As a fish rots from the head, so
too does this come from the top.
Marc Marquez's determina-
tion to ride through machine
weaknesses, his ability to
bounce back from setbacks, and
his seemingly boundless talent
have always been an inspira-
tion not only to the team and
engineers but also to the other
Honda riders.
His decision to pull out of Sun-
day's main race at Assen came
after two more crashes over
the weekend—the last an em-
barrassingly silly collision with
Bezzecchi through not looking
where he was going. Accumu-
lated if relatively minor injuries
and the disheartening experi-
ence of qualifying and finishing
a sub-par 17th in the sprint (his
second-worst MotoGP result)
triggered the decision. Which
S
illy is as silly does. And
considering that most
rider contracts currently
expire only at the end of next
year, the eruption during the
artificially long summer break of
a frenzy of rumor and specula
-
tion may turn out not to be so
silly after all.
The trigger is the turmoil at
Honda, where a slew of crashes
and injuries has left all four
riders, I think it's fair to say, in
fear for their lives. And seriously
contemplating their futures.
P134
CN IIIN THE PADDOCK
BY MICHAEL SCOTT
The rumors are not just about riders.
Thoughts that Honda might follow Suzuki
out of the series may not be entirely
fanciful, albeit probably premature.
THE SILLY SEASON
STARTS A YEAR TOO SOON
What will Honda do? What
will Marquez do? What
will Mir do? Honda, and
other teams, have a lot of
questions to answer as "silly
season" rapidly approaches.
PHOTO: GOLD & GOOSE
