MotoGP | 2019 | Round 8 | Netherlands | Assen | June 28 - 30

https://www.crash.net/motogp/news/924640/1/quartararo-speed-wobbles-i-was-stupid

Quizzed about the wobbles after the race, Quartararo put it down to a bad mix of wind across the Assen track and his racing line which was tighter to inside of the track on the exit of Turn 5.

“I was riding quite well apart from the mistakes out of corner five, all weekend we were fast and we were checking data with Maverick and other Yamaha riders, I think all weekend we took a lot of experience and saw how they take corner five at the end,” Quartararo said. “I told myself I am stupid and the bike is shaking all race. At the end when I took the outside line it was much better. So it was a good race for us.


“It was a little bit my fault because when I was behind Maverick and Marc I tried to be even more on the inside but the bike was moving even more so I saw that they went more to the outside and that was much better.

“I think it was a combination of the wind and me doing the wrong line at this stage but the last lap I was going more to the outside and the bike was much more stable. We took experience and I think it is good to see how they ride.”

 

Rossi needs to consider calling this year his last. I'd hate to see his reputation go to hell from racing too long and taking people out.

 

He's in a funk on a shit bike. They'll use data from whatever they found for Vinales and find some horsepower and he'll be fine. I'd like to see him in the hunt for the championship one more time, win a few races, and go out on a high note.

 

Dude, he's 40, not 70.... or did you mean to type "Lorenzo"?

 

The other Yamahas did very well over the weekend. Just don't hang around too long, retire with some dignity.

 

Lorenzo's fate might have been decided this weekend.

 

Will never happen.

Engines are sealed at the beginning of the year.

As for the funk comment, by his standards he's been in a funk for almost 10 years. It's been exactly 2 years since he's won a race (Assen 2017). If he doesn't win a race this year it will be his longest drought since leaving Yamaha for Ducati. His results are worse than when Pedrosa was winning two races a year and people wanted to kick him off the bike.

 

They don't have to open the motor to find HP...
"by his standards" is the key phrase- as long as he's still got the desire to grid up there's several teams that will gladly throw a fat contract in front of him. If it was all about collecting more wins and championships, do you not think he could go to WSB or any national Superbike series and stomp some asses?

 

It seems to me that Yamaha has been setting things up to Rossi's favor and they have since switched to Mav's suggestions. Rossi's lack of speed and slide down the grid has been mirrored by Mav's rise.
Just a theory.
Then you have Quattroputa that doesn't give a shit and rides the hell out of whatever you stick him on. Hats off to whoever saw the diamond in the rough with that kid. It sure wasn't his Moto2 performance that sold him.

 

There’s no reason they can’t do both

 

Sounds like Zarco.

 

Don't forget Maverick is the same guy that came out swinging in 2017 and then went on to be an also ran for the next year and a half. I highly doubt Yamaha decided after Mugello 2017 to pull the rug out from under Maverick, only to finally return it to him last weekend.

I'd also be skeptical about calling Quatararo the second coming of Christ. While I think there's a damn good chance this kid might be the next Jorge Lorenzo, I think there's an equal chance that he chokes and goes the way of Zarco. The kid is riding the wheels off of that bike, but he has absolutely zero pressure on his shoulders. He's the most inexperienced rider on the newest team in MotoGP with zero expectations; he has the pleasure of just showing up to ride, learn and progress. Things might be a little different when he has a multi-billion dollar corporation and their sponsors expecting him to develop a bike and win a world championship on it.

 

There's only so much you are going to do with electronics or a new exhaust.

The only reason a team (see Yamaha) will throw a contract in front of him is for the sponsorship, not for his riding. If that's how he wants to spend his twilight years in GP good for him.

Of course he could go to WSBK and mop up but we are not talking WSBK are we?

 

But foot anchors, now...

 

I’m pretty confident Valentino is going to call it at the end of 2020. He was competitive just a few races ago with 2x seconds in a row and can still clearly compete for wins on occasion. The Yamaha seems to have a very narrow operating window to do well. If the Yamaha were as good consistently as it was Sunday, Valentino could still legit fight for the title. But it also seems like when the Yamaha is working well the young bucks like Quataputo and Vindaloo are just faster than he is. He outclasses them when things aren’t working so well and he can draw on his wealth of experience.

A consistently working Yamaha is not going to happen during this contract cycle though, so I just can’t see him committing to potentially another 2 years in the shit.

 

I hate to agree because I’m a huge proponent of George. It seems that way though. He’s been in an injury-poor performance feedback loop since that crash in Thailand of last freaking year. I think if Jorge had come into the year mostly healthy the story would look very different now. If he can somehow recover from all his broken body parts and return to full fitness I think he will kick ass on the Honda. I don’t know if he’ll get that time though. It’s a shame.

 

Put Zarco on that Yamaha and see what happens

 

He pits halfway through for a glass of wine and some crepes?

 

And to take a Oui Oui!