On Track Off Road Magazine: Recent Episodes
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Examining the 2023 MotoGP paradox, tapping into Grand Prix’s next generational talent with Pedro Acosta and asking what drives Joan Mir. Plus columns and ace photography
MXGP content galore: Gajser, Renaux, Geerts, Kawasaki, the new Fly Racing Formula S, loads of photos and reactions from the 2023 Swedish Grand Prix
MXGP material with three brand new columns on Grand Prix and the AMA Pro Nationals plus a look at electronics in MXGP 2023, chats with Ben Watson and Glenn Coldenhoff and fresh wares from Fly Racing, Scott Sports and Leatt
In this June magazine instalment: Unmissable MotoGP columns, an Aleix Espargaro exclusive interview, discovering the new R10 helmet and looking back at the ’23 TT
Beta confirmed for AMA Supercross, Triumph spotted testing with their new 250, so what's the latest with Ducati and their motocross plans?
Speaking with Hunter Lawrence and Lars Lindstrom on what it takes to hover at the peak of AMA motocross and supercross as well as ruminating on Ken Roczen’s status in our latest columns
Pecco Bagnaia, the final MotoGP of the year, tapping into Brad Binder, 2023 testing, riding KTM’s RC390 and more
Columns & perspective from the penultimate round of MotoGP, talking and listening to Luca Marini (the new sage of the series), finding out about motorcycles in China and more inside
Talking with Jago Geerts on his 2022 near-miss, Marvin Musquin on rolling back the years with the 250 and still going for glory in 2023, an 'intro' to Jo Shimoda as well as columns on the '23 MXGP calendar & the World SX opener in Wales
Speaking to the Moto3 and Moto2 championship leaders, roving eyes on Ducati, the 2023 MotoGP plan and more inside the first magazine instalment of the month
Jack Miller flew to his best MotoGP performance at Motegi, and Neil Morrison delves into some of the possible reasons behind the dominance
Reactions from RedBud and the second Motocross of Nations at the circuit in the last four years. The climate stayed the same…but the results finally went the way of the hosts.
Fresh columns on Marc Marquez’s eventful MotoGP return and the exit of arguably the USA’s #1 hope? Plus, ace photography from CormacGP from the plains of MotorLand
Talking to Jeremy Seewer about a landmark 2022 MXGP season, why Jago Geerts needs our sympathy and Roland takes to the road with the Husqvarna Norden 901. 2023 Leatt products and more inside
Why are Italian crowds not responding to arguably the strongest era for their country in modern-day MotoGP? Was the reigning Moto2 World Champion dealt a tough hand in his premature MotoGP exit? And find out the tale of how MotoGP’s remarkable shoulder cam came to be. Fresh columns and content from Misano
Massive MXGP content as Jorge Prado reflects on 2022 and talks supercross while Kay de Wolf chats MX2, expectations and education. Fly Racing open-up on their 2023 catalogue and columns on Tim Gajser, Team USA and MXGP silly season are also ready for dissection
Thoughts and photos from a busy weekend at the Red Bull Ring & round thirteen of 2022 MotoGP. New columns, firstly on bending one of the most spectacular and flowing circuits in Grand Prix ad and a ‘take’ on the prospect of MotoGP sprint races
Silverstone as a MotoGP venue? Maverick Viñales as the new resurgent force in MotoGP? We take a look at the recent British Grand Prix as Roland travels to Spa for the annual Bikers Classic
A brand new feature ssking people who have sweated and then those who continue to watch others perspiring at the tough end of MotoGP about the crush of racing, along with a look at Ducati in MotoE and some cool new products to watch out for
Bumper MXGP news wrap and reaction from the Czech Grand Prix, photo galleries and interviews with the FIM on the state of the sport and Swedish MX2 star Isak Gifting
How the other Espargaro is wading through the challenge that is MotoGP 2022. Neil Morrison submits his half-term marks, Roland Brown dips into nostalgia with Yamaha’s re-invented XSR and we look at Alpinestars Supertech gear and 6D’s new MTB lid.
A sit-down with MotoGP’s ‘new’ star player, a take on last weekend’s rounding of Sachsenring and more column inches on building bikes for the rider or riders for the bike?
The Stark VARG’s arrival is as exciting for riders as it is ominous for the rest of the industry. A full take inside as we also speak to Honda’s Ruben Fernandez, Husqvarna’s Pauls Jonass, Lewis Phillips blogs on his vision for MXGP and Scott have a fetching new Prospect.
Thoughts on Jack Miller’s move to Red Bull KTM after half a decade with Ducati and, despite some trying moments for Honda in MotoGP, we look back to one of their most memorable sports bikes…
Why is Luigi Dall’Inga MotoGP’s innovator, Ducati’s conjurer and arguably the envy of engineering minds from all motorcycle technical divisions? We asked…plus columns from Mugello on Demon Desmos and The New Alien
Once again we speak to two riders at the opposite ends of the career span. Justin Brayton chats about a career in the fiercest cauldron of supercross while MX2 world champion Maxime Renaux talks about a ripe graduation to MXGP and burning the vapour trail even brighter through Grand Prix.
Fielding two riders at the extreme stages of their MotoGP careers is just one aspect of why the WithU Yamaha RNF team are unique on the Grand Prix grid. We speak to both as Neil Morrison writes about Ducati’s decision-time and David Emmett laments the erosion of overtaking in the premier class. Steve English also pops up with a WorldSBK point of view…
Calvin Vlaanderen decimated the results sheets in Sardinia for the eighth round of 2022 MXGP and while the win was unexpected, the manner of his superiority was a shock. What was behind this sudden burst? Lewis Phillips also writes about his MXGP riders are subverting traditional routes in the series…
Each MotoGP season brings forth fresh team launches. The events themselves strive for novelty or originality but the unveiling of the race bikes can often be underwhelming. Perhaps it’s trickier than we think to design a striking shape and livery? We asked some experts…while Neil Morrison provides his take on the whole Suzuki saga
Was the Italian Grand Prix an exercise in futility for anybody outside the Tim Gajser/HRC runaway train? Even the mix of conditions at Maggiora did not dent the rails. We also talked with the MXGP world champion ‘in waiting’ to ask about winning unabashed…
There wasn’t a single position change for the lead of the Spanish Grand Prix but the chase was captivating all the same, and Jorge Lorenzo arguably fills the definition of the latest MotoGP ‘Legend’. New MotoGP reading for the first instalment of the 2022 May edition…
Chase Sexton is supercross greatness in the making: a sumptuous mix of style, speed and ridiculous potential. We sat down with HRC’s star only a few weeks after he claimed his first 450SX Main Event win to ask where it all came from. Also in this magazine segment Steve Matthes examines the Jason Anderson/Kawasaki effect in 2022…
Neil Morrison writes while on his journey east from Portimao to Jerez and where Honda might be in a temporary spot of bother…
A sit-down with the Moto2 World Champion to find out about handling pressure from one end of a Grand Prix grid to the other. David Emmett’s latest MotoGP column also examines why the likes of Remy Gardner and co are struggling to make a difference at the highest level…
The story of Ducati’s now-iconic race victory at Imola in 1972 and how it spawned a special motorcycle along with a new, excellent MotoGP column analysing whether Alex Rins is the dark blue horse that everybody should heed. This segment also asks questions of the ’22 WorldSBK opener at Aragon.
Offspring to ‘re-spring’: Eli Tomac talks about the mindset, the focus and the factors that have led to a powerful 2022 AMA Supercross campaign. We also find out a lot more about the new FIM Supercross World Championship and see what’s new from Troy Lee Designs and Scott Sports
There were two main markers at the Red Bull Grand Prix of the Americas. Enea Bastianini again proved his synergy with the 2021 Desmosedici should be taken very seriously and that Marc Marquez is still the world’s most outstanding road racer. MotoGP, custom bike shows, Americans in Grand Prix and Alpinestars among the thoughts and happenings from Texas…
It was a ‘black’ day at a sunny Gran Premio Michelin de la Republica Argentina but from where Neil Morrison was sitting at Termas de Rio Hondo it was an entirely memorable round of MotoGP. In this April segment of the magazine we also ride Yamaha’s ‘anniversary’ R7 and take a look back at six decades of the Iwata firm’s existence in Grand Prix…
Somewhere between the career highlights reels, the interviews in which the Italian rhymed off the greatest moments and regrets from his career again and again (did you know Rossi feels he deserved to win a tenth title, by chance?), and the four-story mural that bedecked the restaurant building at the Ricardo Tormo Circuit, there was a chance it was all getting a bit too much.
Don’t get me wrong. If there was a career worth celebrating, it was this one, a 26-year stint racing at world championship level that brought with it a record number of grand prix starts (432 – 100 more than the next highest), premier class wins (89 – 21 than the next highest) and MotoGP podiums (199 – 85 more than the next highest). Oh, and then there was the small matter of growing the sport beyond recognition. Or, as he put it back in August, “Entertaining a lot of people on Sunday afternoon. For one or two hours they didn’t think about anything, just enjoying my races.”
This deserved a celebration alright. But perhaps we had grown so used to Rossi’s recent malaise that it felt the fanfare would distract the Italian from the job at hand. You know, the racing part, the thing on which he built his name. For a rider of this standing, such celebration would feel slightly hollow if he came home 13th, as he did the previous weekend, or even worse: 15th, like he did at COTA, 17th, like the first race at Misano or 19th like Aragon.
So, it was something of a relief to see Rossi attacking his final race in a manner befitting the occasion. He used the tow of protégé Francesco Bagnaia to good effect on Saturday, securing a spot in Q2 for only the sixth time this year. And from his best start of this season, he could be seen riding around the outside of Fabio Quartararo – yes, the recently crowned world champion – at the first turn. Right there, you could see he didn’t intend to let this pass him by.
Ultimately, he dropped back to tenth and couldn’t quite make an impression on Enea Bastianini, Aleix Espargaro and those just ahead. But Rossi really attacked this to the end. There was no easing up in the final laps with a tear in his eye. His lap times varied by 0.6s over 26 laps – tremendous consistency at a tight track on which mistakes are inviting. He finished 13.4s off race winner Bagnaia, which, on average, works out as 0.49s slower per lap than the world’s current fastest rider. And his race time was 13.2s faster than his effort here last year (and 14.5s quicker than ’19). All at a track around which he last won 17 years ago on what was a difficult weekend for Yamaha.
For one, Franco Morbidelli was impressed with this showing. “I found myself right behind him,” said the Italian, a place back in eleventh. “(I thought) ‘Let’s try to push and maybe overtake him’. But he was so fast and so unattackable that I needed to stay the whole race behind. He was riding was riding unbelievably well (and) increased the speed in the last laps.”
There were changes to the bike after FP2 which gave him great feel. But more than anything, you feel Rossi’s fighting instincts were the biggest factor here. You don’t amass nine world titles, 115 grand prix victories and compete in 44.4% of the grand prix events that ever took place by simply accepting the inevitable. Listening to his final post-race debrief, it was clear he couldn’t stand the thought of going out on a bum note. As he noted, “the last weekend of my career… you always think about this moment for a long time.”
There was a pep talk with his team after the recent muted weekend on the Algarve. “After Portugal we speak together and I said, ‘Fuck, in Valencia we have to give the maximum’ because it’s the last race,” he explained. “I want to make the maximum because that track is the worst for me and I don’t want to arrive last.” But here he also had the relentless focus ahead of this last crucial outing – “like if I have to play for the championship. It’s not easy because already from Monday I have a lot of pressure, a lot of things to do. But I want to try for me the most important is try to be strong in the race, because I’m still a rider.”
It makes you wonder where this rider was during the rest of the year. You couldn’t accuse Rossi of not trying through 2021. He fell at 160mph in his final Dutch TT as well as suffering fast falls at the Misano and Americas GPs. Overall, he crashed nine times in 2021, his highest total over a season since that ill-fated switch to Ducati in 2011. But there is a feeling that once he knew his career was drawing to a close, risking everything didn’t come quite as naturally as before, when actual championship positions were riding on it. As he said on Sunday, “The results didn’t arrive and when you say, ‘OK, I’ll stop’ it’s very easy to give up.”
Finding this kind of focus in the midst of a rough season, and attacking 18 times a year no doubt becomes more wearying as you grow older. Rossi also offered a reason for recent struggles back in June. “Now that the bikes become more demanding because they are faster, you have the aerodynamics, and you can brake deeper, you can squeeze the bike more.” In a class this tight, where half a second is the difference between first and 15th, this recent adaptation was a step too far, even for a man of his talents.
But Rossi could still turn it on one last time. This fighting performance, as well as the VR46 Academy disciples donning a variety of his replica helmets, childhood hero Ronaldo – the Brazilian football legend – surprising him in the garage before waving the chequered flag and every MotoGP rider stopping to congratulate him on the slowdown lap, struck the right note. It was a fitting send off.
As fatherhood fast approaches, I don’t think anyone would argue this wasn’t the right time to hang up the leathers. But on his final showing, Rossi still found it within himself to end a 26-year career “in the top ten with the top ten riders in the world.” How many 42-year-olds out there can say that?
By Neil Morrison @neilmorrison87
Photos by CormacGP @cormacgp
A degree of sympathy for Monster Energy Yamaha after their first MXGP win of the season and for an excellent MX2 world champion in the form of Maxime Renaux but it’s impossible to look beyond the gripping title battle in the wake of the third and final event around the Arco di Trento hard-pack last weekend.
Sixteen from eighteen GPs, thirty-two motos, eleven countries, 800 points and still Romain Febvre, Tim Gajser and Jeffrey Herlings respectively are split by just 3. It’s a freakish and scarcely believable scenario that is inviting all sorts of drama: Herlings wins Arco 1, DNFs in a moto at Arco 2 and then crashes twice and recovers to 4th overall in Arco 3. Gajser makes all three podiums but with only one moto win. Febvre falls, wins, tightens. “Should I go for the victory? Or shall I go for the red plate? I thought a bit too much and my pace was not as good as Jeremy’s,” the Kawasaki man said of the first moto at Arco 3 where he had little answer to eventual winner Seewer’s speed.
Another, rarely seen, aspect of motorsport was added to the plot on Sunday. In the second moto the ailing Herlings – with his KTM bent out of shape – was given room to pass by teammate Jorge Prado in his recovery from 10th place and a second fall when he over-jumped the finish line leap. The Dutchman was then gifted another slot by his other Red Bull KTM teammate, Tony Cairoli, as the winner of the GP on Wednesday slowed and let the #84 acquire 4th instead of 5th.
Herlings was both lucky to escape significant damage to his body as well as his body of world championship points. The 27-year-old has not been the most fortunate in 2021 in his run-ins with Ivo Monticelli in Holland and Prado in Germany but, on this occasion, he emerged unscathed from two sizeable hits and was able to count on the KTM collective to help. Considering that KTM have not issued any team orders in pursuit of the world title they scooped in 2017 and 2018 but since lost to Gajser and Honda, it was a surprising turn of events on track. It also shows the depth of Cairoli’s experience, sensitivity and professionalism – even in the throes of the final GP laps of his career. Such as shame then that the Sicilian was victim of idiotic comments on social media over his gesture later that evening.
Red Bull KTM is a single team entity that is internally dispersed by geography, nationalities and pockets of staff. Sunday evening in Italy was one of the few times where it unified strongly. Having a trio of Cairoli, Herlings and Prado’s talent and results was never going to be an easy blend thanks to no discernible ‘A’ and ‘B’ ranking, which is clearly the case in other factory teams like Honda and Kawasaki. Perhaps only Yamaha come close to the pricey KTM model. KTM have had to deal with the repercussions of handling three fiercely competitive animals in 2018 and 2020 as well as this term. Arco 3 was a demonstration of the sum of the parts however. Herlings, Cairoli and Prado went 4-5-6 in the rankings (the only time a KTM has missed the podium this year) but ensured that the sole title hope was at the front of their gang by the end of the afternoon. Herlings was thankful and appreciative, coming out of his small changing area, half-dressed to shake Cairoli’s hand and both chatted in Cairoli’s personal space underneath the truck.
“What he did, I don’t know if I could have done it,” he told some journalists later about the last lap development. “Only the greatest and the biggest champions would do that. He not only showed his loyalty to KTM but helped me a lot because those are two very important points for me. Only a real team player would do that. Jorge as well, I had to pass him three times in that second moto. It was a real team effort, and I cannot thank them enough.”
Should Red Bull KTM play as a team? You could argue that riders of Cairoli and Prado’s ilk don’t have to, but it would look fairly stupid if the riders tripped each other up and let the single-racer forces of Honda and Kawasaki sneak in to capture the most-talked about championship since 2015.
It’s getting complicated on the track and in the starts. “I didn’t want to get involved in any drama,” said Grand Prix winner Jeremy Seewer of the title dispute around him. “It is tight and sometimes you have to touch. It is definitely intense. That second moto was incredible. The racing is so crazy.”
By the time of the second moto at Arco the sense of expectation and the knowledge that the smallest mistake – or a moment of brilliance – would have ramifications for the championship somehow thickened the air. Much of the talk in the paddock, whether with fans, mechanics or senior race management was based on how electric the series is proving to be. In my two decades covering Grand Prix I struggle to remember a contest so constricted, so unpredictable and so riveting. Questions in conversations with riders are no longer solely based around their race weekends and plans for next season but on who they will think will emerge as number one from a competition that keeps running and running and, delightfully, shows no favouritism.
“The championship is intense,” Gajser exhaled. “It’s mad to think we only have two races left and we all split by 3 points. I’m happy with today but two to go: game on.”
“I think we will be the calmest,” he added of the pressure. “It’s not easy to say that. We all want to put it on the side and just race but it’s difficult not to think about the championship. The starts are crucial and will be in Mantova as well. It will be important to ride smart and consistent.”
“Not at all,” Febvre strongly asserted when asked if the weight of the finale was heavy. “We are so close. I can only give my best. I haven’t been in this position for so long, so it’s good to be where I am today. If I crash, I crash then I don’t mind: I’ll just go give my best. But [having] the red plate with two rounds to go…I can smell the taste of the championship.”
What about Herlings? Feeling the heat?. “No, that’s not the case,” he countered. “What I did was purely dumb and I don’t know how it happened. I’m not making plans. On Wednesday my championship lead of 24 points went down to -1. 3 points is basically nothing and for sure Mantova will suit me much better. I was good at the Nations and as a team we are strong. I’d prefer to be on a KTM right now because Jorge is the holeshot master and Tony is also so fast. The Honda and the Kawi guys are basically alone. In the second moto Tony was matching my speed and he could have attacked me but it was like he was my wingman. He made sure nobody could get around me.”
There were signs that the gravitas of each impending race was beginning to tell. In the first moto Herlings and Gajser indulged in some racecraft that saw a lit match hover close to the touchpaper.
“I passed him back and it was clean, not a dirty move but after the next corner he just braked and I almost crashed,” Gajser described. “Also, in another corner I was behind him and he just braked and I almost stalled the bike. Yeah, he plays a little bit dirty but I think we will all have to. I like to be clean, I’m that kind of guy. We will have to see if he will continue to do that, if so then I will give it back.”
Herlings was disbelieving. “Apparently, I’m a dirty rider, or so it was said in the press conference. I was only one who was really clean today. I got smashed by the number 3 and by the 243 multiple times. I didn’t do anything back, except a little blocking on the downhill to make sure he couldn’t cut right behind me but it was very slow speed. It was safe. They said it was dirty and if that’s what they want then let’s play. We can do that.”
Yikes.
The tension will only increase in the four days and four motos that will decide the outcome at Mantova next week. The scrutiny on performances and decisions will be even heavier. Herlings goes into the Grands Prix knowing he was imperious and untouchable at the Motocross of Nations there last month and that Gajser and Febvre were absent. The racetrack was also the scene of the Dutchman’s very first podium finish as a 15-year-old back in 2010 so he’s had a good connection with the shallow, hard-based sand. Gajser’s experiences have fluctuated: from victory in MXGP in 2016 to the traumatic pre-season concussion and jaw injury of 2018 and the poor results of a wet race in 2019 that almost derailed his championship campaign. Jorge Prado will be slightly stronger as he continues to recover from his back injury and Mantova is the place where he was forced to hand over his 2020 winner’s trophy to Seewer after a yellow flag infringement. Then, of course, Cairoli showed that he’s fast on a course where he sampled Nations success despite a painful rib injury and where he will be waving goodbye to fans as the #222 gets a final airing.
Will we see another season like 2021? I don’t like the chances, sadly. It was interesting to hear Shaun Simpson’s theory on Sunday that the one-day format has helped riders avoid injury and contributed to the longevity of the excitement. Jeffrey Herlings had previously commented that the agenda could prolong riders’ careers. Less track time and less risk through qualification heats may have played a part even if the Grands Prix have come thick and fast on consecutive weekends and with at least two-double headers and a triple on the slate. The hectic scheduling is one thing but on the other hand the lack of flyaway travel is a concession and the five-week break that came about because of the cancellation of the Finnish Grand Prix gave riders a valuable pause to rest and recover. Simpson was observing that the final races of the year were normally a ripe period for those riders who had made it to the end of the season fit and still fast to bank points. This wasn’t quite the case in 2021.
The effect of ‘more riders in better shape’ did not transpire in 2020 for the ‘Covid-19 championship’ as the teams had to deal with the change to the one day, a delayed season and the first experience with rapid-fire Grands Prix at the same circuits. Cairoli, Herlings, Prado, Febvre, Coldenhoff: all had to cope with injury and the culture shock. All were more prepared in 2021.
In 2022 MXGP plans to return to normality in every sense: calendar dates, weekend timetables, flying. The battle lines will be largely the same but without the presence of Cairoli. Perhaps in ten months’ time we’ll be able to assess how much of a shiny jewel we were able to cherish this year and whether MXGP could morph again in the future to find the same kind of spectacle.
By Adam Wheeler @ontrackoffroad
Photos by Ray Archer @rayarcherphoto
So that, ladies and gentlemen, is that. Any lingering hopes that Joan Mir could turn this season around and reverse the inevitable were dispersed for good after a disappointing eighth place in Texas. The Majorcan may have already conceded his crown at Misano last month. But Sunday’s result means it will be mathematically impossible for the 24-year-old to become only the 13th rider in history to win back-to-back premier class crowns.
These last two performances feel as though Mir’s championship defence has come to an end with something representing a whimper, rather than a bang. And now that champion-elect Fabio Quartararo is out of sight and closing in on the right to wear the number one, it is probably the time to assess his performance as the reigning champ.
On the face of it, 2021 certainly hasn’t been a write off – far from it. Mir currently sits third overall and was still in the title reckoning for around two thirds of the season. Of the three Ducatis in the championship fight in the first half of the year, he sits ahead of two of them. And he’s currently nine places and 94 points up on the only other man using the same machinery as him. Alex Rins, remember, was third overall last season, despite riding with a busted right shoulder for the majority of it.
But a few other stats are less flattering. Mir has taken five podiums this year, but none of them have been wins. There have been no fastest laps, no front row starts, and he hasn’t even led a single lap of any race. What’s more, he’s averaged 11.6 points per race in 2021, which is down on his 2020 average (12.2). Barring a big turnaround, he could end the year as only the second rider in the modern four-stroke era to not win a race in his championship defence. That opening night in Qatar, when he rode like a champion fighting through to second, seems a distant memory.
There are mitigating circumstances, of course. Mainly, Suzuki has mostly stood still in a year when Yamaha, Ducati, Aprilia and, at times, KTM have taken strides forward. The GSX-RR is largely the same as what Mir raced last year. That’s not to say it isn’t competitive – it is, retaining its excellent agility balance. But Suzuki’s shortcomings – mainly qualifying – have been magnified further. He qualified on the second row four times last year. This time around he managed it just the once. That’s huge ground to be giving away to Quartararo, who has been off the front row on just one occasion, in each race.
As early as June, Mir could feel Quartararo and the pack of Ducatis – including Pecco Bagnaia, Jack Miller and Johann Zarco – taking decisive steps ahead, while he flailed among Suzuki’s same old failings. “I’m a bit worried because I want to defend the title,” he said after yet another disappointing qualifying in Barcelona. “We can push a bit more (to develop the bike), honestly. A lot of manufacturers improved and we didn’t improve.”
It is puzzling why it took so long for the blue bikes to feature a ride-height device when its benefits are so clear. The first evolution came for the Austrian double-header, but was then cast aside for the races at Silverstone, Aragon and Misano as it wouldn’t disengage smoothly. Rins was the first to notice Ducati using the device during the Malaysian Grand Prix in 2019. “I said I saw it but we didn’t push Suzuki a lot,” he admitted back in Austria. At Silverstone, Mir stated, “I lose 0.5s on a fast lap to Bagnaia” on the exit of Chapel onto the Hangar Straight. These are fairly major obstacles to overcome.
The surprise departure of Team Manager and figurehead Davide Brivio can’t have helped the situation, either. Project Leader Shinichi Sahara admitted he was “too busy to do (Brivio’s) job” during the British Grand Prix, while trying to match the strides made by Suzuki’s rivals.
Assessing the season up to the Austrian double header, Mir’s crew chief Frankie Carchedi told me, “I don’t think we’ve ever been too far away – maybe a little more than we wanted. Just a few moments (held us back, like) losing second place in Qatar. We had super wet pace at Le Mans and in the dry but, unfortunately, we had a flag-to-flag there. So, it’s not been terrible. (But) One of the hardest things obviously is that qualifying has been even worse than last year. We’ve had to come from so far back in every race. It’s been tough. Every time he’s started from the second row, we’ve been on the podium. It’s quite clear what we need to do.”
Yet that isn’t always so easy, with Suzuki one of the lesser resourced factories on the grid. As Kevin Schwantz, one of only six men to have won a premier class crown with Suzuki, explained to me last weekend, the factory’s size must always be taken into account.
“It’s such a hard thing at Suzuki with the manufacturer being such so much smaller, with the race shop being that much smaller, the development team being that much smaller,” said the Texan. “There are no satellite teams to help you with input, to give you data. It’s a really, really hard job. It’s so easy to get frustrated. But what you’ve got to remember is the guys at the shop are the guys that gave you the bike that you won on last year. They’re eventually going to get it right again.”
Does the #34 consider Mir to currently be riding on the same level as the men ahead of him in the championship? “I don’t think he’s there right now. I think he’s working to get back to that championship calibre guy that we had last season. There have been a couple of times Rins has got in front and ridden away from him. And more often than not Rins has ended up on the ground. (Joan) is there 100%. I think maybe the bike’s not there 100%. And because (together) they’re both not 100%, he hasn’t got that extra Joan Mir that we saw some of the time last year late in the races, going to the front.”
Up to Aragon I was struck by Mir’s riding. OK, he wasn’t winning. But no matter how disastrous the qualifying, he was there on Sunday, taking the best possible result home. Just compare his race times from last year to this: he was 21s faster at this year’s Spanish GP than Jerez last year (OK, the temperature had a lot to do with that). But he posted the same race time to a second at Misano in 2021 as he did in the second race of ’20. And he was 7s faster at Barcelona this year, and 5s quicker at Aragon. All on pretty much the same package.
And you can’t accuse Mir of taking the deterioration of his title challenge lightly. He was in spiky form after the Aragon race, when he failed to get on an even keel with Bagnaia and Marc Marquez ahead. When he conceded the crown at Misano, he was forlorn. “I know my potential this year. I’m angry. I’m riding better. I’m making less mistakes and I’m a better rider. And I will not get the championship. It’s difficult to understand.” These are certainly the qualities you want to hear from a champion.
It’s worth reminding ourselves, he’s still only 24 in only his sixth season as a world championship rider. Yes, this year seems to be fizzling out. But I have no doubt that if Suzuki can address of its shortcomings this winter, Mir will be back, fighting at the front in next year’s title race.
By Neil Morrison @NeilMorrison87
Photos by CormacGP @cormacgp
If the Chinese proverb is to be believed, the best things in life come in twos. Yin and yang; male and female; and in Francesco Bagnaia’s case, MotoGP victories. The Italian sustained the rich vein of form that saw him defeat Marc Marquez the previous week to triumph at home after a late Fabio Quartararo onslaught.
Bagnaia’s staunch defence here may have lacked the all-out kung-fu combat of the previous race, but there was reason to believe it was just as impressive. While his rival in Aragon was still far from full fitness, regaining strength-and-feeling aboard one of the poorest incarnations of Honda’s RC213V in living memory, here he had to hang on as the championship leader, a rider competing at the very top of his game, honed in.
This was a stunning match up of two of the fastest riders in the class in 2021. But even from their positions on the top two steps of the podium there was further warning that the conveyor belt of talent seeking to usurp them is never-ending. Here it was Enea Bastianini’s turn to stun, putting in a performance of combative quality to take third, a debut podium in the class. Not only did he rise through the pack from twelfth on the grid; the rookie’s mid-race pace suggested he could well have challenged the top two were it not for an average Saturday.
That’s 14 riders now to have climbed the rostrum in the premier class this year. Perhaps this was the most surprising of the lot. Sure, Bastianini showed real pace in FP4. And Misano has long been his favoured track on the calendar, as evidenced by his wins here in Moto2 (2020) and Moto3 (2015). But did anyone really think a ride of this quality was possible from a class rookie starting from twelfth, on a two-year old machine?
Not me. But the speed with which the 23-year old slashed through a group fighting for fourth containing Aleix Espargaro, both Repsol Hondas and both Ecstar Suzukis, made a mockery of their reputations. It’s rare to hear Marc Marquez speak so enthusiastically about a rider who had just left him in his wake. The eight-time champion was impressed by Bastianini’s riding from the moment he saw a blur of blue on lap eight. “He was understanding a lot the way to ride the Ducati. He was braking so late, and exit of the corner with a lot of torque and a lot of grip. He was doing everything in the correct way.”
‘The Beast’ has always been something of a puzzle. From the moment he rocked up in Moto3, it was obvious he had talent in abundance, taking a second place in just his seventh race. But he was never world champion material in the junior class. Even in Moto2, he was the most consistent of the four names gunning for the title, but rarely the fastest.
Plus, he seems so laid back in his manner around the paddock that you wonder how he can transform into the ruthless animal MotoGP requires. I remember a moment in a press conference after last year’s second Aragon outing. Enea was asked for his opinion on Valencia – the scene of the upcoming two races. He shrugged, offering, “It’s not my favourite track,” Sam Lowes, chief rival, sized him up from the next seat. Among smiles and giggles, Bastianini appeared completely oblivious these settings could be and are used for psychological intimidation. Yet after the Valencian double-header he outscored rivals Luca Marini and Lowes by 2 and 21 points respectively. Work that one out.
Yet Avintia team boss Ruben Xaus doesn’t see his rider so laid back. “It seems like Enea is really calm when he’s going out there. But when he makes mistakes, you can see he’s really under pressure.” One of those moments came after FP3 at Misano. “After Aragon our pace was in front. We had to start here what we finished at Aragon. He was following slower riders than him in FP3. I don’t tell many things to Enea, but I said, ‘We don’t follow slower riders than us.’”
Amazing bike control and front-end feel was a hallmark of his title year in Moto2, evidenced by three slides – and saves – at Misano, Aragon and Valencia that were Marquez-esque in their execution. “It’s called talent and a bit of luck,” said then team boss Robertino Pietri. The fact he did it thrice hinted more of the former than the latter. And this year, smoothing out his style has been key to his last two results. “I’ve changed my style during the last three races, also I’m more soft in all the movements when riding,” he said on Sunday. “I have seen the data of Pecco and also Jack. It’s a different bike, but the DNA is similar. Now I’m more relaxed.”
Crew chief Alberto Giribuola – formerly with Andrea Dovizioso – has also been key in adapting his rider to the class. “During Austria two from FP4 he changed his mind, the approach, on the way to ride the bike,” said Giribuola. “He was more relaxed and at the same time focussed. He stopped thinking about other riders and the way they ride. he was just trying to ride the bike as he likes.”
At Misano, his rider focussed on maximising the Ducati’s strong points – braking strength and accelerating, as well as attacking the three fast rights after the back straight. “We have to think about the potential of the bike. For sure our bike is good in braking and in acceleration. But track by track there are some corners that, if you really make in a good way, you can gain in other corners. For example, if we try to make the first two corners here in Misano like a Yamaha, probably we cannot get that result. We focussed on other points that for our bike are good.”
Quartararo noted Bagnaia’s strength in sector three all weekend. Well, Bastianini was even faster than the winner there in the race. Even Jack Miller was perplexed as to how he could carry so much speed when leant over so far. “Definitely was surprised … with the amount of lean angle he was able to carry that late in the race. I was just a sitting duck.”
After a showing like this, there could be more to come when we return to Italy’s east coast in late October. Xaus certainly thinks as much. “It might sound arrogant but without that starting position, we could have even fought for the win,” he said. “Enea’s growing so much but in certain points, he’s missing strategy. Here, we recovered the situation. I’m sure that in Misano 2 we’ll start from that point. If we go to Austin and finish 15th I don’t care. Then when we come back to Misano, rock and roll.”
By Neil Morrison @neilmorrison87
Photos by CormacGP @cormacgp
Of all the ways to claim a maiden MotoGP triumph, this will take some beating. Pecco Bagnaia was victorious in an epic late scrap with Marc Marquez at Motorland Aragon, one of the eight-time champion’s favourite tracks, and one where he has won on five of his past seven visits. But, it wasn’t just the result that will have given Bagnaia – and Ducati management – so much heart. His resistance of race-long pressure from Marquez was immense, maintaining unerring consistency despite the serial champ’s closest attentions. From the first of 23 laps to Marquez’s last overtake, the pair were never more than 0.3s apart.
And there were battling instincts in abundance in a breathless finale, as Marquez attacked again and again – seven times in all – over three laps in which the lead went back-and-forth 14 times. In all seven attempts, Bagnaia never once came unstuck. Seven times Marquez darted around him. Seven times the Italian simply waited for his rival to run wide before accelerating under. “He didn’t lose his head, and was so cold,” said Ducati Team Manager Davide Tardozzi. “He was perfect.”
Having either lost his cool (Mugello), qualified poorly (Portimao) or endured some technical gremlins or tyre defect (Styria and Silverstone) when winning potential was there, the 24-year old had to carry greater expectation into this race. There was the small matter of achieving Ducati’s 50th premier class pole on Saturday. Also, mentor Valentino Rossi had talked up his chances after an promising weekend to that point. “The moment has arrived for him to win, to break his taboo,” said the 42-year old.
Bagnaia later confided “I was a bit nervous,” in light of Rossi’s comments. “He never said that to me.” But there was not a sign of that in this performance. Andrea Dovizioso aside, not many have fronted up to a rider of Marquez’s stature and not even flinched. And according to the Catalan, “Pecco was same as Dovizioso but with more corner speed. I didn’t find the place to overtake because he was braking later than me and stopping better the bike and accelerating better.” High praise indeed.
This was more like the rider we saw during his stunning championship year in Moto2 in 2018, when he showed all the characteristics needed to make it to the very top by beating an incredible roster of names including Oliveira, Binder, Mir, Alex Marquez, Marini and Quartararo, to name but a few.
The question is, why has it taken Bagnaia this long to become a race winner? I rather giddily predicted he would be fighting for podium finishes in the first half of his rookie season in 2019. At that time, Ducati was a fine machine, winning seven of the previous year’s 18 races. One of Bagnaia’s great strengths in Moto2 was a commanding presence in braking zones, in line with that of the Desmosedici. And he was paired with Christian Gabbarini, formerly crew chief to Casey Stoner and Jorge Lorenzo, among several other top-class names. His second fastest time at a preseason test at Sepang – only his third outing on a MotoGP machine – suggested he was well on his way.
I was wrong. It took Bagnaia a full season to get to grips with Michelin’s front tyre. A rider that once scored 30 consecutive point-scoring finishes in Moto2 started crashing. And a lot. 14 falls pocked that campaign, battering his confidence. “It’s not easy,” he said that year at Brno. “(In 2018) I was pushing more and crashing less. It’s very difficult to understand that.”
We started to see signs of improvement when last season eventually got underway. He was cruelly denied a second place in the Andalusian Grand Prix by a blown engine, one of Ducati’s bogey tracks. But a crash in free practice at Brno fractured the top of his right tibia. His rapid comeback, which peaked at Misano, had repercussions, however. “I was very tired in my head,” he said of the stresses involved in getting back. The year ended dismally. He collected just eight points from the final six races, a run so miserable it included two early crashes out of 16th and 18th at Aragon.
But what was impressive was how he analysed this run. “Concentration and pushing when we have lower temperatures. I had luck to have Jack as team-mate. He’s very good in this temperature. I have to push without feeling to warm up the tyre.” Intelligence and an ability to work on weaknesses has always been a hallmark through his early career.
And bolstered by a strong off-season, he really hit the ground running in early 2021. Bagnaia’s pedigree really became clear when the series visited two of Ducati’s worst tracks – the Sachsenring and Assen. The Italian’s tyre management was seriously impressive in Germany, while his defensive feats at the front of the Dutch TT were nothing short of sensational.
In him, Ducati management recognise there is a riding style that can minimise the turning defects for which its bike is well known. “For me, one of Pecco’s best characteristics is that he knows how to push the front tyre to the limit like very few other riders are able to do,” said Gigi Dall’Igna at the start of this year. Tardozzi agrees. “Pecco has a different riding style. That was the limit of Dovi, to not carry the corner speed. Now we have Pecco. We enjoyed Dovi’s time but now it’s better to look to the future.”
He continued, “I think he found a good base this year. The bike grew up in the direction he loves. There are several things to give him the confidence to be always fast. He didn’t always have the good results but he’s always been fast, at every circuit, even if he didn’t make them. And Pecco knows one thing: being a top rider means managing the pressure. This is part of the job. I don’t think he will have any problem managing it. He is so intelligent and we absolutely trust that he will have no problem in the future.
“We think this is the first of a series of wins because Pecco will again.” With two races in Misano, where he excelled a year ago, coming up, would you really bet against Bagnaia putting a run together?
By Neil Morrison, Photos by CormacGP
I don’t know about you but Monday’s news confirming Maverick Viñales’ place at Aprilia for 2022 came as some light relief. It would have been a sad end for one of the sport’s brightest talents to have his career cut short after losing his cool so spectacularly during the Styrian Grand Prix; the standout moment during a whirlwind two months.
To be clear, I’m in no way excusing Maverick’s actions the weekend before last. A glance at his lap times showed he had all but given up two thirds of the way in. There were stops and starts, much like that embarrassing showing in Germany, when he admitted to backing off the fight for 15th, dropping back to last. As Jack Miller said on Thursday, “You’re a racer, that’s what you get paid for, to go racing. To try to beat the next guy in front of you.” Then the heavy revs in the closing laps could well have been “the straw that broke the camel’s back,” according to Valentino Rossi.
But watching him make an emotional apology on Saturday, I couldn’t help but feel a degree sympathy. “The first race was perfect and I had started strong,” he said of the three laps prior to the red flag. “But then everything went wrong and it was an explosion of frustration that I did not know how to channel. (It) was so great that I did not know how to manage it.” Cynics may say he had little other option than to admit his fault for financial or career reasons. But it certainly looked genuine, sounded genuine.
And rather than a temperamental egomaniac, susceptible to fits of rage, I saw a young man ill-equipped to deal with some of the stresses that come when competing at this level. Maverick has never been the best communicator, is incredibly emotional and unable to really look within to analyse what has gone wrong. But, much like Jorge Lorenzo, a tough upbringing spent competing, competing and further competing didn’t brandish him with the skillset necessary to make and maintain the close relationships that help you through times of adversity.
It does appear that father Angel has had serious influence on how the season has panned out. Just look at the facts since he has come back into the fold two months ago: Maverick has twice finished last (in Germany and Styria), decided to quit the team that currently leads the Riders, Teams and Manufacturers Championships before being suspended by the team that currently leads the Riders, Teams and Manufacturers Championships. All in the space of two madcap months. It doesn’t exactly speak volumes for this influence.
Other news hinted at how Angel can have an incendiary influence. It was confirmed his team in World Supersport 300 had cut ties with Yamaha last week. His post on Facebook only served to heighten the tension. “What happened today was shameful,” he wrote. “For these things to happen to the rider is why he’s leaving!” Then there was a story in Spanish daily El Periodico which stated Maverick’s dad had accosted Yamaha Managing Director Lin Jarvis of “ruining the last five years of my son’s career,” after the Styria debacle.
Add to this Angel was on the scene during the infamous walkout at Sepang 2012, and none of this hints towards Maverick having a clear-sighted, level-headed presence by his side. As we know, the rider can be hot-headed when the visor goes down, head shakes and arm waves a feature of his unhappier times at Yamaha. It doesn’t take a genius to think the last thing he needs is another temperamental character in his small inner-circle of trust, whispering frustrations in his ear. Clearly the atmosphere from the Viñales camp had turned toxic. This may well have been another factor in the suspension, as well as the incidents during the first Austrian bow.
It was interesting to hear two of MotoGP’s leading names speak of their own methods to keep their parental relationships paternal. It took some time for Fabio Quartararo to find a helpful way to communicate with his father during a weekend. “In 2017 my dad was too involved and we had some fights,” he said. “Then he understood he needed to go back. Then he saw the results were great so he always stays behind the scenes.”
Marc Marquez’s father Julia has been ever-present in his sons’ garages since Marc burst on the scene in 2009. But some strict conditions are attached. “My father is following all the races but he is always in his place, I’m in mine,” Marc revealed. “This is something that was like this since I arrived in the world championship. He doesn’t understand set-up. He doesn’t understand riding. He’s allowed just two questions: ‘how are you?’ And ‘How is your arm?’ That’s it. I’m working in my box with my mechanics, but he just enjoys the paddock life.” If last weekend’s reports are to be believed, the same can’t be said for Maverick at the moment.
It’s a great shame it’s come to this. We all know the guy is talented. Jose Manuel Cazeaux, his crew chief at Suzuki, once told me “It was an obligation to find the way to give him a bike that allows him to win,” such was his raw speed. Maverick comes across as a decent young guy, who is penalised for his hot-headed temperament and, frankly, some shoddy advice.
Not everyone is graced with the kind of mental strength and unquestionable self-belief of a Marc Marquez or a Joan Mir, names Viñales was-and-is seeking to displace. This sport can be grueling and taxing, not least when your team-mate tops the standings. Aprilia will surely be his last hope. More than looking competitive, let’s hope Maverick can find an environment where he feels comfortable and happy once again. It’s been much too long since he gave the impression of being that way.
By Neil Morrison @NeilMorrison87
Photos by CormacGP @cormacgp
Hands up. Who saw this coming? OK, I might have tipped Jorge Martin to shine in Austria when we recorded the Paddock Pass Podcast last week. Looking at the bare facts, it was impossible not to do so. The Red Bull Ring has long been a Ducati track. The Spaniard’s record in the lower classes was immense here. And the season openers in Qatar showed the former Moto3 world champ’s knack for learning at a rapid rate. Watch out for the #89 during the second weekend, I said, thinking it would take him some time to get up to speed at the calendar’s most fearsome course.
But I’d be lying if I said I expected this kind of performance in what was just the 23-year old’s sixth MotoGP race. Martin was sublime around the Red Bull Ring’s lethal armco-lined straights, taken at well over 200mph. He led 24 of the race’s 27 laps, and forced the reigning world champion, no less, into a number of late mistakes that compromised his chances of a late attack.
Perhaps most impressive of all was Martin’s manner of victory. Aside from exceeding track limits enough times to necessitate a warning – 13 of the grid did the same on Sunday – he was faultless from the moment he took control on lap four. From the outside it appeared the race-long pressure asserted by Mir would surely tell before long, especially seeing as he “felt really bad physically” with 15 laps to go, those injuries picked up in Portimao still not fully healed.
But Martin didn’t blink. He was even asked if Mir’s advances as the laps ticked down were the toughest he had faced in his seven-year stint in GPs. “Today I didn’t feel a lot of pressure. I felt pressure in the past where if I wasn’t winning I would stay home without a ride. In those moments I think is where I really matured, when I felt (it).” The very best athletes make stellar feats seem par for the course. Yet, considering the respective struggles of Ducati’s three title contenders on Sunday, what Martin could do was anything but.
And what he could do was also in contrast towards the tail end of the first half of the season. Martin was “super angry with myself” after he was forced to retire out of the Dutch TT in June because of his Portimao scars. But “during the summer break I had some changes in my life. I cannot speak a lot about it, but I think now I am more focused and with a clean mind.”
That clean mind has enabled him to rack up some pretty impressive numbers in just his first six races: he’s just the fifth rider to claim a maiden win in his rookie MotoGP season in the four-stroke era. He has picked up a premier class victory quicker than greats like Giacomo Agostini, Kevin Schwantz and Wayne Rainey. Dani Pedrosa, Jorge Lorenzo, Marc Marquez and, to a lesser extent, Brad Binder – the other names to accomplish this feat in their rookie campaigns – didn’t fare so badly in the rest of their careers. On what we’ve seen so far, Martin has a massive future ahead.
It’s all a far cry from how last season ended. Personally, I had my doubts on Martin’s prospects this year. His talent has long been clear. But his time in Moto2 paled when compared to riders with whom he shared the grid. Once he contracted Covid-19 last August, we saw little of him toward the front in the season’s second half, a smash-and-grab win at Valencia aside. Martin rarely bounces well, with injuries a common theme throughout his career. And his decision to move up to MotoGP with Ducati, rather than KTM, could have perhaps been handled better.
Yet no one wracks up 20 pole positions in Moto3 without having some of that magic. In the junior class, Martin was able to do things that no rider has mastered in the category before or since. It wasn’t just the slew of pole positions and that relentless ability to piece together a lap of perfection. He nearly always did it alone, a rarity in Moto3. He could also stretch a race from the first laps, putting full trust in a package when the fuel tank was full, and tyres not at perfect working temperature.
And he was tough. Martin broke the radius bone in his left wrist at that year’s Czech Grand Prix. But he made a heroic return in Austria seven days later, coming home third. The manner in which he won the title in Malaysia, withstanding Marco Bezzecchi’s bruising tactics early on before breaking clear emphatically in the closing laps.
Those were no ordinary feats. And in just six races he has been able to put into practice a few tricks that allowed him to run ahead of the best of them. Fabio Quartararo, for one, was impressed. “The talent of Jorge, is really high,” he said. “Just a few corners how he takes care of the tires is something that for a rookie is strange. I was not able to do that like he’s doing in 2019. It’s difficult because when you come from Moto2 to MotoGP you have many other things to think because you have the traction control, the maps, power, engine brake, the tires, the fuel… So, a rookie and he’s able to think about all these things, I think mentally he’s really strong.”
A host of names are likely to return for the Austrian Grand Prix stronger. Mir and Suzuki will have fine-tuned its new ride height device further. And Marc Marquez and Pecco Bagnaia will be seeking retribution after strange tyre performance hampered their restarted races. Yet there is no reason to think Martin isn’t capable of a second stirring result in as many weeks. “For sure we have another chance,” he said on Sunday. “I think we still have some margin, some points of the track where we can improve maybe one or two tenths.”
This felt like the start of something special.
By Neil Morrison @NeilMorrison87
Photos by CormacGP @cormacgp
Injured again and subject to the scrutiny of a doctor’s scanning equipment once more, Jeffrey Herlings apparently took the news that his left shoulder blade fracture was larger and more serious than first thought surprisingly well. Herlings famously sustained the crack thanks to Ivo Monticelli’s plummeting front wheel Sunday morning 18th July at Oss for his home Grand Prix. He still won the moto with a staggering display of strength and will and apparent self-disregard. As in Latvia 2019 – when a bizarre fall on the Sighting Lap and clip from Husqvarna’s Arminas Jasikonis caused a break to his already weak right foot – Herlings triumphed, made his statement and then disappeared for treatment.
On Monday after Oss Herlings stared at his scan results and was informed yet again that his championship aspirations were in tatters. He’d received similar news in 2014, 2015, 2019 and 2020 so acceptance and dejection were part of the routine. The effects of the pandemic in MXGP means a close accumulation of races. Just being in every gate fully fit is a minor achievement in itself. Herlings was told he’d miss three grands prix in three weeks to let the bone knit and heal. A maximum of 150 points with athletes like Tim Gajser and Tony Cairoli carefully constructing their title bids? It was over.
It was therefore something of a surprise to see Jeffrey stoically at the side of the fence in the Czech Republic six days later. The 26-year-old rarely arrives to a race any earlier than absolutely necessary so his attendance in Loket – rumoured to involve meetings with KTM bosses like Robert Jonas and Pit Beirer – was still eye-opening.
Perhaps while it was watching the second moto at the fifth round on the Czech hillside, something stirred in the Dutchman. When Gajser lost traction and ejected from his Honda, tumbling from podium contention down to 15th, Herlings saw a flicker of light. Of hope. After the chequered flag and confirmation of the results at Loket Herlings had slid down to 6th in the standings but Gajser, the leader and double world champion, was only 51 points adrift. Lommel and that fantastic and fearsome sand was next. There was no better or ‘easier’ terrain for Herlings to toss that Red Bull KTM cap back into the game.
Although KTM had made no official word that Herlings was sidelined beyond the Grand Prix of the Czech Republic, many in the paddock knew or suspected that the 2018 world champion would be out of play until after Latvia three weeks later. Publicly Herlings described how day-to-day life was no different after the accident and he was cycling once again to maintain a semi-normal training regime. It’s in this state of positive uncertainty that the possibility of racing at Lommel grew.
I arrived at the track in Belgium on Saturday morning to be greeted by news and questions of Herlings’ potential participation. His KTM team were none the wiser, but his gear was ready, his bike had been passed through technical control and the final decision was to be made by the rider that same day after he’d attempted a training moto. I wondered if Jeffrey remembered the 2013 Grand Prix of Benelux at Lierop. Then only 18 and already a double world champion, he had fractured the same troublesome shoulder blade in a crash during qualification at the Belgian round at Bastogne on August 17th. By September 7th he was ignoring the recommendations of then-KTM Team Manager Stefan Everts to race in the Lierop sand and in front of his home fans for the final GP of the year. At the same circuit in 2012 he had lapped the entire MX2 field up to 3rd place. In 2013 he crashed again in the first moto but – predictably – was still able to go 1-1 for his last statement that season.
“I felt every single bump and every single kicker each lap over and over again,” Herlings said that day. “It was hard to keep focused and not make stupid and painful mistakes. I lapped almost everybody last year but this was definitely not the case this time. I really wanted to do good for my fans. I was worried; I even said to Jordi [Tixier] ‘look how fat I am getting from three weeks of nothing’! It was cool and fun and I like these unexpected things.”
“Pit [Beirer, KTM Motorsports director] texted me before and said ‘are you gonna ride?’ and I replied ‘yes’,” he added. “He asked: ‘how was the riding?’ and I said ‘shit, but good enough to win’. When I race I do it to win and I told Stefan that on Friday.”
He won, but he also lost. The injury was re-aggravated, he would miss the Motocross of Nations at Teutschenthal in Germany, struggle with an infection and also sustain a stress fracture in his right leg for a miserable off-season period in the run-up to 2014.
History is humankind’s biggest and most often-ignored didactic source. Nevertheless in Belgium last weekend, Herlings raced the sand, he dominated, he thrilled in a chase from almost last to 5th in the second moto and notched his fourth podium finish from five appearances. He beat Gajser and slimmed the deficit to 42 points.
A first reaction was disbelief. How was that possible? It brought back memories of Josh Coppins’ desperation to recover from the pain of a similar injury to attempt the final four rounds of the 2007 world championship. The Kiwi had led the contest the whole season only to crash at Loket (oddly enough) through a failure of his rear brake and suffer the break. He had to watch Suzuki’s Steve Ramon chip away at his points’ margin – without winning a single GP all year – and eventually claim the crown (still Suzuki’s last) as Coppins, crushingly could not do anything about the ailment despite a brave attempt to race at Donington Park in the UK, the penultimate fixture, only four weeks after the mishap in Czech.
Herlings’ familiarity and acumen in the sand was a contributing factor to his gains last Sunday but that still didn’t mask the amount of pain and insecurity he had to deal with. He’d also missed nearly two weeks away from the saddle of the KTM 450 SX-F, which is such a vital cog of his training and preparation routine. Those results, against that opposition and across a Lommel surface that seemed rougher and more ruthless compared to previous editions of the GP, were staggering. Herlings continues provides a narrative that just keeps on giving, and the feat arguably overshadowed the excellent speed and performance by Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Romain Febvre who conquered Lommel for the first time in his career and sits at the centre of a 2022 contract whirlwind with the Japanese.
“With the way I feel now then it was not a good decision [to race] but a lot of championships have slipped away [from me in the past],” Herlings said by way of explanation and justification afterwards. “I’m just like my trophy on the podium: I seem to be made of glass. It’s pretty frustrating at times…but right now I think I am [mentally] in a good place. I don’t want to give up this championship so quickly. We’ll keep fighting and hopefully stay in one piece.”
The ‘invoice’ for Herlings’ gamble will arrive this week. The feeling in his shoulder and perhaps yet another scan, another diagnosis and maybe more stern news will determine whether Lommel was worth the exertions for a few numbers (although the bank account digits will gladly accept the bonus). Latvia will come around extremely quickly. Although Kegums is sandy it also has a hard base and is slick and fast. If Herlings can race again then round seven will be an authentic damage limitation exercise (with probably less competitiveness) until #84 and his crew can scramble to the sanctuary of the three week break brought upon by the cancellation of the Finnish GP. The second phase of the delayed 2021 competition will then begin afresh and the Lommel ‘lunge’ of faith might be an authentic turning point in the tale of a fascinating championship story to-date.
By Adam Wheeler @ontrackoffroad
Photos by Ray Archer @rayarcherphoto
As he climbed the top step of the podium at the final race of 2019 at Valencia, little was Marc Marquez to know that a global pandemic would rank fairly far down his list of worries over the coming 581 days. It has been a long, painful road back from the career threatening injury to his upper right arm sustained on 19th July last year, and there is still some way to go. But at his beloved Sachsenring, each and every trait that has earned him eight world championships was on display.
The 28-year-old was sensational around the German venue’s tight curves as he brilliantly seized the initiative midrace during the briefest of showers before resisting a spirited Miguel Oliveira fightback to claim a win that caps one of the sport’s great comebacks. In just the sixth race since his competitive return in April, Marquez held off his strongest opponent at arm’s length for a first triumph in 19 months. This must surely rank alongside the comeback feats of Barry Sheene and Mick Doohan from days gone by, and as one of the most important results in his career.
If that sounds like hyperbole, Marquez was happy to provide some context soon after. “In September, October, and November (last year) I was scared about more than not winning again,” he said of the time when the humerus bone was beset by infection after two unsuccessful surgeries. “Every time I felt less power and worse feeling. I was thinking about my arm, my life, not about racing.”
With those struggles in mind, this revival was never going to be straightforward. Deprived of a preseason and thrown into the action two races late, Marquez has been left to fight on two fronts: the first a frantic recovery of on-bike fitness as he sought to regain comfort in a revised riding position. The pain in his right arm then shoulder has been persistent. The second was to reverse the fortunes of Honda, undergoing its worst run since 1981, that had stagnated in his absence. In previous weeks the challenge appeared too great for even a man of Marquez’s talents.
Those can’t have been easy times of late, when he crashed out of consecutive races in France, Italy and Catalunya. Even if he tried to shrug it off, there were doubts as to whether he would ever recover his full strength. But a recent conversation with Doohan had played a key role in maintaining his spirits. The Australian had gone to hell and back himself when recovering from a botched operation on his right leg, badly broken at Assen in 1992, and offered up some perspective for the current Repsol Honda rider.
“I was listening (and) he was just speaking,” Marquez said of his chat with the Australian five-time champion. “He was explaining his situation, but it was like he was explaining my situation. He had exactly the same problems. (Like) You don’t understand the bike. You are not riding like you want, stupid mistakes, stupid crash, some races you will be fast, some practices you will be slow and you don’t know why. All the problems I’ve had this year is what he had in the past. So this conversation with Mick helped me a lot to keep pushing.”
There are interesting parallels to draw between Marquez’s recent plight, and those arduous months Doohan endured in the second half of 1992 and most of ‘93. Obviously, the Catalan has achieved a ridiculous haul of titles before this, while the fact the Australian hadn’t was one thing that drove him on. “The bone was infected. I probably would’ve given it up, albeit come back a few years later,” Doohan told me a few years back of his feeling at the close of that season, when he lost the title to Wayne Rainey at the final race by just four points.
“But because I didn’t win, it was really a godsend. It drove me to push myself to get back on the bike and get myself strong again. I had people like the Wayne Gardners telling Honda I’d never be the same rider I once was before. Back then in any top line sport you very rarely can take a year off and the door is left open for you. I knew I had to prove myself a little bit, keep going.”
While Kevin Schwantz and Rainey were riding at the top of their game, Doohan had to find new ways of riding to cope with his physical limitations at that time. “You could grab a hold of my ankle and my knee, and you could flex my leg because it was a non-unison, I was still riding with a broken leg. At that point in time I had a 20 degree angulation in my leg. It was just starting to fold over. I couldn’t actually steer the bike. I had a few crashes through the year because you steer a grand prix bike essentially with your feet, especially through fast and tight sections.” It was a grind at times, and there were days it didn’t go to plan. But by the fifth race of 1993 Doohan was back on the podium and a win at Mugello that July was confirmation he still had what it took.
Sound vaguely familiar? As he said on Sunday, Marquez has been enduring similar days when he’s struggled to rekindle the sorcery of before. We really do have to remind ourselves he was still taking antibiotics for the infection in his arm as recently as the Catalan Grand Prix. The bangs he took at Jerez in FP3, where he cricked his neck, and the race in France, were enough to cause even a full fit rider real discomfort. And the current incarnation of the RC213V was a similar one that underwent Honda’s first winless season since 1981. Even Marquez, a loyal member of Honda’s set-up, was highly critical of the bike’s shortcomings in Barcelona, where he opted to risk-it-all trying, over finishing in a steady twelfth.
He’s clearly not out of the woods yet. The Sachsenring was always going to offer up some respite. Aside from the fact he has won each of the previous ten races he entered here, the track’s anti-clockwise layout – nine left turns outdo the three rights – wouldn’t highlight the lack of strength in his right arm as previous courses. Assen, with its quick, long corners and high-speed changes of direction could well bring Marquez and HRC back down to earth.
But a win of this kind will provide such a boost. For one, his rivals have definitive proof that if the circumstances are right, as they were on Sunday, his determination and race-craft are as fine-tuned as they always were. As Jack Miller said, “He comes back here with one arm and still smokes us.” Then there is the positivity it generates within Marquez and his team. He put it nicely on Sunday, saying, “The fuel tank was in the limit and here in Sachsenring we found a petrol station … This victory will be important for all our team.”
Rekindling a title charge considering all of Honda’s current limitations may just be out of reach this year. Yet on this evidence only a fool would count Marquez out of having a major role to play in the ten races that remain. This was no ordinary feat.
By Neil Morrison @NeilMorrison87
Photos by HRC/CormacGP
That wasn’t quite what I was expecting from the first round of MXGP.
While there was the sight of rash decisions, overzealousness and mistakes typical of the opening event of a championship that has been delayed twice and last raced on November 8th, there were also two emphatic statements by the defending MXGP and MX2 world champions. Wasn’t it supposed to be a bit more haphazard?
Tim Gajser not only went 1-1 to rule the initial taste of nineteen in MXGP but he did so in two distinct ways: disappearing from the front in the first moto, once Jorge Prado had slipped out of second position, and then recovering from an opening turn pile-up to barrel through all of his rivals to lead the second race by lap 12 of 19.
As ‘round one’ performances go, this was pretty absolute. Gajser is the most victorious rider in MXGP since 2015. His championships in 2016, 2019 and 2020 have now moulded a mature 24-year-old who retains all that youthful power, strength and confidence but with better racecraft and the authority and knowledge to dictate his own technical terms to HRC. In the past Gajser leaned heavily on his father but has been more independent and free-spirited since the pair ceased their working relationship three years ago. The Slovenian has minimised his mistakes and is now even more in sync with the latest generation of the CRF450RW, which he used to such forceful effect in 2020, and Ken Roczen deftly glided around the Supercross stadiums in the first part of 2021.
Gajser claimed the last two events of 2020, both at the Pietramurata circuit in Italy. The other moto winners on those occasions were Monster Energy Yamaha’s Jeremy Seewer and Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Romain Febvre. In Russia Febvre made the podium in 3rd place even in spite of a second moto mistake that saw him briefly balanced on top of a haybale and Seewer was steady but unspectacular to 6-5 and 5th overall. Gajser was on a superior level to Red Bull KTM’s Tony Cairoli (who was surprisingly fast at a circuit he dislikes and where he wrecked his shoulder and season in 2019) and Jeffrey Herlings. Apart from Jorge Prado at the 2020 Spanish GP, the Dutchman was the only other rider to make a 1-1 in 2020, with his final appearance of the season before his neck injury in the second date at Faenza. Herlings had already showed his customary speed with his Pole Position effort in the morning at Orlyonok but even the rapid #84 couldn’t deal with the presence of the Honda as he swept from 3rd to 2nd on lap six.
Perhaps it was prudent from Herlings not to wildly pursue Gajser across a track where the Honda man had triumphed the last time MXGP visited in 2019. Gajser had ended Clement Desalle’s mini streak of success. The Belgian paid a heavy price for trying to make a hattrick when he crashed and sustained a broken leg. MXGP had been patient through an off-season that lasted 216 days but Herlings had not raced for nine-and-a-half months. His absence from the championship and his surrender of a series he was leading in 2020 must have been factors in his slight reticence in Russia. It was still unusual to see Herlings dismissed in such a manner. The infrequency of that sight is further testimony to his status, so expect the #84 to fire back quickly and firmly.
If Gajser was unstoppable then his MX2 counterpart, Red Bull KTM’s Tom Vialle, was even more controlling. The windy nature of Orlyonok was always going to reward those who were more capable out of the start gate and the world champion had his fingers around the throat of this Grand Prix from the first minutes. 1-1s are quite rare in MX2 these days. Vialle and Jago Geerts (12th overall with a weak knee) managed the feat once each last year and that was it. Vialle is already heavily tipped to be KTM’s fourth back-to-back MX2 champion this century and, going by this display, there was no reason that talks for the Frenchman’s obligatory move to MXGP and a 450 SX-F (if he wins the title again) should be kept away from the planner.
If Russia was a template for MX2 then it’s eerily similar to the one witnessed in 2020 where Vialle leaps out of the blocks and his only real threat comes from mistakes or if somebody is able to give chase. Neither factor was present at Orlyonok and the Yamaha’s decent start prowess from last year that enabled Geerts, Ben Watson and Maxime Renaux to establish the YZ250F as the second-best bike in the category was not evident in Russia. Vialle’s most potent opponent could come from closer to home as Mathys Boisrame’s one-lap speed was enough for Pole Position and the Frenchman also foraged his way to the podium. 2nd place was a big strike for Ruben Fernandez – the sole first-time visitor to the top three at round one – who showed that the often-maligned Honda CFR250RW could at last be a viable weapon.
Three things we liked from the Grand Prix of Russia:
-With 9th overall for Jeremy Van Horebeek on the Beta, all seven brands in MXGP made the top nine
-A maximum of 5000 attendance meant that MXGP had some atmosphere and sense of occasion
-Life in the old dogs: points & pace from Cairoli, Strijbos, Lupino, Simpson
Three things we didn’t:
-Orlyonok is spectacular and scenic, and changes had been made to drop the speed but some of the track prep still looked uneven and the finish line jump was a hot spot for incidents and accidents
-A nasty crash for Ivo Monticelli that delivered a second concussion for the unlucky Italian
-Tony Cairoli’s crash and broken clutch: a podium finish would have been a strong result for the 35-year-old
Up next: The Grand Prix of Great Britain at Matterley Basin on June 27th for the first of six rounds in a row. 4000 tickets have already been sold for the event but it looks as though that will be the limit as the UK will delay their June 21st ‘opening’ date to be free of the pandemic restrictions.
By Adam Wheeler @ontrackoffroad
Photos by Ray Archer @rayarcherphoto