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The last resort is not on some fancy island, but on the dark asphalt in Brno and the Red Bull Ring. The holidays are already over for the riders, and they're back to training in the gym or on their bikes. Everyone's first objective is the same: to get the most out of the 10 remaining races of this season. It'll be easier for some(one) than for others, and that someone is Marc Marquez.
Now that his fast from the MotoGP is over, Honda's Spanish rider returns to the track with his defenses kept up against his besiegers. The walls he put up are built with those 58 points away from Dovizioso, his closest (if we can say) rival. You don't have to be a math genius to understand that it wouldn't be enough for Andrea to win all the remaining races for the title if Marquez always gets a 2nd place.
Fortunately, the races are much more uncertain than an equation is, and there's still some hope for Ducati, but they have to nurture and strengthen it to make it become something greater. This is when Brno and the Red Bull Ring arrive at the right moment.
Dovi won in the Czech Republic last year, while the Ducatis in Austria have been unbeaten for 3 years, since the Ring became part of the calendar. To be more precise, in 2018 in Brno, it was a double win, while Marquez placed himself between Lorenzo and Andrea in Austria.
The Ducatis need a double win at both tracks, in order to be able to significantly shorten the gap with Marc. Very easy to say, but difficult to implement. Especially since the Honda has greatly improved its engine, and that theory on the straights and when breaking, characteristic of the Red Bull Ring, is no longer frightening. Imagine Brno, where in the MotoGP, Marc has always been on the podium.
During the break these past few weeks, Dall'Igna's men didn't sit idly by. Pirro was busy with tests, but we'll have to see if this effort will end up being sufficient. Also because both, and (especially) Dovizioso and Petrucci, criticized the understeering at the end of the Sachsenring GP, now a historic limit for the Desmosedici.
Those words ("If it'll take a year to solve it, then let's do it", Dovi dixit) almost seemed like a surrender, but maybe that standstill came at the right time. A few weeks to get themselves together, clear their thoughts, and put their noses to the grindstone.
Also because they can't take stock without Yamaha and Suzuki. Vinales closed the first half of the season with a win and a 2nd place, Rins wasted many chances, but the GSX-RR proved to be ready to contend a victory (again), Quartararo is now a guarantee, and Rossi desperately wants to shake his season up.
But it'll be difficult for the Ducatisti to be able to count on the help of these "outsiders" in the ranking. Actually, they've always involuntarily been Marquez's allies with their performances. It's obvious that those who no longer have an interest in the World Championship aim at the results of the round without having much to lose.
Once again, in this extremely difficult puzzle to interpret, Marquez is the only one who can handle every race. "Attacking when I feel good, getting on the podium when I'm having a hard time", is his philosophy, which has not yet faltered.
So, what's Ducati's option? Dominate, rather than simply win. Always attack and hope that his rivals make a mistake. The war is not yet lost, but the battles need to be won before it's too late.
