Bagnaia and Quartararo look like they've finally found their baseline settings, and have resumed normal programming from last year. Pecco looked more relieved than happy with the win, while Fabio looked a bit worried that he lost his ownership of Jerez (at least while healthy). If Ducati have all their bad luck (some self inflicted) out of the way, Quartararo could be in for a tough go over the European stretch of the calendar. The biggest smile on the podium was Aleix's, as a solid finish at Jerez has to make him a true contender for the season. If they can fix their clutch issues so they don't go backwards at the start, things will get a lot easier, though.
Impressive save from Marc, as everyone has noted, but it also showed how on the limit he was to get past the Ducati and stay ahead of the Aprilia. He's past fitness being an issue, so now it's just about developing that bike. He needed his usual qualifying shenanigans to get that far up the grid (wonder how Miller feels about the various tows now), did his usual argy bargy at the start, then was weaving like a loony on the straights to keep Aleix from passing. Some will bang on about how champions do whatever it takes to win, but he's showing himself to be desperate and a bit dirty, all to finish fourth. Aleix is right when he says race control refuses to address his behaviour, and as usual, it's going to take until someone gets hurt to see any action. At a minimum, the wheel sucking on Friday and Saturday has to be stopped, as it's gotten completely out of hand. If you need to work a tow, do what Aprilia did in Q2 and use teammates to swap hot laps and get it done. Of course, Marc has been unfriendly to Pol, so has few allies, and Alex is mostly too slow to be of much help...
Sounds like Quartararo is staying at Yamaha after lots of bluster to the contrary from both sides (David Emmett suggested Lin Jarvis had lied to him about the state of negotiations), and it's an obvious conclusion. After all, they both need each other. Quartararo has nowhere obvious to go, as he'll have even less financial support at Suzuki or especially Aprilia, an unfinished bike at KTM, the whole Marquez saga at Honda, and no room at Ducati. It's hard to know if the Yamaha is as bad as it appears without him, as the RNF riders are both clearly sub-par, and Frankie hasn't been the same since his surgery. Jarvis singled Morbido out after the race as being particularly disappointing, too.
But there's also rumblings that RNF have had enough of being jerked around by Yamaha and may be looking to Aprilia next year. Aprilia have now officially lost concessions, so having a satellite team would be very useful for a factory that likes to push development. If they do bring RNF on board, it'll be a real statement of intent...
I wish they could have panned out and showed the sheer magnitude of all the bikes.
Here's a pic of the whole track, with the motorcycle lot in the foreground. Looks like minimal car parking anywhere nearby...
