Late-Braking MotoGP

© Bruce Allen

Grand prix motorcycle racing did not take the last month or so off, per se. They just didn’t do any racing. As far as events that will lend shape to both the 2021 championship and 2022, there have been a good number. A fast, incomplete list would include:

• Valentino Rossi announcing his retirement at the end of the season. Finally.
• Looks like Frankie Morbidelli moves to the factory team in 2022, leaving SRT Petronas with no riders for next season. Your boy Cal Crutchlow gets the call-up to sit in for #21 for the next two weeks.
• Dani Pedrosa rides a KTM wildcard at Red Bull I.
• There have been no recent sightings of Maverick Vinales, whereabouts unknown as regards 2022.
• There will be four (4) Ducati teams next season–the factory team, Pramac Racing, Flex-Box Gresini Team, and SKY/(Aramco) VR46 Team. The most likely riders for 2022 at this point: Miller and Bagnaia, Zarco and Martin, Enea Bastianini and Fabio Di Giannantonio, Luca Marini and Marco Bezzecchi. The Italians Are Coming!
• The Suzukis are under-performing this year, and Alex Rins’ future with the brand is in some doubt. A serious crash by #20 is the only thing that will give Joan Mir a shot at consecutive championships.
• KTM has developed a highly competitive bike and has assembled a deep and talented lineup of riders. Both Lecuona and Petrucci are likely to lose their seats by the end of the season, with Remy Gardner slotted for one and, I suspect, Raul Fernandez slotted for the other. And they still have young Pedro Acosta tearing a new one in Moto3. Lots of people (lol) are giving Dani Pedrosa credit for having improved the bike. It would be the bomb diggity to see Little Big Man on the podium at Red Bull Ring in KTM colors.

Friday at Red Bull Ring I

The top of the FP1 chart on Friday morning was full of Hondas and Suzukis, illustrative of the folly of ascribing any importance to what goes on in FP1, as this is a Ducati/KTM track. Only nine of those annoying turns that slow things down.

I’m due to be released from Indiana University Hospital this week after a three week engagement. On December 17th I was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, four months to the day since the same disease took my wife Nancy. On February 2 they removed my spleen and pancreas. Complications ensued. My prognosis, for now, is good.

I’ve been keeping an eye on racing since last fall. Going to need my Magic Eight Ball to make any predictions this season. Looks like it will be crowded at the top.

For those of you concerned that I may have lost all my chops: Had I known that Nancy was contagious I’d have made her sleep in the other room.

Ciao for now. 

RBA

This entry was posted on February 21, 2022 at 5:23 pm and is filed under Moto. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.