Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1440270
VOLUME 59 ISSUE 1 JANUARY 4, 2022 P105 Being an Aussie, I can't back anyone other than the ironman Toby Price or the young pre- tender to his throne in Daniel Sanders, but I'm secretly hop- ing Skyler Howes gets a great result simply because of where he came from. This is a guy who has laid it all on the line—finan- cially and personally—to climb the ladder and gain that elusive fac- tory ride, and the Colorado man knows this is his best chance yet at landing on the podium. And you cannot discount the Ricky Brabec, the 2020 winner who at long last ended KTM's near two-decade winning streak on the factory Honda. The So Cal High Desert hauler will be one to watch, but he's got a new team- mate in former Husqvarna man Pablo Quintanilla, who is desper- ate to get the Dakar monkey off his back and claim a first victory. Stay tuned to Cycle News as I'll bring you a recap of each day's action and don't forget to tune into the Dakar Rally Daily podcast with Jesse Ziegler and Quinn Cody on this site, as they use the extensive reach of this publication to get a hold of as many of the main players as pos- sible for up-to-the-minute analysis of this great race. The coming 12 months will be the first in a massive 26 years that we will not have the great Valentino Rossi on the grid in grand prix racing, and I, for one, am pleased about it. Not be- cause I'm not a Valentino fan—I've been an admirer of the legend from day one—but the time was definitely right for him to step aside and give a young gun a shot, and I hated seeing a man who was so damn good toiling around at the back of the pack. My eternal hope was we'd see Garrett Gerloff get the spot on the grid, but we'll have to be content with him hopefully getting a few wins and perhaps fighting for the title in WorldSBK. Instead, Yamaha gave the place to a rookie who's never even ridden a Moto2 bike, so time will tell if it was a Jack Miller-style stroke of genius or something of a misstep. MotoGP looks like it'll be as awesome as ever, and I've got to think Francesco Bagnaia is odds on for the title, even at this early stage. The man has such style on the factory Ducati and after com- ing on so strong at the end of last year, he's got to have the others worried already. I sincerely hope Marc Mar- quez can come back after yet another gigantic injury. It would be a tragedy if the eight-time world champion were to be reduced to a shadow of his former self by way of an enduro training accident, but if there's anyone who has the ability to come back from things that would cause many a rider to simply give up, it's got to be him. Before I go, I would like to extend Cycle News' deepest con- dolences to the Hayden family fol- lowing the death of patriarch, Earl, after a long battle with cancer. It's hard to imagine a man who has been more influential on his sons' racing careers as Earl, who has now joined the most famous of the Hayden brothers trio, Nicky, in that great racetrack in the sky. Ameri- can racing has lost a true legend. I hold an optimistic outlook for 2022. Covid and its many vari- ants be damned—it's time for us to get back on our feet and back to doing what we love, which is rid- ing, writing, reviewing, racing and chit-chatting about motorcycles. Here's to a rocking 2022! CN New year, new optimism. Let's do this!