CN
III IN THE PADDOCK
P118
BY MICHAEL SCOTT
Y
ou have the advantage
of me here. By the time
you read this you will
know whether or not Marc Mar-
quez managed to break Mick
Doohan's record of 12 wins in
a season, by adding a 13th at
Valencia. The exigencies of
publishing deadlines mean I
am still in the dark on this.
If he does (and I'm not bet-
ting against it), he will become
the most successful racer of
all time. The winningest. But it
will only be because of a par-
ticular set of numbers, at a par-
ticular time. He has the gift of
18 races in a season. Back in
far-off 1997, when the austere
Australian dominator did it, he
only had 15.
So, as a matter of percentag-
es, should Marquez win, he will
have a hit rate of 72.2 percent.
Doohan's was fairly significantly
better, at 80 percent. His record
may have tumbled, but only be-
cause of lack of opportunity.
This set me thinking, and
shortly afterwards to the record
PLAYING
THE PERCENTAGES
