VOL. 50 ISSUE 18 MAY 7, 2013
when Marquez got into the fast right-hander too hot
and almost rear-ended Lorenzo while trying not to
lose the front. The result would have been ugly and
would have put Valentino Rossi and Cal Crutchlow
on a podium they didn't deserve.
Those of you who still have a problem with Marquez's pass should also take a look at the video
of Rossi's similar pass on Sete Gibernau in 2005
(here's the link: https://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=DcLGmpKcDUU). Rossi did the same
thing as Marquez… and he did so with less room
than what Marquez was given. Gibernau did a better
job than Lorenzo at closing the door, but he still ended up the worse for it. Sete never really recovered.
Don't expect that sort of thing from Lorenzo. It also
didn't help Gibernau's cause that his incident came
at the hand of the most popular rider to ever sit on
a MotoGP grid. Mess with Rossi and your popularity
goes down. Fast. This one should blow over a lot
quicker with little damage to either rider.
Marquez tried to approach Lorenzo to apologize in
Parc Ferme and got the waving of the finger in his
face, but he left with that cheeky grin on his face
and didn't seem fazed by any of it. He later tried to
clink champagne bottles with Lorenzo in the podium
ceremony and again was denied. Hey, you can't say
he didn't try and make amends.
Since I had no question that I'd have done the same
thing as Marquez even if it was a battle for fifth on
the last lap of an Old Timers MX at Glen Helen, I
figured I'd get a second opinion. I decided to go
to a rider who not only won a few of these World
Championships (okay three of them), but one who
was never considered the least bit dirty en route to
winning them.
"Well, for sure," Wayne Rainey said on Monday from
his home in Monterey when asked if he'd had made
the same pass as Marquez. "I think I could have
judged it a bit better than Marquez, but Lorenzo left
the door wide open. I'm not surprised that Marquez
put it in there, but what surprises me is that Lorenzo
left the door open as much as he did. I mean it's the
last corner of the last lap of a Grand Prix. I'm sure it
also surprised Marquez because it was almost like,
'c'mon through.' If they both ended up down in the
gravel, then it might have been different, but as it
was… I'd say it was inviting."
Well put.
CN
LOOKING BACK
40 Years Ago
May 15, 1973
Our Speedway coverage took center stage 40 years ago… Kenny
Robert out-slid Gary Scott at the Ascot Half Mile… We "fell in love" with
our Noguchi-kitted Yamaha 125
AT3 MX test bike… Jim Fishback
was the man of the day at the CRC
Carlsbad Grand Prix.
30 Years Ago
May 18, 1983
The "Springer" Jay Springsteen
was featured on the cover 30 years
ago for winning the Ascot Half-Mile
National… Husky-mounted Larry
Roeseler took top honors at the Texas One-Day ISDE Qualifier… Mark
Barnett won the Kansas City Supercross at Arrowhead Stadium.
20 Years Ago
May 12, 1993
Doug Polen, Mike Kiedrowski and
Chris Carr all made it on to the cover
of Cycle News 20 years ago, Polen
for winning the Charlotte Supebike
National, Kiedrowski for topping the
Southwick National MX and Carr the
Sacramento Mile… Rodney Smith
won the Tulsa 4-Day ISDE Qualifier
at the John Zink Ranch.
10 Years Ago
May 7, 2003
We went test crazy 10 years ago and
featured the Ducati Multistrada,
BMW R1150R and Kawasaki Z1000
in action on the front page… Chad
Reed knocked down points leader
Ricky Carmichael en route to the
Salt Lake City Supercross win… Neil
Hodgson kept his winning streak
alive at the Sugo World Superbike
round.
P135
