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the first of an eventual total of four on a Yamaha. There are signs that we might be in for an- other such era, with Marc Marquez in control – but nobody's turned a wheel yet, and there can never be foregone conclusions in racing. Except for the one. Most if not all the races and certainly the championship will be won by a Spanish rider. If it's not merciless maverick Mar- quez, it will be his teammate Dani Pedrosa or Lorenzo on the Yamaha. Lorenzo is never less than imposing and al- most always inch-perfect. He has plenty to prove, and his ramped-up on-track aggression at the end of last year showed the depth of his determination. But maybe the danger man will be Pedrosa, who is not riding merely for his reputation but for his job. Honda has publicly stated otherwise, but actions speak louder than words. There is as much significance in the fact that the long- time Honda rider's career-long puppet-master Alberto Puig has been moved aside from a high- ly active role in the HRC pit to oversee the devel- opment riders in far-off South-East Asia instead. Considering the poisonous atmosphere last season between the influential Puig and Mar- quez's mentor Emilio Alzamora, this is nothing less than regime-change. It suggests that little Dani, so often the bridesmaid, is in danger of leaving the wedding party altogether. The Spanishness of not only the entry list (no less than seven of 27) but more especially the top rungs of the championships is a concern to all, including the (Spanish) Dorna overlord Car- melo Ezpeleta. His response to this problem, in an impromptu interview midway through 2013, produced possibly the quote of the year. "What can you do?" he shrugged ominously. "You can't kill anybody." We can suggest another source of comfort for the Grand Poobah. Thanks to the wind, the weather, and the daring of its opponents, even the invincible Spanish Armada ended up beaten. Rossi fans can take comfort too. CN VOL. 51 ISSUE 5 FEBRUARY 4, 2014 P93 LOOKING BACK 40 Years Ago February 12, 1974 The dirt track season officially got under- way under the roof at the Houston As- trodome and was featured on the cover. The weekend also hosted the U.S. round of the Speedway World Championships won by New Zealand's Ivan Mauger… We interviewed dirt tracker Rex Beau- champ… We also featured a story on how to promote high school motocross. 30 Years Ago February 15, 1984 The Paris-to-Dakar Rally was featured on the cover 20 years ago. BMW's Gaston Rahier claimed the win… The GNC/ Camel Series kicked into gear at the Houston Astrodome doubleheader won by defending champ Randy Goss and Ricky Graham… Jeff Ward, Johnny O'Mara and Phil Larson were the big winners at the CMC Golden State Series at Sandhill Ranch. 20 Years Ago February 9, 1994 We traveled to Austin, Texas, to ride Suzuki's all-new RF900R, which we pictured resting in front of the Alamo… Jeremy McGrath captured yet another victory at the Anaheim Supercross… Danny Hamel won the opening round of the AMA National Hare & Hound Cham- pionship at Lucerne… We covered the Parker 400, where Danny Hamel teamed up with Ty Davis to claim the win… Greg Zitterkopf won the Mesquite Grand Prix. 10 Years Ago February 11, 2004 Featured on the cover, Suzuki introduced its revamped GSX-R600 at the Misano Circuit in Italy, where we got the chance to see what it could do on the track… Kevin Windham and Chad Reed con- tinued their duel at the Anaheim III Su- percross and for the second week in a row, Windham got the upper hand. Ivan Tedesco won the 125 class for the fifth straight time… Rodney Smith won the opening round of the GNCC Series in Gilmer, Texas… Destry Abbott nipped Ty Da- vis at the National Hare & Hound opener. Subscribe to nearly 50 years of Cycle News Archive issues: www.CycleNews.com/Archives