Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1406072
VOLUME 58 ISSUE 35 AUGUST 31, 2021 P121 Suzuki 250 team, accused of deliberately trashing the bike on an Assen slow-down lap. This immediately terminated an increasingly rancorous relation- ship. But that was different. Former 250 champion Kocinski didn't admit anything, nor apologize. He continued to repeat those denials. A tweet in the wake of Vinales' suspension (apparently from a fan rather than the man) explained the bike had stopped on the slow-down lap because a sprocket failed and the chain fell off. He'd parked it and walked away, (he might, though he didn't mention it, have revved it up noisily in the process. Or that might have happened spontane- ously.) I wrote press material for the team at the time, and shall never forget Kocinski's sincerity that evening, when he insisted to me: "I didn't damage the bike. I have never even bashed a fuel tank after a bad race." He was so adamant that I wanted to believe him, and still do. But team boss Herve Poncharal (now head of IRTA, boss of the Tech3 KTM team, and a consummate politi- cian) was equally adamant that John had deliberately blown the bike up. There were no onboard electronics to reveal the truth. To be honest, that Suzuki was a bit… primitive, up against the polished opposition, and there was some basis to his growing discontent and criticism. But they sat badly with a prestigious team and factory for whom Kevin Schwantz was winning the 500 title. They were, without doubt, glad of an excuse to get rid of him. Likewise Yamaha, currently set fair for the same success with Quartararo, and hardly enjoying the moody Spaniard's sulks, highlighted by his petu- lant performance shunning their one-two celebrations at Assen. Like Kocinski, Vinales has a history: publicly storming out of his "unsupportive" Moto3 team in 2012, then also forced into a public apology. "Moody," in woke-speak, is another way of saying "mental health issues," a phenomenon far from unknown in the high- stress world of top-level sports, as shown by U.S. Olympic gym- nast Simone Biles and Japanese tennis star Naomi Osaka. In these cases, and again with woke sensitivities, they have mainly been dealt with support- ively. Although not universally. There is another point of view: that these people (Vinales included) have a dream job. They should suck it up and shut up. Taking it out on your team or equipment— simply unforgivable. There is food for thought here. I believe Yamaha had a chance to offer the troubled rider realis- tic and sympathetic psychologi- cal support. The same is true for MotoGP. The bike has a rev-limiter, and it's not that easy to break it. Shouldn't we look after the rid- ers, and let the machinery suck it up? There is another aspect—a melt-down by a tennis player or gymnast affects only them- selves. It's potentially risky, how- ever, in among a pack of fellow nutters on MotoGP bikes. Perhaps Yamaha didn't really have a choice. Vinales had to go. Next year, he will be Aprilia's problem instead. CN There is another point of view: that these people (Vinales included) have a dream job. They should suck it up and shut up. Taking it out on your team or equipment— simply unforgivable.