If you haven’t watched the race yet and you don’t want to know the result, look away now!
As Nick Harris said last night, you wouldn’t ever call the British Grand Prix a classic, but it sure was filled with drama. Both Factory Yamaha riders self-destructed (Lorenzo in the face of determined defensive riding at the hands of Dovizioso and Spies with an unforced error while running down in the pack ((has the Spies bubble burst?)) ), Simo had the usual rush of blood moment and self-destructed (both Simo and Lorenzo were in podium positions).
By the way, have you ever thought that Marco Simoncelli and Sideshow Bob might be brothers?
Sorry about that, back to the story. Yes, Simo had his usual meltdown and has now had more than enough opportunity to get a podium and has failed to convert.
Out front, after a brief battle with Dovi and Jorge, Stoner cleared off, set a suitable gap and managed it superbly (he’s so good at doing that) and just watched as his opponents all (with the exception of his team mate) succumb to the conditions. It was a very satisfying win and one of the best wet-weather rides I’ve seen in a long while. It reminded me very much of Anthony West’s wildcard ride for the Yamaha Supersport team at (co-incidentally) Silverstone a few years ago, where he grew webbed feet and simply blitzed the field.
Dovi was superb, arguably his best ride for a long, long while. There is no doubt that his constant pressure caused errors in both Lorenzo and Simoncelli and his 2nd place was richly deserved. Having said that, the race again illustrated the yawning gap of talent that exists between Stoner and the rest of the MotoGp field at the moment. Here is a man who is on top of his game and who is looking (fingers crossed) all over a World Champion. Edwards’s 3rd sent the commentators into raptures of delight, almost to the point of ignoring Stoner’s stunning victory. Well, his mother was a Brit so I guess that’s the closest Nick and Co are going to get so I’ll let them have that. It was a gritty ride, just 9 days after having his broken collarbone plated, but it was an inherited podium and they never count for quite so much in my book.
The same can be said of Rossi’s 6th place. Take away the leading trio of crashers and 9th place was more what the ride deserved. Finishing over a MINUTE behind the winner is something that VR hasn’t done for a long, long, time I’d have to guess. Incidentally, It’s also been a long, long time since I’ve seen riders lapped in a MotoGp race, but Casey lapped the last 2 placegetters last night and well before the race was over.
I didn’t stay up for the 125’s, but I’m guessing they were a bit like the Moto2 with lots of slip-sliding and d’oh moments.