June 15, 2006
The Year of MotoGP
I’ve posted previously about why I love motorcycle racing. 200 mph bikes, making upwards of 200 or 250 hp out of a 1000 cc engine, racing within inches of each other… There’s nothing like it. The narrow bikes make for a lot of passing; the ability to see the rider moving around on the bike and watching bikes lean over so far you wonder how those tiny tires can stay glued to the road, and it gives you a ton of respect for the men who can control the power those bikes wield.
But in the world of racing, parity can be a problem. Often, one team and one rider tends to dominate. The motorcycles ridden are typically on a two-year cycle of minor revisions to design, and a four-year cycle for complete redesigns. While there is a lot of parity, with the various manufacturers each shooting for an edge within the rules, one bike tends to come out on top. This year in AMA Superbike, of the first 9 races of the year, the wins have all come on Suzuki factory machines, split between Mat Mladin and Ben Spies. In World Superbike, 7 of 10 victories went to Troy Bayliss on a factory Ducati machine. With a few early-season troubles, he’s on a 7-win streak, so everything is looking rosy for the rest of the season.
But not so in MotoGP. The year has been up and down for everyone. Of the first six races, four different riders have won, on three different machines (3 Honda, 2 Yamaha, 1 Ducati). A perennial also-ran in MotoGP, the Suzuki bike, hasn’t won a single race, but has sat in pole position several times. The level of parity is amazing.
But some strange factors have made it even more fun to watch. The man who is considered by some to be the best motorcycle racer ever, Valentino Rossi (Yamaha), has won two of those races but sits 5th in Championship standings. He has taken home the MotoGP championship every single one of the last five years, but the first corner of the first race of this season, he was taken out in a crash. He’s had mechanical troubles and other problems in several other races. Luck hasn’t been on his side. The co-leader of the championship standings, Nicky Hayden (Honda), hasn’t won a race all year, but has consistently been among the top riders every week. However, as championship co-leader, and the official top-man on his team, he’s battling every week with Dani Pedrosa (Honda), two time champion of the 250 cc class (the next step down), a rookie in MotoGP, yet already with one race win under his belt. Tied in points with Hayden is Loris Capirossi (Ducati), who is technically winning the championship due to his one race win, and third in points is Marco Melandri (Honda), with two race wins under his belt.
This is a year that holds excitement every week. Can Rossi, one of the best (if not THE best) racers of all time, battle back from a 34-point deficit to retain his title? Can Nicky Hayden win a race or two, and be the first American to win the championship since Kenny Roberts in 2000, and Kevin Schwantz, the most recent before him in 1993? Will we see Dani Pedrosa, a rookie who has been compared in talent to Valentino Rossi, take over his throne? Any one of the top 5 still has a great chance at winning the whole thing, and without a clear-cut favorite, who knows what might happen?
Either way, if you’re halfway interested in starting to follow MotoGP, now is the time to do it. Broadcast schedules can be found at SpeedTV.com, and there are races scheduled 5 of the next 6 weekends. They’re usually on Sundays, but they typically get replayed on Tuesday. Besides, this is what TiVo is for, right?
And if you’re in California, on July 23rd, MotoGP will be coming to race at Laguna Seca near Monterrey. The place will become a madhouse, I’m sure, but if you want to see what these machines are capable of– up close and personal– book your tickets now. Don’t forget to bring your earplugs!
For racing fans, it doesn’t get much better than this. There’s not a type of racing I’d rather watch than the two-wheeled variety. With it being a completely competitive year for all of the top riders, every week is important. One crash, one slip, or finishing 3rd place instead of 2nd in a single race could be the difference in being the 2006 MotoGP Champion, remembered forever in the history books, and being the runner-up, your results forgotten by 2008.
Check it out. If you’re not wowed, you know where to send the complaints!
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