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Young guns have vulnerable Rossi in their
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Young guns have vulnerable Rossi in their
sights |
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Young guns have Rossi in their sights Sunday 17 May, 2009: remember that date, for it may well remain unique in World Championship history – though the man leading the title chase as they head for the Iveco Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix would probably rather forget it. That’s Valentino Rossi, and that’s hardly surprising. But what happened on that May day most certainly was. It was Le Mans, in France; it was Rossi’s 214th Grand Prix start of a career that began back in 1996; but in a racing roll of honour strewn with victories and records, it was also the first time Vale had ever finished last in a race – and worse than that, the first time he had ever finished a race yet failed to score a point. It hasn’t happened since, although he did fall off at Indianapolis, and it probably won’t happen again, but it gives all the other blokes hope that the multi-titled Italian is perhaps close to being human after all. To counter that argument, Rossi in 2009 has several new records he can point to. Victory in Spain in this year’s third round made him the first rider ever to score at least one Grand Prix victory in 14 consecutive seasons; the Mugello round, where he was third, was his 65th podium for Yamaha, making him the most successful Yamaha man in premier-class history. That’s not all: his victory at Brno meant he was the rider with most podium finishes – 160 of them at that stage –in the history of the World Championship itself, but most tellingly of all, his win at Assen made him only the second man in history to record 100 Grand Prix victories. And yet… Rossi comes to the Island looking slightly more vulnerable than has often been the case in previous years, and two men in particular are to blame for any ill-ease he may be feeling. One is his own Fiat Yamaha team-mate, Jorge Lorenzo – the man who racked up air miles involuntarily last year with a string of spectacular crashes but who has just commemorated the 1969 moon landing with a space-suited victory in Estoril that cut Rossi’s advantage to just 18 points with three rounds remaining. The other, of course, is the man who made such a heartening comeback in Estoril after a three-race absence: Australian Casey Stoner, still the only man to master the fearsome Ducati Desmosedici, and good enough despite that long lay-off with a mystery illness to finish second in his first race back. Stoner started his third season on the magnificent Italian machine in spectacular fashion, with pole position in Qatar and his third straight win at that venue, and his early-season form suggested a second World Championship crown was clearly in his sights until he was sidelined by that debilitating illness. “These last four races are a lot to do with next year,” said Stoner on his return, and you can bet your boots he will be out to make it an Island hat-trick and lay down a marker for a full-on assault on the Championship in 2010. Ducati, of course, have done a great deal to end the Japanese hegemony in the premier class, especially since it went to the 800cc formula in 2007. In that time the big red Italian bike has taken Stoner to 18 Grand Prix victories, a mark only bettered by Rossi at Misano two races ago. Misano was also the 50th Yamaha win for Yamaha in the premier class in the four-stroke era; Lorenzo’s Estoril success made it 51, edging the big Y ever closer to Honda with their 54 wins since 2002 – 48 of them under the 990cc formula but just six since they switched to the 800cc rules. It’s been a tough couple of years for Honda in a class they once dominated. Pedrosa’s lone victory so far was at Laguna Seca – and that was the first Honda success in 19 Grands Prix, the longest barren streak since the company returned to the World Championship in 1982. Rossi took that Misano success in Casey’s absence, of course, and Australian fans might be forgiven for thinking that the other Aussie in the MotoGP pack, Chris Vermeulen, has been a bit of an absentee this year as well. The Suzuki man sits down in 11th place as they head for the Island and Assen, where he finished sixth, remains the best result of a disappointing year so far. So disappointing, in fact, that Vermeulen has decided to quit the MotoGP stage, despite offers to stay, and return to Superbikes with Kawasaki in pursuit of the world crown there. One small ray of sunshine in Chris’s final MotoGP year: he’s the only rider to have scored points in every race in 2009 – just not enough of them. Phillip Island race-goers will want to keep a close eye on the 250cc race, because the four men atop the world standings as they come to Australia will all be moving up to freshen up the MotoGP field in 2010. Hiroshi Aoyama has got the big-time break he deserves, stepping up to a Honda under the regime of Czech entrepreneur Daniel Epp; also moving up to a MotoGP Honda is two-time 250 World Champion Marco Simoncelli, joining the Honda Gresini satellite outfit. Spain’s Alvaro Bautista is the man moving into the seat vacated by Vermeulen at Suzuki, while his compatriot Hector Barbera is being brought into the premier class by ‘Aspar’ – Jorge Martinez, the man with a finger in every Championship pie, now planning a MotoGP campaign with a satellite Ducati. With the excitement surrounding the arrival of a new American in the form of Ben Spies at Yamaha, and Aleix Espargaro earning a permanent ride on a Pramac Ducati as well, the MotoGP paddock is buzzing with anticipation. Before that, however, there is the small matter of the greatest racing circuit in the two-wheeled world and Rossi’s bid to retain his title as those young guns attack. Ours will be the 133rd Grand Prix since the four-stroke era began in 2002, and Rossi is the only ever-present across that time. Lorenzo, though, is the man with the momentum at the moment: two wins and a second in the last three races, in which he has outscored his team-mate to the tune of 32 points. And then, of course, there is the Stoner factor… -- Related Link -- 250cc Preview -- Related Link -- 125 Season Review |