Was it wet? Was it dry? Both? These questions seemed to be plaguing all the riders as they lined up for the main race, some opting to swap bikes after their initial Sighting Lap…
By the Karr Report
Moto3:
Welcome back, Roulstone!
We welcome Controversial Quiles to the grid. The young rookie is finally of legal age for racing in Moto3, with bragging rights as being something of a Marquez prodigy.
Let us take a moment to lament the sorrows of Adrian Fernandez, and his COTA calamity.
Fernandez’s race very nearly didn’t even start, much like his Leopard pre-race. No matter what the team tried, the Honda simply refused to start, and eventually Pit Lane closed, and time ticked off towards the Warm-Up Lap which Fernandez desperately wanted to join as that would allow him to start from the back of the grid.
A good old push start didn’t work. Swearing (a lot) while trying to start it didn’t work, either.
Eventually the entire team – likely including everyone, even the tea person – was on the case, and it was finally determined that the clutch was the problem.
Now, we would love to get these guys to come and replace our clutches at the speed that they’d replaced that Honda’s: the faulty clutch was out and a new one in by the start of the Warm-Up, and Fernandez was out on track in time to join the back of the grid.
There were some concerns about him leaving pit lane while the lights were red, though he was given a green flag, too. In the end, he juuust caught up with the rest as they lined up for the start, and took his place at the rear.
And then… He jumped the start!
Now we all know what a Jumpstart gets you, right? That’s correct:
Timmy: a Double Ticket to the Long Lap Loop.
Before he was even served the penalty, Adrian got it all wrong into Turn Twelve during the opening lap, opting for a picturesque detour just to clear his mind…
Deep breath, Adrian. Deep breath.
Okay, that is enough on the Fernandez saga, since after the Long Laps had been served, he managed to keep it clean.
On Lap Two, Nepa tagged Foggia’s rear as they went through Turn Eleven, sending him (Nepa) on a slight detour, but miraculously neither rider went tumbling.
A bikeless Rossi was spotted trudging through the gravel outside of Turn Nineteen a few seconds later.
Starting Lap Four, Munoz’s bike did a hop, then a skip across the tarmac, leaving its rider mid-track on the first turn. Munoz remounted, cruised the bike back to the pits, then returned to the track a few laps later, before returning to the pits for a final time.
Lunetta went sliding off at Turn Eighteen on the fifth lap, like a hockey puck on freshly polished ice, but not before he was launched into the air and slammed down flat on his back.
Three laps later, Lunetta’s teammate Nepa followed his example, slipping off at the same turn. Nepa’s bike showed its displeasure by means of a tailpiece to the head before sliding away.
Ogden retired to the pits around the same time as Nepa’s crash, due to being in too much pain from his earlier crash-induced injuries.
On the tenth lap, Perrone lost control over the rear end of his motorcycle in quite the spectacular manner, whereafter the rampant bike cannonballed into Yamanaka, wiping him from the track.
We were soon informed that, somehow, Yamanaka managed to return to action.
Rueda, far ahead of the rest, claimed victory, with Kelso snatching up his first podium in dry conditions with a second place, and Bertelle taking third.
Moodley continued to struggle with the COTA anti-South-African bug, finishing the race in sixteenth. You did well under the circumstances, Ruche.
Honourary mention to Fernandez: After everything that had happened, Adrian still managed to climb his way up into a final position of twelfth.
Rueda, on the other hand, was climbing walls in order to mimic the famous Zarco Backflip celebration. It was very well-executed; we’re sure Johann would approve; nine out of ten.
After the backflip, Rueda opted for a wheelie towards pit lane, followed by a stoppie into Parc Fermé. Little show-off.
Moto2:
Huertas started the race with a Long Lap Penalty for crashing under a yellow flag. Talk about adding insult to injury.
Having broken bits inside his hand during a crash in quali, Binder could not compete in the race.
As the riders lined up on the grid, the rain drizzled down, causing much deliberation and concern. Nearing the start of the Warm-Up Lap, a wet race was officially declared.
The vast majority of riders opted for rain rubber; there were six exceptions: Agius, Salac, Roberts, Arenas, Moreira, and – most surprisingly – Gonzalez. The latter had, moments earlier, noted ‘…rain not hard, but track wet…’ and that rain tyres would be the best option. Was this a textbook case of overthinking, or self-doubt?
Returning to the grid after the Warm-Up Lap, Agius got confused and initially lined up in the wrong spot.
How? We haven’t the faintest clue. Thankfully he quickly rectified the error, push-shunting his machine into the correct slot moments before lights-out.
Dixon took the term ‘Horsepower rodeo’ far too literally during the opening lap of the race, judging by that bucking bronco moment.
Around the fourth lap, it was reported that the rain had essentially stopped, though the track was still quite wet.
Salac became the first (and, truthfully, the only) slick-runner to admit he’d been a muppet, pitting by the end of Lap Five (Lap Six for those on rain tyres). He was given a set of rain tyres, and sent back out on the off chance he could make up over a lap before race end.
With four laps to go, Oncu went flying off the track as he entered Turn Ten, his bike putting in a decent attempt at breaking the air fence while Oncu got battered to submission by the flailing tumble he had been forced into.
It was a very tender Oncu who sat in front of the air fence rearranged by his rabid Triumph.
What is more embarrassing than forgetting to put on pants before going outside? Falling moments after getting up from a fall… Just ask Vietti: his first fall came at Turn Twelve on Lap Fifteen. Because it was a mild spill, he quickly remounted, only to slip and fall again at the very next corner. During the shameful slide off, his bike attempted to flatten him in absolute chagrin.
Meanwhile, Dixon had been pulling out a ridiculous lead:
By Lap Five, it reached three seconds. By Lap Seven, four seconds. And by the time there were five laps left, Dixon’s lead had stretched to well over five seconds.
Due to this stupendous margin, Dixon afforded himself a stand-up wheelie across the finish line, claiming the win.
A while later, Arbolino passed the chequered flag to take second, and Lopez came in for third.
On the cooldown, Dixon stopped for some celebratory shenanigans, which included his concerning interpretation of a lasso-wielding cowboy.
Once in Parc Fermé, Dixon went on to yell ‘Yeeehawww’ into the microphone so loudly that half the spectators’ eardrums burst. Please stop screaming, Jake. No, seriously, stop screaming. STOP SCREAMING!
Moto GP: Saturday Sprint Race:
We were treated to a fun Lasso Show pre-race, though they didn’t even air the majority of it. We would like to log an official complaint about this.
The opening lap was utter mayhem. Glorious chaos. We were enthralled.
Through this chaos, Marquez (Marc) experienced a rear-end wobble through Turn Eighteen that would make a normal man soil his leathers and stop at the nearest bar for a strong drink. This being Marc, he simply straightened the Ducati, and barged his way back into the lead.
During the second lap, Miller decided to go sightseeing beyond Turn Twelve.
Mir spotted a few marshals apparently digging a small veggie garden at Turn Twelve, and by the fifth lap he went off to help, ploughing ditches into the gravel with his motorcycle’s rear wheel.
At the end of Lap Eight, a clearly miffed Vinales retired to the pits.
Savadori was slapped with a Long Lap Penalty for a shortcut at Turn Five, though it was so late in the race that he in all likelihood opted to rather take the time penalty post-race.
At the risk of sounding like a stuck record, here are your podium-finishers: Marc Marquez in first, Alex Marquez in second, and Bagnaia in third. It is seriously becoming an eerie trend.
Binder, through the weekend’s hardships, came through for twelfth overall.
Main Race:
Was it wet? Was it dry? Both? These questions seemed to be plaguing all the riders as they lined up for the main race, some opting to swap bikes after their initial Sighting Lap.
The vast majority chose to run rain tyres, with a handful of riders deciding to gamble on slicks.
Quartararo even crashed during his Sighting Lap, sliding off the track, he quickly got his bike upright, though he found that he would have to push it to the pits.
Enter Miller Taxis & Recovery Services!
Having spotted the stricken Quartararo, Miller quickly came to the Frenchman’s aid, giving his Yamaha the standard boot-to-peg push back to the pits.
When time came for the countdown to the Warm-Up Lap, and everyone on the grid seemed settled in their choice of rubber, a tense silence came down…
Until Marc Marquez bolted for pit lane mere seconds shy of the Warm-Up kicking off.
This set off a catastrophic avalanche of riders scrambling for the pits in order to change to slicks, leaving a handful of bewildered riders standing on the grid, waiting for the Warm-Up to start.
Vinales not only ran off, but had to chase down his rapidly escaping KTM, clearly flustered by events.
Eventually the utter chaos that was now the grid forced Race Direction to abort the scheduled start, announcing a new, Quick Start some minutes later. The race was also shortened by one lap, the new distance, nineteen laps.
Davide Brivio was not trying to conceal just how livid he was with the fact that there would be zero repercussions for those involved in the mess that ultimately delayed the race.
We tend to agree with Davide on that one.
After the Quick Restart, and while lining up post-Warm-Up on the grid, Marquez – Marc – encountered a small hiccup with his holeshot device, struggling to get it to engage.
Vinales’ hand shot up, and he was promptly removed from the grid, whereafter the race finally got underway.
Acosta became the first casualty of the race, plopping down into Turn One during the Eighth lap. He did remount, but merely limped his KTM to the pits and disappearing in search of a decent hot dog stand.
Shortly after Acosta’s incident, Marquez – Marc the Instigator of Controversy, that is – toppled over and out of the lead as he neared Turn Four, sliding across the track multiple times alongside his Ducati.
He remounted, minus his screen as it’d made contact with his helmeted noggin during the initial crash, and sporting a right-side footpeg delete.
Some would mumble that this was karma.
Marc being Marc, he tried to race without a screen and without a footpeg, but by Lap Thirteen he could not take it anymore, retiring to his pit box.
During the eleventh lap, Mir suffered the mildest crash ever seen, going into Turn Twelve.
Binder suddenly went tumbling down the Timing Tower while on Lap Fourteen – the reason was soon revealed to be technical-gremlin in nature.
On Lap Seventeen, Zarco lost the front at Turn Twelve, crashing out in an unimpressive puff of dust.
On the same lap, though three turns further than Zarco, Aldeguer went tumbling off the track, where he had to be helped off by a horde of clingy marshals.
Finally, the end of the race beckoned. It’d been something of a cacophony.
An elated Bagnaia crossed the finish line well ahead of everyone else, taking his first race victory of the year, and simultaneously becoming the tenth MotoGP rider to achieve a total of thirty race wins.
The surviving Marquez came through for an all-too-familiar second-place finish, while DiGi snatched up third.
Upon arriving in Parc Fermé, Bagnaia was presented with a sticker of himself with a big hot dog, along with a fresh hot dog for him to bite into in celebration of his win.
One last thing before we part ways:
Who saw the Safety Car crash?
Rumour has it that it wasn’t due to track conditions, but rather driver error, aka cockiness. This is unconfirmed, though.
Now, we bid farewell to Austin, and all its controversy. Until next year!
~ Karr
