MotoGP 2023

Agent_Smith said:
Hmm. Curious to see then how much sway Rossi has with Ducati in getting one of his riders a seat there. Apart from the obvious Italian connection, his stint with them as a rider was far from successful and IMO, Morbidelli is a shell of his former self when he was at Razlan Razali's satellite Yamaha team. Maybe he'll get a new lease of life on a Ducati though.
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They - Rossi and Ductai - appear to have an amicable relationship. Both parties have publicly said they regret that things didn't work out when he joined Ducati, but nobody is to blame.

I have no idea what happened to Franky, but to his credit he has finished every main race in the points this season, so while not setting the world on fire, he is bringing that awful Yamaha home. Maybe a change of scenery is what he needs and what better bike than a Ducati.
 
So, it looks like KTM petitioned to have a 5th bike on the grid next year, but Dorna shot it down. They're eyeing more bikes on the grid in 2025; see value in having an experienced reserve rider (and not just a test rider) and don't want to discard Augusto too early.
Dorna executives Carmelo and Carlos Ezpeleta told KTM bosses, in a meeting on Friday at the Austrian MotoGP, that they would not allow them to add an extra bike next season.

They must now solve their issue of having five contracted riders for only four bikes - Jack Miller and Brad Binder are their factory duo, Pol Espargaro and Augusto Fernandez are their Tech3 GASGAS pair, and Pedro Acosta has been promised a promotion from Moto2.

KTM CEO Stefan Pierer told Speedweek: “We still have a lot of grands prix ahead of us this year. You can see how many injuries happen all the time.

“The next topic: As usual, there will be an elimination race. We will find a solution."
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“With so many competitions, the risk of failure increases. And if we can offer a test rider six wildcards and there is also the option of being used as a substitute rider, those are lucrative incentives.”
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“We also need a fast second test rider alongside Dani Pedrosa. Because when it comes to further development, only a rider who is fast and good will help us.”
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“Augusto Fernandez is in his first year in MotoGP and is showing promise,” KTM confirmed.

“We've made the mistake of writing off a rookie too soon. We don't want to make that mistake a second time.

“Augusto is Moto2 World Champion. He deserves a fair MotoGP chance. We definitely don't want to lose him.
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www.crash.net

KTM bid for fifth bike rejected - this is the new plan to solve rider headache

KTM’s hope to have a fifth bike on the 2024 MotoGP grid has been extinguished.
www.crash.net www.crash.net
 
So Tony Arbolino and Jake Dixon have both signed extensions with their respective Moto2 teams, thus putting an end to speculation (at least for another year) of a promotion to MotoGP. It seems then that Fabio di Ginanntonio's seat at Gresini Ducati should be safe for 2024 if the rumours of Morbidelli to Pramac are to be believed.
 
Agent_Smith said:
So Tony Arbolino and Jake Dixon have both signed extensions with their respective Moto2 teams, thus putting an end to speculation (at least for another year) of a promotion to MotoGP. It seems then that Fabio di Ginanntonio's seat at Gresini Ducati should be safe for 2024 if the rumours of Morbidelli to Pramac are to be believed.
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I'm still not sold on Digi - and maybe im biased against him (for some unknown reason) - i feel that he has had enough time in a very supportive environment and he just hasn't delivered.
 
Mzezman said:
I'm still not sold on Digi - and maybe im biased against him (for some unknown reason) - i feel that he has had enough time in a very supportive environment and he just hasn't delivered.
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Yeah. Apart from that memorable pole at Mugello last year, he hasn't really set things alight. Especially when you consider what Marquez has achieved on the same machinery. I think his saving grace right now is that there isn't any other rider in Moto2 who is bashing the door down to take his ride. Arbolino and Dixon are ok but they're no Pedro Acosta. So Gresini may as well stick with Digi and back him to finally come good.
 
Looks like it could be a very wet weekend in Catalunya. Rain percentages in the high 70's on Saturday and high 80's to low 90's on Sunday. Going to be very little dry running it seems.
 
Brad straight through to Q2 with a last minute burst to see him into 5th in P2. Was squeaky bum time for a bit as he was down to 12th with a few minutes to go. Still, he's 6 tenths off the factory Aprilias in 1st and 2nd which are absolutely flying. Hopefully KTM in race trim will be closer to the top.
 
Missed the race today but my word what chaos. Glad everyone made it out ok with minor injuries.

So glad for Aprillia getting their first 1-2, they’ve been super strong this weekend
 
Agent_Smith said:
Yoh, yeah. Rumours are picking up steam. Where there's smoke, there's often fire. Interesting times.
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That would mean Marc ending his contract early no? Wonder where that leave Frankie M
 
Mzezman said:
Slightly nervous about this given the MM93 injury rushes we had in the past
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Yeah. Misano has that notorious left hander turn 15 that catches a lot of riders out due to a cold left side of the tyre. If Pecco isn't committed through it (understandable he wouldn't be initially), he could easily go down there.

Mzezman said:
That would mean Marc ending his contract early no? Wonder where that leave Frankie M
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Yeah. He is contracted to Honda for next year but these days, contracts don't seem to be worth the paper they're written on as teams will happily buy a rider out of one if they deem it worthy. I can't imagine Marc has a performance clause in his contract. When he re-signed years ago, Honda were still at the top of their game so it more than likely wasn't a factor. So if he wants out, someone will have to pay (whether that's Marc himself or Gresini).
 
The way the KTMs are dragging MM93 into Q2 one would think he is part of their team :) Last week it was Miller, this week Danny. Danny was already safe, I would've just slowed down and let Marc fight it out in Q1
 
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