by B.P.Goebel
Issue #110—April 2009

"MotoGP 2008 Official Review"
Kultur Films (2008)
197 minutes

MotoGP is the pinnacle of motorcycle road racing. The world’s most talented racers ride 230 hp, purpose built machines that weigh less than an entry level street bike.

From Jorge Lorenzos’ MotoGP debut pole position start to instant replays of Randy de Puniets’ innumerable crashes, it’s all revisited in SRO Entertainments’ "MotoGP 2008 Official Review".

The 197 minute long DVD consists of 7-10 minutes of highlights from each of the MotoGP races throughout the season. At the start of each segment is a short assemblage that shows where the race is, and a brief look at the track layout and specifications. Then, they cover anything exciting that happened in qualifying and the resultant final race-start grid positions. To set the scene, highlights of the then news items surrounding each race are also included.

Most of the races include the 1st lap in close to its entirety. The rest of the race is not shown in its entirety, but in a visually paraphrased form. All the boring laps are omitted and rarely are complete laps shown. Only the moments with something significant (crashes, exciting passes, wheelies, slides, etc) are included in the combination of different camera angles, on board footage and broadcaster commentary. In a season that had some of the closest racing in recent history, this makes for a pretty jam packed summary. Each segment concludes with the obligatory champagne spraying podium shots and a brief race commentary by the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners.

Offered in a widescreen format, picture quality, with the exception of a few intermittent digital aberrations, was very high.

The DVD includes a few extras. Most exciting is the on-bike camera footage of one lap of all the various tracks on the MotoGP circuit. And as what they are doing never ceases to amaze, this really sets the scene for all the races. There is also a 7 minute long interview with the ever amusing 2008 MotoGP world champion, Valentino Rossi.

All in all, a nice recap of the highlights of the 2008 MotoGP season. If you’re the type that likes the Motocourse MotoGP picture annuals, here is the video version. If you missed any of the races, this will get you up to speed quickly as you watch how the season unfolded. If you are a rider who isn’t really that into it and you watch it with an open mind, you are certain to be amazed at the current level of talent and technology.

M.M.M.

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