Jorge Martin ran away with the Sprint race on Saturday. The main event on Sunday was taken by Bezzecchi, who went through on Jack Miller on Lap 11 and wasn’t challenged thereafter, increasingly looking like the man to beat in 2023. Earlier, Maverick Vinales and Pecco Bagnaia took each other out on Lap 5 and went to Fist City in the gravel trap, but kissed and made up later on. Shortly thereafter, Luca Marini and Alex Marquez went down together. Joan Mir had his usual crash on Lap 14 today, followed by Alex Rins on Lap 15, as the Honda can only be ridden by Marquez. #93 was in contention for a podium all day until he folded under pressure from Jorge Martin on Lap 26, right after Jack Miller lost the front of his KTM on Lap 25. 21 riders started the race and 13 finished, meaning Jonas Folger now has more points for the season than Mir, who, it says right here, will be spoken of in the past tense at HRC come season’s end.
It sounds like Gresini is planning to replace FDG with Tony Arbolino for next season. Frankie Morbidelli is toast. If Ai Ogura ever gets his wrist sorted out, he may very well take Takaa Nakagami’s seat as the Designated Japanese Rider in the premier class. Likewise, Raul Fernandez is unlikely to remain in MotoGP after this season, with all the young guns making noise in Moto2.
I really don’t have time to do a proper job on the French Grand Prix today, as life is once again intruding on my incessant libeling. Demolition derbies as took place today tend to obscure the fact that some pretty sorry riders end up scoring points. So while someone is bound to point out that Nakagami finished in P11 today, it was due to the fact that six or seven riders who would normally leave him in their wake were missing at the finish. And yes, I know that in order to finish first one must first finish blah blah blah. It’s not just Marquez who is riding on the ragged edge all day. I think the technology has gotten ahead of the riders, that no one is in full control of their machine, and that we are likely to see more heavy crashes–paging Pol Espargaro–yet this season. Still, when you have three riders running abreast in a turn at 100 mph there is nothing else quite like it.
Premier class qualifying took place in the middle of the night, Eastern Daylight Time, and, accordingly, our erstwhile reporter missed it entirely. Apparently the schedule had been massaged to allow the big bikes to run in the dry which, of course, failed. A few early showers gave way to sunny and dry conditions for the rest of the day. Pecco Bagnaia and Brad Binder made it through Q1, abandoning Marco Bezzecchi and Alex Rins to the great unwashed. Q2 was great fun, riders on rain tires at the beginning recording Moto3 times, gradually switching to slicks late in the session and threatening the ATTR.
Grizzled veteran Aleix Espargaro left it to way late before sticking his Aprilia on pole, joined on the front row by KTM NKIT (New Kid in Town) Jack Miller and Fast on Saturday Jorge Martin on his Ducati. Row 2 featured Brad Binder, whose name will come up again in a minute, Pecco Bagnaia and one Dani Pedrosa, guesting on the shiny new KTM at age 37. Farther down on the qualifying food chain were Bezzecchi, the woebegone Fabio Quartararo (P16) and flash in the pan Alex Rins (P18). Enea Bastiannini, the hard luck second bike on the factory Ducati team, tried to race with his knitting right shoulder blade, but withdrew from the festivities after the third practice session.
The Saturday Sprint was great fun for the first 30 seconds until Frankie Morbidelli lost the front in Turn 2, collected Alex Marquez and skittled Marco Bezzecchi. The action completely spooked rookie Augusto Fernandez, who pooped his pants and fell off his satellite KTM. The red flag waved as Bezzecchi’s Desmo went up in flames. A few minutes later the restart found KTMs crowding the front, Binder and Miller leading the way with Mighty Mouse included in the lead group. Round and round they went, with Pecco Bagnaia liotering in the top three. Aleix crashed out on his own on Lap 6, joining Marquez, Nakagami and, a few moments later, the downtrodden Joan Mir in the Have Nots. Miller, Binder and Bagnaia jousted over the last few laps for podium steps, with Martin, Miguel Oliveira and Pedrosa lurking. In the end, it was the surprising Brad Binder claiming the title of Sprint Maven, joined by Bagnaia and Miller on the podium.
KTM has arrived. Binder has won two of the four Sprints. Miller has added something to the overall team effort. It was interesting to note that the top 10 qualifiers and top 11 finishers all rode European bikes. These are, indeed, lean times for Honda and Yamaha. There are bound to be some high profile riders defecting from the Japanese teams–Fabio and #93 at the top of the list–which will put huge pressure on the lower-ranked Aprilia, Ducati and KTM riders wishing to hold on to their seats in 2024. Ten years ago one wouldn’t have been able to give away a Ducati, and neither KTM nor Aprilia were even involved in the premier class. What a difference a decade makes.
Sunday
The changing of the guard amongst the manufacturers continued in full force today. It was not that many years ago that the KTMs were only competitive at the Red Bull Ring, MotoGP’s equivalent of Daytona, with eight turns instead of three. The bikes were fast in a straight line, but impossible to turn. Today, they showed that they are both quick and nimble, at a track where riders spend a third of their time on the brakes and only hit sixth gear once, perhaps twice at the max. In a replay of the Saturday Sprint, the main event was red-flagged after about 30 seconds, during which time, Fully Frustrated Fabio dumped the hideous Yamaha and, in the process, sent Miguel “The Victim” Oliveira tumbling into the gravel, where he dislocated his left shoulder and had to sit out yet another round due to no fault of his own. All this while the factory KTMs were flying at the start, with Pecco fending off Austrians on the left and more Austrians on the right.
The restart was a replay of the first, with Miller and Binder hauling Bagnaia around the circuit, the three of them taking turns in the lead. Bagnaia settled into P2 for the bulk of the day behind Binder, finally going through on Lap 21 for the lead and, ultimately, the win. Binder and Miller took steps 2 and 3 on the podium, followed by Jorge Martin and Aleix. Dani Pedrosa finished a very respectable P7 in between the satellite Ducatis of Marini and Marquez. Takaa Nakagami was the top finisher for Honda in P9 followed by Quartararo, who survived not one but two long lap penalties–the second assessed for his having screwed up the first–for a gritty P10. Crashers for the day included Alex Rins and Joan Mir, both of whom are coming to terms with the Honda RC213V in gravel traps, Zarco, and Bezzecchi, with your boy Cole Trickle retiring with a mechanical on Lap 24, for God’s sake. He helped my fantasy team get hammered today.
The Moto3 tilt was a fire drill, as usual, with Ivan Ortola, rookie David Alonso and my boy Jaume Masia ending the day on the podium. In Moto2, Sam Lowes avoided his usual brain fart to win easily in a procession, followed in due course by a stunned Pedro Acosta and Alonzo Lopez. Tony Arbolino, Aron Canet and Jake Dixon took P4 – P6.
I thought the Aprilia contingent would have a better day today, but it was not to be. Sure, Aleix took pole, but spent the day pedaling hard in P5. Ducati claimed P1, P4, P6 and P8, to no one’s surprise. But the factory KTM effort is starting to resemble their dominating little brothers in the lightweight and intermediate classes. If history is a teacher, we can expect better things in the not-too-distant future from both Honda and Yamaha, at which point Dorna will need to start measuring times to four decimal places.
Look who made a cameo this weekend.Aleix avoids a cat on SaturdayMoto3 rider David Salvador (?) doing it wrong on Saturday.
2023 has become another clusterf*ck in Marc Marquez’s late career. Honda has taken the greatest rider since Valentino Rossi and reduced him to a stumbling, fumbling shadow of his former self.
Since it’s a given he will crash several times upon his return–notice the word “possibly” in front of Le Mans–he had better heal completely. Maybe just take the rest of the year off, get prepared for the Ducati in 2024. He can take Alex’s seat.
HRC needs to go away. Take Yamaha with them. Turn MotoGP into a completely European parlor game. Let the Japanese manufacturers concentrate on Moto3 and manufacturing little 80cc and 125cc urban runabouts. They can no longer cut it in the big displacement competition.
Oh, and the Kazakh round has, predictably, been cancelled. Waiting on word of the cancellation of India.
Good thing Pecco keeps falling off his bike. Otherwise, interest in this sport would be zero.
Before I forget, I want to salute Jack Miller, waxing euphoric about the KTM during one of the incessant time-filling videos, then going out and crashing five times before the Sprint race.
Friday was indicative of the New World Order in MotoGP, in which the last shall be first and the first shall be last. Pecco Bagnaia finishing first in Portimao and 16th in Argentina. Alex Marquez being unable to find his ass with both hands and a flashlight for three full seasons on the Honda suddenly becoming A Force to be Reckoned With in year four on a used Ducati. Marco Bezzecchi winning in the rain at Rio Hondo before having to go through QP1 (which he did) in Texas. At the end of the day the results looked like this:
Here’s a couple of dispatches from our trackside reporter Buzz:
Update #1.
The wife and I decided to walk around a bit and Shazam! Two vans pulled up to our hotel and a bunch of Mooney VR46 team members were checking in to our hotel! I didn’t see Luca or Bez (not that I would have recognized them immediately) and certainly the legend himself isn’t staying here or even in Austin with a pregnant woman at home.
I’ll keep my eyes open. Gonna spend the rest of the evening digesting my mound of meat from Terry Black’s BBQ.
Day 1. I’ll let you read the inter webs for a report on how today’s action unfolded. My behind the scenes look at the action was pretty incredible today.
Update #2
We met a British couple at the hotel bar last night and they are here for the race as well; first time in Austin. I told them I would show them around the track since I’m a vet and they offered a ride in their rental car. In addition, they happened to meet a man on the flight over who handles all the awesome camera technology like the bike cams, shoulder cams, etc. He offered a behind the scenes tour.
After marching them all over the track and walking 8 miles according to our Apple watches, they were contacted by camera guy, and he invited us all back. We were given security credentials and walked through the paddock back to the tech area. He showed us how they use all the camera technology and how most critically, they managed bandwidth. With all the cell technology and other demands for wireless, it is a huge part of the job.
We returned to the stands to finish watching practice and walked back to the paddock once it was over to return our credentials. At that point all the riders started moving from the garage to the paddock offices. It’s a gauntlet of fans with paddock access and was pretty fun watching people run back and forth seeking autographs when a rider would appear. Personally, I got a fist bump with Pecco, a high-five with Jack Miller and helped others get photos with Fabio and Cole Trickle. I also said hello to Brad Binder. Total fun! Wife was overwhelmed.
Saturday
Bezzecchi and Zarco made it through Q1. Jorge Martin, he of the new all-time track record at COTA, crashed twice in Q2, leading to the first four rows of the grid, as follows:
The Sprint was pretty much of a snooze. Bagnaia got his mojo back, took the lead on the first lap and was never challenged. Alex Rins, making the LCR Honda look, well, competitive, chased the Italian for 10 laps but was never a threat; his nine points were a sigh of relief for HRC, as nobody else went anywhere. Poor Fabio over-rode his Yamaha into the gravel on Lap 5; it’s going to be a long year for the former world champion, Martin moved his Desmo from P12 to P3 to capture the final step on the podium. Aleix dogged him after getting passed on Lap 7 but couldn’t track him down. Alex Marquez came back down to Earth, sliding out on Lap 7 after throwing up in his helmet OMG. The Mooney boys finished sixth and seventh behind Brad Binder. And that was that.
Sunday
This was one of those race days when I should have been covering Moto3 or Moto2 instead of MotoGP. Moto3 was incredible, four young riders battling on the absolute limit over the entire race. The eventual winner, Ivan Ortola, somehow avoided an excruciating high side at Turn 2 of the first lap, dropped back to around P23, then sliced his way through the field to engage with Jaume Masia, Xavi Artigas and Diogo Moreira before taking the checkered flag in P1, as good a win as you’ll ever see in racing, two wheels or four. Even horses. The ultimate order of finish was kind of random, as each rider performed well enough to have won on any day. Ortola, it seems, is the Next Next Next Great Spanish Rider, behind Pedro Acosta and Izan Guevara.
Moto2 provided another nailbiter, as Tony Arbolino and Pedro Acosta put on a terrific show, with Acosta eventually prevailing, and Arbolino declaring in Parc Fermé that “this ain’t over.” Both riders are slated for MotoGP next season, where they will pay dues for a season or two before raising the level of competition yet again.
MotoGP on Sunday was, in a word, terrible. Eight riders crashed out, leaving 14 on the track to see the chekered flag. Here’s how bad it was: Jonas Folger scored three (3) championship points subbing for Pol Espargaro. Rookie Augusto Fernandez scored five (5) points. Pecco Bagnaia, putting the screws to everyone who had him on their fantasy team, crashed out of the lead on Lap 8 under relentless pressure from LCR Honda pilot Alex Rins, who went on to win on the only Honda to finish the race. Luca Marini found the podium on his Ducati, as did Fabio Quartararo, who was giving up amazing yardage on the long back straight, then gaining some of it back on the twisty parts of the track. Rather than summarizing the results, let’s just look at the dunnage:
Lap 1: Jorge Martin shits his pants and takes Alex Marquez out with him in Turn 1, while Aleix slides off and out at Turn 12.
On Lap 4 my notes read, “When will Jack Miller crash?” Answer: Lap 7.
Pecco threw it at the scenery on Lap 8. Raul Fernandez retired with a mechanical around the same time
Joan Mir crashed, again, on Lap 9.
Brad Binder crashed on Lap 11 and remounted, ultimately gathering two championship points, which is an editorial statement in itself.
Takaa Nakagami crashed on Lap 12, as if anyone cares.
Stefan Bradl, subbing for #93, crashed on Lap 19 in order to get mentioned in this article.
A brutal day in the premier class. Alex Rins, it says here, will not factor into the 2023 championship on his execrable Honda. Nor will Fabio on his equally bad Yamaha. At the end of the day–who doesn’t hate that phrase?–the championship top ten looks like this. Bagnaia has thrown away 45 points in the last two rounds, making the chase look more competitive than it really is. Vinales had another terrible start before climbing back into P4 at the finish. And anyone who doesn’t have Ducati as their choice for the constructor in Fantasy MotoGP is dreaming.
Two weeks until the flying circus arrives in Europe, at Jerez, when things start to get real. Let’s hope that today’s MotoGP spectacle doesn’t get repeated. Personally, I may shift my attention to the undercards where there is real competition and not every rider scores points.
After getting all the helpful advice from you lot on how to save my trades, and still being unable to do so, I decided to open the game on Microsoft’s Edge browser. Voila, there appeared a box allowing me to save my trades. Dorna, it seems, doesn’t have the tech skills to optimize their crappy site across all browsers, so I got hammered in Argentina. I suspect that those of you who were unable to make your trades stick for Round 2 were also using Firefox.
If you’ve been using Chrome or Edge, you may have built up a lead in this fakakta competition. Be advised that Mr BruAl will now get back in the hunt. Honeymoon’s over.
Saturday qualifying was fascinating, as the risk/reward ratios changed along with track conditions. Alex Marquez and Fabio Quartararo passed through a wet Q1, but the rain quit at the end of the session. Q2 took place under the most difficult conditions possible, a cool track drying on the racing line. The session opened with all 12 riders on rain tires, and Frankie Morbidelli, defining “anomoly,” set the benchmark time, sitting briefly on pole.
The riders entered the pits after their first pass. Nine re-emerged on wets, but three brave souls–Marquez, Bagnaia and Bezzecchi–came out on slicks with their hearts in their throats, slipping and sliding. As the session drew to a close and the track continued to dry, their bravery (which is virtually indistinguishable from stupidity) paid off. All three made it to the front row, with Little Brother claiming his first premier class pole and a shiny new Tissot watch. Bezzecchi claimed P2 and Bagnaia P3. The Ducati lockout of the front row produced dancing in the streets in Borgo Paginale. The entire grid was as nervous as Mike Tyson in a spelling bee waiting to see what the weather would be like on Sunday. There would be, however, the matter of a Sprint race before any of that.
The 12-lap Sprint was, for a little while, somewhat biblical, as the last were briefly first. Early on, it was Morbidelli in P1 for the first time since the Truman administration. The two Mooney VR46 youngsters, Luca Marini and Marco Bezzecchi, had good starts, swapping paint on the first lap, looking very comfortable on their year-old Ducatis. The big surprise early, mid-race and at the flag was KTM veteran Brad Binder. Starting from P15, he made his way to P3 by Lap 2 and took the lead from Morbidelli on Lap 3. He held off the best that Ducati Corse has to offer to take the win by an eyelash from Bezzecchi, who would have won a 13-lap race, and Marini. Morbidelli managed to salvage P4 in front of polesitter Marquez and series leader Pecco Bagnaia.
Joan Mir, it says here, is already ruing his decision to join Repsol Honda after last season. He barely qualified at all, at the bottom of the last row, and crashed out on Lap 1 before heading for the medical center. He re-injured the ankle he broke last year; if he is unavailable on Sunday, he will join 11 other riders with no chance of winning the 2023 championship. Last year’s Argentine winner, Aleix Espargaro, went walkabout on Lap 8. He was not hurt physically, but the same cannot be said for his championship aspirations. He’s still in the hunt, but appears to have ceded the #1 seat on the factory Aprilia team to #12, our boy Cole Trickle.
Sidebar: I agreed to watch my daughter’s dog for six days, starting Friday. On Saturday, and again on Sunday morning, he evidenced his displeasure at the situation by defecating all over my white sofa and two chairs in the living room. I was up until midnight Saturday night putting a full load of cushion covers through the wash, and had to repeat the process again on Sunday WHILE THE RACE WAS BEING RUN. Accordingly, I had to scramble to catch the news about the race and watch the video. This week’s race report is, unhappily, terrible. As my Jewish forebears say about The Holocaust, “NEVER AGAIN!”
The race took place on a drenched track. Marco Bezzecchi got away early and was never challenged. Franco Morbidelli spent the entire weekend in P4. The two Frenchmen on the grid, Pramac Ducati pilot Johann Zarco and former world champion Fabio Quartararo, rallied furiously late in the race after lackluster starts. Zarco, running in P8 at the end of Lap 7, ended his day on the second step of the podium and was gaining on Bezzecchi at the close of festivities. Quartararo, tagged by Takaa Nakagami early in the race, completed Lap 1 in P16. By the time he saw the checkered flag, he sat in P7. Hats off to both riders, and to Bezz on his first premier class win; he also leads the 2023 title chase after Pecco Bagnaia lowsided out of P2 and into P16 late in the race.
All in all, a forgettable weekend for yours truly. Let’s hope COTA has more excitement and less excrement.
One more thing. Unsurprisingly, the MotoGP Fantasy game is user un-friendly to the max. I spent 15 minutes on Friday changing my picks for the weekend. Last night, I checked in to discover none of the changes had stuck. I’m going to try this one more time, but, seriously, why can’t these guys get it right the first time?
Round One of the 2023 MotoGP season produced a dominant performance by defending world champion Pecco Bagnaia, who took the inaugural Sprint race on Saturday followed by a wire-to-wire win on Sunday. He has confirmed the predictions of many followers who pegged him to successfully defend his 2022 title. But Marc Marquez, once again, will be the main topic of conversation this week after a mistake on Lap 3 clobbered Miguel Oliveira and ruined the day for Portuguese racing fans.
Pretty much everyone knows that Marquez, the most talented rider of the last decade, has an albatross of a bike in the 2023 Honda RC213V, described by the knowledgeable Simon Crafar as having no redeeming qualities whatsoever. In order to be remotely competitive on a grid teeming with fast, agile Italian bikes, he must over-ride for every moment of every race. He must take risks most other riders would eschew. His temperament doesn’t allow him to back down; “go hard or go home” is in his DNA. On Saturday, we witnessed what happens when his luck holds–an all-time track record in qualifying followed by a podium finish in the Sprint. On Sunday, we saw what happens when it runs out–he makes contact with another rider (in this case Jorge Martin, whose day was also ruined) which leads to a dangerous crash and collateral damage for an innocent bystander, in this case Aprilia pilot Miguel Oliveira. If Oliveira is not seriously hurt, it is only because of his leathers, his airbag, his helmet, and his superb musculature.
We will not pile on Marquez here, leaving that for others more inclined to journalistic histrionics. Marquez will receive a major penalty next week in Argentina which he will serve on behalf of his employers. Little brother Alex is demonstrating what happens when a Honda rider climbs aboard a Ducati Desmosedici and goes from utter irrelevance to podium contention. Today may be the day on which Marc Marquez decided to cut the cord with Honda moving forward and defect to Borgo Paginale. Put him on a (new or used) Ducati, and he could easily win a dozen races per season. He could also avoid the regret and embarrassment resulting from crashes such as occurred today.
What About the Race, You Nimrod?
Right. Oliveira took the hole shot and led after the first lap, followed closely by Bagnaia, Martin and Marquez. Bagnaia went through on Lap 2 for the duration. It was on Lap 3 that Marquez attempted to go through on Martin, misjudged the angle, and made contact with the Pramac pilot. His Honda lost contact with the tarmac and plowed into the hapless Oliveira, with both riders going ragdoll and both bikes left in tatters. Martin recovered in, like, P15 while Pecco left the chaos well behind him. The crash opened the door for Maverick Vinales, Jack Miller, Marco Bezzecchi and Brad Binder.
The rest of the day saw the resurrected Vinales furiously dogging Bagnaia on his way to 20 points. Bezzecchi went through on Miller’s KTM on Lap 5 and finished the day on the third step of the podium. Behind this trio was some great racing, as Miller, Alex Marquez, Brad Binder and, late in the proceedings, Johann Zarco mixed it up. Zarco had been riding in P9 early in the race and was still in P8 at the end of Lap 21 before mounting a huge charge over the last four laps on his way to 13 points. I seem to have underestimated his prospects for the season. He seems to be shaving more frequently than in years past. And how nice was it to see young Alex Marquez fighting near the front and enjoying life on a 2022 Ducati. Miller and Binder seem capable of winning somewhere other than Red Bull Ring. And Bezzecchi, heir apparent to Marco Simoncelli, at least in his coiffure, may prove to be the best of the young Italian riders making their way up from Moto2.
Along with the shredding of track records came attrition unseen since the gruesome days of Paul Bird and CRTs. With Pol Espargaro and Enea Bastiannini (fractured shoulder blade) recording DNSs, there were only 20 bikes on the starting grid. Exit Marquez and Oliveira; a thoroughly miserable FDG retired on Lap 11; Martin crashed out on Lap 20 trying like hell to get back in the points; Luca Marini threw it at the scenery on Lap 22, followed by Raul Fernandez on Lap 24, leaving 14 bikes to take the checkered flag. This was great news for the suppurating Franco Morbidelli, who is now assured of scoring at least two (2) points in 2023. No wonder Lin Jarvis looks like he swallowed a fish hook, with Fabio Quartararo having become a second division afterthought and Morbidelli turning green.
The Undercards
Moto3 is back to its usual frenetic self. Today’s race was wicked awesome, with more lead changes than you can count, and seven or eight riders jousting for the win. Sensational sophomores Daniel Holgado, my boy David Munoz and Brazilian teenager Diogo Moreira landed on the podium, celebrating with non-alcoholic magna of the obligatory prosecco.
Moto2 offered, unfortunately, a preview of what could very well be one of the dullest seasons in recent memory, in which Pedro Acosta, KTM’s Next Great Spanish Rider, led Aron Canet on a lonely, fruitless chase all day on his way to the first of what promise to be numerous wins and the 2023 title in advance of his inevitable promotion to MotoGP in 2024. Canet has become the poster child of a racing bridesmaid, with ten second-place finishes and no wins in his career. With Canet, it’s always something, or someone, or two KTM guys, standing between him and success. I can’t help being put off by the extravagant ink on his neck. Call me old-fashioned.
On to Argentina
Back-to-back weekends start the season as the flying circus heads to South America for Round Two. Michele Pirro will undoubtedly fill in for Bastiannini on the factory Ducati. With any luck, we’ll get to see Jonas Folger or Mika Kallio or–be still my heart–Dani Pedrosa subbing for Little Brother on the GasGas entry. We will return on Saturday with Sprint coverage and the usual slanderous blah blah blah.
The first Saturday of the 2023 MotoGP season left me shaking my head in wonder. All-time track records fell like tenpins. Ducati Desmos were casually flexing their muscles all day. HRC has reduced Marc Marquez from the dominant force in the sport to playing the role of the wily veteran, having to rely on tows and wizardry to stay in the chase. Jack Miller appears to have found a home with KTM. And the first ever MotoGP Sprint was frantic, and breathtaking, while sowing seeds of doubt upon its ultimate effect on Sunday racing. In short, there was something for every taste and budget.
Premier class qualifying was as exciting as ever, with four manufacturers ending up on the first two rows. Marquez and homeboy Miguel Oliveira made it out of Q1, with #93 laying down a vapor trail early in his first run, allowing him to ignore the last seven minutes of the session, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. He then spent most of Q2 lollygagging in P12 until a last lap tow from EBas slingshotted him into a new track record and onto pole for the 64th time in his premier class career. Even on the atrocious RC213V, you still don’t want him on your tail late in the game, as we would see again later in the day.
Pecco Bagnaia and Jorge Martin (for whom the Sprints seem to have been specifically designed) filled out the first row. Oliveira, an ecstatic Jack Miller and disgruntled Bastiannini ended up in Row 2. Cole Trickle captured P7 followed by the dangerous VR46 kids. Row four contained a suicidal Fabio Quartararo and two senior citizens, Johann Zarco and Aleix Espargaro. (Pol Espargaro would miss the weekend after getting folded, spindled and mutilated in a bad crash on Friday.) The stage was set for the debut of The Sprint.
Marquez took the hole shot from pole, but was soon swallowed up by Pecco, and Martin, and Oliveira, and Miller, who held the lead for a few seconds on Lap 7. Otherwise, it was mostly Bagnaia and Martin, with the Pramac pilot appearing to hold the upper hand. A five bike lead group became seven around Lap 8 when both Vinales and Espargaro appeared on the scene. Earlier in the race, rookie Augusto Fernandez threw it at the scenery, and Joan Mir Honda-ed himself for not the last time this year, causing Fabio to fall to around P19 on a humbling day for the 2021 world champion. Luca Marini skittled EBas and Marco Bezzecchi took some soil samples, making my fantasy pick of the Mooney team look ridiculous. The plot would thicken for the last three laps.
Bagnaia went through first on Miller, then, on the last lap, on Martin, who had run wide. In between the action, on Lap 11, Oliveira and Miller were enjoying a close encounter when Marquez, who had been keeping his powder dry in P5, ordered up a double, going through on both riders on the way to the podium and seven points, clearly the best overtake of the day. Oliveira got over-excited on the last lap, dropping from P3 to P7, and taking the air out of the crowd. In the end, it was Pecco, Martin and, yup, Marquez on the podium.
The sprint format allows riders the luxury of not having to conserve either fuel or tires, allowing young fast movers like Martin to go balls out and rendering the skills of more experienced rides moot. It places even more emphasis on qualifying than was already the case. It opens up the opportunity for, say, an Enea Bastiannini to get nicked up, harming his prospects for Sunday’s main event. But it IS cool, and bolsters the arguments of some fans who strongly disapprove of the pace-reducing effects of tire and fuel conservation and the always dreadful processions that can occur on Sundays.
Allow me to crow for a moment over the fact that the first four rows this weekend include 12 of my 14 top picks for the season. I’m probably wrong about Miller, Alex Marquez, FDG and Binder; we’ll find out more as the season progresses. Today gave credibility to Simon Crafar’s observation that Italian bikes are likely to dominate 2023. See y’all tomorrow.
Well if you haven’t heard, the MotoGP 1st day fight to determine who’s in Q1 and Q2 tomorrow was a “Thriller”. Jack Miller took fast time in FP2 on his KTM, which frankly is shocking. “The Thriller” has been known to do some amazing things in qualifying and today was no exception. Whether this is a “one lap wonder” or the real deal won’t be determined until the Checkered flag falls tomorrow on the first ever MotoGP Sprint race and the regular race on Sunday. My guess is Jack won’t be in the top 5 in either, but hopefully I’m wrong, because it will add enormous interest to the series.
Second, another surprise, “Top Gun” Maverick Vinales served notice that the Aprilia’s are alive and well to start the 2023 season. He’s always had the speed, we’ll have to see where his head is when the green flag drops. The Aprilia’s proved last year they have the speed to be quick in qualifying AND race distance environments.
Third, defending champ and looking good early to possibly defend, Franco Bagnaia on the first Ducati.
Next, the first of the “Rossi Boys” Luca Marini, I mentioned him multiple times last year and think he’s a title contender in 2023.
Fifth, the always fast Jorge Martin, another Ducati and always a threat to win any MotoGP race. If he keeps the rubber side down an outside chance for a title run.
Sixth, the super talented Fabio Quartuaro on a Yamaha, the lone Japanese bike in the top ten. This weekend should give some serious insight into Yamaha’s “One Man Army’s” chance to possible challenge in 2023. I for one, hope the bike is capable because the rider surely is.
Seventh, Johann Zarco, always good in qualifying should be good in the sprints and hoping he wins his first GP this season.
Eighth, the other “Rossi Boy” Marco Bezzecchi, one pole position a year ago and ready to make some waves in 2023.
Ninth, Aleix Espargaro, putting the second factory Aprilia into Q2. A year ago, a serious title contender until late in the season. If he can have that consistency again, the oldest rider in the field could make a title run, but I think he will need some luck to achieve it.
Tenth, one of my favorites to steal this years title, “The Beast” Enea Bastiannini. With four wins a year ago and constantly hounding Franco Bagnaia late in the season, he certainly has the talent to win the title. However, he will need to be far better in qualifying with the new format because the short sprint races I believe will a have huge impact on the final title standings. Enea is know for his late race charges, but in the Saturday sprint race the charge will have to be immediate and you’ll need a good grid position to collect points.
The whole qualifying scenario takes on a much bigger burden this year because your final qualifying position will determine your grid for the Saturday sprint and full distance Sunday races.
Some other notes Alex Marquez 11th on his first Ducati run. Rough day for the Honda’s 12th, 13th and 14th, Mir, Rins and Marquez in that order with both Mir and Marquez taking soil samples not a good sign. Somebody has to step up in Q1 and try to get a Honda into Q2. Keep an eye on Alex Rins. Sadly, he’s on last years Honda, which we know wasn’t very competitive, but maybe his smooth as glass riding style will help tame that beast as the season unfolds. Sadly, “The Grinder”, Brad Binder way down the time sheets riding with some sort of injury. At any rate, it’s far to early for too much speculation. What we do know is the surprise’s have already started and I think they’ll be more story lines and incredible races this year than any other. Can’t wait until the green flag drops, as you all know that is when the BS stops.
Hey guys, and Allison. This is the code to get you in to our fantasy league for 2023. Put your money where your mouth is and play with us. There is a limit of 40 players. First come, first serve.
Any questions, contact spiff–find him in the comments section of the season preview.
I have no idea how to play, but will figure it out. Kind of like my race coverage.
Late-Braking MotoGP 