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."
