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MotoMatters.com | Kropotkin Thinks - ... that silly season could turn out to be sillier than we thought
Motegi MotoGP Saturday Subscriber Notes: Marquez' Missing Message, Throwing A Race Away, And Managing Fuel And Risk
Motegi MotoGP Saturday Subscriber Notes: Marquez' Missing Message, Throwing A Race Away, And Managing Fuel And Risk
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The forecast was for rain at Motegi on Saturday, and rain certainly fell. Fortunately, most of it fell overnight, leaving MotoGP qualifying and the sprint race dry. Well, almost. The constant threat of rain hung in the air, spots of rain hitting visors in enough numbers to plant the seeds of doubt into the minds of the riders. And sometimes, hard enough to actually suck some of the grip away from the track.
If you are going to end up in those fickle conditions, where the track might be a little damp or it might not, then Motegi is the place to be. It has superb grip in the wet, riders managing 1'55s in absolutely torrential rain here in the 2023 race that was eventually red-flagged. But that doesn't make it any easier for riders to wrap their heads around, when drops start to spatter on their visors.
Those spots of rain ended up having a profound effect on qualifying. And they even had an impact on the race, perhaps denying Pedro Acosta his first sprint victory, though Acosta took all of the blame on his own shoulders.
David Emmett Sat, 05/Oct/2024 - 23:10
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MotoGP news - Autosport
Acosta: “I’m not going to accept that Ducati is better than KTM”
MotoGP rookie star Pedro Acosta has no intention of hiding behind the fact that he’s not on a Ducati following a Japanese Grand Prix weekend on which the KTM rider was quicker than ever but fell twice.Acosta is enjoying a late-season run of form, seizing his first MotoGP pole on Saturday at Motegi. But he tried a fraction too hard in pursuit of a breakthrough win, crashing out of the lead in the ...Keep reading
MotoMatters.com | Kropotkin Thinks - ... that silly season could turn out to be sillier than we thought
2024 Motegi MotoGP Race Result: He Came, He Saw, He Conquered
2024 Motegi MotoGP Race Result: He Came, He Saw, He Conquered
Results and summary of the MotoGP race at Motegi:
Zara Daniela Sun, 06/Oct/2024 - 06:23
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MotoGP news - Autosport
MotoGP Japanese GP: Bagnaia slashes Martin's lead with win, Acosta crashes
Francesco Bagnaia won Sunday’s Japanese Grand Prix after leading the race at Motegi from lights to flag, heading home Jorge Martin and thus closing to within 10 points of the Spaniard with four rounds left in the world championship.Martin’s ride from a lowly 11th on the grid to within just over a second of Bagnaia by the end of the race was a successful damage limitation effort after a ...Keep reading
MotoMatters.com | Kropotkin Thinks - ... that silly season could turn out to be sillier than we thought
2024 Motegi Moto2 Race Result: Unexpected Rain Forces A Gamble
2024 Motegi Moto2 Race Result: Unexpected Rain Forces A Gamble
Results and summary of the Moto2 race at Motegi:
Zara Daniela Sun, 06/Oct/2024 - 04:30
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MotoMatters.com | Kropotkin Thinks - ... that silly season could turn out to be sillier than we thought
2024 Motegi Moto3 Race Result: The Spectacular Road To Gold
2024 Motegi Moto3 Race Result: The Spectacular Road To Gold
Results and summary of the Moto3 race at Motegi:
Zara Daniela Sun, 06/Oct/2024 - 03:11
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MotoMatters.com | Kropotkin Thinks - ... that silly season could turn out to be sillier than we thought
Motegi MotoGP Saturday Subscriber Notes: Marquez' Missing Message, Throwing A Race Away, And Managing Fuel And Risk
Motegi MotoGP Saturday Subscriber Notes: Marquez' Missing Message, Throwing A Race Away, And Managing Fuel And Risk
https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-gDMrKTV/0/L3QL35c27wmmjJN96ZZgpStpWh6BG68BF8sswHLxZ/L/i-gDMrKTV-L.jpg
The forecast was for rain at Motegi on Saturday, and rain certainly fell. Fortunately, most of it fell overnight, leaving MotoGP qualifying and the sprint race dry. Well, almost. The constant threat of rain hung in the air, spots of rain hitting visors in enough numbers to plant the seeds of doubt into the minds of the riders. And sometimes, hard enough to actually suck some of the grip away from the track.
If you are going to end up in those fickle conditions, where the track might be a little damp or it might not, then Motegi is the place to be. It has superb grip in the wet, riders managing 1'55s in absolutely torrential rain here in the 2023 race that was eventually red-flagged. But that doesn't make it any easier for riders to wrap their heads around, when drops start to spatter on their visors.
Those spots of rain ended up having a profound effect on qualifying. And they even had an impact on the race, perhaps denying Pedro Acosta his first sprint victory, though Acosta took all of the blame on his own shoulders.
David Emmett Sat, 05/Oct/2024 - 23:10
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MotoGP news - Autosport
Vinales "looked like an idiot" after Motegi sprint start woes
Maverick Vinales and his Aprilia offered contrasting explanations for the Spanish rider’s disappointing opening lap at Motegi on Saturday.Hopes were high for the Noale squad after Vinales qualified third on the grid for the Japanese Grand Prix. But these were dashed when he lost several places at the first corner of the sprint race, after which he trailed home in ninth position.“I started well ...Keep reading
MotoGP news - Autosport
Martin to copy Marquez's style after riding “worse than a rookie” in sprint
Jorge Martin claims he was riding “worse than a rookie” on his way to fourth place in MotoGP's Motegi sprint race, but plans to emulate Marc Marquez's approach to improve.World championship leader Martin has struggled in Japan this weekend and only qualified 11th after a crash in Q2.While the Pramac Ducati star recovered to finish the sprint in fourth, his rival Francesco Bagnaia won the race ...Keep reading
MotoGP news - Autosport
MotoGP Japanese GP: Acosta gifts Bagnaia maximum points with sprint crash
Francesco Bagnaia took a six-point bite out of Jorge Martin’s MotoGP points advantage as he led a 1-2 for the factory Ducati team in the Japanese GP sprint race on Saturday.Polesitter Pedro Acosta was thwarted in his quest for a maiden MotoGP victory after the Tech3 rider crashed out of the lead with three laps to go.Martin limited the points damage Bagnaia could do after an excellent getaway ...Keep reading
MotoMatters.com | Kropotkin Thinks - ... that silly season could turn out to be sillier than we thought
2024 MotoGP Championship Standings After Round 16 Sprint, Motegi, Japan
2024 MotoGP Championship Standings After Round 16 Sprint, Motegi, Japan
MotoGP standings after Motegi sprint:
Zara Daniela Sat, 05/Oct/2024 - 07:04
Round Number
16
Year
2024
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MotoGP news - Autosport
MotoGP Japanese GP: Acosta scores maiden pole, Martin 11th after crash
Rookie sensation Pedro Acosta scored pole position for the Japanese Grand Prix as he set a new lap record at Motegi in the dying stages of a dramatic qualifying session that saw world championship leader Jorge Martin (Pramac Ducati) suffer a major setback.While Acosta continued to look serene as he hunts for a first MotoGP win on his Tech3 KTM, Martin’s crash at Turn 9 in the critical final ...Keep reading
MotoMatters.com | Kropotkin Thinks - ... that silly season could turn out to be sillier than we thought
2024 Motegi MotoGP Qualifying Result: The Topsy-Turvy Road To Pole
2024 Motegi MotoGP Qualifying Result: The Topsy-Turvy Road To Pole
Results and summary of qualifying for the MotoGP class at Motegi:
Zara Daniela Sat, 05/Oct/2024 - 03:09
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MotoMatters.com | Kropotkin Thinks - ... that silly season could turn out to be sillier than we thought
2024 Motegi Moto2 Practice 2 Result: Canet Quickest On Drying Track
2024 Motegi Moto2 Practice 2 Result: Canet Quickest On Drying Track
A damp track awaited the intermediate class on their final practice outing and although conditions improved enough for slick tyres to become the norm, lap times did not drop sufficiently to change the overall hierarchy from Friday. Aron Canet’s late charge brought him within a second of Filip Salac’s benchmark and robbed Albert Arenas of the lead of P2. The Gresini racer settled for second, with Sergio Garcia returning to brighter pastures in third position, although his speed in dry conditions was not good enough to take him directly into Q2.
Zara Daniela Sat, 05/Oct/2024 - 01:06
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MotoMatters.com | Kropotkin Thinks - ... that silly season could turn out to be sillier than we thought
Motegi MotoGP Friday Round Up: KTM vs Ducati, Rain Affecting Play, And Can Albesiano Save Honda?
Motegi MotoGP Friday Round Up: KTM vs Ducati, Rain Affecting Play, And Can Albesiano Save Honda?
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It has been hot and humid at Motegi. Humid enough to rain in the morning, chasing everyone back into the garage for 20 minutes in FP1. That disrupted everyone's practice plans, forcing a rethink of the afternoon session and leaving a lot of questions unanswered.
Questions such as, will the soft rear go the distance on Sunday, or should we use the medium? A lot of riders used the medium during the limited running in the morning, but the tire just didn't want to work for most people in the afternoon. "If you see everyone that put a medium tire in PR, they make 3 laps and come in and put a soft," Pedro Acosta said. "This is not easy to understand. And even the soft is going to be difficult to finish the race with."
That puts a lot of pressure on Saturday morning, to work out whether the medium rear is a better tire for the race. "Last season with this tire they made the whole race and they were fast, and it was not an issue," Acosta said. "But I don't know why, but this soft tire will not finish the race. But the medium, I don't know how is the level of grip, you know?"
David Emmett Fri, 04/Oct/2024 - 22:00
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MotoGP news - Autosport
Quartararo: “Unacceptable” to run out of fuel again in Japanese GP
Yamaha rider Fabio Quartararo has described running out of fuel for the second time in three MotoGP races as “unacceptable.”The 2021 world champion lost 11th position in Sunday’s Japanese Grand Prix to LCR Honda rival Johann Zarco after running dry on the finishing straight on the final lap.This followed him losing a likely fifth-place finish late in the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at ...Keep reading
MotoGP news - Autosport
Mir fuming at Alex Marquez over "crazy" first-lap Motegi clash
Honda rider Joan Mir was left fuming after being taken out of the Japanese Grand Prix by Ducati rival Alex Marquez on Sunday, in an incident the 2020 world champion labelled “crazy”.Marquez hit Mir from behind on the first lap at Motegi, resulting in the bizarre sight of the Honda towing the Ducati through the gravel trap after Marquez was thrown out of the saddle.“When I was in the middle ...Keep reading
MotoMatters.com | Kropotkin Thinks - ... that silly season could turn out to be sillier than we thought
2024 MotoGP Championship Standings After Round 16, Motegi, Japan
2024 MotoGP Championship Standings After Round 16, Motegi, Japan
MotoGP standings after Motegi:
Zara Daniela Sun, 06/Oct/2024 - 06:30
Round Number
16
Year
2024
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MotoMatters.com | Kropotkin Thinks - ... that silly season could turn out to be sillier than we thought
2024 Moto2 Championship Standings After Round 16, Motegi, Jepan
2024 Moto2 Championship Standings After Round 16, Motegi, Jepan
Moto2 standings after Motegi:
Zara Daniela Sun, 06/Oct/2024 - 04:39
Round Number
16
Year
2024
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MotoMatters.com | Kropotkin Thinks - ... that silly season could turn out to be sillier than we thought
2024 Moto3 Championship Standings After Round 16, Motegi, Japan
2024 Moto3 Championship Standings After Round 16, Motegi, Japan
Moto3 standings after Motegi:
Zara Daniela Sun, 06/Oct/2024 - 03:13
Round Number
16
Year
2024
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MotoMatters.com | Kropotkin Thinks - ... that silly season could turn out to be sillier than we thought
2024 Motegi MotoGP Warm Up Result: Bagnaia Narrowly Leads Martin
2024 Motegi MotoGP Warm Up Result: Bagnaia Narrowly Leads Martin
Results:
Zara Daniela Sun, 06/Oct/2024 - 01:07
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MotoGP news - Autosport
Vinales "looked like a cone" after Motegi sprint start woes
Maverick Vinales and his Aprilia offered contrasting explanations for the Spanish rider’s disappointing opening lap at Motegi on Saturday.Hopes were high for the Noale squad after Vinales qualified third on the grid for the Japanese Grand Prix. But these were dashed when he lost several places at the first corner of the sprint race, after which he trailed home in ninth position.“I started well ...Keep reading
MotoGP news - Autosport
Marquez says "we’re experts in complicating our own lives” after Motegi
Marc Marquez feels "we’re experts in complicating our own lives” but believes he can deliver more in Sunday's Japanese Grand Prix after recovering from ninth on the grid to finish third in the sprint race.The podium result in the 12-lap Saturday encounter came in spite of an eventful weekend in Japan for the Gresini Ducati rider.On Friday, he was held back by a variety of small issues he ...Keep reading
MotoGP news - Autosport
Acosta taking positives after “stupid mistake” costs Motegi sprint win
Pedro Acosta has admitted that crashing out of the Motegi MotoGP sprint race whilst leading was a “stupid mistake” but the Tech3 GasGas star intends to take the positives out of the experience.The 20-year-old Spanish rookie, who had qualified on pole for the first time on Saturday morning, had lost the lead at the start before regaining it from Ducati Francesco Bagnaia.But with only three laps ...Keep reading
MotoMatters.com | Kropotkin Thinks - ... that silly season could turn out to be sillier than we thought
2024 Motegi MotoGP Sprint Result: Just A False Alarm
2024 Motegi MotoGP Sprint Result: Just A False Alarm
Results and summary of the MotoGP sprint at Motegi:
Zara Daniela Sat, 05/Oct/2024 - 06:54
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MotoMatters.com | Kropotkin Thinks - ... that silly season could turn out to be sillier than we thought
2024 Motegi Moto2 Qualifying Result: Rain Delivers An Anticlimactic Pole
2024 Motegi Moto2 Qualifying Result: Rain Delivers An Anticlimactic Pole
Results and summary of qualifying for the Moto2 class at Motegi:
Zara Daniela Sat, 05/Oct/2024 - 05:39
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MotoMatters.com | Kropotkin Thinks - ... that silly season could turn out to be sillier than we thought
2024 Motegi Moto3 Qualifying Result: Bad Weather Can’t Stop The Records From Falling
2024 Motegi Moto3 Qualifying Result: Bad Weather Can’t Stop The Records From Falling
Results and summary of qualifying for the Moto3 class at Motegi:
Zara Daniela Sat, 05/Oct/2024 - 04:49
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MotoMatters.com | Kropotkin Thinks - ... that silly season could turn out to be sillier than we thought
2023 Motegi MotoGP Free Practice 2 Result: Bagnaia Fastest As Rain Holds Off
2023 Motegi MotoGP Free Practice 2 Result: Bagnaia Fastest As Rain Holds Off
After overnight rain, track conditions improved significantly by the time the premier class went out for their final practice session, a dry line allowing slick tyres to come out of their blankets straight away. Quite predictably, Pecco Bagnaia was quickest, this time on the drying track, taking the lead in the closing stages of FP2. Pedro Acosta continued to be a thorn in his side, a hundredth of a second behind the world champion, with Maverick Viñales climbing into the top three of the morning session.
Zara Daniela Sat, 05/Oct/2024 - 01:51
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MotoMatters.com | Kropotkin Thinks - ... that silly season could turn out to be sillier than we thought
2024 Motegi Moto3 Practice 2 Result: A Rapid Rookie On A Wet Track
2024 Motegi Moto3 Practice 2 Result: A Rapid Rookie On A Wet Track
The lightweight class got off to a wet start after overnight rain left the track surface drenched for morning practice. Although rain had stopped, more of the same was on the menu for the remainder of Saturday so the track got busy quickly. Conditions didn’t improve a great amount throughout the 30 minutes and lap times were no threat to Ivan Ortola’s Friday benchmark, but Angel Piqueras thrived in the tricky conditions to lead the way in P2, followed by teammate Adrian Fernandez, three tenths of a second behind.
Zara Daniela Sat, 05/Oct/2024 - 00:25
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MotoGP news - Autosport
Martin searches for bike feel as he warns ‘24 laps like this will be very difficult’
MotoGP championship leader Jorge Martin says he will need to make an extra step forward to challenge for Japanese Grand Prix honours on Sunday.Despite posting the third-fastest time in second practice and thus comfortably making it into the Q2 battle for pole position, Martin said he wasn’t feeling happy aboard his Pramac Ducati during the first day’s running.“I’m one of the fastest for ...Keep reading
