MotoGP | 2024 | Silly Season

"Both VR46 and Gresini will be in 2022-spec and only Pramac will have exactly our bikes, the factory bikes,"

-Davide Tardozzi

 

Right but what I read from vr46 said they chose that. Which maybe a lie

 

Dorna really fucked the schedule this year. We had that multi-week break at the start of the season and now this long ass summer break. Lame.

 

Yeah smells like a game to me. They’re probably throwing it out there to get some kind of concessions. I assume the contract cycle for grid positions is coming up?

 

The man who ran from KTM?

 

LCR is saying they are not doing anything til after 2024. They have a contract with Honda.

 

That means nothing with enough money.

 

Where would LCR go though? KTM already has that the rebadged KTM satellite team and has resources but may not want another satellite. Aprilia has a satellite and likely no resources to add more. Ducati is fully booked, not even Ducati could want 10 Ducatis on the grid (right?!).

Yamaha probably wants to get a satellite team and it may as well be at the expense of the other Nipponese, but do they have the resources or desire to not treat them like filthy customers? The Yamaha isn’t performing the best exactly but it’s got to be better than a machine that actively tries to kill its riders I think. If LCR switches it would have to be Yamaha. But Yamaha may want to partner with VR46 for commercial reasons, if VR46 would have them.

I’m sure he would, but if VR46 doesn’t take him would anyone else take the risk? The big risk is that Franco’s performance dropped off a cliff after his knee injury, so any potential employer will question whether it’s him or the YamaHAHAHA. Might be worth taking a swing on him for an entirely performance based contract, any salary would have to be meager though.

 

I believe KTM has openly approached LCR about having them as a 2nd satellite.

 

Because LCR has been fed up with Honda for a couple years.
And KTM has money and redbull has money and KTM has already said they want 3 teams next year. "If Ducati can have x number of bikes why can't KTM?" Was one of the quotes from the head of ktm

 

^^^ This. And Lucio Cecchinello is Italian and not very good at subtlety, so when asked if LCR would honor their 2024 contract with Honda he went silent... Oops.

https://www.crash.net/motogp/news/1...t-two-lcr-seats-marc-marquez-and-pedro-acosta

There is still the matter of Marquez' statement about demanding a factory seat... But what if it was with the Husqvarna factory squad?

-T

 

Really? The year FQ won (2021), Vinales was 10th, Morbidelli was 17th.

Blah blah older bike for half the season, but he didn't make good on his opportunity when FQ was killing it.

Year before, it was Morbidelli killing it, on the older bike. He clearly lost something, and hasn't been able to find it since.

 

As I recall, he had a knee injury that caused him to miss a significant amount of time and coming back from that seemed to be when he dropped off. I'm sure the bike being a turd didn't help. So probably a few factors compounding. Though he has had just a couple flashes of competitiveness here and there which makes me think he'd at least be competitive on a different platform. Maybe not setting the world on fire, but at least competitive.

 

What you're really saying is MM93 wants to be on a bike developed by Dani P again?

I hope KTM never takes his feedback on bike development.

 

Didn't KTM state they're not looking for a third team?.....

 

The irony of this cannot be overstated.

 

Zarco dodges bullet #1...

https://www.crash.net/motogp/news/1...ecchi-get-their-wish-ducati-agree-key-request

 

Note that Uccio was the negotiator and was successful.

 

In 2021 Morbidelli had knee surgery and missed at least 5 of the race weekends.

 

All he has to do is show Vale on speed dial and instant leverage. How hard can that be?

Is it weird that I pull for Zarco? Seems he always throws his best opportunities away or is struck with bad luck, like a MM93 Cruise Missile.