Although the schedule is yet to be announced a few of the dates are known
The provisional schedule has been released by Dorna. 22 rounds, it's a long season!
Rnd Date Track
1 Mar 10 Qatar
2 Mar 24 Portugal
3 Apr 07 Argentina
4 Apr 14 USA - Austin, TX
5 Apr 28 Jerez
6 May 12 Le Mans
7 May 26 Catalunya
8 Jun 02 Mugello
9 Jun 16 Kazakhstan
10 Jun 30 Assen
11 Jul 07 Germany
[summer break]
12 Aug 04 Silverstone
13 Aug 18 Austria
14 Sep 01 Aragon
15 Sep 08 Misano
16 Sep 22 India
17 Sep 29 Indonesia
18 Oct 06 Japan
19 Oct 20 Australia
20 Oct 27 Thailand
21 Nov 03 Malaysia
22 Nov 17 Valencia
EDIT: updated Sep 27; updated Feb 02
Pertamina will be replacing Mooney as principal sponsor of the VR46 MotoGP team for the next three seasons (2024-26).
It will be interesting to see how the team will incorporate it's traditional "Vale yellow" into the livery since Pertamina branding is blue/red/green. It wasn't too difficult with Mooney since it's primary color is yellow.
Big news in MotoGP!
After the recent news about RNF being thrown out of the top class (they were actually denied a contract renewal by Dorna/FIM/IRTA due to "repeated infractions and breaches of the Participation Agreement affecting the public image of MotoGP"), a new team has entered MotoGP to take their place.
Track House Racing is now the sponsor of the satellite Aprilia team, and the bikes will be sporting a pretty cool new livery paying a little homage to Nicky Hayden.
TH_Aprilia.jpg
https://us.motorsport.com/motogp/news/trackhouse-racing-joins-2024-motogp-grid-as-rnf-replacement/10555284/
https://www.motogp.com/en/news/2023/12/05/from-the-usa-to-motogp-welcome-trackhouse-racing/486556
I love watching these races. The riders are so skilled it's amazing.
After seeing MM93 on his first outing on the Ducati, I think the rest of the field may be in trouble in '24. He had a grin on his face after coming into the pits following his first session at the Valencia test. And he was near the front at the end of the day. Not bad for the first time aboard the Duc.
Some amusing news from Razlan Razali: in 2019 he had signed Alex Marquez for the 2020 season with the plan to move him up to the empty Petronas GP seat the following year. Yamaha blocked the deal and told him that "no Marquez will ever ride for Yamaha".
Quote from: SoCal250 on December 05, 2023, 01:37:56 PMBig news in MotoGP!
After the recent news about RNF being thrown out of the top class (they were actually denied a contract renewal by Dorna/FIM/IRTA due to "repeated infractions and breaches of the Participation Agreement affecting the public image of MotoGP"), a new team has entered MotoGP to take their place.
Track House Racing is now the sponsor of the satellite Aprilia team, and the bikes will be sporting a pretty cool new livery paying a little homage to Nicky Hayden.
https://us.motorsport.com/motogp/news/trackhouse-racing-joins-2024-motogp-grid-as-rnf-replacement/10555284/
https://www.motogp.com/en/news/2023/12/05/from-the-usa-to-motogp-welcome-trackhouse-racing/486556
Trackhouse's Plan To Revive MotoGP In The USAhttps://www.the-race.com/motogp/trackhouse-racing-new-team-motogp-us-market/
A 2nd race in the US coming sometime soon? Nashville? Hmm, interesting...
MotoGP working to have second US race, says Trackhouse owner
https://www.motorsport.com/motogp/news/motogp-working-to-have-second-us-race-says-trackhouse-owner/10559864/
Why does Yamaha dislike the Marquez brothers?
Quote from: Hawaii-Mike on December 28, 2023, 02:24:11 PMWhy does Yamaha dislike the Marquez brothers?
Because it was believed Marc went out of his way in 2015 to help fellow Spaniard Lorenzo win the title over Rossi. And "the kick" incident that season at Sepang between the two, which put Rossi at the back of the grid for the next race due to a penalty.
Ah yes I recall seeing the video, thanks for the info.
There are plenty of grade 2 circuits in the US. Not sure why MGP needs to wait on a new facility. They should go to Mosport, if only Moss corner had more runoff... It is the best track in North America and MGP would race fantastically there.
Tickets are now on sale (early bird pricing) for Austin.
$79 gets you a GA grounds pass for the weekend (no assigned seating). Seat options go up to $229
A paddock pass is $300
https://circuitoftheamericas.com/event/motogp/
Only 8 weeks until 2024 Round 1 :cheerleader:
The Pertamina Enduro VR46 Ducati team unveiled their new livery today. No one is going to miss seeing these bikes out on the circuit! (Livery and graphics by the legendary Aldo Drudi)
VR46_team_24.jpg
Trackhouse livery presentation - Los Angeles, Jan 27
(actually I liked the preliminary livery better from their December announcement)
TH_aprilia_launch.jpg
https://www.crash.net/motogp/news/1043836/1/first-look-miguel-oliveira-raul-fernandez-unveil-trackhouse-aprilias-2024
The Argentina round is at risk of being cancelled.
https://www.the-race.com/motogp/motogps-2024-argetine-grand-prix-cancellation-risk/
I guess the risk was pretty real. It's official, the Argentina round has been cancelled.
https://www.motogp.com/en/news/2024/01/31/2024-argentina-gp-cancelled/488742
Big news is the GP paddock! Davide Brivio is returning. It seems that Trackhouse is all-in on their efforts in MotoGP.
https://bikesportnews.com/motogp/davide-brivio-back-motogp-after-f1-exit-joins-trackhouse-racing-in-coup-signing/
I think this is going to be another long painful season for Yamaha! They sucked last year and it sounds like they made almost no improvement steps in the offseason. In 2023 Yamaha was winless for the first time in 20 years, and their riders were only able to get 3 podiums all season (#20 had 3 3rds). At the winter tests it sounded like they didn't make any aero changes, and Fabio was still complaining about being way behind in qualifying trim which has been their main problem lately. Without good one-lap pace you end up way back on the grid for the start with little chance to move up through the field. I predict this will be Quartararo's last season at Yamaha, he's going to bail for a better bike in 2025. Yamaha better get their act together!
Acosta is probably going to be the next Marquez. He's fast right out of the gate as a rookie, and he's already a proven champion in the lower classes. It will be interesting to see how he does with the RC16 during the season.
Ducati is going to be the bike to beat...again. They were superior last season, winning 17 of 20 races, and rumblings at the test sessions made it sound like they have made more improvements than anyone else, especially with aero.
Looking forward to Aprilia having more possibilities of getting manufacture points. No longer running Superbike, they need some more wide spread interest in the name...only about 50 dealers in the country at the moment. It's nice to see some US based interest the MotoGP again.
I'm still waiting for Indy to come back into the schedule
Quote from: busa1300 on February 12, 2024, 09:04:44 PMI'm still waiting for Indy to come back into the schedule
From the rumors you may have to settle for Nashville before a return to Indy.
Good news for US fans. :celebrate: Almost sounds too good to be true. It will be interesting to see what actually gets broadcast and how much is accessible outside of streaming paywalls.
https://www.roadracingworld.com/news/motogp-every-race-in-2024-will-be-shown-live-on-tnt-sports/
You can watch basically all the races here. And by "all" I mean far more than just MGP.
https://latifistreams.com/motorsport
Copy and paste that in your browser.
Qatar Sprint Race - 10:30am PST today on TruTV
Qatar Race - 12:30pm PDT Sunday on TruTV
Ducati is locking up riders for next season already. They previously announced that Bagnaia had signed a contract for 2025 & 2026. Well now they've signed Aldeguer to a 2-year deal starting next season.
https://www.roadracingworld.com/news/motogp-ducati-signs-aldeguer-for-2025-and-beyond/
BMW joining the grid in 2027?
Quote from: SoCal250 on March 21, 2024, 12:09:18 AMBMW joining the grid in 2027?
We can only hope!
I can see them entering the fray in 2027 with the new rules going in to effect.
Fingers crossed...
It sounds like Dorna's sale of MotoGP (and WSBK) is going to go through, with Liberty Media forking over and estimated €4.4B.
Not sure that's such a great thing to be merged under the same owner with F1.
I can't believe he's staying with Yamaha. They must have offered him a huge chunk of change to stay on an underperforming bike for 2 more years. He hasn't won a race since the German GP in June 2022
https://www.crash.net/motogp/news/1046419/1/official-fabio-quartararo-staying-yamaha
Looks like I was right, money talks. According to reports, Fabio is now the highest paid rider in GP with a €12m base salary before incentives. That is about double what Bagnaia is getting at Ducati.
Yamaha is now reportedly pursuing adding a satellite team, something they desperately need to keep pace with other brands. There's just not enough data collected and shared with only 2 bikes on the grid.
Aprilia takes the win in Texas :whoop:
Quote from: busa1300 on April 15, 2024, 02:16:23 AMAprilia takes the win in Texas :whoop:
Pretty damn exciting race weekend! I was there. Maverick and Acosta were both really impressive.
The weather was pretty good -- temps in the mid-80s and humid, no rain but windy on Sat.
Seemed like pretty good attendance this year. I think that may be somewhat attributable to Trackhouse joining the paddock. A lot of people wearing Trackhouse shirts and hats.
MotoGP Sprint - grid from T1
MotoGP Sprint grid_2024-04-13.jpg
MotoGP Sprint - start
MotoGP Sprint start_2024-04-13.jpg
MotoGP Sprint - T1
MotoGP Sprint_2024-04-13.jpg
Moto3 race - T19 Hayden Hill
Moto3 race_T19_2024-04-14.jpg
MotoGP race - T3
MotoGP race_T3_2024-04-14.jpg
Austin night skyline
Austin night skyline_2024-04-14.jpg
Austin Boardwalk hiking trail at Lady Bird Lake
Austin Boardwalk trail_Lady Bird Lake_2024-04-15.jpg
Looks like a lot of fun! Was the race well attended?
Also, what are your thoughts on the Liberty Media acquisition?
In the Moto 3 race something happened that I don't remember ever seeing before. A racer trying to take somebody else's bike.
ivan-ortola.jpg
Quote from: sav0r on April 18, 2024, 07:36:01 AMLooks like a lot of fun! Was the race well attended?
Also, what are your thoughts on the Liberty Media acquisition?
Seemed to be pretty good crowds this year, maybe slightly larger than the past few years.
Not sure the Liberty Media takeover is such a good thing but we'll see. They claim that they're not going to change things. I doubt that's the truth. I don't follow F1 but from news feeds I see it sure sounds like a media and political circus instead of a racing series.
Quote from: rideitfast on April 18, 2024, 08:27:10 AMIn the Moto 3 race something happened that I don't remember ever seeing before. A racer trying to take somebody else's bike.
That was hilarious. Ortola thought he was still riding for Level Up, his team from last year.
I'm still holding out for an Indy event.... Maybe the new owners will reconsider?
Congrats to Joe Roberts for 2nd place in the Moto2!
Quote from: SoCal250 on April 06, 2024, 03:54:57 PMYamaha is now reportedly pursuing adding a satellite team, something they desperately need to keep pace with other brands. There's just not enough data collected and shared with only 2 bikes on the grid.
Latest rumor is that Pramac is considering a switch to Yamaha. VR46 has already turned down Yamaha.
Kazakhstan GP postponed until later in the year due to flooding in the country.
https://www.motogp.com/en/news/2024/05/03/grand-prix-of-kazakhstan-postponed-until-later-in-2024/497181
MotorSport.com: THE RIDER MAKING A BREAKTHROUGH TO AWAKEN MOTOGP'S "SLEEPING GIANT" (https://us.motorsport.com/motogp/news/the-rider-making-a-breakthrough-to-awaken-motogps-sleeping-giant/10607174/)
Pretty cool stats:
-- For the first time since 2006, an American rider leads the standings in a grand prix class of the MotoGP world championship.
-- 3 podiums in a row, the first rider to do that in any GP class since Nicky Hayden in 2006.
-- And coincidentally, Roberts currently has 69 points.
Looking forward to what he can do at Le Mans! :patriot:
Looks like new rules for 2027
Wonder if that will give KTM, and Aprilia a push to put their GP V4's into the next gen street bikes. As the engine size and fuel is to be changed...?
Quote from: busa1300 on May 06, 2024, 07:34:46 PMLooks like new rules for 2027
Wonder if that will give KTM, and Aprilia a push to put their GP V4's into the next gen street bikes. As the engine size and fuel is to be changed...?
The 2027 rule change has been talked about for quite a while. Here's the summary of changes:
--ENGINE: Displacement reduced to 850cc. Max bore reduced from 81mm to 75mm.
--FUEL: 100% synthetic (non oil refinement derived) fuel, up from the 40% requirement this season. Max fuel load reduced to 20L from 22L, and 11L for the Sprint race.
--TRANSMISSION: Number of gearbox ratios (pairs of gears) permitted will reduce to 16, plus 4 different overall ratios for the primary drive.
--SUSPENSION: All ride-height and holeshot devices will be banned.
--ENGINE SUPPLY: Reduced to 6 for a 20 race season, and 7 for a 21-22 race season.
--AERODYNAMICS: Front end max width reduced by 50mm and pushed back 50mm.
--WEIGHT: Minimum bike weight 153kg.
--DATA: All teams will share GPS data.
--CONCESSIONS: Revised to four levels that will be adjusted mid-season. New teams that have not raced in the prior year will be given the highest concession level, Rank D. All other teams will start the season at Rank B.
Quote from: SoCal250 on May 03, 2024, 06:47:38 PMKazakhstan GP postponed until later in the year due to flooding in the country.
https://www.motogp.com/en/news/2024/05/03/grand-prix-of-kazakhstan-postponed-until-later-in-2024/497181
Sounds like the Kazakhstan round may take place Sep 22 instead of the India round. The India race is subject to cancellation because of late payment issues.