Not one for the ages, but that fight back from Bagnaia was very impressive. Marquez tried everything to rattle him, but ended up being the one to make a mistake by pushing so hard. Pecco has come so close so many times this year, so it was great to see him finally seal the deal. I think he has more potential than Miller, but just needs to get his head straight so he's less affected by problems.
I'm not sure if Quartararo got hit with the mystery Michelin issues that were so prevalent at Silverstone (and nobody is allowed to talk about, apparently, even if it's full-on chunking like happened to Oliviera a few rounds ago), but either way, it makes things a lot more interesting. I still think Mir is a more credible challenger than Pecco, if only because of his and Suzuki's consistency.
I was quietly hopeful for Aleix, but he just couldn't stick with Mir. Still, fourth shows the podium wasn't a fluke and the bike is on the right track. Vinales did as well as expected under the circumstances. Nothing shocking, but still lots of work to do. Apparently they kept everything exactly the same as Aleix's bike except they raised the footpegs 10 mm, so I'm sure he'll pick up time as those changes get implemented. It's really all about building for next year anyway...
I'm liking the WSBK Superpole Sprint Race format a lot better. 10 laps of balls-out, unbridled aggression - no worries about tire conservation at all. Too many of the 45-minute races are just 35 minutes of pacing and it's only the last 10 minutes that actually get interesting.
I think the MotoGP racing this year has been amazing, personally. I enjoy the cat-and-mouse of tire management, and hate the lottery drama of a flag-to-flag. Everything is super close, and I can't think of a recent round where there hasn't been a good battle for at least a podium spot. The strengths of the different bikes combined with the different riding styles is easy to spot, too, so there's been some great fights where strengths in some sectors are offset by weaknesses elsewhere.
The results at Aragon suggest the championship isn't quite as locked up as it appeared, too, though it'll have to mean someone finds some consistency as well as Quartararo having some bad weekends.
Heh, this never gets old and I still have to LOL at this.
This was the first time I've had an issue with the Dorna feed in absolutely ages, to be fair. Otherwise, it's a fantastic service and having access to pretty much every session on demand is great, including critical ones like FP4, which are often a good glimpse into who has good race pace. I still miss Toby Moody and Julian Ryder, but the current commentary team is pretty good. Simon Crafar is great, too.
My only beef is I haven't found a way to start the race from the beginning while it's live without being spoiled by seeing the live feed to start. This past Sunday, for example, we got up with the intention of watching live, but a dog with the runs ruined those plans. We had to wait until the race was over, as well as all the post-race interviews and podium celebrations to start from the beginning in the 'Spoiler Free' section.
I won't get on my high horse about piracy, but personally I don't mind paying for a series that I get so much entertainment out of, and I believe it helps keep the racing healthy. It's not that expensive in the grand scheme of things, especially when compared to other services I'm more ambivalent about, like DAZN (Premier League plus Serie A made sense, but losing Serie A makes it a lot less interesting). Sure, Dorna is a classic European sports monopoly, but they've done a decent job with the series, especially when compared to the shambles of F1...
