MotoGP/moto2/moto3, Portimao, the return of the king.

[weeksy]

Undoubtedly one of the major talking points of this weekend is the return of Marquez. Funnily, if he scores 5th place, he finishes race 3 on the same points that Mir had after 3 races last season.... So he's clearly not out of it in such a topsy turvy season again.

The KTMs went brilliantly here last season in the first time of MotoGP coming here.

What are we predicting then ? I'm thinking a Yamaha of Quat on the top step, Binder in 2nd and a 3rd place for Rins.

Moto2, it's hard to see past Lowes, Gardner or Bezzechi for the win

Moto3, i'm just looking forward to seeing the new kid on the block and seeing if he can win again. Along with hoping McPhee can break his unlucky streak.

[lostboy]

Interesting that you think Binder will beat last year's home winner, Miguel Oliveira, who is now on the same works bike. I'm not so sure about the hype around Binder.

I think Oliveira will be up there. The Yamahas and Suzukis will as well. It's a really tough call as to who from those four will occupy the podium. I'm going Quatararo, Mir and Oliveira not necessarily in that order.

[the_priest]

Marquez, Rossi and Miller. No particular order.

[Skub]

All eyes will be on MM for sure. I sincerely hope there will be a collective sigh of relief if he returns on form and fully fit. We are so used to him being remarkable,it'd be a shock if he isn't.

His whole style is riding past the limit,then dialling back a hair,it's a proven winner,but he's never been shy about the crashes. I wonder if there'll be a more mature,more circumspect MM on show when he returns. Such a change may not be as dramatic for us,but could be equally deadly for his rivals.

In Moto2 Sam Lowes has come out swinging,lets hope the form continues without him picking up niggly injuries this year. Cool to watch the progression of Gardner too.

I'm almost scared to mention McPhee...

[lostboy]

SofaRacer
@SofaRacer
·
12m
A simple guide to MotoGP Data :

1 or 2?

If Marc Márquez has one functioning arm, he has a big problem.

If Marc Márquez has two functioning arms, the rest of the grid has a big problem.

[Le_Fromage_Grande]

I'm going for McPhee punted off on lap 9
Sam Lowes for the win in Moto 2
Vinales for the win in MotoGP

[Yorick]

I'm going for McPhee punted off on lap 9

He's starting from pit lane, miles behind the pack, so probably chuck himself down the road.

[Le_Fromage_Grande]

I'm going for McPhee punted off on lap 9

He's starting from pit lane, miles behind the pack, so probably chuck himself down the road.

So we're agreed there's no chance he's going to finish the race.

[Supermofo]

I'm going for McPhee punted off on lap 9

He's starting from pit lane, miles behind the pack, so probably chuck himself down the road.

Then beat himself up in the gravel

[formula400]

its not funny, that poor lad, id love to see him take the Moto3 crown, he grafts hard. what's missing?? luck/skill/bike???

can't wait to see this weeks racing.

Lowes for Moto2

then Marc to take pole and then 1st (I think top 3 is a good bet)
Fabio 2nd and not sure who will get 3rd.

[weeksy]

its not funny, that poor lad, id love to see him take the Moto3 crown, he grafts hard. what's missing?? luck/skill/bike???

can't wait to see this weeks racing.

Lowes for Moto2

then Marc to take pole and then 1st (I think top 3 is a good bet)
Fabio 2nd and not sure who will get 3rd.

You'd think in a pragmatic world there's no such thing as luck. But you can bet your arse that 50% of the front-runner crashes involve him. So if it's not luck, is it poor positioning ? Well, tough to say, often in Moto3 you end up where you end up due to slipstreams and how the pack flows at times. sometimes he'll get skittled from 2nd, sometimes it's from 9th... so it's not like there's a 'safe' position to hang about in, if that were even possible in Moto3. But he does seem very very unfortunate.
I'm still not convinced he's got the outright consistency for the title, even without the crashes... but clearly he'd be a lot closer than he often ends up.

[weeksy]

https://www.motogp.com/en/news/2021/04/ ... ain/368189

Interview from MM..

The first crash… the sooner it arrives, the better?

“Logically, it will arrive. Hopefully sooner rather than later. It's one of the things I told the doctor. When I go back to riding my motorcycle, my arm should be ready to crash. I am going to risk and crashes will come and the body must be ready. Then it will be important that I get up, that I get back on the bike and this is part of it. What worries me the most is not the first crash, but riding the way I want again.”

45 mins until we're off for session 1 of Moto3. Let the games begin !

[Yorick]

MM is bang on the pace after 4 or 5 laps. Wow.

Not ridden for 265 days.

[Yorick]

3rd in FP1. Awesome.

He said in interview, that he's prepared to crash. No problem.

[weeksy]

3rd in FP1. Awesome.

He said in interview, that he's prepared to crash. No problem.

You can't argue with 3rd first time out can you, that's remarkably impressive !

[Yorick]

When he took his helmet off, he had a huge grin. Cheeky, almost cocky.

It simply said "I'm back"

[formula400]

he has already made one brilliant save, he's not forgot how to save it

[G.P]

FP2 was pretty impressive too. Bagnaia was the only one in the 1.39s and was 0.3 ahead of the field. Marquez was 6tth at 0.4 so a gaggle of them within a tenth. Jack Miller was just in front of him which is good for Jack..

[Yorick]

The Moto2 boys are flying.

In FP1, Joe Roberts set a time that would have put him 16th in MotoGP FP1, only 1.6 seconds off pole.

In FP2, JR was only 0.1 seconds off Jorge Martin in 22nd.

[weeksy]

I'm still none the wiser who'll win the GP class tomorrow even after all the sessions. I'm thinking Quat must be right up there and I'm also hoping to see Olivera. But overall, still a mystery.

The run to the line should be massive