MotoGP 2018 Season Looks To Be Epic (as always)

I dunno, maybe part of the deal is... DP26 has to give that 2015 championship trophy to MM93 for "services rendered".. :oops:

Lorenzo in talks with Honda to replace Pedrosa

The Repsol Honda outfit has begun talks with three-time MotoGP world champion Jorge Lorenzo as a potential replacement for the outgoing Dani Pedrosa for 2019, Motorsport.com has learned.

Honda announced on Tuesday that it would part ways with Pedrosa, who has raced for the Repsol-backed factory outfit since 2006, “by mutual consent” at the end of the current campaign.

It has subsequently emerged that Honda is keen on placing Lorenzo alongside reigning champion Marc Marquez for 2019 – and that it has already held preliminary talks with the 31-year-old.

Lorenzo, who won MotoGP titles with Yamaha in 2010, 2012 and 2015, had struggled since joining Ducati last year, but took a breakthrough maiden win in dominant style last weekend at Mugello.

Shortly after his victory, he told Spanish media: “"My story with Ducati is over.

“A part of me is sad because I know that with this bike I could have fought to be world champion, which is why I came here. Now it’s too late. There is nothing to be done.”

When it became clear he could leave Ducati at the end of his current contract, Lorenzo emerged as a prime target for Suzuki – but the Hamamatsu marque has since elected to pursue Moto2 ace Joan Mir instead.

Consequently, Lorenzo has been working on a return to the Yamaha fold with what is believed to be a Petronas-backed satellite ride alongside current Marc VDS Honda rookie Franco Morbidelli. (More here.)
 
Pedrosa is likely going to announce his retirement at Sachsenring next week.
It also seems likely that next year's German GP is going to be held at the Nürburgring, because the idiots that "organized" the Sachsenring event in the last 6 years have debts of over a Million Euros, which is no big surprise when a normal Sunday Grandstand ticket is €156.
 
Those who think "tough" means big and mean and prone to fisticuffs ought to have a look at Dani Pedrosa...

Dani Pedrosa Injuries.jpg


Dani Pedrosa - A Look At His Career, And His Retirement
After weeks of speculation, Dani Pedrosa has announced that he will end his active racing career at the end of the 2018 season. The Spaniard had been mulling his future for some time, after it had become clear that there was no place for him left in the Repsol Honda MotoGP team, and after discussions with other teams throughout the first part of the year, Pedrosa made his decision some time after Assen, and announced it at a special press conference held ahead of the German round of MotoGP at the Sachsenring.

"Next year, I will not compete in the championship, this means I will finish my career this season in MotoGP," Pedrosa told a packed press conference room at the Sachsenring. "This is a decision I've been thinking about for a long time, and it's a very hard decision because this is the sport I love. But despite having good opportunities to keep racing, I feel like I don’t live racing with such an intensity as before and I now have different priorities in my life."

"I would like to express how fortunate I feel to have had this opportunity," he said. "It's been an amazing life to be racing for such an important team and in front of all the fans. So I can say I achieved way more than I expected and I'm very proud of everything I've done in the sport. I fulfilled my dream of becoming a racer and this is something I didn't expect as a kid watching on TV." It was an emotional press conference, the normally taciturn Pedrosa fighting to control his emotions.

The announcement had not come as a surprise. It had become clear in the week heading into the Sachsenring that Pedrosa had decided to retire. He had come close to announcing his retirement at Barcelona, four weeks ago, but the approach from the Petronas Yamaha Team due to race next year had forced him to consider his choice carefully. "In Barcelona I had the feeling and a more or less clear idea of what would be my decision, but an opportunity showed up, and you never have to close the door to opportunities in that way," Pedrosa said. "Finally, I considered the options, and with a bit more time, it's always better to take these decisions with more time and with your people and with your family, and think about it a little bit longer. But finally, the feeling is the feeling."

It was the intensity levels needed to be competitive which had been a major factor in his decision. "You have to live the races to the limit and I had to give everything that I had," Pedrosa told the Spanish media. "Looking at the project and being realistic this is the direction I have to take. I gave everything I had on the track as well as off it and it’s simply this; I’m a rider that gave my best." That was a reason to turn down Petronas Yamaha. "Like I said it was something already coming for a long time and the opportunity I had was a great chance and nothing to say about. It's just my feeling, my way of approaching life and racing and being honest with myself… This was the decision." [ Link to much more about Dani's career and accomplishments. ]
 
I don't get beIN Sports on my cable package. I cant remember ever going this long with out seeing a
Moto GP or World Bike race. I use to always watch these. Starting to miss them. I guess I will
go figure out what youtube has to offer.
 
Hotrod said:
I don't get beIN Sports on my cable package. I cant remember ever going this long with out seeing a
Moto GP or World Bike race. I use to always watch these. Starting to miss them. I guess I will
go figure out what youtube has to offer.
Click to expand...
MotoGP always shuts down YouTube live streams.
This channel does upload some races in re-live, but they don't really have the best quality.
https://www.youtube.com/user/FootballReviewHD1/featured
You may however find a live stream on Twitch.
 
Hotrod said:
I don't get beIN Sports on my cable package. I cant remember ever going this long with out seeing a
Moto GP or World Bike race. I use to always watch these. Starting to miss them. I guess I will
go figure out what youtube has to offer.
Click to expand...
The video pass at MotoGP.com is about $100 per year IIRC, which includes every session of every race live plus a very complete archive. Probably half-price now for the second half of the year. Not free, but worth it to me.

For those who love skill-based racing with hardcore on-track competition, MotoGP is the best racing on the planet, IMO, followed by Nascar Cup racing and World of Outlaws. The best English-language MotoGP coverage for in-depth info is Motomatters.com (but no pics, no video).
 
LewTheShoe said:
For those who love skill-based racing with hardcore on-track competition, MotoGP is the best racing on the planet, IMO, followed by Nascar Cup racing and World of Outlaws.
Click to expand...

I have felt that way for a long time. Looking back on the thousands of races I have seen , MotoGP has consistently been at the top for thrilling racing.
 
My pals at Direct-tv have dropped Bein sports channel. No more Moto-Gp for me this year I guess. :(
 
donthaveanickname said:
Not the best MotoGP race today, but Moto2 was great with Schrötter finally getting his first podium finish.

However, Romano Fenati should be given a lifetime ban. What he did there was incredibly dumb and dangerous.
Click to expand...

I was going to say, I don't know a lot about motorcycle racing, but I assume you can't try to knock the other guy down?
 
donthaveanickname said:
Not the best MotoGP race today, but Moto2 was great with Schrötter finally getting his first podium finish.

However, Romano Fenati should be given a lifetime ban. What he did there was incredibly dumb and dangerous.
Click to expand...




He was showing him where the front brake lever was located :lol2:
 
TexasRaceLady said:
And not the first time Fenati has done something --- he kicked another rider and turned the engine off of another before practice.
He should never race again.
Click to expand...
Could be possible. He was banned for only two races, but his current team Marinelli Snipers released him because of the incident.
It also seems likely that he is going to be fired from his contract with Forward Racing for next season, where the guy he tried to kill would have been his new teammate.

Remember when he was fired from Rossi's Moto3 team after punching a crew member two years ago.
 
He's now retiring, but further disgracing himself by kind of retracting his apology and acting like Stefano Manzi deserved what he got.
 
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