MotoGP | 2025 | Race 18 | Indonesia |Mandalika| October 3 - October 5

Let's see!

@Quicktoy - hope I got this right.

 

Looks good to me, thanks @Phl218!

 

I got Rossi......to bring out a new paint scheme and new colors for the leathers!

 

He never gets it right

 

M Marquez will be hanging out pre-race smoking a fatty and drinking Schlitz malt liquor. He'll still win.

 

93 starting now his 26 season with the GP26 . How cares about penalties.
De- tuning the bike so only MM can ride . Lol

 

Schlitz

 

From last year's results, it was a pretty mixed bag. Ducati, Aprilia, Yamaka, Honda, and KTM all represented in the top 10.

Martin got pole last year, but he's out, and P2 was Bez. Hopefully Bez continues his form and runs away from the field or at least creates the mood for a knife fight within the top 3. That being said, Pecco did well here last year as well. Qualified 4th, won (!!) the sprint, and got 3rd in the GP. Assuming Pecco's domination isn't spurious or a vicious mirage, I'd put him in the top 3 all weekend. MM will be hung over, but you can't discount him and it will be interesting to see how he approaches the rest of the season / CY26 prep. The rest of the players, I'd assume, will be Franky, Acosta, Mir (?), DigitalAntonio (maybe what Pecco found will help him?), and Marini. Honorable mention to The Royale with Cheese. He'll continue to pilot his Yamaha liveried money wheelbarrow with spectacular panache and finish somewhere between 5th and 9th.

 

Speaking of Martin, is he maybe done, done? Like in one and done? 2025 has not been kind to him. I'm not making any predictions (I don't want Papa blowing me up in another year or two ). But one has to wonder...

 

Well, Aprilia wanted him to stay and he finally caved, so I guess we'll get another year to see where it goes. My guess is he never finds his qualifying pace on the Ape in 26, but continues to throw himself down the down trying to run at the front anyway. He's not gonna do a damn thing worth mentioning in 2025.

This is definitely going on a tangent, but wouldn't that be some irony if Aprilia freed him from his contract now? On the other hand, maybe there's value to them in having a racer that is prepared to destroy his body in the pursuit of podiums. Just as long as he can leave Bez alone, of course.

 

I think 2025 is effectively done for Martin. Whether Martin is done done is hard to say. The guy is young and tenacious. Although he seems to have a hard time sitting quietly in his own head as evidenced by the apparent brain fade moment in Motegi. He was still in all in all the time mode, when he should have just been working toward building a foundation for CY26. He'd benefit from taking a page out of Marini's playbook. Slower and steadier usually finishes the race.

As @Martin Lewis said, he still has a contract for 2026 with Aprilia. If he can himself to not come back in '26 and insist that the only way to have a successful season is by winning the championship again then he will likely have a successful year. But if he insists on forcing the issue it will be a disastrous fool's errand. If it were me, the trajectory I'd suggest for '26 would be: 1st step) consistent top 5, 2nd step) consistent top 3s, and 3rd consistent challenges for the win + pole position.

 

Why does this sound familiar?

 

what's holding him back? JLo did this before as we all know.

 

JLo didn't win the championship in '13 despite the heroics, no?

As for @Hooper 's earlier point about Martin being "one and done." I missed this and personally I would not bet on him winning another championship. If that's what he meant by "one and done."

 

The problem with this:

Is this:

Not saying he can't chill out between now and CY26, but even Luca took more than a year to calm the hell down and accept the limitations of that Honda. I seem to recall there being some drama about him leaving because he was sick of being in the back of the field. JM89 is going to come out of this whole ordeal a much more mature rider with the right attitude and podium/pole potential, I just think its a question of how many years it takes for that to happen.

 

I know it would be boring... But I kinda hope Marc puts a 7 or 8 second gap on everyone else now that he doesn't have to ride for the chip.

 

I really hope Pecco can stay in his groove and finish second…









behind BEZ!

 

WTH is CY26? Cycle Year 2026? Current Year 2026? Chasing Youth 2026?

 

Busy week at the shop with a gun show this weekend so I appreciate the help. I think we are going to see Marquez unleashed.

 

Maybe he’ll try starting from pit lane and winning like Moto2 or Moto3 whichever it was