bly so he could warm his tire
up (as if 50°C track tempera-
ture were not enough), but
to the cynical, it was just to
show how easy he was find-
ing it.
Unlike the previous "world's
best" Rossi, who would have
done it to make the show
better.
"He was playing with us,"
said new factory Ducati team
-
mate Pecco Bagnaia, who
managed to remain rather
implausibly cheerful, at least
most of the time in front of
the cameras. Although the
O
ne race isn't enough to
predict a whole season.
But the Thai GP was
certainly ominous. The most
obvious omen that putting
the world's best rider on the
world's best bike in the world's
best team would only have
one outcome.
Marc underlined this script
with pole position and two
assured wins, in both half-
distance Sprint and Sunday's
main race. During the latter, he
even had time to slow down
and let his younger brother
Alex past for a spell—ostensi
-
P160
CN IIIN THE PADDOCK
BY MICHAEL SCOTT
MARC
AND THE
OMENS OF
DOOM DOOM
After round one,
a new question
emerged: Can
anyone beat Marc
Marquez?
