Black is the color of the new MotoGP season. It suits everyone. Martin, Bezzecchi, and even Ogura wear it with ease on the podium. Red, on the other hand, seems to have gone out of style. It’s somewhere in the realm of orange. But there were also those who saw everything in gray, like Marc Marquez.
THE GOOD – He smashes fairings with a fist, quotes the sacred scriptures, cries and laughs: Jorge Martin’s mystical ecstasy comes with two victories. When he rides like that, he looks like a gift from heaven. We wondered if we’d ever see him again, after a list of fractures that would take a book to list them all. We instead found he was better than before.
THE UGLY – More surgeries, doctors, time away from the bike, and work to get back in shape. Marc Marquez knows no peace. Like the hero in a novel, he must face new challenges, just when they seemed to be over. But he has an unyielding spirit on his side, unlike the bones and screws in his body. If it were anyone else, we’d write them off, but he isn’t like the others.
THE BAD – The Moto3 and Moto2 races were reduced to Sprints due to the rain, lest they delay the start of the MotoGP. For years, we’ve said not to call them “minor classes,” but now we know they're just that to the championship organizers. Without them, there wouldn’t be the riders we have today and will have tomorrow in the MotoGP, but they mustn’t get in the way.
THE DISAPPOINTMENT – Bezzecchi held the 2nd-place trophy as if it were a consolation prize in a sack race at the parish youth center. He was right: if you want to be a winner, you have to want nothing but to win. However, finishing behind his garage mate is even worse. But now Marco knows what lies ahead, and he knows exactly what he has to do.
THE CONFIRMATION – We sometimes forget why they call him “El Diablo". His Yamaha can't hide the evidence, but he can patch it up on his own. Fabio Quartararo fought for positions as if he were competing for a title. He did it for himself, for his home crowd, and for anyone who understands anything about motorcycle racing. Bravo!
THE ERROR – He thrilled us at Jerez, then amazed us at Le Mans, but, this time, for all the wrong reasons. Alex Marquez’s race lasted a little over a lap. A handful of gravel was his souvenir from France.
THE OVERTAKE – It was Di Giannantonio’s on Acosta at the second to last corner for 4th place... or first among the rest, if you prefer. A nice move, but Pedro didn’t appreciate Fabio turning to stare at him afterwards. “No one overtakes me while looking at me,” the Spanish rider emphasized. Get the popcorn out for Barcelona.
THE SURPRISE – Seeing Matteo Bertelle back on the podium wasn’t just a surprise. It was a nice surprise. After everything he went through, he deserved a moment of joy. We hope this is just the first of many.
THE ANECDOTE – How time flies. We hadn’t seen a Japanese rider on the MotoGP podium since Valencia 2012, with Nakasuga. Ai Ogura made us feel a little older, but we’ll forgive him.
THE I TOLD YOU SO –“Rain”. That was the most-used word in the Le Mans paddock starting Thursday morning. But, of course, it never happened.