MotoGP

https://www.autosport.com/motogp/news/marquez-to-get-2025-factory-ducati-motogp-seat-martin-to-quit-manufacturer/10619188/

New to watching, keep hearing people talk about tomorrow's race being a "flag to flag" and to me that just sounds like any race since there's a green starting flag and checkered finish flag. What am I misunderstanding?

Good for Marquez. Better late than never. He might have a shot this year.

“Raul had an error code on his dash just before he started,” explained team manager Wilco Zeelenberg. “After two or three seconds the bike came back [to normal], but at that point you need to leave the grid as soon as possible.

https://mototiming.live/results/2024/QAT/MotoGP/FP1

https://mototiming.live/results/2024/QAT/MotoGP/FP2

testing testing 1 2 3...

Some huge changes for this year so I'm getting excited!

It’s back-to-back titles for the Italian as a drama-filled Valencia GP unfolds, with Martin and the #93 crashing together early into the race

Hello, this is my new adchievement : I removed the blur overlay when I hover on MotoGP video player !!! I hate it !!! This is (part of) my Tampermonkey script (I have other mods for other sites so I used a if...):

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Came here excited to join a discussion about those last few laps and….no threads posted?

SPOILERS

The battle between Pramac Ducati, KTM and factory Duc was an old school nail biter…loved it!

Not gonna post the finishers just in case but if you didn't watch it, do it!

it breaks my heart to see FabioDG hit such a run of form right as he loses his ride.

Also super happy for >!Zarco!<, he deserved it!

The YZR-M1 has regularly occupied the bottom part of the MotoGP speed traps in recent years, with its lack of grunt contributing to its slide down the order.

Having won the title in 2021 with Fabio Quartararo and finished runner-up in the standings in 2022 with the Frenchman having scored three victories, it has scored just two rostrums in 2023.

Last week's Misano test was seen as an important moment for Yamaha in both getting its 2024 season off on the right foot and also starting the process of convincing Quartararo to commit to the marque beyond next season.

But after testing the first version of the 2024 engine – which has been developed with the help of famed Formula 1 engineer Luca Marmorini – Quartararo was less than impressed, telling the media that he "expected much more".

This was at odds with Meregalli's comments to motogp.com after the test as he said the engine performance matched its expectations.

This clash of views was touched on by Quartararo again on Thursday at the Indian Grand Prix in an interview with DAZN, who doubled down and said the test was "a disappointment".

Speaking on the world feed on Friday during FP2 in India, Meregalli says the reason for the differing opinions was a "lack of communication" from Yamaha in conveying its expectations for the test.

The MotoGP riders are required to pay income tax in India due to their participation in the Grand Prix held there. This news might not be surprising given the various challenges faced in India related to the organization of the Grand Prix. Despite the issues, the race at the Buddh Circuit has gone ahead, albeit with some delays in certain training sessions.

The tax issue became known in July when MotoGP’s factory teams were asked to share the contracts of their factory riders, such as Marc Márquez, Fabio Quartararo, Pecco Bagnaia, Aleix Espargaró, Brad Binder, and other official riders of each brand with the promoter and local authorities. This is because they are required to pay 1/20 of their annual salary as tax in India.

To provide a clearer picture: if Marc Márquez earns between 15 to 18 million at HRC Honda, 1/20 of that amount, which is exactly 750,000 euros, needs to be taxed at 20.80% in India. This means he would owe around 36,057 euros in taxes. Similarly, riders earning an annual salary of 500,000 euros would need to pay 20.80% of 25,000 euros, which amounts to 1,201 euros, to the Indian government for their participation in the GP.

Many MotoGP riders, including Pol and Aleix Espargaró, Brad Binder, Alex Rins, Augusto Fernández, Fabio Quartararo, Maverick Viñales, Joan Mir, and Jack Miller, have their tax residence in Andorra, where they only pay 10% of their income as tax. These riders, unaware of the tax requirement in India, refused to pay the tax as it would be the first time they’d be taxed outside their country of origin or tax residence just for participating in a Grand Prix in a foreign country. As a result, the manufacturers themselves, including Honda, Yamaha, Ducati, Aprilia, and KTM, have covered these tax costs. Interestingly, Ducati was the last to make the payment, doing so just before the GP for its factory riders Bagnaia, Pirro, Martin, and Zarco.

Private teams in the premier class, such as GASGAS Tech3, LCR-Honda, and Prima Pramac, don’t need to worry as their riders are directly under contract with the factories of KTM, Honda, and Ducati Corse, which have already made the necessary tax payments. As for teams and manufacturers in the Moto3 and Moto2 categories, they are compensated by Dorna and IRTA for participating in the GP and don’t have to give up a portion of their annual income. This agreement was made by Dorna with Indian authorities. However, KTM, Husqvarna, or GASGAS in the Moto3 and Moto2 categories have presented and paid the taxes for all riders under their contract.

Honda MotoGP riders Marc Marquez and Joan Mir have offered vastly different views on the prospect of racing the 2024 prototype bike their employer debuted earlier this month.

An early 2024-spec RC213V chassis - for now without a new engine to go along with it - was raced by Honda tester Stefan Bradl in the San Marino Grand Prix at Misano a fortnight ago, before being trialled by all of Honda's full-time riders (apart from the still-injured and Yamaha-bound Alex Rins) in the post-race test.

The initial reactions were lukewarm, particularly from Marquez and LCR's Takaaki Nakagami, but Mir did at least float the idea of having the prototype for the rest of the 2023 season already as effectively an extended test for 2024.

This is allowed by the regulations, given the new chassis still fits the current engine (which is the season-homologated bit) - but Mir's enthusiasm is not necessarily shared by his peers.

And it means that, though Mir and Marquez are at odds over the best course of action for the rest of 2023, they are also both clearly not particularly satisfied - for different reasons.

Mir wanted it in India

The 2020 champion Mir, who's joined Honda from Suzuki this year and has had an utterly miserable time on the RC213V so far, reiterated in India that the prototype bike was "a little bit better" - a "first step in the correct direction", though still "not where we want to be".

And in that context, Mir struggled to hide his disappointment that the prototype wasn't made available for him to race this weekend at the Buddh venue - and expressed hope it could be available for Honda's home race at Motegi.

"We didn't receive the bike here. Honestly, I expected it but we don't have it. We will make the weekend as the previous ones. So we will struggle, that's it," Mir said matter-of-factly.

He indicated he had specifically made the request but "they [Honda] said they had some trouble on the transport to Japan because they wanted first to send it to Japan, then here. Well... well, it is like it is".

Mir said he had seen a gain in terms of used-tyre pace and that it was "a shame" not to be able to further verify this here.

"For my height and everything, I was able to be more comfortable," he said of the prototype, which offered a different riding position.

The 2021 world champion was left disappointed with Yamaha’s 2024 engine prototype at the Misano test last week, noting that he “expected much better”.

“I tested it and the feeling was… I expected much better from this test, but we have to stay positive and try to analyse what happened to improve for [the] Valencia test,” Quartararo said at the time.

“I need to test it more, but like I said I expected better.

“The feeling is different, but I think I expected more power and [it] was a little bit difficult to say something positive about this engine.”

These comments were in stark contrast to Yamaha team director Massimo Meregalli’s, who told motogp.com: “We could get what we expected before we started riding.

“We had some targets to reach. Anyway, the new engine is slightly faster, as we expected, consistently. It looks like it’s also easier to ride.”

Quartararo’s best speed during the San Marino GP weekend was 298.3km/h in the sprint, while his top speed in the test was 295km/h (though the former was likely set with use of a tow).

Speaking to DAZN on Thursday prior to this weekend’s Indian Grand Prix, Quartararo stood by his comments about the test being “a disappointment”. Fabio Quartararo, Yamaha Factory Racing

Fabio Quartararo, Yamaha Factory Racing

Photo by: Srinivasa Krishnan

He also feels the rider’s comments must be taken more seriously and notes that Yamaha has to become more “aligned” if it hopes to transform its fortunes in 2024.

“At the Misano test we saw the team manager's comments and mine, which were black and white, totally different,” he began.

“I can clearly say that the test it was a disappointment and that it was not up to the standard I expected.

“We didn't take a step forward, not at all. But if the team manager says it's better, you have to listen to him.”

Mir tested the prototype RC213V chassis at Misano after the San Marino Grand Prix earlier this month and described the new bike as a step in the right direction, even as he felt it failed to deliver the kind of performance gains he wants for 2024.

Following the test session, Mir didn't rule out the possibility of racing the 2024 Honda in the final part of the season but stopped short of revealing where the prototype could make its debut.

Speaking at the Buddh International Circuit on Thursday, Mir revealed that he had held talks with Honda about racing the RC213V as early as this weekend's India round.

However, apparent logistical issues with shipping the bike from Misano to Asia prevented the marque from giving its 2024 prototype an early debut in India and will now hopefully do so in Japan.

"We didn't receive the bike here," he said. "Honestly, I expected it but we don't have it. We will make the weekend as the previous one, so we will struggle, that's it.

"They said they had some trouble on the transport to Japan because they wanted first to ship to Japan, then here [to India].

"It's a shame we don't have it here, but I hope to have it in Japan to be able to make more laps to understand.

"If it's the right direction it will be very, very helpful for Honda.

"I think it makes sense [to race the new bike], if you're allowed to go with that prototype because we know the potential of this bike, I know I can hope.

"So it means if I feel better, we can get some important information to say, 'In that area we improved a lot and there we are not so good'.