MotoGP | 2023 | Race 3 | COTA | USA | April 14-16

Um... yes actually. I'd argue Fabio's (and 3 or 4 other riders) choke job in 2020 was far worse than this past season. Mir did what he needed to do to win a championship - consistently perform.

 

Difference between best ever and current best. Marquez is not currently the best racer in the world.

 

And hand his bike over to Marc......

 

Reminds me of a certain rider sporting the number 69, back in ‘06…

 

Well I guess we’ll have to find some other measure of “best rider on the grid” than winning the world championship.

Maybe ballroom dancing competition? Cribbage tournament? Best coiffure?

 

I don't necessarily disagree but I wouldn't mind seeing Fabio and Pecco on the Honda just to be sure. Give me that and I don't ever need to see Marquez on the Ducati.

 

I’m calling it, the Marquez twins to Pramac next year. Martinator to Yam and Pedro to Repsol.

 

Not going to happen. Ducati pays Pramac salaries. And they have made it clear that they don't want to spend Marquez (93) money.

 

I don’t see the previously included qualifications after “grid”. Interesting.

 

I read that too fast at first and thought someone was saying Marquez was going to Twins Cup next year.

 

ALL OF THIS!!!

 

What do you mean? You can’t ballroom dance on the grid?

 

You’re the one who started adding qualifiers to “best rider on the grid”. Why stop at 2?

Asserting that Mir was the best rider on the grid in 2020 is laughable. He was good enough (and on a good enough bike) to benefit when circumstances went his way. A more credible assertion is he was the “luckiest” rider on the 2020 grid.

 

You don't win a world championship in the premier class over a 14 race season based on luck. Again, being the best racer is dependent on far more than being able to set the fastest lap. Hell, there were probably 5 others riders that could consistently turn a faster lap than Mir in 2020. But they all made dumb mistakes, caved under pressure, and their bad days were really bad. Mir figured out how to cope and make his bad days just meh. Thus he was awarded the crown. Who do you think the best rider in the world in 2020 was and on what basis?

 

Lucky that Marcrash didn’t Bautista him into the gravel trap every race?

 

I honestly don't think that's true anymore.

 

M. Marquez on a Ducati (or Aprilia, or perhaps KTM) would be really interesting. I think the Honda is really bad. Look at how much better A. Marquez is or how much worse Rins and Mir are performing. They must have a glitch in their software that evaluates frame flex because it seems like all Hondas currently have quirky handling. MotoGP, WSBK, motocross, supercross, they are all bad.

 

I can't believe some here can't see just how dominant Marc has been the past 10 years in MotoGP and if you need further proof, just look at how he fared against his teammates on the same bike.

Jorge - couldn't get into the points - multi time World Champ who couldn't crack the top 15.
Bro Alex - ditto.
Mir so far - lost.
Dani - no titles after all those years on the bike and having is customized for him for years with Nicky.

Look at Satellite Honda results - Miller was lost except for one wet win, Rins isn't competitive yet after ending last year on the top of the box, Alex was even worse with the Jr team then he was with Repsol.

We aren't talking B-level riders here and Marc CRUSHED all of them, consistently, and convincingly.

Just last week (yes, small sample size so far this year, but...) Alex was quoted as saying "same effort, same talent level, but instead of fighting for 15th I can fight for podiums on the Ducati vs the Honda"

Marc's never has the fastest or best bike on the grid. I'd say currently he has the 3rd or 4th best brand on the grid - behind the truckload of Duc's, now the Ape's, and the KTM's look to be on par speed wise with the Honda and ahead of it in handling. If Suzuki was still there Honda would be behind them as well.

Look at the Dovi/Ducati years - when he left the Factory team and went to Satellite Yamaha 2 years ago - went from title contender to nowhere close to the points every race. That's just how dominant the Duc has been the past 6-7 years now.

To think there's a racer on the grid with the talent and speed of Marc, even now, is laughable.

 

If winning the world championship is not enough to qualify for the world's best rider position, I submit that it is not even necessary to grid up. So, Stoner, again.

 

Yamaha rider results belong in another category altogether. Their shit is so bad that current Yamaha pianos are impossible to tune. Yamaha guitars will only play the blues. If you put Quartararo on a Ducati, he would win the 2024-2027 championships this season.