Entertaining race despite Pecco leading from flag to flag. He rode a flawless race, and I'm happy to see another talent re-enter the competitive fray.
Solid ride by Quartararo. He was ahead of all the current championship challengers. He did what was necessary to stay close to Bagnaia, hoping for an opportunity to make a move, but Pecco made no mistakes. Fabio finishes second, but so what? He already has a win, and he just put more daylight between himself and Aleix.
Miller had an awesome ride, too. He rode peerless point-and-shoot. Neither Marc or Aleix had anything on him in a braking zone. Think about that. Marquez could not pass Jack into Lorezno. That's mind bending. Miller was the wide bike (not Aleix) on race day, but it was pure skill and setup that kept Marc and Aleix behind. Jack deserved a podium, but that's racing as they say.
Marquez' pass on Jack was legend-level riding. No way through in the braking zones. He practiced that pass about 5 laps prior by squaring the exit of turn 2, and then carrying speed all they way to Turn 5. Master class. The save in Turn 12 was the icing on the cake. Unfortunate, he was off the podium, but the Honda is not quite ready to challenge.
Aleix deserves a lot of credit for a great ride. His felonious mugging of Jack Miller into the final corner was not to my liking, but Espargaro had better pace, and there wasn't really another option. Miller was too strong. Dive bomb was the only option, even if it was a gruesome thing to behold. Plus, fate will probably intervene. Espargaro's podium has cut off Aprilia's concessions. Rather than spending money on Aleix, they will be plowing money into engine development and simulation equipment, since they will be losing engines and testing advantages.
The rest of the field was a choke fest. Rins and Mir bungled, with Rins managing to lose 20 points to Quartararo. Much worse than expected. Vinales had one of the worst starts of his career. He lost 8 places at one point, I think. KTM had nothing, despite telling the public the bike was designed for high grip circuits in Europe. Apparently that was gaslighting to keep Red Bull involved? The satellite Ducatis were a comedy of errors.
