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/1492570
VOLUME ISSUE FEBRUARY , P109 More to the point, it's another example of narrow margins in racing. On track, a matter of mere 10ths can make all the dif- ference, in crucial qualifying and even race positions. In bike en- gineering likewise. There wasn't an awful lot wrong, for example, with last year's factory Honda, but an accumulation of relatively minor weaknesses meant that it didn't win a single race. The same razor's edge can apply to a career. Bezzecchi was retained by the Rossi-owned Ducati team for an - other attempt. Much is expected of the maestro's young protégé, one of a select group led by defending champion Bagnaia. Di Giannantonio stays on too, at the Gresini Ducati team, alongside younger brother Alex Marquez. Both, if they don't deliver strong results, find themselves on somewhat shaky ground. The same applies to Raul, also dropped by KTM but picked up by Aprilia for their new satellite squad. Applying the same harsh rule that left Gardner out in the cold, it might be thought that Bez - zecchi is the only one of the five who truly merited a sec- ond chance. His debut season included a pole position and four top-five finishes, and he easily won the unofficial Rookie of the Year title. For 2023, that prize is already allocated. Even if he doesn't score a single point, Augusto Fernandez will be the best rookie, for he is the only one. And since he is fol- lowing directly in Gardner's foot- steps—Moto2 Champion taken into the KTM (now GasGas) Tech3 satellite squad—he would be well advised to feel some trepidation. It is not necessarily a very secure position. So far, the second Fernandez in the class (no relation, if you need reminding) has performed creditably enough, setting respectable if not blazingly fast times at the Sepang shakedown test that kicked action off for 2023, up among the faster test riders (full-timers other than rookies aren't allowed at these pre-test tests). As importantly, he didn't fall off, even in tricky conditions at the long and com - plex Sepang circuit. The real acid test, for him and everybody else, run at the same circuit from February 10-12, with a full complement of full-time riders, all with plenty to prove. Final results of this first trial will be available elsewhere. From the first day, the times (with Bezzecchi fastest) were sugges- tive but left many questions. Will the Yamaha have gained enough speed to give Quar- tararo what he needs? Unof- ficial speed-trap times from the shake-down tests were promis- ing, first-day times (11th-fast- est) less so. Will Honda's new (ex-Suzuki) technical boss Ken Kawauchi have had enough time to iron out the balance and traction problems that have bedeviled its riders for three seasons? Will Ducati's aerodynamic tickles be enough to preserve its superiority? Or will there be a rare misstep from engineering genius Gigi Dall'Igna? Will Aprilia be able to sustain 2022's great leap forward? With Vinales second, years' experi - ence could prove valuable. Will KTM have found the key to consistency? And will the season's only rook - ie get the shock of his life? CN APPLYING THE SAME HARSH RULE THAT LEFT GARDNER OUT IN THE COLD, IT MIGHT BE THOUGHT THAT BEZZECCHI IS THE ONLY ONE OF THE FIVE WHO TRULY MERITED A SECOND CHANCE.