The MotoGP riders had completed their usual tasks on Thursday, particularly in relation to media. Marc Marquez was however in an operating room at Rochester (Minnesota), United States, to receive an intervention to determine the best course of action for his right arm problems. The Grand Prix of Catalonia, the second Spanish event on this calendar, began without much reference to the category. However, it is not because of results.
There are many more, especially if you focus on the 2023 contract market. This market was created when Suzuki announced it would be leaving MotoGP at the end. It left Alex Rins and two other MotoGP strong men out of position. Brilliant at the beginning of the course, and Joan Mir (the 2020 champion) who began on the list as a favorite theoretician (alongside Marquez, who was disabled due to his body and technical issues with his motorcycle, Quartararo, and Bagnaia). Mir and Rins finished the Mugello and Le Mans races with crashes. It was as if this were an environmental reflection on what they are experiencing in their garage.
“My contractual situation doesn’t pose any problems, but I would choose to have it be different if I could.” Mir acknowledged that there is no one who cares more about this than I do. This feeling is shared by everyone who is still unsure what the future holds. Jorge Martin, who had hoped to be a part of the Ducati official team, but now believes that it could be for Enea Bastianini, the new sensation of displacement; Pol Espargaro who is a true match for Mir; Miguel Oliveira who was told by KTM that he doesn’t have a spot in the team; and Alex Marquez who is still waiting to see what Honda plans to do and how the rest are going to move.
Only seven riders seem to have a clear future at the moment: Marc Marquez, Brad Binder, KTM, Bagnaia, Ducati, Aleix Espargaro, Maverick Vinales (Aprilia), Franco Morbidelli, Yamaha (although only for 2023) and officially, Quartararo (Yamaha), who will remain the leader of Yamaha. “We have spoken with Yamaha and the decision took longer. At a certain point, my head was moving from one place to the next, so I wanted to be there one week and then the next. It’s been hard. It was difficult. Yamaha’s decision not to send engineers into the engine room, and seeing me do great results have helped me make a decision. “I feel good on the bike, and I know they are just going to press in that area,” said the current champion and leader in the category. He explained that Yamaha’s decision to move engineers into the engine room will help reinforce the weaknesses of a bike that is only working in your hands. There is enough time to reach Montmelo with eight points advantage over Aleix Espargaro. This was on the track where Espargaro made his MotoGP debut, and where he also won his first World Cup win (2018 in Moto2), and was awarded the 2020 victory.
It is hard to comprehend, understand and even explain to myself that I am the protagonist, just like everything else this year. It is something I must enjoy. It’s a special grand prize, Marc, the historical star, is not here, this is my year to fight for the title, it is an immense responsibility and pride”, Espargaro said. He has now added four podiums consecutively and could benefit from the grip and temperature, which are both factors that work well for the three other contenders for the title. The bike has grown, and I have grown, it has compensated so many years of Aprilia… A thousand-and-one factors have come together but what is actually happening is so historical, so bizarre that I don’t have an exact explanation,” said Espargaro, who was three kilometers away from the circuit and wanted to continue the dream of a World Championship in the premier class.
