Category: Crew On Two

In 2016, it was hard to imagine that ‘silly season’ could get any sillier: Jorge Lorenzo signed for Ducati, Andrea Iannone was dropped in favour of Andrea Dovizioso to accommodate the Spaniard and Aleix Espagaro was dropped by Suzuki to make space for then Moto2 star Alex Rins. Step forward, 2018.

From the beginning, it was going to be bizarre. It all started in January when Movistar Yamaha announced Maverick Vinales for 2019 and 2020, before the 2018 season had even begun. Pramac Ducati got in early, too, by announcing Moto2 title contender, Francesco Bagnaia, as one of their pilots for the next two years, again before 2018 had gotten underway. Later, Danilo Petrucci confirmed that this year would be his last in the Pramac team, as he looked for a factory ride. There was an option for Petrucci at the factory Ducati squad, but was the Borgo Panigale marque really going to let its star Spaniard go in favour of the winless Petrucci? Well, as things went from bad in Qatar to worse in Argentina, to still pretty awful in Texas for Jorge Lorenzo, things started to go Petrucci’s way, and a podium in Le Mans when Lorenzo managed only sixth place only helped the Italian’s case.

But even if Lorenzo was out, would Ducati pick Petrucci over their newly-signed-for-2018 Jack Miller, who had shown good pace and a lot of promise on the Pramac GP17? Maybe they wouldn’t pick any, some thought Andrea Iannone would slot back in alongside Dovizioso after his back-to-back podiums in Texas and Jerez aboard the factory Suzuki which it was clear he would be leaving at the end of the year when Joan Mir came into the equation.

Back to the Lorenzo/Ducati side of things, and a win last weekend in Mugello amidst strong rumours of a return to the Yamaha M1, but in a so far unnamed satellite team, allowed people to consider the possibility of the 99 remaining in Ducati. Lorenzo and Ducati both pretty much categorically denied the chance of him remaining in red next season, just hours after they had finally found the harmony they had been searching for over the last eighteen months. So where would Lorenzo go? And who would replace him?

Well, everything, as I mentioned, was looking to a Yamaha for next year, in a satellite team with Petronas, the Malaysian oil firm, as the backers, and Franco Morbidelli as the teammate. Even things in the factory team seemed to suggest that it was a possibility, with Lorenzo’s old Yamaha crew chief, Ramon Forcada, reportedly being cast out of Maverick Vinales’ crew at the end of the year, or maybe sooner after the Spaniard raised concerns about the working methods inside his side of the Movistar Yamaha garage. Together, Forcada, Lorenzo and the M1 took three MotoGP World Championship titles, and a reunion would surely offer the opportunity for more.

But when HRC announced on Tuesday that Dani Pedrosa would be leaving the Repsol Honda outfit at the end of the season, there was suddenly, seemingly, the combined weight of the universe behind the move of Jorge Lorenzo to replace the number 26 inside the factory Honda team.

Pedrosa leaving Honda was a kind of unsurprising surprise. Dani and Honda had been together for eighteen years, and over those eighteen years it has become increasingly more difficult to see the two parting ways, especially because it is difficult to find someone who could do the job of “Marc Marquez’s number two” as well as Dani Pedrosa, even if his height and weight often work against him. On the other hand, Alberto Puig, who took over as team principal from Livio Suppo over the winter, does not like Dani Pedrosa. In fact, the two dislike each other quite a lot, ever since a falling out a few years ago led Pedrosa to sack Puig as his manager. As a result of Puig’s assumption of a top role in the squad, it has been reported for some months that Pedrosa would be out of Honda at the end of the year, and so it has come to be.

And so it has come to be that Jorge Lorenzo will replace him. It’s a bizarre move, and one that many might have dreamed of, but few actually believed would ever happen. Lorenzo has struggled for one-and-a-half years on the Ducati, trying to get it to work for his super-smooth, very efficient and quite laid back riding style. He finally achieved that in Mugello, but the widely accepted assumption of MotoGP is that Jorge Lorenzo could not win on a Honda. Whilst the Desmosedici simply won’t turn, the Honda will try to dismember the pilot should they disobey a direct order. Even the immense ability of Marc Marquez struggles to tame the RC213V at times, and you only have to take a look at the size and shape of Marquez to understand the physicality involved in riding the Honda to its limits.

One thing you might say Jorge Lorenzo does not have is vast amounts of physical strength, especially not in the upper body. Jack Miller has commented that he has lost a lot of weight from his upper body this year because, where he was steering the Honda with his arms, he is making the Ducati work with his legs. This would be a big change for Lorenzo, who has moved from the least physically demanding bike on the grid, to one which is still comparatively non-physical compared to the Honda – and Lorenzo is not known for high intensity training regimes.

Even if the physicality of the RCV proves to be little, if any, barrier to Lorenzo’s success, there are three other major factors which could prove problematic in this move for the Spaniard.

The first is the bike’s characteristic. Apart from being by far the most physical bike on the grid to ride, even this year where it has improved a lot, the Honda has another big characteristic which many assume will hinder Lorenzo. The bike likes to stop, and then it likes to go. Marc Marquez has made all of his time up, since he came to MotoGP, on the brakes, and this only increased in 2015, ‘16 and ‘17 when he had a motor which would not accelerate. He couldn’t get onto the straight fast, so he had to get off it fast. In 2015, this cost him the championship because he crashed too much trying to make up time on the brakes. In the years since, Marquez has worked out when it is necessary to push the limit on the front, and when it is not; when he can, and when he can’t. In comparison, Dani Pedrosa does not push the limit of the front on every single corner, on every single lap, because he does not have the confidence to do so, and instead of leading the championship  by twenty-three points after six rounds having scored three wins and a further podium [which Marquez his team mate is], Pedrosa has scored no podiums, and no wins this season. Pushing the front on the Honda is crucial – if you cannot do that then you will struggle to win. Jorge Lorenzo does not like to push the front in the braking zone to get the bike stopped, turned, and then fired out; he likes to roll through the corners in that wonderful 250 style of his with high apex speed and a lot of momentum.

Since the Ducati does not like to turn, Lorenzo has had to adapt his style into something more similar to that of a typical MotoGP rider, running higher entry speed and stopping the bike more in the middle of the corner. But he has been able to do that with Ducati because the bike has good braking stability, something the Honda does not have. You can see this with Marquez, who, whilst winning races, is sliding the front tyre into every corner, still trying to make up time on the brakes, but skating the tyre in such a way that it makes the bike turn. He is on the verge of crashing in every corner, but he knows how to avoid it. If Jorge is to win on the Honda, it might be the case that he has to learn the same lessons as Marc, that he has to learn how to be on the limit with the front in every braking zone to make lap time. Given how difficult it has been for the Mallorcan to adapt to the Ducati, it is hard to see this happening, but it is not impossible.

Of course, there is one obvious way for Jorge to not have to ride the bike like Marc. That way is to make the bike his, or make the bike like a Yamaha, essentially. There is little reason to suggest he will be able to do this, but there is the theory that Marc Marquez is not such a dab hand at developing a motorcycle and, well, he’s only been in Grands Prix since 2008 and MotoGP since 2013 – he is 25-years-old, so who can blame him for not being a great development rider? Anyway, together with this is the letting go of Pedrosa by Honda, which leaves the hole of a development rider to be filled, assuming that that was one of Dani’s roles in the team. Honda’s other choices for this role were Joan Mir, a Moto2 rider; and Andrea Iannone, who tends to crash a bit and does not give the impression of someone who is a development expert. Lorenzo, therefore, fits the bill fairly nicely. This creates a problem for Honda, though, at least in the relatively short-term. If Jorge Lorenzo is given the job of developing the motorcycle, he will turn it into an M1, which will be something opposite to what Marc Marquez wants. Marquez wants, is pretty much, what he has currently: something which he can fire into a corner, and which is ready to fire him out of said corner when he is ready. Lorenzo wants what he had at Yamaha, something which has reasonable power, reasonable acceleration, reasonable braking stability, but most importantly has an amazing chassis which can roll through a corner with little weight on the front tyre whilst holding high corner speed and a lot of lean angle. Now, the major obstacle of making Jorge’s dream a reality in Ducati has been that the bike, for millennia, has not turned, not at all. In Honda, the obstacle is a different one.

The obstacle in Honda is not that the bike turns, but that it turns violently. This violence is what Lorenzo would need to cure to make the RC213V his own. But the things which make it violent are the things which allow Marquez to be so fast, such as the incredibly short wheelbase which allows for very good, quick, rotation in the middle of the corner.

So herein is the problem for Honda: listen to Jorge and develop the RC2(50cc)13V, or listen to Marquez and potentially end up in the same hole they have just dug themselves out of. Baring in mind that a middle ground wouldn’t really work for anyone, somebody will be disappointed.

That somebody will likely be Lorenzo, which is problem number two. Marc is Honda’s golden boy, and well he might be, with four titles in the last five seasons, two of which have been on subpar machinery. Why would Honda listen to Lorenzo over Marquez for development direction? To go down the path of supporting Jorge fully would mean an almost 180-degree switch in design philosophies, whereas continuing to support Marc would lead to (pretty much) guaranteed titles and little-to-no change in design philosophy. Either way, on the face of it the decision for Honda is a difficult one, especially because of how much they are likely to be paying Lorenzo.

However, there is the another way to look at this signing by HRC; as merely a tactical one, in that they are taking away one rival from Marc Marquez. Honda are not stupid, they know that on an M1, Lorenzo can fight for the title, but Lorenzo on an RC213V is an unknown quantity, and likely a weaker one than the alternative (Lorenzo with Yamaha). So, maybe Honda were just trying to make the next two World Championships just a little bit easier for Marquez to win – although anyone who discounts Maverick Vinales, Valentino Rossi or Andrea Dovizioso is asking to be made a fool. With better luck Dovi could have just be nine points behind Marc, Maverick Vinales proved at the beginning of last season that he has the potential, when the bike is working how he wants it to, to dominate the field, and over the last twenty three years one lesson which has been learnt is that Valentino Rossi will always be in the mix, last Sunday was a prime example of that.

The third major problem for Lorenzo is that he will have to beat Marc Marquez on equal machinery. That has only happened a handful of times, and by people either better suited to the Honda or more accustomed to its behaviour. Whichever way you look at it, this is a huge risk for Lorenzo, but if he pulls it off he will leave fans with no choice but to accept him as one of the greatest motorcycle racers of all time.

Of course, Lorenzo’s departure indeed left a gap to be filled at Ducati. They chose Danilo Petrucci, the safe bet. Petrux(Petrucci) has been riding the Desmosedici since 2015, and is well attuned to it, and to the factory. Miller was an option, but remaining inside the vibrant, relaxed atmosphere of the Pramac team next year on factory-spec machinery should give the Aussie the platform he needs to prove why he deserves to be in the factory team from 2020. It is also worth pointing out that Petrucci’s deal is only for one year, so Miller heading to the factory squad in 2020 is definitely a possibility. In the meantime, though, you have to hand it to Petrucci – if you had said to someone in the paddock back in 2012 when Petrucci was at the back of the grid on the Ioda-Suter CRT bike, having come from European Superstock straight to MotoGP, that he will be riding a factory Ducati in seven years’ time you would have been laughed out of meaning, but Danilo has put the work in, especially since he was picked up by Pramac in 2015, and got his just rewards. He has been fortunate, too, because if he didn’t get the Ducati ride, he would have been fighting against Iannone for the second slot at Aprilia. And, of course, there is no reason to assume that Jack Miller is as good as guaranteed already for the 2020 factory Ducati seat, Petrucci has been signed because Ducati think he can do a job involving winning races and, presumably, fighting for the championship. He will have the personnel next year to go with the machinery to allow him to achieve those targets, then he just has to do it.

So, what about Suzuki? Well, this is where it gets tricky. Dani Pedrosa is available, and they have one bike left, with Rins signed for the next two seasons already. They have one option other than Pedrosa, and it is widely accepted that they have taken this option, and that is Joan Mir. It is hard to believe that Suzuki would turn down Pedrosa in favour of Mir when they already have one young talent in the shape of Rins, who has already started to give them results, much as Maverick Vinales did in 2016. But Rins cannot be expected to be a team leader, surely, he will be only in his third season in the premier class, and let’s remember that Rins’ first season in MotoGP was plagued, in the first part, by injury. Adding Mir to the team will make it very hard to develop the bike, and they could find themselves getting lost next year, especially if they have no concessions, which, judging by the pace they’ve shown so far this season, they won’t have. On the plus side (if they have done or do sign Mir), any success is heightened as a result of lowered expectations and anything disappointing can be cast aside with the affirmation that their riders are inexperienced as well as the bike’s infantility.

So, with Mir almost certainly in Suzuki, that leaves Pedrosa with either: the second Tech3 KTM ride, the second Aprilia ride, a satellite Ducati or one of the satellite Yamahas. Apart from it doesn’t, because Hafizh Syahrin has been confirmed to be staying with Tech3 for their switch to KTM next season, so that door is firmly shut. Next, Aprilia. Again, unlikely, because Andrea Iannone looks a shoe in for this ride, which is a confusing one, somewhat, but we’ll discuss that later. A satellite Ducati? This is Dani Pedrosa, he doesn’t need to be battling for fifteenth. So, a satellite Yamaha it is, then, right? Well, maybe not. Apart from Pedrosa’s presumed loyalty to Honda potentially getting in the way of him moving to Yamaha, there is one other, pretty major, factor: there are no satellite Yamahas. As yet, the Iwata factory have not signed anyone to field the third and fourth M1s for next season, which is a little bit important – if there are no bikes you can’t ride them. The cut-off for Yamaha to sort out whoever is going to field their satellite bikes, if anyone, for 2019 is the end of June. Pedrosa announced that he will give further updates on his future in Barcelona. So, if Dani Pedrosa starts talking in the Montmelo press conference before anything about satellite Yamahas has been mentioned, expect to be saying goodbye to the ‘little samurai’ in Valencia this November.

Back to the Iannone to Aprilia situation; it is confusing, Why? Well in part, it is confusing because Aprilia have complained that Aleix Espargaro is not a good development rider because he does one hot lap, gritting his teeth, and then doesn’t understand how he went so fast, whereas their current second rider, Scott Redding, provides good information but they can’t do anything with it because they have no money and no resources. Furthermore, they have already signed Espargaro for 2019 and 2020, meaning it’s Scott Redding against Andrea Iannone, realistically, for that second seat. The factory favour Iannone, mostly because he looks a lot faster right now than Scott Redding, but like Aleix, Andrea is perhaps not the greatest development rider. It could be a dangerous path which Aprilia are venturing down. But the move would be a little bit weird for one other,  for a very simple reason: Iannone deserves better than Aprilia. Admittedly, he did himself no favours by only half-arsing most of last season, but he has proven this year that when he is comfortable with the bike he can be incredibly fast – it is a shame he gave Suzuki a reason to sack him. Equally, we saw in his Ducati years that when he is in an Italian team, Iannone can flourish, so perhaps this could work well for The Maniac. Of course, it is yet to be confirmed, but it is likely to happen.

If it does, and Mir is confirmed in Suzuki like the majority of people expect, that is all of the factory seats done and dusted. What then is left is the two Angel Nieto Team bikes, the second Avintia Ducati – Xavier Simeon already has a contract with them for next year- and the two Marc VDS bikes, or whatever they become next year.

And if Iannone does go to Suzuki, Redding will most likely be off to World Superbike. His fellow Brit, Bradley Smith, will probably retire, because he doesn’t want to go to World Superbike and there does not seem to be much interest in him from any of the MotoGP teams with seats left available. Franco Morbidelli’s future is uncertain thanks to the instability currently engulfing the Marc VDS team, but if satellite Yamahas become available there will likely be a big push to get the reigning Moto2 World Champion aboard one of them. Karel Abraham and Alvaro Bautista are both supposedly in talks with World Superbike teams, although the recent form of Bautista (three top tens in the last three races) may have helped to secure his Grand Prix future. Tito Rabat has had a great year so far, and it would be a surprise (and a shame) to see him dropped from Avintia. But, in addition, the current form of Lorenzo Baldassarri in Moto2, could well be catching the attention of some MotoGP teams and, again, if the satellite Yamahas become available expect a big push from VR46 to get their man aboard one of them.

There is still a reasonable amount to be decided for next year yet but the revelations of the week following the Italian Grand Prix have brought all-new levels of intrigue and anticipation for 2019.

In 2016, Dorna’s vision was realised, where unified ECU software regulations were implemented in the MotoGP World Championship. The regulations had the desired effect, closing up the pack and making the field more competitive than ever before. The last two seasons, 2016 and 2017, have been incredible. Ten different race winners in 2016, followed by a final round championship decider in 2017 spoiled us MotoGP fans,  but this year we are paying the price.

But that is not anyone’s fault. Whilst Marc Marquez won the last two World Championships, he did not dominate them – at least not in terms of pace. There was no big speed or pace advantage that the Spaniard enjoyed for most of the season, like 2014 for example. But, in 2018, that has changed, because for the first time since that ridiculous 2014 season, Honda have built a motorcycle that does not have a major disadvantage. In fact, it is possible to say that, this season, the Honda is the best bike on the grid. Since 2015, the RC213V struggled with acceleration, initially because the engine was purely too aggressive, but then, when the unified software was introduced, it was marrying that motor with the Magneti Marelli ECU which proved the downfall of HRC. A big change came for 2017, though, when Honda switched from a ‘screamer’ to a ‘big bang’ engine, moving in line with the rest of the grid. The comparative smoothness of the big bang compared to the old screamer engine, which Honda was able to use in the past because their in-house electronics system was so sophisticated, meant that it was much more controllable for the ECU, which negated much of their disadvantage in acceleration from the past two seasons, but it was still apparent. One year on, and the acceleration deficit has almost entirely disappeared. Aside from Austin, where Cal Crutchlow complained about acceleration, and Jerez when Dani Pedrosa had similar issues, ‘acceleration’ has not been a prominent word in the 2018 vocabulary of the factory Honda riders. That has led to one thing: Marc Marquez domination.

From the moment Qatar ended, it was clear that the Spaniard was going to be hard to beat this season, and his pace in Argentina and Texas was simply frightening. But the two continental American rounds were somewhat insignificant, because Marquez is always fast at those two circuits. But, Qatar remained a worrying event for the rest of the field; Marquez had not been on the podium in Qatar since he won back in 2014, so to be less than one tenth of a second off the victory was something of a warning shot from the reigning champion to his rivals. That was born out in Jerez, where he took a commanding victory at a circuit where, again he hadn’t won since 2014. Le Mans became something of a final hope for the championship, especially with the non-score of Andrea Dovizioso in Jerez. Le Mans was another circuit where Marquez had not won since 2014 – he had struggled a lot post 2015. It was the chance for his rivals to hit back.

However, from Friday it became clear that it would not be the same as the past for Marquez, finishing FP2 on Friday in second place, just 0.168 seconds of Andrea Dovizioso despite setting his fastest time of the session on the hard rear tyre. And, whilst Dovi showed promising long run pace in FP4 on Saturday, the pace of Marquez on the hard rear tyre in warm up on Sunday morning was worrying ahead of the race. But, as you might expect, with the hard rear tyre Marquez suffered with temperature in the early laps of the race, and dropped a few positions at the start. As soon as he passed Danilo Petrucci, though, for fifth place, he jumped straight onto the back of the leading trio of Jorge Lorenzo, Johann Zarco and Dovizioso. Dovi knew the score, and he moved past Zarco and Lorenzo quickly, but just as quickly, he folded the front at La Chapelle; Dovi just got in there, too hot trying to make as much of a gap as he could before Marquez got through Zarco and Lorenzo behind. Unfortunately for Dovi, it was too much and it has probably ended his championship chances. But Marquez quickly got through Zarco and Lorenzo, helped by a crash for the Frenchman[Zarco], but by this point Danilo Petrucci had caught the leaders with Valentino Rossi in tow. Petrux was soon past Lorenzo, partly because he was after Marquez but also because he wanted to put a little bit more of his authority on the second 2019 factory Ducati contract. Rossi moved through on Lorenzo too, a lap later, and still had his sights set on Petrucci, though he knew Marquez was too far. That was the end of the action at the front.

From there on, Marquez kept Petrucci at a safe distance, Petrucci managed the gap to Rossi until the Yamaha rider had a couple of bad laps which cost him some time, after which Petrucci let Marquez go completely to conserve his second place. But the most important, of course, was the win of Marquez. The race had a real 2014 feel to it, with an explosive start after which Marc had to recover, and then a dull second half where the highlight was a, now, relatively routine save for the number 93 at turn three. This is worrying. We have had three years where Marquez has either not won the championship, or not won it with ease but 2018 seems different. Now Honda have sorted out the RCV, the reigning champion is reminding us of the reality, and in devastating fashion.

Already thirty six points clear of Maverick Vinales, the championship fight is over. You could say that this is a negative perspective to have, but, be honest, can you see anyone being able to claw back the deficit they already have? Vinales is 36 points back, and he just finished seventh; Zarco is 37 back and on a satellite bike; Rossi is 38 points adrift but bad results await the Italian in the next races and Andrea Dovizioso, who was the main threat to Marquez coming into this season is already nearly two wins back in the standings. Now, you can say that good tracks are coming for Ducati, but even if Dovi wins many races in the remaining part of the year, realistically he is going to need Marc to make mistakes, and in races Marc does not make mistakes, generally. So, essentially, without a major anomaly, Marquez has the championship won.

The next question is: can anyone beat him in the remainder of the season? Maybe Danilo Petrucci could. He finished second yesterday, with an outstanding ride. It is debatable how much Marquez was pushing after he extended his lead, but nevertheless, Petrucci kept Marquez within reasonable range for the majority of the race, which, as was proved in Jerez and Austin, is not an easy task. Furthermore, Petrucci took the points neither Dovi nor Lorenzo could pick up for Ducati. When the pressure has been put on Danilo, when contract season has arrived, Petrux has turned up, and he is making it difficult for Ducati to let him go. Mugello is next, and it was third place for Petrucci last year and after this result, he will be full of confidence that he can take the top step this time round.

The third place of Rossi came as a surprise. He lucked into fifth two weeks ago in Jerez, and it was a similar case this weekend. However, unlike in Jerez, it was individual mistakes that gave Rossi the podium in Le Mans. It has to be said that he deserved the podium, the weekend had gone in a similar vein to Jerez, although not as extreme, for the Movistar Yamaha team. They were fast in the cool temperatures of the morning, but in the afternoon they struggled. This was highlighted on Saturday, when they were first and third in FP3 in the morning, but only managed eighth and ninth on the grid. Modifications made in warm up on Sunday morning proved a success for the number 46 and they gave him the grip and acceleration gains required to allow him to fight. But the problems for Yamaha are not over, not nearly, and Rossi was under no illusion about the struggles he and the Movistar Yamaha team are going to face in the next races, but he will hope the test in Barcelona this week will help them continue the progress.

Maverick Vinales will be hoping for progress, too, after his seventh place in Le Mans. He is second in the championship after the French Grand Prix, but nobody really knows how. The Spaniard has finished fifth, fifth, second, seventh and seventh, so his current standing is a surprise to everyone. The problem in Le Mans was the same as usual for Maverick: a poor qualifying followed by a poor start and average pace on a full tank limiting the damage he could do at the end of the race to nothing. The frustration is that at the end of the race he is always fast, he and his team just need to find a way to make him comfortable on a full fuel load, and that has to be their focus in Barcelona for the test. The fourth place of Jack Miller in France was the result of a stunning ride. He ended the race just six seconds behind Marquez, one second behind Rossi and, importantly, two positions and four seconds ahead of Lorenzo on the factory bike. As Petrucci, Miller is making it difficult for Ducati to turn him away from the factory seat for next year. Furthermore, Miller reckoned that with an extra lap or two he could have passed Rossi for the final podium spot. Unfortunately, Jack made a couple of mistakes and they ultimately cost him, but for sure he will be wishing the organisers did not shorten the race by one lap for this year. Dani Pedrosa took fifth place in France. He put a move on Jorge Lorenzo for that fifth position which was very similar to the one which he tried in Jerez, which resulted in him colliding with Lorenzo and high siding. This time it was more successful for the number 26, though, and he made the move as clean as you like. He will be hoping for improvements in the future, but right now Dani just needs to find some consistency after a disrupted start to the season.

There was no positivity for Jorge Lorenzo, though. He started the race well, leading nine laps, but after he was passed, he collapsed, falling to sixth by the end of the race. Lorenzo blamed ergonomics of the Ducati GP18, saying that the fuel tank doesn’t offer him sufficient support in braking, which leaves him too tired by the end of the race. Being beaten by both Pramac rider won’t help his chances of staying in Ducati in 2019, but with his favourite track up next, Mugello, he could redeem himself at the Italian Grand Prix.

Cal Crutchlow spent the night in hospital on Saturday after his high side in Q1 at Garage Vert. He had blood in his lungs, and several other internal injuries, but just six hours after he was discharged from hospital he was on the grid and he finished eighth, just two seconds from last year’s winner, Vinales. Before Mugello it will be important for Cal to recover, especially for a circuit which is so physical, with many changes of direction. Ninth place went to Aleix Espargaro, who will have just been happy to finish after such a difficult start to the season. It was a good finish, too, ahead of Alex Rins on the factory Suzuki who rounded out the top ten, and the finish was just as important for Alex as Aleix, as the number 42 had also only had one finish from the opening four races. The pair will hope that from now they can build some consistency into their seasons, although there is nothing to lose for either of them, as they both have contracts for next year to stay put in their respective teams.

Pol Espargaro took KTM’s best finish of the season in eleventh place, and the result showed the progress KTM have made since Le Mans last year, as their race time was 20 seconds faster than 12 months ago. Hafizh Syahrin took twelfth place as he returned to more regular form after a difficult Jerez where he suffered with injury. Thirteenth went to Franco Morbidelli, who was running

as high as ninth before his tyre let go. The final result is not what he will have been after, but the weekend shows continued progress for the reigning Moto2 World Champion. Bradley Smith and Takaaki Nakagami rounded out the points, and fifteenth will be a welcome result for Taka, after an injury sustained on Friday. Andrea Iannone’s slim Suzuki chances for 2019 perhaps went up in smoke on Sunday when he crashed at La Chapelle on lap one. The next lap Iannone was joined on the side lines on the next lap by Alvaro Bautista, who felt he had the potential for a top ten, and then Dovizioso two laps later. Zarco fell with 19 laps to go, and the final fallers came on lap ten when Scott Redding and Tito Rabat fell.

A race which started with a stunning double overtake from Johann Zarco in turn three and turned into a fairly dull affair has potentially decided the championship. There are still fourteen races to go, but the worrying thing is that they could all follow the same path. The 2018 MotoGP field is perhaps the most competitive in years, but it is at risk of producing one of the most predictable seasons. Maybe something will change when the paddock arrives in the home of the Italian Grand Prix in Mugello in two weeks time.

 

Featured Image courtesy of Hondanews.eu