Get well soon, Maq

I don’t understand why boxing has so many fans, enjoying the act of 2 dudes punching the shit out of each other seems rather primitive for the 21st century.

Then again while watching a MotoGP crash reel a few weeks back I thought, as a fan of motorcycle racing, do I really have any right to criticize other contact sports?

The answer was easy, yes I do.

For racing, crashes and injuries are a side-effect, not the whole damn show. You get points for winning races, not for landing a hit on someone’s jaw. Also, every attempt is made in racing to reduce the number of injuries every year, with upgrades in helmets and gear, unlike the thoughts & prayers bullshit about concussions with boxing.

This is relevant because today, I wanted Marquez to crash. Unfortunately, he did.

I am not a big fan of Maq, I’m not a big fan of anybody, I find the whole concept silly. I have incalculable respect for his abilities and talent, but MotoGP is entertainment, and all I really care about is a good, close race.

When Maq is in his groove, he creates bad, boring races. So I wanted him to crash, to give at least a chance to others, to put him under pressure for a change.

Although it is true that my “wanting” anything doesn’t do jack shit, after his massive crash today, I immediately felt bad. I wanted him to crash, not to get injured.

My wish came very close to be fulfilled, if not for the ungodly talent of that man he should’ve been gone after that first trip to the gravel. I would’ve been more than happy if he’d just finished 10th or something, but no, the dude pushed everyone out of his way like a middle-aged woman buying a railway ticket.

I’d compromised and was ready for him to finish on the podium, but of course not, he was going for second, may even have threatened Fabio. That’s when he crashed, a massive highside that’s rather rare for MotoGP of today, most riders just surf out when the front folds.

Marquez never gives up, and that’s why he has so many fans, he doesn’t seem to have an off switch. His natural ability is clearly superhuman, but it looks like even gods can make mistakes.

Crashes happen, but I do hope this will not be too serious for him. MotoGP riders may look like alpha males to us, and they sure try their best to project that image, but many of them are not much more than pain-ridden, battered and bruised bodies held together by screws and plates, pushing their luck to the limit for a few short years, to make enough money and glory that’ll last a lifetime.

Maq already had surgery done on both his shoulders, and after the crash today it looked like he may have injured one of them again, it’s confirmed that he definitely broke his forearm at least. That could potentially be very bad, but if there’s anybody who can come back from that, it would be him.

It’s sad that an otherwise remarkable race won by another emerging god got overshadowed by Maq’s crash, just the fightback by Dovi, who seems to be latest in a long line of HR disasters by Ducati, is a story in itself, but it is what it is.

Get well soon Maq, you are one of a kind, and I can’t wait for you to get back to racing, hopefully a very tiny bit slower.

As always, go to MotoMatters.com to read some actual motorcycle racing analysis.