Not my favourite year, but it was okay. I still absolutely hate the sprint races, as instead of adding, they just take away from the Sunday race. After the initial craziness, it settled into just half length races, nothing special. In fact, all the most memorable races were still the Sunday full-length event. Interesting also that Honda and Yamaha have extracted concessions that Aprilia and KTM could only dream about when they sucked, but I do see why Dorna is desperate for them to be competitive again.
They still need to fix the aero rules before someone gets killed. The way bikes can get sucked into the draft in the braking zone on the straights is terrifying, and there were a bunch of very close calls this year. I do like aero in general, as it's one of the few ways the bikes can get faster, but they need to develop an aero committee that can set some rules that keep the laminar flow clean coming off the back of the bikes. Then again, this is a series that has totally failed to allow their sole tire supplier to develop tires to keep up with the bike developments, so I won't hold my breath that Dorna and the MSMA will get their sh*t together. The fact that there's a pressure rule that can take a rider off the podium after the podium ceremony has happened is ridiculous.
The first test was an interesting glimpse into 2024. Marc was very fast out of the gate, and I'll be stunned if he's not in the title fight by the end of the year. Bad news for those of us who think he's a Grade A tw*t, but I guess the faction who thinks the sport needs bad guys will be happy. Honda showed promise with yet another all-new bike, which has gotten longer and lower to match the Euro factories. Yamaha less so, though they promised a new engine for the Sepang test developed by an Italian F1 boffin. Acosta did well for someone on a big bike for the first time, and KTM was so proud of their new aero that they slapped on some zebra camouflage to hide it from prying eyes.
Then again, Miguel Oliviera was top 5 in last years test in his first day on an Aprilia while Marini was fastest, so it's not a clear predictor for future results...
