2019 FIM MotoGP World Championship.

[Powerslide]

this is an interesting take on ducati's magic swingarm

[J.A.W.]

Trifecta by M.M. in Argentina, he got pole, won start by holeshot, & led every lap, to finish ~10 secs ahead.

Good ride by Rossi to nab 2nd from Dovi at the end, his 1st podium for a while, but Dovi had no answer
on a track that has always ultimately rewarded the Yamaha's race characteristics, over the Ducati.

Dovi did get to keep his winning points from Qatar, after the FIM tech-jury rejected the aero-tech appeal.

[GPR-A]

Is Lorenzo cursing himself having left that Ducati and joining Honda? He is absolutely nowhere and in fact, performing worse than Dani Pedrosa on that Honda. Both MM and Lorenzo had surgeries before the start of the season, but MM is back to business and Lorenzo is lost completely. His misery could be explained when he went behind MM in practice (if i am right) to watch how MM drives and despite being right behind throughout a fast lap, he ended 6 tenths behind.

Either he is way too sensitive and needs the bike to his liking in a 100% compliant manner OR that Honda requires that bulwark style of driving that MM has mastered.

[ajprice]

Commentary yesterday said Lorenzo sets up his bike differently to any other rider (long and raked, or long and high?). Not sure whether that meant having a longer wheelbase on the bike, longer travel suspension, or what. Colin Edwards said something like 'you can't ride the Honda the way he rides a bike, but he got the Ducati right at the end of last year so you never know'.

I was waiting for Marquez to a) fall off or b) have his tyres fall apart, especially with the pit wall waving him to slow down. What he did yesterday was ominous for the rest of the season. Good to see Rossi on the podium though.

[GPR-A]

Commentary yesterday said Lorenzo sets up his bike differently to any other rider (long and raked, or long and high?). Not sure whether that meant having a longer wheelbase on the bike, longer travel suspension, or what. Colin Edwards said something like 'you can't ride the Honda the way he rides a bike, but he got the Ducati right at the end of last year so you never know'.

I was waiting for Marquez to a) fall off or b) have his tyres fall apart, especially with the pit wall waving him to slow down. What he did yesterday was ominous for the rest of the season. Good to see Rossi on the podium though.

I was confused about Lorenzo's setup as well when I heard that on commentary. I am not sure if teams want to have two totally different configurations like different wheel base.

I also don't think Marquez's performance yesterday is an indicator for the rest of the year. He has some circuits and Argentina is one of them, where he simply dominates. But then there are other circuits where Ducati comes into it's own. The season will ebb and flow.

[J.A.W.]

Like certain 'natural rider' champions before him ( Mike Hailwood & Casey Stoner are 2 such), M.M. has the
skill to 'ride around' set-up issues fairly effectively, & if the bike is fast, then he'll ride it fast.

J.L. however, is a 'perfectionist' by comparison, & if 'everything clicks' he'll circulate at prodigious speed,
lap after lap, like a 'well-oiled machine'. But just as on the Ducati, it'll take him some time to 'figure out'
the Honda's foibles & get it operating to his satisfaction - so he can get in his 'zone' - with it.

& having a handlebar grip come adrift at launch, on a ~300hp bike, will spoil most anyone's start, to be fair.

[etusch]

Marquez says that swing arms part produce df during braking

The official reasoning for the part is to stiffen the swingarm, but Marquez admitted the piece also generates downforce, widely seen as the main purpose of the Ducati device.

"You saw we tried something on the swingarm, for the stiffness!" said Marquez, tongue firmly in cheek, before adding: "I feel something there that is interesting, but sometimes it’s better to come back, try to analyse, try to understand. Of course we need to take more information about it.

"One of the differences is the braking point. It’s downforce. There’s an aerodynamic thing, a little bit, but still we need to analyse more, because also there are some negative points.

"Some positives, some negatives. We need to understand which is better for our riding style."

[etusch]

Wonderful performance from Rins and Rossi. 40s day it was.

[J.A.W.]

Perhaps M.M. will want that swingarm device fitted now, it was unusual to see him lose just like that,
but it was a combination of events, root cause-wise, including the corner which made a typical M.M.
'save' impossible in this instance. But most of the Hondas entered didn't finish, either.

Credit to 'old man' Rossi for his performance, & even more so, for Rins to get 1st, (& a rare win for Suzuki).

[etusch]

From first race to now I see that that Suzuki bike is very good at cornering. They just need a bit more power and tyre management.

[Nonserviam85]

All Honda drivers are reporting front end stability problems during cornering, we will see more low-siding falls during the season, unless they fix it soon. I hope this will keep the championship alive because MM race pace is out of reach.

At last a Suzuki win, the bike has made good progress and I hope Rins will be in the mix for the championship!

[Andres125sx]

Awesome win for Rins, when Marquez crashed I never tought he could pass and beat Rossi, but he was really fast and managed the pressure perfectly with no mistakes at all

A nice statistic the spanish tv mentioned, Rins won Las Americas Moto3 GP in 2013, Moto2 in 2016, and MotoGP in 2019. Marquez is not the only one mastering this track

Great to see Suzuki performing like this, now I´m only missing Lorenzo...

[FrukostScones]

from skill - bike performance 2019 should be Marquez vs. Vinales.
But this seems more like an easy Marquez season again.
if the Suzuki had more top speed Rins would be there to challenge...
still I think he will end as runner-up.

[Andres125sx]

I´d love that, with Dovi adding more juice to the mix, but sincerely, Rossi has finished in front of Viñales at the 3 GPs...

[etusch]

MM
Rins
Vinales

Rins now only 1 point down to MM. Suzuki and Rins do well.