So, the MotoGP circus ended up going to Qatar after all, and everything went well, and everyone left safely. Now is the time for the powers-that-be to crow about how they knew it was safe all along and that there was nothing to worry about. Which, of course, is absolute nonsense. Just because something goes well doesn’t mean there wasn’t an unacceptable amount of risk attached. What if things hadn’t gone well? Would they be saying that it was worth the risk and the negative outcome was unforeseen?
As it was, the grids for both Sprint and Grand Prix were depleted, thanks to the non-showing of all the Yamaha riders, as well as no Joan Mir, through injury. Then, there were only 16 riders for the Grand Prix after Bagnaia was ruled out after his scary high-side at the beginning of the Sprint and Luca Marini withdrew through illness.
Will Yamaha face sanctions for not showing up? The race team has the fact that no travel to Qatar was a company-wide rule in its defence and not up to the race team, but will that be enough to prevent Dorna and Liberty from imposing sporting sanctions? You have to hope that sane heads will prevail.
Is it me, or has the championship lost much of its excitement, now that Marc Marquez stands on the brink of an eighth MotoGP title? Don’t get me wrong, he thoroughly deserves the success, and it’s another incredible chapter in his recovery story that started back in 2024 with the Gresini Ducati. But now that it would take a miracle for either Martin or Bezzecchi to steal away the crown from under Marquez’ nose, which is unlikely to happen, much of the tension has gone out of the title race.
Not that the Aprilia pair gave anything less than their best throughout the weekend. Indeed, Jorge Martin deserves a lot of credit for his performances while still nursing an injured wrist, and to come from 11th on the grid to fight for the lead of the Sprint – only to finish third – was an amazing story of grit and speed. Had Bezzecchi been able to avoid crashing out after tagging Marquez in the Sprint, the pair of them might have been able to inflict some damage to Marc’s title aspirations. Winning the Sprint race, however, was still not quite enough to guarantee Marquez the chance of winning the title on Sunday, unless he won and Martin failed to finish. That’s happened before this season, so nothing was certain.
The GP gave us another of those what-if moments, as Bezzecchi sailed off into the distance, chased closely by fellow-Aprilia rider Raul Fernandez, while Marc seemingly had no answer to their pace. If only Bezzecchi had been able to maintain that pace consistently throughout the season – as well as not crashing and committing no indiscretions leading to race bans – then the title would have been a three-way fight; two factory Aprilias and a lone factory Ducati. It seems so long ago now, but remember the beginning of the season, with three wins on the trot for Bezzecchi? Who then would have predicted anything other than an Aprilia title?
Pedro Acosta looked likely to relegate Marquez to fourth in the GP, but tyre pressure issues forced him to allow Marquez back through and, from that point, Acosta seemed unable to prevent his tyre pressure from straying into low-pressure territory and fell inexorably down the order to seventh at the flag. Brad Binder did well to make it straight to Q2 but was stymied by a gearbox malfunction during the GP.
So, now we have two weeks to wait for Portugal, by which time Martin will be a lot fitter and Bezzecchi will have fresh confidence after his Qatar victory. Of course, Marquez only has to take a 38-point lead into the season finale at Valencia to ensure the title (he currently sits 60 points ahead of Martin and 74 ahead of Bez), while Martin and Bezzecchi have to win all four Sprints and GPs, with Marquez scoring little or no points in both races. As we’ve said so often this season, not only can anything happen, but it usually does so; while there is still a mathematical chance, then there is every chance one of the Aprilia pair could do it.
While I would never wish ill fortune on anyone, how about if Marquez crashes out of both Sprint and Grand Prix in Portugal (without injury, of course) – a track where he has never won – and Martin and Bez take a one-two in both races! Now, that would make Valencia a finale for the ages! We can but hope.
