The boss, the politician and the diplomat. It is not a low-cost remake of Sergio Leone’s masterpiece ‘The good, the ugly and the bad’ (apotheosis of the ‘spaghetti-western’ dated 1966 accompanied by the column of Ennio Morricone), but Carmelo Ezpeleta in terms of ruthlessness would compete with Lee Van Cleef (the villain), nicknamed ‘Sentence’, fatally shot by Clint Eastwood’s gun (the good guy) in the ‘triello’ that is consumed at the end of the film in the Sad Hill cemetery. In a tomb of an ‘unknown’ next to that of Arch Stenton in the film 200 thousand dollars in gold coins are hidden which are then not without suspense divided by the good and the bad, today in the press conference held in an exceptional way in the press room of the Red Bull Ring the ‘loot’ was the presentation of the Sprint Race which from 2023 will characterize every Saturday of the race weekends of the MotoGP class. A not indifferent turning point for the premier class of the World Championship, which instead of being considered and shared and then presented with all the trappings as expected from the highest category of speed motorcycling, was suddenly dropped from above almost by stealth to be sold as a stroke of the magic wand aimed at solving all the problems arising from the pandemic and the progressive loss of charismatic characters, not least Valentino Rossi. “MotoGP is in crisis, Dorna has opted for an authoritarian choice without talking to the riders”said a FormulaPassion.it Carlo Pernat, manager and dean of the MotoGP paddock. Certainly a very chivalrous process by Dorna, but the press conference was even worse. Below are the ‘performances’ of the three actors who took the stage today.
The master (Carmelo Ezpeleta, CEO of Dorna) – “The riders union already exists, it is the Safety Commission, there is no category in the world where riders are listened to and protected like MotoGP”. The owner did not hesitate to draw the sword in the dialectic sustained with a journalist who simply emphasized the fact that many pilots did not take this novelty well without even being questioned. And woe betide an autonomous union after this tear of Dorna, there is already the Safety Commission. Because dirty clothes should be washed in the family and not in front of the microphones. “You are trying to mount a controversy that does not exist, if the pilots have something to say they must come from me, not from you”Carmelo Ezpeleta added in his outburst. Who, making his debut at the press conference, had declared that the riders must have already been warned by their teams and that in any case the confrontation in the Safety Commission held yesterday was long and frank. Will the races decrease now that each event will be doubled? “No”. Will the pilots have new contracts? “The rider agrees to participate in the championship in its entirety, not just a few stages”. Ezpeleta’s message was clear, the TVs, sponsors and the hope of bringing some spectators back to the circuit on Saturday are in charge. Pilots are the means, the end justifies their use. Contracts, bonuses and insurance do not concern him, the owner must ensure that the diligence continues his journey. Finished the gold in the Klondike RossiStorenziano and with Marquez stopped in the pits more gold is created. Plated or not, it doesn’t matter.
The politician (Jorge Viegas, president of the FIM) – Big smiles and gestures, the abc of the perfect politician who has climbed all the seats to occupy the most prestigious one available. Too bad he was not even able to understand the pertinent questions he was asked such as how the winner of the Grand Prix will be defined as the races will go from one to two. “We have only established that the Qualifying will determine both starting grids, for the rest we are open to everything”, he has declared. Then, however, in the afternoon the MotoGP published at least the scores that will be assigned to the top nine on Saturday. A patch after a bad figure? Jorge Viegas is interested in the right, what matters is that in 2023 there will be 42 departures. “A great show”. Do the more than twenty pilots who put their lives in the hands of their colleagues without cockpits or Halo to protect them in the event of carom at the start of the same opinion? Given that the pilots did not have – and will not have – a say in the politician, this detail can remain so.
The diplomat (Hervé Poncharal, spokesperson for IRTA) – Eli Wallach is amazing in his swaying between the pimp and the mean in an attempt to ingratiate himself or stab the good depending on whether he needs it or not, today Hervé Poncharal must be recognized for not having been outdone in his heroic attempt to stand as spokesman for the starting grid as participating teams. The French manager boasts an experience with few equals in the paddock – the Tech3 team was founded in 1989 – but the main protagonists, the great MotoGP players, are many others, certainly not the future commander of the GasGas expedition, a brand from the KTM galaxy. which will make its debut in the premier class in 2023 to ‘plug’ the leak in Suzuki, who escaped from MotoGP prematurely even at the cost of paying a penalty. Yet to represent everyone there was Poncharal as spokesperson for the IRTA (association that brings together teams of all classes) who stressed that the Sprint Race is an idea that all the teams liked immediately, who gave a positive opinion in unanimous manner. Poncharal laughed at the possibility of pilots joining a union – “I’ve heard about it for years” – and stressed that the protagonists will cover the same kilometers over the weekend, only in a different way. Tires and consumption will remain unchanged “Because we have our feet on the ground and we know very well what is happening in this historical moment on our planet”. No more tires will be consumed and no more gasoline will be burned. Ok. But trivializing the concept of the commitment required of the drivers is simply offensive, because the stress and nervous energies that are used in a sprint race are not comparable to a free practice session. “A half-long race will see new strategies, the two races will not be carbon copies of the other” added the diplomat. Yes, the sprint race with soft tires and the knife between the teeth for the riders will be just comparable to a free practice session for the protagonists of the MotoGP, called to the difficult exercise of saving themselves from their employers so that the circus not only continue, but double.
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