Three days late and a dollar short
In the early summer of 2024 I find myself almost completely incapable of penning my usual drivel about my favorite motorsport on Earth. I have bought a house and need to sell a house and am trying to cope with 50 years of accumulated memories and cargo. Not having moved for 40 of those years has been a blessing, but the chickens are coming home to roost these days. The players at this stage of the drama include two banks, the movers, an estate auction company, a ten-yard dumpster and a sizeable cleaning crew. On deck: a real estate agent and the drama surrounding the disposal of the childhood home of my three girls. My late wife is in heaven second-guessing my every move and cluck-clucking at my decisions regarding what gets moved, sold or thrown away. This process has become a vivid reminder that one should borrow books from the library rather than purchasing them; they have become their own problem. How does one throw away a book, for God’s sake?
Attendant issues, more of an annoyance than anything, include replacing appliances, arranging new internet service (OMG Comcast!), utility service at both homes, change of address notifications X 100, dealing with the BMV.
Piled on top of this are some troubling health issues, the aftermath of a stroke a month ago and some fairly clear signs that the cancer which was removed from my body in 2022, along with my pancreas, has found its way back. I will get confirmation of this in a week, almost assuredly without any kind of useful prognosis. The decision whether to replace the floors in the new house has more to do with the likely amortization schedule than the aesthetics.
In France last weekend it was, once again, the Jorge Martin show. New all-time track record, pole, Sprint win, Sunday win. Marc Marquez acquitted himself quite well in both races, starting from P13 and finishing in P2. Pecco had a disappointing weekend, retiring with a mechanical on Saturday and getting stood up by Marquez very late on Sunday, giving up P2 in the process. If I were Gigi Dall’Igna I would put Martin and Bagnaia on the factory team next year and Marquez and Bastianini on the Pramac team with factory bikes and damn the extra expense of four GP25s. If one of them has to step down it is likely to be EBas, which would not really be fair but c’est la guerre.
I really don’t have much to say about any of the other riders, teams or manufacturers. The exception is Pedro, who is rapidly coming into his own. But whether we like it or not, it must be said that the KTM is still not on the same level as the Ducs except at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg which is where, I would be happy to wager, young Acosta will get his first win. And I think the writing is on the wall for Aleix and, perhaps, Zarco as well.
My fantasy team is doing quite well. I’m planning to use my next boost in Germany. And for those of you–I’m talking to you, Kevin–anxious for some tranches, I’m still working things out.
Late-Braking MotoGP 