Sad but true. The announcers are required (like F1) to strain in their voices about fluctuations of .1 or .2 on the lap times. Visually, almost nothing is happening regarding relative movements of the riders. Occasionally someone falls or someone makes a desperate lunge. The sparring and jabbing and rope-a-dope, the roundhouse sucker punches, etc. are all gone. The electronics and data engineers run the show now.
I don't care if Marc wins everything, but I'm disinclined to see Ducati rewarded for bad behavior. They conned the sport into accepting hydraulic ride height devices. It de-emphasized the rider, and moved MotoGP's preeminent star to the back of the grid. To mitigate the damage wrought by Ducati and Gigi, Dorna have moved Marc to the front so fans can see MotoGP's most marketable talent. The only highlight is that Ducati's rider empire was dismantled prior to Marc's move.
The 2025 season is a diabolical remix of 2007. Back then, they cut displacement 20%, but only cut fuel capacity by 5%. Desmo was a huge advantage. Bridgestone's tire strategy was a major advantage. Stoner blew the field away, and then the MSMA turned the sport on its ear, and famously gifted Valentino a Bridgestone contract to keep him near the front.
Enough is enough. Punish incompetence, deceit, etc. Stop rewarding it, and then hoping the sport will earn more money. If a manufacturer cons the FIM and GPC, and turns MotoGP into a relic of the manufacturer bloodsport era, dismiss them. The manufacturers have demonstrated over the decades that they cannot be allowed to compete in a meaningful way at the track. Their appetite for spending could bankrupt a small G20 nation. The racers compete. The manufacturers enable the competition. If they don't like it, they should be shown the door.
It's sad. For many years I thought they would just make a better formula, but that's obviously not going to happen. MotoGP is an opportunity and a threat, and they've decided that ruling over an ash heap, and stealing money from taxpayers has the least potential downside. /rant
Anyway, congrats to Ogura. Top Aprilia, and kept fans engaged by nipping at Bagnaia's heels the entire sprint.
