By Bruce Allen
Lots of conversation amongst you motorheads about watching the races, TV vs. the Dorna video feed and so forth. The only race I’ve ever watched on TV was the 2008 classic at Laguna Seca, where Rossi out-raced Casey Stoner, eventually putting his dick in the dirt. I remember this one, because my write-up of that race earned me the lofty title of MotoGP correspondent at Motorcycle.com for the next 10 or 12 years. I was unaware that it was one of the most exciting races in MotoGP history. I remember not appreciating the TV commercial breaks and thought the announcers were new at their jobs, too.
Fourteen years later, I’m starting to get this sport figured out. I’ve purchased the video feed during the entire period and have never regretted doing so. There’s so much more content available on it–all four classes (counting e-bikes), practice sessions (where FP3 is occasionally more interesting than the race itself.) Moto3 is usually the best race on Sunday. Then there are the announcers.
I can’t speak to the TV announcers, but am happy to talk a little bit about the crew on the video feed. I’ve always been a fan of Matt Birt, even though he jocks the sport way too hard, in my opinion. He often describes a win as “a famous victory,” which is a hoot, given the fact that MotoGP is a parlor game in the world of sports. Famous wins take place around the world in soccer and in the three or four major sports in the U.S.
For 2022, color man Steve Day has been relieved of his duties for this season, replaced by the obscure but capable Lewis Suddaby. One thing I won’t miss about Mr. Day is the incessant high-pitched shrieking he brought to every overtake in every race, raising my hackles. Appearance-wise, he reminded me of Flounder in Animal House (“You f**cked up, Flounder. You trusted us.”) Then there’s Simon Crafar, the former rider stationed in the pits.
Opinions on Simon’s skill set vary widely. Having been a rider, he can and does provide useful insights as to what’s happening on the track. This part of his job he does very well. But no one can argue that his interviewing skills are non-existent. He seems incapable of framing good questions for the guys he interviews, and doesn’t appear to be at all familiar with what are generally referred to as “follow-up questions.” It appears he also doesn’t do his homework and comes unprepared for the interviews. Most of the time, he flails around making a comment about the subject at hand, appears to give up, and asks the interviewee, “So, what did you think?” or something equally inane. “What do you think?” “What are you thinking?” Here he is, supremely qualified to pose technical questions to riders and team bosses, and he consistently drops the ball, going instead with his dopey question, as if he’s taking a survey.
For those of you either too cheap or insufficiently interested to spend $125 on the feed–which works out to about $6 per round–I’ve posted the TV schedule for the entire season. You will notice that most of the races are tape-delayed, meaning you will often know the outcome of the race before it is shown. If that works for you, be my guest. Spend your $6 on a large frappuccino with an extra shot, heavy on the whipped cream. Enjoy the commercials and the lightweight commentary. And don’t worry about taking part in the conversations about Moto2 and Moto3, (I suppose you could visit Crash.net to find out what happened in the lightweight and intermediate classes. If that’s the case, prepare to get flamed by guys like OldMoron and Starmag for bringing opinions similar to the North Platte River in Nebraska–a mile wide and an inch deep.)
Let’s discuss.
Late-Braking MotoGP 