Cycle News

VOL. 50 ISSUE 50 DECEMBER 17, 2013 WILL OF IS "THEBALANCE MARCGOODTOGETHER FOR WITH IS A WEAPON MOTOGP. HE SHOWED VERY WELL AT EVERY RACE AND WHEN HE'S FIGHTING. BUT, OF COURSE, HE RIDES IN THE LIMIT AND HE CONTROLS THIS LIMIT. HE SEEMS LIKE HE'S CRASHING ALL THE TIME, BUT HE'S NOT CRASHING SO HE CONTROLS THE LIMIT. THE WEAK POINT I THINK IS EXPERIENCE. THAT'S ALL I CAN SAY. -DANI PEDROSA He had thrown down a marker, and the feud with Lorenzo would come back in a different form at year's end. That's when the older rider angrily accepted that authorities didn't share his view, and that he would have to change his policy to suit. He and Marquez collided twice in Malaysia and again in Australia, and this time it was Lorenzo doing the barging. Marquez's response? "I enjoyed the fight. That's racing." One rider who did approve was Rossi, who was vastly amused by the events, and at the nature of balls-out racing reminiscent of the golden years of Schwantz and Rainey. Even when he fell victim at Laguna Seca in a landmark move that replicated his own controversial off-the-track Corkscrew pass on Casey Ston- " er in 2008 he was still laughing, saying: "Now he owes me a credit, for when I do it to him." Rossi was never able to collect. On the few occasions they did meet thereafter on the track (Marquez was usually ahead of him from the start) he got corkscrewed again, every time. It was easy for the 20-year-old to keep calm and cheerful while he was on the winning side. Perhaps the greatest test of his character came from left field, and within his own team. He'd arrived in Australia 43 points ahead of Lorenzo, and with a chance of securing a classic title with two races to spare. Instead the leading Honda crew got themselves in a hapless muddle over counting the laps. With the Bridgestone tires getting torn to pieces by the P61 new grippy track surface the race uniquely featured a compulsory pit stop, and Marquez missed the window. TV images showed him throw his gloves down and stalk out of his pit in an understandably pettish mood; but directly afterwards he was speaking calmly and a week later at Motegi in forgiving mode. "We are human, we can all make mistakes," he said; adding rather defensively: "We must remember that the target this year was not the championship." If he showed maturity off the track, so also on it. In the earlier part of the season he admitted a weakness to me - an irresistible urge to overtake anyone in front of him. Now he had to force himself to play tactics and percentages, under constant pressure from Lorenzo. What Marquez had to do by the time they got to the last round in Valencia was basically to stay cool and finish no lower than fourth. He did so with accomplished ease, though he did admit after the race: "I had to fight with myself a bit not to try to win." As the dust settled, the 20-year-old explained his progress in his annus mirabilis. Fresh from Moto2, there was a lot to learn: not only double the horsepower to deal with it, but in a very different context: new tires, new carbon brakes, and above all a level of electronic control and adjustability undreamt of before. "At first I used [Casey] Stoner's settings," he said. "Then after four

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