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Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128373
about the direction of development, with Biagg; in the driver's seat. He has a very particular riding style - smooth, with high corner speed - very different from that of the slidey Nicky Hayden or wring-its-neck Bayliss, to name but two teammates. Nor was his record of developing the M I a shining example in his two years on the Yamaha factory four-stroke. Nonetheless, HRC boss Horiike confirms that "Max, as our factory Repsol Honda rider, has so much experience in this field and will take the lead in the development." In the absence of a rider to match Rossi, Honda's strategy seems to play another angle - aiming at race wins for all and any of its riders in order to win the Constructors' (a.k.a. Manufacturers') Championship. This is a low-key victory against the obvious glitz of the riders' title but means more to the japanese than you might think, especially when viewed in the context of a long-term war rather than a short-term battle. Horiike confirms: "Both titles are very important to Honda." For the record, while neither has beaten Suzuki's seven in a row (1976 to 1982), Honda has a total of 16 wins (including one in 1966), last year equaling MV Agusta. Yamaha is next with nine, its most recent back in 2000, after Doohan, with Biaggi the top rider. Since only the best finisher for each manufacturer scores points, the more race-winning candidates you have, the better. But Yamaha would dearly love to do the double in its SOth anniversary year, although the riders' title is the first priority. "We can give you an example," Nakajima said. "In 2000, Yamaha won the Manufacturers' Championship; however, the impact of the 2004 Riders' Championship was far bigger. The Manufacturers' Championship would be important and could be used as a promotional tool, as it has a lot of meaning worldwide. "But it is not enough on its own," he loul I••till the man to beat. added. But aren't we forgetting something? Ducati? Are the two japanese factories so focused on each other that they are also forgetting the Italian faction? The third incarnation of the Desmosedici tested very well in preseason. Never short of horsepower, if it has also achieved chassis balance, then it is surely strong enough to make it a threeway struggle. Well. .. that's down to its riders. Loris Capirossi's a charger, but at 31, he's no hungry young buck. Carlos Checa? Well, he's Checa: good, but not good enough. I reckon it'll just be the two of them again - Honda and Yamaha. just as it has been for more than 20 years. And the only certainty is that it will be worth watching. BATTLE TWOTHE TIRE WAR MotoGP has belonged to Michelin since the days of SOOcc racing in the I 990s. Wha~ []oohan Think§ Then Bridgestone arrived in 2002 - winning two races in 2004. For 200S, it all just got much more serious, with an aggressive initiative from Bridgestone that has upped the stakes and hiked spiraling costs further still. And Michelin is feeling the pace. Curiously enough, this is the mirror image of F I, with Michelin re-entering in 200 I to challenge long-standing Bridgestone territory. And the two-wheel battie has brought something over from our unloved car-racing cousins: serious arguments about test teams. Test teams circumvent rules forbidding pretesting at GP circuits, giving advantage to those rich enough to run them. Hitherto in motorcycles, these have been restricted to factory teams testing their own developments. In MotoGP 200S, that's changed. Bridgestone, hand in hand with Ducati and Suzuki, is set to run two separate test teams. The Influence of the tire company is clear in the choice of riders - its own original test pairing of Shinichi Itoh (Ducati) and Nobuatsu Aoki (Suzuki). And, yes, according to chief coordinator Thomas Scholz, Bridgestone definitely will target upcoming GPs. "We have five... no, with Estoril, six Continued on page 36 From his enforced retirement in 1999 until the end of last year, Mick A bigger danger is that no rider will give a dear development Daohan was HRC's "general manager" of racing. The contract was lead. Doohan and crew chief Jerry Burgess fought many battles with terminated at the end of last year. The five-time World Champion is HRC engineers, who were anxious to keep developing a bike that now free to speak his mind. Then again, Daohan always did so, making him another nonfashion item in roday's mealy-mouthed racing paddocks. Doohan's focus on Honda's weakness in the battle against Yama- was much better off without being changed. "In the end, it's down to the rider," Doohan says. "With the RCV. Valentino knew what he wanted, and J.B. [Burgess] is very methodical. The bike they left to Honda was very good. The danger is if they ha is unerring. have a group of riders who can't really make decisions or give deci- "Honda will probably win a bunch of races by sheer numbers," he says. "Sete [Gibernau] will probably be the top guy, with three or four really close for second. But Valentino [Rossi] will be the strongest sive opinions on new developments. "New is not necessarily better," he adds, "but if a rider gives the Japanese engineers a 'not-too-bad' answer, they think that means it week in and week out, and that's how you win championships." must be better." Long-term development is more of a problem. Doohan "doesn't entirely agree" that Biaggi as top rider will necessarily steer development along lines that might make the RCV hard for the other riders, largely because "the bike is not in such a bad way. It's not a million miles from being in the ballpark, or so rar off the base line it's unrideable, so a rider like Troy Bayliss shouldn't really have problems. ':And I don't entirely agree that [Alex] Barros was in charge of "Honda needs new guys," Doohan says. "They have a bunch of mainly old guys riding round. They need to find people from allover, not just from the 2S0cc class. Valentino is a bit of a freak there there've been a lot of 2S0cc champions who haven't really made it in the big class: Max, Cadalora, Kocinski ... " So, all Honda really needs then is to find the next guy - the next development last year," Doohan adds. "Max is certainly in a position Mick, or the next Valentino. to push development his way, but at the end of the day, Honda will "That's all anybody needs to do, really," offers Doohan. "They need to get back to basics and find some guys. But if they were looking for new guys, they wouldn't waste time with a lot of old blubber going round and round." look at who was the number-one rider last year, and who is the number one for the future. I don't believe Max Biaggi is that guy - for this year, or for the future." CYCLE NEWS • APRIL 13, 2005 33