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Moody Blues: Le Mans and beyond.
In the latest of his exclusive columns for Crash.net, Eurosport MotoGP commentator Toby Moody considers Valentino Rossi's costly retirement from the French Grand Prix at Le Mans, his decision to remain in MotoGP - plus tyres, BMW and traction control...
Rossi stays
So Rossi is going to stay in MotoGP. Hardly surprising for a guy looking to go into an F1 race next March, but who had never even competed in an open wheeled car race before...
We have all talked about Rossi in an F1 car since April 21st 2004 when he first drove at Fiorano. The benefactors of such talk have been Rossi, Ferrari and Marlboro. Bingo - they got their PR for that period of time, especially when Ferrari were having a bad time in 2005 and we did it all for them!
Well, one could look at it that way, but there was an element of seriousness in it all for a time. Rossi had been told by Surtees that he could do it, as did others, but as I wrote last autumn, Surtees won the title in 1964 with 185bhp and a set of tyres for the whole year. Hardly like for like in today's era.
Now Rossi can get his head down and concentrate on turning around the nightmare of 2006. Some say that luck is something you make yourself. I am one of those people, but Rossi has always been lucky.
I interviewed him in his office unit at the Australian GP 2002 and I said that he was lucky. He showed me a manky injured little finger and said that this was really, really bad. I didn't say anything, nor point out Alberto Puig's leg, Mick Doohan's leg, Alex Criville's hand, Daryl Beattie's lack of toes... But if he is going to have bad luck, not actually crashing is a start in 2006.
Not much was being said after the Le Mans race as to the mechanical problem which took him out of the lead, but I wonder if Rossi was so upset afterwards because the freak of all freaks happened and he flicked the kill switch? It can happen... but is very unlikely.
There are two ways of looking at what happened in France:
One: A shame, as he had the race won. God, did he ride well. He did his job and the others didn't.
Two: It makes him 43 points back of championship leader Hayden and on a mission to prove that he can still win the title from back there in the depths. Twelve races remain for him to do it. He can! No-one else could.
Rossi has to depend on his rivals taking points from each other and there is only one Yamaha consistently up front. Well, maybe two, although at Le Mans Rossi sent de Puniet into Gibernau who in turn hit team-mate Edwards. Edwards was then dead last at a track he was on the podium at last year. Not a good day for Yamaha at all.
Rossi will ride out of his skin next time out at Mugello, but then again, so will fellow Italians Capirossi and Melandri. The place will go mad if Ducati win, but boy oh boy, the place will go a bit quiet if Pedrosa wins...!
Team deal
There are discussions going on in the paddock about next year's teams in MotoGP. The current franchise structure seems to have collapsed with only one person actually sticking to his agreement.
Tech 3 Yamaha's Herve Poncharal has supplied two machines all of the time. Pons has gone, so has WCM. Does Cecchinello have a deal? Montiron with Tamada? They were not on the initial list, but Dorna have - quite rightly - let them in to keep grid numbers up.
A major team manager said to me at Le Mans, "We are looking for a deal between the MSMA and the teams, not the teams and Dorna. Why should we have to supply bikes to a guy with an empty garage and a piece of paper?"
The worry with that is that the teams are then going to have more of a say over the grid/sport and that is worrying as sports should never be run by manufacturers. To counter this, Dorna is looking to up its input into the top class by 60%.
Carmelo Ezpeleta said to me at the pre-season test in Catalunya that he would pay satellite teams double the start money as an incentive. But is/was that really enough money?
It appears that by chipping in 60% more money, Dorna may well numb the pain of a couple of flyaway races, plus the extra one looking to go on the calendar in the shape of Misano.
BMW MotoGP
It looks increasingly like the BMW MotoGP project is a non-starter in the long term. The project is being run by development people with M Power budget allocation and not bike people as such. There are rumours that there is to be a new boss at the top of the BMW Motorrad department.
BMW's Safety Car deal is in the first year of four, so they will be around for a long while yet.
Tyres 2007
It seems that there is a tyre regulation looking to be introduced for 2007, to limit the amount of tyres used over a weekend for the MotoGP teams.
Essentially it seems that Bridgestone are not happy that Michelin have a geographical advantage in the championship, by making tyres at Clermont Ferrand overnight on Friday and then delivering them to the track on Saturday. This was always going to come to a head sooner or later, and that time seems now.
Talking last year with Jeremy McWilliams at Barcelona I suggested a Parc Ferme for tyres on Friday morning, at 9.00am at the track. Tyres not in the pen by then could not be used over the weekend. "Good idea," he said "It should level things out a little."
Apparently a Parc Ferme for Thursday afternoon is being mooted with tyres to be marked according and a limit on how many tyres are to be used over the weekend for each rider. Also, there looks to be a restriction on testing at circuits before a grand prix, even with a test rider.
Bridgestone are obviously pushing for this change, whilst Michelin would not discuss it with me on Sunday at Le Mans.
It all looks to be tabled for a discussion at Assen at the end of June.
Who controls what?
There is a rule in the regulations, 2.1.1 that says, "The championship is for motorcycles, ie. vehicles with two wheels that make one track propelled by an internal combustion engine, controlled exclusively by one rider."
I recently pointed out to MotoGP technical director Mike Webb that all bikes running traction control are therefore illegal, as the bike is being controlled not exclusively by one rider, but also by a box of electronics that specifically aids a rider/overcomes any deficiencies he/she may have - ie; wheel spin.
From the look on his face, methinks there may be a change in next year's regulations!
Toby Moody
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