Mind Over Matter

Being physically and mentally prepared for any new task in life is always important, especially when that task is racing a Grand Prix motorcycle around at dizzying speeds. Motorcycle racing has grown up a lot since the times of post-race conference beers and deathly 500s. Now to be at the top a rider has to be at the peak of not just bike riding ability but also physical fitness and mental strength. Some say this has made Grand Prix racing too serious taken out a lot of the bad-boy rebel attitude it once had. Regardless of the truth behind the statement, the maturing of GPs has lead to some devilishly fast and competitive rookies. Riders such as Jorge Lorenzo, Dani Pedrosa and especially Marc Marquez have been highly competitive from the word go.

Things have not always been so easy for rookies on factory machine however. Mick Doohan’s first season in GPs was less than stellar. A 3^rd in Germany was the highlight of a season filled with injuries and teething problems with his NSR. The 500s were obviously a beast for anyone to learn but Doohan also had to contend with off track distractions. Europe offered all riders a plethora of distractions off the track, especially to a rookie such as Doohan with little experience outside of his native Australia. It has been widely noted that Doohan spent perhaps too much of his rookie season ‘distracted’ and that it detracted somewhat from his performance. The late 80s was also the cusp of the fitness craze that has now enveloped GPs. Riders were fit, but not top athlete fit and this too meant that rookie seasons were spent adjusting physically to the new demands.

Unlike Doohan, Valentino Rossi took a far more conventional route up to GPs, competing in 125cc and 250cc prior. However, this didn’t mean that he had an easy rookie season. A double DNF greeted Rossi when he achieved his dream of racing a 500cc Honda. Rossi’s season would eventually turn around into a near title-winning season. But why didn’t he win the title? He knew the tracks, he was quick and he was physically strong. But Rossi, as noted by himself, didn’t believe he could win the title in that first half of the season and this mental doubt cost him. Rossi, like Doohan before him, overcame this initially tough season to dominate for multiple seasons.

Marquez has the advantage of being in a GP environment where peak physical fitness is a must for top riders. He has also grown up watching Rossi play mind games with everyone from Biaggi to Stoner and carefully studied how important mental strength is. Marquez has been prepared and groomed for this since he was in mini-moto, eliminating rookies’s greatest weakness: their own mind. Marquez has no outlandish parties to distract him, no self-doubt; he is a machine who is full of self-belief and confidence. But there is only so much the likes of Alzamora can do, in the end the belief and confidence comes from within Marc.

Having stormed to his third victory of the season while Pedrosa and Lorenzo struggled with injuries, Marquez has cemented himself as not only a title contender but also a title favourite. The natural talent of 20-year-old Spaniard is un-doubtable, but a thought must be given  to how each generation has been able to learn from the mistakes of the last.

The Australian Racers' Guide To Retirement

Australia has a proud history on two wheels: Mick Doohan, Wayne Gardner and Casey Stoner are all, even now in the case of Wayne and Mick, household names. But beyond these champions there is litany of other Australians who have fought for wins and championships in GPs and WSBK. Yet many of them, such as Garry McCoy, have faded into a quiet existence on Australia’s Gold Coast, well, most that is. Anthony “The Go-Show” Gobert has taken his retirement a little differently to the soft-spoken McCoy.

Garry McCoy was, and still is, a quiet man, more timid than you’d expect from someone known for slides that would make even a Japanese street drifter think he was crazy. McCoy burst onto the GP scene in 1992 in the 125cc class, having only been road racing for four months. The four years of 125s was McCoy take two victories and six podiums, enough to gain himself a ride on the big 500s in 1999. His impressive style earned him three victories, nine podiums and a truck full of burnt up tyres. The switch to MotoGP saw McCoy struggle aboard a variety of different bikes such as the Aprilla, Kawasaki and even the Ilmor, eventually landing in WSBKs on a Ducati where he won his home race at Philip Island. An ill-fated stint with Foggy Petronas saw a brief stint to supercross. Triumph then offered him a lifeline in WSS that saw McCoy score several podiums and dramatically improve the Daytona 675.  

            Despite this McCoy found himself without a third year on the Triumph and instead McCoy found refuge, all be it brief, with the FB Corse Team. The team, and the deal, fell through, leaving the once mullet graced McCoy without a ride. Then there was nothing, no one really heard from McCoy.  The Troy Bayliss Classic saw McCoy return to some form of racing and public venue. Since his stint in WSS it seems that McCoy has opened his own race school and has coached several younger Australian riders, although probably with less emphasis on being sideways as often. The combination of his school, general track days and being Australia’s Pirelli representative seem to be keeping McCoy’s head well above water as he quietly enjoys his retirement.

            Of all the Australians at the Troy Bayliss Classic there was one 'old-timer' who was a notiveable absence. The Go-Show was perhaps as far away from McCoy in attitude as anyone could get. The youngest ever WSBK winner, Gobert burst onto the international racing scene as the hottest property in a long while. His win and third place at Philip Island in 1994 on the Kawasaki was one of the most impressive rides around the world famous track. It was a strong enough result to get Gobert a fulltime Kawasaki WSBK ride in 1995, where he yet again showed strong results and finished 4^th overall. The ‘96 season was trickier, but a double win at Philip Island earned him a spot on the Lucky Strikes Suzuki 500cc squad.

             Unfortunately this is where things began to nose dive for the wild Aussie. Injuries interrupted the start of his season and the drug abuse began to become more apparent. He once famously showed up after the Brno test with nothing but the ripped leathers he had crashed in. The combination of this saw Suzuki remove him from the squad. 1998 and 1999 saw Go-Show go State side and compete in the AMA, and a WSBK round at Laguna, which he won. Gobert gave the world stage one last try with a Bimota in 2000, yet again winning at Philip Island. But the drug battle continued and the once young talent returned to Australian Superbikes with mixed results. Gobert had one last flash before fading away; he got arrested for stealing 50 Australian Dollars off a pensioner, and it apparently wasn’t the first time. In court he said he had applied for a job at Subway, he didn't get it.

              McCoy and Gobert both had careers that saw them ride in almost every championship around, and both had their ups and downs. Each rider overcame injuries and battled with demons, it’s greatly saddening that the Go-Show’s final episode was such a long way from his where he’d debuted. Chris Vermeulen is another Australian talent who is in limbo between retirement and racing. Currently he races in Triathlons at a very high level, waiting for a testing ride to appear. Luckily it looks as though he’s learnt from Gobert and McCoy and is spreading his post-racing career net wide, hopefully to avoid having to steal handbags from grannies.

Does Red Bull Have The Wings To Replace Tobacco?

As long as there has been motorcycle racing there has been tobacco advertising gracing side fairings. Lucky Strikes, Marlboro, Gauloises, Camel and Chesterfield have all enabled champion riders such as Kevin Schwantz to ride winning machines developed by the likes of Suzuki, Ducati and Yamaha. But in the mid 2000s began to change. Teams such as Camel Honda would replace the ‘Camel’ on the bikes and leathers with ‘Bayliss’ or ‘Biaggi’ as more and more countries began to ban tobacco advertising. Some teams, such as Ducati, kept the sponsorship and instead had fairing or leathers that were similar to well known tobacco brand’s logos. But for the majority of teams the wealth of tobacco money was gone.

Since then the number of teams in all classes has shrunk, the quest for sponsorship not helped by the world’s economic troubles. Spanish and Italian companies, were MotoGP gets the majority of its viewership from, helped from a while but now even they have began to fade. Although a new industry looks to perhaps have a small amount of the much needed sponsorship money, energy drinks. The multi-billion dollar industry isn’t new to sponsoring MotoGP teams, sponsoring the Yamaha of Garry McCoy (amongst others) in the 500cc days of yore.

Energy drinks have seen an explosion in popularity from the early 2000s when Red Bull first came onto the market, now dozens of brands exist and nearly all of them seem to have an interest in MotoGP. Smaller brands such as ‘Go & Fun,’ which also make a variety of other energy products, have replaced San Carlo as Gresini’s title sponsor. ArmA has been sponsoring Scott Redding and the Marc VDS team for over three years and even budget energy drinks such as ‘Mad Croc’ have sponsored riders such a Ricky Cardus.

The two biggest brands, Red Bull and Monster, look as though they could potentially be sponsoring Honda and Yamaha’s MotoGP efforts. Red Bull have been sponsoring Dani Pedrosa and soon to be factory rider Marc Marquez for years and recently stepped up their support for Stefan Bradl and the LCR team, even being rumored as a title sponsor for them. Red Bull clearly has an interest in supporting Honda.

Monster, one of the newer companies in the energy drinks competition, have shown a huge interest in MotoGP. Sponsored riders include; Pol Espagaro, Valentio Rossi, Ben Spies, Andrea Dovizioso and the Tech 3 team. With Rossi’s move back to Yamaha it looks, if the rumors are true, as if Monster could now be a major, if not title, sponsor of the factory Yamaha team. Recent reports have it that Yamaha have bought out Lorenzo’s Rockstar contract for an estimated 2 million Euros, clearing the way for Monster, Rossi’s personal sponsor, to be a major player on the Yamaha’s fairing. It is estimated that between Eneos and Monster Yamaha could be gaining 7 million Euros, the same money Fiat once brought them.

If the energy drinks market continues to grow as it does and the world’s economic problems, hopefully, lift, they could offer a large amount of sponsorship for the struggling GP championship. Obviously energy drink money alone won’t be enough, but hopefully combined with Dorna’s cost cutting methods we’ll see the GP grid grow and just maybe more exciting racing on a regular basis.

Rookies Rule

         Each year a swell of new talent comes into every class. Being the smallest class Moto3 sees the most new talent, this year eleven rookies entered the lightweight class. Out of all of them all Rins emerged as Rookie of the year over Fenati in a battle that went down to Valencia. 

         There have been many replacement riders and riders with multiple wildcards throughout the year, but the official MotoGP riders class a ‘Rookie’ as someone with 9 nine or less race weekends in a single year. We’ll only be looking at riders who have competed in 9 or more races this season and are therefore at the end of their rookie season.

A chart comparing the rider who finished above the discussed rider accompanies each summary.

1st

         Alex Rins, the rookie of the year, had a consistent year, especially from Mugello onwards where he scored top ten points in all rounds, excluding Valencia. His first, and only podium, came in the soaking wet of Le Mans as he battled with fellow rookie Antonelli. The former CEV champion was always a threat in the wet and during qualifying, although his lack of circuit knowledge and experience at this high level meant that the likes of Salom and Vinales would often be able to pass him over race distance. Rins, who finished 5th overall, will stay with his Estrella Gallcia 0,0 team joined by former team mate and current CEV champion Alex Marquez, although the team will now run KTMs instead of the Suter Honda package.

2nd

         Moto3 saw Italy’s drought of lower class rider talent end as several riders burst onto the scene, especially Fenati with a stunning second in the first race. The former European champion, Romano Fenati, then went on to win in the damp of Jerez in only his second race. His trademark white helmet soon made him a popular paddock character. After Jerez his results dropped considerably with three DNFs in six races. However, once he came to home soil in Mugello Fenati, along with Cortese and Vinales, provided one of the best, and closest races of the Moto3 season. Not only did Fenati score yet another podium but he also provided one of the highlights of the season after speeding ahead of the pack on the warm-up lap and sitting on the line, arms folded, as the other riders crawled around. Fenati would end the season with four podiums, the most of any rookie and in 6th position in the overall championship. Next year will see Fenati remain with the FIM racing team and continuing to run the FTR Honda, a package that proved to be very strong.

3rd

         The first time Arthur Sissis rode a road-racing bike was at his Red Bull Rookies selection day. Within just a few years he was challenging for the RBR crown, narrowly missing out in the last race. His efforts in the RBR earned him a spot in the prestigious Ajo KTM factory squad. The former speedway champion often struggled during qualifying but proved to be a true racer, able to battle through the pack. When he did qualify well he achieved great things. At his home race at Phillip Island he achieved his first podium after qualifying in 7th and battling all race long with a brace of other riders. Like Fenati and Rins he will continue with the same squad next year, partnered by Luis Salom.

4th

         Niccolo Antonelli came into Moto3 in the Gresini squad as the other great Italian hope. The CIV champion was frequently seen battling for podium positions during the middle of races but had a tendency to drop off in the final laps. With two front rows, Antonelli was frequently one of the strongest rookies during qualifying but also had a tendency to get pushed wide by other more aggressive riders. Like Fenati, Antonelli stepped up to the challenge on home turf in Mugello, scoring a 4th after battling with Fenati for much of the race. He also scored a 4th in Le Mans, able to stay upright in the tricky conditions. Sticking with Gresini for next season with the same FTR-Honda bike provides an excellent base to improve from. If the Super Sic look-a-like isn’t on the podium next season it would be surprising.

5th

         South African champion and Red Bull Rookies front-runner Brad Binder had a tough season. He was plagued with technical problems and crashes out of his control, such as at Jerez. Brad’s season ended strongly with three point scoring races and a win in the last CEV race of the season. Initially Binder insisted he wasn’t a wet weather rider by two excellent races in the wet of Sachsenring (before his engine expired) and Valencia meant he wouldn’t be allowed to use the excuse ‘It doesn’t rain in South Africa,’ for a long, long time. Having a teammate the caliber of Luis Salom allowed Brad to learn a lot, and quickly. Next year sees Brad join the Ambrogio Racing team on the Suter Honda that saw him beat the likes of Antonelli, Rins and Sissis at the final CEV race of the year.

6th

         Frenchman Alan Techer started the 2012 Moto3 season well, scoring points in all but one of the first five races. Sadly, after that he scored points just once more during the season, struggling on the TSR Honda as other bikes, especially the KTMs, received frequent upgrades. Known for being a hot head, Techer, would often get involved in race long battles with slower riders instead of remaining clam and slipping past quickly. Having an uncompetitive teammate in Kenta Fuiji didn’t help with finding a setting or developing the bike. The CIP team will again allow Techer to race in the Moto3 championship next year onboard a TSR Honda that will hopefully prove to be more competitive.

7th

         Former IDM champion Jack Miller had a rough season to say the least. Three broken collarbones meant that he spent a large part of the season heavily injured, making the standard Honda an even greater challenge. When he wasn’t recovering from yet another collarbone plating and it was wet Miller was in his element, the lanky teen demonstrating his abilities in Sachsenring, a track he knew well from racing in Germany. Gaining Damian Cudlin as his riding coach during the closing stages of the year seemed to help Jack, especially with bike set-up. Continuing his relationship with all Germany, Miller will ride the FTR Honda for Racing Team Germany. Miller’s love for unique hairstyles and wheeling scooters with Sissis, have made him quite the character in the paddock.

8th

         Ivan Moreno had a difficult season on his FTR Honda. An injury half way through the season saw him replaced by Alberto Moncayo, he would not regain the ride. Before the injury Moreno had scored points on just two occasions, in the wet of Jerez and Le Mans. Moreno does not have a ride next year in the Moto3 championship and will most likely return to the CEV series.

9th

         Being the cousin of Maverick Vinales puts a lot of pressure on you, especially when you’re racing against him. Isaac didn’t quite live up to his younger cousin’s pedigree but did offer substantial confusion for commentators throughout the year. Isaac scored points on two occasions and tested the MIR Honda during the practice sessions at Valencia to no avail. Isaac will remain with the Ongetta team on an FTR Honda for next season where he will hopefully be able to show more consistent results.

10th

         Starting the season with MZ, Toni Finsterbusch had a bumpy start to the season as MZ quickly folded. Racing Team Germany offered him salvation aboard a standard Honda, known for being uncompetitive. Sadly Toni had several crashes throughout the year, which hampered his track time significantly. He did however score points twice, in Assen and the Sachsenring. He will join the Keiffer Racing team in Moto3 next year and ride the much more competitive Kalex-KTM bike.

11th

         Kenta Fuji came into the Moto3 championship as a Japanese champion; despite this he had a torrid season on the TSR Honda, unable to score any points and frequently the last rider across the line. A wildcard in the Japanese series during one of the none-race weekends resulted in a win, despite this he does not have a ride for the Moto3 World Championship next year.

Here is a chart showing all of the riders finishes together.

Finally we have a chart showing the cumulative collection of points. This more easily illustrates who had a steady gain of points as opposed to those who gained them all quickly before not scoring for several races.

New Prints and Pricing

With the addition of photos from the GP Generali de la Communitat Valencia to the collection there is more exciting news. Prints have been repriced!

From now on prints will come in two sizes:

 A1(33inches x 23.4 inches) 

A2 (23.4 inches x 16.5 inches)

 They also come in both glossy and matte.

A1 Prints will cost £20 / €25 + Postage

A2 Prints will cost £15 / €20 + Postage

As always, email me at harrylloy94@gmail.com if you’re interested in a print.

For Canvases select the photo you want and tell me the price you're willing to spend (can include shipping) and I'll get the largest sized canvas for the price!

Photos can be seen here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/harrylloydgp/collections/72157630775399000/