a few riders (and fans) with a
different view. It will certainly fo-
cus the attention on the coming
weekend
at COTA.
For it marks a potential
watershed. A crucial moment in
the battle between enthusiasm
and experience. The impetu
-
ous thrust of youth, led by new
trainee
superstar Pedro Acosta,
versus the bulwark of hard-won
wisdom and knowledge.
Marquez is not quite the old-
est rider on the grid. At 31, he's
the youngest of the four riders in
their
30s, behind Aleix Esparga
-
ro (34), Johann Zarco (33), and
Taka
Nakagami (32). But with
eight World Championships, he
is the standard-bearer for the
old guard.
Especially in the USA.
Marc's U.S. stats encompass
two out of three classes. He
was a mere top-10 man on a
125. After that, in the two larger
classes, they are dazzling.
They were also not only ac
-
crued at swoopy COTA. It seems
that
anywhere in the U.S. is
really special for Marc. Probably
Canada, too, if they had a GP.
It could be something to do
with left-hand circuits, like the
dirt ovals he trains on—most
European circuits go the other
H
ail to the chief. Wave the
flags. Marc's coming
home. It's not so much
a case of MAGA as MMaGA
(Make Marquez Great Again).
Forgive the flippancy. I'm not
trying to trivialize any national
memes. But domination is what
happens when Marquez goes
racing in the United States,
making this potentially the
weekend that he reminds his
rivals exactly what he is made of
and that he is ready to become
unbeatable again on his new
Ducati.
That's what the statistics say,
anyway, though there may be
P124
CN II IN THE PADDOCK
BY MICHAEL SCOTT
MAKING
MARQUEZ
GREAT AGAIN
MMaGA:
