Sprint race number three is in the books, and despite the crashes – three in the ten-lap sprint around the Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas – everyone made it back to the pits pretty much in one piece and ready to go for Sunday. After the attrition of Portimão and Argentina, this was a welcome change.
Saturday underlined once again what a massive change the sprint races are for MotoGP. They change everything: there is no such thing as "it's only Friday" any longer, as Friday determines who gets through to Q2 directly, and who has the stress of trying to pass through Q1. With qualifying counting for two races rather than one, a spot on the front two rows is now utterly vital.
Conditions had changed too. A very heavy fall of rain overnight had flooded into some of the temporary offices in the paddock, and left the track green and still damp in the morning. Then, when the sun came out, temperatures soared, track temps creeping up towards the high 40s°C.
That left the track slick, and caught a lot of riders out. "Difficult," was how Brad Binder characterized conditions. "I had about four highsides on the first lap. So it was a bit challenging! I kept losing the rear on the first lap for some reason. Every time I cracked the throttle it just let go. So I lost so much time in the opening two laps until the rear tire started to feel normal."
Binder had a clear idea of why the grip was so poor. "It was hot out there," the Red Bull KTM rider said. "The grip was really low compared to what we've had all weekend and you really had to adapt all your markers a lot to just stay safe and not make any huge mistakes."
"For me, firstly, the rain overnight washed off or at least dirtied or something. The track was off this morning compared to yesterday, and it was like you could see in the Q2 I mean, I've never seen so many crashes I think in a quali ever. The race was also super slick. So it was important to be clean and not make mistakes, to not throw away any points or opportunities."
The MotoGP grid is starting to realize that the rewards of a sprint race are relatively threadbare unless you are on the podium, and are adapting their behavior accordingly. Stefan Bradl, who had watched the first two sprint races as HRC test rider and part of the German-language Servus TV presentation team, and had now got a taste of a sprint race in the flesh, as it were, substituting for the injured Marc Marquez, had a typically incisive view. "In the end it’s really, you have to risk a lot and in my eyes looking from outside watching and now taking part, my opinion is there is for some riders more to win, but for most there is very little to gain and so much to lose."
It was Pecco Bagnaia who gained the most from the sprint race. The reigning world champion had put the Ducati on pole in the morning, taking over a tenth off the previous pole record despite the less than ideal conditions. Bagnaia got a solid start together with the remarkable Alex Rins, and only managed to put some space between himself and the LCR Honda rider when his Ducati GP23 got into its stride down the back straight, and motored away from Rins' RC213V. From that point on, though Rins put up a stout defense for a couple of laps, Bagnaia reigned supreme. It was a display worthy of a champion.
Rins eventually ended up second, holding off challenges from Aleix Espargaro and Jorge Martin, despite making mistakes and running wide. Rins was clearly outgunned by both the Ducatis and the Aprilia, but he held his own at a track that he loves. Why Rins can manage to get the Honda on the podium where his former teammate Joan Mir and current teammate Takaaki Nakagami can't, we will dive into a little later.
On a side note, Neither Rins' sprint race podium in Austin nor Marc Marquez' sprint podium in Portimão will count toward concession points. The same applies to Brad Binder's magnificent win in the sprint in Argentina. If a Honda ended up on the podium in every sprint race, but couldn't get a podium in the Sunday grand prix, then Honda would be granted concessions. The same applies to both Yamaha and KTM, as neither of them had finished on the podium in a grand prix either.
Jorge Martin took the last slot on the podium, the Pramac Ducati rider putting on a strong display despite struggling with the flu all weekend. The antibiotics had kicked in at just at the right time, and Martin profited from a mistake by Aleix Espargaro while battling with Alex Rins, the Aprilia rider running wide and allowing Martin to come through. Martin held Espargaro at bay to take third, despite the Aprilia rider mounting an all-out assault on the last lap.
"As soon as I overtook him I felt so weak, so I just waited for his overtake," Martin told the press conference. "I was just going slow and braking hard, and finally, I could use that to beat him. You know, I was super slow but I was just taking my time to understand how to manage the battle. It wasn't easy but I was cleverer than him today and I hope tomorrow I feel better. I will try to rest today a lot and to gain a lot of energy tomorrow!"
Brad Binder finished 3 seconds behind Aleix Espargaro in fifth, while Marco Bezzecchi crossed the line in a respectable sixth place, picking up just enough points to continue to lead the championship by a single solitary point.
There were plenty of losers to go with the winners, most as a result of a crash. Alex Marquez had been sitting pretty for a podium in the early laps, before losing the front at Turn 12 battling with Jorge Martin. Fabio Quartararo crashed out just before the halfway mark, then went on to demonstrate incredible pace in the second half, almost matching the pace of Bagnaia. We will return to the complicated subject of Fabio Quartararo and Yamaha a little later.
By this measure, Luca Marini's mistake – starting from the front row but making a mistake into Turn 1, and finding himself shuffled well down the field before fighting his way forward to finish seventh – is relatively minor. But Marini's mistake is illustrative of the problems faced by riders racing at COTA at the moment.
Comments
Great write up and analysis!…
Great write up and analysis! Thank you!
Why is Martin being given…
Why is Martin being given antibiotics for the flu??
In reply to Why is Martin being given… by Keene Machine
Probably meant anti-"viral..."
Probably meant to say antiviral ("antibiotic" seems to have evolved into a generic term for "stuff-that-helps-you-get-better-faster"). From the Cleveland Clinic:
"Antiviral medicines work differently depending on the drug and virus type. Antivirals can:
This can help even after infection to reduce the effect of symptoms and speed recovery.
In reply to Why is Martin being given… by Keene Machine
I wondered the same thing…
I wondered the same thing. Anyway, super well-written and thoughtful article! Thank you! Looking forward to today's races...!
Excellent reading, as usual!…
Excellent reading, as usual!
Can you explain in a bit more detail, please, how concessions are a consideration again? I thought once a manufacturer was no longer eligible for concessions, that was permanent? Granted HRC is having as bad a time as possible, but Marc was on the podium as "recently" as P.I. 2022.
Apparently Suzuki could make…
Apparently Suzuki could make an I4 work while the program was on life support…
Anyway, I picked Rins for top independent, so he better get climbing that mountain.
In reply to Apparently Suzuki could make… by GSP
Yes, Suzuki's success with…
Yes, Suzuki's success with the I4 takes a little air out of the suggestion that it can't work. Also worth noting that Ducati is the only bike on the grid with desmodromic valves, which I imagine helps in various ways.
I know people hate MotoGP tech but I would love for the regulations to allow for active variable valve timing. If Suzuki can fit it to a $15K GSX-R1000 I don't buy the cost fears.
While a quick reacting mind…
While a quick reacting mind may judge a rider's results harshly, that rider bearing the brunt, the words of the Yamaha riders post-Sprint race, and those recently of A. Marquez, Rins, Bradl, Razali (and others forgotten?) shine a light on the Japanese factory's methods of working. Apparently slow and methodical, step by analytical step, in their native language, and through their cultural identity. Completely foreign to this guy observing from the outside.
In reply to While a quick reacting mind… by spongedaddy
I know it's COTA and it's…
I know it's COTA and it's Rins but his performance everywhere bar the 2nd half of the main straight was on par with Peco. No other Ducati was on Rins's level. If that's what Rins could do...how would Marc do at COTA ? It was the sprint, given more laps and better luck the other Ducati will blast past but I can't be sure.
Ducati have been radical with a lot of misses over the years. This year they have gone for evolution over revolution...are they following the Japanese method now ? When other manufacturers catch up will the go for revolution again and what if it's another miss ?
In reply to I know it's COTA and it's… by WaveyD1974
Yes. I agree WaveyD…
Yes. I agree WaveyD. Whatever one says about their perception of reality at any given moment, it's just a snapshot of the ever changing and evolving what is. And usually when I am seduced into concluding something, the opposite pops up soon after in contradiction. Laughing is therapeutic.
In reply to Yes. I agree WaveyD… by spongedaddy
As always. All knowledge is…
As always. All knowledge is provisional.
Relative Calm
We’ll see if the trend of relative calm continues as the season progresses. The strategy of slow playing the weekend to avoid injury and non-score has been the equilibrium for some time, and MotoGP has so little time between events that avoiding injury was critical before the sprints were introduced.
It was not surprising to see the riders risk everything to win the first ever sprint, but the sprints still feature occasional fanaticism. This might become the new equilibrium (occasional disproportionate effort) as in WSBK. Since both series revolve around maximizing tire performance over race distance, altering race distance creates opportunities for some teams and riders, no matter how small the reward.
If points-protecting during sprints becomes the norm, look for Dorna to shake things up with a sprint tire or some other gimmick. For sprints to work as an entertaining alternative to the feature Grand Prix, they must necessarily be a different competition. If they try to force people to watch a parade on Saturdays, I suspect people will walk away.
In reply to Relative Calm by phoenix1
Drop some rounds from the pointscore
Perhaps Dorna could liven up the Sprint races and ensure most of the grid is committed to getting a decent result by increasing the points to include more places like the Sunday race, and letting the riders drop their worst 4 or 6 results from the seasons 42 races this season. Only including say the best 36 results to determine your championship points may sound crazy but other sports have used that approach so as not to disadvantage those athletes who are out due to injury. Arguably using this approach would provide added incentive for riders outside of the top ten, when top five riders are out for a few weeks. By the end of the season, the best riders will still be at the pointy end of the Championship table.
I wonder, do Ducati turn up…
I wonder, do Ducati turn up the wick a bit for the sprint races due to the lower distance?
I4 vs V4
I4 can compete withV4. Suzuki proved that to the world. I think the problem for Yamaha is they use a crossplane crank, which has more limitations than a traditional crank when it comes to RPM. If Yamaha want to keep an I4 then they need to ditch the crossplane crank.
Crossplane Crank
I thought that the crossplane crank was supposed to enable smoother power delivery - a key issue in motorcycle design, enabling power to come on while at lean. The Yamaha traditionally does seem to exit corners well, it's late in the straight where they really lose out, as we saw in the main race with Marini passing Fabio (after Fabio had a bit of wheelie coming out of 11). This combined with lower gearing saved them last year in Austria, the high initial acceleration making the final top speed differential not as big an issue.
Rins no crash Honda
Always thought Rins was a bit of a crasher on the easy to ride Suzuki (end of last year excluded when he rode brilliantly). Now riding the wheels off the Honda that wants to crash at every corner and...no crashes. Go figure