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/1463045
VOLUME 59 ISSUE 13 MARCH 29, 2022 P131 than any other rider—a resound- ing 26. More even than Kaito Toba's 21 in Moto3, where riders are apparently so risk-prone—ac- cording to the panel of stewards, that they need constant disci- plining because of dangerous riding. Marc's five so far already leads on numbers in 2022. And at Mandalika on Sunday morn- ing his fourth fall of the weekend was a real high-speed heart-in- the-mouth bone-cruncher. An old-fashioned high-side reminis- cent of the oft-tarnished golden age of unruly 500cc two-strokes and slip-grip tires. Another headstrong crash, another episode of refusing to heed the warnings, raises an uncomfortable question. Just how long can this carry on? At what point does his inner voice change its tune? Many years ago, I was casti- gated (indeed, never forgiven) for suggesting that Mick Doo- han's career-ending crash in practice at Jerez was the con- sequence of pushing too hard in iffy conditions when there was no tangible reward. The weather was due to improve the next day, and as a result, lap times would matter for qualifying. Perhaps injudiciously, I wrote he had been going "unnecessar- ily fast." He took exception, and the phrase that has haunted me ever since. Yet the same phrase applied last Sunday. Nobody knew the race in the afternoon would be wet anyway, rendering dry-track time irrelevant. But even so, go- ing for bragging rights in morn- ing warm-up was both figura- tively and literally pointless. Marc was already a close second- fastest. He crashed trying to go one better. This on a weekend when it was abundantly clear that Mi- chelin's curve-ball hard rear tire meant all Honda riders were at a disadvantage that such heroics could mitigate only slightly, if at all. But to Marquez (as to Doohan) the concept of "unnecessar- ily fast" simply doesn't exist. To coin another phrase from the Australian super-star, when taxed with the fact that his domi- nance was stultifying: "What do you want me to do? Slow down?" Marquez, likewise, no matter the agony he's endured for the past two years, he's not willing to accept any limits to his unstop- pable urge to be fastest. Even in morning warm-up. This is why we admire them. At the same time, nobody wants to have to pity them. Contrast Marquez with Val- entino Rossi, also precociously talented, but who prolonged his career almost indefinitely by taking the opposite approach, minimizing the risk. At Brno several years ago, Marc survived the most extraor- dinary moment—the front skating away, the bike crashing, but the rider picking it up again onto its tires with his knee and elbow. A technique of crashing without crashing that would become increasingly familiar, even a trademark. That afternoon I asked Rossi if he could achieve the same feat. He spoke analytically about Marc's different body position and riding technique, then con- tinued with a laugh, "I think it is better to don't lose the front." Hopefully, Marc will be back. Hopefully the double-vision will dissipate. Will he now add some career-enhancing caution to his all-or-nothing approach? Almost certainly not. Fingers crossed that his luck continues to hold. CN Marquez, likewise, no matter the agony he's endured for the past two years, he's not willing to accept any limits to his unstoppable urge to be fastest. Even in morning warm-up.