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Cycle News 2020 Issue 48 December 1

Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles

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VOLUME 57 ISSUE 48 DECEMBER 1, 2020 P95 stopping. Other riders were spasmodically fast, and Dovi did manage a win. But more often he was ambushed in qualifying and overshadowed in the race. It was left to underdogs Suzu- ki to pick up the pieces. Which they did with modest sufficiency. When spectacular is not good enough, then good enough will reap its own rewards. It was all so close, and so unexpected. There were other underdogs on top. KTM came out guns blazing, and young rid- ers holding the triggers. Binder's rookie win was a revelation. Taka Nakagami was another, like Morbidelli on a year-old bike, left to carry the load after big Marquez disappeared, little Mar- quez was finding his feet, and old-boy Crutchlow was injured. Also out of the shadows, the feared ex-outcast Johann Zarco, another to make a year-old bike look fresh and new. Only Aprilia failed to ride the trend. They were the worst-hit vi- rus victims, with Iannone absent on a drugs rap, and the scope to test and develop a brand-new engine severely Covid-restricted. Even their parts suppliers suf- fered in the lockdowns. So, the serendipity didn't work for everyone, but still eight of 14 MotoGP races were won by independent-team riders; Portimao's thriller had no fac- tory riders on the podium—a first since 2004. A couple of takeaways will doubtless be ignored in future, that back-to-back races at the same track can be brilliant, for all the groundhog-day complaints. Slow learners get a second chance, for one thing. Two in a row at Phillip Island, Silverstone and COTA next year, please, to make up for the ones that got missed. Secondly, who needs spec- tators? Apart, obviously, from race promoters. Everyone else got on just fine, even if they said otherwise. Dorna made a lot of cheesy fan-pleasing vid-clips with riders reading from scripts that "we do it for you." Drivel. They do it for themselves, be- cause they are obsessed, and because they are driven by over- weening talent, and because they love racing. The fans are just there to share it. Or not. Thirdly (and by the way), Portimao winner Miguel Oliveira is not a dentist, no matter how often commentators say so. He suspended his training to go rac- ing, and he's brilliant at it. Finally, massive congratula- tions, especially to Dorna, for making it happen when it looked (more than once) as though everything was lost. They did it for fans. Or was it perhaps for their wallets? Who cares? The important and won- derful thing was that they did it at all. CN "A COUPLE OF TAKEAWAYS WILL DOUBTLESS BE IGNORED IN FUTURE, THAT BACK-TO-BACK RACES AT THE SAME TRACK CAN BE BRILLIANT, FOR ALL THE GROUNDHOG-DAY COMPLAINTS. SLOW LEARNERS GET A SECOND CHANCE, FOR ONE THING. TWO IN A ROW AT PHILLIP ISLAND, SILVERSTONE AND COTA NEXT YEAR, PLEASE, TO MAKE UP FOR THE ONES THAT GOT MISSED."

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