Paris – On Thursday evening, near the Champs-Élysées, a certain Fabio Quartararo and a dozen other privileged people were able to preview two episodes of “MotoGP Unlimited”, the new event series produced by Amazon. Reigning world champion, Pecco Bagnaia and Alex Rins took part in the event, parading on the red carpet of the Élysées-Biarritz before watching the big screen projection of their successes and defeats.
Motorsport.com had the honor of being able to attend this screening and see episodes 6 and 8 (covering approximately five Grands Prix) of this series consisting of 8 episodes of approximately forty minutes each and which will be available in less than a month. This moment is awaited by all MotoGP fans and also by the members of the paddock. We saw a small preview and our first impressions were very good!
Let’s leave out the inevitable comparison with “Drive by Survive”, the Netflix series on Formula 1 that is about to come out with its fourth season. Of course, the principle is similar because it is a question of following the championship from start to finish showing the behind the scenes, but from the two episodes that we have been able to see, “MotoGP Unlimited” does not seem to have the biggest flaw that is attributed to Formula 1. The editing and the music create drama, but the storyline seems to avoid the very fiction that is so criticized by the Netflix series, while a more realistic story is preferred and a montage that does not distort the truth.
Scenes of everyday life alternate with interviews and excerpts from the Grand Prix (with the respective television comments in English, Italian, French or Spanish according to the riders): “MotoGP Unlimited” builds a chronological and non-thematic story, in which one episode different subjects coexist, as happens in real life.
MotoGP Poster: Unlimited in Amazon Prime Video
Photo by: MotoGP / Instagram @motogp
The series aims to show reality, also avoiding censorship and more. This seems to be the key to success, and once the series is fully released, we are curious to discover highly anticipated steps, such as the Vinales-Yamaha divorce, the details of which are explosive. Or the withdrawal of Petronas from the SRT team. In the two episodes broadcast in the Paris premiere, there have already been particular moments, such as Johan Stigefelt’s emotional farewell to his team at a Safety Commission meeting, where cameras usually do not enter. We also witnessed Pol Espargaro’s tears in the intimacy of his motorhome after pole position at Silverstone, or even in moments of unpretentious preparation.
The richness of the series lies precisely in these intimate moments, whether they are on the circuit or at the home of their respective drivers, leading us to see those behind the scenes that are usually hidden. One of the strengths of “MotoGP Unlimited” is also the fact that it gives life to scenes that usually stay away from the public. It is no longer just the roar of the engines, but also the screams in the closed park and the noises of the pits, which are rarely heard.
In this sense, the sixth episode offers funny scenes, aided by the editing, with a succession of whims by Aleix Espargaró. This scene is followed by an excerpt from the interview of his chief mechanic, who with his “ah, me, I don’t say anything” will have made the audience explode with laughter. During the 80 minutes we saw, we found a late Fabio Quartararo, a playful Jack Miller (and a master at opening beers with his teeth!), A sanguine Aleix Espargaró and a hungry for success Jorge Martín … The documentary he wants to be without restraint, and what you see is all really blunt and honest.
The task was to gain the trust of the protagonists, so everyone has had a dedicated crew throughout the season, and this is the best way to witness confidential exchanges without the teams closing their doors, but also to create bonds. “It was difficult, especially the first few times in the most intimate moments”, Quartararo admits, “but then we got used to it, especially when we started getting to know the cameramen and we built a little more trust”.
It is clear that some pilots may not have unbuttoned as much as others. Especially the images of Valentino Rossi’s last Grand Prix are more conventional than many other scenes, even if you hear the Doctor speak of racing more as work than pleasure. We can’t wait to discover the whole series and to see riders like Marc Márquez, who is not very present in the episodes we previewed. Or to experience the painful convalescence of Jorge Martín, defined by the producers as one of the key characters of this 2021 season.
Atmosphere
Photo by: MotoGP
Nine characters at the center of the series
For its executive producer, Bernat Elías of production company The Mediapro Studio, “MotoGP Unlimited” is “a series about one sport”, which could be a completely different discipline. It is a documentary whose ending we already know, but what interests us “is the journey between the beginning and the end, brought to the screen by great characters”. The program does not show everything, because only nine drivers were chosen: Quartararo, Bagnaia, Marc Márquez, Rossi, Martín, Rins, Aleix Espargaró, Viñales and Mir. They are those characters “that you get to know, you discover who you work with, who you move with, who you share your emotions with,” the producer told Motorsport.com. “We will cry, we will laugh. There is a time to laugh, a time to cry, a time to scream, to win, to fail.”
The series wants to put emotions in the foreground and does not want to become a program for specialists. “We have tried to avoid all the technical aspects that can distract those who are not passionate about motorcycles,” says Bernat Elías. “We tried to go more towards the characters, which are followed throughout the season. The idea is that in the first episode we introduce the characters and then we see their successes, their failures, their progression, the relationship between them and with their respective teams “. Bypassing the more technical aspects, we will be sorry that some performances are revised, such as the disappointing race of Pecco Bagnaia at Silverstone, for which it would have been interesting to mention the technical reason, linked to the tires.
But the goal of “MotoGP Unlimited” is to find a delicate balance between the general public and the fans. The first will discover an environment that offers spectacle, emotion and a good dose of humor, which could make them want to follow the Grand Prix and allow MotoGP to reach a new audience. Those who are already passionate about this sport will be able to observe all the doors that open behind the scenes. If the technical side of things is left out, so it is not for the sporting side, as shown in episode 6, in which we discover Aleix Espargaró introduced as “captain” of Aprilia by Massimo Rivola, who underlines the role played by the Spanish rider in convincing Maverick Viñales to join the team.
A final important point concerns the language, and we return to the comparison with “Drive to Survive” to emphasize that this is another big difference between the two series. Instead of the English that predominates in Formula 1, they all speak in their native language, which is certainly the best way to achieve the authenticity sought by directors and producers. “When we speak a foreign language, even if we know it very well, there is always a barrier and we thought that to have this reality in observation, this authenticity of emotions, they should express themselves by showing themselves”, emphasizes Bernat Elías.
It is a fundamental detail, because the program avoids that the language is an obstacle or a sanitization of the content, and at the same time it bets on the seduction of a large audience, more and more used to watching series or films in little-known languages (just ask Koreans by Squid Game) through the different platforms. It’s a gamble that can prove risky if the subtitles aren’t perfectly faithful to the subject they translate, and so we’ll wait to see if this weakness, which affects many such programs, was avoided during public release.
But the main thing is another. “MotoGP Unlimited” gave us a taste that just makes us want to see the whole season in order to be able to give a more complete judgment. And then, quite simply, we can’t wait to see what happens next!
Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Team, Alex Rins, Suzuki MotoGP Team, Fabio Quartararo, Yamaha Factory Racing
Photo by: MotoGP
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