Clément Vigniel’s Post

Eight reasons MotoGP will be even better in 2024 https://lnkd.in/eyiaskAW MotoGP 2023 had its flaws, but it grew into the championship’s greatest title fight in years as Pecco Bagnaia and Jorge Martin’s battle ebbed and flowed through twist after twist in the final three months of the season. And it was equally good value off-track too, thanks to Marc Marquez and the machinations over his future. OK, I can hear the sceptical voices as I type. Some of the loudest probably come from my colleagues on The Race MotoGP Podcast, where I’m happy to be the Tigger to my fellow pundits’ Eeyores at times. Yes, there is the possibility that once back on a competitive bike Marc Marquez will reveal that everyone who's won titles during his compromised years was just an inferior pretender. Yes, Ducati may still be near-unbeatable. Yes, the season is punishingly long, especially with sprints added, and the injury rate last year was unacceptable and couldn’t be shrugged off as a coincidence. Yes, the tyre pressure rule situation risks causing farces. Yes, it’s a huge shame that ‘dirty air’ is invading even motorbike racing and aero has been allowed to get out of control. I get all that. MotoGP 2024 will be flawed, too. But here are eight reasons why it’s also going to be even better than a 2023 season that will still be remembered as a classic (...).

In the high-speed world of MotoGP™, Alex Marquez shares his confidence in his brother Marc Marquez's ability to adapt to Ducati and his anticipation for the upcoming season. Alex begins with firm belief in Marc's capabilities: “I don’t have any doubts that [Marc Marquez] will achieve the level because he already showed it,” showing unwavering confidence in his brother's prowess on the track. However, he notes the challenges ahead, especially with Ducati's experienced riders: “Of course, he needs to take care at the beginning of the season because there are a lot of Ducati Motor Holding riders with more experience than him with this bike." This realistic take acknowledges the learning curve Marc faces with his new team. Alex advises a strategic approach: “He can be a bit stronger, see if he can score good points in the first few races and make a season stepping forward, then he’ll be in the fight." It's about building momentum and adapting as the season progresses. But Alex also tempers expectations: “But it’s too early at the moment to have any expectations.” This cautious optimism reflects the unpredictability of racing. Looking ahead to the pre-season, Alex says, “In the pre-season he will see what he needs to improve more, if he struggles or not, if the strong points he had on last year’s bike [Honda] are also useful in this bike [Ducati]…” This period will be crucial for Marc to adjust and find his edge. Alex concludes with respect and anticipation: “For sure, he’ll be fast and will put the rest of us in difficulties. Anyway, it will be great to see how far he is going with this new bike.” The Marquez brothers continue to shape the MotoGP landscape, and the upcoming season promises more thrilling moments on the track! 🏁🏍️💨 #AlexMarquez #MarcMarquez #MotoGP #Ducati #GresiniRacing #RacingBrothers #NewChallenges #MotorcycleRacing #Brothers #MM93 #AM73 #469Motorsports

MotoGP™ sensation Jorge Martin points out the key area for Ducati Motor Holding’s 2024 model improvement: front locking. ❝I think we're struggling quite a lot comparing to the other brands in terms of front locking. I think we are used to it, but it's not easy to ride when the front is locked in every corner.❞ ❝I feel like this year my biggest step was in managing this front lock, but I think it’s the point where we have to improve and to make a much more stable bike in braking.❞ ❝Pecco did an amazing first part of the season. I did an amazing second part, I think,❞ Martin said. ❝We [finished the season] as the strongest, but we weren't at the beginning of the season, so that's why we arrived behind❞ ❝But I think that being a satellite team, what we are doing is amazing, and hopefully next season also we are going to start in this form and will arrive in a different situation at the end of the year.❞ ❝I don't know what more I can do to show my potential,❞ Martin said of his rumoured factory team chances in the closing stages of last year’s world championship. ❝I mean, making more than this is quite complicated: [Fighting for the MotoGP title] down to the last race, finishing second.❞ #MotoGP #JorgeMartin #Ducati2024 #MotorcycleRacing #PramacRacing #FrontLockingChallenge #RacingNews #469Motorsports

Sixteenth win of the season! Six of our bikes in the top 6 positions: another historic first to celebrate together. Another wonderful opportunity to thank all those who make up the great Ducati Corse family. An awesome Marc Marquez bags his third 2024 success to reaffirm, as if needed, that he is very much there, back at the top of MotoGP. And he does it in his inimitable way following an unbelievable comeback that took him immediately, and with disarming authority, close to the leaders and then on to the nail biting duel with Martin. A true masterpiece on a track most congenial to him. He went “wild”, as he does when he can scent victory, sparing himself nothing. Irrepressible. But the true measure of his strength, his specific weight, is all in his having immediately recovered from a very unlucky start, imposing himself over everything and everyone as the “winner-takes-all”. Even over a Martin who, truth be told, had undoubtedly more to lose than Marquez. Still, Jorge tried to prevail, with great merit but not at all costs; he got off to a good start and stayed there at the front until the last laps, not backing down when it was time to engage in a gripping fight with Marc, but giving due consideration, after having given everything, to the possibility of gaining points that were most important. Fast and with the right maturity, he thus moves up to +20 on Pecco. A Pecco who experienced a rather lacklustre weekend, always missing something on a track that is hostile to him: having never really found a feeling with either bike or track. Everything was also conditioned by Friday’s weather. Conditions that prevented him from carrying out tests that had been planned to optimise set-up on a track characterised by new tarmac, and to metabolise the automatisms he needs to best express himself. He raced defensively putting his all into it, fighting with the leaders as long as he could and then gradually losing ground, especially in the last part of the race. But it is precisely in these situations that the traits of a fighter come to the fore, of one who manages to limit the damage even when everything seems to conjure against him. He did very well, seizing an important podium: even though more could really not have been done today, he still wanted to have his say, he was there with the frontrunners ready to challenge for it. Special kudos to Diggia's great race, may it also bode well for what he has to face. An excellent performance, starting from the 12th grid position, he closed with a promising 4th place. In the leading group of contenders, fast and tenacious, with a better qualification, who can say... I remember him here last year with his first podium in premier class. Just enough time to muse on the race in Australia, and it’s already time to think of the Thai tarmac: another page to be written, anticipating a finale to be savoured. Come on, Ducati! #Ducati #DucatiLenovoTeam #ForzaDucati #MotoGP

Acosta stars, crazy aero - What we learned from MotoGP shakedown https://lnkd.in/eANvTGz3 The first major track action of the 2024 MotoGP season has come a little earlier this year - thanks to new concession rules that allowed for the three-day Sepang shakedown to be attended not just by factory test riders and rookies, but the actual race teams of struggling manufacturers Honda and Yamaha. And while the Malaysian outing was largely closed off to the media and with riders mostly (more on that later) not speaking about their experiences until the main three-day test early next week, there was still plenty to notice from trackside - and from the timing screens. Without the full grid, it’s of course still hard to piece together too much of what the season will look like - but that doesn't mean that there weren't still some interesting things on show. We always knew that rookie sensation Pedro Acosta was going to get on pace in MotoGP, given his remarkable progression through the ranks of Moto2 and Moto3 over the course of only three seasons. Ending the final day of the test fastest overall, he was only a tenth of a second away from the qualifying time set by top KTM racer Brad Binder at October’s race. Among the most noticeable things on show was KTM’s continuing aero push - and the lengths to which it's gone in hiding its various developments. Designed with the full might of partner Red Bull's F1 aero team, it’s quite obvious that there’s been an injection of new thinking (...).

Marc Marquez ends 1043 days of no wins. The 6 Time World Champion the last one in 2019 has endured a miserable 3 years. No this is not one of those superficial 'age is only a number' .... crap posts. 4 years ago, he crashed badly and broke his arm while chasing the race leader. He was out for the season and returned in 2021, but was not competitive partly because Honda was not competitive and partly his arm had not healed the way he wanted. That was the last time he won a GP. In 2022, he broke his arm to correct the original break and was out for most of the season - but despite that and having a less than competitive bike - he was the top Honda rider. He returned in 2023, but it was obvious that Honda - the giants of the sports for 20+ years was not in the same technology platform. He switched to Ducati. He has taken most of this season to learn how to ride LAST YEAR'S winning Ducati to compete with riders on this year's DUCATI. And despite that disadvantage of last year's tech - he is 3rd among the mix of riders using this year's 2024 Ducati. And he is finally coming to grips with the bike, without losing the grip. As the current world champion, Bagnaia, remarked on Saturday, Marquez was able to lean 5 degrees more than other riders - which he could not do before on the Ducati - and that gave him a huge lead every lap - a trademark Marquez win where the second rider is so far behind that he cannot hope to catch up and give up 5 laps before the end. It is hard to imagine that Marquez is only 31. And he will get a 2025 Ducati next season. But here is the thing: how does one keep's one self-belief for 6 years? How does one keep the committment to work the hardest when all feedback says that you are no longer the best? Or competitive. Support helps. Sure. But the fire and drive must be internal - more than external encouragement. Intrinsic motivation - obsessive self-belief must be the basis of sports people at the top.

Dall'Igna: MotoGP concessions allow rivals to make mistakes Ducati can't make https://lnkd.in/e6_YxHSG On the 10th anniversary of his arrival at the Bolognese company, the engineer has been accumulating influence, in his team and in the championship, to the point of being seen by many as the Adrian Newey of the competition. After breaking most records last season, Ducati will face 2024 in full strength and with the extra asset of Marc Marquez, who has given up the last year of the million-dollar contract that linked him to Honda, to ride one of Dall'Igna's bikes. Luigi Dall'Igna spoke to Motorsport.com just a week before the start of the Ducati presentation events, which this year will compete for its third MotoGP title, the fourth in the history of the Borgo Panigale brand. Q. Many people compare you to Adrian Newey, the head of Red Bull's technical department in Formula 1, because of the influence you have in MotoGP. However, with your bikes it's not just one rider who wins, but many. Does that put you on a higher plane? LD: That's impossible. Newey is a legend. Just the fact that someone compares me to him is enough to satisfy me. But cars and motorbikes are two completely different universes. Q. Concessions can be a great help, as long as you are aware of what you have to change. Do you think Yamaha and Honda know that? LD: The big difference is that they have the possibility to make mistakes and fix them. For example, with the engine, which they can open and modify. We don't. Those who have the concessions can go back with the engine if they have a problem. We have to finish the championship with the engine we homologated at the start. That's why we have to be much more conservative. It's not just a question of testing, it's a question of being able to take a lot more risks. They, in terms of aerodynamics, have one more upgrade than us. If we get it wrong, we have a problem. Q. What factors made you stay at Ducati and not accept the challenge Honda offered you? LD: It has cost us a lot to get here. We didn't win the world championship from one year to the next. It would have been completely stupid to give up on a situation as positive on a technical level as the one that surrounds me now at Ducati. The team I have around me is wonderful, both from a technical and human point of view. At Ducati it's great. It's a place where you can talk, discuss. It's not easy to give up this sweet thing.

The unnerving new image of MotoGP's 'F1-ification' https://lnkd.in/e49DXS_H The opening day of full-grid MotoGP 2024 pre-season testing at Sepang served up perhaps the defining image so far of the series' aero revolution - and it wasn't to do with any of the actual designs. The three-day shakedown at the same track that had preceded the test had already showcased many of the latest aero developments - whether they be revised front wing profiles hidden away by camo liveries to prevent rivals from getting a good gauge on the dimensions, increasingly intricate side structures or extensive modifications to the seat unit. All of these, though, have largely been iterations on ongoing MotoGP design trends, more globally meaningful as a mass than as individual components. But it was the sight of a 2024 Aprilia RS-GP taken through the corner at considerable lean angle by Miguel Oliveira with an array of pitot tubes attached at the seat that was really striking. No, it is not some sort of new clandestine technology - and if you happen to tune in to pre-season testing for MotoGP's four-wheeled counterpart Formula 1, it will take you virtually no time to see a car carrying the kind of 'aero rake' pitot tube array that makes what Oliveira ran today seem positively quaint. But what is an incredibly normal sight on an F1 car now feels so truly alien on a MotoGP bike - and while there's certainly a limitation to how many aero sensors can be fitted on a bike given its relative dimensional movements compared to the planted F1 car, clearly Aprilia has seen a benefit. And, on the one hand, the team deserved to be lauded. It is not surprising that Aprilia has felt compelled to run an aero rake on its bike because, alongside Ducati, it's been firmly at the front of everything aero in MotoGP in recent years, and its commitment to technological innovation has paid off big-time on track, helping turn it from something of a MotoGP laughing stock to a bold and brave racing operation with a desirable product for prospective riders. On the other hand... well, look at it. Look at that absolute monstrosity (...).

Want to nerd out about brake performance at the highest level of motorsports? The science and data behind it is out of this world! Teaser: how to combat brakes heating up to 1000 degrees? Brembo has figured it out.

𝗟𝗲𝗻𝗴𝘁𝗵: 5.380 kilometres / 3.343 miles 𝗪𝗶𝗱𝘁𝗵: 12 metres 𝗟𝗲𝗳𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀: 6 𝗥𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀: 10 𝗟𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁: 1.068 kilometres / 0.664 miles 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱: 2004 𝗖𝗶𝗿𝗰𝘂𝗶𝘁 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗱𝘀 𝗣𝗼𝗹𝗲 𝗣𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: 1m 51.762s (173.2km/h) Luca Marini (Ducati, 2023) 𝗥𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗟𝗮𝗽: 1m 52.978s (171.4 km/h) Enea Bastianini (Ducati, 2023) 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟯 𝗦𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗻𝘁 𝗪𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗿: Jorge Martín (Ducati) 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟯 𝗥𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗪𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗿: Fabio Di Giannantonio (Ducati) Constructed in just over a year at a cost of $58 million for the inaugural MotoGP™ event in 2004. Designed primarily with motorcycling in mind, featuring a flowing 5.4km layout popular with riders. Became the largest lit venue in the world in 2008 with permanent outdoor lighting for night races. Hosted MotoGP's first night race in 2008, won by Casey Stoner on a Ducati. Hosted the MotoGP season opener for 13 consecutive years from 2007 to 2019. Daytime races experienced track temperatures over 45°C, motivating the switch to night events. In 2009, rain postponed the MotoGP race to Monday, showcasing the circuit's unexpected weather challenges. Features alcohol-free cava for the podium ceremony, respecting Qatar's Muslim majority. Noted as one of the circuits with the greatest fuel consumption in the season. Extensive lighting installed without creating glare for spectators or riders and minimizing shadows. The strong braking into turn 1 or the high speed turn 13 are highlights of this track. Lusail International Circuit #LusailCircuit #LusailCircuitSportsClub #LCSC #MotoGP #MotoGP2024 #MotoGP75 #QatarGP #Lusail #Qatar #LusailInternationalCircuit