In case you haven’t noticed, winter is coming to an end. It’s happening slowly, and spring still seems a lifetime away, but the season is changing.
That means we’ll soon be able to return to Canadian streets on our motorcycles, but while we wait, we can watch MotoGP, as the world’s premier racing series is getting ready for the next season of speed.
Testing is underway, with a spin around Sepang on the February 5 weekend, and then a visit to Mandalika on February 11. That didn’t go so well, with riders complaining about the surface on the new Indonesian track (they said it was covered in debris in parts, and the surface was coming apart, resulting in loose chunks of paving material being spit around by tires). The FIM has announced that the track will actually undergo a partial resurface ahead of the inaugural MotoGP visit on March 20. Better get paving fast, lads, time is running out!
Meanwhile, the new Amazon Prime “behind-the-scenes” MotoGP drama has been unveiled—you can watch it above. MotoGP says “Through exclusive footage of their day-to-day lives, MotoGP Unlimited will feature the inspiring stories of young riders with promising futures, and veterans leading their teams. For the first time, viewers will get an intimate, unique, and exclusive look at the challenges faced by riders and teams during the season, both on and off the track, and understand what it takes to not only be a part of one of the most prestigious competitions in the two-wheeled world.”
Does that sound like something you want to watch—the drama behind the curtain, interspersed with on-track footage? It’s really too bad that Dorna still doesn’t have a deal with a proper mainstream video streaming service like Netflix or Amazon Prime. This post-race day footage will always be less fun than a live race; however, Dorna wants to keep that streaming revenue to itself, for obvious reasons, and you’ve got to deal with Dorna’s streaming for that reason.
This is a move in the right direction, though, and maybe it will bring some new fans (as long as the behind-the-scenes footage isn’t just video of the workers re-paving Mandalika …).
