Double Dip
SPECIAL SECTION :
BIKES AT THE BRICKYARD
INDY GP
VALENTINO ROSSI: DON'T BET AGAINST THE DOCTOR INDY MILE PREVIEW: DIRTTRACK IS BACK! PLUS: IS MOTO2 THEEND FOR TWO-STROKES?
Double Dip
Can Valentino Rossi win again at Indy?
KEVIN CAMERON
ALENTINO Rossi LOST HIS MOTOGP TITLE TO Nicky Hayden in 2006 and then Spent another year “in the wilderness” in 2007. To the great surprise of many, he came back to tackle the full power of the new champion, Casey Stoner, and the other young lions of Grand Prix racing’s next generation. He beat them all magisterially, employing an updated stalking strategy against Stoner-a “confusion ray” that weakened Stoner’s impressive focus just enough to provoke mistakes. As we saw at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in 2008, Rossi is tactics and strategy.
Should we be surprised? Rossi is also versatility, having learned successively to win on 125,250 and 500cc two-strokes and now 990 and 800cc four-stroke MotoGP machines. While other riders were spooked by early versions of the present throttle-control electronics, Rossi prospered. As with aircraft flight-control systems, less-reliable early versions were built with 50-percent control authority, meaning that the rider could, if necessary, override their decisions. When Ducati riposted with the natural development-a more effective 100-percent control-authority system-Yamaha had to do the same, and Rossi made the transition as easily as he had the many previous ones. Yet more than one veteran race-winning rider struggled to change his style to suit. Loris Capirossi left Ducati, Marco Melandri lost a year and Nicky Hayden hopes for better.
When in 2006 I asked Rossi’s crew chief, Jeremy Burgess, how there could be time in any weekend to adjust all the growing number of variables in setup, he replied, “It helps to have an intelligent rider.”
Rossi intends to win. Very occasionally, his carefully constructed, happy-go-lucky exterior cracks slightly, and it lets us realize how closely he is holding himself to an extreme standard. Other riders have no idea what he is like up close until they have something he wants: first place.
Desire, skill, intelligence and versatility make an enviable list. But in Rossi’s case, it leaves out at least half of what he has brought to motorcycle roadracing. Barry Sheene was a successful one-man, worldwide promotion for Grand Prix motorcycle racing, and Rossi has expanded this to a new level. Surely he alone is responsible for half of the sport’s present popularity. Like the Beatles, he brings all the dark forces to the stage then magically transforms them into irresistible fun. Let other men dramatically dice with death or challenge each other’s testosterone levels. For Valentino Rossi, all this is good fun, necessary entertainment for an active mind and a strong sense of humor.
What if he leaves? What if, as rumor and the shaky state of MotoGP suggest, he moves to World Superbike in 2010? Or simply retires once his present Yamaha contract is up? I asked Dorna chief Carmelo Ezpeleta this question some time ago. He replied, “New riders arise.”
I don’t think so. In the 27 years since Sheene left the sport, only one rider has excited comparable public interest: Valentino Rossi. How will the sport replace his powerful positive influence?
Meanwhile, Rossi and his team have had to assimilate one new technology after another. Last year, it was “mu learning”—coupling the traction measurements made at every cycle of the anti-spin system to GPS data. The result is a map of available traction along the racing line.
Why bother? Traction control seems miraculous to anyone who has ever slid out or highsided from using too much throttle, but its operation is a series of rapidly corrected mistakes, not a smooth flow of power. Mu learning eliminates much of the delay inherent in those mistakes. Think of the difference between a normal dragstrip run and one interrupted by either a wheelie or “going up in smoke.” Smooth beats jerky because there is no interruption of the power flow.
How does a rider, all his reflexes acquired in the era of direct throttle control, learn to trust such a system? Peg the grip at the throttle-up point and let the system handle it? Tall order!
It’s like being told, “It just looks like we’re atop a 10-story building. In reality, it’s just a simulation. Go ahead, jump off. You’ll be fine.” It requires strong presence of mind not to revert back into reflexive behavior (“I’m falling!”).
The electronic warfare between Yamaha and Ducati continues. Casey Stoner is not easily discouraged. Honda is back as a competitive force, with Dani Pedrosa as spearhead. Rossi has a DNF, losing his accumulated points lead, and his teammate Jorge Lorenzo is showing all the strength for which he was hired. Racing is always a stacked deck, but Rossi has amazing ability to flow uphill against fate, one card at a time. n
