Thailand MotoGP test

[Yorick]

No big surprises yet. They'll go for times tmrw.

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[Yorick]

5 manufacturers in top 8. Hopefully that will continue into the races...
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[ChrisW]

It's beginning to look a lot like Mar-quez.

[mangocrazy]

The 2025 crop of MotoGP bikes are looking less and less like 'conventional' motorbikes used to (I'm thinking 2005 Suzuki GSXR1000 as a reference). To my eyes the KTM is far and away the ugliest of the lot, although I'd be hard pressed to say which is the most attractive (or least ugly, more to the point). Take a look at this lot of beauty queens...

https://www.crash.net/motogp/feature/10 ... otogp-test

[weeksy]

I'm struggling with the whole holeshot thing, the fairing/sticky-out-bits, pretty much everything really. It's lost the essence of what it was about.

Sadly as we all know, it's made the racing worse in terms of close competition and entertainment, so it's not even like that's improved because of all of this.

So what's it for... well, i'm fucked if i know.

[Mr. Dazzle]

It's lost the essence of what it was about.

Isn't it supposed to be about technological development, crazy concepts, everything possible to make the bike faster regardless of how fun or good looking it is? That's why it's called a prototype category.

Still fugly, mind

[weeksy]

It's lost the essence of what it was about.

Isn't it supposed to be about technological development, crazy concepts, everything possible to make the bike faster regardless of how fun or good looking it is? That's why it's called a prototype category.

Still fugly, mind

Is it ? I thought it was about making racing an entertaining spectacle ?

[KungFooBob]

You need Supersport 300 if you want an entertaining spectacle.

[Yorick]

I'm struggling with the whole holeshot thing, the fairing/sticky-out-bits, pretty much everything really. It's lost the essence of what it was about.

Sadly as we all know, it's made the racing worse in terms of close competition and entertainment, so it's not even like that's improved because of all of this.

So what's it for... well, i'm fucked if i know.

They're banning the holeshot devices and the lowering mechanisms from 2027.

Hard to ban the aero as it's on road bikes now.

[Mr. Dazzle]

Is it ? I thought it was about making racing an entertaining spectacle ?

I think their definition of 'entertaining' includes the fact the bikes are fully of technical wizardry though.

From their own website in the "About MotoGP" bit.

There are loads of races out there, probably loads where the racing is closer and more fought over than MotoGP too, I'd have said the prototype nature of the bikes is one of the key thing MotoGP are 'selling'. Even if/when they've banned the current controversial devices something else will come along.

MotoGP™ is the most exciting sport on earth, with riders hitting top speeds of over 365km/h and producing incredible lean angles of more than 65º as they become almost superhuman, racing their bikes around the best tracks on earth.

International stars such as Marc Marquez, Francesco “Pecco” Bagnaia, Fabio Quartararo and Jorge Martin, riding the fastest and best bikes on the planet, from the leading motorcycle manufacturers, make MotoGP™ the world’s top motorcycle racing championship.

[mangocrazy]

The punters would probably forgive the rampant fuglyness that the tech upgrades have brought with them if the racing was close, but the problem is that the tech has conspired to make it harder and harder to overtake unless you're prepared to make a borderline dangerous pass. When riders are getting docked penalty points for front tyre pressure infringements you know the tail is wagging the dog. So all we have left is the riders themselves, which is why there's such a push to turn the riders into media personalities.

I'm glad the holeshot and ride height devices are going, but the aero restrictions are too little too late. Dorna should have been bolder in restricting the aero; road bike design follows MotoGP in terms of aero not the other way about. If MotoGP radically curtailed the use of aero, road bikes would follow suit.