#MotoGP 2024 silly season | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

batsplat · 1 day ago

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batsplat! soo i know u mostly do stats and things like that for older riders like the aliens and stuff but im trying to compile a lil list of my fav pecco's races (i will have to rewatch his moto3/2 years and prob his first years in motogp coz iwas not watching every race back then) but id love to hear some of ut thoughts

if u dont care about it lol its okay just ignore this, lots of hugss

yes! of course! I ended up just giving my top 25 picks in the style of the recs lists I've done for other riders (maybe a lil less detail, he's still young) - so a mix of his best wins, great fights he was involved in even when he lost and just... plot-relevant races (aka title deciders). including a few picks from the early years!! tbh it's pretty slim pickings from the first two motogp years, but moto3/moto2 are certainly more fruitful. anyway, I reckon this ended up being... reasonably exhaustive. does admittedly feel a bit silly summarising races we all watched a few weeks ago, but while I'm already here... for posterity. favourite races get an asterisk. my personal top five are... hm... assen 2016, aragon 2021, indonesia 2023, jerez 2024 and sepang 2024 maybe

le mans 2015*: pecco has a good habit of having fun milestone races. this is his first grand prix podium finish - and the whole thing is very dramatic, a lot of pack racing involving a bunch of different battles with a bunch of different riders (including an early battle between pecco and fabio). eventually, the fight for the win comes down to a tight four-way contest that involves pecco as well as fenati, bastianini and kent. not quite enough for the win, but pecco is happy enough with his podium

mugello 2016: just one of those moto3 races. just one of those mugello races. I could try and give the race a pithy summary but 'tis a fool's errand. there's a pack of like... a lot of riders, they're all going at it, just constant chaos. pecco is right in that leading pack throughout and is doing plenty of tussling (shout out to the overtake on the outside of arrabbiata ii, gorgeous). with three laps to go, pecco gets caught in the slipstream and falls back to tenth, he's seventh headed into the final lap... eventually, he's one of five riders to cross the line at almost the same time

assen 2016*: speaking of milestones. all time banger of a debut race win, I think I'd get the circuit tattooed on my arm after this too. I'd probably name my firstborn child after the place. this is a proper assen dogfight for basically the entire way, with pecco quickly working his way up from tenth to the grid (some... bold overtaking moves) to briefly lead before getting mired in the pack. you never know which way this one is going, it's drama all the way - and the screenshot in the middle is what the state of play is in the penultimate corner (pecco is the white-ish bike). photo finish. 10/10 first race victory, truly no notes (well, maybe a few)

qatar 2018: pecco's first win in moto2 and... well, look, it's a slow burn. while there's stuff going on behind him (including alex marquez suffering from a rather odd mechanical issue), pecco's race is pretty dull viewing until two laps until the end. but there IS a last lap duel and a cute little cut back courtesy of pecco, a neat bit of race craft that would stand him in good stead over the years

austria 2018*: one of the best victories of his title-winning season. a bit of an... odd start, where he seems to initially get a good launch before sliding backwards, the race builds from there as pecco chases down title rival miguel oliveira. once pecco reaches the other rider, he does a lot of stalking and studying of his title rival while the action is mostly focused behind them... and then with a few laps to go, the duel gets going. some pretty wild riding by pecco's standards, like that bike is SKIPPING and weaving and sliding around. oliveira deploys some very respectable race craft to continue to keep pecco behind him - and it all comes down to a last lap duel. and it's... it's just great. block pass into the penultimate corner becomes a dovi-style cut back in the final bend. well worth a watch

phillip island 2019: the strongest race of pecco's rookie premier class season deserves a mention here. you only start hearing about him around halfway into the race - but as ever at phillip island there's plenty of fun action up front. pecco fights his way through the field from fifteenth on the grid, posting very respectable lap times indeed until he reaches the pack. excellent bit of tussling from there behind the duel up front... not quite enough for the podium, but he's hardly far off

misano 2020: first premier class podium! extra impressive since it was his first race back from a nasty leg injury sustained at brno. another one where he's working his way through the field - much of his race has him running in a little four-pack of him, mentor valentino rossi and the two suzukis. brave ride especially given his physical situation that also showcases his defensive skills... and he gets to limp onto the podium

qatar 2021: pecco starts his first race with factory ducati on pole position. one of those qatar races, y'know... a bunch of riders who look for much of the race like they could theoretically challenge for victory, a fair few overtakes, a rider working his way through the field for the victory. the ducatis all get a lightning start as the yamahas get swallowed - and it's actually a bit of a frustrating race from pecco's pov, given how much of it he led. eventually he fades... but he still snatches a podium in the run to the line

portimao 2021: a nifty ride powered by pecco's frustration. plenty of pace in hand but ended up qualifying all the way down in eleventh (after his pole position lap + lap time record got deleted for a yellow flag infringement)... which means he never really had a hope of challenging runaway race leader fabio. still, he fights his way through the pack for second - eating away at his rear tyre, forcing him to mount a stern defence to hang on to the position

aragon 2021*: the first ducati victory at aragon since the circuit's debut in 2010 - and a fittingly casey-esque performance from pecco. he leads the whole way but is put under a thorough examination from marc marquez throughout the duration of the race - a physically diminished version, yes, who nevertheless won at both of his other specialist tracks that year. the action remains subdued until three laps to the end with marc stalking and studying pecco, while pecco puts on a display of stubborn obliviousness towards the pressure he is being put under. when the duel breaks out, pecco is flawless in cutting back on marc after every overtake. without question one of the most impressive debut wins in modern motogp

misano 2022: due to issues with the new ducati as well as his own errors, pecco's 2022 title campaign gets off to a decidedly rocky start. by the time motogp goes off for its summer break, pecco is 91 points adrift off the championship lead. then he locks in and goes on a tear - misano is his fourth consecutive win, sealed in his confrontation with enea bastianini (his second that year after le mans). this is one of those phillip island 2009-style 'edging you with the concept of a duel more than actually duelling' type situations but, well, it's an impressive bit of defending and very close in the end

aragon 2022: the most significant thing to happen in the race from pecco's pov was nothing he himself did, but instead when a rather... eventful first lap courtesy of marc wiped out pecco's chief championship rival fabio quartararo. given the big points swing in pecco's favour, it will have somewhat changed his approach to this race... nevertheless he fought hard for the win, ending up in another fight with bastianini - with his future teammate narrowly getting the better of him this time out

phillip island 2022*: look. it's a phillip island dogfight. they're good watches. even by that circuit's standards, the leading pack in this one is rather substantial, and you would not be able to guess which riders end up in the podium fight after the first few laps. while pecco's title rival once again fails to see the chequered flag, he fights in the lead group throughout - eventually securing a well-earned podium behind the fairy tale winner. an exciting race that goes a long way to securing pecco the title

sepang 2022*: pecco's first match point race - and he does like a bit of drama in sepang late in his title fights. this one can be recommended to both fans of tense duels and fans of extended shots of ducati personnel pacing nervously around as they weigh up the merits and pitfalls of team orders, in a welcome throwback to valencia (and indeed sepang) 2017. fabio puts in a strong performance to keep the title fight rolling to valencia, but pecco refuses to settle for second and bests bastianini in another duel to virtually wrap up the title

valencia 2022: committed myself to including title deciders in these things since they are important races, even though the vast majority of them are deeply mediocre viewing experiences. this one is no exception. bar a fun scrap between pecco and fabio early in the race, pecco mostly just does his best to keep it upright as he rides home to his first premier class title. hardly his best performance, but he did what he needed to do

sachsenring 2023: the stage of the season where jorge martin is beginning to emerge as pecco's main title challenger - and he confirms his new status in emphatic fashion at the sachsenring. a race that culminates in a last lap duel, rare in this era, where jorge just about holds off pecco in what remains perhaps his best premier class victory

indonesia 2023*: for much of that weekend, it looked like pecco's title bid might be in serious trouble. jorge's momentum has been steadily building - helped out by a period in which pecco was physically impaired by a nasty crash at catalunya. here, pecco finds himself stranded on a lowly thirteenth on the grid. jorge wins the sprint in emphatic fashion and takes the lead in the championship standings... but momentum once again swings on sunday. pecco puts together an inspired comeback ride and scythes his way through the field to secure what should have been second, if his title rival hadn't ended up crashing out of a comfortable lead. in the end, jorge earns the dubious honour of boasting the then-shortest ever period as championship leader, while pecco takes the spoils and reclaims the lead in the title race

phillip island 2023*: a twist on the classic phillip island dogfight - with pecco's title rival the runaway race leader for much of the race while the battle for the remaining podium positions raged behind him. really, this should have been a damage limitation race for pecco, but eventually jorge's tyre choice comes back to haunt him. an exciting ride from the first-time winner and a starring performance from pecco within the pack

thailand 2023*: the most memorable part of this race is pecco's two-in-one overtake attempt - just goes wrong, mainly because jorge sends him to the car park, but it's still some of the best late braking you'll ever see. it comes during pecco's extended fight with both title rival jorge and brad binder, an exciting three-way tussle that goes down to the very last lap

valencia 2023: another title decider, and this time a more assured race from pecco. features an early tussle with an enthusiastic jorge, who drops back - then definitively ends his title hopes by sending marc to the moon and himself to the gravel. from there on, pecco can ride it home in style. still not the most thrilling of races unless you're conceptually really into ktm riders fluffing their lines

jerez 2024*: after a rocky start to the year, pecco needed a win here to begin to turn his season around. he gets an excellent start - and the best thing about that race (and quite possibly the season) remains the first lap two-in-one overtake on the jerez back straight. after an early tussle with his main title rival jorge, the race win eventually comes down to a confrontation between pecco and a late-charging marc. top two duel of the season

le mans 2024: pecco and jorge take turns to lead the way - it's a race that's very much gradually building to its climax. much of the excitement is provided by marc cutting his way through the field from a poor qualifying, and the three riders converge right at the end to hash out the podium positions on the very last lap

thailand 2024: given how rare it is historically for two title contenders to dominate a wet race, both pecco and jorge's performances at this race deserve a fair bit of praise. pecco rides an assured race, taking advantage of an early jorge mistake to hit the front - before having to deploy some robust defending to keep marc behind him until marc crashes. from there, pecco brings it home fairly comfortably - his first win in the wet and one that keeps his title hopes alive

sepang 2024*: the battle between title rivals might have only lasted a few laps, but it's the single best w2w fight we've had in years... and you have to go very far back to find two title rivals racing each other quite so fiercely. fantastic racing and fantastically brave by the pair of them - especially by jorge who had considerably more to lose. settles down after that when tyre pressures doom the rider in second, still more than worth it for that initial stretch

catalunya ii 2024: again. including title deciders out of a sense of obligation. I'm not convinced any pecco fan will be rushing to rewatch this race unless you're a real aficionado for exercises in futility. pecco still does what he has to do and puts in an impressive final performance of the season, put under some sustained early pressure from marc before eventually pulling clear to comfortably secure his eleventh win of the season. an impressive count by any measure, albeit not enough to take the title on this occasion

#listed all the races i was thinking of within like five minutes and then let this ask sit in my drafts for several weeks #initially intended to write a line for each which then became a paragraph and now it's just a recs list. and thus goes life #//#brr brr #batsplat responds #race recs tag #current tag #verdemint #dude do the sprint races add literally anything of value #he's competed in a million by now and couldn't think of a single one i felt like adding. utter waste of my time

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