On Mon, 10 Nov 2003 09:33:53 +0100, "lange" <morten.lange@postman.dk>
wrote:
>De har ikke noget om det endnu på
www.motograndprix.com. Underligt.
Det har de så nu
...jeg poster lige Randy Mamola's første tanker om
skiftet :
"The news of Valentino Rossi’s switch from Honda to Yamaha is
something that the whole MotoGP paddock has been waiting on for
several moths. We all heard the rumours and, even as they got stronger
and stronger and the pieces began to fall into place, we tried not to
believe it because there was always that doubt that he would end up
extending his contract with Honda. Now that everything is confirmed
and out in the open, I have to say that this is fantastic news for
MotoGP – the best thing that could have happened to our sport.
Rossi and the RC211V were simply an unbeatable combination, as we have
seen for the past two seasons. Now the championship is open again and
there is a big chance there for several riders who have been knocking
on the door for years. Specifically, this is the moment Max Biaggi has
surely been desperate for. With Rossi on the Yamaha and him on the
Honda, the situation is the reverse of two years ago and Max can have
no complaints.
However, if Biaiggi wants to win the title, he needs to establish
himself as Honda’s number one guy this winter.
The same goes for the rest of the Honda riders, who all have a shot at
the title if they can secure priority treatment from HRC. When you
look at the level of their riders – Max, Sete Gibernau, Nicky Hayden,
Colin Edwards, Makoto Tamada (and possibly Alex Barros if the rumours
are true) – you have to say they are pretty equal and it is hard to
pick out a ‘leader’.
We all know Max’s pedigree, but Sete has been in the form of his life
this year and, if you take away Rossi from the top step of the podium,
he would have won eight races. Then there’s Nicky who, if he keeps
progressing as he did in the second half of the season, has a real
chance. Barros won two out of four races on the V5 in 2002, whilst
Tamada has shown real promise in his debut season and, of course, we
know Edwards is world class. It will make for great racing, but from
Honda’s perspective, who is the leader? These guys will be taking
points off each other at every round, and that could give Rossi and
the other guys a chance.
However, I’m afraid that unless Yamaha come up with something drastic
for Rossi to test this winter, there is frankly no way he or any other
rider can win the championship for them. Last week I tested both the
Honda and the Yamaha, and my respect for the likes of Carlos Checa has
gone up hugely. I don’t want to compare the bikes too much, but
suffice to say I am amazed Checa has done what he has done on the M1.
You can find the limit of the bike almost instantly, and I am not
surprised Checa and his team have had to take major set-up gambles to
try and make up ground on the Honda this year. Look at Barros – he
crashed fourteen times this year! Personally, I think the maximum
Rossi can do with that bike as it is now is make podium finishes, so
the pressure is on Yamaha to provide him with something competitive.
The situation at Yamaha and the competition at Honda leaves open a gap
for Loris Capirossi, Troy Bayliss and Ducati. Unfortunately for the
likes of Suzuki and Kawasaki, Ducati have shown to be the next in line
to Honda, scoring nine podiums including a victory in their first
year.
If either Capirossi or Bayliss can hit consistent form from the first
race, then they have a serious chance of upstaging all the Honda
riders and Rossi at Yamaha and winning the title.
One thing for sure is that this is going to be one of the most
important winters ever in terms of testing, and anybody who has their
mind on the beach instead of the racetrack will get a nasty shock at
the first race of the season in South Africa. "
--
-Michael