Saturday
Mar252023
MARCH 29, 2023
Saturday, March 25, 2023 at 04:07PM 
(Cycle News/Photo: David Goldman/Copyright: Gold and Goose Photography)
Pecco Bagnaia (No. 1 Ducati Lenovo Team) started his title defense in fine fashion, taking not just the inaugural Tissot Sprint MotoGP victory on Saturday, but winning the main event at the Grande Prémio TISSOT de Portugal on Sunday as well. Maverick Viñales (No. 12 Aprilia Racing) pushed the Italian all the way to the checkered flag to pick up 2nd, with Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) starting 2023 in high style with a podium finish. Watch the Race Highlights here. (Thank you to MotoGP.com)
Pecco Bagnaia (No. 1 Ducati Lenovo Team) started his title defense in fine fashion, taking not just the inaugural Tissot Sprint MotoGP victory on Saturday, but winning the main event at the Grande Prémio TISSOT de Portugal on Sunday as well. Maverick Viñales (No. 12 Aprilia Racing) pushed the Italian all the way to the checkered flag to pick up 2nd, with Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) starting 2023 in high style with a podium finish. Watch the Race Highlights here. (Thank you to MotoGP.com)
(MotoGP)
There was anticipation in the air as MotoGP™ history was about to be made ahead of what was not only the first-ever Tissot Sprint, but also the very first race of the 2023 season. The riders and teams were about to venture into new territory with a whole host of questions yet to be answered. The first MotoGP™ Tissot Sprint did not fail to deliver at the Grande Prémio TISSOT de Portugal. The first race of 2023 had fans glued to their screens as an epic last-lap battle saw Francesco Bagnaia (No. 1 Ducati Lenovo Team) go down in the history books as the first winner of a Tissot Sprint, after getting the better of Jorge Martin (No. 89 Prima Pramac Racing Ducati). Marc Marquez (No. 93 Repsol Honda Team) also grabbed a podium finish in the landmark event. Watch a video here. (Thank you to MotoGP.com)
On Red Flags, Band Aids and WWI style airplane wings.
By Whit Bazemore
Bend. Why is it that most major motorsport sanctioning bodies seemingly use more band-aids to “fix” both real and perceived problems within their respective forms of racing than almost all the screaming and bloodied knee five-year-olds in the world? Instead of deep diving into the actual causes of said problems, they just make more and more random left-field changes — seemingly without much consideration — and with each change, their respective sports just move further and further away from their heritage and all the reasons that made them so popular in the first place. This is true from FormulaOne to NASCAR, and from NHRA to INDYCAR. Band-aids in sport equal compromise.
Among the top levels of global motorsport, MotoGP had recently been the only one left largely unchanged in principle from its beginning in way back in 1949. Sure, there have been hundreds, if not thousands, of technological advances since 1949, the bikes are, of course, night and day different, obviously, but until about five years ago, a racing motorcycle was still “just” a racing motorcycle — a seat, two wheels, a handle bar, windscreen and engine — relying on gravity and gravity only to keep it on the ground. Perhaps this is too simple a comparison, but when compared to all other top forms of motorsport, it’s true. Twist the throttle and they go. The same basic machine as the first one, only with “better everything.” More important than how they looked, however, was how they raced, and that too was largely unchanged from the beginning of the Championship. And how they raced was more or less flat out for the entire race. They could easily draft. Depending on the driver, they could easily pass, sometimes at every single corner on a last lap. Sure, tire management sometimes came into play, but no matter, the playing field has been more or less the same for everyone in that regard. And the racing world noticed. MotoGP was at an all-time high. It was arguably the most exciting motorsport to watch, and to some, like us here at AE - it was the most exciting sport, period.
But something happened to MotoGP, starting about five years ago. Today, passing is very difficult, even for the greatest racers in the world. World Championship contenders, racing near the lead, now suddenly disappear to the back of the pack for no visible reason. It is a negative for the show, for the fans and for the sport. The root cause of this is… you guessed it: aerodynamic downforce. Excessive downforce has been the bane of all motorsport.
Ducati, and more specifically, their head engineer Gigi Dall’Igna, brought aero-downforce into the modern era, and now, after five or more years of refinement, and with the tech officials at Dorna apparently under the thumb and control of the manufacturers, the level of downforce has steadily increased the aerodynamic load on the front tires so much so that the tires now operate in the most narrow of windows. This means when a bike is drafting another bike, or simply racing in any position other than in the lead, the front tire quickly overheats, spiking the tire pressure, which makes the bike “un-ridable.” Too high a tire pressure drastically reduces the footprint, and we all know what happens then. Go much slower — or crash. Period. There are no other choices.
There is one obvious element of racing that most officials in charge seem to forget: lap times do not sell tickets. Spectacle sells tickets. Heroes sell tickets. Two-seconds faster around a three mile course — are you kidding me? No grandstand fan can even tell the difference, and why would they care anyway? They want close racing, and bike and rider on the bare edge of control - no matter the lap time. Seems like common sense, but nevertheless…
At least MotoGP’s powers that be recognized there is a problem (fewer fans hits hard in the pocketbook, after all), but the answer they came up with for said problem does nothing to address the actual problem! What they came up with to “create more excitement, more drama,” is a half-distance Sprint Race to be run on Saturday afternoons. A band-aid by every definition, and one of the many band-aids F1 is using, btw. On paper, it might sound exciting - a quick, half-distance sprint race, super aggressive, super fast, which rewards half points toward the Championship. What’s not to like?
Well, for one, motorcycle racing is the most dangerous motorsport even on the best of days. The very nature of the sprint race has raised valid concerns about rider injuries, and potential Championship protagonists missing races, and thus negatively effecting the championship. 42 races is much more than 21… but the risks actually are more than doubled, though, given the very nature of a shorter, more hectic race. Track position is everything - the start and first few laps will be especially chaotic compared to a regular Grand Prix. In the opinions of many, the new Sprint race format is not the answer.
The real solution is so easy and so obvious: just ban the wings. They are bolted on, so it’s very simple to fix. TAKE. THE. DAMN. THINGS. OFF. NOW. Return the bikes to a more simple racing machine, a machine easier to “RACE.” What do those in charge not see, or not understand? Yes, today the field is as close as it’s ever been. Truth. But the drama and edge-of-your-seat last lap, last turn fights are not nearly as common as they were just a few years ago.
And, of course, racing is a technical and mechanical exercise as much as an athletic one, and technical advancement(s) can be exciting, they can be relevant, they can add to to the show, but when they do not, when they become the show, it’s time to wave a red flag. Time to put a stop to the nonsense of unchecked spending and return to fast bikes with simpler tech. No wings needed.
The first Sprint race was yesterday. And guess what? Enea Bastianini, a rider who brought tons of excitement to the Championship fight last season, was barged into, fell and broke his shoulder. So now he misses the GP on Sunday and probably the next race in Argentina comping up next weekend as well. It is easily conceivable that at some point, four or five top riders could be injured at any given time, all of them missing races. Is this good entertainment? I think not.
Best to rip the band-aid off, address the real issue, however painful, and let the sport do what it does best, and what it has done best for 70+ years. Let the racers race - without any of the current bullshit, which only gets in the way of the spectacle that MotoGP became famous for.
There was anticipation in the air as MotoGP™ history was about to be made ahead of what was not only the first-ever Tissot Sprint, but also the very first race of the 2023 season. The riders and teams were about to venture into new territory with a whole host of questions yet to be answered. The first MotoGP™ Tissot Sprint did not fail to deliver at the Grande Prémio TISSOT de Portugal. The first race of 2023 had fans glued to their screens as an epic last-lap battle saw Francesco Bagnaia (No. 1 Ducati Lenovo Team) go down in the history books as the first winner of a Tissot Sprint, after getting the better of Jorge Martin (No. 89 Prima Pramac Racing Ducati). Marc Marquez (No. 93 Repsol Honda Team) also grabbed a podium finish in the landmark event. Watch a video here. (Thank you to MotoGP.com)
On Red Flags, Band Aids and WWI style airplane wings.
By Whit Bazemore
Bend. Why is it that most major motorsport sanctioning bodies seemingly use more band-aids to “fix” both real and perceived problems within their respective forms of racing than almost all the screaming and bloodied knee five-year-olds in the world? Instead of deep diving into the actual causes of said problems, they just make more and more random left-field changes — seemingly without much consideration — and with each change, their respective sports just move further and further away from their heritage and all the reasons that made them so popular in the first place. This is true from FormulaOne to NASCAR, and from NHRA to INDYCAR. Band-aids in sport equal compromise.
Among the top levels of global motorsport, MotoGP had recently been the only one left largely unchanged in principle from its beginning in way back in 1949. Sure, there have been hundreds, if not thousands, of technological advances since 1949, the bikes are, of course, night and day different, obviously, but until about five years ago, a racing motorcycle was still “just” a racing motorcycle — a seat, two wheels, a handle bar, windscreen and engine — relying on gravity and gravity only to keep it on the ground. Perhaps this is too simple a comparison, but when compared to all other top forms of motorsport, it’s true. Twist the throttle and they go. The same basic machine as the first one, only with “better everything.” More important than how they looked, however, was how they raced, and that too was largely unchanged from the beginning of the Championship. And how they raced was more or less flat out for the entire race. They could easily draft. Depending on the driver, they could easily pass, sometimes at every single corner on a last lap. Sure, tire management sometimes came into play, but no matter, the playing field has been more or less the same for everyone in that regard. And the racing world noticed. MotoGP was at an all-time high. It was arguably the most exciting motorsport to watch, and to some, like us here at AE - it was the most exciting sport, period.
But something happened to MotoGP, starting about five years ago. Today, passing is very difficult, even for the greatest racers in the world. World Championship contenders, racing near the lead, now suddenly disappear to the back of the pack for no visible reason. It is a negative for the show, for the fans and for the sport. The root cause of this is… you guessed it: aerodynamic downforce. Excessive downforce has been the bane of all motorsport.
Ducati, and more specifically, their head engineer Gigi Dall’Igna, brought aero-downforce into the modern era, and now, after five or more years of refinement, and with the tech officials at Dorna apparently under the thumb and control of the manufacturers, the level of downforce has steadily increased the aerodynamic load on the front tires so much so that the tires now operate in the most narrow of windows. This means when a bike is drafting another bike, or simply racing in any position other than in the lead, the front tire quickly overheats, spiking the tire pressure, which makes the bike “un-ridable.” Too high a tire pressure drastically reduces the footprint, and we all know what happens then. Go much slower — or crash. Period. There are no other choices.
MotoGP has made a huge mistake by allowing the manufacturers to develop these areo appendages, which must only adhere to the most minimal of rules. Over the past few seasons, the show has gone backwards, and judging by last season’s dwindling viewership, the fans must agree. Rising costs for the teams, combined with a smaller return on investment for factories and corporate sponsors alike, (smaller audiences) are the biggest possible recipes for disaster. During the past three or four seasons, this aero/front tire situation has dramatically affected many races — both the fighting spectacle and the outcome. It cheats the fans and all the rest of us of the real spectacle that is MotoGP - tooth and nail fighting for wins.
There is one obvious element of racing that most officials in charge seem to forget: lap times do not sell tickets. Spectacle sells tickets. Heroes sell tickets. Two-seconds faster around a three mile course — are you kidding me? No grandstand fan can even tell the difference, and why would they care anyway? They want close racing, and bike and rider on the bare edge of control - no matter the lap time. Seems like common sense, but nevertheless…
At least MotoGP’s powers that be recognized there is a problem (fewer fans hits hard in the pocketbook, after all), but the answer they came up with for said problem does nothing to address the actual problem! What they came up with to “create more excitement, more drama,” is a half-distance Sprint Race to be run on Saturday afternoons. A band-aid by every definition, and one of the many band-aids F1 is using, btw. On paper, it might sound exciting - a quick, half-distance sprint race, super aggressive, super fast, which rewards half points toward the Championship. What’s not to like?
Well, for one, motorcycle racing is the most dangerous motorsport even on the best of days. The very nature of the sprint race has raised valid concerns about rider injuries, and potential Championship protagonists missing races, and thus negatively effecting the championship. 42 races is much more than 21… but the risks actually are more than doubled, though, given the very nature of a shorter, more hectic race. Track position is everything - the start and first few laps will be especially chaotic compared to a regular Grand Prix. In the opinions of many, the new Sprint race format is not the answer.
The real solution is so easy and so obvious: just ban the wings. They are bolted on, so it’s very simple to fix. TAKE. THE. DAMN. THINGS. OFF. NOW. Return the bikes to a more simple racing machine, a machine easier to “RACE.” What do those in charge not see, or not understand? Yes, today the field is as close as it’s ever been. Truth. But the drama and edge-of-your-seat last lap, last turn fights are not nearly as common as they were just a few years ago.
And, of course, racing is a technical and mechanical exercise as much as an athletic one, and technical advancement(s) can be exciting, they can be relevant, they can add to to the show, but when they do not, when they become the show, it’s time to wave a red flag. Time to put a stop to the nonsense of unchecked spending and return to fast bikes with simpler tech. No wings needed.
The first Sprint race was yesterday. And guess what? Enea Bastianini, a rider who brought tons of excitement to the Championship fight last season, was barged into, fell and broke his shoulder. So now he misses the GP on Sunday and probably the next race in Argentina comping up next weekend as well. It is easily conceivable that at some point, four or five top riders could be injured at any given time, all of them missing races. Is this good entertainment? I think not.
Best to rip the band-aid off, address the real issue, however painful, and let the sport do what it does best, and what it has done best for 70+ years. Let the racers race - without any of the current bullshit, which only gets in the way of the spectacle that MotoGP became famous for.
(Photo by AE Special Contributor Whit Bazemore)
This is Marc Marquez on his factory No. 93 Honda in 2015, with no wings.
(Photo by AE Special Contributor Whit Bazemore)
Again, Marc Marquez on his factory No. 93 Honda in 2016 - with Honda’s first aero - just tiny little winglets. No big deal…
(Photo by AE Special Contributor Whit Bazemore).Last year’s championship runner up, Fabio Quartararo on his factory No. 20 Yamaha with two unique sets of bi-plane wings. Lot’s of downforce...
Editor-In-Chief's Note: We're pleased to welcome back the superb photography and insider's perspective of MotoGP racing by AE Special Contributor Whit Bazemore. MotoGP has become my personal favorite form of motorsport, and to have someone with Whit's talent share his visual art and deep knowledge of MotoGP is truly special for us, and we really appreciate it. By the way, you may recognize Whit's last name; Bazemore began making a living from drag racing when he was sixteen years old, and he is a two-time U.S. Nationals winner and still the fifth-fastest Funny Car driver ever at 333.25 MPH. -PMD
(gotransam.com)
CD Racing took home its third win of the season in round three of the Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli, with Chris Dyson (No. 16 GYM WEED Ford Mustang) earning his second-consecutive victory at Road Atlanta. After earning his first pole award of the year, Dyson led from flag to flag for the 21st win of his Trans Am career in the Bennett/BridgeHaul Classic at the Mission Foods Atlanta SpeedTour. Boris Said (No. 79 ECC/Anchor Bolt & Screw Dodge Challenger) followed Dyson across the finish line, with Tomy Drissi (No. 8 Lucas Oil Ford Mustang) not far behind. “I’ll tell you what, there’s no easy laps here around Road Atlanta, so you’ve got to keep your head up the entire time,” said Dyson. “Even though I had a lead, I had to stay on top of the car the whole way. Thank God it was such a great weekend. We got here and the car was fast pretty much right away, so we were able to just keep building. This is the best weekend we’ve had all season. I’m so proud of the guys at CD Racing for putting us up front. I couldn’t be happier, I’m so grateful. What a magical weekend for the team.” Dyson’s win broke the tie with Ron Fellows for sixth on the all-time Trans Am TA class win list. Scott Pruett is fifth on the list with 22 wins. CD Racing has won all three TA races of 2023 and is on a five-race winning streak, which began at VIRginia International Raceway last year. Dyson has earned three of the five victories, and Matt Brabham has earned two. (Thank you to gotransam.com)
CD Racing took home its third win of the season in round three of the Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli, with Chris Dyson (No. 16 GYM WEED Ford Mustang) earning his second-consecutive victory at Road Atlanta. After earning his first pole award of the year, Dyson led from flag to flag for the 21st win of his Trans Am career in the Bennett/BridgeHaul Classic at the Mission Foods Atlanta SpeedTour. Boris Said (No. 79 ECC/Anchor Bolt & Screw Dodge Challenger) followed Dyson across the finish line, with Tomy Drissi (No. 8 Lucas Oil Ford Mustang) not far behind. “I’ll tell you what, there’s no easy laps here around Road Atlanta, so you’ve got to keep your head up the entire time,” said Dyson. “Even though I had a lead, I had to stay on top of the car the whole way. Thank God it was such a great weekend. We got here and the car was fast pretty much right away, so we were able to just keep building. This is the best weekend we’ve had all season. I’m so proud of the guys at CD Racing for putting us up front. I couldn’t be happier, I’m so grateful. What a magical weekend for the team.” Dyson’s win broke the tie with Ron Fellows for sixth on the all-time Trans Am TA class win list. Scott Pruett is fifth on the list with 22 wins. CD Racing has won all three TA races of 2023 and is on a five-race winning streak, which began at VIRginia International Raceway last year. Dyson has earned three of the five victories, and Matt Brabham has earned two. (Thank you to gotransam.com)
(Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
Tyler Reddick (No. 45 23XI Racing Monster Energy Toyota) won the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix NASCAR race at Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas on Sunday. On the final restart at Lap 74, Reddick escaped a fierce battle behind him in Turn 1 between Kyle Busch (No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet) and Alex Bowman (No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet) for second. Challenged numerous times, Reddick led a race-high 41 laps after starting second. The race was sent to a third overtime as the tire carcass of Daniel Suárez’s No. 99 Chevrolet littered the backstretch. Reddick crossed the finish line first, 1.411 seconds ahead of Busch; Bowman finished third. Watch the Race Highlights here. (Thank you to NASCAR Wire Service)
Tyler Reddick (No. 45 23XI Racing Monster Energy Toyota) won the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix NASCAR race at Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas on Sunday. On the final restart at Lap 74, Reddick escaped a fierce battle behind him in Turn 1 between Kyle Busch (No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet) and Alex Bowman (No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet) for second. Challenged numerous times, Reddick led a race-high 41 laps after starting second. The race was sent to a third overtime as the tire carcass of Daniel Suárez’s No. 99 Chevrolet littered the backstretch. Reddick crossed the finish line first, 1.411 seconds ahead of Busch; Bowman finished third. Watch the Race Highlights here. (Thank you to NASCAR Wire Service)
Editor's Note: You can access previous issues of AE by clicking on "Next 1 Entries" below. - WG