Today’s MotoGP race at Jerez was the best I’d seen ages. After a year of so-so races which promised much but often failed to deliver, including the wet ones, this race was a return to old form – and dare I say even more dramatic than some Rossi-inspired classics we’ve seen in the past.
The race had everything. A damp slippery track; a legend starting in the middle of the field who immediately set about picking off 3 or 4 rivals per lap; a pair of World Champions riding off into the sunset in the early running, before being pulled in by the rookie on the privateer bike.. who subsequently fell off; the legend coming together with one of the past champs and only one surviving to continue, seemingly at the whim of the local marshals; nobody being able to hold on to 2nd or 3rd without finding some form of drama.
Amazing. You should watch this race. Make it a priority. Even if you aren’t usually a MotoGP fan: Watch This Race.
It is easy to claim the season will be a great one after a race like this when in fact it is an oddity, a one-off, but this time I think it is true. Obviously they won’t all be as dramatic as this one. They won’t be as boring as the races last year, either. We saw the potential in Qatar. Honda are the team to beat but they are beatable, Rossi and Ducati are coming together nicely, the Yamahas have a decent enough pace, and Simoncelli looks likely to mix it with the factory boys often.
We could see plenty of really good battles this season. Could MotoGP regain a lost crown and once more claim to have the best wheel-to-wheel action in the world? I think it can and will.
I Watch Too Much Racing 
It was an action packed race but I am not sure that Rossi and the Ducati are coming together. The bike looked evil with all its wobbling but I think the wet meant Rossi could make up for its shortfalls more than he could in dry conditions.
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Between needing to pick MotoGP riders for the TMR game, hearing much about MotoGP from you, Dylan at Triple League Racing and others, and there being no other racing on all weekend that I wanted to catch (other than the V8 Supercars race, which wasn’t on until later in the day, so I’ll catch that on the TiVo when I have time), I actually caught the Jerez race. It was only my second MotoGP race after I watched Indy last year, since Varsha and crew were doing the race in the interests of the Spiesmania that has hit dozens of Americans, but I was impressed enough yesterday to promptly program the TiVo to catch a full season pass of MotoGP.
Everything was there, like you say. In fact, if there was one problem, it was that TOO much happened. For instance, since so much was going on in the closing laps, we barely got to see any of Rossi’s march from 14th up to 5th, though he was aided by guys falling off of their bikes or the track in general. It was just simply too much action to be packed into a 60 minute broadcast. Anyway, that was a great race, and I hope it bodes well for the rest of the season.
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Steven, I think they are getting there slowly. Yes, this was mostly Rossi showing his racecraft once again, I don’t think he’ll be languishing in the midfield for long in the dry races though. He’ll be winning on merit well before the end of the year.
Andy, glad you got to see it. Whilst they don’t all have this level of action, the best thing about MotoGP is it can spontaneously happen nearly anywhere! I hope we’re in for a classic year, it could be a good time to start watching. And with 45 minutes of racing with a bit of pre and post race, it doesn’t take up the entire day.
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Pat,
Totally agree, it was a wicked race. I was getting bored of MotoGP last year, but with so many strong contenders and Rossi on a sub-optimal bike, I think we are in for some great racing this year!
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