Qatar 2018

Good Race!

I'm guessing Zarko's tires just gave up, but he was pretty flawless until then.

Is it wrong to be so happy to see Dovisioso better is teammate so thoroughly?

eso

No, that is not wrong!!!

As for Zarco, he made the wrong tire choice by taking the soft front instead of the medium like the others. He started losing the front and just couldn't stay with the rest. Still, he is really good, and is now a proper contender.

Excellent race overall.

And How about the Goat? Rossi is still amazing. After unremarkable practices and qualifying he still rises to the occasion on race day.

I'm really thinking Viñales is turning out to be fairly disappointing. Like Pedrosa he has his moments but just doesn't seem to have the consistency.

And yes, Zarko is a real contender and I think the whole grid knows that now. How long before he gets snatched for a factory ride?

eso

Well, there are a number of rumours going around about Zarco right now, as you might expect. The fact is that Tech3 will be switching to KTM for next season, so it is not likely he will stay with them.

However, this means that Yamaha will provide bikes to another team, and Lin Jarvis seems to want to provide a proper factory bike for Zarco. You could then imagine him being in another satellite team but with full factory support from Yamaha.

There are also strong rumours about him going to Repsol Honda! Yep, I can imagine that Pedrosa might finally get replaced. He is an outstanding rider, and on a good day he is unbeatable, but he just has never had the consistency. He might end up being moved to a Honda satellite team then and Zarco taking his place. Either way, I think it is fairly safe to say that Zarco will be on a factory bike next year.

As to Viñales, I was going to say that he needs a bit of time, but then I remembered this is actually his third season in MotoGP. I have always rated him very highly all through his career, and I do think he deserves his current ride though. It is hard to compare him to Rossi, as Rossi is always at his best come race day. He's not the GOAT for nothing!! So, I will give Viñales the benefit of the doubt for a little longer...

I can see Zarco going to Repsol Honda in replacement for Pedrosa. Dani has been there since 2006 and despite having a bit of back luck in not winning a championship, his form over the last few years doesn't suggest he'll be challenging anytime soon unfortunately. I would think he's on the irrecoverable downward slope of his career...just as I thought Rossi was in 2011 on the Ducati lol

I agree Maverick has been disappointing. After the rocket-ship start last year, there hasn't been many eye opening rides.

Rossi never ceases to amaze. I write him off every single year and race, but there he is again. Absolutely incredible.

Indeed, Rossi is something else. And now he has signed on for another two years! Get ready to continue being surprised for some time still...

A couple times a year Dani still pulls out stellar performances and he keeps pulling in points all year long. But somebody is going to need to grab Zarko if for no other reason than to keep him out of the others' hands, so maybe Repsol would be a possibility.

Or maybe partnering Rossi if Viñales doesn't step up.

And Dovi needs to sign again... Personally I think Ducati would be crazy to let him go. It's looking like Ducati ate another Yamaha rider... at least Rossi has recovered from that misadventure.

eso

I think that even if HRC don't let Pedrosa go, and that is still a good chance of that as you say eso he is still a great rider and he is good for the Spanish sponsor, HRC is likely to make a third factory bike available for Zarco. The same is probably true for Yamaha.

Can the teams field a 3rd bike? When was the last time someone did that?

There have been a number of such cases. I think the last time was Simoncelli though. Rossi actually started out in 500 on a satellite HRC factory bike, and won his first title on one. They basically provide a factory bike with full factory support to a satellite team.