MotoGP Motegi Madness <spoilt>

[thought]

^ if JLo went on to win the the next 3 races VR would have to place no less than 2nd to clinch the title

Those are solid odds for both Rossi or JLo. It seems like this championship might be decided by the Hondas if they get in the way. Damn this is one hell of a good season.

And those pics from Speeddog really put into perspective how bad the front tires were.  Emmet spoke about them in his post race article but there arent any images.

https://motomatters.com/analysis/2015/10/11/2015_motegi_sunday_motogp_round_up_part_.html

[ducpainter]

Update on DeAngelis... http://www.motogp.com/en/news/2015/10/12/alex-de-angelis-undergoing-further-medical-checks/186519

Still can't find video.

[Raux]

I went back and looked. Pretty certain now that wasnt his video.

[Needle99]

Was a good race. Unexpected and great for the championship (JLos tyre degrading a little further that is)

[manwithgun]

Pure speculation here, but after looking at the tire pics, i would say that the winglets may have played a pretty large role in the excessive wear.   From my experience, it's not that common to see that much center tread wear on a front tire.   Even the the transition area (from center to edge) on Jlo's tire is worn way more that his competitors.   Since the winglets exert more downforce based on speed, it makes sense to me that they greatly influenced tire wear and grip during initial straight line braking and tip in. This would explain how he was able to gap the field until he eventually abused the wet compound tire.   Either that or it was a quality control issue.  Sabotage maybe?   

[manwithgun]

I also noticed that towards the end of the race, Rossi was riding outside of the race line to stay on the wet tarmac while coming down the straights and Pedrosa
was favoring the damper edge of the racing line through the corners trying to manage the tire wear.

[The Architect]

I don't know how much of the J-Lo's wear was due to the winglets.  He was riding like his pants were on fire.  I personally think this was J-Lo not managing his tires. 

And manwithgun was right, the other riders were staying offline to find went areas when going down the straights.  J-lo wasn't.  Could that have been the difference?

I like watching wet races.   

[ducpainter]

George only knows laptime. He wins races by setting the fastest. If race craft, like managing tires or banging fairings, is a major factor in winning a race...

it won't be George winning.

[koko64]

Rossi knows how to win when the situation is tight, and it's getting tight.

[m9hundo]

Just to emphasisze on JLo's one dimensional style racing you would think he'd know that pushing as hard as he was on a drying track would kill his tires.  Come on JLo you've been in the elite class for some time now that's a rookie mistake.

[Triple J]

Hard to say if JLo's riding or the wings were responsible for his excessive tire wear. I'd say probably both. The wings may have added some wear, but his blistering pace at the beginning and his refusal to find wet track in the latter stages sure didn't help matters.

I have to agree that JLo is seeming more and more one dimensional. When conditions don't change he's untouchable, otherwise he's very beatable.

Pedro is looking very very good the last couple races. If that guy can stay healthy he may have a shot next season. Of course, I think that every year! I'd like to see him win a WC...his toughness is underestimated. His improvement in the wet is also commendable...he used to be a sure thing to wad it in the rain.

[1.21GW]

+1 on Dani

I'd like VR to win this year, then Dani next year, and then I don't care.

Not to get ahead of myself, but if VR remains on top of his game, Jorge learns a little about managing a race, Dani does not get injured, MM and the 2016 bike are in sync, and the Ducs make that final tweaks to be on par with the Yammy/Hondas, then 2016 could be a season for the ages.

[kopfjäger]

^^^ A season for the ages ended with the 500cc 2 strokes. 

[HotIce]

Such a totally different riding style back then!
Look at head position vs. bike central plane. It lays actually on the outer side of the turn, while today is well tucked within it, and low.

[Triple J]

I don't know...if HRC gives MM a better bike next season he may just win it all again.