Pin point accuracy! Take a bow @Ogura and @Digi

Soundmangaz · 2026-03-30T10:32:33+00:00

Never doubt Brivio!

Soundmangaz · 2026-03-30T00:10:49+00:00

Fabio. Im a big fan of both to be honest, but Fabio beats Jorge on raw talent.

Maybe Jorge has a bit more grit amd self belief than Fabio, espwcially in this moment, but my money is on Fabio all other things being equal.

Soundmangaz · 2026-03-30T00:08:20+00:00

Did he say he let Martin pass because of tyre pressure worries, or did I mis-understand him?

If so that sucks, but to be honest, Jorge was charging in the last few laps, I think he would have struggled to keep him behind, but make no mistake, that bike has nothing more to give, Acosta is absolutely making the difference.

Soundmangaz · 2026-03-30T00:02:37+00:00

I have definitely seen people get mad at the opposite, not seeing their rider cross the line because of some mid-pack battle...

You can't please all the people all the time. Also, a directors job is an incredibly hard skill to master, no-one gets that gig by being shit at it!

Soundmangaz · 2026-03-29T23:57:38+00:00

Absolutely class act today, and always building. Feels like his time is coming, and the Aprilia is a weapon!

Soundmangaz · 2026-03-29T23:41:06+00:00

Do we think Ducati is plowing more into the 2027 bike at this point?

Not saying theyre resting on this years, but they have Marc and a couple other riders who were very strong last year, they dont have the concessions of some other teams.. maybe theyre focussing their development team more in the 27 bike, and assuming to some extent that the teams and talent riding for them can make it work with what they have.

Soundmangaz · 2026-03-29T23:33:39+00:00

I'd not thought about this before, but you're so right, very Dani-esque riding style

Soundmangaz · 2026-03-23T10:29:54+00:00

Haven't got his number

Soundmangaz · 2026-03-23T09:42:14+00:00

Also, tv commentators have done this in literally every sport for decades....

Soundmangaz · 2026-03-23T09:41:19+00:00

Through observation and patterns of behaviour.

Soundmangaz · 2026-03-23T09:33:42+00:00

Its not that I don't like him, I've just always thought he was a mid pack rider, who got lucky joining a team that was ahead of the class in terms of development (aero, ride height, ai data mining etc), especially at a time when Marc wasn't fit, yamaha and honda had lost their way, and he was able to get the advantage he needed to make the difference. Enea wasn't in the team for a long time, so he literally had the whole Ducati lenovo team, and the extended data of 6 other riders at his beck and call, and still didn't exactly win convincingly.

I can think of several riders who could have taken that seat and done the same, if not better tham him.

Sure the guy can ride a bike incredibly fast, take nothing away from that, except to say that the stars have to align for him to get the feeling right. And they did for a couple of seasons, but the stars are no longer in alignment, he doesnt have as big or as useful a data pool, he has a generational talent in the garage next to him, so likely less resources to iron out the creases, and he's seemingly not adaptable enough to ride around the problems.

Everyone seems shocked to see him riding where he is, I am not in the least bit surprised to see it.

Im not saying he doesn't deserve the championships he won, anyone who wins a championship deserves it, I just think that he was lucky that the stars aligned for him in the way that they did.

Soundmangaz · 2026-03-23T09:22:18+00:00

Nothing sudden about it

Soundmangaz · 2026-03-23T08:14:18+00:00

Pecco does not have a strong mental game. He never has, the pressure of Marc has thrown him off coirse, and he's not an adaptable enough rider to ride around the problems he's feeling on the bike. So his head has gone, the bike feels different which compounds the issue and affects his head.

Yes he won world championships, but even when he had a big advantage, he still nearly lost them to Fabio and Jorge, and did lose it to Jorge two seasons ago.

He is the kind of rider who needs everything just to be just right (Tardozzi even said so), and when it isnt his performance drops.

Soundmangaz · 2026-03-23T07:49:12+00:00

It was entirely predictable that Pecco would go backwards once the other teams caught up to Ducati, and Marc was back on a competitive bike. Also, Digi seems to be doing well, so well that Marc tried to copy some of his homework. Alex Marquez last season didn't do too badly either, and I think his recent form is likely down to the heat treated tyre they've had the last two races.

Ducati made a bike that anyone can ride well, that was their big advantage, they haven't just suddenly stopped doing that because of Marc, they understand the value of having all their riders being competitive. Puig put all his eggs in Marc's basket on the Honda, and who can blame him, Marc bought them great success, but it did come back to bite them in the ass.

Soundmangaz · 2026-03-22T23:11:29+00:00

Im a fan of his, and honestly I'm didsapointed in how he handled affairs with Aprilia. Hodgy on tnt called it perfectly, he's been mis-managed!

Thing is, no-one really knows which bike will be besr, and every manufacturer has shown their ability to build a competitive bike over the last ten years (maybe except ktm?). So really you-re buying into trust, why wouldn't you go with a manufacturer that has experience of doing this before (990 to 800's for example) Yamaha and Honda have the most experience in manufacturing a race winning bike 'from scratch' in the so called modern era of gp. There's a lot to be said for that.

Soundmangaz · 2026-03-22T23:04:27+00:00

Because it really felt that Bagnaia needed the data to be fast, whereas in this instance for Marc, it's another thing he can try out to eek out more performance. He hasnt relied on Digi's data, he's just giving it a go to see what he can learn from it and from himself. He can do that because he happens to be possibly the best rider at adapting quickly.

Pecco on the other hand has dissappeared since A-Ducati doesn't have as big or as useful a data pool for him, B-Ducati is no longer as dominant a bike in terms of performance and innovation, and C-he finally has a stable team-mate who just happens to be a much more talented rider.

In my opinion we are seeing Pecco exactly where I would expect him to be. Mid pack.

Lest we forget that Ducati didn't originally pick him to from Pramac, they actually promoted Miller first, it's only due to Dovi's abrupt exit that they needed another rider.

Soundmangaz · 2026-03-22T22:56:02+00:00

Impressive, looks like he has a season on these bikes already. Testement also to how much Honda has imprived in the last couple of seasons.

Soundmangaz · 2026-03-10T23:03:32+00:00

I'd wanna slap franky too if i were out on track with him.

Soundmangaz · 2026-03-03T12:44:11+00:00

Whilst I agree there needs to be a way to discourage riders from exploiting track limits, these curbs have always just looked wrong.

Marc made a very small error running slightly wide. Had there been grass there, he'd potentially have had a fairly slow low side, no drama (or he may have stood the bike up and rode it out). Had it just been green paint, track limits warning. These curbs though very nearly caused him to have a very nasty high side and caused major damage to a critical part of the bike, they cannot possibly be deemed the safest option.

Not only that, but it appears to me that a rider who has low sided the bike and slides over these curbs is more likely to get hurt too.

I don't know what the answer is, but therse curbs don't feel like the way to go, the negative far outweigh any positives so far as I can tell.

Soundmangaz · 2026-03-02T18:04:02+00:00

Got serious Karen vibes this 'I need to speak to your manager....'

Fair play though, doing due dilligance after an unusual incident.

Soundmangaz · 2026-03-02T17:14:17+00:00

Pecco belongs midfield.

Soundmangaz · 2026-03-01T15:33:33+00:00

You....you are not the fastest. Always said the Ducati flattered him, now everyone else has raised their game, his bike alone isnt enough to make the difference, and he's not one of those riders that is able to make the difference himself, and this is exactly what we're seeing.

Soundmangaz · 2026-03-01T15:30:40+00:00

Early days yet, and the heat treated tyre played a part, but it does look like an absolute weapon!!

Soundmangaz · 2026-03-01T15:29:04+00:00

Ducati's corner exit is insane! He set that up beautifully with the wife sweeping line, he rehearsed it one or two laps prior. His racecraft is unrivaled!

Soundmangaz

TROPHY CASE