P100
CN
III IN THE PADDOCK
BY MICHAEL SCOTT
O
nce again, as the en-
gines get revved up, it's
change time for MotoGP.
The usual raft of new regulations
has several heavy burdens for
this new year.
Those that will make the most
difference are technical: new
stock electronics for all, and new
Michelin tires all round. A major
adventure.
Yet the most important might
be the apparently innocent stric-
ture that henceforth the (already
universal) use of back protectors
is compulsory.
Perhaps the MotoGP lawmak-
ers mean something more than
simple crash protection. For
2016, the best-dressed riders'
armour will need to be knife-
proof as well.
Personal rivalries, far from
cooling over the winter, have
instead been reignited. If any
of his rivals had calmed down,
Rossi soon fired them up again,
at the first pre-season opportu-
nity.
This was at the pre-season
Yamaha launch, and in spite of
fresh appeals for "respect" from
team chief Lin Jarvis and FIM
chief Vito Ippolito.
Egged on by the ever-eager
Italian press, Rossi forcefully re-
iterated his claims that Marquez
had nursed a grudge all season,
and had deliberately spoiled
VALENTINO'S VENDETTA: V2
