Cycle News In The Paddock
COLUMN
Marc and The Omens of Doom
One race isn’t enough to predict a whole season. But the Thai GP was certainly ominous. The most obvious omen that putting the world’s best rider on the world’s best bike in the world’s best team would only have one outcome.
Marc underlined this script with pole position and two assured wins, in both half-distance Sprint and Sunday’s main race. During the latter, he even had time to slow down and let his younger brother Alex past for a spell—ostensibly so he could warm his tire up (as if 50°C track temperature were not enough), but to the cynical, it was just to show how easy he was finding it.
Unlike the previous “world’s best” Rossi, who would have done it to make the show better.
“He was playing with us,” said new factory Ducati teammate Pecco Bagnaia, who managed to remain rather implausibly cheerful, at least most of the time in front of the cameras. Although the glumness showed in the post-race press conference, where Marc and second-placed Alex hogged the limelight.
Pecco’s support crutch was the assertion that he had missed some of the finer nuances of the revised, if not actually new, bike in preseason testing, while Marc had not. “We found a good setup on Friday,” he said. By then, he was already behind, but from now he can work on getting better.
Trouble is, so can Marc. And in any case, Bagnaia has to find a way to beat Alex as well, on the satellite Gresini bike. Alex has made a clear leap into his comfort zone switching to the GP24, basically the same as the so-called GP25.
Things can change, of course. These are humans, and even Marc can fall prey to human error. Pecco is right not to abandon hope just yet.
Almost everybody else, however, should probably do so.
Defending champion Jorge Martin definitely so, thanks to double—even triple misfortune—the first being the decision to turn his back on Ducati to join Aprilia.
The other two were plain and simple: Getting hurt. First, at the Sepang test, possibly a bit overkeen to get going on his new bike—he suffered relatively minor albeit potentially troublesome right-hand fractures. The second was more serious and, again, overly headstrong. He crashed heavily on a supermotard, checking to see if his newly screwed injuries would be up to the job of racing at round one. This time he smashed his left wrist—not just the radius bone but also some of the small and slow-to-heal carpal bones, which include the troublesome scaphoid.
Luckless Jorge could be out until the start of the European season in late April, missing perhaps four races, which would really scupper any slender hopes.
This is especially discouraging since there are signs that the latest Aprilia, after a hefty program of improvement, has, in fact, improved. And bear in mind it was the only bike other than a Ducati to win any races last year. Not only did new teamster Marco Bezzecchi top the Thai tests, but he was also sixth on Sunday.
More significant still was Aprilia satellite-team rookie Ai Ogura, fresh from winning an assured Moto2 title. First time out on a MotoGP bike, the ice-cool Japanese stunned everybody, finishing fourth in the Sprint and fifth on Sunday, when he was less than 7.5 seconds behind the winner. The much more experienced Bezzecchi was sixth, another 7.5 seconds away.
There was little encouragement for the KTM gang, simply off the pace, with Pedro Acosta crashing twice on Sunday trying to regain his former status as “the next Marquez.” No joy either for a well-distant Maverick Vinales, who joined the fiscally beleaguered Austrian brand in the hope of becoming the first in history to win on four different marques. Looks like a tough job.
The most cheerful, for a change, were the Japanese teams, especially Honda, whose engine and aero improvements appear to have borne fruit. Joan Mir was up to seventh before crashing out, and Johann Zarco inherited the position.
Just one track, with its own peculiarities—including a flat layout, plus hard braking and acceleration. The forthcoming Argentine and U.S. tracks may change things. But only behind Marc.
Still, nobody could resent it after all he’s been through. Seldom has “Welcome Back” been such a welcome call.
Footnote: Of course, Marc really did need to heat his front tire, as the front-tire pressure problem lingers on to spoil the racing: among other riders, Marc has already suffered—dropped from fourth to 10th at Assen when a similar “After you, Claude,” move failed. Michelin has had years to make a tire to cope with the added stress of aero downforce but continues to make excuses instead. From 2027, Pirelli will take over as control tire supplier. Will they do better? CN
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