August 21, 2025 • 52 mins
New track, new country - but will it still be the same result? MotoGP races for the first time ever at Balaton Park - I try to figure out if anyone can take advantage to challenge Marc Marquez. Plus - a big Silly Season rumor, and my picks for the return of the HungarianGP!
The Rundown:
- MotoGP News:
- Has Diogo Moreira made his decision? Yamaha, or Honda?
- Hungary! I preview the first HungarianGP in over 20 years
- Balaton Park - a technical, hard braking change of pace
- The Favorites - Marc is the man, but he could have a new challenger
- The Watch List - what is up with Pecco? And a pair of young riders on the rise
- The Hot Seat - Opportinity awaits at a different-style track
- The Picks! For the Sprint, and the MotoGP Race
Who do you think will win the HungarianGP? Let me know on Facebook or the Motoweek Reddit Sub.
Find all of the latest episodes at Motoweek.net, follow on Bluesky and Instagram – and you can support the show on Patreon!
Thanks for listening!
The Rundown:
- MotoGP News:
- Has Diogo Moreira made his decision? Yamaha, or Honda?
- Hungary! I preview the first HungarianGP in over 20 years
- Balaton Park - a technical, hard braking change of pace
- The Favorites - Marc is the man, but he could have a new challenger
- The Watch List - what is up with Pecco? And a pair of young riders on the rise
- The Hot Seat - Opportinity awaits at a different-style track
- The Picks! For the Sprint, and the MotoGP Race
Who do you think will win the HungarianGP? Let me know on Facebook or the Motoweek Reddit Sub.
Find all of the latest episodes at Motoweek.net, follow on Bluesky and Instagram – and you can support the show on Patreon!
Thanks for listening!
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Frommotoweek Dot neg It's the MotorWeek podcast with your host Wilson.
Why hello, and welcome to Motoweek. My name is Wilson.
Thank you so much for listening to the only Moto
GP show on the internet that doesn't know what's going.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
To happen this weekend but also kind of does.
Speaker 1 (00:23):
After Mark Marquez continued his absolute domination of the premier
class last weekend at the Red Bull Ring, he now
actually faces a much different challenge a brand new track.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
But don't worry, it's not just Tim.
Speaker 1 (00:39):
The entire paddock is going to be getting their very
first look at Balaton Park, which is not just new
to Moto GP, but new in general. New pavement, new layout,
new style of racing that everybody is going to have
to figure out.
Speaker 2 (00:55):
Now.
Speaker 1 (00:55):
The first World Superbike race was held there just a
couple of weeks ago, and it featured a really big
wreck in turn two of race one that brought out
the red flag. So what is it what makes this
place so tricky and could this be the X factor
that finally slows down Mark. Well, we'll try to figure
(01:16):
all of that out plus more as we preview round
fourteen of the twenty twenty five MotoGP World Championship the
Hungarian GP at Balaton Park about an hour outside of Budapest, Hungary.
In addition to that.
Speaker 2 (01:31):
I've got a little bit of MotoGP news to go.
Speaker 1 (01:33):
Over as well, a big silly season rumor that is
not confirmed yet, but we might find out about it
either this weekend or right after this weekend.
Speaker 2 (01:43):
So let's go.
Speaker 1 (01:44):
Before we get started, though, I would like to take
a brief moment to invite you over to the website
if you've never checked it out before. You can get
all of the latest episodes as soon as they're released
at motoweek dot net. You can follow on Blue Sky
just search for motoweek, or on Instagram at MOTORWEEKUSSA and
leave your comments let me know what you think of
the silly season rumor we're gonna discuss, or anything else. Really,
(02:08):
all you have to do is head to Facebook at
Facebook dot com, slashmotoweek dot net, or over on the
Reddit sub you can go to our slash motoweek and
if you do want to support the program, don't feel
like you have to, but if you want to, you
can on Patreon at Patreon dot com, slash Motoweek. Links
(02:28):
to almost everything I mentioned can be found on the website.
Speaker 2 (02:31):
At MotorWeek dot net.
Speaker 1 (02:32):
All right, before we get into this brand new track
and what might actually happen in the return to Hungary.
And yes, there has been a Hungarian GP before. The
last one though was in nineteen ninety two. How long
ago was that? Well, just to put it into a
little bit of perspective in terms of MotoGP, the last
(02:54):
time the Premiere class raced and Hungary in nineteen ninety two,
the top five, the top five finishers were all American riders,
I know, right. In fact, six of the top seven
finishers were all from the United States. John Kasinski was seventh,
Australian Wayne Gardner, legendary. Wayne Gardner was sixth, Wayne Rainey
(03:18):
another legend in fifth, Another legend Kevin Schwantzon, fourth, Randy
Momola on the podium, Doug Chandler and the winner Eddie Lawson.
That's crazy to think about when this country kid even
get a single rider in the Premier class anymore. Back then,
they swept the top five. In case you were wondering,
(03:40):
Luka at Katalora won the two fifty cc race that year.
In Alessandro Germini won in one twenty five. Is the
only other Moto gpre in this case premier class race
that's been run in Hungary was in nineteen ninety, also
with the Hungaro Ring. The absolutely amazing mcdowen won that race,
with Lawson and Schwantz on the podium as well.
Speaker 2 (04:00):
Wing Garner finished fourth.
Speaker 1 (04:02):
All right, So before we get to the return the
long away to return to Hungary and Balaton Park, let's
talk about this Moto GP rumor that has been building
heading into this weekend to the point where we might
actually expect an announcement either heading into this weekend's race
or maybe on the back side of it. The highly
(04:24):
sought after Moto to up and coming star Diogo Morrera
reportedly has made it his decision. Now, this is not
official by any stretch of the imagination, and in fact,
there are two sites that I saw this story on
and both of them have been known in the past
to pedal some clickbait type of articles. So take what
(04:48):
you will of this, and I'm not going to go
too far into it because we don't have.
Speaker 2 (04:52):
A real reliable source.
Speaker 1 (04:53):
But what the rumors are saying is that the winner
in the contest for Diogo Morrera apparently is going to
be Honda. Now, even though we don't have the most
reliable source, this isn't earth shattering stuff. I mean, it
would definitely fall into line with the previous, more widespread
rumor that some Chantra along with that bike sponsor et Metsu,
(05:16):
would be exiting LCR Honda at the end of the year.
In place of that duo, Castro would then expand their
sponsorship from just join Zarco's bike to both LCR teams,
and that would pave the way for another rider, in
this case Morera, to move up from Moto to Now
the report states that to make this deal happen, Honda
may have up their initial offer to a three year
(05:37):
contract with the youngster that would match what Yamaha is
rumored to have presented to him.
Speaker 2 (05:44):
Now.
Speaker 1 (05:44):
Like I said, since this isn't official, I'm not going
to dig too deeply into this. I'll keep it short
for now, But honestly, I don't think it matters very
much if Morera goes to Yamaha or Honda. Now, obviously
it matters to Yamaha Honda where he goes, but as
far as us as fans, if you're not partial to
(06:04):
one manufacturer or the other. They're kind of the same
at this point. And yeah, you know, we saw last
weekend at the Red Bull Ring that Yamaha really really struggled,
Honda did all right. There are other tracks where it's
the other way around, where Fabio Quatrararo has had really
good days and Honda has been nowhere as well. So
as far as you know potential, they're both about in
(06:26):
the same area, and they're both really really far behind
where Ducati is right now and relatively far behind Aprilia
and somewhat far behind Katetm. And so whichever way Morrera
decides to go, he's going to be on a Moto
GP bike, and that's the important part. He's got to
get seat time in Moto GP. And next year is
(06:48):
the best year for any young rider to do that,
because if you're racing for Yama or Honda, they're going
to be focused on one thing and one thing alone.
Speaker 2 (06:56):
Next year.
Speaker 1 (06:57):
That's twenty twenty seven and the new rule package, and
so that means that whatever they hand you in twenty
twenty six probably isn't going to be the best bike,
although Yamaha has way more potential in my opinion, because
they're developing that new V four engine, but one way
or the other, you're going to be in a low pressure,
low expectation environment before that rule change, and so you
(07:18):
kind of have a free year to get acquainted with
the bike, get acquainted with the series, get acquainted with
the style of racing, and hopefully be prepared to hit
the ground at least running a little bit with the
new engine package, the new aero package starting in twenty
twenty seven, and the new tires obviously as well. You know,
while a three year deal typically would be an unusual thing,
(07:41):
we don't see that very often. I think it makes
sense for not just honder Yamaha in the case of
Diogo Morera, but if anybody wants to sign Man New
Gonzales as well, same thing. I think it makes perfect
sense for any youngster that might be moving up to
get a three year deal. Same thing with Topark Arts
Scott Leoglu too, because next year is kind of going
(08:03):
to be a wash because it's the overall package and
so unless you're Ducati or Aprilia, you don't have much
to race for in twenty twenty six. You're aiming towards
twenty twenty seven, and so you want that young rider
when he gets on the bike in twenty twenty seven
to know he's got time to figure it out. And
so two year deal on the new package, one year
(08:24):
of beforehand, just as an introductory year.
Speaker 2 (08:27):
There's no problem with that.
Speaker 1 (08:29):
Now the big question with Morera considering where he is
in the points. He's third right now in the Moto
two points. He hasn't been nearly as successful as Menu
Gonzalez has this season, and it's only a second year
of Moto two. Last year he struggled a little bit
and we saw the same progression of Moto three. His
first year it was okay. He really improved in his
second year, and so I think a lot of people
(08:53):
would admit that he's maybe not one hundred percent ready
for prime time. And the fact that he happens to
be a Brazilian rider is raising the value.
Speaker 2 (09:03):
Of his stock a little bit.
Speaker 1 (09:06):
Amongst the team, a little more with the manufacturer, and
a lot when it comes to the promoter, Dorna and
then Liberty, their owner. And I'll admit that being Brazilian
definitely makes it more likely that he was going to
get a Moto GP deal for twenty twenty six because
we don't have a rider that fully represents that area
(09:28):
of the world. There's Franco Morbidelli who has one parent
who is Brazilian, and he said he really feels like
when he goes to Argentina that it's kind of a
home race for him. There's a lot of support, but
there's a difference there. And so having a Brazilian rider
come to the premier class for the first year that
Moto GP is going to be in Brazil because there's
(09:48):
going to be a Brazilian round next year, that's really
attractive all the way around. And you can imagine just
the excitement level for the Brazilian fantasy Franco Morbidelli in
their country.
Speaker 2 (09:59):
But if if they get to see Morera on a Moto.
Speaker 1 (10:02):
GP bike as well, I mean that definitely is a draw. Now,
with that being said, I don't think anybody is viewing
a potential deal with Morera Yamaha, Honda or otherwise as
being a passport contract right that he's just getting the
chance to move up because of where he's from. And
you know, Morera said in an interview just last week
(10:25):
that he didn't want to feel that way. He didn't
want to feel like he was getting a promotion because
of where he's from, and he doesn't feel that way.
Speaker 2 (10:32):
He needs to put.
Speaker 1 (10:33):
That out of his mind, and whenever that question comes up,
just say no, I deserve to be wherever I am,
and I'm going to be where I deserve to be, and.
Speaker 2 (10:41):
Then move on.
Speaker 1 (10:42):
Because we've seen this happen before. And if you guys
have been around long enough, you remember that Joe Roberts
situation where Roberts im Moto II, an American rider very
well may have been offered in a Prillier ride because
he was from the United States and a factory one
at that and he said no because he didn't want
to be known as somebody who took a ride because
(11:04):
of where he was from. That was way more borderline
than the situation we have here with Moreira. And even
back then, I was like, you need to take this
gig man, get on a Moto GP bike if it's
offered to you. And so if I were to yoga Morera,
I wouldn't even really truly address the question. But it
doesn't matter. Just look at what he's been able to
do this year. There's talent there, he's shown us that
(11:26):
he's got the skills to potentially move up. He is
a project rider, I mean he's going to be, but
a lot of successful riders in Moto GP came up
as unpolished gems, right, and he's already had more success
in four seasons between Moto three and Moto two than
some count Chantra who he'd be replacing, has had in
(11:47):
seven years. And of course, in addition to that, it
would eliminate the last bike on the grid that is
solely dedicated to a rider or a group of riders,
whether or not they have a proper resume to make
it to the premier class. And what I mean by
that is that Idimietsu elc R Honda has always been
reserved for a Honda Asia talent Cup rider, and in general,
(12:08):
there's nothing wrong with that. If you're developing riders that
are a Moto GP caliber, hey, no problem. And that
was the case when taking Nakagami came up and took
over that ride. But then when Nakagami didn't develop into
the rider that they thought he would, they didn't have
anybody behind him, and so he was on that bike
far too long when maybe he should have moved on
(12:30):
to the World Superbike where he could have been more successful.
And then once Iogura came along and started showing real promise, well,
the plan initially was to hand that bike over to him,
but Honda was too slow and Ogura got stolen away
by a Prelia and track house where he will and
we'll see this in the next couple of years. He
will be a genuine Moto GP level talent. He's got
(12:52):
the skills to be successful at the top level. And
so for lack of a better option, they put Chantra
on bike. And that's the only place in this program
where I think it veered off in the wrong path.
Reserving that bike for an eligible and qualified rider like
Iogura or before that, Taka Nakagami when he first came up,
(13:14):
that made sense. But then when you don't have that
rider and somebody like Yoga Morera is available, like you
put him on the bike. You put the best rider
you can find on that bike because as a sponsor, yeah,
you want to be able to leverage where the rider
is from, just like sponsors are going to leverage Morrera
for being from Brazil. But you want that rider to
not be at the back of the field all the
(13:35):
time because how much can you then leverage them, And
so there's a balance to be struck there. But that
wasn't the plan with that second LCR bike that Ida
meets who was paying for. They did not want to
be flexible, and so that's not a good situation. And
if this is true and Morera gets signed behind and
Castro moves over to sponsor the bike, I think that
(13:58):
is the ideal situation. I think that every slot on
the grid should be filled by a rider who is
the most qualified, or at the very least is qualified
to be competitive in MotoGP because I understand for Dorina
and especially now for Liberty their new owners, they've got
worldwide interests and so they want a grid that represents
(14:19):
those worldwide interests. But that only makes sense if it
doesn't come at the cost of quality of product on track,
and so this would solve that problem, is what it
was going to say. So from all those standpoints, this
makes absolute sense. It does beg the question what is
Yamaha going to do, because Yamaha was just as interested
reportedly in Morrera as Honda. Well, I think that if
(14:42):
this move comes to fruition that it greatly increases Jack
Miller's chance of being on the Moto GP grid next
year on a Yamaha, especially since Fabio Quachuraro has reportedly
said behind closed doors that he prefers having Miller on
one of their bikes to help develop it. Now there
is still a chance said Honda is desperate for a
young rider, and honestly, I think.
Speaker 2 (15:03):
They should be.
Speaker 1 (15:04):
I think we talked about this before. I thought that
no matter what organization out of those two got to
Dioga Morera, that the other one should absolutely go out
and get Mano Gonzalez because they both need riders to
develop with these bikes. They both need riders that can
take whatever they've come up with and compete with it
for wins, for podiums, and potentially for a championship. And
(15:27):
so I think that Manu Gonzales should absolutely be on
Yamaha's radar, and in fact, I actually think that he
would be a better get for Yamaha because he's more ready,
He's a step further in his development process than Dioga
Morera is, and that, of course, if that happened, that
would likely set off the chain reaction that we talked
(15:48):
about last week where Miller goes off to the factory team,
Alex Rinz gets something an SBK ride, a test roll,
something like that, and then Miguel Alavera probably gets picked
up by somebody in SBK. I think maybe Ducati might
be interested in him. So we'll wait to see if
this becomes official, and who knows, by the time you
(16:09):
hear this, it might be or we might have to
wait until after Hungary, or we might just find out
that Silly Season does what it sometimes does and just
gets more and more silly with the story.
Speaker 2 (16:21):
Changing at the last second. So we'll keep an eye.
Speaker 1 (16:24):
On it, and then if it's made official, then we'll
talk a little bit more about it, and not just
for Honda's sake, but what Yamaha does after this, because
I think once that decision is made, then pretty much
everything else is going to fall into place for next season.
Then we can start thinking about the beginning of next
year when the really big silly season comes up for
(16:44):
twenty twenty seven and twenty twenty eight with that new
rule package.
Speaker 2 (16:47):
All right, So enuff about rumors.
Speaker 1 (16:49):
Let's move on to this weekend, the return the Hungary,
the second half of yet another MotoGP doubleheader. In fact,
we get doubleheaders all the way through the end of
the year, believe it or not, and this one is
super special and super interesting because we're going to a
brand new track, first time ever for Moto GPN, returning
(17:12):
to Hungary for the first time since nineteen ninety two. Now,
when we talk about where they're racing at Baloton Park
this weekend, it really is a wildcard.
Speaker 2 (17:23):
It's a crapshoot.
Speaker 1 (17:24):
You know, everybody's going to be trying to figure out
this track. We do have a little bit to go
on because, like I mentioned at the top of the show,
superbikes have just run at Baloton Park, so we have
at least a little bit of an idea what to expect,
and we do know coming in that the style of
this circuit is a pretty stark contrast to what we
(17:46):
saw last weekend at the.
Speaker 2 (17:47):
Red Bull Ring.
Speaker 1 (17:48):
That track, as you know, is dominated by big straights
and huge top speeds. Well, Baloton Park does it differently.
They group smaller straits together with super technical sections. In fact,
each of the four fastest points on this track ends
with a chicane, and each one of those chicanes tighter
than the last, so it starts on the front stretch
(18:10):
that really runs into a pretty open chicane and turns
one in two, which is good because that at least
tries to mitigate any first corner madness with the field
fighting for a position off the lights, although like we
saw in SBK, there's no guarantee. And the reason there's
no guarantee is because even though that chicane coming out
(18:31):
of one two in Balaton Park is the most open
one on the circuit, it's still a pretty hard breaking zone.
In fact, that's the thing that it does have in
common with the Red Bull Ring, lots of really hard
breaking zones. Now they're breaking into very technical sections, so
it's not your traditional stop and go heartbreaking lean it
(18:54):
over stand it up hard on the throttle. There's going
to be definitely a lot of changes of direction here,
but that hard breaking is going to make a difference.
And all you have to do is watch the replays
of that superbike race. You could see how hard these
guys were leaning on the front. In fact, that's what
led to the red flag indirectly. In that first World
(19:15):
Superbike Grace andre llanone was on the break so hard
just coming off the lights. We weren't even like in
full on hot lap mode, but just coming off the lights,
who was on the front brake so hard that the
rear end came off the ground and he was trying to,
you know, lean on the bike as the back tire
was up in the air, and it just went out
of control on him and that's what created the big
(19:36):
wreck and then the red flag. And that's going to
be the theme here. Really hard breaking going into really
tight handling zones. Rinse and repeat, rinse and repeat, and
that is the circuit. You know, the first one, the
first chicane kind of warms you up, but the remaining
three just terminate into tighter and tighter chicanes. The end
(19:58):
result here points to a few key components. Like I said,
multiple heartbreaking zones, and you're gonna have to have an
agile bike that can change directions quickly. And that's great
because it should in theory, play to the strengths of
multiple different manufacturers and at the same time give us
plenty of opportunities to pass. I mean, those various chicanes one, two, five, six, eight, nine, twelve,
(20:22):
thirteen and then the final one at fifteen sixteen should
all offer great places to see some action, but unfortunately,
for safety and runoff reasons, they did have to take
out what I thought was the most interesting section of
this track, the couple of turns right before the very end.
It was a multi corner section that had almost an
(20:43):
acid like feel to it before that run to start finished.
So instead of this really kind of unique left left left,
decreasing radius, flick to the right and then you're headed
towards the start finish where you could see somebody try
to make a dive bomb pass, now it's just a
straight up left hander, a ninety degree left hander, and
I get the safety part of it. It's just a
bummer that they didn't design that track with the proper
(21:04):
runoff to be able to use it as it was
initially planned for a Moto GP race. Now I still
haven't decided what track this truly reminds me of. It's
a little bit like Acid, but without the pure speed factor,
without that really open back half. You could also think
of it as maybe a more technical version of Herath. Now,
(21:27):
of course, if it races like the former, well then
I think things could be a bit more wide open
and competitive in this one, and we might not be
able to predict who's going to win with any great confidence.
If it's more like the latter, well, Mark Marquez is
going to be looking very very forward to this weekend,
especially since, in addition to being a little bit like
(21:48):
one of his favorite tracks in Herath, it also has
one feature that Mark loves more than anything else. The
layout is anti clockwise, and that means no surprise as
we start to dive into the writers. Now our favorites
list is indeed headed up by the aforementioned senior Marquez.
(22:12):
And by the way, get ready for it. Get ready
for it, because I am really certain that the broadcast
team is going to point out, like maybe ninety or
one hundred times over the weekend that the track does
indeed run counterclockwise, and how that's going to give Mark
an advantage, and it will statistically speaking, But there's more
(22:35):
to it than that. I mean, depending on whose mathe
you believe. And shockingly, I have not run the numbers
on this myself in a long time, so I can't
say with exact certainty what the percentage is. I'm relying
on other people's research on this one. But if you
believe what everybody says, roughly sixty percent of Mark Marquez's
Moto GP victories have come at anti clockwise tracks, so
(22:58):
that officially makes.
Speaker 2 (22:59):
It a thing.
Speaker 1 (23:00):
Right now, you might think when I say sixty percent,
that means he only is ten percent better at those circuits,
because he's only one ten percent more races, right, No,
it's a bigger thing than that, because in any given
year only about a quarter of the tracks are anti clockwise,
(23:20):
and this year they're actually six and I don't know
if you can name them. I'll give you a second
to think about it. Okay, Here they are circuit of
the Americas, Aragon, Saxon, Ring, Australia, Valencia, and now of
course Hungary. And if you're familiar with that list and
familiar with Mark Marquez, you know that he is absolutely
(23:40):
dominant at a decent number of those, not so much
Australia and especially not Valencia. But the thing with Valencia
is being almost always at the end of the season
a lot of times Mark didn't need to be amazing there,
and so stats don't really count as much at Valencia
as they do everywhere else because everybody's got a way
different agenda. I mean, if you've already won, or you're
(24:02):
close to winning, you need to defend your points margin.
You're not gonna race as hard, and other guys are like, hey,
it's the last trace of the year. I might be
racing for my contract next season, and so they're going
to go all out, so different strategies there. But of
those tracks, we've run three so far this year, Circuit
of the America is Aragon and Saxon Ring. Mark has
won two of those three and very easily could have
won the third one at Circuit of the Americas. So yeah,
(24:27):
it's a big thing, right. It definitely shows a performance
advantage at counterclockwise.
Speaker 2 (24:34):
Tracks for Mark.
Speaker 1 (24:35):
But what I don't like about that argument, and what
I won't like when they say at a million times
this weekend, is that for a motor GP fan that
might be newer, or a motor GP fan that might
not pay that much attention to the peer stats, that
might suggest to them that Mark is somehow a one
(24:56):
dimensional rider, that he only does well there, that the
key to success to all of his championships is that
he runs really well when the track happens to be
going primarily to the left instead of primarily to the right.
And you and I we know that's not the case.
I mean, we can't forget that Mark is currently sitting
on seventy one career Moto GP base and that means
(25:18):
if you assume the sixty percent ratio, that means he's
still won about thirty times.
Speaker 2 (25:24):
At clockwise tracks.
Speaker 1 (25:26):
So yeah, he might be amazing at counterclockwise tracks, but
he's still really really good at clockwise tracks as well.
My point being here, Mark can beat you anywhere, and
that's exactly what he's been doing of late. He's been
beating everyone everywhere at every type of track, fast tracks,
technical tracks, clockwise, counterclockwise, you name it. He has destroyed
(25:48):
the field. Entering this round on a streak of six
double win weekends. Of course, he's had nine on the year,
and that and not the direction of the track is
why for me, Mark Marquez is the favorite coming into Hungary.
The direction is a boost, but his main calling card
right now is that he's racing as good as he
(26:09):
ever has in his entire career. He's on the best
bike on the grid, and on top of all of that,
he also has the most experience of any rider in
the field, and that is going to be critical to
learning this track quickly. So in a weekend of unknowns.
Mark Marquez is by far the most known quantity and
(26:30):
the rider that a lot of people are going to
be following this weekend to see if it can help
them accelerate their learning at this track. And one of
the main people who I think will be leaning on
Mark is his brother Alex, who we're going to talk
about now. I mean, he's not quite as much of
a sure bet for me in this one, and there's
a reason for that, and that reason is what we
saw last weekend in Austria. The speed was there in
(26:54):
the sprint, I mean, he looked totally normal, He led
some laps, he never struggled with anybody but his big brother.
But it was Sunday in the Moto GP race at
the Red Bull Ring that was where I raised an
eyebrow because after that long lap penalty bumped him outside
the top ten, he hardly made up any ground at all,
(27:16):
and that was definitely concerning for a rider that has
been as fast as Alex Marquez has been all year long.
Speaker 2 (27:22):
Now.
Speaker 1 (27:22):
Apparently, what Alex said after the race is that his
front tire was heating up to the point where he
made a tactical decision that making it to the checker
flag and scoring whatever points the race was going to
give him was more important than risking it for another
point or two, And honestly, that's a wise approach and
(27:43):
it paid off big since pecobag Nyaya decided to retire,
and so everything that Alex scored Sunday, even though it
was a maximum points, every point he did score was
a gained point on his biggest trival. And because of
that explanation and the fact that the way he kind
of laid it out, the team's plan coming into this
(28:03):
one didn't really include much ambition of running at the
front and making up a lot of ground because of
that penalty, and so I think that there were kind
of whole thought process coming in was we're going to
see where we're at after the penalty and then try
to maintain position. If we can move up, we will
if we want, no big deal. The points and the
championship are the main thing here, and because of those things,
(28:26):
I'm still reasonably confident the speed is there and that
Alex is confident on the bike, and because of that,
I like his chances to be somewhere in the podium conversation.
Even if we don't know how quickly he'll adapt to
this new track, although like I said, I think that
Mark is going to be very willing to help him,
which is going to be a big, big bonus. So
Alex stays on the favorites list for me, but he
(28:48):
could have a prime challenger in a new one in
his quest to return to the podium, in the form
of Marco Bitzeki. And I'll tell you he and that
a Prelia RSGP have been absolutely fantastic since well really
since Silverstone when he won that race, but especially in
the past four rounds. In those last four weekends he's
(29:10):
scored a grand total of five podiums, at least one
per round. And we talked about his average finish across
the past couple of rounds on the Austrian Post Race show.
I think it was but he's putting out top three
speed and this is consistently fast. We're not talking about
oh a second here in the fifteenth there, and then
up and down and up and down. He has had
(29:32):
that speed even when he's made a mistake since just
before the break. Now, I'm sure we'll hear a little
bit this weekend about the fact that Marco happened to
be a super quick learner at a new track a
couple of years ago. In that one off round in India,
he landed on the pole, finished fifth in the sprint,
and then won the Moto GP race. And that is
(29:52):
a thing, and it's good, I mean, relevant experience, even
if it's had a different style track of learning a
new place quickly and being successful there, that counts for something.
But I am much more enthusiastic about Marco because of
the clear advances that have been made by himself and
Aprilia in their quest to catch that Dukati, and a
(30:15):
much more enthusiastic about the confidence with which Bez is
attacking each race. That little bit of a fade at
the end of the Red Bull Ring last Sunday aside,
and I really think that that was because he was
trying as best as he could to keep up with Mark,
something that nobody can do right now, and he just
burned the tires.
Speaker 2 (30:31):
Off the bike.
Speaker 1 (30:33):
But that aside, he has definitely performed well enough to
get the bump up the primetime and be in the
favorites category, and so he.
Speaker 2 (30:40):
Rounds this one out.
Speaker 1 (30:41):
Let's now move on from the Favorites to my watch list,
and these aren't necessarily riders that I think are going
to finish.
Speaker 2 (30:47):
Just off the podium.
Speaker 1 (30:48):
In fact, they could compete for a podium. But they
each have a very interesting story coming into this round,
and because of that, I'm going to be watching to
see how they react, to see if they can continue
their momentum or if they can build some momentum. And
we're talking about needing to build momentum really really badly,
then we need to talk about Peko Bagnyaya because he
(31:12):
falls on the opposite end of the spectrum from our
trival and teammate Mark Marquez. Because while Mark, in my
mind is the only truly known quantity at an unknown track,
for me, Bagnyaya is the most unknown quantity, even more
so than the track. You know. Austria stands as yet
(31:35):
another round where Peco should have been fast. He has
a great record, had a great record there, and then
he simply fell flat. And then, to make matters worse,
it looks like we've finally reached the stage where there
is at least a little bit of finger pointing going around.
After Austria, Peco said that he's quote running out of patients.
Speaker 2 (31:59):
Which is a big statement to make.
Speaker 1 (32:01):
Gigi Delina then characterized Peko's performance last weekend as quote underwhelming,
which is a realistic statement to make if I'm being
perfectly honest. And then David Tardozzi said that he's concerned
about Peco. Well, guess what, Davi day, We're all concerned
about Peco. And the problem is that's a lot. That's
(32:23):
a lot to go on in the wake of a
race weekend where Peco should have felt very, very comfortable,
and I don't think all of that simply fixes itself
during a quick turnaround travel week and so there are
problems coming into this circuit, and you know, when it
comes back to the Peco bag ya, you're running out
of patients.
Speaker 2 (32:41):
Thing.
Speaker 1 (32:42):
The strange part about that is that this isn't like
a Valentino Rossi and Yamaha problem back in the day,
where the bike is so tailored to one rider that
nobody else can figure it out at all. And we
saw that with mar Marquess at Honda too. That bike
was so built around him for so many years that
(33:03):
when he couldn't ride the bike anymore because he was injured,
nobody else could pick that up and do anything close
to what Mark was able to do on it, and
they're still trying to dig themselves out of that situation
right now as we speak. But this is different than that,
right because you could say what you will about a
potential focus shift at Dukati towards Mark, which is naturally
going to happen because the guy is dominating and leading
(33:25):
the points and it's going to win the championship. But
Mark's only been there for a short amount of time, right,
This isn't Rossi with the Yamaha for years and years
or Mark with Honda for.
Speaker 2 (33:36):
Years and years.
Speaker 1 (33:37):
And Dukati really didn't have a clue that Mark was
going to be this good. I mean, nobody I don't
think had a clue that Mark was going to be
this good. Right, we all knew that pecobag Yaya was
Dukatti's guy coming in. He was their hope for a championship.
Anything that they got out of Mark was icing on
the cake. And so at the time that they were
developing the bike, Mark is hardly a blip on the
(34:01):
radar other than you know, a financial payday. With all
the sponsorships and everything like that, they couldn't have changed
the bike that much. Just for him from the time
they knew he was going to be there until this year, right,
And so this bike is still far closer to the
one that Peko Bagnaya won double digit races on a
year ago than it is to some sort of special
(34:22):
thing that only Mark kim Master and nobody else has
even a remote chance on. It's not that situation. And
so what is it that Peco is losing patients with?
And we can see this by looking at the other
Ducati riders as well, I mean Fabio di Jay and Antonio,
the only other rider on the GP twenty five, hasn't
performed with the consistency.
Speaker 2 (34:42):
That we might have expected out of him.
Speaker 1 (34:44):
But even he after Austria was like, hey, this is
the best bike I've ever ridden, and I was doing
pretty darn good on the GP twenty four. So he's
saying that the current year bike is better than last
year's bike. Mark is showing us that it's better than
last year's bike, and the GP twenty four ride have
shown speed across the board, so it's not like everybody
else has just kind of caught up to the GP
(35:04):
twenty four, And so the GP twenty five's margin isn't
quite as big anymore, and so that presents a problem
because if it's not that Rossi Yamaha Marquez Honda type
of situation, that means it comes down to confusion on
the part of the writer or the team and a
general lack of confidence. And that's a difficult thing to
have to manage when you're coming to a brand new track. Now,
(35:27):
what I do like about Peco heading into Hungary is
his overall experience and that he's been excellent in the
past few years at the comparison tracks that I mentioned
earlier and asked an Hareth. The big question is gonna
be like I mentioned a moment ago, about his confidence
level and about his working relationship with the team right now,
(35:47):
because if it starts to sour, it's gonna be tough
for him to dig out of this hole at all,
let alone enough to compete with Alex Marquez before he
starts thinking about Mark. So Pecko has to be in
baby steps mode right now, and that's what.
Speaker 2 (36:02):
I'm gonna be watching for.
Speaker 1 (36:03):
Can he takes small steps forward that will get him
back to where we expect him to be, Because if
Peco can tune out the noise and gage, just a
little bit of confidence, leaning on the front tire and
now apparently also accelerating out of corners as well, he
could have a chance, I don't think so much to win,
but potentially to compete for a podium. So when it
(36:24):
comes to this weekend, I'll be watching to see if
Peco can rebound, while the next two riders in this
category I'll be keeping an eye on to see if
they can maintain what they've shown us lately, both in
terms of speed and in terms of excitement. And the
first of those riders is Pedro Acosta, who may have
missed out on the podium last Sunday at the Red
(36:44):
Bull Ring, but I don't even care. I mean the
way that he's raised, not just in Austria, but the
round before that in Bruno, they leave me super optimistic
about both his and KTM's chances of taking a lasting
step forward in the second half of the season. We
have seen multiple KTM riders perform well here and there
(37:06):
throughout the year, but Acosta has finally backed up one
good round with another one, and it seems like maybe,
just maybe he's discovered some of that untapped potential in
his KTM At just the right time to pick up
the mantle for that organization from the injured Maverick Vinalez,
(37:26):
who had shown us earlier in the year the initial
glimpses of those speed.
Speaker 2 (37:30):
Out of that bike.
Speaker 1 (37:32):
And by the way, MAV is not going to be
back this weekend. Sadly, Paula Spagro is going to get
that ride. Hopefully we can see MAV back sooner rather
than later, because he was finally starting to hit his
stride someplace after being bounced around from manufacturer to manufacturer,
and so for that to be disrupted.
Speaker 2 (37:50):
As a bummer.
Speaker 1 (37:50):
But maybe now, like I said, KTM can turn to
Acosta and say, MAV showed us the way. Now you
got to take us to the next level. My only
concerns for Pedro Acosta right now are twofold. Number one,
were those red bull ring results a home track advantage
thing for KTM, I don't know. And then the second thing,
(38:12):
will Acosta's lack of premier class experience in general affect
his ability to adapt quickly to a brand new track,
And those are the things I'm going to be watching for,
and we'll see if he can sidestep those questions get
right to showing a speed and establish three round consistency
which is really really substantial for both him and assigned
(38:33):
to KTM that they are moving in the right direction.
Speaker 2 (38:36):
Now.
Speaker 1 (38:36):
Of course, that experience concern also applies to the other
writer in this category. I want to talk about Do Kati,
rookie fermin Aldegar, who impressed everybody with his stunning finish
to last Sunday's Austrian GP, passing a Marco Bizeki who
we just talked about is on a super hot run
right now to beat him out for second, and he
(38:59):
was even fast enough to at least make Mark Marquez
take notice and pick up his own pace in the
closing laps at the Red Bull Ring. And by the way,
speaking of that, I'm pretty sure that I mentioned on
the post race show after the Red Bull Ring that
I thought somebody out there was going to look at
the for Me and Audigaar situation at the end of
(39:19):
that race on Sunday and say, oh oh, he was
gaining so fast on Mark that that might be a
sign that maybe Mark is showing some bit of weakness.
There's there's a chink in the armor that somebody might
be able to take advantage of. Well, I did see
that kind of headline on at least one website suggesting
that out of Gear's closing rate on Mark at the
(39:41):
end of that race was some sort of sign of
vulnerability out of Mark Marquez. Now I'm not going to
say what website it's on, because they usually put out really, really,
really good stuff, and I wouldn't ever say anything bad
about them. But to just blanket assume that because somebody
was gaining on Mark, that that Marcus in his fast anymore,
(40:02):
that would completely have been ignoring the situation at the
end of that race. And a couple of facts there.
Number one that a large chunk of the ground that
for me and Aldigary initially made up was because Marco
Bitzeki and Mark Marquez were battling back and forth for
the lead for the better part of a lap, but
it slowed them both down.
Speaker 2 (40:19):
You can see it on the time sheets.
Speaker 1 (40:22):
It also ignores the fact that once Mark quickly built
up a little over a half second, it was about
six tens seven tons of a second margin over bez
which he did like immediately at that point you could
see in the time sheet he was clearly echoing Bitzeki's
lap times right around the one thirty point six range,
simply maintaining the gap, because why do anything more. We
(40:45):
talked about this on the Post ray show a couple
of days ago. You don't get any more points by
winning for five seconds than you do by winning for
three quarters of a second or a full second. And
so I think that he was concerned about Pitzechi. He
knew he was simply maintaining that was his mission at
the time. And we also can't ignore the fact that
once he did get word that ALTI Gear was closing
(41:08):
on his pitboard, maybe on his dash as well. Again
you can see in the time sheet, he immediately upped
his pace by two tenths per second. He went down
into the one point thirty point four range for two
consecutive laps that locked in the wind. And so this
wasn't all Mark was trying, and he just couldn't keep up,
and you know, this youngster with all this talent was
(41:29):
catching him. Mark was running his race, Aldi Gear was
running his race. And when those two ideas looked like
they were about to converge or were heading in the
same direction, Mark was like, oh, that's nice, but I
still got a couple of tents I've been sitting on
here that I haven't been using. Thanks and I'll see
you on the podium. But anyway, that's not to criticize
(41:49):
out of the gear. I loved the way that for
Mean rode at the end of that race. Last Sunday
we saw him on the podium in France, and then
he was consistent after that. Now he's been on the
podium again in Austria. I will be looking to see
if he can double down on this rediscovered momentum and
turn it into a second consecutive strong result. Just like
(42:11):
seeing that out of Pedro Costa gave me a lot
of confidence in his ability to maintain throughout the rest
of the year, seeing that out of formIn Aldegaer will
give me a similar level of confidence that we're moving
out of the good day, bad day stage and moving
more into and I've taken a step forward stage. So
those are the writers on my watch list for this weekend.
(42:32):
Now let's talk about the three guys I'm putting on
the hot seat, riders I think have to go out
and perform this weekend. For one reason or another. It's
an interesting list this time around. We'll take these guys
like we did the others in championship order. We'll start
with Fabio to jan Antonio because he's been not that
(42:53):
great recently. He's had speed all year long, but he
struggled with mistakes, bad luck, and anything else that can
happen to him has happened in the last three rounds
and in the process he's handed fifth in the standings
back to his teammate Franco Morbidelli, who himself has had
terrible luck and actually had to sit out a couple
(43:14):
of races with injury, and yet Digi and Antonio still
gave up his spot.
Speaker 2 (43:19):
In the championship to his teammate.
Speaker 1 (43:20):
In fact, that entire VR forty six team that was
looking so imposing just like two months ago now has
been really lackluster of late. Somebody's got to step things
back up. And Digia both has the better bike in
the GP twenty five and he is far healthier than
Morbidelli is, so it's time to shake off some of
(43:41):
those problems and get moving in the right direction using
the advantages of the best bike on the grid, So
I think he has to perform. Next up is the
other Fabio, and Fabio Quachrraro. He had a predictably dismal
Austrian GP. I'm not going to blame that on him.
The m one just had nothing for those big power
Italian bikes at the Red Bull Ring. But Balaton Park
(44:06):
offers opportunity. It is such a different track and on
paper it seems so much better suited to the strengths
of both Fabio and that Yamaha. You know, the tracks
that Quaterruro has had the most success at this year
have featured that combination of mid speed sweepers and quick
(44:26):
changes of direction, and those are areas where Qua Truro
can make an impact. And because the straits are all
a little bit shorter, yeah, he might be giving up
some on corner exit, but that advantage isn't going to
be nearly exemplified at the end of a straight at
Balaton Park as it would be at the end of
a straight at say, the Red Bull Ring, right, and
(44:47):
so the opportunity is there for Quachruro to lead Yamaha's
charge back toward the front, well, not the front of
the field, but the front half of the field. After
what we can all agree was a disastrous weekend in Austria,
then the final rider for me on the hot seat
is a Honda rider and Joan Zarco, because he's in
a very similar boat to Quachuroro. He was surprisingly mediocre
(45:11):
at the Rebu Ring, although it wasn't a surprise for Fabbio.
Speaker 2 (45:13):
It's just the bike, right.
Speaker 1 (45:15):
But with Zarko, he's been good here in the past,
he's had success and yet he got outrun by Joan
Miir and that didn't make a whole lot of sense
to me. And I'm sure that Zarko is going to
be looking for a rebound race and Balaton Park could
offer up some opportunity there. I mean, just like Quateruro,
Zarko's Honda I think will be better suited toward this
(45:37):
track than it was last week. Just like Quachurero, Zarko's
best results this year came at places like Lama, Silverstone, Argentina,
places with more handling sections, more technical aspects to them.
And just like Quachuroro, Zarko has a ton of experience.
I think he might be the second most experienced rider
on the grid and that should help him learn. Actually,
(45:58):
Jack might be up there with him well, but one
way or the other, he's got a lot of experience
and that should help him learn this new circuit quickly
and be able to take full advantage. So those are
the riders. That means I only have one order of
business left to take care of for this one and
make some picks. And man, picks are hard enough to
make as it is, even with mart Marquez dominating, it's
(46:20):
even harder when you're going to a track with no history.
Not only do you not know how the riders have
performed here in the past, because they haven't, you don't
know how this track is gonna present itself to each manufacturer.
If one of them is gonna have an advantage, and
maybe that advantage goes to a different manufacturer than Dukati,
then what happens.
Speaker 2 (46:39):
Well, I'm gonna.
Speaker 1 (46:40):
Try to figure it out.
Speaker 2 (46:41):
So here we go.
Speaker 1 (46:42):
I'm gonna make my picks for the sprint and the
motal GP race. For the sprint, I'll pick my top three.
Then once we move on to the main event on Sunday,
I will give you my top five picks for that race.
Starting with Saturday and the sprint. In third, I'm gonna
go with Marco Bitzeki. He's got the momentum right now.
I'm just not quite sure how quickly he'll learn and
(47:06):
adapt to this brand new track. So I'm gonna be
a little bit conservative and pick him third in second,
believe it or not, even though I kind of express
some concern about him earlier in the show. I'm gonna
go with Alex Marquez, and I'm looking for his confidence
to quickly return, especially on his Saturday. He's been so
good in sprints this year, and if the speed is
(47:27):
there and he learns from his brother, he should be
able to have a good race and your winner for
the sprint on Saturday, Mark Marquez. I mean, he's been
even more automatic in sprint races than he has in
Moto GP races. So someone's gonna have to prove to
me that they can beat him for me not to
pick Mark in a sprint.
Speaker 2 (47:46):
Right now, we.
Speaker 1 (47:47):
Move on to Sunday and the Moto GP race, and
I'm gonna have a little bit of fun with this.
I'm gonna go out on a little bit of a
limb here with a couple of riders. Here are my
top five, and we'll start in fifth with somebody we
didn't even talk about at all on the show, Raoul Fernandez,
he has definitely taken a step forward lately, and I'm
(48:11):
leaning a little into a Prillia as a potential contender
this weekend. So give me the track house rider in fifth.
In fourth, I'm gonna go with Alex Marquez. Now, I
still think he'll be plenty fast, but he could have
a lot of competition in this one and what could
be a wide open race. And so I'm picking Alex
just off the podium in favor of Pedro Acosta. He's
(48:34):
finally being aggressive, he's finally showing confidence. This is the
time to take full advantage and if he can do that,
he could show us podium speed. So Pedro Acosta and
third and second check this out, guys. In second, I'm
picking Mark Marquez. Yeah, I know that I'm probably wrong
(48:54):
with this one, but listen, listen. He can't win everything
from here on now. Statistically speaking, it's very unlikely he's
going to win every single race from here until the
end of the year. So if he's gonna lose one,
I'm gonna go out on a limb and say this
is the one.
Speaker 2 (49:12):
And he loses too, not.
Speaker 1 (49:15):
Peco, not any Ducati for that matter. He loses to
Marco Bitzeki, who takes what he learned on Saturday in
the sprint and combines it with his experience from the
end of the Red Bull Ring, having battled with mark
in that one, so he now knows better what to
expect thinking about managing his tires more considering what happened
(49:35):
with for me and Aldiger, he comes back with a smarter,
more strategic approach.
Speaker 2 (49:40):
That pays off big.
Speaker 1 (49:43):
I know if Marku is on the bike at the end,
it's gonna be really, really hard to beat him, so
I'm definitely taking a.
Speaker 2 (49:50):
Flyer on that one.
Speaker 1 (49:51):
So to recap in the sprint, I've got Bitzechi third,
Alex Marquez second, and you're winner, Mark Marquez. We move
on to the Moto GP race in fifth Rabul Fernandez
and four Alex Marquez and on the podium Pedro Acosta,
Mark Marquez and your winner, Marco Pitzeki on the Aprilia
for the second time this year.
Speaker 2 (50:10):
Do you agree?
Speaker 1 (50:11):
Do you disagree?
Speaker 2 (50:12):
You know what to do?
Speaker 1 (50:13):
Head over the Facebook or Reddit tell me why my
picks are absolutely crazy and who you think is going
to win the race instead? And since we do have
a race, that means we will have a post race show,
so check back at the conclusion of the weekend. I
will recap all of the Moto GP action from the
inaugural race at Balaton Park in Hungary. I'll review the
(50:35):
championship picture for whatever that's worth, and then give you
my take on the weekend of racing. After that, it'll
be your turn, so give me your comments on Facebook
and Reddit and we'll discuss those coming up on the show,
along with any silly season news, and then we'll start
thinking about the next doubleheader as well. So since we
have more shows on the way, not only should to
miss any of them. I would highly recommend, if you
(50:57):
have not done it yet, you subscribe to the p Where.
Speaker 2 (51:00):
Can you do that well?
Speaker 1 (51:02):
On Apple Podcasts, YouTube podcasts, Sprinker, stitcherplayer, dot Fm, Spotify, iHeartRadio,
Audible podcasts. Basically go to your favorite podcasting site. Type
in motoweek you should be able to find the show.
Try to make it as accessible as I possibly can.
Of course, you can always get all of the latest
episodes as soon as they're released on the website at
(51:23):
motoweek dot net. You can follow on Blue Sky at
motoweek or just search for motowek there.
Speaker 2 (51:28):
I don't think it's at motoweek.
Speaker 1 (51:30):
Or on Instagram at motoweek USA and leave your comments. Okay,
do that on Facebook at Facebook dot com slashmotoweek dot net,
or over on the reddit sub at r slash motoweek.
And if you do feel so compelled that you want
to support the program, it's appreciated, but not necessary, you
can do that on Patreon at patreon dot com slash motoweek.
(51:53):
All right, So until we talk again just a couple
of days from now, let's find out what happens at
this brand new tree and who can get the upper
hand before anybody else, and how that shifts the momentum
not only in this race but heading forward, and whether
it makes any kind of big dent in the championship picture.
I think we answer most of those questions, or I gave.
Speaker 2 (52:15):
Opinions on most of those questions.
Speaker 1 (52:17):
We'll have actual answers at the end of the weekend
and then we'll talk about it. So I want to
thank you so much for listening. Ride safe, and I'll
talk to you soon.
Frommotoweek Dot neg It's the MotorWeek podcast with your host Wilson.
Why hello, and welcome to Motoweek. My name is Wilson.
Thank you so much for listening to the only Moto
GP show on the internet that doesn't know what's going.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
To happen this weekend but also kind of does.
Speaker 1 (00:23):
After Mark Marquez continued his absolute domination of the premier
class last weekend at the Red Bull Ring, he now
actually faces a much different challenge a brand new track.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
But don't worry, it's not just Tim.
Speaker 1 (00:39):
The entire paddock is going to be getting their very
first look at Balaton Park, which is not just new
to Moto GP, but new in general. New pavement, new layout,
new style of racing that everybody is going to have
to figure out.
Speaker 2 (00:55):
Now.
Speaker 1 (00:55):
The first World Superbike race was held there just a
couple of weeks ago, and it featured a really big
wreck in turn two of race one that brought out
the red flag. So what is it what makes this
place so tricky and could this be the X factor
that finally slows down Mark. Well, we'll try to figure
(01:16):
all of that out plus more as we preview round
fourteen of the twenty twenty five MotoGP World Championship the
Hungarian GP at Balaton Park about an hour outside of Budapest, Hungary.
In addition to that.
Speaker 2 (01:31):
I've got a little bit of MotoGP news to go.
Speaker 1 (01:33):
Over as well, a big silly season rumor that is
not confirmed yet, but we might find out about it
either this weekend or right after this weekend.
Speaker 2 (01:43):
So let's go.
Speaker 1 (01:44):
Before we get started, though, I would like to take
a brief moment to invite you over to the website
if you've never checked it out before. You can get
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at motoweek dot net. You can follow on Blue Sky
just search for motoweek, or on Instagram at MOTORWEEKUSSA and
leave your comments let me know what you think of
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(02:08):
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(02:28):
to almost everything I mentioned can be found on the website.
Speaker 2 (02:31):
At MotorWeek dot net.
Speaker 1 (02:32):
All right, before we get into this brand new track
and what might actually happen in the return to Hungary.
And yes, there has been a Hungarian GP before. The
last one though was in nineteen ninety two. How long
ago was that? Well, just to put it into a
little bit of perspective in terms of MotoGP, the last
(02:54):
time the Premiere class raced and Hungary in nineteen ninety two,
the top five, the top five finishers were all American riders,
I know, right. In fact, six of the top seven
finishers were all from the United States. John Kasinski was seventh,
Australian Wayne Gardner, legendary. Wayne Gardner was sixth, Wayne Rainey
(03:18):
another legend in fifth, Another legend Kevin Schwantzon, fourth, Randy
Momola on the podium, Doug Chandler and the winner Eddie Lawson.
That's crazy to think about when this country kid even
get a single rider in the Premier class anymore. Back then,
they swept the top five. In case you were wondering,
(03:40):
Luka at Katalora won the two fifty cc race that year.
In Alessandro Germini won in one twenty five. Is the
only other Moto gpre in this case premier class race
that's been run in Hungary was in nineteen ninety, also
with the Hungaro Ring. The absolutely amazing mcdowen won that race,
with Lawson and Schwantz on the podium as well.
Speaker 2 (04:00):
Wing Garner finished fourth.
Speaker 1 (04:02):
All right, So before we get to the return the
long away to return to Hungary and Balaton Park, let's
talk about this Moto GP rumor that has been building
heading into this weekend to the point where we might
actually expect an announcement either heading into this weekend's race
or maybe on the back side of it. The highly
(04:24):
sought after Moto to up and coming star Diogo Morrera
reportedly has made it his decision. Now, this is not
official by any stretch of the imagination, and in fact,
there are two sites that I saw this story on
and both of them have been known in the past
to pedal some clickbait type of articles. So take what
(04:48):
you will of this, and I'm not going to go
too far into it because we don't have.
Speaker 2 (04:52):
A real reliable source.
Speaker 1 (04:53):
But what the rumors are saying is that the winner
in the contest for Diogo Morrera apparently is going to
be Honda. Now, even though we don't have the most
reliable source, this isn't earth shattering stuff. I mean, it
would definitely fall into line with the previous, more widespread
rumor that some Chantra along with that bike sponsor et Metsu,
(05:16):
would be exiting LCR Honda at the end of the year.
In place of that duo, Castro would then expand their
sponsorship from just join Zarco's bike to both LCR teams,
and that would pave the way for another rider, in
this case Morera, to move up from Moto to Now
the report states that to make this deal happen, Honda
may have up their initial offer to a three year
(05:37):
contract with the youngster that would match what Yamaha is
rumored to have presented to him.
Speaker 2 (05:44):
Now.
Speaker 1 (05:44):
Like I said, since this isn't official, I'm not going
to dig too deeply into this. I'll keep it short
for now, But honestly, I don't think it matters very
much if Morera goes to Yamaha or Honda. Now, obviously
it matters to Yamaha Honda where he goes, but as
far as us as fans, if you're not partial to
(06:04):
one manufacturer or the other. They're kind of the same
at this point. And yeah, you know, we saw last
weekend at the Red Bull Ring that Yamaha really really struggled,
Honda did all right. There are other tracks where it's
the other way around, where Fabio Quatrararo has had really
good days and Honda has been nowhere as well. So
as far as you know potential, they're both about in
(06:26):
the same area, and they're both really really far behind
where Ducati is right now and relatively far behind Aprilia
and somewhat far behind Katetm. And so whichever way Morrera
decides to go, he's going to be on a Moto
GP bike, and that's the important part. He's got to
get seat time in Moto GP. And next year is
(06:48):
the best year for any young rider to do that,
because if you're racing for Yama or Honda, they're going
to be focused on one thing and one thing alone.
Speaker 2 (06:56):
Next year.
Speaker 1 (06:57):
That's twenty twenty seven and the new rule package, and
so that means that whatever they hand you in twenty
twenty six probably isn't going to be the best bike,
although Yamaha has way more potential in my opinion, because
they're developing that new V four engine, but one way
or the other, you're going to be in a low pressure,
low expectation environment before that rule change, and so you
(07:18):
kind of have a free year to get acquainted with
the bike, get acquainted with the series, get acquainted with
the style of racing, and hopefully be prepared to hit
the ground at least running a little bit with the
new engine package, the new aero package starting in twenty
twenty seven, and the new tires obviously as well. You know,
while a three year deal typically would be an unusual thing,
(07:41):
we don't see that very often. I think it makes
sense for not just honder Yamaha in the case of
Diogo Morera, but if anybody wants to sign Man New
Gonzales as well, same thing. I think it makes perfect
sense for any youngster that might be moving up to
get a three year deal. Same thing with Topark Arts
Scott Leoglu too, because next year is kind of going
(08:03):
to be a wash because it's the overall package and
so unless you're Ducati or Aprilia, you don't have much
to race for in twenty twenty six. You're aiming towards
twenty twenty seven, and so you want that young rider
when he gets on the bike in twenty twenty seven
to know he's got time to figure it out. And
so two year deal on the new package, one year
(08:24):
of beforehand, just as an introductory year.
Speaker 2 (08:27):
There's no problem with that.
Speaker 1 (08:29):
Now the big question with Morera considering where he is
in the points. He's third right now in the Moto
two points. He hasn't been nearly as successful as Menu
Gonzalez has this season, and it's only a second year
of Moto two. Last year he struggled a little bit
and we saw the same progression of Moto three. His
first year it was okay. He really improved in his
second year, and so I think a lot of people
(08:53):
would admit that he's maybe not one hundred percent ready
for prime time. And the fact that he happens to
be a Brazilian rider is raising the value.
Speaker 2 (09:03):
Of his stock a little bit.
Speaker 1 (09:06):
Amongst the team, a little more with the manufacturer, and
a lot when it comes to the promoter, Dorna and
then Liberty, their owner. And I'll admit that being Brazilian
definitely makes it more likely that he was going to
get a Moto GP deal for twenty twenty six because
we don't have a rider that fully represents that area
(09:28):
of the world. There's Franco Morbidelli who has one parent
who is Brazilian, and he said he really feels like
when he goes to Argentina that it's kind of a
home race for him. There's a lot of support, but
there's a difference there. And so having a Brazilian rider
come to the premier class for the first year that
Moto GP is going to be in Brazil because there's
(09:48):
going to be a Brazilian round next year, that's really
attractive all the way around. And you can imagine just
the excitement level for the Brazilian fantasy Franco Morbidelli in
their country.
Speaker 2 (09:59):
But if if they get to see Morera on a Moto.
Speaker 1 (10:02):
GP bike as well, I mean that definitely is a draw. Now,
with that being said, I don't think anybody is viewing
a potential deal with Morera Yamaha, Honda or otherwise as
being a passport contract right that he's just getting the
chance to move up because of where he's from. And
you know, Morera said in an interview just last week
(10:25):
that he didn't want to feel that way. He didn't
want to feel like he was getting a promotion because
of where he's from, and he doesn't feel that way.
Speaker 2 (10:32):
He needs to put.
Speaker 1 (10:33):
That out of his mind, and whenever that question comes up,
just say no, I deserve to be wherever I am,
and I'm going to be where I deserve to be, and.
Speaker 2 (10:41):
Then move on.
Speaker 1 (10:42):
Because we've seen this happen before. And if you guys
have been around long enough, you remember that Joe Roberts
situation where Roberts im Moto II, an American rider very
well may have been offered in a Prillier ride because
he was from the United States and a factory one
at that and he said no because he didn't want
to be known as somebody who took a ride because
(11:04):
of where he was from. That was way more borderline
than the situation we have here with Moreira. And even
back then, I was like, you need to take this
gig man, get on a Moto GP bike if it's
offered to you. And so if I were to yoga Morera,
I wouldn't even really truly address the question. But it
doesn't matter. Just look at what he's been able to
do this year. There's talent there, he's shown us that
(11:26):
he's got the skills to potentially move up. He is
a project rider, I mean he's going to be, but
a lot of successful riders in Moto GP came up
as unpolished gems, right, and he's already had more success
in four seasons between Moto three and Moto two than
some count Chantra who he'd be replacing, has had in
(11:47):
seven years. And of course, in addition to that, it
would eliminate the last bike on the grid that is
solely dedicated to a rider or a group of riders,
whether or not they have a proper resume to make
it to the premier class. And what I mean by
that is that Idimietsu elc R Honda has always been
reserved for a Honda Asia talent Cup rider, and in general,
(12:08):
there's nothing wrong with that. If you're developing riders that
are a Moto GP caliber, hey, no problem. And that
was the case when taking Nakagami came up and took
over that ride. But then when Nakagami didn't develop into
the rider that they thought he would, they didn't have
anybody behind him, and so he was on that bike
far too long when maybe he should have moved on
(12:30):
to the World Superbike where he could have been more successful.
And then once Iogura came along and started showing real promise, well,
the plan initially was to hand that bike over to him,
but Honda was too slow and Ogura got stolen away
by a Prelia and track house where he will and
we'll see this in the next couple of years. He
will be a genuine Moto GP level talent. He's got
(12:52):
the skills to be successful at the top level. And
so for lack of a better option, they put Chantra
on bike. And that's the only place in this program
where I think it veered off in the wrong path.
Reserving that bike for an eligible and qualified rider like
Iogura or before that, Taka Nakagami when he first came up,
(13:14):
that made sense. But then when you don't have that
rider and somebody like Yoga Morera is available, like you
put him on the bike. You put the best rider
you can find on that bike because as a sponsor, yeah,
you want to be able to leverage where the rider
is from, just like sponsors are going to leverage Morrera
for being from Brazil. But you want that rider to
not be at the back of the field all the
(13:35):
time because how much can you then leverage them, And
so there's a balance to be struck there. But that
wasn't the plan with that second LCR bike that Ida
meets who was paying for. They did not want to
be flexible, and so that's not a good situation. And
if this is true and Morera gets signed behind and
Castro moves over to sponsor the bike, I think that
(13:58):
is the ideal situation. I think that every slot on
the grid should be filled by a rider who is
the most qualified, or at the very least is qualified
to be competitive in MotoGP because I understand for Dorina
and especially now for Liberty their new owners, they've got
worldwide interests and so they want a grid that represents
(14:19):
those worldwide interests. But that only makes sense if it
doesn't come at the cost of quality of product on track,
and so this would solve that problem, is what it
was going to say. So from all those standpoints, this
makes absolute sense. It does beg the question what is
Yamaha going to do, because Yamaha was just as interested
reportedly in Morrera as Honda. Well, I think that if
(14:42):
this move comes to fruition that it greatly increases Jack
Miller's chance of being on the Moto GP grid next
year on a Yamaha, especially since Fabio Quachuraro has reportedly
said behind closed doors that he prefers having Miller on
one of their bikes to help develop it. Now there
is still a chance said Honda is desperate for a
young rider, and honestly, I think.
Speaker 2 (15:03):
They should be.
Speaker 1 (15:04):
I think we talked about this before. I thought that
no matter what organization out of those two got to
Dioga Morera, that the other one should absolutely go out
and get Mano Gonzalez because they both need riders to
develop with these bikes. They both need riders that can
take whatever they've come up with and compete with it
for wins, for podiums, and potentially for a championship. And
(15:27):
so I think that Manu Gonzales should absolutely be on
Yamaha's radar, and in fact, I actually think that he
would be a better get for Yamaha because he's more ready,
He's a step further in his development process than Dioga
Morera is, and that, of course, if that happened, that
would likely set off the chain reaction that we talked
(15:48):
about last week where Miller goes off to the factory team,
Alex Rinz gets something an SBK ride, a test roll,
something like that, and then Miguel Alavera probably gets picked
up by somebody in SBK. I think maybe Ducati might
be interested in him. So we'll wait to see if
this becomes official, and who knows, by the time you
(16:09):
hear this, it might be or we might have to
wait until after Hungary, or we might just find out
that Silly Season does what it sometimes does and just
gets more and more silly with the story.
Speaker 2 (16:21):
Changing at the last second. So we'll keep an eye.
Speaker 1 (16:24):
On it, and then if it's made official, then we'll
talk a little bit more about it, and not just
for Honda's sake, but what Yamaha does after this, because
I think once that decision is made, then pretty much
everything else is going to fall into place for next season.
Then we can start thinking about the beginning of next
year when the really big silly season comes up for
(16:44):
twenty twenty seven and twenty twenty eight with that new
rule package.
Speaker 2 (16:47):
All right, So enuff about rumors.
Speaker 1 (16:49):
Let's move on to this weekend, the return the Hungary,
the second half of yet another MotoGP doubleheader. In fact,
we get doubleheaders all the way through the end of
the year, believe it or not, and this one is
super special and super interesting because we're going to a
brand new track, first time ever for Moto GPN, returning
(17:12):
to Hungary for the first time since nineteen ninety two. Now,
when we talk about where they're racing at Baloton Park
this weekend, it really is a wildcard.
Speaker 2 (17:23):
It's a crapshoot.
Speaker 1 (17:24):
You know, everybody's going to be trying to figure out
this track. We do have a little bit to go
on because, like I mentioned at the top of the show,
superbikes have just run at Baloton Park, so we have
at least a little bit of an idea what to expect,
and we do know coming in that the style of
this circuit is a pretty stark contrast to what we
(17:46):
saw last weekend at the.
Speaker 2 (17:47):
Red Bull Ring.
Speaker 1 (17:48):
That track, as you know, is dominated by big straights
and huge top speeds. Well, Baloton Park does it differently.
They group smaller straits together with super technical sections. In fact,
each of the four fastest points on this track ends
with a chicane, and each one of those chicanes tighter
than the last, so it starts on the front stretch
(18:10):
that really runs into a pretty open chicane and turns
one in two, which is good because that at least
tries to mitigate any first corner madness with the field
fighting for a position off the lights, although like we
saw in SBK, there's no guarantee. And the reason there's
no guarantee is because even though that chicane coming out
(18:31):
of one two in Balaton Park is the most open
one on the circuit, it's still a pretty hard breaking zone.
In fact, that's the thing that it does have in
common with the Red Bull Ring, lots of really hard
breaking zones. Now they're breaking into very technical sections, so
it's not your traditional stop and go heartbreaking lean it
(18:54):
over stand it up hard on the throttle. There's going
to be definitely a lot of changes of direction here,
but that hard breaking is going to make a difference.
And all you have to do is watch the replays
of that superbike race. You could see how hard these
guys were leaning on the front. In fact, that's what
led to the red flag indirectly. In that first World
(19:15):
Superbike Grace andre llanone was on the break so hard
just coming off the lights. We weren't even like in
full on hot lap mode, but just coming off the lights,
who was on the front brake so hard that the
rear end came off the ground and he was trying to,
you know, lean on the bike as the back tire
was up in the air, and it just went out
of control on him and that's what created the big
(19:36):
wreck and then the red flag. And that's going to
be the theme here. Really hard breaking going into really
tight handling zones. Rinse and repeat, rinse and repeat, and
that is the circuit. You know, the first one, the
first chicane kind of warms you up, but the remaining
three just terminate into tighter and tighter chicanes. The end
(19:58):
result here points to a few key components. Like I said,
multiple heartbreaking zones, and you're gonna have to have an
agile bike that can change directions quickly. And that's great
because it should in theory, play to the strengths of
multiple different manufacturers and at the same time give us
plenty of opportunities to pass. I mean, those various chicanes one, two, five, six, eight, nine, twelve,
(20:22):
thirteen and then the final one at fifteen sixteen should
all offer great places to see some action, but unfortunately,
for safety and runoff reasons, they did have to take
out what I thought was the most interesting section of
this track, the couple of turns right before the very end.
It was a multi corner section that had almost an
(20:43):
acid like feel to it before that run to start finished.
So instead of this really kind of unique left left left,
decreasing radius, flick to the right and then you're headed
towards the start finish where you could see somebody try
to make a dive bomb pass, now it's just a
straight up left hander, a ninety degree left hander, and
I get the safety part of it. It's just a
bummer that they didn't design that track with the proper
(21:04):
runoff to be able to use it as it was
initially planned for a Moto GP race. Now I still
haven't decided what track this truly reminds me of. It's
a little bit like Acid, but without the pure speed factor,
without that really open back half. You could also think
of it as maybe a more technical version of Herath. Now,
(21:27):
of course, if it races like the former, well then
I think things could be a bit more wide open
and competitive in this one, and we might not be
able to predict who's going to win with any great confidence.
If it's more like the latter, well, Mark Marquez is
going to be looking very very forward to this weekend,
especially since, in addition to being a little bit like
(21:48):
one of his favorite tracks in Herath, it also has
one feature that Mark loves more than anything else. The
layout is anti clockwise, and that means no surprise as
we start to dive into the writers. Now our favorites
list is indeed headed up by the aforementioned senior Marquez.
(22:12):
And by the way, get ready for it. Get ready
for it, because I am really certain that the broadcast
team is going to point out, like maybe ninety or
one hundred times over the weekend that the track does
indeed run counterclockwise, and how that's going to give Mark
an advantage, and it will statistically speaking, But there's more
(22:35):
to it than that. I mean, depending on whose mathe
you believe. And shockingly, I have not run the numbers
on this myself in a long time, so I can't
say with exact certainty what the percentage is. I'm relying
on other people's research on this one. But if you
believe what everybody says, roughly sixty percent of Mark Marquez's
Moto GP victories have come at anti clockwise tracks, so
(22:58):
that officially makes.
Speaker 2 (22:59):
It a thing.
Speaker 1 (23:00):
Right now, you might think when I say sixty percent,
that means he only is ten percent better at those circuits,
because he's only one ten percent more races, right, No,
it's a bigger thing than that, because in any given
year only about a quarter of the tracks are anti clockwise,
(23:20):
and this year they're actually six and I don't know
if you can name them. I'll give you a second
to think about it. Okay, Here they are circuit of
the Americas, Aragon, Saxon, Ring, Australia, Valencia, and now of
course Hungary. And if you're familiar with that list and
familiar with Mark Marquez, you know that he is absolutely
(23:40):
dominant at a decent number of those, not so much
Australia and especially not Valencia. But the thing with Valencia
is being almost always at the end of the season
a lot of times Mark didn't need to be amazing there,
and so stats don't really count as much at Valencia
as they do everywhere else because everybody's got a way
different agenda. I mean, if you've already won, or you're
(24:02):
close to winning, you need to defend your points margin.
You're not gonna race as hard, and other guys are like, hey,
it's the last trace of the year. I might be
racing for my contract next season, and so they're going
to go all out, so different strategies there. But of
those tracks, we've run three so far this year, Circuit
of the America is Aragon and Saxon Ring. Mark has
won two of those three and very easily could have
won the third one at Circuit of the Americas. So yeah,
(24:27):
it's a big thing, right. It definitely shows a performance
advantage at counterclockwise.
Speaker 2 (24:34):
Tracks for Mark.
Speaker 1 (24:35):
But what I don't like about that argument, and what
I won't like when they say at a million times
this weekend, is that for a motor GP fan that
might be newer, or a motor GP fan that might
not pay that much attention to the peer stats, that
might suggest to them that Mark is somehow a one
(24:56):
dimensional rider, that he only does well there, that the
key to success to all of his championships is that
he runs really well when the track happens to be
going primarily to the left instead of primarily to the right.
And you and I we know that's not the case.
I mean, we can't forget that Mark is currently sitting
on seventy one career Moto GP base and that means
(25:18):
if you assume the sixty percent ratio, that means he's
still won about thirty times.
Speaker 2 (25:24):
At clockwise tracks.
Speaker 1 (25:26):
So yeah, he might be amazing at counterclockwise tracks, but
he's still really really good at clockwise tracks as well.
My point being here, Mark can beat you anywhere, and
that's exactly what he's been doing of late. He's been
beating everyone everywhere at every type of track, fast tracks,
technical tracks, clockwise, counterclockwise, you name it. He has destroyed
(25:48):
the field. Entering this round on a streak of six
double win weekends. Of course, he's had nine on the year,
and that and not the direction of the track is
why for me, Mark Marquez is the favorite coming into Hungary.
The direction is a boost, but his main calling card
right now is that he's racing as good as he
(26:09):
ever has in his entire career. He's on the best
bike on the grid, and on top of all of that,
he also has the most experience of any rider in
the field, and that is going to be critical to
learning this track quickly. So in a weekend of unknowns.
Mark Marquez is by far the most known quantity and
(26:30):
the rider that a lot of people are going to
be following this weekend to see if it can help
them accelerate their learning at this track. And one of
the main people who I think will be leaning on
Mark is his brother Alex, who we're going to talk
about now. I mean, he's not quite as much of
a sure bet for me in this one, and there's
a reason for that, and that reason is what we
saw last weekend in Austria. The speed was there in
(26:54):
the sprint, I mean, he looked totally normal, He led
some laps, he never struggled with anybody but his big brother.
But it was Sunday in the Moto GP race at
the Red Bull Ring that was where I raised an
eyebrow because after that long lap penalty bumped him outside
the top ten, he hardly made up any ground at all,
(27:16):
and that was definitely concerning for a rider that has
been as fast as Alex Marquez has been all year long.
Speaker 2 (27:22):
Now.
Speaker 1 (27:22):
Apparently, what Alex said after the race is that his
front tire was heating up to the point where he
made a tactical decision that making it to the checker
flag and scoring whatever points the race was going to
give him was more important than risking it for another
point or two, And honestly, that's a wise approach and
(27:43):
it paid off big since pecobag Nyaya decided to retire,
and so everything that Alex scored Sunday, even though it
was a maximum points, every point he did score was
a gained point on his biggest trival. And because of
that explanation and the fact that the way he kind
of laid it out, the team's plan coming into this
(28:03):
one didn't really include much ambition of running at the
front and making up a lot of ground because of
that penalty, and so I think that there were kind
of whole thought process coming in was we're going to
see where we're at after the penalty and then try
to maintain position. If we can move up, we will
if we want, no big deal. The points and the
championship are the main thing here, and because of those things,
(28:26):
I'm still reasonably confident the speed is there and that
Alex is confident on the bike, and because of that,
I like his chances to be somewhere in the podium conversation.
Even if we don't know how quickly he'll adapt to
this new track, although like I said, I think that
Mark is going to be very willing to help him,
which is going to be a big, big bonus. So
Alex stays on the favorites list for me, but he
(28:48):
could have a prime challenger in a new one in
his quest to return to the podium, in the form
of Marco Bitzeki. And I'll tell you he and that
a Prelia RSGP have been absolutely fantastic since well really
since Silverstone when he won that race, but especially in
the past four rounds. In those last four weekends he's
(29:10):
scored a grand total of five podiums, at least one
per round. And we talked about his average finish across
the past couple of rounds on the Austrian Post Race show.
I think it was but he's putting out top three
speed and this is consistently fast. We're not talking about
oh a second here in the fifteenth there, and then
up and down and up and down. He has had
(29:32):
that speed even when he's made a mistake since just
before the break. Now, I'm sure we'll hear a little
bit this weekend about the fact that Marco happened to
be a super quick learner at a new track a
couple of years ago. In that one off round in India,
he landed on the pole, finished fifth in the sprint,
and then won the Moto GP race. And that is
(29:52):
a thing, and it's good, I mean, relevant experience, even
if it's had a different style track of learning a
new place quickly and being successful there, that counts for something.
But I am much more enthusiastic about Marco because of
the clear advances that have been made by himself and
Aprilia in their quest to catch that Dukati, and a
(30:15):
much more enthusiastic about the confidence with which Bez is
attacking each race. That little bit of a fade at
the end of the Red Bull Ring last Sunday aside,
and I really think that that was because he was
trying as best as he could to keep up with Mark,
something that nobody can do right now, and he just
burned the tires.
Speaker 2 (30:31):
Off the bike.
Speaker 1 (30:33):
But that aside, he has definitely performed well enough to
get the bump up the primetime and be in the
favorites category, and so he.
Speaker 2 (30:40):
Rounds this one out.
Speaker 1 (30:41):
Let's now move on from the Favorites to my watch list,
and these aren't necessarily riders that I think are going
to finish.
Speaker 2 (30:47):
Just off the podium.
Speaker 1 (30:48):
In fact, they could compete for a podium. But they
each have a very interesting story coming into this round,
and because of that, I'm going to be watching to
see how they react, to see if they can continue
their momentum or if they can build some momentum. And
we're talking about needing to build momentum really really badly,
then we need to talk about Peko Bagnyaya because he
(31:12):
falls on the opposite end of the spectrum from our
trival and teammate Mark Marquez. Because while Mark, in my
mind is the only truly known quantity at an unknown track,
for me, Bagnyaya is the most unknown quantity, even more
so than the track. You know. Austria stands as yet
(31:35):
another round where Peco should have been fast. He has
a great record, had a great record there, and then
he simply fell flat. And then, to make matters worse,
it looks like we've finally reached the stage where there
is at least a little bit of finger pointing going around.
After Austria, Peco said that he's quote running out of patients.
Speaker 2 (31:59):
Which is a big statement to make.
Speaker 1 (32:01):
Gigi Delina then characterized Peko's performance last weekend as quote underwhelming,
which is a realistic statement to make if I'm being
perfectly honest. And then David Tardozzi said that he's concerned
about Peco. Well, guess what, Davi day, We're all concerned
about Peco. And the problem is that's a lot. That's
(32:23):
a lot to go on in the wake of a
race weekend where Peco should have felt very, very comfortable,
and I don't think all of that simply fixes itself
during a quick turnaround travel week and so there are
problems coming into this circuit, and you know, when it
comes back to the Peco bag ya, you're running out
of patients.
Speaker 2 (32:41):
Thing.
Speaker 1 (32:42):
The strange part about that is that this isn't like
a Valentino Rossi and Yamaha problem back in the day,
where the bike is so tailored to one rider that
nobody else can figure it out at all. And we
saw that with mar Marquess at Honda too. That bike
was so built around him for so many years that
(33:03):
when he couldn't ride the bike anymore because he was injured,
nobody else could pick that up and do anything close
to what Mark was able to do on it, and
they're still trying to dig themselves out of that situation
right now as we speak. But this is different than that,
right because you could say what you will about a
potential focus shift at Dukati towards Mark, which is naturally
going to happen because the guy is dominating and leading
(33:25):
the points and it's going to win the championship. But
Mark's only been there for a short amount of time, right,
This isn't Rossi with the Yamaha for years and years
or Mark with Honda for.
Speaker 2 (33:36):
Years and years.
Speaker 1 (33:37):
And Dukati really didn't have a clue that Mark was
going to be this good. I mean, nobody I don't
think had a clue that Mark was going to be
this good. Right, we all knew that pecobag Yaya was
Dukatti's guy coming in. He was their hope for a championship.
Anything that they got out of Mark was icing on
the cake. And so at the time that they were
developing the bike, Mark is hardly a blip on the
(34:01):
radar other than you know, a financial payday. With all
the sponsorships and everything like that, they couldn't have changed
the bike that much. Just for him from the time
they knew he was going to be there until this year, right,
And so this bike is still far closer to the
one that Peko Bagnaya won double digit races on a
year ago than it is to some sort of special
(34:22):
thing that only Mark kim Master and nobody else has
even a remote chance on. It's not that situation. And
so what is it that Peco is losing patients with?
And we can see this by looking at the other
Ducati riders as well, I mean Fabio di Jay and Antonio,
the only other rider on the GP twenty five, hasn't
performed with the consistency.
Speaker 2 (34:42):
That we might have expected out of him.
Speaker 1 (34:44):
But even he after Austria was like, hey, this is
the best bike I've ever ridden, and I was doing
pretty darn good on the GP twenty four. So he's
saying that the current year bike is better than last
year's bike. Mark is showing us that it's better than
last year's bike, and the GP twenty four ride have
shown speed across the board, so it's not like everybody
else has just kind of caught up to the GP
(35:04):
twenty four, And so the GP twenty five's margin isn't
quite as big anymore, and so that presents a problem
because if it's not that Rossi Yamaha Marquez Honda type
of situation, that means it comes down to confusion on
the part of the writer or the team and a
general lack of confidence. And that's a difficult thing to
have to manage when you're coming to a brand new track. Now,
(35:27):
what I do like about Peco heading into Hungary is
his overall experience and that he's been excellent in the
past few years at the comparison tracks that I mentioned
earlier and asked an Hareth. The big question is gonna
be like I mentioned a moment ago, about his confidence
level and about his working relationship with the team right now,
(35:47):
because if it starts to sour, it's gonna be tough
for him to dig out of this hole at all,
let alone enough to compete with Alex Marquez before he
starts thinking about Mark. So Pecko has to be in
baby steps mode right now, and that's what.
Speaker 2 (36:02):
I'm gonna be watching for.
Speaker 1 (36:03):
Can he takes small steps forward that will get him
back to where we expect him to be, Because if
Peco can tune out the noise and gage, just a
little bit of confidence, leaning on the front tire and
now apparently also accelerating out of corners as well, he
could have a chance, I don't think so much to win,
but potentially to compete for a podium. So when it
(36:24):
comes to this weekend, I'll be watching to see if
Peco can rebound, while the next two riders in this
category I'll be keeping an eye on to see if
they can maintain what they've shown us lately, both in
terms of speed and in terms of excitement. And the
first of those riders is Pedro Acosta, who may have
missed out on the podium last Sunday at the Red
(36:44):
Bull Ring, but I don't even care. I mean the
way that he's raised, not just in Austria, but the
round before that in Bruno, they leave me super optimistic
about both his and KTM's chances of taking a lasting
step forward in the second half of the season. We
have seen multiple KTM riders perform well here and there
(37:06):
throughout the year, but Acosta has finally backed up one
good round with another one, and it seems like maybe,
just maybe he's discovered some of that untapped potential in
his KTM At just the right time to pick up
the mantle for that organization from the injured Maverick Vinalez,
(37:26):
who had shown us earlier in the year the initial
glimpses of those speed.
Speaker 2 (37:30):
Out of that bike.
Speaker 1 (37:32):
And by the way, MAV is not going to be
back this weekend. Sadly, Paula Spagro is going to get
that ride. Hopefully we can see MAV back sooner rather
than later, because he was finally starting to hit his
stride someplace after being bounced around from manufacturer to manufacturer,
and so for that to be disrupted.
Speaker 2 (37:50):
As a bummer.
Speaker 1 (37:50):
But maybe now, like I said, KTM can turn to
Acosta and say, MAV showed us the way. Now you
got to take us to the next level. My only
concerns for Pedro Acosta right now are twofold. Number one,
were those red bull ring results a home track advantage
thing for KTM, I don't know. And then the second thing,
(38:12):
will Acosta's lack of premier class experience in general affect
his ability to adapt quickly to a brand new track,
And those are the things I'm going to be watching for,
and we'll see if he can sidestep those questions get
right to showing a speed and establish three round consistency
which is really really substantial for both him and assigned
(38:33):
to KTM that they are moving in the right direction.
Speaker 2 (38:36):
Now.
Speaker 1 (38:36):
Of course, that experience concern also applies to the other
writer in this category. I want to talk about Do Kati,
rookie fermin Aldegar, who impressed everybody with his stunning finish
to last Sunday's Austrian GP, passing a Marco Bizeki who
we just talked about is on a super hot run
right now to beat him out for second, and he
(38:59):
was even fast enough to at least make Mark Marquez
take notice and pick up his own pace in the
closing laps at the Red Bull Ring. And by the way,
speaking of that, I'm pretty sure that I mentioned on
the post race show after the Red Bull Ring that
I thought somebody out there was going to look at
the for Me and Audigaar situation at the end of
(39:19):
that race on Sunday and say, oh oh, he was
gaining so fast on Mark that that might be a
sign that maybe Mark is showing some bit of weakness.
There's there's a chink in the armor that somebody might
be able to take advantage of. Well, I did see
that kind of headline on at least one website suggesting
that out of Gear's closing rate on Mark at the
(39:41):
end of that race was some sort of sign of
vulnerability out of Mark Marquez. Now I'm not going to
say what website it's on, because they usually put out really, really,
really good stuff, and I wouldn't ever say anything bad
about them. But to just blanket assume that because somebody
was gaining on Mark, that that Marcus in his fast anymore,
(40:02):
that would completely have been ignoring the situation at the
end of that race. And a couple of facts there.
Number one that a large chunk of the ground that
for me and Aldigary initially made up was because Marco
Bitzeki and Mark Marquez were battling back and forth for
the lead for the better part of a lap, but
it slowed them both down.
Speaker 2 (40:19):
You can see it on the time sheets.
Speaker 1 (40:22):
It also ignores the fact that once Mark quickly built
up a little over a half second, it was about
six tens seven tons of a second margin over bez
which he did like immediately at that point you could
see in the time sheet he was clearly echoing Bitzeki's
lap times right around the one thirty point six range,
simply maintaining the gap, because why do anything more. We
(40:45):
talked about this on the Post ray show a couple
of days ago. You don't get any more points by
winning for five seconds than you do by winning for
three quarters of a second or a full second. And
so I think that he was concerned about Pitzechi. He
knew he was simply maintaining that was his mission at
the time. And we also can't ignore the fact that
once he did get word that ALTI Gear was closing
(41:08):
on his pitboard, maybe on his dash as well. Again
you can see in the time sheet, he immediately upped
his pace by two tenths per second. He went down
into the one point thirty point four range for two
consecutive laps that locked in the wind. And so this
wasn't all Mark was trying, and he just couldn't keep up,
and you know, this youngster with all this talent was
(41:29):
catching him. Mark was running his race, Aldi Gear was
running his race. And when those two ideas looked like
they were about to converge or were heading in the
same direction, Mark was like, oh, that's nice, but I
still got a couple of tents I've been sitting on
here that I haven't been using. Thanks and I'll see
you on the podium. But anyway, that's not to criticize
(41:49):
out of the gear. I loved the way that for
Mean rode at the end of that race. Last Sunday
we saw him on the podium in France, and then
he was consistent after that. Now he's been on the
podium again in Austria. I will be looking to see
if he can double down on this rediscovered momentum and
turn it into a second consecutive strong result. Just like
(42:11):
seeing that out of Pedro Costa gave me a lot
of confidence in his ability to maintain throughout the rest
of the year, seeing that out of formIn Aldegaer will
give me a similar level of confidence that we're moving
out of the good day, bad day stage and moving
more into and I've taken a step forward stage. So
those are the writers on my watch list for this weekend.
(42:32):
Now let's talk about the three guys I'm putting on
the hot seat, riders I think have to go out
and perform this weekend. For one reason or another. It's
an interesting list this time around. We'll take these guys
like we did the others in championship order. We'll start
with Fabio to jan Antonio because he's been not that
(42:53):
great recently. He's had speed all year long, but he
struggled with mistakes, bad luck, and anything else that can
happen to him has happened in the last three rounds
and in the process he's handed fifth in the standings
back to his teammate Franco Morbidelli, who himself has had
terrible luck and actually had to sit out a couple
(43:14):
of races with injury, and yet Digi and Antonio still
gave up his spot.
Speaker 2 (43:19):
In the championship to his teammate.
Speaker 1 (43:20):
In fact, that entire VR forty six team that was
looking so imposing just like two months ago now has
been really lackluster of late. Somebody's got to step things
back up. And Digia both has the better bike in
the GP twenty five and he is far healthier than
Morbidelli is, so it's time to shake off some of
(43:41):
those problems and get moving in the right direction using
the advantages of the best bike on the grid, So
I think he has to perform. Next up is the
other Fabio, and Fabio Quachrraro. He had a predictably dismal
Austrian GP. I'm not going to blame that on him.
The m one just had nothing for those big power
Italian bikes at the Red Bull Ring. But Balaton Park
(44:06):
offers opportunity. It is such a different track and on
paper it seems so much better suited to the strengths
of both Fabio and that Yamaha. You know, the tracks
that Quaterruro has had the most success at this year
have featured that combination of mid speed sweepers and quick
(44:26):
changes of direction, and those are areas where Qua Truro
can make an impact. And because the straits are all
a little bit shorter, yeah, he might be giving up
some on corner exit, but that advantage isn't going to
be nearly exemplified at the end of a straight at
Balaton Park as it would be at the end of
a straight at say, the Red Bull Ring, right, and
(44:47):
so the opportunity is there for Quachruro to lead Yamaha's
charge back toward the front, well, not the front of
the field, but the front half of the field. After
what we can all agree was a disastrous weekend in Austria,
then the final rider for me on the hot seat
is a Honda rider and Joan Zarco, because he's in
a very similar boat to Quachuroro. He was surprisingly mediocre
(45:11):
at the Rebu Ring, although it wasn't a surprise for Fabbio.
Speaker 2 (45:13):
It's just the bike, right.
Speaker 1 (45:15):
But with Zarko, he's been good here in the past,
he's had success and yet he got outrun by Joan
Miir and that didn't make a whole lot of sense
to me. And I'm sure that Zarko is going to
be looking for a rebound race and Balaton Park could
offer up some opportunity there. I mean, just like Quateruro,
Zarko's Honda I think will be better suited toward this
(45:37):
track than it was last week. Just like Quachurero, Zarko's
best results this year came at places like Lama, Silverstone, Argentina,
places with more handling sections, more technical aspects to them.
And just like Quachuroro, Zarko has a ton of experience.
I think he might be the second most experienced rider
on the grid and that should help him learn. Actually,
(45:58):
Jack might be up there with him well, but one
way or the other, he's got a lot of experience
and that should help him learn this new circuit quickly
and be able to take full advantage. So those are
the riders. That means I only have one order of
business left to take care of for this one and
make some picks. And man, picks are hard enough to
make as it is, even with mart Marquez dominating, it's
(46:20):
even harder when you're going to a track with no history.
Not only do you not know how the riders have
performed here in the past, because they haven't, you don't
know how this track is gonna present itself to each manufacturer.
If one of them is gonna have an advantage, and
maybe that advantage goes to a different manufacturer than Dukati,
then what happens.
Speaker 2 (46:39):
Well, I'm gonna.
Speaker 1 (46:40):
Try to figure it out.
Speaker 2 (46:41):
So here we go.
Speaker 1 (46:42):
I'm gonna make my picks for the sprint and the
motal GP race. For the sprint, I'll pick my top three.
Then once we move on to the main event on Sunday,
I will give you my top five picks for that race.
Starting with Saturday and the sprint. In third, I'm gonna
go with Marco Bitzeki. He's got the momentum right now.
I'm just not quite sure how quickly he'll learn and
(47:06):
adapt to this brand new track. So I'm gonna be
a little bit conservative and pick him third in second,
believe it or not, even though I kind of express
some concern about him earlier in the show. I'm gonna
go with Alex Marquez, and I'm looking for his confidence
to quickly return, especially on his Saturday. He's been so
good in sprints this year, and if the speed is
(47:27):
there and he learns from his brother, he should be
able to have a good race and your winner for
the sprint on Saturday, Mark Marquez. I mean, he's been
even more automatic in sprint races than he has in
Moto GP races. So someone's gonna have to prove to
me that they can beat him for me not to
pick Mark in a sprint.
Speaker 2 (47:46):
Right now, we.
Speaker 1 (47:47):
Move on to Sunday and the Moto GP race, and
I'm gonna have a little bit of fun with this.
I'm gonna go out on a little bit of a
limb here with a couple of riders. Here are my
top five, and we'll start in fifth with somebody we
didn't even talk about at all on the show, Raoul Fernandez,
he has definitely taken a step forward lately, and I'm
(48:11):
leaning a little into a Prillia as a potential contender
this weekend. So give me the track house rider in fifth.
In fourth, I'm gonna go with Alex Marquez. Now, I
still think he'll be plenty fast, but he could have
a lot of competition in this one and what could
be a wide open race. And so I'm picking Alex
just off the podium in favor of Pedro Acosta. He's
(48:34):
finally being aggressive, he's finally showing confidence. This is the
time to take full advantage and if he can do that,
he could show us podium speed. So Pedro Acosta and
third and second check this out, guys. In second, I'm
picking Mark Marquez. Yeah, I know that I'm probably wrong
(48:54):
with this one, but listen, listen. He can't win everything
from here on now. Statistically speaking, it's very unlikely he's
going to win every single race from here until the
end of the year. So if he's gonna lose one,
I'm gonna go out on a limb and say this
is the one.
Speaker 2 (49:12):
And he loses too, not.
Speaker 1 (49:15):
Peco, not any Ducati for that matter. He loses to
Marco Bitzeki, who takes what he learned on Saturday in
the sprint and combines it with his experience from the
end of the Red Bull Ring, having battled with mark
in that one, so he now knows better what to
expect thinking about managing his tires more considering what happened
(49:35):
with for me and Aldiger, he comes back with a smarter,
more strategic approach.
Speaker 2 (49:40):
That pays off big.
Speaker 1 (49:43):
I know if Marku is on the bike at the end,
it's gonna be really, really hard to beat him, so
I'm definitely taking a.
Speaker 2 (49:50):
Flyer on that one.
Speaker 1 (49:51):
So to recap in the sprint, I've got Bitzechi third,
Alex Marquez second, and you're winner, Mark Marquez. We move
on to the Moto GP race in fifth Rabul Fernandez
and four Alex Marquez and on the podium Pedro Acosta,
Mark Marquez and your winner, Marco Pitzeki on the Aprilia
for the second time this year.
Speaker 2 (50:10):
Do you agree?
Speaker 1 (50:11):
Do you disagree?
Speaker 2 (50:12):
You know what to do?
Speaker 1 (50:13):
Head over the Facebook or Reddit tell me why my
picks are absolutely crazy and who you think is going
to win the race instead? And since we do have
a race, that means we will have a post race show,
so check back at the conclusion of the weekend. I
will recap all of the Moto GP action from the
inaugural race at Balaton Park in Hungary. I'll review the
(50:35):
championship picture for whatever that's worth, and then give you
my take on the weekend of racing. After that, it'll
be your turn, so give me your comments on Facebook
and Reddit and we'll discuss those coming up on the show,
along with any silly season news, and then we'll start
thinking about the next doubleheader as well. So since we
have more shows on the way, not only should to
miss any of them. I would highly recommend, if you
(50:57):
have not done it yet, you subscribe to the p Where.
Speaker 2 (51:00):
Can you do that well?
Speaker 1 (51:02):
On Apple Podcasts, YouTube podcasts, Sprinker, stitcherplayer, dot Fm, Spotify, iHeartRadio,
Audible podcasts. Basically go to your favorite podcasting site. Type
in motoweek you should be able to find the show.
Try to make it as accessible as I possibly can.
Of course, you can always get all of the latest
episodes as soon as they're released on the website at
(51:23):
motoweek dot net. You can follow on Blue Sky at
motoweek or just search for motowek there.
Speaker 2 (51:28):
I don't think it's at motoweek.
Speaker 1 (51:30):
Or on Instagram at motoweek USA and leave your comments. Okay,
do that on Facebook at Facebook dot com slashmotoweek dot net,
or over on the reddit sub at r slash motoweek.
And if you do feel so compelled that you want
to support the program, it's appreciated, but not necessary, you
can do that on Patreon at patreon dot com slash motoweek.
(51:53):
All right, So until we talk again just a couple
of days from now, let's find out what happens at
this brand new tree and who can get the upper
hand before anybody else, and how that shifts the momentum
not only in this race but heading forward, and whether
it makes any kind of big dent in the championship picture.
I think we answer most of those questions, or I gave.
Speaker 2 (52:15):
Opinions on most of those questions.
Speaker 1 (52:17):
We'll have actual answers at the end of the weekend
and then we'll talk about it. So I want to
thank you so much for listening. Ride safe, and I'll
talk to you soon.
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