Episode 226 of the Paddock Pass Podcast is out, and this show covers the MotoGP action from the Styria GP at the Red Bull Ring.
On the mics, we have David Emmett, Neil Morrison, and Adam Wheeler, as they cover what turned out to be a very eventful weekend in Austria.
It has been a fascinating day of thrilling action at the Red Bull Ring. Records have been broken, riders have pushed the limits of their bikes, and the fans – back in full force at last – have added some of the atmosphere that has been missing during the long Covid-19 pandemic.
There was elation and heartbreak, a sensational pole in MotoGP, and above all, glorious Austrian summer weather.
Yet it all lacked a sense that it stood outside reality, had no bearing on the actual racing, nothing to do with MotoGP. Perhaps that is the illusion of a return to racing after such a long summer break, the longest in recent history.
But more likely, it is because while the fans lapped up the action under the sunshine, we all knew that whatever happened on Saturday is likely to be undone by the weather gods on Sunday.
In an ideal world, MotoGP teams can use practice to prepare for the race on Sunday. Test tires in FP1, make setup changes in FP2, finalize the setting in FP3 and FP4, then into qualifying to be ready for the race.
In an ideal world, conditions are comparable enough through all practice sessions on Friday and Saturday to find the optimal setup choices for Sunday.
But we don’t live in an ideal world, of course. Temperature differences and changing conditions leave a lot to a mixture of experience and guesswork. Even then, as long as you have dry weather, you can get pretty close.
It was an odd day today. The moment we heard that there would be an extra press conference to be held by Valentino Rossi, the work of a journalist goes into overdrive.
Preparing a story for if he announced his retirement, worrying whether to write an alternative story, for if he had announced he would be switching to Ducati and racing in his own team, putting out feelers to see what people thought the announcement would be.
Weighing rumors that he would be doing one thing or another.
The most remarkable thing about today’s announcement was that nobody knew which way it was going to go.
Normally, decisions of such import leak out; there were rumors that Jorge Lorenzo was going to retire for weeks before hand, Casey Stoner’s retirement had been credibly reported at least three weeks before the announcement, and Dani Pedrosa’s retirement had been telegraphed for a long time.
Even Rossi’s decision to drop long-time crew chief Jeremy Burgess had been leaked to the press a week beforehand.
And in truth, the leak probably forced Rossi’s hand, and into making an announcement before the Valencia race, instead of after it. Rossi got his revenge later, however, planting a false story with the same journalist a year or so later.
If it’s scenery you’re after, the Red Bull Ring, or Spielberg, or Zeltweg – choose your favorite name for the Austrian circuit – is hard to beat.
Mugello maybe? The Italian track sits in a valley, rather than being set up against the lower slopes of a mountain, but Spielberg wins on the mountain backdrop behind it.
Phillip Island, perhaps? The Bass Strait makes for a stunning setting, but is it more dramatic than the Austrian Alps which frame the Red Bull Ring?
Episode 225 of the Paddock Pass Podcast is out, and this one welcomes back the MotoGP Championship from its long summer break, as we preview the Styria GP in Austria.
On the mics, we have David Emmett, Neil Morrison, and Adam Wheeler, as they discuss the headlines from the summer break, and what we can expect to see at the fast Spielberg track.
The Kymiring will have to wait. Today, the FIM announced that due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the complications posed by travel, the Finnish Grand Prix at the Kymiring has been canceled for 2021.
But in compensation, the circuit in Finland is to get a five-year contract to host MotoGP for the years 2022 to 2026.
A week later, and back in the same place. Plus ça change pas… The same riders are back at the same track, in the same situation. So we should have the same result, right?
That’s not quite what the data from Jerez says. Sure, the first two places were the same in both races. But behind that, the results were completely different between the two races, a week apart on the same circuit.
Only 9 of the 22 riders on the entry list of the first race finished both races, three of them ending up injured in the carnage of the two opening rounds.
Only Pol Espargaro crossed the line within one place of his finishing position in the second race, ending sixth in the first race, seventh in the second.
Only Johann Zarco’s finishing position varied by two places, crossing the line eleventh in the first race, ninth in the second. The rest of the field either finished three or more places out of position, or crashed out – and there were a lot of riders who didn’t cross the line one way or another.
The biggest name not to finish in either of the MotoGP races at Jerez was, of course Marc Márquez. The reigning world champion won’t be at the second race at the Red Bull Ring, Repsol Honda announced earlier this week, and an eerie silence surrounds when he will be back.
And so Honda languish in fifth in the manufacturer standings, and the factory Repsol Honda team is dead last in the team standings. Only Takaaki Nakagami is sparing Honda’s blushes, and he is riding a 2019 bike.