Classic Alfa Forums

my love of bike racing is no secret, all kinds of bike racing.
bsb, road racing, wsb, but motogp is the pinacle.
i'm never tired of seeing how they are a breed apart, bike racers, at getting injuries and just carrying on. a fine line that some have crossed over. but a brave lot.

just caught up with the practice from the sachsenring

marc marquez is someone folks haven't taken to, mainly because he makes it look so easy to win. but i like him because he does it with a smile. never seems to be way out of control despite looking way over the limit all the time, like it's effortless to him.

this morning though he had a rare off. wasn't caught on the trackside cameras but as ever still photo's were snapped.on the ride back to the paddock he looked to be hurt, a stiff kneck seemed to be casuing him grief...............

must add for those who don't know, he walked away from the crash and rode in the afternoon session despite the kneck stretching off

Good grief my neck doesn't bend like that but I'm not as young as him. Although he often appears to be out of control he always seems to have the tyres left at the end of a race a lot like Stoner used to.

he reminds me a lot of casey, tony. both superbly talented riders

are you sure Johnboy didn't take that photo with his Fruit Phone and in fact everything is normal?



they are a special breed indeed, cut from a very rare cloth!

i wish i shared a single thread of their fabric when i was riding, but hey ho, you gott a run with what you brung eh!



Casey Stoner though, hmmmmm

i might struggle to agree with that one, never liked him to be honest, too mardi, and couldn't ride what and how he did without NASA electronics behind him in my opinion.

but then like the master (doctor!) himself, i'm oldskool, gimme the motor and a throttle cable anyday, sadly a lot of these younguns couldn't ride the horsepower they do without the aids,

and i struggle to imagine even a handful of them ever finding a podium on something like Doohans 96 screamer, even with a lot less power!



but, back on point, Marquez is brilliant, as is Lorenzo, Pedrosa etc etc, but i still like to see the old men shame things up a bit

not going to get into a casey debate but.........


nobody, and that includes some old school stars, nobody could ride the ducati like him.

he then went to honda and was faster than the established stars there.

everyone uses traction nowadays, the bikes would be unrideable without it, but casey was the original drifter of the latest generation of motogp bikes. if he had the traction wound right up he wouldn't be doing that. he has been reported from several knowledgable and well informed journo's as using less traction than other riders on same machinary. sure the traction allows you to do that to a point, but you've still gotta ride the thing.

i actually liked the way he didn't go along with the PR bandwagon that other riders have made a career out of exploiting. when you looked around the merchandise stalls it was all 46 and 99 stuff. you couldn't find a bit of 27, he didn't care one jot for the money to be made from smiling when a camera is pointed at him, like i've seen a certain "leegnd" do. now there is someone who can be a mard arse until he spots a camera!
at least with casey you knew that what he said was how he was thinking, like people having more ambition than talent loved that one

don't get me wrong, what VR has achieved is incredibly impressive. and he, like all the others, can do stuff on a bike that is mind blowing.
but how about the tantrum he threw a few years back at yamaha "if lorenzo stays in the team then i'm leaving"........"bye" said yamaha

no-ones perfect eh! HA HA!

still don't like him,

he shuns folk in paddock, preferring to mow you down on his scooter than do ANY pr at all, which in fairness is what most folks problem is with him, he's robotic and has no personality whatsoever, which is a shame, because yes, he can't half ride a bike.

i guess i'm stuck in the "good ol'days" when the bike racing paddock at all levels was simply more fun and full of characters from one end to another, not all of them happy chaps, but lawson, rainey schwantz doohan mamola, spencer gardner and that eras own mardi arse kocinski, all amazing talents, flawed genius most of them, but in general, i think the paddock was better then than it is today.

that's true of most paddocks nowadays once you get above club level. don't even think about getting into the F1 paddock "club" without spending a fortune!!
bsb does it well where track layout permits public access. brands was a no go, saw nobody much there. cadwell is superb, got to chat with everyone and anyone from the 125 club racer up to the likes of brookes/byrne/ellison etc. really friendly atmosphere which only helps promote a good race series.
donnington isn't too bad but could be better, snetterton likewise but better.

marquez does seem a bit more fan friendly though, and seems to enjoy his racing. long may it continue