I'm pretty new to racing, only started really following MotoGP in 2020 and WSBK in 2021 (and now BSB as well this year), but I find the parity in MotoGP a little boring to be honest...where's the storyline? Watching Toprak and Rea duke it out every weekend was amazing last year, and this year is looking to be just as good.
Hopefully when they're back in Europe next weekend a few riders will start to stand out in MotoGP.
I understand where you're coming from with parity, but it's a fine line. On the one hand, the way it was not that long ago was the four factory bikes from Honda and Yamaha won >90% of all races, with someone else squeaking a result on unusual weekends where you had rain or a big crash taking out the title contenders. Then 2019 saw Marquez win literally almost everything and lock down the title 2/3rds of the way through the season. On the other extreme, you have a year like 2020, where the champion was definitely the most consistent rider, but Mir only won a single race all year.
Last year was great for me, as you had a select few true title contenders but ~2/3rds of the grid had a legit shot to win or podium on any given weekend. Quartararo indisputably deserved his title, as his was clearly the best package over the course of the year (not just most consistent), despite tailing off a bit at the end. You had extremely different bikes with varying strengths and weaknesses that made for some fascinating tactics and forced riders to ride in ways that made the most of their strengths.
It's too early to tell where things are going this year, as the unfreezing of development means you have two factories in Ducati and Honda who have made wholesale changes to their bikes, which always takes time to iron out the bugs and find baseline settings. Early rounds are always a bit weird, too, with the Qatar winner being an outlier as often as not, then the chaos in Indonesia with the new track, weather and disintegrating asphalt, then the shipping issues in Argentina. The upcoming races in Europe should see some order established, though time will tell.
WSBK is obviously very different, with the big technical development of the bikes being less of a factor and refining the package to suit your rider being the key element. It's telling that the street versions of the Kawasaki and Yamaha are basically two of the oldest stock bikes on the grid, despite some very minor updates. They are miles behind Aprilia, Honda, Ducati and BMW on the street, but that makes no difference for the race versions (this is also highlighted by many street models abandoning the 1000 cc limit). How much this matters to you will depend on why you watch, but things like the rev limits being adjusted based on wins have always felt like punishing success. I much prefer the GP approach of giving struggling teams a leg up rather than slowing down the fastest, but that's harder to do when the technical development on the SBK side is much less of a factor. Dorna has also gimped the series somewhat to avoid too much direct competition with GP's, as there was a time that the top WSBK boys were running laps at some tracks that would have produced a respectable result in a GP.
None of this is to say that one series is definitively better than the other as an entertainment product. For me, I prefer GP's because I like the cutting edge technology combined with the best riders in the world. I used to be more interested in the technology of WSBK because there was a direct link to the street versions, but those days are long gone, mostly because sportbikes are increasingly irrelevant for most major manufacturers from a sales standpoint (KTM doesn't even bother, despite spending stacks in GP for the R&D). By comparison, my track bike is an RC51, a bike that literally only exists because of the old WSBK rules.
I wish Dorna would just sell a MotoGP + WSBK package. Kind crazy to have to pay full price ($200 + $100 or so) just to watch both.
I think Dorna does everything they can to avoid the links between the two series being too explicit. They don't want to make it look like they intentionally treat WSBK as the little brother to GP's, even if that is the case.
Bell Fibe promo again!
If you have Bell Fibe, you can watch both WSBK and MitoGP races plus lots of all other motor racing on REV 1414. for $4 per month add on.
Great value.
Not certain if is offers on Rogers.
Out of curiosity, is there any on-demand element to their coverage? If so, I'd definitely look at making the switch from Cogeco. I really like being able to delay a watch, as Sunday mornings can be congested between dog walks, church, and other demands. I love being able to watch a race later in the afternoon when I can sit down with some beers or a spritz and watch the whole package at my leisure. Just means I have to avoid social media for the morning, which is never a bad thing...
Either way, a quick peek at the REV lineup is giving me flashbacks to the old Speedvision/SPEED TV days when Dave Despain ruled and before Fox ruined the channel by slowly turning it into all-NASCAR-all-the-time (plus endless Barrett-Jackson auctions). WRC, endurance, Indy Lights, and various low budget restoration and modding shows would take me right back to tube TVs. Just need to bring Pinks back to complete the set...
