Motorcycle Racing 2023 - MotoGP, WSBK, BSB, MotoAmerica, TT

[SKR]

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Is calling them "bikes" ok? I wouldn't want to be committing a Benny hate crime.

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They prefer bycycyles.

I just call them cycles. Whether they're bi or not isn't for me to say. Seems like more of a thing for teachers to sort out.

[SKR]

MotoGP - Motul Grand Prix of Japan

A bit of a weird one today. It started to rain just before the start of the race. All riders started on slicks, and then most came in at the end of lap 1 to switch bikes to ones dressed with rain tires. A few stayed out and for a few laps, Ducati test rider Michele Pirro led the race. Jorge Martin made a mistake on lap 2 and dropped back to 9th place, and at that point you'd be thinking that's the end of Martin's hot streak. But no. The rain got worse and Martin went to the front. Brad Binder crashed out. Miguel Oliveira retired due to visibility issues I think with water getting inside his helmet. Johann Zarco was on a charge after going into the gravel on lap 1 after contact with Marco Bezzecchi and Maverick Vinales, but crashed on lap 13. As lap 13 was completed, the race was red flagged because the rain was coming down too hard. A restart was attempted, but was again red flagged on the warm up lap. The race was declared official, and Martin continued his streak with 3 consecutive sprint wins and 3 consecutive GP wins. Francesco Bagnaia finished 2nd, Marc Marquez 3rd, Bezzecchi 4th and Aleix Espargaro 5th.

Last year Martin was saying some hilariously delusional things, as the second seat at factory Ducati was up for grabs. The favorite appeared to be, and ended up being, Enea Bastianini on the strength of his 4 wins, 6 podiums, and 3rd place in the championship, opposed to Martin's 0 wins, 4 podiums and 9th place finish. Martin, however, had the audacity to say he was the better rider and was more deserving of the factory ride. It's not really comparing apples this season since Bastianini has spent most of it out injured, but Martin is the best rider on the grid right now and in 4 rounds has 6 wins and closed the gap from 62 points to 3. It looks like it did last year when Bagnaia won 5 in a row to win the championship after trailing Fabio Quartararo by 91 points.



MotoGP Standings after Japan:

1. 319 Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team)
2. 316 Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing)
3. 265 Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46 Racing Team)
4. 201 Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing)
5. 171 Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing)

[SKR]

World Superbike - Pirelli Portuguese Round, Superpole Race and Race 2

Much as it's been all season, today's WSBK races were between Toprak Razgatliolgu and Alvaro Bautista. Kawasaki teammates Jonathan Rea and Alex Lowes started the Superpole race on row 1, but both crashed out on lap 1 by themselves in the same corner in exactly the same way. Rea lost the front first, and then Lowes did the same right behind him. Those crashes meant they'd start Race 2 on row 4. Razgatlioglu had the edge on Bautista from the entry of the first turn to the exit of the last turn, but Bautista was faster out of the last turn to the finish line. Bautista got a run out of the last turn on the last lap to win the Superpole race, followed by Razgatlioglu, Andrea Locatelli, Remy Gardner and Iker Lecuona.

Lowes would miss the start of Race 2, aggravating a knee injury he'd just returned from. Rea was involved in another lap 1 crash with Scott Redding and Xavi Vierge for which he was given a long lap penalty, eliminating him from any contention. Race 2 was the same as the Superpole race - Razgatlioglu could hold off Bautista for almost the entire lap, and Bautista was faster across the line. Bautista won his 56th race for Ducati, passing the total set by Carl Fogarty in 1999 as the winningest Ducati rider. Razgatlioglu kept his championship hopes alive but just, finishing 2nd. Michael Ruben Rinaldi finished 3rd, Garrett Gerloff 4th and Locatelli 5th.



World Superbike Standings after Algarve:

1. 566 Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati)
2. 506 Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK)
3. 350 Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK)
4. 300 Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK)
5. 244 Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing)