Cycle News

VOL. 52 ISSUE 19 MAY 12, 2015 P113 Was this bad luck? Or ex- tremely good luck? Because the consequences could have been a great deal more serious than a broken little finger. So in a way, he got away with it. As he has over and over again, in frequent crashes. He recorded 11 last year… not as many as record-holder Brad- ley Smith, with 16, including some that hurt quite badly. Marquez, by contrast, has the gift of pushing his luck to and beyond the outer limits, and being able to walk away largely unscathed. At least until now… Actually, that's not entirely true. Another motocross prang meant he started last year recovering from a broken leg. But, as he proved, that is a far less troublesome injury than a broken finger. Past serial champions have all had to rely on luck as well as hard work. And there are some whose careers ended prematurely be- cause they ran out of it. Notably Wayne Rainey and Mick Doo- han. When you fall off a speed- ing motorcycle, no matter what protective clothing you wear or how big the run-off area, it is entirely a matter of luck whether or not you will be hurt. When it comes to luck, there is nobody with a greater supply of it than Valentino. My favorite and oft-repeated example is from Brno during his glory years. High summer, and there was a seri- ous plague of wasps. Dr. Costa was kept busy treating cases of anaphylactic shock as rider after rider was stung; and I recall one of them (I think it was James Whitham but my memory might grand prix racing. Until then he had never missed a race, clock- ing up 230 consecutive starts. After then, he has not won a title. A situation he of course compounded with his romantic but ill-advised switch to Ducati. Is this Marquez's turn for a costly downturn in good fortune? In fact, he has not been blessed to anything like Rossi's degree. He lost the Moto2 title in 2011 because of a freak eye problem after a crash (this one not his fault at all) in Malaysia. The consequent double vision threatened to end his career. And his attempt at a hat-trick of titles has not started well. He fluffed the first corner at Qatar; lost one of his five engines in Texas; crashed out in Argentina after colliding with Rossi. And started the European season hampered by a week-old broken finger that made riding the Honda an ordeal. Still finished second, mind. What he has lost is momen- tum, and a margin. Any more engine problems (like damaging another in a crash) and he is in serious danger of a pit-lane start. And already lagging on points, that could prove crucial. Another injury likewise. Tell you what, though. I'm not going to bet against him, and nor should you. Even if we also need a bit a luck for that to come to fruition. CN "WHEN YOU FALL OFF A SPEEDING MOTORCYCLE, NO MATTER WHAT PROTECTIVE CLOTHING YOU WEAR OR HOW BIG THE RUN-OFF AREA, IT IS ENTIRELY A MATTER OF LUCK WHETHER OR NOT YOU WILL BE HURT." be playing tricks) pulling to a dramatic stop halfway round the long lap to rip off a boot within which one of these unpleasant insects was jabbing away repeat- edly. In the race, it happened to Rossi too. He was leading; a wasp got into his helmet. He opened the visor, and it flew away without touching him. As we know, Rossi's luck ran out when he broke his leg at Mugello in 2010. It was his first serious injury in 15 years of

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