But there are tides in the affairs of nations as well as riders, and a small but determined effort led by former racer Michael Laverty, the Vision Track academy, is making the right steps in nurturing young British riders. Still baby steps by comparison with the Spanish, and Valentino Rossi’s VR46 Academy, which was rewarded with Pecco Bagnaia’s MotoGP title with Ducati last year.
In the meantime, there is much racing to be done, starting in Portugal on 26th March – the first of a longest-ever 22-race calendar. New rounds in India and Kazakhstan await circuit homologation, but should they miss the boat, the unexpectedly deposed Aragon circuit in Spain is one waiting to pick up the pieces. There will also be more than double the number of races, with half-distance Saturday sprint races introduced for the first time, at every round.
The appearance of boom is at odds with falling crowd numbers, especially in Italy – but series rights-holders Dorna expect to make up for that with the expansion last year to Indonesia and this year to India, the world’s largest motorcycle markets. Indonesia is also the only major country to offer free-to-view live TV coverage.