MotoGP, Superbikes and Road Racing 2021

Infoanon · 02-04-2020 10:40am

Scotty # wrote: »

The FIM have already taken into account the taking was possibly accidental. I don't see the CAS overruling, they have stood by penalties for accidental ingestion's in the past..

They ruled it was not purposely taken so ' possibly accidental' I's out of the equation.
Aprilla have labelled the decision "Absurd " and are clearly standing by Iannone.

I can see a reduced sentence and Aprillas loyalty seeing Iannone back in moto gp.

I am not an Iannone fan , after the mess he left at Suzuki Aprilla should have stayed a mile away from him but they wanted an Italian (race winning) rider.

In other news Le Man's is postponed with Mugello to be postponed imminently

Scotty # · 02-04-2020 4:13pm

Infoanon wrote: »

They ruled it was not purposely taken so ' possibly accidental' I's out of the equation.

They did not. His lawyers and Aprilia have claimed it was accidental and claimed the FIM believe them but the FIM never mentioned anything of this in their ruling. Read the full statement.

Infoanon wrote: »

Aprilla have labelled the decision "Absurd " and are clearly standing by Iannone.

Well they're going to aren't they? They have a lot of time and money invested in him and don't want to see one of their team banned for doping. But, if he loses his appeal it's arrivederci amico.

I do feel sorry for Ianone. This is a massive blow to his career. By all accounts it was a only a trace amount of the drug that was found and this is probably his best chance of a successful appeal. The Court of Arbitration are not going to care if it was an accidental doping as they've show several times in the past. Sure then they'd have every athlete claiming they ate a dodgy hamburger.

Infoanon wrote: »

In other news Le Man's is postponed...

I knew this was coming but disappointing as I have it booked and it's almost certainly my last chance to see Rossi race again.

Infoanon · 07-04-2020 1:00pm

Mugello and Barcelona now postponed.

Ducatis suggestion of having double headers over two weekends is starting to make a lot of sense as is Aprillas suggestion of using 2020 bikes in 2021.

Just to add to the fun Petronas have said that if there is no 2020 season then Fabio stays with them in 2021.

Iannone - the full decision has still not been issued ,it's assumed Iannone will appeal the 18 month ban

DaveD · 13-04-2020 9:57pm

Great documentary following Dovi throughout the 2019 season available on red bull tv. Much needed MotoGP fix!

https://www.redbull.com/int-en/films/andrea-dovizioso-undaunted-film

legrand · 14-04-2020 8:56am

always worth re-watching - https://youtu.be/IWiM2EAux0o
Rossis' 1st motogp win and the mighty Jeremy McWilliams (40bhp down on his rivals).

roroliam · 14-04-2020 7:54pm

Jeremy raced for Ireland that day. Joey Dunlop killed the weekend before , 4 lads in a pub in Co Kildare, small telly put on reluctantly by owner (everyone wants to watch the football). We shouted and screamed for ever lap and we cried at the end. No one was watching the football at the end. The owner bought us a drink and said that we could watch moto gp any weekend on the big telly. 8 years later same 4lads crying in a feild at the NW200 when Micheal Dunlop won the 250cc race two days after Robert ( his father ) was killed.

Infoanon · 23-04-2020 11:52am

As expected Assen is now officially postponed to later in the year (or next year.).

Earliest Moto gp can restart is Brno in August.

As an aside - the Moto GP bikes only returned to Europe from Qatar yesterday due to the logistical issues brought about by Covid 19

Infoanon · 29-04-2020 11:50am

Update - Assen,German and Finnish moto gp all cancelled now.
Key word cancelled as opposed to earlier postponements
.
Carmelo Ezpeleta spoke to BT Sports on Sunday about a possible European based series starting in July with the season extending to November utilising the Spanish (and the hotter weather ) circuits for the end of season races.

An advantage Moto gp has over eg F1 is the factories have European bases and Dorna are wiling to move the 'circus' by road and minimise the team staffing numbers - engineers etc to the absolute minimum,something which the teams agree to unlike other motor sports.

Brno is still officially the first race of the season for Moto GP.

Infoanon · 07-05-2020 12:03pm

Dorna and the local government of Jerez have put forward a proposal to the Spanish government to have two races at Jerez (all classes) on the 19th and 26th of July.

If all goes well a WSBK round would take place on the 2nd of August.

Limit on numbers , regular testing etc form part of the plan.

In other news Joan Mir is confirmed at Suzuki and it's reported that Yamaha and SRT are working on the finer details of a Rossi move to SRT (ie the financial details !)

jelutong · 09-05-2020 4:17pm

Motorsport Ireland to broadcast RPM TV Programmes on YouTube at the rate of at least one per week starting May 7th. Brilliant news.

XsApollo · 09-05-2020 4:20pm

Infoanon wrote: »

Dorna and the local government of Jerez have put forward a proposal to the Spanish government to have two races at Jerez (all classes) on the 19th and 26th of July.

If all goes well a WSBK round would take place on the 2nd of August.

Limit on numbers , regular testing etc form part of the plan.

In other news Joan Mir is confirmed at Suzuki and it's reported that Yamaha and SRT are working on the finer details of a Rossi move to SRT (ie the financial details !)

I think that will be a nice looking bike when it’s done.

Edit: Rossi’s that is

Infoanon · 19-05-2020 9:41pm

As 2021 signings are being finalised the big question is what is going on at Ducati.

Ducati had chased the signatures of Vinales and Mir but landed neither.

Discussions with Dovi have stalled and relations between Ducati and Dovi are said to be fractured.

Despite Dovi being Marquez main rival and beating him in head to head battles , the powers that be at Ducati do not believe Dovi has what it takes to be world champion.

Petrucci is highly unlikely to be retained, it looks like winning the Italian GP on an Italian Bike was his career goal and he speaks of maybe winning races but a world championship being beyond him - a move to WSBK seems highly likely.

According to Ducati there are 3 other riders in contention for the factory ride - Miller, Bagnia and Zarco.

None of them are seen as future world champions - is it possible that a 6th rider is in play ?, A race winner with Ducati who left / was let go just as his wining ways returned ,a rider who knows how to be world champion ?, a rider who was going to wild card but finds his way back into a SRT Yamaha ride blocked ,a rider who Ducati wanted to place at Pramac for 2020.....

Will we find Jorge Lorenzo at Ducati in 2021 ?

pjohnson · 27-05-2020 1:08pm

Ducati picked Miller for 2021.

Magown3 · 27-05-2020 1:19pm

Is that the first or last seat filled for the factory Ducati team?

h3000 · 27-05-2020 3:28pm

pjohnson wrote: »

Ducati picked Miller for 2021.

Awesome. I'm delighted he got the ride.

Infoanon · 27-05-2020 5:16pm

Magown3 wrote: »

Is that the first or last seat filled for the factory Ducati team?

First - Dovi has not yet agreed terms aka $$$.

CJhaughey · 29-05-2020 9:55pm

Just a heads up for anyone suffering racing withdrawal symptoms.
MotoAmerica is racing this Saturday in Wisconsin, Elkhart Lake.
Also probably better known as Road America.
I know its not MotoGP or WSBK or even BSB but its a lot better than reruns ad infinitum.
So if you have Eurosport or Eurosport Player have a look at the Saturday Schedule 2100 hrs for live MC racing!

pablo128 · 29-05-2020 10:40pm

Silverstone and Phillip Island now cancelled.

Max Headroom · 31-05-2020 2:43pm

CJhaughey wrote: »

Just a heads up for anyone suffering racing withdrawal symptoms.
MotoAmerica is racing this Saturday in Wisconsin, Elkhart Lake.
Also probably better known as Road America.
I know its not MotoGP or WSBK or even BSB but its a lot better than reruns ad infinitum.
So if you have Eurosport or Eurosport Player have a look at the Saturday Schedule 2100 hrs for live MC racing!

...and sunday (tonight) too...;)

Will we be getting any BSB bcd do ya think..??

CJhaughey · 01-06-2020 9:25am

Max Headroom wrote: »

...and sunday (tonight) too...;)

Will we be getting any BSB bcd do ya think..??

I watched the Saturday evening race and then stupidly thought that the Sunday race would auto-record on Sky. DUH.
So I missed the Sunday session.
Hard to see the BSB starting any time soon, but you never know what might happen.
I would think International racing ie MGP and SBK won't happen until much later this year if at all.
International travel seems to be extremely problematic given the quarantine rules and the whole circus is reliant on moving quickly from place to place, exactly what is not happening right now.

Max Headroom · 01-06-2020 7:21pm

TBH I'm really only interested in BSB...would be nice to see that at least...looking forward to see how our Jack gets on...

Good to see Celtic HSBK doin good in the openers

tommyboy26 · 02-06-2020 1:23pm

good documentary now streaming on netflix

Max Headroom · 02-06-2020 7:12pm

Aussie superbikes are on too...;).

Infoanon · 05-06-2020 12:34pm

Word emerging from Spain today that Pol Espagaro is leaving KTM to take up a factory ride with Honda !

Pol , who was once Yamaha future superstar,is believed to have informed KTM that he is leaving.

There have been non-denials from both sides , Pol will either take Alex Marquez factory spot with Alex moving to LCR on a factory bike or Pol will go to LCR (less likely).

If this happens KTM will need a new top line rider - which is possibly why they are trying to convince Dovi to sign though latest reports from Italy are that Dovi will eventually sign for Ducati.

Cal Crutchlow could get the ride as his spot at LCR looks to be in danger as it's unlikely that Honda will drop a Japanese rider.

Aleix Espagaro has indicated that he is on the verge of signing for Aprilla.

tommyboy26 · 05-06-2020 1:49pm

Infoanon wrote: »

Word emerging from Spain today that Pol Espagaro is leaving KTM to take up a factory ride with Honda !

Pol , who was once Yamaha future superstar,is believed to have informed KTM that he is leaving.

There have been non-denials from both sides , Pol will either take Alex Marquez factory spot with Alex moving to LCR on a factory bike or Pol will go to LCR (less likely).

If this happens KTM will need a new top line rider - which is possibly why they are trying to convince Dovi to sign though latest reports from Italy are that Dovi will eventually sign for Ducati.

Cal Crutchlow could get the ride as his spot at LCR looks to be in danger as it's unlikely that Honda will drop a Japanese rider.

Aleix Espagaro has indicated that he is on the verge of signing for Aprilla.

lucio says he is trying to secure both cal and nakagami

https://twitter.com/MotoGP/status/1268848789885984769

Scotty # · 08-06-2020 4:06pm

I always thought it was a bad move for Alex to go to HRC. Better to be top dog elsewhere than second fiddle to Marc. And for the same reason, why would anyone want to be his teammate? Incidentally, Marc has signed a new FOUR year deal with HRC, $25m/year.

Infoanon · 08-06-2020 5:27pm

Scotty # wrote: »

I always thought it was a bad move for Alex to go to HRC. Better to be top dog elsewhere than second fiddle to Marc. And for the same reason, why would anyone want to be his teammate? Incidentally, Marc has signed a new FOUR year deal with HRC, $25m/year.

I was listening to the Autosport podcast earlier and their man,Oriol Puigdemont, was very confident that the deal was done (he also broke Jorge to Honda in 19) .
It seems that the preference was to place Alex at LCR but Cals monster sponsorship deal made that impossible.

Pol going to Honda also adds to the apparent disdain of Puig towards KTM and Pit Beirer.

KTM are the big losers here and with the news that their protégé Jorge Martin is to join Pramac Ducati in 2021 they are left with Brad Binder - no moto gp experience, Iker Lecona who is their gamble (of being the next Fabio) and Miguel Oliveria who is very unhappy after being snubbed for Zarco's seat in the factory team.

Dovi is very close to signing for Ducati and Petrucci is close to signing for Aprilla, Lorenzo is not interested in going to KTM and Pedrosa has no interest in racing.

So who goes to KTM in 2021 ??

pjohnson · 08-06-2020 6:04pm

Infoanon wrote: »

I was listening to the Autosport podcast earlier and their man,Oriol Puigdemont, was very confident that the deal was done (he also broke Jorge to Honda in 19) .
It seems that the preference was to place Alex at LCR but Cals monster sponsorship deal made that impossible.

Pol going to Honda also adds to the apparent disdain of Puig towards KTM and Pit Beirer.

KTM are the big losers here and with the news that their protégé Jorge Martin is to join Pramac Ducati in 2021 they are left with Brad Binder - no moto gp experience, Iker Lecona who is their gamble (of being the next Fabio) and Miguel Oliveria who is very unhappy after being snubbed for Zarco's seat in the factory team.

Dovi is very close to signing for Ducati and Petrucci is close to signing for Aprilla, Lorenzo is not interested in going to KTM and Pedrosa has no interest in racing.

So who goes to KTM in 2021 ??

Alex Marquez? He seems the driver set to loose out if thats how the contracts fall. Or Iannone to KTM if he is eventually cleared.

Infoanon · 08-06-2020 6:44pm

pjohnson wrote: »

Alex Marquez? He seems the driver set to loose out if thats how the contracts fall. Or Iannone to KTM if he is eventually cleared.

Alex will be placed at LCR on a factory bike - which is what would have happened last year if Cals sponsorship was not so complicated

pjohnson · 08-06-2020 6:48pm

Infoanon wrote: »

Alex will be placed at LCR on a factory bike - which is what would have happened last year if Cals sponsorship was not so complicated

Oh so its Cal on the move? He could move to KTM for a year maybe unless he decides to just retire (more likely). But maybe KTM could pay big enough to convince him to do a year. Its crazy they didn't give Oliveira a KTM factory seat this year and leave the two rookies at Tech3.

Scotty # · 09-06-2020 12:12pm

Infoanon wrote: »

Cals monster sponsorship deal made that impossible.

I was thinking 'what monster deal did he get'? but of course it's the drink, not a huge new sponsorship deal. Can you elaborate on this though? Can't find much about it online. Why would his deal with Monster hinder LCR from replacing him? Anyway, I thought the Monster deal was with MotoGP in general and not particular riders.

pjohnson · 09-06-2020 12:30pm

Saw on reddit apparently theres an article in French claiming Zarco is gunna take Miller's Pramac for 2021 and Martín will get the offer of a Avintia.

Infoanon · 09-06-2020 12:48pm

Scotty # wrote: »

I was thinking 'what monster deal did he get'? but of course it's the drink, not a huge new sponsorship deal. Can you elaborate on this though? Can't find much about it online. Why would his deal with Monster hinder LCR from replacing him? Anyway, I thought the Monster deal was with MotoGP in general and not particular riders.

The proposal was to transfer Cal to the Repsol Red Bull Honda factory team - Cal has a factory contract.

Cal has personal sponsorship from Monster Energy.

On the Jorge Martin story - Pramac factory bike is the sweetner to take him away from KTM.

Zarco is out of favour - a pole sitting rider in 2018 ! - Suzuki rejected him,Rossi blocked him at Yamaha,Honda where not overly impressed and Ducati have not really mentioned him in terms of a factory bike.

July 1st is apparently a key date regarding confirmation of all the rumours - contract terms and conditions are preventing announcements.

I have to mention BT Sports - their team have being spreading rumours again ! - Rossi to Aprilla is my favourite !

Infoanon · 09-06-2020 1:23pm

Aleix Espagaro confirmed at Aprilla for the next 2 seasons.

Growing consensus that Petrucci will be his team mate.

pjohnson · 10-06-2020 8:08am

Hot fùck. Iannone is shagged. While he is appealing his ban for its severity, WADA are appealing it for its leniency and want it increased to the 4 year maximum.

pjohnson · 11-06-2020 12:03pm

pjohnson · 19-06-2020 1:30pm

Petrucci very close to joining KTM for 2021

Infoanon · 19-06-2020 2:28pm

pjohnson wrote: »

Petrucci very close to joining KTM for 2021

Apparently so - Monday saw a very reliable journalist Oriol Puigdemont saying that KTM and Petrucci where close to a deal them on Wednesday Pol Espagaro indicated that he has offers from KTM, Honda and Ducati while Petrucci met KTM representatives.

KTM are of the view that Pol has signed for Honda.

Today , Friday, Ducati are saying that Ducati are Dovis best option for 2021 and that KTM can't offer him a front running bike.
Also interestingly there appears to have been an issue (financial ) whereby Dovi was unwilling to ride for Ducati in 2020 !

Dovi to stay put and Petrucci to KTM looks most likely at this moment in time

Update : Autosport are reporting that Petrucci has signed for KTM - Ducati have said that they had lined up a superbike ride for him but are happy for Danilo if he stays in moto gp

Scotty # · 25-06-2020 3:01pm

Danillo to Tech3!

https://twitter.com/M_Turco/status/1276115952837558274

Infoanon · 25-06-2020 3:57pm

Tech 3 !

One wonders if this is to placate Oliveria who was mightily peeved at Binder getting the factory ride ahead of him last year.

KTMs strategy is getting confusing - Tech 3 should be the training ground for the young guns with the factory team for the experienced riders who can give the proper input to the direction of the engineering of the bikes.

What experience can Binder bring ? Unless the decision is Dani leads the direction and the other riders must fall in line.

How Danilo - his height / weight / size at the opposite end of the scale to Dani - fits in will be interesting to watch.

Other news - Bradley Smith as expected will replace Iannone at Aprilla while Iannone is suspended

pjohnson · 25-06-2020 7:22pm

That was a unexpected result. KTM screwed themselves giving a rookie a factory seat this year.

Infoanon · 25-06-2020 8:30pm

pjohnson wrote: »

That was a unexpected result. KTM screwed themselves giving a rookie a factory seat this year.

KTM think Iker or Brad will be the next Fabio (or hope ) not realising that a Fabio / Marquez / Rossi is once every 5+ years

tommyboy26 · 28-06-2020 9:18pm

Dovi crashed in an MX race today. Flown to hospital for surgery on his collarbone.

Be interesting to see if he will be fit for the 1st race of the season

Infoanon · 08-07-2020 9:31pm

Jorge to Ducati and Cal to Aprilla now looking very possible

Infoanon · 13-07-2020 10:32am

Confirmed this morning :
Pol to HRC,
Alex to move from HRC to LCR
Cal is out of HRC

Morbidelli has signed for SRT with Rossi to be announced (possibly this week in Jerez )

And finally Moto gp is back this weekend !

Infoanon · 15-07-2020 2:15pm

Marquez fastest in this mornings test session at Jerez - Miller /Fabio &;Aleix (!) In the top 4 showing the new Aprilla has speed.
Dovi passed fit but well down the timesheets

Infoanon · 18-07-2020 7:03pm

Alex Rins unfit for tomorrow's race and looking doubtful for next week with what sounds like a nasty shoulder injury.

Fortunately his bike didn't hit Jack Miller who was standing up after he had just crashed at the same corner.

tommyboy26 · 18-07-2020 7:49pm

is it just me or do ktm seem to have made massive leaps forward with the gp bike?

Infoanon · 18-07-2020 9:30pm

tommyboy26 wrote: »

is it just me or do ktm seem to have made massive leaps forward with the gp bike?

Hard to judge after just qualifying but they are definitely better placed than last year's performance with Brad being the stand out performer this weekend. Iker too has impressed.
Aprillas pace had evaporated while Petrucci looks lost - the other 3 Dukes where in Quali 2 - not good at all.

Hondas as before its Marc and Cal with the pace ,Bagnia a big jump in performance and Zarco hero to zero again albeit on a GP19 .

On paper it's Marc vs Marquez for the race , Fabio will be there or thereabouts and I think Frankie may be about to do something on his Yamaha.

funkey_monkey · 18-07-2020 9:59pm

Looks like rossi is getting to the end, if not there already.
The young guns are showing him the road home. I think he needs a new challenge whether on 4 wheels or WSB. Catalunya last lap is one of my favourite sporting memories, but it has been a while. He is the last Yamaha on the grid. Hopefully he can resolve his problems, but I think that age and physique are against him now.

Although to see the new generation and their riding style is keeping the interest.

MotoGP, Superbikes and Road Racing 2021

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