guys deserve all the props for riding at the very limits like the do.

**valleyrider** · 04-27-2014, 06:43 PM

How about that race today!

Originally Posted by valleyrider

I`m thinking Lorenzo gets a great start and stays in front till lap 15 when Marquez gets done playing with him and he passes them runs away with it.

So I was off by a lap or two with the pass but Marquez just appears unstoppable this season!

Rossi in the not so distant 4th is becoming more competitive so I hope to see him up on the podium more this year.

Slowly but surely Ducati is making progress, wait till the European races start and Ducati brings out a new engine - Hopefully we`ll see them as a regular competitor soon, possibly giving Marquez a little trouble in the beginning of the race.

Also, nice to see Pedrosa sticking it in there and taking second at the end. Gotta be hard for him to be the second man his whole GP career.

**Todd@RUPES** · 04-28-2014, 06:19 AM

Originally Posted by valleyrider

How about that race today!

So I was off by a lap or two with the pass but Marquez just appears unstoppable this season!

Rossi in the not so distant 4th is becoming more competitive so I hope to see him up on the podium more this year.

Slowly but surely Ducati is making progress, wait till the European races start and Ducati brings out a new engine - Hopefully we`ll see them as a regular competitor soon, possibly giving Marquez a little trouble in the beginning of the race.

Also, nice to see Pedrosa sticking it in there and taking second at the end. Gotta be hard for him to be the second man his whole GP career.

Your prediction was spot on...

Vale was pushing too hard, too early and seemed to run wide in that corner, every lap. By the end, when he settled down, he was able to pace Lorenzo and Marquez, but not Pedrosa who had the fastest bike at the end.

After the second at Qatar, the 8th in Texas, and now the 4th (which could have been 3rd as Rossi was lapping faster than everybody but Pedrosa at the end) I have to wonder if Rossi really has anything left. The game has left him...

Honda, in and of itself, seems pretty unstoppable this year... And Marquez might be the first rider to win every race in a season...

**Todd@RUPES** · 04-28-2014, 06:25 AM

Originally Posted by tropicsteve

crap did you see that guy almost lose it on the painted line in that turn ? amazing he was able to keep control. those guys deserve all the props for riding at the very limits like the do.

That`s fairly normal. The MotoGP electronics are so advanced that they use a GPS-like timer (I believe GPS has been outlawed, could be wrong) to determine where the bike is on the track and adjust things like traction control intervention.

When they go into the turns, their is so much braking force on the front tire that the rear is often in the air or just skimming across the tarmac. This allows them to swing the rear around to straighten the corner on entry. This style was made popular by Miguel Duhamel back in the day, but of course, he was doing it without any rider aids or electronics.

Here is another video, showing how it used to be done.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9aK2LBnTT2s

**Todd@RUPES** · 04-28-2014, 07:43 AM

Truly insane video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXaLIYlrh6Y

**tropicsteve** · 04-28-2014, 09:22 PM

Originally Posted by Todd Helme

Truly insane video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXaLIYlrh6Y

now there`s some serious pucker factor going on there!

**Todd@RUPES** · 04-29-2014, 05:38 AM

Originally Posted by tropicsteve

now there`s some serious pucker factor going on there!

MotoGP=pucker factor!

**valleyrider** · 04-29-2014, 07:58 PM

Originally Posted by Todd Helme

MotoGP=pucker factor!

Its insane some of the things these guys can recover from!

I`ve learned the hard way not pretend to be Valentino Rossi while out on the streets! No where near that level of skill or grip on the roads.

**tedj101** · 04-30-2014, 10:56 AM

After the second at Qatar, the 8th in Texas, and now the 4th (which could have been 3rd as Rossi was lapping faster than everybody but Pedrosa at the end) I have to wonder if Rossi really has anything left. The game has left him...

I`m not so sure that Rossi has lost any skill. I used to race bikes and skill is only one factor in being successful. At least as important is "wanting it more than the other guy". More desire/need/whatever will make you faster than you ever could be on skill alone. Rossi used to do things that only he "could" do (which really meant only he "would" do). He doesn`t do that so much any more. I think the difference is that he has proved all he needs to prove and isn`t about to do what it takes to go faster than fast.

Just one POV!

<TED>

**RaysWay** · 04-30-2014, 11:31 AM

Originally Posted by tedj101

I`m not so sure that Rossi has lost any skill. I used to race bikes and skill is only one factor in being successful. At least as important is "wanting it more than the other guy". More desire/need/whatever will make you faster than you ever could be on skill alone. Rossi used to do things that only he "could" do (which really meant only he "would" do). He doesn`t do that so much any more. I think the difference is that he has proved all he needs to prove and isn`t about to do what it takes to go faster than fast.

Just one POV!

<TED>

Well said! I think in motorcycle racing especially, there`s a "mad man" factor. It`s the reason a lot of riders never go "fast" again after a bad crash. When I watch Rossi, it looks like he`s going fast but he`s not putting it all on the line like he used to. Can`t really blame him with all of his past success, and he still finishes in points.

**tedj101** · 05-01-2014, 03:21 AM

Originally Posted by Vega@Autopia

Well said! I think in motorcycle racing especially, there`s a "mad man" factor. It`s the reason a lot of riders never go "fast" again after a bad crash. When I watch Rossi, it looks like he`s going fast but he`s not putting it all on the line like he used to. Can`t really blame him with all of his past success, and he still finishes in points.

There`s an interesting tension there. You quickly realize that you are going to go down. (The average in club racing is about once in every 10 starts.) You have to come right back if you are going to continue in the sport. That does take a certain kind of madness.

The other side of the tension is you can`t be an idiot in the risks that you take. People who take unreasonable risks also endanger the other competitors and they won`t stand for it for long. It`s a fine line.

"Careers" in club racing, at least, are relatively short. The average used to be somewhere about 3 years. It takes a toll on your body and at some point you call it a day. I started when I was 57 and no one expected me to last long. I actually lasted longer than most: 5 years - and a little bit. (My daughter wanted to go SCUBA diving so I moved out of one and into the other).

**Todd@RUPES** · 05-02-2014, 05:37 AM

Originally Posted by tedj101

There`s an interesting tension there. You quickly realize that you are going to go down. (The average in club racing is about once in every 10 starts.) You have to come right back if you are going to continue in the sport. That does take a certain kind of madness.

The other side of the tension is you can`t be an idiot in the risks that you take. People who take unreasonable risks also endanger the other competitors and they won`t stand for it for long. It`s a fine line.

"Careers" in club racing, at least, are relatively short. The average used to be somewhere about 3 years. It takes a toll on your body and at some point you call it a day. I started when I was 57 and no one expected me to last long. I actually lasted longer than most: 5 years - and a little bit. (My daughter wanted to go SCUBA diving so I moved out of one and into the other).

You sir, are my idol!

**Todd@RUPES** · 05-02-2014, 05:45 AM

Originally Posted by tedj101

After the second at Qatar, the 8th in Texas, and now the 4th (which could have been 3rd as Rossi was lapping faster than everybody but Pedrosa at the end) I have to wonder if Rossi really has anything left. The game has left him...

I`m not so sure that Rossi has lost any skill. I used to race bikes and skill is only one factor in being successful. At least as important is "wanting it more than the other guy". More desire/need/whatever will make you faster than you ever could be on skill alone. Rossi used to do things that only he "could" do (which really meant only he "would" do). He doesn`t do that so much any more. I think the difference is that he has proved all he needs to prove and isn`t about to do what it takes to go faster than fast.

Just one POV!

<TED>

Not in 100% agreement. I think at the highest level of any sport their some inherent natural ability. The difference between a boxer who has a record of 40 and 0, and one who is 25-15 is very little. It`s that slight difference in ability, the ability to "see" things others don`t, to "feel" when a punch is coming, etc.. When you have a large talent pool, it is the .05% that separates good from great. As you age you loose things like reaction time, testosterone, etc.. It can make the difference in how you react. Normal people won`t see the difference, but when you are in the top .001% of people in the world, the difference in performance can be huge.

Also, Rossi as always said that he hates modern computers and aids. He learned to race, and likely race better than anybody in the world ever has, when bikes were volitle 500cc 2-stroke fire-breathing dragons. To be the best, you had to ride these nut-case bikes slightly over the limit...

Today, it`s more about electronics, TC, and aids. While Marquez is the best currently, his over-the-top, let the computers save him style would have ended in many trips to the hospital in the 500 and early GP days. Marquez is the best of the modern era. If you put either Rossi or Marquez on the old old GP bikes, they would have done terrible, just like Hailwood or Agostini would struggle now.