MotogGP on FS1

Anyone watching this? Amazing race today; Marquez and Lorenzo dicing and often almost touching at over 200 MPH (no, not KPH, MPH!). One of the most exciting races I've ever seen.

Spoiler: Results

Marquez keeps his season perfect so far- 6/6 in both poles and race-wins.

I was so glad when FS1 took over for the Speed channel and it became available in HD on the basic HD tier on Comcast. Got to see Marquez's incredible rookie season and

Spoiler

his perfect start to this season so far

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No love for motorcycle racing on here? Such great action: flying around at unimaginable speeds w/ the only contact to the road being two small patches of rubber not much bigger than an outstretched hand. And those super-slo-mo shots (2500 FPS!) are just gorgeous, watching the riders scraping not only knees, but even elbows these days. Amazing technology and unbelievably talented (and fearless) riders.

 

Unfortunately I don't have that channel.

I used to watch the GPs all the time in Australia where they were broadcast live, free to air. Because of the time difference, these were typically on at 11:00pm which was a perfect end to an evening. I would much rather watch motorcycles than F1

 

You don't get FoxSports 1? Do you have cable? I only have the basic HD level on Comcast, but I get it. It used to be the Speed channel, which I could only get in SD before. Have you tried online? Google shows streaming for FS1.

I agree that motorcycle racing is much more interesting than car racing. But maybe that's b/c I'm a rider (as well as a former mechanic, even worked in the pits for a semi-pro endurance race team).

Nice avatar, BTW. That's going back quite a few years...

FS1 broadcasts the races live, which means they come on around 7 AM Sundays. Thank God for DVR's...

 

http://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/2014-moto-gp-season-moto2-and-moto3-as-well.350218/

All three races this past weekend were exciting.

 

No

Yes

I am also a Comcast customer but don't have the HD package. Just basic cable plus (seems extreme at $70 per month - I only seem to watch the Golf Channel, History, Discovery and CNN)

 

I usually only watch the big boys- guess I'm an elitist.

I'll check that thread. I did a search for motogp, but guess I shoulda searched moto gp...
Thanks.

 

And you can't even get the SD foxsports? bummer.

 

Maybe I have not looked hard enough. Thanks for the push - I will investigate.

 

I'm embarrassed to admit that I forgot to check the TV listings to see when the race was being aired. I'm still getting accustomed to having both MotoGP and F1 races on FS1 - I never used to get the Speed channel via Comcast.

Also haven't really followed MotoGP with the same level of fanaticism I used to have back when the 500 2-strokes ruled the roost, but Marquez's performance this season has definitely captured my interest.

 

Clearly, F1 is on NBC SN and NBC!

 

Yep, and I should've remembered that as I watched the Monaco GP on NBC SN a week ago.

 

I had Speed channel on Comcast for a while, but just the SD version, which I couldn't watch. When they switched to FS 1 last year the HD version became available and I was so happy- got to see the end of Marquez' great rookie year.

I think the GP's were more interesting when they rode those 2 strokes, just b/c those machines were such beasts. The riders then were crazy good. The racing is a lot smoother now and the bikes are technological wonders, but they sure are a lot easier to ride. But speeds in excess of 200 MPH? I can't even imagine; things get really weird for me on 2 wheels just hitting 100 MPH.

Were you following GP back when Fast Freddie won both 250 and 500 championships in the same year? That was an incredible feat that will never be equaled...

 

Hey quit trying to steal my threads thunder!!
lol kidding

 

Freddie Spencer's 1985 season was incredible. Freddie, Kenny Roberts, Eddie Lawson - the USA had some great riders in the '80s. Then Australia produced a top rider in Wayne Gardner, the 1987 World Champion and responsible for a huge surge in the popularity of the 500cc GPs in Oz. Eddie Lawson followed with 2 great crowns and then Wayne Rainey won three caps - the American riders were dominant.

Then in the mid-nineties, Mick Doohan from Australia swept them all before him with 5 successive World Championships from 1994 through 1998 - and he would have won in 1992 except for a disasterous crash at Assen, that caused compound leg fractures and changed his riding style forever. The great Giacomo Agostini won 7 in a row, and in the modern era, Rossi won 5 in a row, and then 2 more - an awesome feat that is hard to imagine.

Mick Doohan was my hero though. He was a super-star in Oz.

 

Yeah- those were the days. The time of US riders' dominance coincided w/ the time I was working in the industry turning a wrench. Unfortunately, there was little TV coverage back then. But we had a lot of fun reading and talking about them. Except for Rainey, the King and Eddie, all those guys, including your hero, were on Hondas, which we enjoyed, being very partisan.

Remember the NR500? Honda's 1st (modern) attempt at a 4 stroke GP bike. Oval pistons, baby. It was great being in the industry and getting into all the new tech. I don't follow that stuff anymore; haven't had a sub to a bike mag for ages...

 

I do remember the oval pistons. I also remember that the big 2-strokes were almost uncontrollable when the power came on like gangbusters and tore the back wheel loose.

 

Yeah, those things were such beasts. That's why I think those riders were the most talented and fearless ever in GP. IIRC, the NR was the 1st attempt at controlling that sudden surge when you hit the powerband; the slipper clutch.

 

That was a brilliant race in Italy on Sunday. Made it all worthwhile again as this season has been a little boring for me, despite wanting Marquez to win. He's a little too good, though fascinating to watch his amazing ability to actually stay on the bike. He's not smooth like Lorenzo and always looks like he's on the edge, which he is of course.

 

He does seem to have quite a few boggles- as you said b/c he's right on the edge so often. But he is so in tune w/ his machine that he just takes it in stride and keeps on truckin'.

I've used the analogy of riding a bike at it's limits w/ my students to illustrate how to approach your limits; the closer you get to a limit, the more delicate you have to be, so that if you go past them, you have a chance to recover. Marquez seems to illustrate this perfectly almost every race. So far, he's gone too far only once in a GP race last year, but a few more times in qualifying. His connection w/ his bike is incredible.

And yes, it was a brilliant race. Lorenzo appears to be back and I think we'll see a good bit of that type of thing again this season. The ironic part is that was one of MM's best starts off the line so far this season, yet the closest race so far.

 

I'm not sure whether rule changes prevent current riders from competing in more than one class (other than being a stand-in for an injured rider), so this feat may not be replicated in MotoGP and Moto2, say, however, Agostini (who else) did win both the 500 cc and 350 cc titles between 1968 and 1972 (he won only one of the titles in other years!).

As for incredible feats that will never be equaled, John Surtees remains the only man to have won World Championships (500 cc and F1) on both 2 and 4 wheels. I don't see that feat ever being equaled. Surtees also won both 350 cc and 500 cc titles between 1958 and 1960.

The big question for this year is whether Marquez can challenge either Doohan (most wins in a season) or Hailwood (highest winning percentage in a season)

 

Indeed - and as I noted in post #15 - "The great Giacomo Agostini won 7 in a row". That's the 500 - 15 in total (8 in the 500 and 7 in the 350).

Taking nothing away from him, Ago had one hell of a bike factory behind him in the magnificient MV Augustas, which were so dominant over a 20 year period.

1956 John Surtees
1958 - 1960 John Surtees
1961 Gary Hocking
1962 - 1965 Mike "The Bike" Hailwood
1966 - 1972 Ago
1973 - 1974 Phil Read

What a run.

 

I did not know about Surtees- that is impressive. What about Marquez getting the record for most consecutive wins to start a season and most consecutive wins overall? I don't know what those records are, but he must be close, yes?

 

Oh, yeah. That was a great year.

I've had this as my desktop wallpaper for the past couple of years. I never get tired of looking at it. Wish I'd bought one when they were just old racebikes that not too many people cared about, instead of the pricey collectors' items they are now.

 

Doohan was incredible. He seemed superhuman and unbeatable even after the crash at Assen that permanently mangled his leg. I can't imagine that any team today would let their rider get back in the saddle as quickly as Doohan did after being injured so badly, when he was still clearly a long way from being healed.

I remember eagerly awaiting news of each race in those days from Usenet and email listservs, as that was about the only way to get timely updates when I didn't have access to any televised races.