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A doc format worth
expanding and repeating,
more assists, same
rough but rewarding
superbike racing.VERDICTamazing to get the point of tipping
the bike in just right and make the
apex, carrying a ton of corner speed
and gliding past an opponent. In
those moments, all is forgiven.ON YOUR BIKE
Harder to turn a blind eye to, though,
are some irritations that really should
have been fixed by now. The ideal
line assist is often totally off with its
recommended braking points, and AI
is inconsistent in pace from track to
track, as though it’s adhering to
poorer lines on some circuits.
It makes inroads, then, this new
MotoGP title. It’s still feeling a little
wobbly in the hands, as though the
controls and physics model haven’t
yet been perfectly synchronised, and
the AI and assists need more work.
But Mark Neale’s work really elevates
the experience, creating a new mode
that sets the mind racing with ideas
for more like it. How about one that
recreates each of the last ten race
winner’s maiden victories? Who
wouldn’t want to be put on Binder’s
KTM in a sodden RedBull Ring, or
Bagnaia’s Ducati, fending off
Marquez around Aragon? There’s a
lot of tread on these tires.TOP: The sense of
speed is, as ever,
absolutely spot on.
ABOVE: Dani Pedrosa,
bravely pushing past
his injuries to take the
chequered flag.
FAR RIGHT: Despite
Binder’s fury,
photobombing is
allowed and thus Rins
faces no penalty.
NINE LIVES
The big players in MotoGP’s quasi-documentaryVALENTINO
ROSSI
At the time an
eight-time champ
who’d just returned
to winning ways after
Hayden and Stoner
won in ’06 and ’07.JORGE LORENZO
So good in his debut
Yamaha season that
Rossi had a wall built
between them in the
pits. 2009 was war
between the
teammates.CASEY STONER
The Ducati rider won
the championship in
2007, then Rossi
found a way to beat
him to the ’08 title. It
was everything to
play for in 2009.DANI PEDROSA
The Spaniard
dominated 125s and
250s, but battled
injuries throughout
his MotoGP time, and
was looking to step
up in ’09.