We left Barcelona with the clear feeling we came very close to tragedy, these last two race weekends have seriously tested riders’ morale and made us believe again in “Divine Providence”. The risks were huge, but in the end it all turned out well. The incident involving Alex Marquez, triggered by a problem on Acosta’s bike, caused a terrifying chain reaction, one of those scenes you watch again and still struggle to believe is real. Then came the second start, even worse, with Zarco involved in an absurd accident, flipped over, with his leg trapped between the wheel and the swingarm… something that in the end looked “less serious” than expected, and that alone says everything. In moments like these, motorcycle racing reminds us how thin the line between spectacle and tragedy really is. Finally, the standings were completely overturned by penalties related to tyre pressure. Almost like a joke.
Let’s take a step back: Le Mans. After four heavy crashes and a race thrown away from 8th position…the mind immediately goes there, “Brno 2007”, when Marco still didn’t have the official bike. He crashed, got back up, crashed again, until a third crash completely destroyed the bike. That’s when you start asking yourself questions, perhaps the dumbest of all: “Why?”. Then you realise there is no answer. And when there is no answer, the only thing you can do is pack your bags as fast as possible and go as far away as you can. Inside the pit box we sum up these moments in a way that says everything “go,go,go,go”, imitating Aligi Deganello, who even on the darkest days still managed to make you smile.
However, O’Gorman had switched into a “touristic mood”. He brought everyone with him: his mum, girlfriend, brothers …basically the whole family. Big enough to make even a large family feel crowded. All of this, combined with his huge desire to prove something, led him to overdo things and make more mistakes than necessary. Nevertheless, he remains a very good rider, but he still needs to learn how to breath, read the race, and not carry pressures that are not his own.
Our Sunday was saved only by Leo, who finally scored the first two points in the World Championship. 300.000 people crossed the gates of the Le Mans circuit, despite the unpredictable weather. The beauty of this huge crowd made everything incredibly scenic. My eyes got lost in the crowd, taking me back in time. Back to Mugello, many years ago, when everyone used to sleep in the paddock, strictly with earplugs, and “ At Mugello you don’t sleep” was not just a slogan printed on t-shirts.
And now we are here, in the middle of the chaos of Barcelona. What remains is O’Gorman’s extraordinary race, as he managed to recover from the back of the grid after a heavy and EXCESSIVE penalty. Twelve grid positions, for a 4th sector that was too slow, really frustrating. The Montmelò grandstands watched him recover 14 positions, overtaking his rivals one by one in a masterful way, until he rejoined the leading group. There he got stuck in a battle with Fernandez, who never let him go, starting a fight lasted until the final lap.
One thing remains clear: a 10th place finish and the strong feeling that his potential is there.
Now I’m asking myself: which criteria are used to decide the penalty seconds? Let me explain…Ogura, who took out Acosta on the final lap, got a 3 seconds penalty. Three seconds. I would really like to understand the logic behind these absurd decisions. Is Spencer back?
Leo on his side, continues his learning process and race after race puts into practice all the new lessons he is learning, which gives us confidence for the future.
We don’t even have time to unpack our bags and it is already Mugello time. The first Italian race of the season will be without the Marquez brothers, as Marc too, after setting the track record at Le Mans in that single practice lap, was involved in a terrifying crash during the Sprint race, suffering several fractures. We send both of them our best wishes for a speedy recovery, hoping to see them back on the bike soon.
Because the motorsport world still needs two important figures like them, and because there are always too few riders capable of getting us “all standing on the sofa”.
-PaoloSic58-