Plenty of rain with loads of fog and three classes of motorcycle racing at speed! Race day at Motegi was up and down with conditions changing dramatically in the morning and then improving towards the race starts for MotoGP, Moto2 and Moto3. The races were drama filled and exciting from start to finish. The weather on the Saturday was sensational with sunshine and certainly more preferable to other riders. When the change came through, it pushed the riders to be prepared to gamble and take risks! Dani Pedrosa managed to utilise his tyres in a more manageable way than Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo to come away with the victory. Pedrosa had an average start but within a certain number of laps was flying by the other riders to catch the Yamaha bikes. Lorenzo’s tyres were absolutely destroyed whilst Valentino was able to hang on and finish ahead of his Spanish teammate. The championship gap has grown although the fight for first is far from over. With three races to go, Lorenzo has set his target to win all three races and have Rossi finish as far behind as possible whilst Rossi’s confidence has sky rocketed!
Marc Marquez did his best to stay upright on the bike and stay within the top ten after his injured finger definitely challenged him. Marc had some issues earlier in the day trying to release the clutch properly. He must be commended on his efforts to race at such high speeds in those circumstances. This year has not been picture perfect for Marquez and with that said he will be looking forward to Phillip Island and Sepang where he is sure to turn the wick up. Australian rider Jack Miller was going for his career best finish in MotoGP when it all turned pear shaped. Lets hope that Miller blitzes his competition at the island where he had a stellar victory in 2014.
For the Moto2 and Moto3 classes the track conditions certainly treated the Japanese fans! Moto2 World Champion Johann Zarco took first place with a huge smile and incredible backflip off his bike. The French rider was strong in the wet conditions and his confidence certainly at an all time high. He did an incredible job to pull away from Jonas Folger and Sandro Cortese. In comparison, Niccolo Antonelli, Miguel Oliveira and Jorge Navarro finished one, two and three in the Moto3 class. Niccolo was superb and did not take his foot off the gas. Jonas and Sandro will be joining each other in a German dream team and they were happy to finish not only in the points but also on the podium together.
For those who are not aware of what it feels like to race in the wet. Rossi stated in the team’s press release “when it starts to dry up it feels like you are in a boat at sea, the bike moves everywhere. Three or four times when I touched the throttle I felt the front go and said “no, no, no!”, so it was difficult, lots of stress.” Rossi paints the picture perfectly. As we know in MotoGP, anything can happen!
The next stop on the calendar in Australia where the crowds will roar and the drinks will flow. Bring on the Island!
