#MotoGP 2021 Season

[muxas-world]

Btw it would never be not funny who pecco certified lewis hamiltom fanboy him and vale his childhood crushes last year been force to prais2 fernando alonso cause at tha time he was gettin podiums and betwet smiles and teest dropping my fav is lewis but obviously is cool what fernando is doing yea anyways back to lewis 😊

[inhidingxoxo3637]

Miller x Mir '21

[lilghostiequinni]

Mutual Fans

Main Masterlist Lando Masterlist

Pairing: Moto GP racer!female reader x Lando Norris

Warnings: Fluffy,

Summary: You were a fan of him, and he was a fan of you, but you weren't friends and knew next to nothing about the other.

Requested: NO / yes

You started your career in the Moto GP in 2018 with Ducatti, moving to Yamaha in 2022. You won an entire season in 2021, the second time was 2023.

You made history by being the first woman to compete in a full season of MotoGP.

You only meet Lando one time, at least that the fans knew of.

The two of you met when Lando attended one of the races for MotoGP in 2022.

The second time you met was when McLaren, when Oscar invited you to a Grand Prix in 2023 because you were his best friend from a young age.

Having karted with Oscar and Logan in the early days.

After the first Grand Prix, you went to many more after that, in the company of Oscar or Lando.

You met Max Fetwell a few times, too, that first time in at the MotoGP.

It was around the Singapore Grand Prix of 2023 that Lando mucked up the courage to ask you out on a date, which turned into many, and before winter break was over, you had a new boyfriend.

There were many instances where the two of you talked about the other in interviews, but fans just thought it was the two of you being fans of each other, nothing more than that.

When your relationship was revealed in 2025 after Lando's first win in Silverstone, after the dew wins he had since his Miami win in 2024.

Your fans were rather confused about your relationship, having never conceived that the two of you were dating.

But it all started with mutual fangirling but evolved into more.

A/N: I like this one. I may do a longer part 2 later.

Tags: @poppyflower-22 @samantha-chicago @barcelonaloverf1life @tallrock35 @ellen3101 @llando4norris @hellothere9597

If you want to be removed from a tag list, let me know so I don't keep tagging you. If you are striked through, I don't know if you want to be tagged, but just let me know if you want me to continue or stop

[coimbrabertone]

A Postmortem on the Competitive Era of MotoGP

Okay, that is a very dramatic title, and hopefully, a year from now I'll be able to look at this and say I was wrong, but...I think MotoGP's competitive era is over.

First let me explain what I mean by competitive era.

Grand Prix motorcycle racing, more so than other forms of motorsport, I think, is prone to eras of complete dominance. Agostini in the 60s and 70s, Doohan in the 90s, Rossi in the 2000s, and Marc Marquez in the 2010s. Marc Marquez's run of dominance, however, came to an abrupt end at the 2020 Spanish Grand Prix.

Here, Marquez crashed riding maniacally to make his way to the lead. Marc broke his right arm and started a multi-year struggle with injury that would impact his 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023 seasons. This would also ultimately end Marc's relationship with Honda, as at the end of 2023, he decided to move to a Gresini Ducati.

In the meantime, MotoGP was wide open.

Joan Mir on a Suzuki won the 2020 championship on consistency over the Petronas Yamaha of Franco Morbidelli, with teammate Alex Rins in third.

Fabio Quartararo on a factory Yamaha won 2021 over the raw speed of Ducati's Pecco Bagnaia and Suzuki's Joan Mir.

Pecco Bagnaia got the upper hand over Fabio Quartararo in 2022, with additional challenges from the Gresini Ducati of Enea Bastianini and the Aprilia of Aleix Espargaro.

Bagnaia won again in 2023, but it was a new cast of characters around him. Instead of being pressured from outside, he was being pressured from within as the Pramac Ducati of Jorge Martin and the VR46 Ducati of Marco Bezzecchi challenged him for the championship.

2024, however, is when things started getting stale. Jorge Martin won the championship over Pecco Bagnaia - the same top two from last year, just in a different order - whilst Marc Marquez on the Gresini Ducati was third, and Enea Bastianini on the factory Ducati was in fourth.

Five years with four different champions.

Suzuki riders, Yamaha riders, factory Ducati riders, and satellite Ducati riders.

It was variety, it was amazing.

However...it was already getting stale this year.

Ducati has been the strongest for a few years now, I admit that even as someone who initially was in favor of Ducati dominance - my logic being that Honda and Yamaha have dominated MotoGP for so long that it was nice to see a European bike take a turn on top - and they've really mastered it this year.

KTM didn't win anything this year.

Aprilia only won two sprints and a single race.

The entire winning constructor column on Wikipedia is a sea of Italian flags without interruption.

And I fear it's only going to get worse for 2025, because Marc Marquez will be on a factory Ducati. After four years of being broken and one year of being on year old machinery, I fear that we may be seeing the Marquez revenge tour for the next few years.

Now, I'm sure for Marquez fans, they'll have a lot of fun.

But...I'm not a Marquez fan.

I'm a Ducati fan, I suppose, but even then, I'm more of a competition fan. The last few years I've found myself turning away from Ducati and becoming an Aprilia fan. The problem with Aprilia, however, is that Aleix Espargaro and Maverick Vinales are good riders, sure, but they're not the kind of riders Aprilia needs to take the fight to the Bolognese.

So Aprilia has made a change for 2025.

Jorge Martin and Marco Bezzecchi.

I think this is a good change. I don't like Martin, his personality rubs me the wrong way and I've spent the last two years rooting against him, but hey, it's Aprilia nabbing the reigning champion, so I understand why they'd want that.

Marco Bezzecchi I'm more excited about. I like him more as a rider, and while I expect Martin to be faster, I hope Marco gets some success too, because then I could at least enjoy some of Aprilia's successes.

Assuming, of course, that Marquez doesn't go and win everything next year.

Will KTM be able to provide any resistance? Maybe. Pedro Acosta is impressive, and Brad Binder has put on some performances at the end of this year to finish ahead of Acosta in the standings, but neither of them have finished any higher than second, so...what they can do depends on where the 2025 KTM is.

The same goes for the new Tech3 KTM lineup of Maverick Vinales and Enea Bastianini, two riders I like - I was glad to see Vinales succeed at the USGP, while Enea has been the rider I've rooted for in MotoGP ever since I became an active fan - they're both moody riders. On their day, they're invincible, problem is that their day doesn't come around nearly often enough to mark a consistent challenge.

And to add insult to injury, Pierer Mobility Group is suffering poor sales globally.

This is why Tech3 is going to be a KTM team instead of a GasGas team, because Pierer is refocusing their marketing on their core brand to try and regain stock value.

So...maybe they can challenge, but I'm not particularly optimistic.

Yamaha? They're gonna need a hell of a lot more speed if they want to challenge.

Honda? Look, yesterday at the Solidarity GP, Joan Mir crashed on the Honda and Neil Hodgson went "oh it's Mir time" so...the less said about Honda right now, the better.

Especially with Repsol gone.

How about the rest of Ducati?

Well, Bagnaia still won eleven races this year, so he's certainly still a force, but is he capable of beating Marc Marquez on equal machinery? I hope so, but given that Bagnaia just got beat by Jorge Martin on equal machinery, I'm not sure if I'm optimistic.

There is also only going to be one more factory-spec Ducati in 2024. Pramac has gone over to Yamaha, while Ducati has given a single GP25 to VR46, putting it in the hands of Fabio Di Giannantonio.

I think Digia will be good on the GP25 this year, and maybe he'll win a couple of races, but I expect him to finish somewhere between third and fifth. Third if no one else can challenge Ducati, fourth or fifth if the likes of Aprilia or KTM can start to pressure the Ducatis.

So overall, I think most races next year will finish with Marquez and Bagnaia in the top two slots, and everyone else fighting for third. The bright side for everyone else, I suppose, is that both Marc and Pecco can be crash prone, so maybe that's where all the other wins will come from.

Will that be good?

We'll see.

Was this competitive era good?

Yes.

Hearing about 2020 and 2021 and paying attention to the very end of the 2022 season is what made me want to become a MotoGP fan. I watched the entire 2023 season on janky streams, I was relieved as hell to see the 2024 season come onto Max so that I could watch MotoGP legally and safely - and share it with my racing friends - so for me, this competitive era has been great.

The entire reason I'm writing this blogpost is because I'm scared that MotoGP is turning for the worse just as I've become a fan.

So what era do I think is most comparable to this competitive era?

The early 2000s. Let's say 1999-2003 for instance.

1999, Mick Doohan gets injured and suddenly the best 500cc GP rider is out of the picture. Alex Crivillé on a Repsol Honda and Kenny Roberts Jr. on a Suzuki battled for the title, with occasional appearances by the other two Repsol Hondas of Tadayuki Odaka and Sete Gibernau, as well as Max Biaggi who was dragging that Marlboro Yamaha forward.

2000 continued the trends, with Kenny Roberts Jr. winning on the Suzuki, Valentino Rossi pressuring him on a Nastro Azzurro Honda run by Mick Doohan's former crew. Max Biaggi on the Marlboro Yamaha was third, with a huge variety of satellite riders involving themselves as well. The Emerson Hondas of Alex Barros and Loris Capirossi, the Red Bull and Antena3 Yamahas of Garry McCoy and Norifumi Abe, Carlos Checa on the other Marlboro Yamaha, and Alex Crivillé struggling on the overpowered - no literally, it had too much power - Repsol Honda, only taking one win in his title defense.

2001 was a turn towards dominance with Valentino Rossi on that Nastro Azzurro Honda, but we still saw wins from Max Biaggi on the Yamaha. We saw the Pons team - now West Honda - continue to pressure the front with Capirossi and Barros, and Sete Gibernau won a single race on the Suzuki. Interesting how that happened twice in a row. In 1999, Crivillé on the Repsol Honda won the title just to win a single race in 2000, while in 2000, Roberts on the Suzuki won just for Suzuki to only take a single win in 2001 with Sete Gibernau at Valencia.

2002 I think lines up with 2022. Valentino Rossi, now brought into Repsol Honda, wins the first 990cc title over Max Biaggi on the Marlboro Yamaha. Tohru Ukawa on the Repsol Honda and Alex Barros on that West Honda also challenge for wins on the same bike as the champion, playing that Enea Bastianini role.

2003 then, is the Honda show much like 2024 was the Ducati show. Valentino Rossi on the Repsol Honda, Sete Gibernau on the Telefonica Gresini Honda, and Max Biaggi, now on the Camel Honda - Pons with a new title sponsor - with Loris Capirossi at Catalunya playing that Maverick Vinales at COTA role as the sole win for a different manufacturer.

2004, however, marked the end of that era. Valentino Rossi went to Yamaha and still won the title in dominant fashion. Five Hondas in the top six but it was Rossi on top with nine wins on a bike that hadn't won since 2002. That shattered the idea that Valentino Rossi was simply the best of the Hondas, instead, he was the best in the world, perhaps the best ever.

And maybe on an optimistic note, in 2025, his protege, Pecco Bagnaia, will prove that he is more than just the Ducati champion. Perhaps Bagnaia will weather the storm of Marc Marquez as his teammate and win the championship anyway.

MotoGP seems to be in a bad way, with Ducati dominant, Bagnaia having been beat by Martin, and Marc Marquez coming into Ducati and threatening to dominate.

But in 2003, everyone swore up and down that the 990cc five-cylinder Honda was the best bike in the world, only for Rossi to go onto the Yamaha and win anyway.

Honda seemed invincible in 2003, but Yamaha beat them in 2004.

Marquez seems inevitable in 2024, but maybe someone can stop him in 2025.

Maybe Pecco, maybe Martin on the Aprilia, or maybe the Japanese will shock everyone and somehow bounce back.

It's unlikely, but...maybe there's still hope.

[flyingfabio]

@flyingfabio presents…

⭐ THE 2024 MOTOGP FRAUD AWARDS ⭐

i thought about doing an introduction but really the title is self-explanatory and i can’t be bothered. supposed to be an humorous post. biased i guess.

in the first category… ✨MANUFACTURERS & TEAMS✨

DUCATI. promising a seat before retracting your offer to the guy who ultimately won the championship for you over your number one guy and will take the number 1 to another manufacturer is quite the achievement. i don't want to hear the 'but who is the real loser because jorge martin is going to a worse bike blabla' crowd. i don't care. that's loser behavior and poor management from ducati but hey. *casey stoner voice* at this point who is surprised it's typical from ducati. big fat bonus fraud point for delaying ride height devices ban until 2027 so us fans can fully enjoy processions races until then. thanks guys!

KTM. poured millions into motogp and have not won a dry race since 2021. manage their finances worse than the worst crypto bro. will probably pay its riders with pennies and make them race with carboard bikes next year. bonus fraud point for being the ugliest looking bike on the grid.

APRILIA. the "yes i do the cooking (the riders) yes i do the cleaning (the riders line up)" brand. yes they DO have the only non-ducati win this season which should automatically avoid them the fraud status but alas we can’t ignore the rest of the season which was dire. for god’s sake hey needed 758 bikes to crash for aleix to win a SPRINT in BARCELONA where aprilias are supposed to fly. they are so lucky they will have jorge martin on their bike next season. HOWEVER very much a double-edged sword as he could further expose the fraud status of the bike if he’s not able to challenge for wins as the current world champion.

YAMAHA & HONDA. summarized in one picture each.

honourable mention goes to… GRESINI RACING SOCIAL MEDIA ADMIN. if i got ten dollars every time i had to see a cringy AI-assisted movie poster edit this year… if only it were just that and not also the passive agressive replies to people questioning them photoshopping black people hairstyle on gresini team members because that’s supposed to represent lewis hamilton. bonus fraud point for not issuing a single professional statement when the team fucked up with the title sponsor.

in the second category… ✨RIDERS✨

PECCO BAGNAIA. winning 10 11 races and not winning the championship because the bin it gene is still going strong after years. it's about time it bit him in the ass.

MAVERICK VINALES. sorry eden i said i didn't plan to put him here because the man is the only one on a non ducati to have a won race on a sunday. BUT i remembered something. how the hell do you leave a factory aprilia to go to a satellite ktm on your own free will.....

FRANCO MORBIDELLI. nepotism is one hell of a thing eh.

MARCO BEZZECCHI. karma is one hell of thing eh. 'marquez? i put him fifth behind pecco, martin, enea and me' all it needed was a new michelin rear to humble him. cinema!

JACK MILLER. jack's specialty is backhanded comments about riders who are objectively better than him before immediatly proceeding to flop in a stellar fashion. 'i was faster than a guy who just renewed for 12 million.' congrats jack you finished behind said guy while being on a better bike and now you're basically riding as a test rider to develop a bike so that guy can win again.

in the last category… ✨REST OF THE PADDOCK✨

STEWARDS. listen. taking a fraud-o-meter in the stewards room would be like taking a radioactivity meter in chernobyl. at so many occasions they have shat the bed this year i can't list them all. not giving penalties because 'oops we didn't see' or seeing bubbles after putting a wheel in a bin with water. fortunately next year we'll be free of freddie spencer. hallelujah!

TV DIRECTION. could be summed up by dorna filming the same guys separated by two seconds for 20 laps be like: 'yooo this shit is fire!'

MICHELIN. we've been NEEDING a new front tire for YEARS but no these guys went and introduced a new rear tire (AGAIN) that favours a bike that was already dominating. great job lads!

PEOPLE BEHIND THE MOTOGP REBRAND. between the soulless logo and the absurd slogan i think we've hit the fraud jackpot.

[imeriayapping]

He doesn't know when it starts or even how.

Well if Logan tried to go back to see all the steps that lead him here he should probably start around 2021 when he first opened MotoGP race when there was nothing else to watch.

He was always hungry for more, watching as much different racing as he could, it's just motorcycles are a bit out of his comfort zone so he never gravitated towards opening a stream somewhere to watch.

Of course logan knew about it, about people in it and thought about Rossi the same way he did about Gordon and Hamilton if not for his own experience of watching than at least for how much lando was talking about him. As the Greatest of all.

It takes him a bit to learn all teams, how everything works and some major events but he gets there, fully emerged at that point.

Logan still doesn't watch all that much content of riders bc he's not interested in their personalities besides what they say about bikes but he catches glimpse of how insane it all is anyway and it fascinates him when he compares it to formula scenery where it's so political and everyone is second away from clawing at your throat.

Guys there are wild and don't have pr crafted personalities that they need just to survive. Next season starts, he gets into f2 and watching gets a bit more challenging on some weekends but manageable on most. And nothing would change if not for one bike that his eyes keep going back to and the guy on it that Logan starts watching press conferences forBc firstly bez is amazing and it's interesting to watch him on track. And secondly he's just so..... different, so open and always smiley.

It's fascinating to Logan because it's almost diametrally different from what he himself is. He loves a good hug don't get him wrong but living mostly alone on another continent from your family and all friends doesn't make for a lot of opportunities to express emotions through touches. Sometimes it feels like he can go weeks without meaningful contact. Also Logan can only watch how outgoing and extrovert marco is never even being close to that, sticking with few people that he knew the best.

It somehow transformed into following him on multiple platforms and watching whatever content motogp or his team would put out. It became kinda embarrassing at the point where he could understand a few Italian words from sheer amount of them that he heard before. It was a bit annoying not being able to understand a lot of stuff but he wouldn't prove "dumb American" stereotype by wishing for guy to speak only in English. Plus the way his voice sounded when he actually did talk in English was very cute, so nothing to be sad about.

Logan started wondering if this what admiration for drivers felt like because he never experienced it before always only motivated by his own desire to win not by those he saw on screens. It was pretty tough to rationalize by himself so he went to the most rational person he could think of (and totally not because it was his only friend on the grid,no) - oscar.

It was usual hangout for them only stained by somewhat awkward logan who didn't know how to approach subject until oscar points out his weird behaviour and makes him talk it all out while listening intently. In the end oscar just answered with short but straightforward "sounds more like you catching an internet crush that anything else" which made Logan spat out million protesters a second only stopped by solid hand on his forearm

"Look you should think it all over and if you still not sure I'll go to MotoGP race next month for promo so you can tag along and actually speak to the guy to see how you feel"It took him a while to evaluate everything and actually come to some form of conclusion but looking back oscar wasn't wrong, it's just Logan never catched feelings in similar way so it was confusing. But looking at it now it wasn't even surprising with how mesmerising marco was, resembling the sun whenever he went with his blinding smile and warm attitude. And Logan wanted to reach out to that shine too

But even ignoring all that he asepted Oscar's offer mostly to watch race itself because in person it would be way cooler than through small screen in shitty hotel room. Logan didn't plan on even going close to bez there because mortifying ordeal of confronting a crush that doesn't know you exist is a bit too much for him but it's not like anything ever goes according to his plan.

So this time what gone wrong was bez himself that catched a cute blonde guy laughing with sun rays in corners of his eyes while talking to someone but standing completely on his own otherwise looking a bit uncomfortable in unfamiliar space. And of course marco went to introduce himself because why waste such chance? Especially when his outstretched hand ready for handshake is met with blush and shuttering before he even managed to say anything besides "hi, I'm bez"

[batsplat]

pecco rant please please

*spins wheel on possible topics* absurdly underrated but in a dumb way. you'd think you can stumble your way into two premier class titles. I don't care he's on the best bike - let's be honest, how often this century have the title winners not been on the best bike? 2004 and to a lesser extent 2005 you can say clearly weaker bike, 2007 late 2010s 2021 there's a clear enough disparity with anyone else riding the bike that you can say clearly the rider is making the difference/it's an unrideable wreck one guy is making respectable, then there's a few seasons where it's at least very close whose machinery is best or they're fighting with people on equal equipment, which pecco has done! but generally speaking, good/promising riders end up on good bikes and then they win. that's how the game works!

the thing about 2022 is that it had such a massive mid-season swing that overhauling a ninety something point margin cannot come down to any single factor. is it fair to say fabio lost that title? on balance, it's a bit harsh - yes, there were a few too many errors post-sachsenring, yes, some were driven by desperation, but also you can't really expect anyone to ride a flawless season. but pecco did win that title as much as yamaha lost it. I don't care if you're riding a literal rocketship with two wheels, you can't win four races in a row if you're not extremely good at what you do! if we're saying that title was worth less because the yamaha turned to shit in the second half of the season, then let's keep going. let's put an asterisk next to 2013 because jorge and dani both got injured (let's not even get into the 'if marc hadn't been injured' asterisks because that's where you get into truly silly territory). is 2006 not a legit title because of all the bad luck valentino faced that year? let's say all titles between 2007 to 2015 were worth less because at any one time only 4-6 bikes had a realistic chance of winning races. throw out any title before 2009 because they were constantly fucking about with the tyres and there wasn't a level playing field. if you're motivated enough, you can play this game with basically anything, but it's dumb and pointless because that's not how sports works! you can only win against whoever you're facing. it has always been thus and it will always be thus

it's narratively fun and juicy that pecco has these insecurities himself - but within the context of everyone else doing discourse over it, the whole thing is massively overblown! linked to some of the worst sports discourse about how much people love to disparage late bloomers, because they need every single successful athlete to fit the same mould of the ultra-talented wunderkind, apparently. it's more interesting when it's not always the most 'talented' (whatever tf that means), naturally gifted, *fast the second he touches a bike* bloke who wins. sometimes they have to work hard for it, sometimes they have to improve themselves year on year and be smart about how they do it, sometimes they have to be in the right place and right time, sometimes they have to be very lucky. sports is all about competition, and competition is all about contrast. it's a contrast that can be generated in a whole lot of ways, and in fairness to motogp they have come up with a bunch of interesting narratively tense contests that don't rely on a massive fundamental 'talent' differential - but at the end of the day, that's one of the best ones you can have! the more ways you can have to win in any given sport, the better, both in the literal sense of how you go about the actual process of winning and how you even become a winner. none of this means that pecco isn't very very good, it means he got there in a different way than every other multiple champ this century has. it fundamentally flattens the sport if you want every top-level competitor to be an alien-level talent... one of the best things about this current era is that it has given us something new and exciting in that regard, where you well and truly believe some very different blokes might have what it takes to eventually be champion

anyway, pecco is absurdly adept at digging himself into holes and absurdly adept at digging himself out of them. he's one of the worst frontrunners imaginable in every sense, biologically incapable of dominating without at least a perpetual hint of jeopardy, both in the context of a race and a season. but when his back is against the wall, somehow he keeps finding performances you never imagined he was capable of. his mixed up and slightly odd skillset, his strengths and weaknesses, how he's better and worse than he has any right to be... all of it lends itself to perpetual momentum shifts and thrilling seasons - because you never quite know what you're going to get. love him or hate him, he's a gift to the overall competitive landscape! god knows the racing hasn't been much to write home about these last few years (though, yes, we did have a good little run this season), but somehow he's managed to get himself involved in two out of the six title deciders this century back-to-back. is that not the dream for the viewer, to have a bloke at the top of the sport with a little self-combust chip in his head every time he builds too much of an advantage? build a hundred of those guys! throw a marc marquez at him and see what he does! I can't wait to see what he'll come up with next

[motocorsas]

okay i actually do have a hottake re: marc hater in unhinged confessions. as a marc disliker i think i see where they're coming from but disagree with the delivery. this is gonna be a long one.

they're correct about everything, like from a factual standpoint. marc did win an absurd amount of races in the 2010s, he did push honda to build a bike that favored his style, he did leave for ducati and he does still get tows.

but i think they're overinflating how much those facts affected his career. like, 2013 still happened; that wasn't a bike that favored him and he was riding on tracks he'd never even seen before. he's naturally talented, there's no way around it. and i see how that can be frustrating too -- i started watching motogp in about 2017 and i didn't like marc from the get-go. frankly, no matter how many exciting overtakes or impressive saves there are, if you can predict the outcome of a race before it starts, it's not a very entertaining one, or at least it adds up to a pretty boring season. that's how i felt.

as far as the concept of "overcommitment": this is a very niche term, also called overconformity, used in sports sociology. the idea proposed by some sociologists is that sportsmen subscribe to the ethic of the sport -- the pervasive ideas on what the sport should be, and what it means to be participating in it -- but some take it too far, and it becomes self-sabotage. sociologists jay coakley and robert hughes describe the core tenets of the theory:

overconformity is not just about wanting to win or be superior to other competitors, it's an uncritical belief in the mythology of a given sport.

coakley and hughes' framework was developed to explain deviance, or a deliberate action that breaks the rules or norms of a sport. they use multiple examples, but focus on the use of PEDS.

here's the problem: is marquez deviant?

he's certainly sacrificed his own wellbeing to get ahead. i think this is a functional analysis when looking at marc's injuries, multiple of which have temporarily or permanently disabled him. he internalized the messages of the sport, that winning is the only option and injuries can or even should be sustained to achieve it. but he's not breaking any rules by riding injured, he's doing something glorified as heroic. same thing with hitching tows, which is perhaps closer true deviance; a tactic disliked by many other riders that benefits one participant at the cost of another. a ban on towing would be difficult to enforce, so the practice goes unchecked, even if it is typically outside the boundary of acceptable behaviors. where anon's analysis really falls apart is in his off-track decisions, like choosing to switch from honda to ducati. he made an informed decision to switch manufacturers to improve his performance. that's just the way the game works.

when speaking about the ways he contributed to the development of the modern honda project, my opinions start to get a little messier. because i do think that bike was made with his specific style in mind, and i think that's selfish. but i also think just about every rider is selfish, because that's how the sport works.

there have been outliers, teammates dedicated to the craft, the altruists ready to defend their garage-mate's championship hopes at the price of their own. consider jack miller's defense of pecco bagnaia when they were teammates. but even his opinions changed:

the above quote was published in 2021, just before the misano grand prix, which pecco did end up winning while miller finished fifth. the next year, he had this to say:

not all riders are going to sacrifice their career for another's. that's just not the way it works, especially if, as i discussed above, said rider has fully internalized the sport's ethic. though marc's prowess on the honda did come at the cost of more riders' success than just one teammate -- the independent teams leasing hondas also have to contend with the bike and its quirks, leading to plenty of nasty crashes. marquez himself acknowledges it.

the honda of the mid to late 2010s was the sharpest of the v4s, took a very angular line that required absolutely godlike reflexes in order to turn correctly. you had to know exactly when and where to shift, brake, release the brake, and open the throttle again, and you had to do all of this with milisecond-perfect accuracy. just about only marc was able to make it work. if you disagree, don't listen to me. listen to jorge lorenzo, who said this in an interview with Motorsprint earlier this year:

the exception to this rule was pedrosa, who was able to adapt to the honda build, but still didn't win a championship.

i've spent enough time building my argument. what all of this amounts to is that yes, your honor, marc marquez is guilty of being too good at motorcycle racing. he has sacrificed his body and plenty of other riders' in the name of creating the perfect team, the perfect bike, the perfect career.

it's up to you to choose how to feel about all of this. personally, i don't care for him, but more than that i worry about his safety and his mental state. i think if he sustains another head injury, it may be time to make the executive decision to retire. brain damage is serious, and though he recovered from the vision problems that plagued him in 2021, they have the potential to return if re-injured. i may buy into the villain narrative from time to time, but i recognize that it is just that, a narrative. a story i tell myself to make sense of the sport. we are all in charge of our own interpretations. in summation: marc fans are not "brainless". let's make sure marc doesn't end up that way either.

[kwisatzworld]

List of Valentino Rossi books and documentaries:

inspired by @pgaslys list of marc’s docs

📚 Books

What If I Had Never Tried It [English/Italian/Spanish/German/Japanese/Chinese, etc.]: Vale’s only autobiography to date, translated into a lot of languages (so many that it’s hard to keep count). The English edition is notoriously rough - think spelling mistakes and some lost-in-translation moments. Despite this, yellow fans absolutely shouldn’t miss out on this gem. Published in 2006, during Vale’s zenith with five consecutive championships under his belt, the book radiates his happiness and confidence. The narrative is casual, with chapters loosely connected, but you will still find pleasure in reading this book.

MotoGenius: the Valentino Rossi biography by Mat Oxley: Oxley remains my all-time favorite Rossi author! Initially published years ago, the latest edition is available on Kindle. It’s a treasure trove of Vale anecdotes and Oxley’s unique insights, offering a glimpse into how Vale captivated his generation.

The Valentino Rossi Files: Everything I’ve ever written about VR by Mat Oxley: Available on Kindle, this collection (in two parts) encapsulates all the articles Oxley wrote about Vale for magazines and newspapers before joining Motor Sport Magazine.

Valentino Rossi: The Definitive Biography by Stuart Barker: A comprehensive biography of Vale, chronologically organized.

Valentino Rossi: Il Dio del Motociclismo by Fabio Fagnani [Italian]: Not recommended as the author’s fan-like admiration making it read more like a love letter than a biography. The only saving grace is the interview with Aldo Drudi.

Valentino Rossi: All His Races by Mat Oxley [English/German/Japanese/Serbian]: Chronicles every race of Vale’s career, enriched with exclusive interviews.

🎥 Documentaries

When asked about a movie about himself, Vale said, “If it’s a bad movie, I’d rather it didn’t exist.” He holds a similarly cautious stance towards documentaries, and has never personally produced a documentary about himself, though perhaps that might change at some point in the future.

Faster (2003) : Premiered at the Festival de Cannes during MotoGP’s golden era, this documentary intriguingly portrays the rivalry between Vale and Max Biaggi.

The Doctor, the Tornado, and the Kentucky Kid (2006) : Focuses on the 2005 season, especially the US Grand Prix, you can see the beautiful yellow livery of Yamaha’s 50th anniversary.

Fastest (2011) : A sequel to Faster.

Hitting the Apex (2015) : Arguably the best MotoGP documentary out there. Vale and Marco riding into the sunset to ‘Wish you were here’ is a poignant moment.

Valentino Rossi: The Doctor (2016) : Produced by Monster Energy, primarily illustrating how Vale expanded his empire step by step.

Racing Together (2017): MotoGP history isn’t complete without its greatest icon, Vale features for about 15 minutes.

Valentino’s Secret Room: Inside the Doctor’s Hidden Archive (2020) : Produced by Dainese, revealing Vale’s personal collection.

Ruta 46 – Ruta 93: El camino de dos mitos (2021) : Produced by DAZN España, unfortunately I haven’t seen it yet – if you have, let me know how it tells the tale.

Tales of Valentino (2021) : A nine-episode documentary series produced by Dorna, showcasing different aspects of Vale’s career through nine significant races.

RiVale | Valentino Rossi as Told by His Rivals (2021) : Produced by DAZN Italia featuring Vale’s main rivals (except Marc), sharing their stories with him.

Rossi | BT Sport Documentary on the Career of MotoGP Icon, Valentino Rossi (2022) : Produced by BT Sport following Vale’s retirement, highlighted by Suzi Perry’s captivating hosting style.

MotoGP Unlimited (2022) : No need for a lengthy introduction – it’s probably already been watched by everyone by now.

[ross1fum1]

amoo plss tell me more about valentino and pedro! When did they meet? Vale seems so fond of pedro

Also ur post about vale giving tips to pedro? where did u find it plss send me everything lol

(Getting really invested in this lol)

I love yapping about Valentino and Pedro so I’ll gladly give you a sum up

The first time Vale talked about Pedro was after Qatar 2021, Pedro’s second race in Moto3 where he won starting from pitlane. He says he had already seen that he managed to get second place in his first race but congratulates him in particular for the comeback he made in this one. Then the interviewer asks him if in a few years they will race together and Vale jokingly says that he is waiting for him

Then in 2022 Vale invited Pedro at the 100km of Champions for the first time.

And invited him again in 2023 when Pedro brought Remy with him.

Here Remy tells how it went at the 100km and explains that they talked about the differences between MotoGP and WSBK, KTM, electronics etc...And he says that Vale knows everything about everyone lol.

Now thanks to this recent interview where Pedro compliments Valentino, we know that there was the possibility for him to race in Moto2 for the 2022 season with the VR46 team, but that in the end it didn't happen due to the sponsors. And then he reveals that after his first test with the MotoGP bike he explained to Valentino how he felt on the bike and Valentino gave him some advice.

I guess they are often in contact because Pedro also said that after his first MotoGP race Valentino texted him to congratulate him

Now I’d say it’s clear that Pedro likes Vale a lot. In fact in this interview (min 31.35, interview in italian) when the interviewer asks Pedro which is the first rider he dreams to overtake when he gets in MotoGP, he replies "It's difficult to know that Valentino no longer races in MotoGP". Then he explains that even when he raced at the ranch in 2022 it was special for him to follow Valentino because despite his age he still rode crazy fast. He also says that he wished Valentino would have retired two or three years later just to be able to race against him.

Even in this interview with DAZN his admiration clearly shines through. When he is asked who he would like to be between Marquez and Rossi he answers Valentino and calls him the father of the whole paddock.

Vale also likes him a lot

And it’s clear from the words he says in this interview on the MotoGP website which I transcribed here

And this is all we got for now which already makes me happy enough since they are my favorites

[lilghostiequinni]

Podium & Champagne Kisses

Main Masterlist Lando Masterlist

Pairing: Hamilton! F1 Mercedes racer!female oc (Layana) x Lando Norris

Warnings: Fluffy,

Summary: For the first time in history, there is no photo finish that can choose the winner of a Formula One Grand Prix. It becomes less about the win and more about the champange.

Requested: NO / yes

2024 - Silverstone

Lewis Hamilton stood before a few interviews talking about his emotional, record-breaking 9th win at his home race of Silverstone.

His sister had gotten to him even before their father, toughing her arms around Lewis, tears streaming down her face.

When the hug was over, she looked at him, and he nodded. She moved out of the way for their father, then went over to Lando and hugged him, having a long-time friendship with the McLaren driver.

But now, Lewis drew back to the present after talking to his team for a few minutes, he was told it was okay to make the announcement of his replacement in the 2025 season.

He stood in front of the interviewer and the microphone; the question he was asked was, "Who would you like to replace at Mercedes next season?"

"Well, there are a few different answers to that question on who I would like to replace me because there are many great drivers who have and are being considered, and I was given the okay by the team and Toto to tell who would be replacing me. It was a long and lengthy decision on who. It was decided that my little sister, Layana, would be taking over my seat; she actually doesn't know yet that she's being offered the seat. So, Surprise!" Lewis said at length.

The interviewer expressed surprise, as did Layana, who was inside the Mercedes garage watching the interviews.

When Lewis got back to the garage, he told his sister that what he said was true, that she was, in fact, the new driver for Mercedes with George come 2025.

The week between Silverstone and Hungary, the contract between Mercedes and Layana Hamilton became official, and it was announced that Layana Hamilton would be taking her brother, Lewis's seat at Mercedes in 2025.

It was accompanied by an article detailing the career that Layana had followed.

The article/

Layana Hamilton's rise to Formula One seat in Mercedes

Layana Hamilton started her career in karting alongside other drivers such as Lando Norris, George Russell, and Alex Albon. She raced in Formula 2 alongside both drivers, opting out of joining the 2019 season of Formula One. She entirely changed motorsports for the 2019 season, opting to be a backup reserve driver for McLaren F1 but pursuing the season in the sport of MotoGP, the motorcycle version of Formula One.

In 2020, Hamilton returned to the sport of Formula One as a reserve driver for McLaren. During the 2020 season, she had gone off to the 24-hour Le Mans race, replacing Norman Nato in the Rebellion Racing at the last minute.

In 2021, Layana returned as a reserve driver, actually being able to race in Silverstone for a sick Daniel Riccardo and again in Russia.

2022 wasn't much different than 2020, having just been a reserve driver and again racing in the 24-hour Le Mans, changing teams to the Toyota Gazoo Racing, replacing Mike Conway for the race after what happened about 2 days before the race.

In the 2023 season of Formula One, Hamilton was offered a death at McLaren F1, which she did not take again, opting instead to move to the new McLaren team in the latest endeavor of the F1 Academy, eventually winning the season. She was also added to Ferrari AF Corse at the last minute in place of James Calado.

In the latest season of 2024, she moved from McLaren to Mercedes in F1 Academy and is again leading the championship. Layana also again competed in the 24-hour Le Mans race and, for the second time, with the winning team of Ferrari AF Corse.

So, it can be expected for great things from Layana Hamilton in the coming 2025 season.

Layana Hamilton celebrated her contract signing at Mercedes with her long-time boyfriend, Lando Norris. She went out and celebrated and partied because she got a seat.

She was ready, though before she offered, she wasn't ready. It didn't feel right each time she offered, and this time it felt right, it felt different.

Lando had been with her through it all. He knew the circumstances of other seasons that she turned down in previous seasons.

Lando knew why it didn't feel right each time. It was because of Lewis. He knew that it was different because of her brother, it wasn't some team offering her a contract like the last two times, it was her rock for the better part of her life, her big brother that offering her something she wanted.

2025 - Silverstone

It was Layana's first home race.

Her nerves were almost getting the better of her when arms wrapped around her from behind.

"It's okay, love. Just breathe. Come on. In. Out," It was Lando, Layana knew just from the tone of his voice.

Layana followed him with her breathing, calming down with each breath.

The race started with Lando at the pole and Layana at the second.

Before the end of the first lap, Layana was leading, and Lando had fallen behind Max into second.

5 laps to go, and Layana and Lando had been switching lead of the race the whole race.

When the chequered flag waved, it was a tie.

Lando and Layana crossed the finish at the same time. Not even a photo finish could determine the winner. The stewards determined that they both won.

"And the winner of the 2025 Silverstone, for the first time in history, is a tie. The winners are Layana Hamilton, for her maiden win in Formula One, and Lando Norris, for his first win at his home Grand Prix.

After that, there were bottles of champagne and kisses til there was no air in their lungs.

There was also the publication of Layana and Lando's relationship when he kissed her on the podium.

A/N: Follower Cele 1, here. I'm a little behind. I know that's what I'm doing today.

Tags: @poppyflower-22 @samantha-chicago @barcelonaloverf1life @tallrock35 @ellen3101 @llando4norris @hellothere9597

If you want to be removed from a tag list, let me know so I don't keep tagging you. If you are striked through, I don't know if you want to be tagged, but just let me know if you want me to continue or stop

[coimbrabertone]

MotoGP Silly Season Predictions - Plus Larson Waiver Talk.

As recently as this morning, I was planning on this week's blogpost being about the Kyle Larson waiver situation over in NASCAR, however, MotoGP then decided to do everything all at once and launched silly season into high gear.

So, with regards to Larson, I'll just say one thing: he raced in the Indianapolis 500 competitively and made NASCAR look good mere years after Jimmie Johnson, unfortunately, struggled in a Chip Ganassi Indycar on road and street circuits - and there were a lot of jokes at NASCAR's expense after their seven-time world champion spun out every race. So how does NASCAR repay him? Utter silence over whether or not he'll get a playoff waiver.

Kyle Larson is the 2021 champion, took his car to the owner's championship final four as a result of playoff shenanigans in 2022, and then made the final four in 2023 again. He is considered one of the top talents in NASCAR and he has the results to back it up. So why is there controversy over him getting a playoff waiver for this year?

Because Kyle Larson prioritized the Indianapolis 500 last weekend.

I talked about this in my Motorsports Christmas blogpost, but the Indy 500 was rain delayed and Kyle Larson stayed there to compete, and only then he flew out to Charlotte. Now, Kyle Larson landed, was ready to get into the car, but then it started raining in Charlotte too. Just before midnight, as the track was drying, NASCAR controversially decided to call the race, thus Kyle Larson was not able to relieve Justin Allgaier in the #5 and resume the rest of the Coke 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

NASCAR is mad because every other weekend of the year, they're the biggest show in racing, they can throw their weight around and try to chase NFL ratings while all other racing series are considered a niche. That's true every weekend except Memorial Day weekend, when the Indianapolis 500 reigns supreme. The whole existence of the Charlotte 600 is to compete with Indy.

Larson prioritized the bigger race and that made NASCAR made, because they're used to getting their egos stroked.

Larson is one of the best drivers in NASCAR and the double attempt brought good publicity to both sports. He had already won his way into the playoffs and made an effort to get to Charlotte for the end of the 600 - give him a waiver. If not, well, you face the possibility that Austin Cindric is in the playoffs after his shock win at Iowa, and one of the top drivers in the series isn't.

I like Austin, I'm glad he won, but he's nowhere near the same level as Kyle Larson. If he can compete for the championship and Kyle can't, then it makes the NASCAR playoffs look even less legitimate than they already are.

Anyway, that turned into a longer rant than I intended, so I'll leave it there. Now onto the main topic for today: MotoGP silly season.

Yesterday at Mugello, Enea Bastianini spent the final laps of the race charging from fourth to second, overtaking Marc Marquez for third and then pulling off an audacious last corner pass on Jorge Martin for second. This meant that Enea finished just eight tenths off leader Pecco Bagnaia for a factory Ducati 1-2.

So naturally, Ducati has decided to replace him.

Marc Marquez, who finished four and last out of these three, is going to the Ducati Lenovo Team, according to Autosport.

This was all but confirmed when, a few hours later, Aprilia confirmed the signing of Jorge Martin for Aprilia. Jorge Martin who finished third and got overtaken by Enea Bastianini in the final corner, mind you.

Now, of course, Ducati is not judging this off of one race alone and I acknowledge - as I did in two recent blogposts - that Enea has had a rotten time on the factory Ducati seat. That being said, seeing him lose Ducati to Marc Marquez, who finished last of the main three, and then lose out on the Aprilia seat to the guy he overtook in the final corner. It stings.

That being said, some news out of this weekend might offer a possibility for Enea to have a bit of a soft landing from the factory seat anyway. Let me explain:

Earlier in this weekend, Marc Marquez spelled out his demands in an interview. He said that he was not interested in going to Pramac, saying that he didn't want to switch from a satellite team (he's currently riding a 2023 Ducati at Gresini Racing) to another satellite team (Pramac runs 2024 Ducatis, same as the factory team, with factory contracted riders, they are still customers, however). Instead, Marquez said that the best option was a factory team, and if not that, then a factory bike at minimum.

Translation: Marc Marquez wanted the factory team for 2025, and if he couldn't get that, then he wanted a 2025 Ducati at Gresini, remaining at his current team.

In response, Gino Borsoi, who is the team manager at Pramac, insisted that his team had a contract for two factory-spec Ducati GP25s next year. This was somewhat of a surprise for a number of reasons, one: Ducati announced late last year that they signed Moto2 rider Fermin Aldeguer for 2025, and it seemed like the natural landing spot for him was going to be Pramac...until it emerged later on that Ducati wanted to start Fermin out on a 2024 bike. Two: regardless of which spec Ducati Fermin is going to be on, Pramac has been heavily linked to Yamaha lately.

The Japanese bikes are struggling in MotoGP right now and, ever since RNF switched to satellite Aprilias for 2023, Yamaha has not had a satellite team. Four bikes capturing data instead of two could really help Yamaha right now, so they've been linked to pretty much every Ducati satellite team the last few months. VR46 with the romanticism of a Valentino Rossi and Yamaha reunion, Gresini until they renewed their deal, and most recently, with Pramac.

Yamaha was desperate and the rumor has been that they offered very generous terms to Pramac.

So, the news that Pramac may stay with Ducati after all is a shock to the media, but it does not seem to have been much of a shock to Ducati. Ducati had been working on a way to keep both Martin and Marquez, and it seems that they wanted to offer Pramac the chance to run MotoGP's biggest star - Marc Marquez - as a reason to stay...and potentially a reason to accept taking on a rookie Aldeguer on a year-old bike as well.

Now that Marquez is going to the factory team instead and Jorge Martin has snatched the open Aprilia seat, I see an opening. Ducati can send Enea Bastianini to Pramac, keeping him on a factory spec bike while giving Pramac another frontrunning rider. Aldeguer joins as Bastianini's teammate, on a GP25 if that's what it takes to keep Pramac in the fold, because Marc Marquez will be in the factory team so freeing up a GP25 won't be as important.

What about VR46 and Gresini then? Well, I think Marco Bezzecchi's current season has been a bit of a disaster, so he won't really have much of a chance to get a factory ride next year, so staying at VR46 seems likely. Furthermore, his struggles mean that Bezzecchi probably isn't going to have much luck demanding Ducati gives him a GP25, so status quo is probably the most likely outcome there. It's unfortunate for Bezzecchi, but the sheer reality is that, with all these hot riders on the market, his options seem to be either stay at VR46, or make a more or less lateral move to Trackhouse Aprilia.

Then Franco Morbidelli, another Valentino Rossi academy product, can drop from Pramac into the other VR46 seat.

Where does Fabio DiGiannantonio go then? Well, with Marquez going to the factory, Fabio can now return to Gresini and be reunited with Frankie Carchedi. Thus, restoring the 2023 lineup of Fabio DiGiannantonio and Alex Marquez.

So, to sum things up, I think Ducati can keep all three of its satellite teams and all eight bikes like this:

Ducati Lenovo (GP25): Pecco Bagnaia and Marc Marquez.

Pramac (GP25): Enea Bastianini and Fermin Aldeguer.

VR46 (GP24): Marco Bezzecchi and Franco Morbidelli.

Gresini (GP24): Fabio DiGiannantonio and Alex Marquez.

Maybe Pramac will go to Yamaha after all, maybe my predictions will look radically wrong in a few weeks. I don't know how it'll turn out, but this is the scheme I've thought up in my mind.

I need to do something since with Marc Marquez at Ducati and Jorge Martin at Aprilia, my two favorite teams now have my two least favorite riders and I'm trying not to dwell on that part.

So yeah.

Oh, also this weekend Indycar raced at Detroit, but uhh...the less said about that, the better.

[chussyracing]

what has been happening in the world of motorsports?

it's very long, so all updates and rumours are under the cut

DRIVERS (and others) MARKET

Esteban will leave Alpine at the end of the year (he will confirm his future in f1 „soon“)

Checo Perez got a contract extension in RBR for 2025 and 2026 (meaning that yes, he will be in the team for the first year of new rules)

since there are whispers about Newey already being signed for Ferrari, there are also rumours about Enrico Cardile looking at potential offers (like the one from Aston Martin) as his role could be diminished by Newey coming

very much a rumour (by DailyMail as well) but Ollie to Haas has been confirmed by them

Yuki extended his contract with RB for 2025 season

FIA passed the rule that drivers can be 17 to achieve Superlicence needed for outing in F1 and the only person it could probably apply to right now is Kimi Antonelli who turns 18 in August, so we may see him in an F1 car sooner than that (on the other hand it can also apply to the FP1 junior outing as well)

another thing that supports is are quotes from Toto (that they told Carlos they want to focus on young drivers and he understood) and form James Vowles (that Carlos is their main target for signing)

there are also unconfirmed rumours that Williams offered Carlos a 4 year deal (2 years with 2 years extension possibility) and that the deal could get announced around Barcelona GP

Guanyu is rumoured to look into Alpine seat possibility (remember he was in their junior academy)

Horner cleared up that the new contract extension for Checo is not actually 2 year but rather 1+1

Sauber (or rather Audi) signed Stefano Sordo as performance director in preparation for 2026

Adam Kenyon has been promoted to Head of Aero of Williams and according to James Vowles he has been with he team since 2021 and was “quietly promoted” in March this year already, they just didn’t announce it with a lot of noise

there are reports that Ferrari dropped the negotiations with Newey around Monaco and since he visited Aston Martin factory

Helmut Marko confirmed that if they cannot find a seat for Liam Lawson for 2025 he has a clause in his contract making him a free agent open to all the teams

Montoya said that Logan already has been told he won’t continue racing for Williams in 2025 and this is what is behind his bad results this year (but when does anyone listen to what Montoya says anyway)

OTHER SERIES

Jamie Chawdick became the first ever female to win an Indy NXT race (after also becoming the first female pole sitter)

after Este speaking about getting dead threats, the same happened to Theo Pourchaire in IndyCar for a crash during Detroit GP (Arrow McLaren stood behind him, the same cannot be said about Alpine)

on the other hand… um. he was hired after David Malukas got injured and he was supposed to drive for the rest of the season, and now they fired him and hired Nolan Siegel instead after he apparently just posted about being excited to drive this upcoming weekend (nobody speak to me about how Ferrari treats Carlos for not extending his contract when you see this please)

Marc Marquez will join Bagnaia in Ducati for 2025 in MotoGP

Arthur Leclerc won his first race with his Scuderia Baldini and rest of the team in GT3 series (with a car sponsored by LEC which based on his race suit is his personal sponsor)

Ferrari won 24 hours of Le Mans AGAIN for the second year in row, this time with car #50 and car #51 coming in p3 for a double podium (Nyck de Vries was p2 with Toyota, Ferrari #83 was running in contention for a win or podium at least until the engine died, Alpine suffered double DNF with both cars)

JUNIORS

McLaren reserve driver Hirakawa tested MCL36 yesterday

Jack Doohan did his FP1 session for Alpine in Esteban’s car in Canada and coincidentally Bruno Famin (Alpine TP spoke about him being on their list for the 2025 Alpine seat)

Ollie Bearman will be doing another FP1 session in Nico’s car in Barcelona for Haas

Jak Crawford tested 2022 Aston Martin car

Kimi Antonelli tested W13 in Barcelona

Kacper Sztuka was dropped from Red Bull junior academy after just 4 race weekends and there is a real concern if he will be able to finish the season without the financial backing that the F1 backing brought him

RULES AND FUTURE OF F1

Red Bull Ring will have temporary gravel traps between T9 and T10 (so it would avoid track limits trauma from past two years in F1 but it would also stay safe for MotoGP)

F1’s revenue increased by 45% in first quarter of 2024 in comparison to 2023

the 2026 rules were announced by FIA: cars will be narrower and shorter and lighter, DRS will be replaced by MOM (manual overtake mode) which just sounds like push to pass tbh as it gives you more energy for some time, there will be new aero modes – basically active aero parts (so again similar to DRS but both on front and rear wing and those will be manually activated and it won’t be depended on how close you are to the car in front) and there are new safety measures with stronger hoop after Guanyu’s crash in Silverstone and better/more lights for visibility and of course no front wheel deflectors thank god, there will be less ground effect and less exhaust engine power with electric engine adding more power

FE also will get some new rules: new gloves with better protection (after a series of hand injuries with current generation of cars) and same rules as in F1 about superlicence were updated

side note many F1 team principals apparently already protested certain parts of the new rules (and also some drivers, Lando said that fans can forget about more than one team running for a victory with new rules and George said it could be dangerous with crazy speeds on straights and very slow ones in turns)

also Domenicali admitted that these regs might be the last with hybrid cars, instead they would focus on 100% sustainable fuels and better “traditional” sound and lighter cars in the upcoming years after that

oh and Newey spoke about the new regs as well and said that FIA was “heavily influenced by one or two manufacturers” when making 2026 technical regulations

and Mercedes and Renault are against alternations to the agreed engine regulations for 2026

Ferrari tested the 2025 Pirelli tyres in Mugello last week

FIA is thinking of doing two sets of testings (instead of just three days like it was in recent years, doing 6 of them instead) which would probably be 3 days in Barcelona and 3 days in Bahrain for 2026 as the teams would need to collect more data with the new regulations coming into place

F1 TEAMS

the investigation against Stake Kick Sauber F1 Team in Switzerland was dropped “after determining that Sauber’s international presence and the inaccessibility of Stake’s services in Switzerland rendered the sponsorship compliant with regulations”

formulauno reports that Ferrari’s Imola upgrade package cost them about 35% of development budget, so more big changes were meant come in Silverstone but the team pushed forward and is expected to bring them in Barcelona already (so maybe new floor? maybe diffusor area where we lose a lot to RBR?) – this upgrade package could be fit to both cars depending on how they do (and if they can do 3 copies)

Mercedes should also bring new floor to Spain with more gains expected from them, Red Bull, VCARB and McLaren are also expected to bring some upgrades

Williams had a fanzone in Montreal and opened another in Barcelona

Red Bull is apparently asking for legality check of the front wings of Mercedes (and probably McLaren and Ferrari and there is a speculation that Aston Martin has a similar front wing in works)

there are speculations about Renault dropping out of F1 after rumours that Alpine is asking for possibility of Red Bull Powertrains as their engine supplier from 2026 onwards

speaking for Alpine, they had some upgrades that obviously helped them quite a lot, but according to Esteban, they have been swapping one chassis (the older one) that is 3kgs heavier and he had it since Miami and he expects them to swap it for the rest of the whole season…

Zak Brown was saying how RBR is toxic right now and he expects more people to leave them

Mercedes is under a wave of criticism because they kind of erased Lewis’ trophy from Chinese sprint from this year on social media (person opinion: I don’t think it was purposeful maybe but definitely very unfortunate under the current circumstances)

slight drama with Alpine (again) from Canada: despite starting much lower with the overweight chassis and grid drop penalty from Monaco, Esteban was running in front of Pierre towards the end of the GP and the team asked him to swap with Pierre who was behind, Esteban didn’t want to but after a lap or so he let Pierre in front, at the end of the race when Pierre couldn’t catch up with Daniel in front, Esteban asked if they can swap back like usual and got negative response

also McLaren could have won the race in Canada and fumbled it because they didn’t call Lando to pit although he was in front of the pit entry when the safety car came out (so it wasn’t bad luck with safety car as some fans called)

RB or VCARB or whatever will be changing their name again because it is pretty confusing right now (Horner said that when they called Yuki about his contract extension with RB he was hopeful for a second that RB means Red Bull)

it is in the stage of rumour for now BUT Alpine is apparently looking for a way out of the deal with Renault as it is open secret they make the weakest power unit out of all factory teams and instead is looking for a new engine supplier to become a customer team (also there is a rumour that this and the fact that Flavio Briatore has been linked to the team are the main reasons that Esteban was looking for a way out), there is also a real concern of selling the team (to Andretti for example) but  Renault CEO said that won’t be happening

F1 DRIVERS

Charles invested in Chrono24 which is marketplace for luxury watches (funny side note: Christiano Ronaldo invested in the same company last year)

Charles was the first torch bearer of Olympic flame as it passed through Monaco, making him second F1 driver to do so after Lewis (and Nico Rosberg was there in the crowd to watch Charles lol)

apparently Lewis is staring in Camilla Cabello’s new music video

Charles will be taking part in Jules Bianchi karting marathon in September

Carlos will have a special edition of a cap for his home race in Spain

Max will have a special helmet for Barcelona, Red Bull Ring, Spa, Zandvoort and Monza which is fully orange as “they are European races with a lot of orange fans” (…bro. monza… um)

Max said he was contacted by teams in WEC for a possibility of him taking part in 24h of Le Mans in a hypercar, Pierre also said he would like to do it one day but remains focused on F1 now and Charles also said it could be something he would like to do after F1 because it calls for a lot of training he cannot afford with current 24 races long F1 calendar

gentle reminder that Checo will have a 3 places grid drop penalty in Barcelona because his team purposedly told him to bring the damaged car to the pits although they knew it would be considered driving under unsafe conditions, just because they were afraid of it ruining Max chances of winning

apparently Kelly Piquet had to post about receiving hate online and Max also spoke out about it under her post (no comment)

Jacques Villeneuve had some pretty brutal things to say about Daniel Ricciardo (mostly that he doesn’t belong in F1 right now and is taking up space for someone talented) and Daniel answered that he probably hit his head too many times

oh also Charles’ issue in Canada was system one, not engine one which is why they remain optimistic with his pool of used engines, on the other hand the issue was up to 80 horse power units and about 1.5s per lap so…

Charles won the overtake of the month trophy for his pass on Lewis from the outside in Miami

Charles posted a new vlog on YouTube (and I have yet to see it AHH)

Carlos revealed in an interview that he has co—owned a burger restaurant with his friends for a year now (Boogie Burgers)

Liam Lawson recorded a song in the studio (it is unknown to me if he is on the vocals or guitar as well tbh but… damn these drivers are just collecting sidequests at this point)

Valtteri Bottas won a 114 km long gravel cycling race (fun fact: there is an incredibly funny headline I didn’t screenshot talking about Carlos getting inspired by Valtteri’s win as a fellow driver without a seat and buying a new bike)

OTHER F1 RELATED UPDATES

the Apple original F1 movie with Pitt will be released internationally on 25th June 2025

Canadian GP organizers were called to stewards after track invasion after the end of the GP (but there were other issues which Stefano Domenicali had to apologize for: flooded parts of the facilities, fans who paid tickets getting a fence in front of them covered by black cloth, fans being sent home on Friday with information that the sessions were cancelled)

F1 wants to involve AI more in the industry and we already saw AI made trophy for the Canadian GP (and apparently last Merc post about Doriane is labeled as made by AI too)

Stuart Pringle spoke up as a Silverstone managing director about the lack of sales for the tickets and mentioned that after years of Mercedes dominance as a British team with a British champion, the Red Bull dominance has hurt them the most (but as everyone else spoke up, it might as well be their sketchy prizes tactics)

Barcelona had a live roadshow with multiple drivers doing donuts/showrun in f1 cars (Carlos, Checo, Jack Doohan…)

F1 Exhibition will also visit London after being successful in Madrid, Vienna and Toronto

FIA launched a new campaign focusing on preventing concussion

[42bakery]

ok. as someone who has only knows motogp is a race and has only seen a few gif’s. I am now captivated but can u please tell/direct me to a primer because i am missing the LORE! with marc especially can we start there!!

Hi anon 👋👋👋👋

I'm actually the worst person to talk if you want lore from Marc. I can tell you that people say that All In and The Rookie, both documentaries about Marc are good (Didn't watch any). I can tell you to look or ask to @usermarquez or @marcsmarquez (please don't bother Emma too much, she's not having the best moment at the time) for Marc lore.

Keeping with the documentaries, @kingofthering @marquezian or @kwisatzworld (They are more Vale orientated, but Marc and Vale history sometimes interact) did a compilation of all Marc documentaries. They also post about other documentaries they watch and make gifset, so I recommend if you want to learn about the sport in general.

Another way to learn about Marc that I would recommend is looking at Box Repsol (page or YouTube) and Honda (YouTube) because they used to make riders talk about themselves and do silly challenges, which sometimes they made them relax. There's even a interview where Marc interviews himself and ask the questions journalist doesn't ask but he wants to hear.

If you want sources in general, then MotoGP did their equivalent of Drive to Survive, it's on Amazon Prime and it's called MotoGP Unlimited. They follow all riders for the 2021 season and they do it mostly chronologically and no added drama all bullshit. The only downside is that it's in their mother tongue (Spanish, Catalan, Italian, French and Portuguese (Did Taka speak in Japanese at some point?)) but includes subtitles (a bit incorrect to clean some images and to appeal the American market), but overall was good. I recommend you get used to need subtitles because those guys refuse to speak English when they are in the same room when they use Italian or Spanish to communicate with everyone (they also talk with their hands, but that's for another moment).

For general learning, there's Hitting the Apex, it's a bit old, but gives you a sense of what MotoGP is. And more recently MotoGP also did There Can Be Only One, which follows the more important riders or the ones called to fight for the tittle for the whole year. It has 2 season and can be found on MotoGP Videopass (you have to pay) or in YouTube. If you get Videopass (it's expensive, but you can watch all races all year long and races up to 2000s or maybe 1990s) you can search and find other MotoGP exclusive content.

I highly recommend for anyone to watch whatever has the DORNA seal of approval because 1) the racing scenes are directly taken from a real races and 2) DORNA likes to keep things real. No fake drama all bullshit, probably they will spin it to look wholesome.

Now if you want podcast or other sources I think I need to call Ash @motocorsas and @its-always-silly-season for that.

I'm sorry for not being able to help a lot more. If you would have asked me about Dani Pedrosa or Pedrenzo, then I'm totally your girl.

Sorry if I forgot to include any Marc expert of If I forgot something, I'm actually inviting all of you to help and guide this anon to learn about MotoGP and Marc.

[batsplat]

could you say that marc is the best flag to flag pilot, at least in modern motogp?

idk if it's recency bias or what but I just rewatched misano 2015 and brno 2017 and like beyond his actual skill in the wet (which I think is pretty up there) honda and him usually nailed the strategy i think

misano 2014 was obv not great bc he came in too late but I think on the whole

oh yeah, it's not particularly close. and 'modern motogp' is in this case a completely unnecessary caveat! f2f was only introduced in 2005 as a more tv-friendly format and the first f2f race was phillip island 2006. until 2015, there's not like... any real patterns amongst the winners - and generally they're rare enough that you can't draw that many conclusions from who's winning them. marc's first f2f is technically phillip island 2013, which wasn't a weather-related bike switch but did of course feature the notable team fuck up that got him disqualified and could have cost him the title. then it's aragon 2014 where he fucks it and crashes because he didn't switch bikes when he should have, yes. but after that, the record's flawless: wins misano 2015, argentina 2016 (also a tyre-related bike swap), sachsenring 2016, brno 2017 - the full set until 2021. I do have another ask sitting in my drafts sent well before misano, which requires a longer response because it's about what makes a rider good or bad at f2f... so I'll go into more detail there. for now, yes there's a little bit of luck involved in some of these wins, a gamble or two that paid off because his race wasn't actually going all that great until he swapped bikes, but it's a record that kinda speaks for itself. it also probably speaks for itself that I spent much of the season pre-aragon attempting to singlehandedly manifest rain clouds. representative sample included here of my dispassionate analysis of the situation:

which made me initially quite irritable when the rain showed up at the race after aragon, but that's neither here nor there. anyway, I will go into this in a little more detail for that other ask, but I do think it's the f2f format specifically that suits marc. it's just those specific conditions where it's not wet wet but kinda slippery and gross where he really thrives - which of course you also see with stuff like his affinity for low grip conditions in general. plus, he developed a knack for picking the correct strategies in this genre of races. his record in proper wet races is significantly worse... if I had to make a list of the best wet weather riders this century, a few names would sneak ahead (dovi, casey and valentino being the obvious picks, and some of those riders were..... not so great at f2f). here's the comparison:

so yup - he's not a bad wet weather rider by any stretch of the imagination, but it's the type of mess thrown up by f2f where he really thrives. neat skill to have

[keanuquotes]

The last weekend of SRO Motorsports America racing in 2024 receives a huge boost in star power as world-renowned actor Keanu Reeves will compete in this weekend’s Toyota Gazoo Racing GR Cup North America finale – his first motor race in over 14 years.

Reeves will drive the #92 Eagles Canyon Racing by Fast Track Toyota GR86 in a pair of sprint races on Saturday and Sunday, 5/6 October. The car will feature a red and black livery promoting his graphic novel, BRZRKR.

The Canadian actor is an avid enthusiast of motorsport. Reeves was the presenter of the four-part documentary Brawn: The Impossible Formula 1 Story and has been a guest of honour in the paddocks of F1, MotoGP, and IndyCar throughout the years.

Reeves drove in the 2009 and 2010 editions of the Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race at Long Beach, winning the Celebrity class in 2009 and receiving a promotion to the Pro category the following year. That was the last time Reeves has run in an organised motor race.

Since then, Reeves has gone on to star in the John Wick series of action films, reprised his role as Neo in The Matrix Resurrections, and published the first chapter of BRZRKR in 2021 alongside co-writer Matt Kindt and illustrator Ron Garney.

Reeves is one of two celebrity drivers competing at Indianapolis this weekend, part of a 34-car field.

Eagles Canyon and Fast Track’s other celebrity driver is Cody Jones from the action sports and entertainment troupe Dude Perfect, which has over 60 million subscribers on YouTube.

Nicknamed “Tall Man”, the 6’6″ Jones’ sanctioned racing debut in the #29 GR86 was the prize for winning a go-kart racing challenge at this year’s Formula One Australian Grand Prix against three of his fellow troupe members.

Reeves and Jones will be pitted against a strong field of drivers young and old, including the newly-crowned GR Cup North America Champion Gresham Wagner.

Wagner, the driver of the #5 Copeland Motorsports GR86, clinched the series championship last round at Barber Motorsports Park. At the Brickyard, Wagner will look to add to his eight wins on the season – before heading to Road Atlanta to try and win the Mazda MX-5 Cup championship.

Second place in the championship is still up for grabs between Wagner’s team-mate, Westin Workman (another driver running dual GR Cup/MX-5 Cup campaigns) and Spike Kohlbecker of TechSport Racing. Workman enters the final weekend of the season six points ahead of Kohlbecker.

Jaxon Bell, the son of 2015 IMSA GTD Champion and 2016 Le Mans 24 Hours winner Townsend Bell, is fourth in the championship.

Another guest driver of note is Miki Koyama from Japan, driving the #75 Hattori Motorsports GR86 in partnership with Japan’s all-female KYOJO Cup Series.

Koyama, the inaugural KYOJO Cup champion in 2017 and 2018, became the first woman to win the FIA Formula Regional Japanese Championship title in 2022 – and last week, driving a Lexus RC F GT3, she became the first woman to take overall victory in a Super Taikyu Series race since 1993.

Koyama is one of four women in the field, joining Mia Lovell, Jade Avedisian, and Maddie Aust. Lovell is the series’ top female driver  (10th in overall points and the top-ranked woman in nine out of 12 races) – and Avedisian, a Toyota-backed prospect of the open-wheel oval circuit, finished second in last weekend’s BC39 sprint car race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway dirt track.

Saturday and Sunday, 5/6 October 2024

https://www.grcupseries.com/event/20/indianapolis-motor-speedway

https://www.grcupseries.com/watch-live