Anyone else think the sprints are going to end up being bad for the sport?
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It's true, and to reduce the cost of racing they are re-creating homologation specials (which is indirectly and necessarily increasing the performance of the standard model) though the 1000cc format that was supposed to be the democratization of performance--the everyman's superbike. As a result, superbike prices are rising sharply and the performance threshold is becoming increasingly irrelevant for road-going riders. To make matters worse, the FIM-induced performance cataclysm is colliding head-on with EU emissions standards.
Anyway, the point of going off-topic is to illustrate the cognitive dissonance and the apparent lack of perspective at the highest levels of the premier motorcycle racing series. This is ultimately why I think sprints are a bad idea. Dorna intentionally misinterpreted the fan survey, which immediately cast a pall over their proposed changes. Furthermore, the introduction of sprint races themselves was a tacit admission by Dorna that they received near-universal feedback from long-time fans that the ontrack product was lackluster. Dorna tried to sell one of their pet projects (for circuit promoters and TV execs) to the fans as something we supposedly asked for, while also using the survey data to beat the manufacturers into submission. This sort of thinly-veiled brinksmanship rarely creates useful change. At this point, it's up to the manufacturers to fix the sport. Dorna has checked out. They are just trying to keep the wheels on MotoGP and SBK as Bridgepoint Capital's stock slumps after the IPO.
If you look at the managerial patterns that have emerged in the long-term, it's difficult not to be somewhat pessimistic about MotoGP's prospects. The manufacturers, particularly Ducati, are undermining the sporting aspects that keep fans engaged, assuming that social media and netflix narrative control will make up the difference. Meanwhile, Dorna is the living embodiment of penny-dreadful corporate gas lighters who believe their duplicitous actions are not only concealed from the public, but that their ill intentions will somehow lead somewhere good. It's a grotesque satire on the human condition. Shakespeare couldn't have done better.
But given the lockdowns imposed by nearly the entire world, 2020 and 2021 were anomaly years. I would think those years show net losses for nearly all businesses that rely on ticket sales to large crowds. I'm actually surprised they broke even in 2021, TBH.
Haha! Well thank you, sir. I guess that 30+ year old journalism degree is finally paying dividends.
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That reply brightened my day. Thanks.
Awaiting the 2022 results, we shall see; I would assume the pandemic has had a negative impact on operations.
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Not to be a wet blanket, Michael is most definitely replying to Lex.Haha! Well thank you, sir. I guess that 30+ year old journalism degree is finally paying dividends.
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Not taking the world by storm regarding profits pre pandemic either...
Dorna generated a pre-tax profit of €63m on revenues of €358m in 2018, and expects to report an increase to €66m and €390m, respectively, for 2019.
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I am pretty sure he was talking about me.
Hahaha!!
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Sad but true. I have a Millennial coworker who admitted to getting home from work on evening and before he knew it, he had spent 3 hours on TikTok. I've never used the app and never plan to.
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They are riding in 5 different continents. They could have had 1 sprint in each continent, instead of every race. Dorna only wants money and wont care about the health of the crew and riders. Like 20 races aint enough; they want a sprint in every race weekend too. So now, they title can be won on a Saturday, instead of a Sunday. Lame.
Lots of organizations took a big hit during Covid, let's see how things pan out over the next couple of years.
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Dani is saying they have significantly added to the demands the riders face.
Very hard work he says.
www.crash.net
Very hard work he says.
Pedrosa: Another wild-card? “We’ll check the data…”
Sixth on the grid, then sixth and seventh in the Jerez races meant Dani Pedrosa delivered the most impressive wild-card performance in recent MotoGP history.
www.crash.net
