Dominant in Moto3, impressive
in Moto2, Champion in MotoGP.
That was in 2020, the year Mar
-
quez crashed. But Mir won only
one
race in his title year and
none since—outshone by Suzuki
teammate Alex Rins. Repsol
Honda team guru Alberto Puig
chose Mir over Rins for the fac
-
tory team, though. He has plenty
to
prove.
CAN HONDA REVERSE
THE SLUMP?
New staff, including ex-Suzuki
guru Ken Kawauchi; new evolu-
tion, including catch-up ground-
effect aero,
all on a bike that
only stopped winning regularly
when Marc got hurt in 2020.
There's no doubt that HRC will
be stronger this year than last.
Trouble is the rivals have had
three years of their own continu
-
ous improvement. Pre-season
tests suggest there
is still catch-
ing up to do.
WILL SPRINT RACES UPSET
THE CHAMPIONSHIP AND
BRING BACK THE CROWDS?
Yes to the former, maybe to the
latter. Half-length half-points
sprint on Saturday afternoon
definitely adds to the show, but
enough to boost the gate? The
format favors risk-takers over
tactical tire-preservers, which
could affect the champion
-
ship, but injuries are a haunting
worry.
ARE 21 RACES TOO MANY?
Formula 1 has 23 on the sched-
ule this season, plus six Sat-
urday sprint races. But if you
M
otoGP testing is over,
but it's still all guess-
work for the season to
come.
Here's a baker's dozen of
questions that will need to be
answered.
CAN MARQUEZ WIN AGAIN?
Time waits for no man, but
genius will not be denied. The
big question is whether Marc, 30
this year, can find the motivation
to resist the same tide of youth
that eventually that Rossi did.
My guess is, "yes." But there's a
note of caution: will the heavily
revised Honda be good enough
to make it possible? See ques
-
tion three.
WILL JOAN MIR BE THE
TEAMMATE TO CHALLENGE
THE MASTER?
P158
CNII IN THE PADDOCK
BY MICHAEL SCOTT
A BAKER'S DOZEN
OF QUESTIONS FOR
THE NEW YEAR
