Sunday’s British Grand Prix served up everything that an enthusiast could hope for in a race meeting. Since I don’t have cable TV I didn’t get so see the Moto2 and Moto3 races but all reports seem to indicate that they more than lived up to expectations also. I will restrict my comments to the MotoGp race which was a cracker.
The British have long regarded themselves as the owners of motorcycle racing and they do, in fact, have a point because even though riders from the Continent have won more titles than British riders over the years, it was the British who fostered the new world championship system that came into force after WWII and who, due to the extreme prestige of the Isle of Man TT races, had more than just a passing influence on how the racing was conducted.
Think Duke, Surtees, Hailwood, Read and Sheene and you start to get the idea of how important motorcycle racing has been to the little island nation.
And the British Grand Prix has always held a special place on the GP calendar. One of the blue riband events, it has always been held in higher regard than many lesser nations’ efforts towards the world championship. Sadly, the races themselves have not always lived up to that high expectation and success by British riders has been sadly lacking since the halcyon days of Barry Sheene. But those of us with long memories will always look back to the epic Sheene/Roberts battle in 1979 and regard it as being pretty much the best that a motorcycle race could be. If you haven’t seen it, look it up on YouTube and see what all the fuss is about. But to Sunday’s race.
As usual, Marquez put it on pole, easily holding out the rest on a track whose surface was universally condemned by the competitors. Numerous car races and F1 events have destroyed what used to be a fine track and the bumps and ripples in the surface as a result of these was causing great concern as teams tried to figure out how to set up a bike for such an appalling surface and riders tried to figure out how fast they could go and how best they could do so while avoiding the many traps that lay in the braking areas. The were several crashes, Marquez included, as this process went on, but, as usual, MM93 escaped unharmed.
The Yamaha team seemed to be suffering worst of all. On bikes that rely on smooth and flowing lines to achieve their high speed, both Rossi and Lorenzo struggled; the smooth lines just weren’t there. Lorenzo qualified best but it was plain that he wasn’t happy.
The Hondas with their more “point and shoot” style also suffered but not as badly.
However, come race day, as at Brno, it was all change. Somehow overnight the Yamahas suddenly found pace and predictability and the Honda advantage was clearly negated at the show of the green. Lorenzo streaked off into the distance and looked set to do his customary disappearing act. Marquez got a better start than normal but still trailed and, for the first few laps at least, appeared to have no answer. No doubt the memories of Brno were very clear in his mind where he had out it on pole on pole on the Saturday and found that the bike had become evil on the Sunday. This time, the boot was clearly on the other foot so Marquez knuckled down and started whittling away at the Lorenzo lead.
He caught up to Lorenzo and clung to his tail as the mayhem behind him unfolded. The two leaders quickly established a break on the battling trio of Dovizioso, Pedrosa and Rossi. This battle for the last place on the podium would take nearly the whole race to resolve and it was worth the price of admission all by itself.
Up front, Marquez seemed happy to stalk Lorenzo, the two riders swapping fastest laps as the race drained away. Informed opinion was that MM93 was biding his time and that, at some stage, he would pull the pin. Surprisingly, nobody mentioned the parallel to the 1979 race where Kenny Roberts, the inventor of “stalk and pounce” racing used a very similar ploy. As the race drew to a close, Marquez made his move, slipping by effortlessly and quickly heading out to an advantage of over a second, an eternity in racing terms. Wise heads nodded and we all thought that the script was being followed. But three laps from the end, MM93 ran wide on a right hand corner and Lorenzo pounced, gathering up Marquez and reversed the time advantage into his own favour.
Now it was REALLY on. It was clear that Marquez would have another go, but, with laps nearly out and options decreasing just how and where would he do it? He took a lap to settle himself and get back on Lorenzo’s tail and then set himself for the pass. When it came it was as dramatic as the situation deserved. He dived for the inside and drew alongside. Lorenzo hung tough on the outside, leaning all over the Honda and retaking the lead and also intimidating his enemy. In the next corner, Marquez again took the inside line and forced a gap where none had existed, the two riders touching again and Lorenzo was forced to “sit up” in order to prevent both from ending up in the kitty litter. It was mean, vicious and hard and both riders used everything, but, in the end, it was fair racing by both of them, a fact acknowledged after the race.
Marquez held on to win a race that tested his mettle to the fullest, saying afterwards that he had been shocked at how tough Lorenzo was given the practice and qualifying woes the Yamaha had experienced. Oh, and to the commentator who wrote that Marquez survived a “major moment” on the second last lap before he went on to win, sir, you obviously weren’t watching the rest of the race. Marquez was backing it into that same corner with the tail out the same way earlier in the race as well so he knew exactly what he was doing.
And behind them? In his 246th Grand Prix, a new record, Valentino Rossi, finally disposed of the troublesome Ducati and Honda to take his third 3rd position in a row and seriously threaten Dani Pedrosa’s hold on second place in the championship.
Running as a Open bike, the Ducati of Dovizioso was only 7 seconds behind the winner at the show of the chequer, the closest the red machines have been to the winner’s pace since the days of Casey Stoner. But it was still 5th position and still nowhere near good enough.
And 4th? Pedrosa took way too long to dispose of the Ducati and, but the time that he had done so, Rossi was too far up the road and the leaders were long gone. It is this inconsistency that has bedevilled his career and which will ensure that he never actually wins a MotoGp crown. In Brno, just two weeks ago, he was peerless, but on Sunday, he was just good, and good is not good enough.
Before anybody chides me for that last comment by reminding me that Marquez finished 4th at Brno, yes, I know, he did, but every other time he sets a wheel on the track, he wins, so the comparison is not valid.
Marquez has a nearly 90 points lead in the title chase. 25 points for a win means that he is almost FOUR wins to the good over his opposition. And, while they share up the crumbs between them, nobody looks like having enough of an advantage to gap the others and throw down consistent challenges to the young master. In any event, it’s already too late. Barring a major disaster, MM93 will go back-to-back titles well before the end of the season.
Too often this season the complaint has been made that MotoGp is boring with Marquez winning all the time. I noted that there have been similar periods of domination in the past, like the Doohan years, for example, and no such criticisms were voiced then, but people are funny, funny peculiar not funny ha ha and racing fans doubly so.
Sunday’s British Grand Prix was truly grand in the sense of the word and worthy of the name. Let’s hope that we get many more like this before the end of the season.