They say that hindsight is 20/20 so it’s not surprising that, now that the MotoGp season is over, a lot of people are saying that Valentino Rossi probably made the wrong decision in leaving Yamaha and going to Ducati. Really?, how clever of you!
Unfortunately, the stats bear out the opinion and, now that the season is concluded, we can look at just how damaging to Rossi’s overall statistics his horror season at Ducati actually was. Courtesy of my favourite motorsports site, crash.net, here’s the summary of Rossi’s woeful 2011.
Valentino Rossi and Ducati: 2011 MotoGP season
No. Grand Prix: Gap to pole, Gap to victory
1. Qatar: 1.500s (9th), 16.431s (7th)
2. Spain: 1.428s (12th), 62.227 (5th)*
3. Portugal: 1.110s (9th), 16.555s (5th)
4. France: 1.053s (9th), 14.564s (3rd)
5. Catalunya: 0.810s (7th), 7.371s (5th)
6. Great Britain: 3.761s (13th), 64.526s (6th)
Rossi switches to the modified Desmosedici GP11.1
7. Netherlands: 1.846s (11th), 30.684s (4th)
8. Italy: 1.868s (12th), 26.450s (6th)
9. Germany: 1.639s (16th), 27.576s (9th)
10. United States: 1.033s (7th), 30.351s (6th)
11. Czech Republic: 0.776s (6th), 12.632 (6th)
12. Indianapolis: 2.125s (14th), 55.345s (10th)
13. San Marino: 1.538s (11th), 23.703s (7th)
Aluminium front-section replaces carbon fibre on Rossi’s bike
14. Aragon: 1.509s (13th**), 39.832s (10th)
15. Japan: 1.200s (7th), DNF
16. Australia: 2.005s (13th), DNF
17. Malaysia: 0.933s (9th), N/A
18. Valencia: 1.617s (6th), DNF
* Fell and remounted
** Engine penalty meant a pit lane start.
Using the above figures:
Rossi’s average gap to pole: 1.542s
Rossi’s average qualifying position: 10th
Rossi’s average gap to victory: 30.589s
Rossi’s average race result (races finished): 6th
An average finishing position of 6th in a grid that usually has between 15 and 17 riders in total is also a discouraging thought. Given attrition and crashes, the stats actually flatter him a little , but, of course, he did press on and finish where and when he could. And, of course, Vale finished 7th in the overall World Championship, his worst finish since his debut year (1996) in the 125cc class where he finished 9th. In fact, it’s even worse than that because, apart from that first year, Vale has never finished lower than 3rd in any of the championships in which he has competed.
Interesting. Given that early testing has indicated that the 1000cc Ducati is no closer to the early pace of the Hondas, Vale may be in for another torturous year.
Finally, a big get well wish to my good mate and regular contributor this site, Peter G. Peter suffered 3 strokes in October and is presently recuperating in Southport Hospital on the Gold Coast. Most of you will have read his many, incisive comments on this site and I’m sure you join with me in wishing Pete a speedy and full recovery, hopefully in time for the 2012 MotoGp season where he will kick his famous spreadsheet into gear again and keep us all up-to-date on what the real picture is.