winders

How can anyone be a Quartararo fan….

Carlo_Carrera

F1 still has "grid girls". They just aren't employed by FOM anymore. The local promotors and sponsors hires them.

thebishman

Apparently the ‘strakes’ on the underside of the bodywork when the bike is canted over are really increasing the downforce. It almost looks like the strakes are contacting the track surface from watching on TV. It’s an incremental advantage it seems, much like the starting procedure that the Ducatis have been using.

It’s a great series that’s super exciting to watch, and a DTS type program for this series will explode viewership; Liberty has a hit on its hands.

500

A month or so ago, Mat Oxley (prominent MotoGP journalist/former racer) said something along the lines of MotoGP being much more working class/rock 'n roll than F1. Feels right.

I enjoy F1, but I much prefer MotoGP, even though I grew up a car guy.

Interesting observation about VR's progress in cars... There are some notable examples of motorcycle stars who successfully transferred to cars at the highest level (John Surtees and Mike Hailwood are the two I think of off the bat), but I cannot recall a case of a top level car racer moving to motorcycle successfully. Not that it means anything really, just interesting...

multi21

I've been to both F1 and MotoGP races and it's definitely a more "grassroots" feel as compared to the F1 crowd and the analogy to more working class/rock and roll is about right. Both great experiences in person IMO.

With regard to Rossi, does anyone remember his time in the Schumacher era Ferrari and testing at Fiorano? IIRC, he was about a second off the time of the regular drivers and de Montezemolo wanted to groom him to be an F1 driver, but a the time he was at the zenith of his MotoGP career, winning championships and making big $$$. He did the right thing by not switching over.

Carlo_Carrera

If you folks really want to deep dive into MotoGP aero this dude knows all about.

StoogeMoe

Ha, the shirtless wonder…

rsabeebe

huge GP fan. the racing is so much better than F1, but I still watch both. the bikes are like scalpels that can pass when even just a slither is open. this looks to be a great season with multiple bikes and teams capable of winning every race. acosta is looking like the next generation of rossi/marquez and is riding unbelievably well as a rookie. going to be an incredibly entertaining season. acosta, maverick, marquez, pecco, martin, the beast, binder... great racing!!

GT3_Driver

Great, Now they won't be able to follow close and have DRS next.

multi21

Interesting qualifying for sprint race to say the least with grass fires on the side of the track and then heavy rain on a newly resurfaced track. Interesting mixed up field for the sprint qualifying with the rain in Q3. Not too surprised to see Lando P1 as the Mac is either carrying more wing or is just dragy. In the dry both McLarens were P17 and P18 in the speed trap and then on pole. IF the sprint is dry, both will probably go backwards quickly.

Many will disagree, but I'd rather have a sprint weekend qualifying and then sprint race and a FP2 and FP3. It also scrambles up the field a bit more when you only have 1 practice to dial in your car.

gbuff

They covered the entire track with "bitumen paint" prior to this event, which is a fancy name for sealer. Shades of the old Mid-Ohio!

They earned their riches out there, all that hp to the rear wheels with no traction control. Loved watching the in-car to see them work the steering to try and keep it on the road.

Glyndellis

Interesting sprint qualifying, to say the least! Suddenly, at Mid Ohio of the East, Max isn't the fastest and LH almost gets pole (only beaten by someone that may have exceeded track limits.....) whilst his vastly faster and more talented teammate was out in Q2.

Carrera51

And love seeing Fernando on the second row. The start of the spring should be highly entertaining.

skl

Craziest qualifying session I think I’ve ever seen. Yeah, those grass fires were really weird. Nico is great in the booth. His insight on driving lines, etc. is awesome.

actually, hope it’s wet tomorrow. That would make it very, very interesting. I kind of forgot about this track, but I really like it.

LuigiVampa

Alonso on pole would have been epic.