No, they weren’t kidding. They really ARE going to race in Qatar.
Marc Marquez put one hand and four fingers on the Championship after another victory in Sepang, comfortably beating Pedro Acosta and Alex Marquez to the top step of the podium in a round he described as “full attack”. But it’s hard to ignore the elephant in the room here, Qatar really is happening as we speak, and the riders couldn’t agree on whether to stage a boycott.
That takes up the majority of the running time here, as Dre, RJ and Cam discuss the nuances of the situation. Why a direct bombing threat is unlikely as the US but closed airspace is the big concern. There’s also the fact that Yamaha withdrew from the weekend due to company policy on travelling to restricted areas, and could face sporting sanctions… despite the fact the MotoGP group don’t have the authority to do so in the sporting regulations (Trust me, we checked.) 19 out of the 22 riders didn’t want to go, but with Marco Bezzecchi and Jorge Martin still in title contention, everyone has eventually rolled out for the race, despite genuine concerns. Welp.
So… when a circuit releases an emergency shelter guide, is that a safe place to race? Let’s ask Toto Wolff for his opinion…
