During this last weekend of October, whether in the MotoGP category or in WSBK, we had the chance to witness some remarkable battles on the track.
On the circuit of Buriram first of all, where the world championship MotoGP packed his bags for the Thai round. And what a spectacle!
Francis Bagnaia, who put his title back on the line, is battling with the Spaniard George Martin and, further behind, the South African Brad Binder for the final third place. Except that in the race, and particularly during Sunday's event, the three drivers fiercely competed for victory. The KTM rider in particular did not let go of Martin's Ducati Prima Pramac, even taking first place from him on the penultimate lap. This was without counting on the incredible effort of the Spaniard who, at the cost of skilful braking, regained his leading position to win by one breath over the finish line.
En WSBK, on the occasion of the last weekend of the category closing the 2023 season, the competitors fought on the Andalusian circuit of Jerez de la Frontera. And for once, during the last Sunday round, everyone was keen to deliver a top performance for their respective employers: Jonathan Rhea at Kawasaki after a collaboration of 9 years and six world titles, Toprak Razgatlioglu at Yamaha where he won his first world title in 2021, finally Alvaro Bautista whose victory in the championship for the second consecutive year had just been confirmed the day before, and who wanted to complete his domination with the Ducati. A final hat-trick for glory.
There too, as in MotoGP, the spectacle was there, one of the biggest races in the category for purists with an incredible number of overtakes. As in Portimao previously, while the northern Irish went to the ground wanting to do too well, the Turkish and Spanish drivers went blow for blow. It was once again magnificent as the virtuosity was on display. All the more impressive considering the maddening characteristics of the machines.
Toprak Razgatlioglu, who never gives up, will win by a few thousandths at the checkered flag. It was beautiful to see how exhilarated he was on his machine, always so reserved, after this authentic feat. This fierce thirst for victory despite a fight that some consider technically illegal, but that's another subject.
Alas, his satisfaction was short-lived: the Turk, having bitten with his rear tire on the green part outside the last bend, saw himself downgraded in favor of the Spaniard. A second place tasted very bitter as in reality the victory went to him, incontestably. Alvaro Bautista will recognize it himself by praising the performance of his opponent.
This situation will undoubtedly have reminded Toprak Razgatlioglu the Nivernaise round of 2021 where he was also denied first place on the podium after an appeal from Jonathan Rhea on Kawasaki. Not glorious, moreover, on the part of the Northern Irish who, in retrospect, would have done well without the consequences of their denunciation.
In short, the fact remains that these results on the green carpet tarnish the final picture.
But let's return to Buriram where there too Brad Binder, second on the podium, will have to give up a place for the same reasons as in WSBK: an incursion into the green part. All the more unfair for the South African as he could hardly do otherwise as he was at the limit in this last epic lap. Despite everything, he looked less gloomy than the Turk, thus completing an already fruitful weekend for the Austrian brand with his second place the day before in the Sprint race.
In the end, and unless of course this saves drivers excessive time in the final laps, is it really fair to apply these rules literally? The answer is obviously yes because, in contrary cases, certain competitors would then abuse the loopholes in the regulations to succeed.
We remember in particular this very controversial victory of Valentino Rossi on the Assen circuit in 2015 where he cut into the last chicane to win under the nose and beard of Marc Marquez. Who knows how the Paddock and the crowd of aficionados would have reacted if we had dared to downgrade the idol? But he is the exception which proves the rule: the law is harsh but it is the law!
