VOLUME 57 ISSUE 8 FEBRUARY 25, 2020 P29
Valentino Rossi, now 41 years
of age, was upbeat on Sunday,
declaring himself "quite ready for
the start."
The smiles and quiet confi-
dence expressed by their riders
were a contrast to the long faces
within HRC's ranks. Crashes
for Marquez (turn eight) and
Cal Crutchlow (turn two) on day
two were just the start of it. The
chassis remains as critical as
ever, offering little in the way
of front-end feel. What's more,
Losail's long, fast corners acted
as the bike's kryptonite; that
front instability caused the tire to
skip and skate, putting stress on
rubber and rider alike.
Privately, team members
have expressed massive frustra-
tion that the 2020 RC213V has
retained the flaws of its prede-
cessor. Honda has built another
formidable engine, with even
better grunt than the '19 model.
But Crutchlow didn't even attend
his media duties on Sunday
evening such was his disgust at
the day's events. As the Yama-
has and Suzukis rolled off laps
in the 1:54s with ease, Marquez
struggled to get within a sec-
ond of those times. Crutchlow,
meanwhile, was much worse off,
a further second slower than the
reigning champion.
Historically Honda has never
fared well at this test. The factory
was close to full-blown crisis
here in 2016 before Marquez
found a way to turn it around
and win two of that season's
opening three races. Let it not
be forgotten that Crutchlow left
this three-day affair with the 17th
fastest time at this point a year
ago before returning to an emo-
tional podium at the same track
two weeks later. But Marquez is
still fighting the effects of major
surgery on his right shoulder. An
aggravated nerve is still causing
him pain three months on, and
he lacks the upper body strength
to rescue front end slides he
saved with such miraculous
regularity in the past.
Pinning its hopes on Marquez
overcoming these odds is a risky
Joan Mir and the
factory Ecstar
Suzuki team have
been doing their
homework.
