Jack is back – the Australian Miller benefited from the unlucky failure of Fabio Quartararo in his next victory, but most people indulged Miller his first victory in the service of the Ducati Lenovo works team.

A conclusion after the first 4 laps of the new MotoGP age

The situation in MotoGP after the first 4 races of the season shows a picture that was completely unexpected even by experts. Hardly anyone would have expected a year ago that we are at the beginning of the new MotoGP era in the second year of the corona pandemic. Marc Marquez drove for the second time and crashed, at least not in the race, but still lost a position in the World Cup and was relegated from 14th to 15th. And the perverse thing was that most of the commentators said it was a good result for the Repsol Honda rider. What kind of world did we get into? Some fans rightly ask themselves. He came in ninth and this should be a good result, have everyone gone crazy? To put the slogan in front of his achievements every time he was battered, that has absolutely nothing to do with sport and neutral reporting. That is why we have found a solution for it.

Marc Marquez on all fours in the gravel bed of Jerez de la Frontera and behind it his demolished Repsol Honda – a picture worth remembering in July 2020, but taken nine months later. His time attack in FP3 went badly wrong on Saturday morning and the next fall came in the warm-up on Sunday. But the fans now have to get used to the fact that his results “have to be” glossed over recently.?

A proposal to FIM and Dorna to solve a new problem
One of our readers recently gave us an idea because he found it unbearable with the hype surrounding Marquez and the strange way he looked at his results. He was extremely annoyed with the transmissions that the subordinate clause kept coming up, which concerned the performance of the Spaniard in view of his condition, in connection with his arm. However, we remember well that the 6-time world champion announced at the end of July 2020 after he had renounced the 2nd race in Jerez “I will come back stronger than ever”. It would have been better not to have done that back then. Now he’s back and of course it is difficult for journalists and commentators to sell his 7th and 9th place as a success. Hence, our suggestion to FIM and Dorna: Please immediately introduce a new column in which the fitness level of the driver is listed in %. Otherwise, posterity will be taken aback, reading comments about his results, which do not at all want to match his achievements in reality.

Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha) started the season with 5th place – followed by two consecutive wins and then a major setback in Jerez. While in the lead, the Frenchman had arm-pump problems in the middle of the race and had to drop back almost without a fight. In one fell swoop, he went from being one of the World Cup favorites to becoming a problem again, just like last year.

The most important findings of the third decade of the 3rd millennium

As for dominance, it can be said that Valentino Rossi was the defining man in the first decade. Then Marc Marquez came as a formative figure with 6 titles from 2013 to 2019, but what now? Without wanting to detract from Joan Mir’s performance, but one can hardly describe him as the dominator of 2020 with just one win. Nevertheless, the Catalan earned the title in the first Corona year thanks to his consistency. Above all, however, he has the chance to be among the front-runners again this year, which he impressively underlined with his podium at the Portuguese GP. Just as memorable is the fact that Valentino Rossi will probably never get another chance on the podium. And as sad as it may be, the certainty that his archenemy Marquez can no longer intervene in the 2021 title fight. But that doesn’t make it any less exciting, on the contrary.

Valentino Rossi (Petronas Yamaha SRT) in the interview – the audience darling would have loved to drive in front of an audience again for his life, but at the moment it is still questionable whether and when this will be possible again. From a sporting point of view, there is currently little to be said for a continuation of his career, but in terms of his popularity, on the other hand, of course, a lot.

The situation in the world championship

It is currently interesting that in the first ten, except for Joan Mir, Johann Zarco and “Frankie” Morbidelli, there is no other rider who has so far impressed with consistency in MotoGP. The first named as the reigning world champion and the other two were each rookie of the year in their first season in the premier class. All the others failed to prove, at least in MotoGP, that they have what it takes for the consistency that is required for the fight for the title. This is exactly what makes it particularly exciting, and it is reminiscent of the first Corona year 2020. Of course, a driver like Marquez with two wins in the next two races already has more points than Quartararo, should he produce two noughts. But since Jerez 2021 at the latest, hardly anyone has believed that this can happen.

Johann Zarco (Pramac Racing Ducati) was the best driver in the Losail double race – after a setback in Portugal, only a bad start prevented him from another top result. Before the start of the season, the man from Cannes was one of the most underrated drivers, but that changed immediately after the season opener in Qatar.

The team and manufacturer world championship

It seems strange when a team like Repsol Honda is in the front half of the Team World Championship with a point average of 10. Even more blatant is the fact that Aprilia, with basically one driver and a test driver as the second driver, is placed ahead of Honda and KTM with four or, in the case of Honda, even 5 drivers in Jerez. Shameful the position of Red Bull KTM, still behind two private teams as fourth from last and hardly any prospects of improvement. There is little positive to report about the team with the red lantern. Petrux misses the Ducati Power and Lecuona simply lacks any qualification for MotoGP, which is not news. It only underlines the inability of the KTM leadership to select their riders. A completely different world from midfield to the top. Because except for Rossi, Yamaha has a lot of trumps up its sleeve, one of them almost always wins. Ducati shows an ascending form curve without really weakening at the season opener thanks to Zarco. Suzuki is still holding up well at the moment, only Rins will have to sit down until it gets even better.

Franco Morbidelli (on the right in the picture) with Fabio Quartararo – the Italian is always there when one or both of the works drivers stumble, as was the case most recently on the Circuito de Jerez. As vice world champion, he was also the most consistent of all Yamaha pilots last year. Allegedly he is sitting on a bike that is two years old and is still usually fast with it. But not all believe the stories that are officially claimed.

What’s next?

With the “Patchwork Calendar” from FIM and Dorna, this question is not that easy to answer. At least the overseas races are still considered very endangered, even after the expected cancellation by Argentina and Texas. After the GP was buried in the Czech Republic, the European season is of particular interest at the moment and whether there is an opportunity for spectators on the track. In Portimão and Jerez, private individuals were clearly seen on the grid. These were obviously a privileged few. Something that in principle shouldn’t even exist with the Dorna “Closed Door Protocol”, but it is typically human. Below is the combined calendar with the overlaps between MotoGP and WorldSBK in red.

The dates in bold are changed or new dates.

Unless otherwise stated, this applies to all images (© MotoGP).