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We're almost at the end of the game: Marc Marquez has 98 points ahead of Andrea Dovizioso. Not great news, since the Honda rider will play out his first match ball in Thailand, in Buriram. You'd think he'd give up the first ball to win his eighth title, his sixth MotoGP, on Honda's own turf, in Japan, but we've never seen the cannibal so MM93 like he is now.
And, having seen Marc's last Grand Prix races, his rival should be expecting it.
At the beginning of the season, and after the controversy on the "spoon", Claudio Domenicali had stated: "Now beat us on the track."
No sooner said than done.
A few weeks ago, the CEO at Borgo Panigale confidently recalled that Marquez and Honda had beaten them, but there are 23 other riders behind Dovi and Ducati.
True, although we must never forget that, if you come in second, you're the first of the losers and that Dovizioso, minus his bad luck (Ducati's not the only ill-fated team), has only one more zero in the ranking than n.93.
THE GOOD - In this championship, we like the surprise Fabio Quartararo has given us. Let's face it, who would have imagined he'd be so fast? Luca Boscoscuro recuperated and hired him - and made him win, see HERE in our # GPOnecar - last year with his SpeedUp in the Moto2. That's why, even more than Fabio, the beauty of the 2019 world championship is this team manager. A former rider, an excellent talent scout who, from a managerial point-of-view, does and has done better than many of his more famous colleagues.
THE UGLY - There's not much to skirt around: when things go wrong - without considering technical problems, and the contender to the tile who comes in second in a championship - there is no fight for the title. And, so far, Marquez has won 8 Grands Prixs, finishing second 5 times. But it's not his fault. That's how the Almighty created him: undefeatable. At least for now.
THE BAD - Andrea Iannone now has the reputation of being a rider with a bad attitude. His opponents accuse him of being on the covers of magazines too many times, and and he's not being a true motorcyclist. A mistake. Notwithstanding that he's envied because of all the beautiful women that accompany him, "The Maniac" is the real thing. In Aragon he then admitted - and it must have been hard for him to do so - that his only mistake was saying "no" to Ducati. Let's face it: who wouldn't want him riding a competitive bike again? Someone with his kind of moxie could be a tough nut to crack, even for Marquez, but maybe not for the championship, which would introduce a not so slight element of disturbance. And how about someone who, after having reached an 11th place in Aragon before Petrucci, complains and accuses Aprilia of not giving him an equally fast bike, like that of his teammate, Aleix Espargarò?
Give this man a Ducati again, or at least a competitive Aprilia.
THE DISAPPOINTMENT - If we want to keep on the subject of Italian riders, the disappointment is Danilo Petrucci, who hasn't gotten one right in a while. We also expected more from Pecco Bagnaia while, on Valentino Rossi, there's very little to add: too many Yamahas arrive before him, for him to be absolved. In the end, however, they're all safe because the star player, Jorge Lorenzo, cannot manage the Honda RC213-V that, instead, dominates with Marc. Oh well... Even in Ducati, his first year was a disaster, but at least they gave him the chance in Bologna to adjust the GP18. In HRC, on the other hand, their like strangers in the same home.
THE CONFIRMATION - Fabio Quartararo finally explained what kind of Yamaha he's sitting on: "spec B" 2019 model, namely, an M1 with a 2018 frame and an engine that was downsized by 500 rpms to make it last longer. Besides calling the MY 2019 the 2018 version with new colors, bear in mind: either the old Yamaha was better than the new one, or the "Factory" riders did something wrong. Did I write the same thing?
THE ERROR Alex Rins did it again. His collision with Morbidelli, which he correctly apologized for after the race, caused him to lose serious points. And it's the first time this happens to him. If he had only been a bit more careful this year, he would have at least 50 points more and he'd be battling it out for second place with Dovizioso.
THE SURPRISE When things don't go well, they can only get worse. Zarco's being sacked by KTN is a bad story, even if Johann kept his salary. Being stranded may not have pleased the French rider, whose history demonstrated to the MotoGP world how hard the Austrians can be. Beyond Johann Zarco's trite set phrases, he got a nice ass-whipping. Who would've thought?
THE OVERTAKE - To rise from the nearby sidelines, Dovizioso did a few, but they reminded us of Bautista's in the Superbike. On the straight, the Desmosedici is a whirlwind. And it has been for three seasons. A motorcycle like his doesn't deserve finishing second for three consecutive years, let alone lose the World Constructors' Championship. As a partial consolation, it'll win team championship, with a 24 point advantage over Repsol Honda, but if you think about the fact that Marquez practically raced alone, well, you can draw your own conclusions.
THE INTERESTING FACT - In 2018, Ducati decided to race with a top rider. Their reasoning was: we won four Grand Prix races with one rider and three with another. We get rid of one (rider) and we win seven. A sufficient number to fight for the title.
The truth is that they only won three and, rightly so, Petrucci came ahead of his team leader. Strong teams have always had pairs of strong riders. A fast teammate is always a stimulus.
THE "I TOLD YOU SO" - "Zarco made a brave choice, but I don't know if it was a smart one or not." Jorge Lorenzo meant that having made it gave the French rider freedom but, if he had waited a little longer, maybe KTM would have left him home anyway, perhaps with a part of his 2020 paycheck. Excusatio non petita for the strategy he is now following himself?
