Thursday, April 25, 2019

MOTO GP: The Forgotten Sport's Desert Oasis Invades the lowlands of Austin




The 2019 MotoGP season will be a year of growing pains for Johann Zarco, who's moved to the Factory Red Bull KTM Team. (Image source: motogp.com)
As Have Y'all Seen 'em Ultimate Kneedraggers BeIN' Heroes on thou Telie' lately?

ARSE-Sumedly lost in All of the Noise over IndyCar kicking off its 2019 season at St Pete, now Just over six weeks ago. Did anybody See the world's Baddest Tarmac Kneedraggers on the Planet commencing Thar season in Qatar underneath thou Floodlights of the Losail International Circuit...

Oh Wait Ah My-nute', Gee Wally; err Mark Miles! That's right, I forgot that MotoGP Pioneered the move to Cable TV Networks that NOBODY's got Access To! BeIN' Fans, BeIN' Sports, BeIN' Invisible, Bake Me a Patty Cake BeIN" sports Baker-man...


Which is probably why my vaunted MotoGP Preview stories get shorter 'N shorter each year, el Correctomundo, Ci?

Uhm, Ergo, BeIN' Sports and thou nebulous 404 Error code Access Denied NBC Sports Gold Pass" Pay Wall - Which is absolutely 100% Hunky Dorey with Mwah! Since I haven't needed to get up at Oh DARK 30' for Scooters' races for a few years now. And now Don't bother trying to catch Indy Cars Practice and Qualie' either; But I Digress...

And did we learn anything from MotoGP's Winter Testing? Or did that Squirrely Spaniard Marc Marquez just win again in Thee Lone Star state? While can Anybody stop his continuing Dominance? as I'm absolutely hoping somebody, nee DOVI', aka Andrea Dovizioso can snap his Championship Winning Streak!


And how will Honda's Ace Satellite Rider Stack Up vs. Marquez? Or is that even a fair comparison? Since after all, Marquez's team-mate this season is Two-times MotoGP World Champion Jorge Lorenzo, albeit both Riders were recovering from Pre-season injuries...


As the Biggest early season news was the Competing manufacturers filing a protest against Ducati and it's cleverly adapted to the rules "Aero Fairing" rear Swing Arm, for which as far as I know, the Italian Motor Scooter' concern prevailed in the multiple Court Hearings.


And instead of trying to chronicle every single Stinkin' Rider 'N Team Change for 2019, especially since the only Factory Team who's Rider lineup stayed intact was the newly re-christened Monster Yamaha Squad with thee Doctor', nee Valentino Rossi and Maverick "top gun" Vinales. Per Tipicali, I'll leave it to thou Professionals to do the Heavy lifting.


Yet ultimately, it appears not too much has changed at the Pointy End of the Grid. With Dovizioso narrowly defeating Marquez by a scant 0.023 seconds in Qatar. Followed by Crutchlow on the Podium's final step.

As the Brit' just edged out Suzuki's Alex Rins for fourth, with Ducati Corse's other Rider Danilo Petrucci (P6) being la Salami in thoust middle of a Monster Yamaha Submarine  Sandwich; Momma Mia!

With Thee Doctor' (Rossi) carving his way atop Danilo to finish fifth. and Vale's younger Works Yamahopper' team-Mate Vinales being on the bottom in P7.

With Suzuki's Spanish Rookie Joan Mir, Japanese Rookie Takaaki Nakagami riding for LCR Honda and Aleix Espargaro on the Factory Aprilia rounding out the Top-10 respectively.

Then next at Argentina's Autodromo Termas de Rio Hondo circuit, naturally Marquez put a Good 'Ol Fashioned Beat-down upon the entire MotoGP Grid! Leading Wire-to-Wire and never being challenged. While Thee Doctor' on the premise of his good qualifying result, finished a distant Runner-up to his Arch-rival, with Valentino's fellow Countryman Dovizioso completing the podium.

But the Biggest Questione was could Anybody Stop the Marquez Freightrain at COTA, nee Circuit Of The Americas this year? Where the Spaniard was currently unbeaten in every single race in Austin, Texas, having won All six races. (2013-2018) And HELL! Even more remarkable having never lost a race in the States, be it at Laguna Seca, COTA or Indianapolis!

Yet having been on my own virtual rollercoaster, Zigzagging Up 'N Down thou Oregonian Coast, I simply had to await reading the Post Mortem upon my return to Soggy, sodden Florence, currently Deluged by an unseasonly late Pineapple Express...