Yes, there really isn’t any excuse, I just haven’t had the time, motivation, whatever to stay on top of my responsibilities. My sincere apologies to all. My days continue to be filled with all the wonderful things that retired people are able to accumulate in their lives and they seem to take up a lot of time.
So, what’s been happening? Well, the internet has been awash with tributes and comments about the death of Jimmy Buffett and, unsurprisingly, it has all been complimentary. Every person in the world attracts some negative feedback and people in the public eye even more so but there appears to be nobody who has anything bad to say about him. It’s nice to know that some “heroes” are really worthy of our adulation.
The MotoGP world is bracing itself for next weekend’s inaugural meeting in India. Already concerns are being raised about the suitability of the venue while the teams are actually heading there as we speak. Safety seems to be the main concern but it does seem odd that these concerns have not been addressed well before this. Perhaps DORNA, in its desire to be all things to all men (and make a heap of money out of it in the process) is prepared to sacrifice safety. I certainly hope this is not the case but time will tell, I guess.
Silly Season is in full swing with the absurd situation at KTM being the best example of the silliness. KTM has 4 contracted riders for 2024 but have caved in to the whining from Moto2 pointscore leader, Pedro Acosta, and promised him a MotoGP seat for 2024. Now I have nothing against the boy, he seems like a brilliant rider though he also seems to have the personality of a wet sock, something he will have to remedy if he wants to be a real superstar, but KTM’s decision, based it seems totally on the fear of him signing for some other team for next year, is absurd.
They knew that DORNA would not allow them a 5th rider and, with no satellite position available to them, they have now been put into the position of trying to make 5 go into 4 (Memo: Pit Beirer, its doesn’t). So one of the absurd solutions is to pay Jack Miller double his present salary, give his seat to Acosta and allow Jack to do some wildcard rides in 2024. You can imagine the derision that this suggestion has generated. Incidentally, congratulations to Jack and his wife, Ruby, on the birth of their little girl.
The Misano test on the Monday after the last GP didn’t really prove anything (do test days really ever?). Teams tried out new bits with varying degrees of success, Honda went down a different route, testing in the gorgeous retro livery that Bradl had used in Misano but little else seemed to have changed. The bike is still a dog with Marquez now openly admitting that the team has completely lost its way and despairing of any major improvement for next season. Over the fence at Yamaha the same terse statements are issuing from their lead rider and their team manager, both of whom admit that the changes rolled out at the test did nothing to give them any confidence for the upcoming season.
Meanwhile, the Euros go marching on, turning bikes into cars with repulsive aero appendages and moving MotoGP closer to the absurdity that is Formula One car racing in the process. I’m not saying that I am despairing, but I sure am getting close.
Catch you next time
