Episode 866: Boring Racing?

Jim and Rich return to the microphone and discuss whether the racing form Motegi was actually boring. The racing was processional but there was intrigue involved. It all started on Saturday during the Sprint. Tires started to blister and come apart on some bikes. Discussions were had and Michelin strongly encouraged the use of the hard tire for Sunday. It turns out that the hard tire was actually a good tire as Marc set his fastest lap on lap 18 and Bastianini set the fastest lap of the race on lap 22. The follow the leader race closed the fight for the championship to just 2 points between Marc and Jorge. In Moto3, soon to be crowned champ, Quiles had a very unlike himself race and finished a close second to Almansa. Uriarte, who could have won or at the very least been on the podium was given a double long lap penalty because his crew was working on the motorcycle after the 3 minute board was displayed. In Moto2, Guevara led every lap to win a very processional race that only had excitement before it started. On the grid after the warm up lap, Gonzalez had a clutch issue that caused his bike to stall and he had to start from pit lane. With Guevara winning and Gonzalez failing to score a point, the title race has closed to just 10.5 points. Gonzalez needs a bounce back race next time out. To all of our listeners, please support the show financially if you can and don’t forget to connect with us via the social media channels and spread the word amongst your like-minded race fan friends. In the MotoGP Sports Entertainment Group age, we need subscribers and downloads to help us push through the door for access to teams and riders. Your support will help us in trying to achieve those aims and keep MotoPod up there as the longest running and most heavily supported motorcycle road racing podcast. Cheers and here’s to an action packed 2026. Zoom Zoom…….