P120
CN
III IN THE PADDOCK
BY MICHAEL SCOTT
S
o the "MotoGP family"
flew to Qatar for a family
reunion. Long-separated
cousins embraced, reminiscenc-
es were shared, bread was bro-
ken and gooey bonhomie spilled
over the desert sands. What a
pleasure when such emotional
closeness can be celebrated.
What a wonderful affirmation of
racing's innate sweetness.
Oh, yes. There was a mo-
torcycle race as well. You may
have seen it.
But there were times when
that seemed a minor adjunct to
a group love-in and social media
feast where saccharine com-
bined with sucrose, glucose with
goodwill and fake smiles were
plastered on every face.
These dyspeptic thoughts
(forgive me for exaggerating)
were triggered at the pre-event
press conference, where among
others the eventual podium
gang—Rossi, Dovi, Marquez—
were there to face the grilling of
the media. And among the usual
crop of essentially anodyne
"Who do you think will win" sort
of questions, came one that
was particularly cringe-worthy,
asking Marquez and Dovi just
how good it must feel that after
a fierce race, they could appear
to be such good friends when
interviewed. (Quick, let's have a
group hug before we move on.)
PHONY PEACE, REAL WAR
