Rossi wins his 9th World Riders’ Championship at Sepang…
Unlike F1 over the past few seasons, MotoGP has reinvented itself, just when one thought Rossi has no competition, youngsters like Nicky Hayden, Casey Stoner & Jorge Lorenzo put their hands up to be counted. So today, after 9 world championships, I am sure Rossi still has to work hard, both on & off his bike. Limited interventions from management, close opponents & similarities in machinery have resulted in MotoGP raced being more competitive than F1 which suffers from too many scandals, a prohibitive thirst for money, unwarranted & stupid interventions of management in race results etc.
When I went to see the Malaysian MotoGP, I had some expectations which were all satisfied – and exceeded. Rossi started from pole (which was a huge surprise on Saturday since he completely messed up his last two fast laps in qualifying, overshooting turn 1 in both cases), made a good start whilst Lorenzo had to start from the back of the grid because he changed his bike due to setting problems he discovered during the formation lap. Valentino had actually beaten his own Sepang Circuit Fastest Pole Lap Record (which he had set on a 990CC Bike before) with his 800CC machine on Saturday & was the only rider to dip below the 2 Minute 1 Second barrier. He got away well from the line, but exercised a lot of caution over the first set of corners, because a mistake under the treacherous conditions could mean he was out of the race! Nevertheless, over the first few laps the order settled & Stoner took over from Pedrosa, eventually building a stunning 15 second gap – Stoner, much to the pleasure of Ducati fans, was a league aprt on Sunday. Rossi meanwhile, ended the first lap at P10 with Lorenzo at P8 after a storming start from the back of the grid. The pair eventually consolidated & took out about 1 rival per lap and slowly moved up the grid & by Lap 7, Rossi had overtaken Lorenzo, and was on P4, trying to get away from Lorenzo (on P5) even as he closed the gap to Dovizioso. Eventually, Dovizioso fell off the bike while chasing Pedrosa for second & gifting the last podium step to the doctor. As a clear racing line was established, both Rossi & Lorenzo upped their pace but Pedrosa was too far away (over 2 seconds) to be caught – also, throughout the race, major portions of the track remained wet & the lack of heat in the weather meant it was drying up any quickly, so any risk would have been foolish.
Once he got into P3, Rossi realised that the gap to Pedrosa is too large & therefore did not attempt to go for it, but instead drove a good race to ensure the crown was his – that Lorenzo was behind him, helped. And then he finished in P3, winning his 9th World Riders’ Championship, the 7th in MotoGP & 4th for Yamaha.
Awesome thing to observe was the enthusiasm fans reserve for Valentino Rossi & the way he entertains them. May be Stoner, Lorenzo & Pedrosa need to take a leaf out of his book even as they covet his position in MotoGP – media & people management are important skills. Consider these: The largest crowd on practice day was sitting right opposite the Fiat Yamaha garages; the most vocal fans were Rossi fans; every time he exited the pits & during every lap Rossi made, he was cheered the most; his colours (flourescent yellow) were the most visible & his merchandise would have outsold all other merchandise that was on sale at the venue.
The man himself responded brilliantly – after an amazing qualifying session, he found himself in conditions that were a complete anti-thesis to the way his bike was set up. He made that all important start & kept himself out of trouble in the initial laps, judging the conditions & setting up his bike, all this even while keeping an eye on Lorenzo. When he passed Toni Elias, I was asking people around me if he’d take the risk of trying to pass Lorenzo, being on equal bikes – we were all skeptic & were pleasantly shocked to see him take turn 1 ahead of Lorenzo, having made the move & made it stick at some other part of the circuit.
I think Valentino has been a great entertainer alongside being a great rider, sportsman & competitor. Agreed that sometimes his methods are questioned for their spirit, but I think he does what he does for the sake of competing.
I also hope F1 Management & FIA take some lessons from the MotoGP Management.
Here’s to Rossi for the awesome Championship!! May he win many more!!
