Thetownend.com

Yay, it's back. I'm only expecting Chubbs to be bothered about this, but I'm going to post anyway :)

Good write up from the Beeb on the upcoming season: http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/motogp/21957653

Very much looking forward to seeing Rossi back on the Yamaha. Probably won't be challenging for the championship, but should pick up a few wins throughout the season.

It'll be a two-way dice between Pedrosa and Lorenzo, but the boy Marquez could be a surprise contender. And no more Stoner the moaner, that's got to be a big :thumb:

For anyone who's a fan of 4-wheeled racing but not necessarily the 2-wheel stuff, give it a go. Plenty of excitement and a darn sight more overtaking than in F1. Plus huge British interest this year with an all-Brit team at Tech3 (we will have to forgive Bradley Smith for being born in Oxford though).

Race coverage starts 19:30 on Sunday, which is great for me because I'm away for the weekend and would otherwise have missed it.

Ahem !

I'm not sure Bradders is going to be much good to be honest.

In fact I would have preferred Scott Redding to have been given a shot before Bradley (and not just because he's from Oxford).

To think that Tech 3 had to choose between losing Dovi or Cal to give Bradley a ride just makes me think that either he has a big bag of cash, or they couldn't afford to keep two decent riders.


For me Marquez & Bradl are the two wild cards for this season, in fact although he is a rookie I can see Marquez beating Pedrosa before the end of the season.

I was pretty gutted that Iannone got the Pramac ride ahead of Scott Redding. Hopefully he'll challenge in Moto2 this season. He did well in pre-season testing.

I don't think cash had much to do with Smith's ride at Tech3, I think it was just a contractual thing which goes back a few years where they promised him a ride in MotoGP by 2013. When you think back to the old days of Toseland and Edwards at Tech3, I don't think they expected to be anywhere near as competitive as they became with Cal & Dovi.

Me and the missus are very excited. Getting married saturday and off on honeymoon Sunday. Hoping to sneak away and catch some qualifying and we are booking into an exec lounge at Heathrow with the hope we can get them to put the race on the TV's. We are not missing this.

Like everyone else, im looking forward to seeing what Rossi can do back on the Yamaha. Really hoping Cal can build on last season and get a few podiums. I expect to see Maquez do pretty well.

As Sam says it will be close between Pedrosa and Lorenzo. I really hope we get a few more riders pushing for podiums. Marquez, Cal, Bradl all capable of pushing for a podium spot.
Also be looking out for Bradders, who im not expecting to be competing for podiums, but hoping he does well.

Roll on Sunday

And good luck to you mate

Hope you both have a ball x

All the best Chubbs.....try and get a practise lap in before the Honeymoon :D

Have a good day.

Enjoy it Seb!


...but I'm not hopeful for a decent seasons racing. Last year was dull as dishwater. Hoping for a good season from Tech3...

Might not be as close as we'd like at the front, but the middle of the pack should make for some good racing.

I'm hoping for an improvement from the CRTs and I think the gap will narrow. If they do improve then it'll only add more force for manufacturers to return in the future. Suzuki reportedly already looking to return in 2014, if they do then hopefully Kawasaki won't be too far behind them.

Rossi. Is. Back. :D

That sets things up nicely for the season.

Thought it might take a few races before Marquez started beating Pedrosa, I guess not then.

Felt a but sorry for Cal, he just didn't have the straight line speed to keep up with the Honda's, hopefully he will get some of the upgrades soon.

Also good to see Scott doing well in the Moto2 race

Lively start to the season. Nice to see a three-way battle for the championship developing already.

For anyone that's interested, there's a program on ITV4 tonight at 9pm called The Unrideables which is about the 2-stroke 500cc era. Spencer, Rainey, Schwantz et al.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MiYIS7fL3Wc

Marquez making a name for himself already. I like it.

Shame he's another fucking Spaniard! Do they have nothing better to do than knock out future champion after future champion? ;)

Judging by the leaders of both the Moto2 and Moto3 championships; no!

Announcement to be made later today that MotoGP will be exclusive to the new BT Sport channel from next season.

A bit pissed that it'll no longer be on free-to-air TV, but at least with a bit more money behind it we should get some better coverage.

Officially announced. Even better, the BT Sports channels will be FREE to BT Broadband customers (i.e. me). Happy days.

#That's a bit of a shitter, might have to switch to them.

Well, thats balls.

The only free-to-air live motorsport is now the British Touring Car Championship, unless I'm mistaken?

It is good. Something to beat Sky up with when discounts run out :)

Not Moto GP but RIP Andrea Antonelli. Sad news

Horrible accident in horrible conditions.

As you say, sad news indeed.

RIP Andrea

Had a feeling it would happen, I was hoping it wouldn't. Cal Crutchlow has signed a 2 yr deal with Ducati.
This is a big shame.

Great for Cal Crutchlow's bank balance.

Maybe not so great for Cal Crutchlow's career. Time will tell.

Oh dear Cal... he'd better make the most of hid time at the front!

What's the score with the expanded number of bikes per team? Are they effectively eating up satellite team's seats or are they expanding the available grid slots? Are the CRT bikes carrying on?

nothing like a bit of confusion to spice up the championship. no one wants to watch the last 2 races with a champion already decided.

Ha ha ha @ Marquez and Repsol Honda

http://blog.angryasianman.com/2013/10/marc-marquez-your-t-shirt-is-doing.html?m=1 (http://blog.angryasianman.com/2013/10/marc-marquez-your-t-shirt-is-doing.html?m=1)

A Spaniard being racially insensitive? Good grief!  :D