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MotoGP, Barcelona GP: the Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Lorenzo dusts off his hammer, Dovizioso gives in to gravity and Ducati celebrates in part. Valentino keeps the title fight open

MotoGP: Barcelona GP: the Good, the Bad and the Ugly

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It was celebrations at Barcelona for Lorenzo, a superhero who smashed both the stopwatch and his rivals. Celebration time yes, but there was also regret in the Ducati camp, its former love proving stronger than ever while Dovizioso was left in the gravel once more. Valentino was also pleased to be back on the podium, and up into second in the championship. Marquez wasn't smiling, having replaced reason with instinct; he  may have gained but, in his case, missing out on the win is always a lost opportunity.

In Moto3 though, Bastianini and Bezzecchi have no such regrets. The first took the win, the second strengthened his position in the standings. In Moto2 it was Quartararo who dominated, while Bagnaia discovered that not all Dunlops come a hole, or perhaps they do.

THE GOOD – The Italian flag flew once again in Moto3. Enea Bastianini is finally back to winning ways, while Marco Bezzecchi once again proved that he has the smarts of a veteran. The podium could have been an all-Italian affair, if it hadn't been for the actions of a few kamikaze riders. Hats off to Enea then, and Marco, the only KTM rider able to defend himself from the Honda brigade.

THE UGLY –  Better late than never? Perhaps they are less than convinced about this particular saying in Ducati. After a second consecutive win for Lorenzo, they didn't know whether to laugh or cry. What a pity then, for both Jorge and the red team, that they have said farewell just as all the pieces have fallen into place.

THE BAD – We're talking about tyres, but not the Michelins. Dunlop is failing to shine when it comes to the development of its tyres in Moto2, where the single-tyre concept has been taken to an extreme in that only one works. And if said tyre starts to shed pieces as it did for Bagnaia, things go from bad to worse.

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THE DISAPPOINTMENT – If Dovizioso thinks he can beat Marquez with the same style, he may have to rethink his crash strategy, as Marc reserves that for practice sessions. Andrea's equilibrium has been compromised in recent races, and we're not just talking about his equilibrium on the Desmosedici.

There's no point crying over milk spilt in the run-off area, Dovi just has to remember who he is, and the rest will come.

THE CONFIRMATION  – He doesn't have the most competitive bike, he hasn't won for a year but he's the man keeping the championship title fight alive right now. Valentino is bringing the magic, pulling more surprises out of his bag of tricks. It takes something more to win, but Rossi is keeping pace. With the hope that they are twisting the throttle in Japan.

THE MISTAKE – Three wins and the same number of DNFs, but while previous incidents were not his fault, Jorge Martin had only himself to blame at Barcelona. The speed the Spaniard was showing only makes it more of a disappointment.

THE SURPRISE  – Pole position, the fastest lap and the win: it took Fabio Quartararo a while to get into the championship but he's done a good job. He came in with the label of favourite, which did him more harm than good. He's found his feet in the Boscoscuro team though and can now celebrate with the Speed Up, that hadn't seen the top step of the rostrum for a couple of years.

THE PASS – The MotoGP race will be remembered more for its crashes than its passes, but Alvaro Bautista deserves a mention for the best recovery, from 22nd on the grid, to 9th across the line. Mistakes made by other riders surely helped, but those who stay standing are always in the right.  

THE INTERESTING FACT – As for crashes, we reached triple figures over the Barcelona weekend. A round 100, also counting the contact between Corsi and Oliveira after the chequered flag.

I TOLD YOU SO – Alberto Puig a few weeks ago: “Lorenzo won't adapt to the Ducati”. he was kind to offer him a Honda.

Translated by Heather Watson
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