Races aren't won in the first corner, unless you're Lorenzo
2013 was a big
year for MotoGP; Rossi returned to the Factory Yamaha team and we saw some of
the closest in years across all three classes, especially Moto3. Some things
stayed the say, the Ducatis still struggled, Spaniards still dominated and the
Espagaro brothers were as emotional as ever. There was also news and drama a
plenty with a multitude of broken bones, rule changes and the usual paddock
gossip coming with each race. Max Biaggi even made a brief return to the MotoGP
paddock when he tested for Ducati. However, there were five events that stood
out as not only critical in deciding this season’s results, but also how
seasons to come will potentially play out.
Marquez Makes
Magic
The first event
started in July 2012 when it was announced Marc Marquez would be replacing
Casey Stoner in the Repsol Honda team for 2013. The messiah was coming; the
most anticipated step up to the premier class since Valentino Rossi in 2000.
Everyone knew he would be fast, but they also thought he would crash and crash
a lot. He did crash a lot, beaten only by Hernandez for most crashes, and he
even broke some records with crashes like his Mugello Free Practice 2 175mph
scare. But he managed to avoid any serious injury and limited his crashing
antics to practice sessions, aside from Mugello, and was otherwise able to be
on the podium in every race he finished. This sort of form is amazing from
riders with years of MotoGP experience but from a rookie, it was almost
unbelievable.
Marquez’ huge and
obvious talent translated to him claiming his first Word Title and destroying
almost every record that went along with it. The next few years look daunting
from the perspective of a rider trying to beat Marquez. As a fan the future
looks bright, Marquez favours racing behind his opponents, watching them for
several laps before striking. This makes for extremely exciting racing and
memorable moments such as the incident at Lorenzo corner in Jerez and the last
laps of the Silverstone race. He is constantly learning from the riders he follows;
an example of this is at Le Man for his first wet race. He essentially learnt
how to race a MotoGP bike in the wet in just eight laps, then being confident
enough to charge through the field. He can only get faster. How scary is that?
Lorenzo Evolves
2013 was Lorenzo’s
finest year of racing. He might not have won the title but he proved that he is
truly one of the best riders in the world and one of the toughest human beings
on the planet. No one will forget Assen, a broken collarbone on Thursday, trip
to hospital for a bit of surgery and back to the track to race, and score
decent points, on Saturday. Jorge even shook it off like it was nothing. When
told he was a hero he responded with "No, heroes are those who work hard just to
reach the end of each month. I get paid to do these things." Despite this
humility he would suffer another re-break of the same collarbone at
Sachsenring, something that should have ended his championship hopes.
The second half of the season saw a much-needed
new gearbox grace Lorenzo’s M1 and the Mallorcan became even more determined
and aggressive in his title defence. His riding hit a new level of consistency,
Misano saw him stay within half of second of his laptime for all but the first
and last laps. His tactics and riding also become more aggressive when the
situation called for it, particularly at Valencia when everything was on the
line. From Silverstone onwards Jorge rode like a man possessed, focusing on
getting the start he needed to allow him to ride the Yamaha how it wanted to be
ridden. The best riders adapt how they ride to the bike and situation they’re
in and Jorge proved more than capable of evolving to keep up with the missile
that is Marquez. Lorenzo has, and will always be, a threat.
Mahindra, Better Than
Honda
Mahindra first came into the MotoGP world in
2010, taking over the Lambretta project in the last year of the 125s. It was an
average season for a virgin team, a handful of points and a surprise pole
position in the last ever 125cc race from Danny Webb. The change to the Moto3
class would give them equal footing on bike development with everyone starting
from scratch. Mahindra partnered with Oral Engineering and had a torrid season
full of crashes, broken engines and angry riders followed. Miguel Oliveira took
a huge risk signing with the Indian manufacturer for the 2013 season, but the
risk paid off. A new partnership with Suter-Engineering and an almost complete
overhaul of the team saw the Mahindra become the second best bike on the Moto3
grid. More than that, they were better than the big and mighty Honda.
The point of Moto3 was to give a level playing
field and draw in more factories to prevent the Aprilla cup that 125s became,
it hasn’t quite done this but the success of Mahindra, especially in contrast
to their first torrid year in the Moto3 class, is a huge boon for the
lightweight class. It has also caused Honda to refocus their Moto3 effort and
come back fighting. The success story that Mahindra has been will hopefully
encourage more manufacturers to join in Moto3, or potentially help to bring in
more interest from new markets. The number of MGP30s (Mahindra’s Moto3 bike)
has more than tripled for 2014 and this will allow Mahindra to develop the bike
more and close the gap to the KTMs even further.
Out With The Old, In
With The New
The last round of the year is usually a quiet
affair, championship often wrapped up and only a few i’s and t’s left on
contracts. This year not only saw two championships go down to the wire but
also saw one of the most controversial stories of the year. Rossi dumped mega
experienced Jeremy Burgess in favour of Silvano Galbusera, Melandri’s old WSBK
crew chief. Rossi goes into what is potentially his last season in MotoGP and
needs ‘new motivation,’ resulting in the change. It’s a risky move to say the
least. The rest of the Rossi’s loyal crew remains but a big question mark
remains over how next season will go. It’s not going to be Ducati bad at its
worst, but will it be enough to turn Rossi into a regular winner? It would be a
surprise.
Rossi wasn’t the only rider to part with a
long-term partner as Pedrosa and lifelong manager Puig parted ways. Puig
remains within the HRC family, now talent scouting in the Asia Cup and Dani
obviously remains on his beloved Repsol RCV213V. All those years and near
triumphs, but no title, like Rossi; something needed changing to see if it
could be what pushes Pedrosa to the next step. Is having grid girls hold his
umbrella what is stopping from Pedrosa from winning the MotoGP crown? Doubtful.
But, like Rossi, maybe a change after all these years will reinvigorate
racing’s favourite bridesmaid.
Puig moving to the Asia Cup is also a huge boost
for the series. The Spaniard is perhaps the best talent scout in the MotoGP
paddock, guiding Pedrosa, Stoner, Chaz Davies and many more in their early
years in the Spanish championship. Asia is seen as a potential solution for all
the financial troubles currently facing MotoGP and the best way to get to that
money is by bringing in the most talented riders from continent and putting
them on a competitive package, even better if that bike is from a similar area,
like Mahindra.
The Phillip Island
Debacle
Tyres that couldn’t last more than 12 laps,
mandatory pits stops with last second rule changes but one of the most dramatic
races of the year. The Bridgestone tyres at Phillip Island this year, and to a
lesser extent the Dunlops on the Moto2 bikes, were a joke. WSBK and ASBK had
both run at the newly resurfaced Phillip Island and had both had huge problems
with tyres. Testing is extremely limited but being able to do less than half
race distance on the tyres when Bridgestone were fully aware of the issues was beyond
comical. What if all the Michelin riders had been able to go full race
distance? There would have been even more of a riot outside the Bridgestone
tent at the back of the paddock.
The single tyre rule has cut costs and evened
things out, no more rider specific tyres, no more overnight specials. But it
has also slowed development, Bridgestone have no one to beat, no extra drive to
prove that they’re the best. It’s impossible to say what would have happened
had there been another company to choose from at Phillip, but it’s doubtful it
would have resulted in a race day rule change. Phillip Island was exciting, but
it was also a situation that should have never arisen. Hopefully this will
cause Bridgestone to be more aggressive in their development and avoid
situations such as this in the future.
Bonus Moment:
The Jerez ‘No Soup for You! Finger Wag’
