Anyone still watching MotoGP?

[Tedx]

Great story.

[Tedx]

Well as the saying goes, when the flag drops the BS stops.

Qatar is upon us and I think it's fair to say the anticipation in MotoGP world is off the scale.

Not just Marc Marquez, but basically everyone on a Ducati, an Aprilia and a KTM (including young sensation Pedro Acosta) is in for a win. And we know Honda have thrown a ton of development (and cash) at their bikes (I guess saving 16 million Euros in salary helps) and the Yamaha is not all that far away either - particularly Fabio over race distance.

I suspect the top 3 2024 Ducatis (Bagnaia, Martin & Bastianini) along with M Marquez on the 2023 bike will be elbows out and leading the way over the course of the championship, but there are so many more in there for a win or 2 and we know Bagnaia and Martin are apt to chucking it up the road even in unpressurised situations.

.....If the main Sunday races are close, then the half distance Saturday sprint races will likely be even more of a lottery.

Bring it on.

[Redmires]

Looking forward to it. A good start to last weeks WSB as well. Alex Lowes last lap move on Bautista to win the race was excellent.

[DrFfybes]

Yup - box all set to record, and it looks like BTNTSport are actually showing the all important Saturday morning session (FP2, formerly known as FP3, I think) on the 'normal' channel that you can record, instead of it only being on the red button or the abysmal app whilst the Presenters give us "content". Presumably I wasn't the only one to suggest they made "content" available to those who wanted to look for it, and coverage more easily available to the rest of us.

World Superbikes was good, although the Sky box failed to lin the recordings so I had to faff with the Eurosport App, but not too bad except trying to fast forwards through the massive delay. The new rules do look like it might be a bit more of a competition this year, at least until Ducati work out a way around them

And assuming the biulders don't take all our money, this year we might even get out to some circuits as the Rescue dog we acquired aged 15 or so in 2021 finally ran out of time. Much as we miss her, they are rather tying, especially when they're a bit antisocial. Guide dog fostering from now on we think.

Paul

[Tedx]

I believe this weekends Portugal MotoGP is being shown live on ITV.

Portimao is a wonderful track for these bikes and it promises to be quite the race.

After his 4th in the Qatar opener in a fairly unruffled fashion (for him!), I'd expect Mr Marquez to crank it up a notch this weekend.

[DrFfybes]

Thanks for the reminder, for some reason I thought it was the week after.

I do quite fancy a day or 2 around Portimao, there are companies ship your bike and gear out relatively [1] cheaply and book you a hotel and a couple of days on circuit.

Now we're not tied by the dog I might have a go.

Paul
[1] Relative to what I thought it would cost - ie a few hundred quid rather then ££££

[doug2500]

Alvor is a lovely place to stay nearby, or was at least. Not been for a few years now.

[Tedx]

Ok, I'm biased.

But that sprint race .,.

[Tedx]

I see the owner of F1 has bought MotoGP.

....and it's not an April Fool.

<Sigh>

Oh well. I guess we can look forward to the introduction of mechanical overtaking devices to enhance the...errr... spectacle.

Personally, I'd go for a sniper who takes out the last placed rider on each lap. To enhance the spectacle of course.

[Tedx]

Well after that US MotoGP, Liberty Media must b popping champagne corks back at their HQ after their recent acquisition.




Monday 15th April 2024 – Free-to-Air Highlights

MotoGP Highlights

ITV4

20:00 – 21:00

[Tedx]

Given that there are flights from Inverness to Amsterdam, Im toying with the idea of the Dutch TT Hotel (no camping for me!) and circuit package - possibly with an upgrade to some sort of VIP/Premium access.

There are a lot of operators out there offering this kind of thing!

I think I recall a discussion on here about this kind of thing (perhaps it was F1?). Just wondering if anyone has any recommendations?

TIA

[DrFfybes]

Given that there are flights from Inverness to Amsterdam, Im toying with the idea of the Dutch TT Hotel (no camping for me!) and circuit package - possibly with an upgrade to some sort of VIP/Premium access.

There are a lot of operators out there offering this kind of thing!

I think I recall a discussion on here about this kind of thing (perhaps it was F1?). Just wondering if anyone has any recommendations?

TIA

How deep are your pockets? The only things that matter in MotoGP are money and rider talent, probably in that order. Arriving at the paddock in a smart jacket and a nice car gets you noticed and remembered a lot more than we probably warranted

There are different levels of VIP - the MotoGP VIP packages get you into a nice 'village' to watch but paddock access is restricted to an organised tour with many of them.

Hotels near the circuit book up as soon as the dates are announced.

We used to do a lot of hospitality packages, to the point where riders/teams/paddock staff would say recognise us and nod when they saw us away from the circuit. The best (and first) was direct with Racing Team Germany. Going back about a decade and it was 1000 euro each, ticket from Thurs to Sun, meals in the hospitality (all meals if wanted), paddock pass, we also got a pitlane pass as they had a garage so watched from the pitwall, a circuit walk, and a paddock bike to go around the service road. And unlimited garage access.

The following year we went with Pole Position - you get a paddock pass and lunch on their basic 'moto3' package and a garage visit/tour. It was about 550E each back then, When we said what we'd got the previous year there were some eyebrows raised, especially about letting random punters loose on stepthroughs around the service road and even they didn't get pitwall permits.
https://www.polepositiontravel.com/moto ... 24/tickets You do get minibus transport in and out which saves a lot of faff, and they have group guides which is great for a first visit.

After that we got team and rider details and just did a 'sponsorship deal' with one rider or team for several events per year. Sometimes it included lunch, sometimes not depending on whether the team had their own hospitality. You are not allowed to simply sell paddock passes, so this was the route chosen, although oddly they preferred payment in cash. We also got Test passes so we could wander into the paddock at the test days, and the all important P2 paddock parking. This is great for getting into the circuit (Silverstone excepted) as most places have their own access route. Of course parking inside the circuit means you ain't getting out quick though. Consequently we used to loiter in often helped tidy away the tables and chairs etc in the hospitality units so long as they left the telly on for the Rookies. Met some interesting people, got some interesting gossip

For something more akin to the entry level Pole Position offer you would do worse than approach Alain Bronec at CIP Moto3. A very straighforwards guy, and they advertise packages on https://www.cipmoto.com/paddockexperience/ You'll need to enquire about options and cost, and itmght not be cheaper than PPT, but the money goes to the team and not middlemen. At the Jerez test, we'd been introduced to Alain as 'one of my personal sponsors' by one of his riders. His ears pricked up at the mention of 'sponsor', but of course no figures were ever mentioned and he still wondered who these interlopers were. Very unusual for a test day they had new catering trucks and were training staff, so there was a hospitality unit. We were invited in for coffee and when the catering manager saw us, he rushed over and shook our hands and hugged MrsF, whilst completely ignoring the team personnel. The look on Alain's face was priceless, I just shrugged and said "always make friends with the people preparing your food". Since then he's always come over and found a couple of minutes to chat if he sees us at a circuit.

If you are thinking of Silverstone, then Day of Champions is on the Thurs. As of last week tickets were still available, and their paddock ticket (about £65) includes a 3 hour window where you can go into the paddock and get a feel for it. It is very busy, but things are more relaxed on a Thursday and the riders have little to do so you will see a lot more of them. On a race weekend the GP riders particularly go from pit to motorhome like getting The Beatles from a gig to the car. We often just drive down fo the Thurs then come home again.

Paul