Personally, I've been following MotoGP only for a couple of years now, so there's quite a bit of good stuff to watch during the winter. Here is a list I've been putting together for the cold winter times, if you know of individual races or other spectacular material, please add it here, it will be greatly appreciated.
+ The six-lap dash at Mugello in 2004 (after the race had been stopped due to rain) still ranks as one of the all-time most entertaining GP races: watching the world’s best riding every lap like it was the last, instead of pacing themselves and their tyres, was a fascinating and unique experience.
+ Ah, bravery. To prove that almighty cock-ups are nothing new in motorcycle GP racing, I remember the 1989 Belgian GP at Spa-Francorchamps, in the days of the superheroes: Wayne Rainey, Kevin Schwantz, Eddie Lawson, Wayne Gardner, Mick Doohan and the rest. Spa was (and still is) the world’s greatest racetrack but it’s also dangerous. That event was a farce, just like Phillip Island, with the riders put in peril by people in power who messed up. Due to typical Spa weather, the race was stopped twice and then restarted for a third time – against the rules – by Clerk of the Course Claude Danis, who was later rewarded for his ignorance with the job of MotoGP safety director. The third start took place on a soaking track: Rainey, Schwantz and the rest aquaplaning past the Armco – tyres spinning and engine revs peaking wildly – as they dived into Eau Rouge each lap. Schwantz led, then crashed on the final lap. Rainey climbed to the top step of the podium and smiled, until he was told the final race shouldn’t have happened and therefore hadn’t happened. The results were rewritten and taken from the combined time of the first two starts, so Lawson was declared the winner, ahead of Schwantz and Rainey. Rainey was understandably very angry. He and his rivals had used all their bravery to risk their lives in the pissing rain at one of the world’s most dangerous racetracks for absolutely nothing.
+ MotoGP final race of 2006: Rossi loses championship to Hayden (double check!)
+ Moto2 penultimate race of 2012: Marquez starts from last grid position to win the race and get the championship
+ The six-lap dash at Mugello in 2004 (after the race had been stopped due to rain) still ranks as one of the all-time most entertaining GP races: watching the world’s best riding every lap like it was the last, instead of pacing themselves and their tyres, was a fascinating and unique experience.
+ Ah, bravery. To prove that almighty cock-ups are nothing new in motorcycle GP racing, I remember the 1989 Belgian GP at Spa-Francorchamps, in the days of the superheroes: Wayne Rainey, Kevin Schwantz, Eddie Lawson, Wayne Gardner, Mick Doohan and the rest. Spa was (and still is) the world’s greatest racetrack but it’s also dangerous. That event was a farce, just like Phillip Island, with the riders put in peril by people in power who messed up. Due to typical Spa weather, the race was stopped twice and then restarted for a third time – against the rules – by Clerk of the Course Claude Danis, who was later rewarded for his ignorance with the job of MotoGP safety director. The third start took place on a soaking track: Rainey, Schwantz and the rest aquaplaning past the Armco – tyres spinning and engine revs peaking wildly – as they dived into Eau Rouge each lap. Schwantz led, then crashed on the final lap. Rainey climbed to the top step of the podium and smiled, until he was told the final race shouldn’t have happened and therefore hadn’t happened. The results were rewritten and taken from the combined time of the first two starts, so Lawson was declared the winner, ahead of Schwantz and Rainey. Rainey was understandably very angry. He and his rivals had used all their bravery to risk their lives in the pissing rain at one of the world’s most dangerous racetracks for absolutely nothing.
+ MotoGP final race of 2006: Rossi loses championship to Hayden (double check!)
+ Moto2 penultimate race of 2012: Marquez starts from last grid position to win the race and get the championship
