Jerez Spoiler

What fantastic entertainment.

Sete is going to have to change his game plan. He did everything he had
to do but still got mugged on the last lap. How many times is that?

And Yamaha have effectively a new bike, and are right where they were
last year. Only Rossi can make it win. And he has to ride so hard to do
it. It's still slightly down on initial acceleration and perhaps top
speed. But it lets him outbrake the Hondas and gain loads of time on the
entry and mid corner.

I suspect some in this newsgroup will criticise Rossi for being too
aggressive but I can't see it. It was always going to end up in a last
corner out braking effort. I saw Rossi alongside Sete and Sete turn in
on him. If Sete had been on the other side out of the previous corner or
even if he'd held back and let Rossi run wide, he might have won it.
Shades here of Doohan and Criville in front of the Spanish crowd. At
least we don't get crowd invasions any more.

Whatever, it looks like we've got a continuation of last year. There are
at least 10 riders who can run at the front some of the time, but it's
down to only 2 who can win the championship. It's so competitive that if
you have a bad qualifying run and lose 0.5s you lose 5 places. And it's
great that we have 16-18 top riders on top bikes, but 21 on the grid is
too few.

And lastly, when Rossi was on the podium, Mamola criticised him for
looking smug and arrogant. Well right, but since when did an American
start taking a British view that it's wrong to take too much pleasure in
victory?

Ballet, it ain't.

 

The ususal Rossi-Gibernau early season showdown... how many last turn
showdowns has Gibernau been able to win when going 1-on-1 against Rossi,
ever? Two of them? At least he tries, I guess. But I sense some
inevitability when they embark on thos elast laps together.

The only other rider that seemed to be able to ride with Rossi and Gibernau
was Hayden. If he hadn't crashed doing it it would have been even more
encouraging, because it may hint that some change may be coming. Melandri
landed a pole in his first race with Honda courtesy of Hayden's crash,
nevertheless it's a good result for him in a first outing on one of those
satellite team Hondas that are rumored to be such lame rides.

Behind that, Barros scores his ususal. Nakano and Bayliss follow, both
probably happy with the result. Biaggi behind, probably not happy with the
result at all. Nor will probablky be Tamada, who came in after Biaggi. Just
comes to show how extremely competitive the grid is, and that guys who have
potential to win a race or two can't crack the top 5 when something's off.
Edwards and Checa complete the top 10.

Persistency award goes to Xaus, who is struggling mightily but obviosuly did
his damndest to finish the race and get some laps under his belt, even when
beaten off by *3* laps.

....pablo

 

Looked to me as the Yammaha is better of in accelereation than when they
started last year. Yes Rossi has to ride it hard and I half way expected him
to do a front-lowside as he had so much problems getting it to stick at the
entry of the turns. Think I saw him loose it three times in the same turn.

It's quite basic when you're the leader and know it all will be decided in
the last turn. Either you make sure there are no room on the inside or you
go deep waiting for the other to go too fast to close to the inside into
that corner and pass him on the exit.
Sete used his regular race line and Rossi wanted that win more than Sete.

I guss his strange look had more to do with the very patriotic and unhappy
spanish crowd.

/MBE

 

I thought it was quite clear the Honda has far better acceleration off the
turn, especially visible when getting off the last exit into the finish
line... which is why I am surprised Gibernau was as obsessed about defending
the line in that turn - he had a better chance coming, he had done it
before.

For what it's worth, just read that Angel Nieto calmed a public that was
initially seething saying it was not a dirty move by Rossi. Gibernau had
looked all victimized afterwards, stirring things up and supposedly -this is
hearsay- made a comment on Spanish TV about him prefering to come in second
with his honor intact if that was how champions are supposed to win races.
Someone else commented that Rossi ought to move into F1, because Michael
Schumacher was just as dirty and they'd be perfect for each other...
Emotions running high in Jerez...

Spanish press also remarked that the only other rider who mattered was
Hayden (who supposedly was also passed by Rossi in a somewhat controversial
move? didn't see it), while everybody else was there just "for
decoration"...

When a race is decided like that, some fans are bound to be unhappy indeed.
Gibernau is not very popular in Spain, by the way. Go to es.charla.moteros
and you'll see several Spanish fans (the majority of the forum, it seems)
gleeing about Rossi showing the rich kid what racing is about.

....pablo

 

Actually, after taking a close up look at the repeat, I think Rossi was out
of control on that turn, and I would not be surprised if he's DQ'd. His line
was totaly different than it'd been before, and the foot out attitude seems
to show some premediation... Whether a DQ is justified I don't know, but
that it was controversial is clear. No doubt a move that's cost Rossi fans.

....pablo

 

Except that in that corner all race he'd been taking his foot off the
peg after downshifting to put it back with his toe on the peg.

Frankly I saw both of them out of control, and Sete turn in on Rossi who
was clearly alongside him.

And the whole episode was completely predictable. If Sete had been a
fraction faster in the last 8 laps or so, Rossi wouldn't have passed him
2 laps from the end. Fact is they were neck and neck for the last 2 laps
and it was always going to come down to the last corner.

And Sete lost.

 

You are right. I thought I'd detected more of a motocross move, as in foot
down and ready to charge, but it wasn't like that. Nevertheless, he totally
lost his line and went near straight, which is why he got Gibernau - I don't
think Gibernau closed on him, but rather that Gibernau was making the turn
while Rossi was heading straight. Gibernau ought to have gambled less on
that turn, I think he could have won it on power off the turn given how
close they were... but oh well, ushc is racing.

Oh, I totally agree with that. As soon as these 2 are lapping alone with a
round or two to go, at this point in time it's clear Rossi has the total
edge. Gibernau needs far more of a bike advantage than Honda is able to give
its riders these days.

On a totaly different note, I can't help but think HRC Repsol made a mistake
getting 2 riders with styles as different as Hayden's and Biaggi's. They're
probably providing conflicting input given their requirements. If today's
trend continues Biaggi may be a clear number 2 within a few races.

....pablo

 

How can everyone take Rossi's angle on this? It is obvious that
he is the best rider and everyone wants to jump on the bandwagon
and he can do no wrong. If the same had been done to him,
I think most would change their opinion. Rossi had been running
wide in several turns. He ran wide in that turn, but had Sete to
bump off of to stay near the race line. Anyone could pass like
that. Rossi had his foot down on the track, he was obviously
out of control. Looks similar to what Cap did a few years back
in 250.

 

That is a bit different than having your foot on the ground like he
did in the final turn. Taking your foot off of the peg is not the same
thing as putting it on the ground.

 

I agree with Pablo. I've looked at it a hundred times and it's clear that
Rossi wouldn't have made the corner if he hadn't used Sete as a berm. He
ran all the way to the outside of the track as it was and Sete had nowhere
to go. Sete took a normal if not slightly inside line on that corner, but
Rossi's line was ridiculous; the only way he was going to win was if he
punted Sete off the track, which is exactly what happened. The race was
great until that point, but that wasn't a good pass. It was bullshit, and
letting bullshit go unpunished is a mistake.
I'm a Rossi fan and I dislike these overofficious times we live in, but in
this instance I think Rossi should be penalized.

 

Rossi should be penalized. He was out of control. Anyone else would
have been penalized. Exciting end to a not so exciting race though.

 

For one thing, this race showed that Rossi is likely to lose his cool when
challenged hard, and riding like this he'll fall off more often than we've
seen in the past, I think. Also, Rossi ran quite wide several times - surely
he was testing the limit and that paid off in the last round, but on the
other hand I think Rossi has shown something that may become a bit of a
liability. We'll have to see. It seems that Gibernau does get under Rossi's
skin...

I hope that this year shows a bit more variety than a straight
Rossi-Gibernau matchup, though. That would start to get a tad boring. Of
course, it's waaaay too early to write anyone off, and it stands to reason
someone else will be making a mark within a race or two.

....pablo

 

Sete left the inside open, Rossi took it, clearly, Sete turned into him,

So the guy who has the lead, is riding under control and takes the normal
racing line has no grounds for complaint if somebody steams up the inside
going way too fast to make the turn with anything remotely resembling a
racing line and runs him off the track? Do you think that whoever is inside
has the right of way no matter how out of shape he is when he gets there,
even if his competitor's front wheel is ahead? Look at the overhead replay.
When Gibernau (taking the normal racing line) turned in, his front wheel was
clearly in front of Rossi's. He didn't even see Rossi until he started
turning; in other angles you can see him turn his head quickly to the left
when he saw Rossi in his peripheral vision and realized Rossi had left him
nowhere to go. Gibernau ran off the track and Rossi's momentum carried him
to within a couple of feet of the outside of the track, clearly not the
proper or fastest line. Rossi's pass wasn't good racing. It wasn't even
marginal. It was in clear violation of the spirit of the racing rules.
If this situation had been reversed people would be screaming about it. I
am a fan of Rossi's (who isn't?); he may be the best rider ever, but he's
certainly not above criticism. He made several mistakes today and should
have settled for second rather than risk a pass that could have injured
himself and Gibernau, and also could have cost him the race. That he won't
be penalized dampens my enthusiasm for the rest of the season. I can't
believe I'm saying this since he's a Spaniard on a Honda (nothing against
Sete, though), but I'll be pulling for Gibernau to win the title.

 

Did Sete's team protest?
Surely they did
- did officialdom write it off as a "racing incident"?
Bummers

 

Many things are possible, maybe Gibernau was not showing his card close to
the finish - early on it seemed quite visible to me.

All opinions on the matter are valid, of course. I'll be curious to see if
similar feelings also prevail should Rossi do exactly the same thing to
Hayden on the last turn in Laguna Seca...

I agree Sete did leave an open hole. But Rossi overshot it on the inside,
very clearly, and that as a rule is not seen as very col. If Rossi had
stayed on the inside in full control, it would ne a non issue. But he
didn't. he came in hot, he went clearly straight and was saving it. Rough
for sure. Whether or not it deserves a penalty I do not know. I think it'd
be smart for the officials to cool things down some, because those 2 may be
set for a crash or 2 this year. I would not be surprised if there's hard
contact in Estoril.

....pablo

 

Officialdom did write it off as a "racing incident". I think Sete's team
hasn't filed a protest. Rossi will probably win the title by a wide margin,
rendering today's incident moot, but I sure hope the 5 point differential in
this race doesn't figure in the outcome of the season.

 

All I can say it was a helluva great race. I was watching and waiting
for Rossi to make his move, and once he did, it was amazing racing.
Back and forth, overlapping lines, drive, and collisions. When Rossi
put his foot down, I thought it was over. It did seem to me that Rossi
closed down Sete's line and pushed him outside cause he overcooked that
corner, but that's racing.

Hopkins, flu...what's new. I had high expectations for him and Edwards.
Oh Well!... Nicky looked good though, and Melandrie had a great race.

I love to see Max struggle.

 

Could be, but as we expected he fell off a couple of times last year. I
don't expect him to fall off more often this year. As last year he will do a
few questionable pases. We had some long discussions about a Biaggi pasing
last year, didn't we? To me it looks more like his the only one of the top
riders with an iron will to win. He does what he has to do to achive that
goal.

Not testing, he had a front end problem that he spoke about before the race.

Right now it looks like it's rossi that get under sete's skin. Sete has been
no 1 all spring and then Rossi take pole and win.

/MBE

 

Well, we're gonna have to disagree. There wasn't room. Rossi made room
when he ran into Sete, who was clearly ahead when contact was made. I would
say that gives Gibernau "right of way" in this instance and blaming Sete for
turning into an out-of-control Rossi seems a bit of a stretch. I know that
the definition of what is acceptable in racing is a little blurry, but, in
my opinion, running a guy off the track crosses over the line. I have seen
people penalized for lesser offenses.
(A normal racing line is the line taken when trying for a fast lap. As
opposed to a defensive line, which is slower but prevents those pesky inside
passes when done correctly. In hindsight perhaps Gibernau should have taken
a more defensive line. Incidental contact is often expected, but today's
incident was more of a ramming. I remain unconvinced it was "just racing".)

 

I fail to see how that proves anything. For one, it looked like Sete was hit
by Rossi's handlebar, not the fairing, and, again, the fact Sete got pushed
wide is undeniable - Rossi barely made it, that's how hot he came on the
inside. A blatantly illegal move it wasn't, but that is only if it was a
genuine riding mistake by Rossi. If Rossi intentionally went in too hot
knowing Gibernau was there to either go out with him or keep him in, it
would have been blatantly illegal. Since it wasn't penalized, let us assume
it was a riding mistake by Valentino, who had lost control of the bike a few
times during the race.

You mean the Biaggi incident? I watched that on the MotoGP DVD, and there
it's quite clear Capirossi's line was nothing out of the ordinary, several
other riders were taking it, thus is was Biaggi getting into someone else's
line - that was a clear racing incident. Biaggi clearly realized Capirossi
hadn't seen him and tried to go on the brakes. None of the two would have
ben even remotely in trouble if their lines hadn't crossed - and therein
lies a difference to today, because Rossi *was* a bit of a human bullet
there, he was not making the turn and was about to ride if very wide.
Gibernau ought to have realized it, used the brakes and gone up the inside
as Rossi was running wide, which he was about to. Well, sh*t happens, but in
this case the stuff that hit the fan came out of Rossi, I do not think one
can assign shared responsibility...

....pablo