By the time you read this, the MotoGP championship will be over, and the Darkness of the off-season will have already descended. You will also know the outcome of the MotoGP Championship and the f inal reckoning of the riders as they cross the line for the last time in 2022 at Valencia. While the pros of holding a physical magazine in your hand instead of a digital menace means that there is some lag while hard-working people get this rag printed. As this is being typed, we have just witnessed a dramatic penultimate round to the championship at Sepang. But we did pop Bagnaia into the centre... Just in case. As a recap, Pecco holds a seemingly insurmountable 23-point lead going into the last race, meaning Fabio Quartararo would pretty much have to win the last race while Pecco gets a DNF. In Moto2, Ai Ogura held a commanding championship lead over Augusto Fernandez going into Sepang and looked good to extend it with a laudable second place until he bliksemmed off on the last lap while ill-advisedly pushing for a win, handing Augusto a 1.5-point lead going into Valencia.
The Moto3 championship was already wrapped up in style by Izan Guevara in Australia, but it was heart-warming to watch old man McPhee come from 22nd on the grid to take a dramatic last-lap win. The real talk after the race was about team orders and mingling in the championship fight. The obvious example was Enea Bastianini tangling with title contender Pecco Bagnaia, the latter being a contender in the title chase with Fabio Quartararo, whereas Enea could, at best, find himself in third. We also saw some argy-bargy between Jake Dixon and Moto2 title contender Augusto Fernandez that many are comparing to the ill-fated tangle between Rossi and Marquez at this same venue in 2015.
The “purist” racing crowd say that it’s each racer for themselves, that the race should go on without team orders and that the title contenders should fend for themselves to prove they are worthy. Added to this are the financial benefits, especially to Bastianini, who will get bonuses for winning and more bonuses for finishing top three in the championship.
In the Moto2 battle, people keep referring to Dixon’s right to go for his best possible position, owing Fernandez absolutely nothing.
Those are compelling arguments, but on the other hand, they are all considering only short term gains – a bit more money and another trophy. What are the long-term career outcomes of these decisions?