MotoGP 10 Official Review

I should probably say at the outset that I'm not the world's biggest motorsport fan or expert as I've largely given up on F1 and only catch the occasional motorcycle race on TV, never tuning in religiously. However, I liked what I saw and have reviewed a couple of Duke's TT Review DVDs/BDs so when the opportunity arose to watch and reviews an entire season of MotoGP, I jumped at the chance and watched it all in one go.

As I understand it, MotoGP is basically the pinnacle of motorcycle racing, the equivalent of Formula One but on two wheels in a season that takes riders and their crews to 14 different countries across four continents to participate in 18 Grand Prix weekends to discover who is the world's premier motorcycle rider. The bikes aren't just normal bikes but have a frightening power-to-weight ratio with a massive 800cc (reduced from 1000cc in 2007, something that will change for the 2012 season) engine in an extraordinarily lightweight frame which is constructed for power, speed and structural integrity rather than comfort. This is why they can accelerate so quickly and easily reach the top speed of 330 km/h.

Although the grid was occupied by people from seven different countries, the bikes they were riding were from a much smaller pool with Japan providing three (Honda, Yamaha and Suzuki) and Italy and the other one (Ducati). As with F1, this is not just a competition between the riders, but between the manufacturers and the different companies involved. Going into the 2010 season, Valentino Rossi was the defending World Champion and was hoping to win his 10th world title but knew that a massive challenge would come from Jorge Lorenzo who had just made the jump from Moto2 (the 500cc class) where he was a double world champion.

The season opened under the floodlights in Qatar with Italian legend Loris Capirossi making his 300th consecutive start -- the first man to do so -- and ended months later in Valencia with Jorge Lorenzo having already put the World Championship in the bag. The races in between saw many changes in the rankings and injuries to several key riders, especially Rossi, who came off his bike and suffered a compound fracture of his lower leg.


I imagine it was quite difficult to choose which footage from which races (and how much) to include as you have 18 races to include on the disc and about 2½ hours in which to include all the necessary highlights. As I didn't watch this season, I'm in no position to say whether Duke and Dorna Sports picked the right bits or omitted something that really should have been included but I found each race to include the right amount of build-up, race action and post-race reaction.

If you did watch each and every race (including qualifying) then this is likely to bring memories flooding back as you will mentally be able to fill in any gaps or omissions and this release is probably aimed at those who did watch the entire season and liked it so much they want to see the highlights.

This is the first year that a MotoGP end of year review has been released on Blu-ray which takes advantage of the high definition recording (Bernie Ecclestone take note) and the set comes with a BD and DVD so it will suit households where there is a Blu-ray player in one room and DVD players elsewhere or where a Blu-ray player is being considered as a new purchase.


The Disc

Extra Features
The main extra feature is a selection of on-board footage (32:49, HD) which seems to largely come from free practice or qualifying due to the paucity of other bikes on the circuit but you really get a sense of the speed at which these motorcycles travel plus the remarkable angles that they achieve when cornering. The very first footage has a graphic displaying the angle all through the lap and I was amazed when the needle settled on 55° and (I think) even touched 56°!

There are frequent apologies at the top of the screen for the visual and audio quality which is, as you would expect, affected by the signal from the bike to the outside broadcast van. As with the main feature, this has a chapter selection so you can choose which circuit you want to see from a choice of all 18 venues.

There is also a fairly decent interview (4:49, HD) with Jorge Lorenzo in which he talks about the crucial race at Jerez and other moments on the way to his Championship win. You don't just have a camera on him for the entire time as there is plenty of footage from the races he is talking about to accompany Lorenzo speaking.


The Picture
I was about midway through watching this disc when my dad walked into the room and said "That's a Blu-ray, isn't it? You can tell by the quality" and, as he isn't an expert or has seen and compared a great deal of BDs to their standard definition counterparts, that is a fairly telling statement. Certainly, compared to the DVD (that also comes in this set) the 1080p picture is a great deal sharper, more colourful and doesn't suffer from any motion blurring when the bikes are cornering or riding past at great speed.

I was surprised that there wasn't more use of the on-board cameras through this review was only fleeting shots of the view from behind or in front of a bike but this isn't really a problem as the selection of on-board footage in the extra features more than compensates.


The Sound
Strangely, there is no high definition soundtrack so the BD only has a Dolby Digital stereo soundtrack which actually does the job very well with plenty of engine noise and well delivered commentary. I would imagine that a 5.1 mix, whether high definition or standard def, would have created a much more immersive experience with the engine sounds filling the rear speakers and really putting you in the heart of the action.

Anyway, the soundtrack that is on the disc does the job perfectly well and it's probably a better idea to concentrate on that rather than what could have been.


Final Thoughts
As a relative newcomer to the world of MotoGP, I can see why it is such a popular international sport with particularly big followings in Italy and Spain, which host a total of six (five if you include Aragon) Grand Prix between them. Compared to Formula One, there is much more overtaking and it seems the races are much more open than when the same circuits are used for pretty wide cars when there isn't as much room to go side to side round corners and try and outbreak your opponents or work a way around through a two or three corner section.

This is a very fine disc and an excellent roundup of an eventful year of motorcycle racing which comes highly recommended to MotoGP fans around the world whether you have a Blu-ray player yet or not.