2020 MotoGP - The Official Thread (Warning!! Spoilers!!!)

[RichDesmond]

Well, 2019 is done and dusted, on Tuesday the testing for 2020 starts.
Anybody willing to bet against Marquez for the championship?? I'm certainly not! :xsmilie_mrgreen:

 

[Nessism]

I think the only thing that can stop Marquez would be an injury. IF, big if, Yamaha finds a bunch of power (unlikely), and if Quartararo matures quickly, he could be a factor later next year. Can't see him competing for the championship though. No chance for Suzuki, although I'd love to see them in there.

 

[RichDesmond]

I think the only thing that can stop Marquez would be an injury. IF, big if, Yamaha finds a bunch of power (unlikely), and if Quartararo matures quickly, he could be a factor later next year. Can't see him competing for the championship though. No chance for Suzuki, although I'd love to see them in there.

That's a good point on the Yamaha motor. If it's enough better that Quartararo (and Vinales) can consistently take the fight to Marquez maybe they can push him into the occasional mistake and give themselves a chance.
Can't say that I'm betting on it though...

 

[Nessism]

In addition to Quartararo I think Brad Bender is destined for great things in MotoGP. It's going to take him a couple seasons to get up to speed though, and of course he's going to be on the KTM and they are yet unproven. Regardless BB has some pace and knows how to slide the bike around which will serve him well on the grand stage.

 

[RichDesmond]

In addition to Quartararo I think Brad Bender is destined for great things in MotoGP. It's going to take him a couple seasons to get up to speed though, and of course he's going to be on the KTM and they are yet unproven. Regardless BB has some pace and knows how to slide the bike around which will serve him well on the grand stage.

Yeah, Binder really impressed me a couple of years ago when he won the Moto3 championship. Apparently he had some growing up to do, but he certainly seems to have righted the ship, and I think he'll do well in MotoGP

 

[Rob S.]

Anybody willing to bet against Marquez for the championship?? I'm certainly not! :xsmilie_mrgreen:

And his little brother isn't too shabby. :-\\\ (Moto2, it's called?) Watched them both win the championships about a week ago at 4 AM, think it was Malaysia. Wish I knew for sure when they're on, always come across it unexpectedly at an ungodly hour.

 

[Agemax]

Repsol Honda will have both Marquez brothers next year. Should be interesting

 

[Buffalo Bill]

It was a good season for watching. It got boring when one rider dominated. I'm glad Ducati did not dominate, it was expected to.
Would have been that much more thrilling if Quatararo and Vinales had beaten Marquez. Dovizioso and Rins did beat him.
I predict 2020:
Little-bro Marquez will be mid pack all next year, only Marc has shown mastery of the Honda.
Rossi will continue to enjoy ultimate track days, not relevant anymore.
Yamaha and Ducati will have no break through engine improvement.
Quatararo, Vinales and Rins are be the riders I'll be watching.

 

[RichDesmond]

It was a good season for watching. It got boring when one rider dominated. I'm glad Ducati did not dominate, it was expected to.
Would have been that much more thrilling if Quatararo and Vinales had beaten Marquez. Dovizioso and Rins did beat him.
I predict 2020:
Little-bro Marquez will be mid pack all next year, only Marc has shown mastery of the Honda.
Rossi will continue to enjoy ultimate track days, not relevant anymore.
Yamaha and Ducati will have no break through engine improvement.
Quatararo, Vinales and Rins are be the riders I'll be watching.

Agree on Alex, I think 4th-10th is mostly where his results will be.
I’m a little more optimistic about Yamaha next year. I think the motor will be enough better that coupled with advantages the bike has now will let them win some races.
The Ducati has plenty of power, they need get that bike to turn better.

 

[Nessism]

It was a good season for watching. It got boring when one rider dominated. I'm glad Ducati did not dominate, it was expected to.
Would have been that much more thrilling if Quatararo and Vinales had beaten Marquez. Dovizioso and Rins did beat him.
I predict 2020:
Little-bro Marquez will be mid pack all next year, only Marc has shown mastery of the Honda.
Rossi will continue to enjoy ultimate track days, not relevant anymore.
Yamaha and Ducati will have no break through engine improvement.
Quatararo, Vinales and Rins are be the riders I'll be watching.

Ducati was NOT expected to dominate anything, other than the horsepower race, which they did. And they have no need for "break through engine improvement" because they already have the best engine in the series.

As for Alex, if he's midpack that will be doing well for him I think.

I think Rins and Vinales will have their moments, just like this year, but I'll be surprised if they do a whole lot better.

My money's on another Marquez show.

 

[RichDesmond]

Ducati was NOT expected to dominate anything, other than the horsepower race, which they did. And they have no need for "break through engine improvement" because they already have the best engine in the series.

As for Alex, if he's midpack that will be doing well for him I think.

I think Rins and Vinales will have their moments, just like this year, but I'll be surprised if they do a whole lot better.

My money's on another Marquez show.

I think Marquez will have a little more competition next year and won’t be quite as dominate. Vinales and Quartararo could win 5 or 6 between them, Rossi might sneak one in and the Ducs will win a few, in the 3-5 range. Hell, Marquez might finish a race off the podium once or twice!
But yeah, he’ll still win half the races, or close to it, get good points at the rest and wrap up the championship with several races to go.

Suzuki I fear will go backwards a bit. They need both more motor and to fix their qualifying issues. Don’t expect them to win a race.

 

[Guest]

You lot are missing Jack! Yes I'm biased

But he's shown improvements in maturity big time this year and a few times he's most definitely shown he can slow himself down to conserve tyres for a push towards the end. He's also slipped off less than he used to. Still can't see him taking over from Marquez unfortunately (Marquez is just ridiculously good on that Honda) but I think we'll see Jack spending more time up in that top 3 to 5 than he did this year. He'll also be on the same machinery as Dovi and Petrucci.

I've not seen much of Alex Marquez to make a guess there but it'll be interesting to see how the dynamics of the brothers goes.

Quartararo will be one to watch for sure, especially if they make his Yamaha better, and I think Vinales will continue to be sporadic, I don't see him having the consistency to really challenge Marquez.

I'd also really like to see the Suzuki up there, I like Rins and he had a great start to this year but couldn't capitalise on it for whatever reasons.

 

[RichDesmond]

You lot are missing Jack! Yes I'm biased

But he's shown improvements in maturity big time this year and a few times he's most definitely shown he can slow himself down to conserve tyres for a push towards the end. He's also slipped off less than he used to. Still can't see him taking over from Marquez unfortunately (Marquez is just ridiculously good on that Honda) but I think we'll see Jack spending more time up in that top 3 to 5 than he did this year. He'll also be on the same machinery as Dovi and Petrucci...

Well, I was thinking of him when I wrote, "the Ducs will win a few, in the 3-5 range."
Jack should get 1-2 of those.
Going to Ducati has been good for him, I'm not sure that Honda did him any favors by promoting him directly from Moto 3 to MotoGP.

 

[salty_monk]

The commentary I was watching said Jack would be best served by staying where he is but being given more factory personnel (i.e. he has the full factory bike already but not the same support as the full factory teams).

I'd like to see more close racing with Marc next year, it looks like we have exciting new blood in WSB & BSB too..

 

[Guest]

Definitely keen to see close racing! The few battles with Marquez vs. Quartararo this year were good but go back to Dovi vs. Marquez race long battles and that was a whole different story. Last year had some great races with ridiculous numbers of overtakes and that's what we'd all like to see I'm sure!

Maybe stick 'em all back on Moto3 bikes?

 

[Chris in TN]

I think that next season will be another Marquez championship as he's still operating at a level above everyone else and will face pretty much the same adversaries. But the year after that I expect to see a significant change over in the paddock with stalwarts like Rossi and Crutchlow departing and replaced by younger riders. By then Marc won't be the fast wunderkind rider anymore but rather the old veteran and he'll be facing a whole new generation of fast hot shots.

 

[Kiwi Canuck]

I agree if Marc Marquez stays healthy, he's probably going to win the title in 2020, his brother Alex will struggle to get top 6's (maybe even top 10's) unless he figures out that Honda GP bike quickly.

One rider not mentioned is Joan Mir on the Suzuki, he has started to out qualify his team mate and even finished ahead of him once or twice this year.

When he was in Moto3 he showed incredible race craft and won that title in 2017 convincingly.

He only did one year in Moto2 so he hasn't been grabbing the headlines much lately, but I think he will be on the podium this year on certain tracks and should be a regular contender for podiums 2021 "if" Suzuki can get their bike to qualify up front consistently.

Would be nice to see Fabio get a few wins next year, he really came out of nowhere this year, his Moto2 record did not show his potential, but his junior record prior to Moto3 were much more impressive.

If you look at the final points for 2019 it would look like it MM totally dominated the show and it was a pretty boring season, but I thought it was an amazing season and even though Marquez dominated the title chase, he was challenged at most races and the 5 or 6 times he was 2nd it was an incredible battle, there were very few races that were predicable or boring.

Looking forward to 2020, it should be epic.

David

 

[Nessism]

One rider not mentioned is Joan Mir on the Suzuki, he has started to out qualify his team mate and even finished ahead of him once or twice this year.

When he was in Moto3 he showed incredible race craft and won that title in 2017 convincingly.

Mir was incredible in 2017. Despite elbow to elbow racing that is Moto3 he won 10 times that year. I hope he continues to adapt and that Suzuki sticks with him. His potential is yet to be realized.

 

[Guest]

I think it will be more of the same last year. Marquez dominated on a bike that is probably 3rd best. With inevitable improvements, only he can beat himself. Quarteraro needs to learn to win at this level. He's fast, but Marquez played with him this season. IF Yamaha can get more power, and Vinales can learn to ride with a full tank, he could win a few more. Rins and Mir will get what the Suzuki can get them, it's not a lack of talent there, but while the bike handles well, it is just lacking a bit. Binder could become a factor as the season progresses, depending on how the KTM improves. But I'll be surprised if he surpasses Pol this season, and more surprised if he doesn't next season. The Valentino farewell tour will be uneventful. Dovi is the best that Ducati has, and it is just not enough. May be a couple wins at tracks that favor the Duc, but crashes at inopportune times. But I still can't wait until the season starts again!

 

[Buffalo Bill]

Will Little-Bro Marquez beat Rossi in 2020 someplace? Woh, I'd retire befo I let that happen to me?just sayin'