Well, Casey Stoner won at Le Mans last night, by over 15 seconds in the end, an eternity in racing terms. He becomes the first rider to win two races this season and firmly stamps himself as a genuine title contender. But, sadly for him and for HRC, all the talk was, and will be, about THAT incident between Dani Pedrosa and Marco Simoncelli.
On seeing it, I originally agreed with Race Direction, that Simoncelli had tried to pass Pedrosa around the outside and had cramped him for room, causing the accident. Race Direction certainly thought so and slapped Simo with a “ride-through” from which the Italian did very well to recover and eventually finish 5th. However, the above photo and videos of the incident seem to tell a slightly different story and opinions will probably end up falling on party lines. Certainly it seems that Pedrosa’s bike was unsettled going into the corner, his left foot was off the footpeg and the back wheel was off the ground (a bump in the braking area?) As Simoncelli drew level, Pedrosa appears to sit up and go straight ahead instead of taking the left hand corner, clipping the rear wheel of Simo’s bike as Simo had now completed an outside pass. Now, on the road, you’re considered to be responsible for the person in front of you, and, if you hit them, you are automatically deemed to have been at fault. It certainly seems that Pedrosa hit Simo rather than the other way around. What will continue to rage, though, is the question of whether Simo completed the pass safely and whether his attempt to pass around the outside caused Pedrosa to sit up and fail to take the corner. You pays your money and you makes your choice.
However, at issue here is far more important than one, on-track incident, though it has had and will have serious ramifications. Last week the riders’ safety committee met with the FIM representatives present to specifically discuss grievances by some riders about Simoncelli’s riding style. They were politely heard and the general consensus afterwards was that it was a bit of a storm in a tea cup and that the riders should put their handbags away and get back to doing what they do best, racing instead of talking. No action was suggested or taken against Simoncelli. However, a throwaway line by MotoGp’s Race Director to a Spanish magazine that riders needed to get on with it because, after all, “MotoGp is a contact sport” was met with incredulity by all in the sport. Did he really mean that NASCAR-style fairing bashing was part and parcel of the game? Surely not. After all, the implications are too horrible to contemplate.
I’m not suggesting that any of the riders took any notice of that (apart from Lorenzo pointing out how STUPID the statement was) or that they have let it colour the way that they raced last night. But it was a dreadful coincidence to have Stoner fined $5000 for punching Randy de Puniet for impeding him in morning Warm-up and then having Simo hit with a ride-through for an infraction that was pretty line ball.
Word out of Le Mans is that Simoncelli was seen after the race being “escorted” to the HRC motorhome for a “discussion”
Hopefully, Pedrosa’s broken collarbone will heal quickly (it’s his right one, not the troublesome left one) and he’ll be fit for his home race in Catalunya in 3 weeks’ time. Simo might have to change his leathers design to include a target on the back, because I fear that many riders will be gunning for him, guilty or not after last night’s effort.
Ben Spies continues to struggle, some even suggesting that he’s reached the limit of his talent and that the translation from WSBK to MotoGp is proving to be too hard. I think it’s a bit too soon to say THAT, but he sure needs to do something special, and soon, or Wilco Zeelanburg could be looking elsewhere for 2012.
The Ducatisti are crowing about Rossi’s podium (neglecting to remember that Hayden has already had one this season) but, seriously, it was hardly a sparkling effort. He wouldn’t have been able to even SEE Stoner on the track, he was so far behind in terms of time and 5th place would probably have been a fairer indication of form given the Simo/Pedrobot fisticuffs that gifted him two places. What was really interesting, though, was the overhead shots of the dice between him and Dovi late in the race. While the commentators were doing everything they could to put as good a spin on Rossi’s performance as possible, the fact was that the bike was still obviously handling like a wheelbarrow full of wet walrusses. EVERY corner saw him running wide and having to button off until he could get the bike pointing straight again. There are still grave front-end issues with the Ducati and last night’s telecast exposed them for all the world to see.
Finally, an “I wish I hadn’t said that” moment. On the slow-down lap at the end of the 125cc race, the commentator was heard to say, “I bet there will be some celebrations in Paris tonight…the city, that is.” I laughed.