When one reaches the circuit, after crossing the silent Japanese countryside, he discovers that half the track and the entire paddock are surrounded by a large asphalt ring, a ring which – among other races – hosted one of the rare NASCAR races organized far from the USA. In the center, a gigantic screen continuously plays music and advertisements in ideograms. Welcome to Motegipronounced Moteghi, an iconic event in the world championship for a quarter of a century. This time more important than ever, because there are 5 stages left at the end of a balanced championship and this – especially if Bagnaia were to stumble upon another misstep – it could be decisive for the awarding of the title of MotoGP. On this route, in the past Valentino boasts “only” 2 successes, but riding first a Honda and then a Yamaha: the most successful Italian rider in the premier category is Capirossi (3) and always on a Ducati, one triumph each for Biaggi and Dovizioso.
On the track of “Mr. Honda”, Ducati chasing records
It is traditionally the Honda track, commissioned by the founder of the Japanese company – Soichiro Honda, in fact – and used to test new bikes, but in the last 2 seasons it has been a Ducati that has won: first with Miller, then with Martin. The Borgo Panigale company boasts 7 successes against Honda’s 9 (including the only success of a Japanese rider: Makoto Tamada, 2004) and Yamaha’s 4. It’s been 61 consecutive races that a Red has finished on the podium, and for 62 GPs at least one bike from the Bolognese company has started in the front row. At the weekend Pedro Acosta (Ktm) could be crowned rookie of the year, the Colombian David Alonso is one step away from winning the world title in Moto3.
The words of Bagnaia and Martin
“Pecco and I are in the running for the title, I think it’s difficult for Bastianini and Marquez to fit in”, Martin’s words, while Bagnaia recalls that “until mathematics says so, the picture can change, all it takes is one mistake”. “It’s nice for me to be back in battle with Jorge, with whom there has always been mutual respect – continues Pecco -. It’s been a difficult season but Jorge has been more consistent. We have to take a small step forward in the end performance compared to the latest releases”. “I think I’m more complete than last season and remembering the last 2023 races it’s nice to find ourselves here a year later. Once again we proved ourselves to be the best”, Martin’s reply.
The sprint at 8am on Saturday, the GP at 7am on Sunday
On TV, live on Sky Sport and streaming on Now. TV8 will broadcast the qualifications and the sprint race free-to-air. The hands of the clock are 7 hours ahead of Italy: it means that on Friday the first free practice session for Moto3 is scheduled for 2 am, at 2.45 it’s Moto2’s turn and at 3.40 for MotoGP. Moto3 again at 6.10, Moto2 at 7. At 8 the second session which for MotoGP is also decisive for the 10 best times, which move directly to Q2 the following day. On the night between Friday and Saturday, at around 1.35am – as Vinicio Capossela sang – it’s time for the third session for Moto3, then Moto2 (2.20am) and MotoGP (3am), with qualifying starting 45 minutes later late. Moto3 qualifying is at 5.40am and Moto2 qualifying at 6.40am. The MotoGP sprint race starts at 8am on Saturday. Sunday, the races: at 2.35 the short warm up of the premier category, at 4 the start of Moto3, at 5.20 green light for Moto2, finally at 7 the MotoGP starts.
#MotoGP #track #Japan #Ducati #chasing #record #Honda
– 2024-10-03 21:22:35
