The inimitable Jerry Reed from “Smokey and the Bandit” and one of his signature humorous songs…”what you mean contempt of court?”
Last night’s MotoGp from Aragon in Spain was ample proof, if any was needed, of the truth of the saying at the head of this article. If ever there was a turnaround in a rider’s fortunes, last night illustrated it. Since the German GP at Sachsenring when Marquez won last, that was July 16th, his results have been, in order, 5th, 3rd, 4th and 4th. In those same races, his closest rival, Valentino Rossi has finished 4th 2nd, 4th and 2nd. That has seen Marquez’s considerable lead in the championship whittled down to just 43 points. Now “just” 43 points is still a sizeable lead as we moved into the final 5 races of the title, but, all the same, Marquez’s “slump” has seen the pundits wondering if he could be in danger. More importantly, they have started to wonder why it is that his performances have been below his usual lofty standards.
Now a sizable proportion of the riders in the championship would be ecstatic to achieve those results over a four race span (almost all of them, in fact). But Marquez is not just any ordinary rider who sees finishing just on the podium or just off it as being laudable or even acceptable for that matter. In the rarefied atmosphere in which he and the other “aliens” operate there is only one result that is laudable and acceptable and that is the top step on the podium. Anything less than that is simply unacceptable.
So it has been a bit perplexing to see him finishing OFF the podium on 3 of those four races. Since he entered MotoGp in 2013, his report card looks like this.
28 MotoGp victories, 14 second places and 7 third places. (interesting mathematics there, eh?)
49 podiums and 36 pole positions, 33 fastest laps and two world championships.
So to finish 5th is certainly out of character. His “win it or bin it” style so far has meant that he either podiums or finishes in the first aid tent. But this year we are seeing a different Marc Marquez. The raw speed is still there, the aggression is still there as is the phenomenal skill and the ability to do things with a bike that only a few can do. But this year he has started riding with his head as well as his heart. This year he has developed the ability to “settle” for the best that he can get even if that means it’s not the podium and even if it means that he sees his opponents outscoring him. The last succession of tracks have been “Yamaha” tracks and, by every expert opinion, the Yamaha is a far better bike this year than the Honda. It out-accelerates the Honda and has been, for the first time in a number of years, the more powerful bike. Thus the Honda raiders are having to brake harder and later (and they can do this) in order to try and nullify the Yamaha’s advantage. And when you’re balancing that close on the edge, having to brake harder than you’d like is not what you really want to be doing.
With the “freeze” on engine changes for the season it isn’t simply a matter of calling the factory and asking for more power. You play the hand you’re dealt and the Yamaha riders are, rightfully, enjoying not being chewed up by the Honda mincing machines as they have been for the last few seasons. So, in the last few races, Marquez has been anything but “hot” in the last four races (again, by HIS lofty standards) while the Yamaha riders have been dining out at Honda’s expense.
But that all changed last night. From the time that the #93 machine rolled out of the trailer the rest of the field have been “on notice” that Marquez was “hot”. Pole position is usually decided by a matter of tenths or hundredths of a second. Marquez set pole by nearly 3/4 of a second. And, when the lights went green and the first couple of laps of stupidity were over, it was Marquez in the lead and looking like splitting. And he would have done so except for the fact that he had gambled on the hardest front tyre compound available and the tyre wasn’t up to temperature yet. The bike slid and headed off the track. By the time the rider had sat up, settled the ship and put his heart back in his mouth, he was back in 5th.
Then we saw of what he was capable when he is hot. Riding with his head, he babied the bike until he was sure the tyre was ready then he mowed down the field and won, going away. As someone said, it was Marquez first and daylight second. And, by the time he was done he had not only erased the deficit he had accumulated in the last 4 races, but pulled ahead by another 3 points to lead the race for the championship by 53 points. It is not impossible that he can be overtaken, but it will take a herculean effort by either of the Yamaha riders AS WELL AS some disaster to befall him if he is to be deprived of his third title.
If he rides like that in a couple of more races, then we can enjoy seeing what we saw last night, the mastery of man over machine. When you’re hot, you’re hot. The others must be hoping that he cools it a little!