1. Rossi's last weekend in Italy, finished with a top 10, more due to luck, but even so. He's 40 something riding against immortal 20 somethings. I believe they will give Rossi a proper ceremony at Valencia.
Dorna will probably do something if Rossi is willing to participate, but I'll be curious how the Spanish fans react, considering some of the Italy vs Spain shenanigans that Rossi has been involved in. Not sure Marquez would get a glowing goodbye in Italy, either...
2. Bagnaia on his way to winning the race, but crashing out - speculation is that it was partly due to the hard front tire both he and Miller chose (who also crashed out). I really wanted him to win to at least make the balance of the season more interesting. (Ok, I am also an Italian homer)
According to Simon Crafar, the temps were dropping rather than rising, so that hard tire was definitely the wrong call. Still, when you have to win out, there's no option but to push to the limit. Turn 15 at Misano is brutal when it's cold, as that left side of the tire is out in the wind for so long. Unlike the Mugello crash, I don't think this one is on Bagnaia.
3. Another win for Marquez. If he closes out the season with a couple of wins, he would be tied with FQ with 5. Who would have thought? He has to be a contender for next year, and you know Honda has a ton of development ready to test on their bike once the freeze is lifted.
Speaking of freeze, the Honda apparently works best when it's cold out, which is why Pol's previous best round was an icy Silverstone. Still, Honda will have the most changes for 2022 if past performance is any indication, so it'll be really interesting to see what they can do. Marquez is definitely back as a title contender, though. He still crashes a lot, though, and hasn't shown the same previous ability to magic the bike off the ground.
4. Bastianini - 16th to 3rd... Great pace from him. I was hoping to see something from Marini today, but he just faded. Bastianini has clearly proved to be the much superior rider this year on the same equipment. I still think Martin is the better rider, but that gap is much narrower than I had thought it would be.
Misano is pure home field advantage for Bestia, so he'll need to perform consistently elsewhere. After his previous 3rd at Misano, Gigi crashed his party and said he should have qualified better and then could have won. Still, it's all to play for in the Ducati hierarchy...
Fabio Quartararo clinches the championship with 2 races to go. He has carried Yamaha all year, and he has won them a rider's title. I bet he's going to ride with the number 1 next year.
A thoroughly deserving champion. Found consistency when everyone else was up and down, rode within himself when things weren't going his way, minimised damage on bad weekends, and looked dominant at places nobody expected him to do well. Winning at Mugello, for example, was totally against all odds. He's found a way to pass with the Yamaha, too, which nobody else seems to be able to do. Considering his unorthodox path to a factory ride, it's very impressive. He's had a mountain of luck and perfect timing, but he's also made the most of those opportunities. And more than most riders, he's been able to go away and fix weaknesses and come back stronger.
IMO for next season, the biggest factor will be what the manufacturers bring - the freeze for this year had limited the development of the bikes. Next year we may see one manufacturer pull ahead of the others because of this.
I am very curious to see what happens at KTM. They took a step back this season.
I think Suzuki and Aprilia will also fall behind, or at least stay where they were this season. Suzuki still does not have their squatting device sorted which is part of the reason why the gap has widened. Aprilia is a concession team, but they've been allowed to develop where all others cannot. I see Aprilia falling back again next season.
We have 5 months to wait and see.
Next year is already looking very interesting, with an easy case to be made for three potential champions in Quartararo, Marquez and Bagnaia. Quartararo for obvious reasons, as he's been able to find the old Yamaha magic of smooth consistency and taking advantage of corner speed to limit losses in the straights. Marquez may be back to his old self physically, and Honda may be back to their old selves mechanically, with tires that better suit the bike or vice versa. And Bagnaia has found four straight poles, and is looking like he has worked out some consistency. Combine that with Ducati's newfound rider friendliness and old straight line speed, and it could be a killer combo.
Further down the oddsmaker's list, Morbidelli might show what he can do when healthy on a top-spec bike (finally), Miller might find more consistency, Mir and Suzuki might find more speed, and KTM might turn those big development dollars into a bike that works in a wider variety of conditions.
Vinales will also have more time on the Aprilia, and the team may continue their forward momentum. Now that they're officially a factory outfit, and seem to be able to handle ongoing development (effective ride height, decent aero, etc.), I'm hoping the slightly amateur cobbled together efforts of previous years are behind them.
Still, two more rounds to enjoy, with the team and constructor championships still to be decided. Maybe we'll even see a 16th or 17th rider on the podium...
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