The keys to the Japanese Grand Prix

1. The position at the exit of Bagnaia.

His 12th time in Q2 on Saturday wrote the script for his race. He had no choice but to put it on the attack to break through the pack. That led him to face a Bastianini who did not want to know about team orders, at least in the early part of the race. His finish to the race was very strong, but his “obsession” to pass Quartararo led him to the ground and scored a new 0 at the most inopportune moment.

2. The oblivion of the Aprilia electronic engineer.

To save fuel, the engineers use a map called the eco lap on the formation lap, which must be switched off when the driver reaches the grid. A map that makes a motorcycle not exceed 80 km/h. This time the person responsible for disconnecting it forgot. Aleix realized the moment he started for the warm-up lap. He had to go into the pits and ride his #2 bike, which he hadn’t used all weekend and had one of those overro tires on the back.

3. Iceman Binder.

All season long, we’ve been wondering what would happen on the day the South African qualified and came first. At Motegi, Brad answered this question. He had the patience to, riding behind Miller and Martín, use the first laps of the race to understand what he was doing worse than his predecessors and correct himself as he went on. When other drivers say Binder is among the top five in the category, they’re saying it for something like today.

4. Quartararo’s defense.

When Fabio noticed that he had Bagnaia faster than him on his wheel, he started to close the gaps, delaying braking as much as possible. A strategy that ended up taking out the Ducati man who went down for, on purpose, wanting to add 1 more point.

5. The hard rear tire.

Those who mount a hard rear tire have a clear advantage in racing. Some people, without trying them all weekend, dared to ride it, like the winner Miller. Others, like Martín or Viñales, did not, and they repented.