Motor Sport
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doesn't look like Marquez will be losing a race this season. that dominance on the Ducati is unreal..
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Sure looks like it @louisbosco but that won’t help grow the sport. It already is reduced to a Ducati championship, and having the same pilot dominate each time will hurt, I fear.
At least the first two laps of the Saturday sprint were exciting. Felt like good old competitive motogp races of years past.
Very surprising how a ‘small’ company like Ducati has come to dethrone and dominate established giants like Honda and Yamaha.The journey is the objective.
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@motojobobo Ducati has been owned by Volkswagen since 2012, not exactly a David versus Goliath story
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Very fair to point out that fact @Tago-Mago .
Do you have any data whether the investment levels in Ducati racing skyrocketed after 2012? -
@motojobobo @Aetas has pointed out to me that Ducati sells roughly 60k bikes a year vs 19.6m for Honda (not sure if this also includes scooters). Maybe VW isn't pouring their entire R&D budget into Moto GP
. Also, Ducati is technically controlled by Audi AFAIK, who, besides having major problems of their own right now, have bought what used to be Sauber and are preparing to enter F1. So you are probably right in saying that they are small fish compared to Honda and Yamaha -
I didn’t have the numbers to back it up but the situation you describe is + or - the way I understood it.
Makes it all the more intriguing of a story…since it cannot be financially explained away…has Ducati, quietly and meekly, produced an extraordinary engineering feat??? -
@motojobobo just as I said that, Marquez has gone and crashed in the race
I guess that'll make the season more excitingbut I agree with you on the dominance of Ducati in the recent years. I haven't watched it long but I remember the glory days of Yamaha and when Marquez was with Honda.
I don't think the corporate ownership has anything to do with racing but it's more of how they've developed this v4 platform over the years
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I'm a massive Ducati fan (one of my bikes is a Panigale V2) so I'm not entirely unbiased.
Ducati are spending fairly big sums on racing, it's not a drop in the ocean, but IMO where they got ahead was in making the bike fast intially, and then improving the chassis. It wasn't until 2017 that they had any realistic chance of winning the championship. They also stole a march on everyone else in terms of the aero and the ride height devices, and they are still reaping the benefits from that.
Honda's mistake was building a bike that Marc could ride and no-once else, it doesn't help development when you have a generational talent masking where your bike isn't so good - it's better to have Pecco and Martin developing a bike than, say, Marc, Acosta, or TR in World Superbike where they ride in a way that can't be replicated reasonably by another rider.
Also, I agree that the corporate ownership isn't necessarily that important (Ducati was really successful in the 90's when financially they were on the bones of their arse), but the trickle down effect on the road bikes will definitely help justifying the cost of the race team in a way that F1 perhaps doesn't. A v4 or v2 Panigale has the same intrinsic strengths and weaknesses (fast, good into and coming out of a corner, not so good in the middle) as the Desmosedici, and an R1, like the M1 is an amazing handling bike, but not as quick in a straight line.
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@NickD said in Motor Sport:
it doesn't help development when you have a generational talent masking where your bike isn't so good
Max, Car....
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@Giles great video this showing the comparisons between max and Liam. you can see Liam always breaks later but makes numerous adjustments in the corner and is afraid of the throttle and the rear snapping when exiting. costs him a lot over a lap..
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Cool vid @louisbosco, thanks for sharing.
You're right about the breaking. Max seems pretty patient with the breaking - possibly to be kinder on the tires or because it helps his acceleration out of the corner, which seemed faster than Lawson.
Fingers are crossed for Yuki.
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@Bridger there was an interview with lawson maybe within the last year where he was describing the car as "twitchy" and how pointy it was, and that was how max likes it. (the car)
going back to the fact that this car was designed for max and max alone..
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You're right @louisbosco
Putting all the eggs in Max's basket is not going to win them a manufacturer's championship
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....oh speaking of Stroll - here's in case you didn't see the 2024 RPM awards show.
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Well, fuck me, Red Bull being extraordinarily creative and completely thinking outside the box......
Tsunoda told to be 'as close to Verstappen as possible'
I'm in awe....
"OK face up to it - you're useless but generally pretty honest and straightforward . . . it's a rare combination of qualities that I have come to admire in you" - Geo 2011
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The Bulls have always nurtured their second drivers. A warm welcome with warm words of support. Simply lovely.
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@Giles after recent events, I'm sure the team had to reiterate the objective for the season
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@Giles well look at the big brains on team Red Bull!
