World SBK | ROUND 04 | Prosecco DOC Aragon Round | 28 - 30 AUG

The live stream isn't working for me this morning.

 

Live stream fine here.

 

Well this race got interesting all of a sudden.

 

Turns out my internet provider had issues, just started working, still slow.

 

GG running with a pack including a factory Honda, Kawi, Yamaha, and BMW.

Just needs to keep doing that and good things will happen to him.

 

Race 3, Rea pulls a Beaubier on the field.

Gerloff is looking more impressive by the minute. That Yamaha isn't exactly a rocket down the straights....

 

I was constantly scanning the edges of the screen to try and find him. Was nice when the group he was fighting with got a little air time.

I thought that was a nice hard fought finish for him. He is representing himself well.

I did find it funny during one of the races the announcers were talking about him outperforming Caricasulo and made excuses about having to adjust to the bike (and tires I think). At the same time they made no mention of Gerloff having to adjust to new tracks and tires.

 

Actually I think Gerloff has got some good and positive coverage. Great to see him up there in Race 2 battling it out with proven front runners.

Rea is a beast and Ducati should be ashamed they let Rea break their streak. Not only in one race but two. There are a lot of hungry dogs that want the factory Yamaha seat. We'd all love to see Cam B on it but the kid loves being on the best bike, making the most money, and going home after race weekends. That's a hard thing to leave.

 

Loved watching it however I'm over the announcers giving Rea the out. Multiple times on Saturday they mentioned how much better the Ducati's were than the KRT' ZX10's. Shit is annoying to hear, much like the MA debacle with Escalante's 636.

 

I do too. The announcers and other riders have consistently said hes doing well.

I just noticed in that one conversation they seemed to overlook the difficulty of riding new tracks on a different tire.

 

They constantly, in nearly all classes, mistake the accordion effect for a HP advantage.

 

Steve English does a great job of covering riders. Tremendous depth of knowledge. For the position he’s in, the coverage has given him respectable coverage. I enjoyed English’s mention of GRT Yamaha and discussion of Gerloff and Caricasulo. Basically said Garrett has been the better rider, though each has had their own learning challenges this year. Garrett has worked with electronics and ridden 1000s, but the tracks and tires are new. Caricasulo is learning to ride a 1000 and deal with electronics. Garrett has done well and I think his riding and his attitude will open a door to a top team. I really hope next year he’s on a bike that is more on par with the top teams.

 

I’d love to see him on Michael Ruben Renaldi’s Ducati or toprak’s old kawi. Both competitive front running bikes.

 

I haven't seen anything about Sykes. He was under investigation but I didn't see if they declared it a racing incident or penalized him for punting Mercado. Poor guy took the hit, got injured, and missed race 2 as a result.

 

I think Garrett is doing a fine job out there and observers in the paddock seem to be saying the same thing.

Regarding GRT vs Ten Kate and the Factory team, there was an interesting piece done that I can't find at the moment. Basically GRT has 2019 bikes but with full factory electronics because they are the official junior team, while Ten Kate has the 2020 bike but customer electronics and minimal adjustability which has been dictated by Yamaha.

With that said, I think Baz would be right at the front in the Factory team and I'm crossing my fingers that GG gets on a new bike with GRT next year. With a solid year of experience and a good bike with great electronics, I think he'd really showcase his potential.

 

How does Yamaha get to dictate anything to what Ten Kate does with their own R1?

 

I’d like to see Garrett on a 2020 Yamaha next year. That assumes he does get the factory seat, GRT still does not get current year bikes, and there are no performance enhancements to the ‘21 R1 that make the ‘20 a step down the way a ‘19 currently is. The stability of staying on a team and riding the Yamaha would likely benefit him.

 

I noticed that to. Total bone head move from Sykes, no idea why there wasn't some sort of a penalty. The aftermath could have been much worse...

 

Support (albeit limited) from the factory always comes with stipulations. The article is here but you'll need to use Google translate. Most important bit is this:

"The Giansanti Racing Team is Yamaha's official satellite troop. She is supposed to develop young drivers like Caricasulo and Gerloff for the works team. Ten Kate, on the other hand, is a normal customer team without significant support from the Japanese manufacturer. Yamaha made a fundamental decision ahead of the season not to allow customer teams to fully manipulate the electronics."

 

Yamaha runs the Marelli system, I'm not sure how or why they would restrict what their satellite teams are doing, aside from not providing them direct support.