“Who needs a carcass?”
Man, it’s good to be back. Hey everyone, Dre Harrison here, and welcome back to the 2026 season of Dre’s Race Review, the show where I review all of the action from Formula 1, MotoGP and IndyCar, and everything beyond that as an overall picture of a race weekend, and the sport as a whole.
For our season opener for 2026, it’s MotoGP’s turn to kick us off with a look at the Thai Grand Prix, and with it, a culture shock for the sport, as a stewarding call led to controversy, and then Michelin’s final year of tyre support kicked off with a mild case of explosions in the Grand Prix. Let’s get into it.
What Counts As Unfair?
Saturday gave us a startling wake-up-call as to the state of the field. Aprilia was back, with a vengeance. In timed Friday practice, Marco Bezzecchi was nearly half a second faster than the field, setting a new track record in the process. He backed it up by qualifying on pole, narrowly beating a hellacious all-in final attack from Marc Marquez to take it by just 0.035, despite a late crash from Bez trying to push too hard at the very end.
In the Sprint Race, Bez got greedy. He had just gotten to the front after a brief back and forth with Marquez, but turned in too hard with a wheel on the white paint, and down he goes. It’s a frustrating thing watching Bez sometimes. At his best he’s incredibly fast, as fast as anyone in the top flight. But he’s still got a tendency to overcook it at times, and he did there. Easy 12 points gone.
Marc was clever in that he tried slowing the pace of the Sprint down after he led. The whole Sprint was four seconds slower than the 2025 version, trying to keep Pedro Acosta behind him. But Acosta was so fast at the end of the technical section in Sector 3, it eroded at Marquez’s safety net. By the penultimate lap, Marquez making a small error at Turn 5 opened the door for Acosta to try a different attack, after four swings at the final corner were countered by Marquez cutting back and opening the throttle quicker.
At the end of the lap, Marquez tries the final corner lunge. There’s small contact past the apex, Acosta is bumped off the track limits while Marquez makes the turn and leads. By Turn 8 of the final lap, Race Direction gave Marquez a position drop penalty. Marquez gives Acosta the place back at the final corner, and the baby shark becomes MotoGP’s youngest Sprint winner.
Both men were pissed off for different reasons. Acosta didn’t want to win it the way he did, and embraced the fight, saying that this is what MotoGP is about for the fans. Marquez was diplomatic when interviewed but called this “The new MotoGP”, sarcastically clapping at Race Control’s office as he returned to the podium.
So what do I think? I get both sides of the argument here. Marquez came from a long way back, it was a divebomb pass for sure. But the contact was minor, he was ahead coming off the apex, and he stayed on track, even if he gained half a second when Acosta was off track. For me, it’#s pretty 50/50, and if it’s pretty 50/50, I say you let them race.
This is the problem though – And it’s not even really Simon Crafar’s fault as chief steward. For 20 years we’ve generally seen block passes like that be given a wide berth. It’s plastered into the history of the sport, from all those Jerez, Lorenzo corner dives to cutting the Corkscrew at Laguna Seca to get ahead. The very fabric of the sport has been embedded into letting that shit go. Trying to establish a new status quo is always going to be difficult. It’s why I said it’s not even Crafar’s fault – Freddie Spencer was in charge until 2025 and he let the Bastianini/Martin smash and grab at Misano go unchecked, which I’d argue was way dirtier than what Marquez did.
It’s why I get why Marc said this is the new sport. And to me, if bike racing is now a non-contact sport, you’re going to be having a lot more of these marginal calls go the other way. And that’d be a shock to my system and I suspect many more as a race fan.
A shame I’ve got to write so much about it, because it distracts from what could have been the best Sprint Race MotoGP’s ever had. The Acosta/Marquez fight was a barnburner and proof you can still go back and forth on these bikes, even during the peak of the aero era. And yes, Acosta’s bang on – It’s GREAT for the sport that the seemingly future Ducati teammates can engage in beef like this. More!
That’s Why, Bez
As for the Grand Prix, Bez kept the holeshot this time and didn’t really look back. He ripped a 1.5 second lead in the first two laps ahead of fellow Aprilia Raul Fernandez and completely dominated. All while Marc Marquez sank as low as fifth at one point as Acosta, Jorge Martin and the aforementioned Fernandez all picked him off.
What caused this shift in pace? A few factors. The big one, being the tires. Michelin bring a stiffer, harder carcass to three tracks on the calendar due to fears about heat degradation. The Red Bull Ring, Mandalika and here (And turns out, Brazil will be in three weeks time as well). As a compound it’s heavier and harder and it blunts Ducati’s arguably greatest weapon, it’s incredible rear grip. Aprilia’s always flourished in lower grip conditions as it lets its exceptional aero package do the talking – Which today included a F***ING F-DUCT. You know, an F-Duct, which was last seen in Formula 1 back in 2010, with the riders covering the airhole in the fairing with their arms when they’re tucked in, which according to The Race, could move air around to give more downforce mid-corner.
It would certainly explain Bez’s pace difference over Marc. If you haven’t seen it, highly recommend TNT Sports’ using Chaz Davies gear to overlay their laps and pick up the differences. Great segment.
And you can see how said tyre management did a number on the field. Marc Marquez, while closing on a possible podium, suffered an instant tyre failure after a piece of his rim broke off driving over Turn 4’s double kerb. Normally a non issue, but the track was so hot, it was softening the metal in the rims. Joan Mir, running fifth at the time, also had a tyre pop with four laps to go, with a big delamination in the middle of his rear.
But Bez was just that man at the front of the field, eventually win by six seconds. Pedro Acosta eventually took advantage of big Fernandez tyre drop off to take second and the Championship lead (The first time a KTM has ever led the World Championship), with Fernandez third, continuing his outstanding form at the end of last season.
Oh, and one more twist before we move on… The harder casing’s coming back for Brazil in three weeks. Fun!
The Lightning Round
Pecco Bagnaia, failing to adapt in tricky conditions and qualifying 13th, and finishing ninth behind over GP26 runners again. Oooft. What is up with the man?
Jorge Martin a sneaky contender for rider of the weekend with Top 5 finishes in the Sprint and in the Grand Prix, with the man himself claiming it was the best he’s felt on the Aprilia. I still think he’s a madman for wanting to leave. Also, I love that Ai Ogura has become a Buriram specialist.
One more Aprilia factoid – First time they’ve ever had four bikes in the Top 5 of a race.
The Moto2 race was manic for all the wrong reasons. A horrendous early crash due to the unfortunate Senna Aigus suffering an ECU failure mid-corner, and then David Alonso smashing into the back of him, and then himself being hit by an avoiding Filip Salac. Amazingly, it seems Alonso avoided serious injury by not breaking an arm. Miraculous. But I have to ask. If I can see you getting stretchered off a live track BEFORE a Red Flag is declared, are race control doing their jobs properly? Especially if it happens twice in the same race?! I get that you don’t want to Red Flag a race until you absolutely have to, but leaving it until the absolute last minute feels irresponsible.
Max Quiles had the house thrown at him in a one-on-one Moto3 race and LOST. To David Almansa of all people from outta nowhere, by just 0.004 seconds. Exceptional battle, and the biggest defensive sweep I’ve ever seen.
By my rough math on the back of my napkin – Fabio Quartararo’s highest placed Yamaha in 14th, was 1.1 seconds a lap slower than Bez’s winning Aprilia. And then Yamaha pulled all of their riders from a media debrief. Embarrassing and not okay from a media standpoint. Still, at least Toprak won the Tuk-Tuk race early in the morning.
The Verdict: 7/10 (Good) – The Sprint brings this up an extra point. That alone was one of the best the format’s ever had, with Pedro and Marc laying a smackdown on each other. The GP was a little tamer, but we still had some good midfield action in there with Martin, Fernandez, Acosta and Marquez there, even if the winner was decided by Turn 4. See you in Brazil in three weeks time!