Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/653298
VOL. 53 ISSUE 10 MARCH 15, 2016 P115 change was triggered by the Rossi-Marquez "kicking" incident at Sepang, and the controversial outcome of a penalty that argu- ably cost Rossi the title. The new system follows F1 practice, and is to be welcomed. The thought-police gagging was a separate issue stemming from the same incident, where an unseemly series of press statements most especially from Honda—specifically accusing Rossi of the kick—had added fuel to the controversy. The flurry went on some time, helped by sundry high-minded and disap- proving letters from such as FIM President Ippolito. All this was, somebody has decided, "detrimental to the sport." That is of course nonsense. The whole affair generated worldwide headlines and was a pub conversation topic in every known language, among people who had never cared about Mo- toGP before. Personal rivalry is not detri- mental to sport, but quite the op- posite. Its life-blood. The more vituperative the better. To pretend otherwise shows the numbing, dumb-downing instincts of a coward. And, as is so often the case, also of a bully, when such a new clause is actu- ally inserted in the rules. Here is the wording of the GP Commission statement: "Teams and Riders must not make state- ments or issue press releases that are considered to be irre- sponsible and hence damaging to the championship." "Considered irresponsible" … by whom? Who is Big Brother? And the punishment? (I was only joking, by the way, about World Superbikes.) It is of course just a first step. First gag the teams. Then gag the journalists. How long will it be before a phrase or an opinion "considered to be irresponsible" will see its author banned from the paddock? I tend to avoid reading press releases, because they tend to be bland and anodyne expres- sions of the blatantly obvious and the commercially advanta- geous, couched in a sort of false bonhomie no hell-bent would-be world champion racer could genuinely feel. But I did a scan of some that came in over the past day or two. Here's one, from the Giovanni Cuzari, head of Forward Racing. Presenting his Moto2 team (rid- ers Baldassari and Marini), he opens with the hallowed words: "I am proud and happy…" It goes on to say that his team is "young and full of values that I very much believe in." Er, could that have been put differently? Cuzari, you will recall, was ar- rested last year on criminal tax evasion and corruption charges, and is still under a cloud. Wading on through further anodyne drivel while trying to forget that Dorna's management, including Carmelo Ezpeleta, have also just been found guilty of criminal tax evasion, I came upon the release from the Estrella Galicia PR department. This is a collection of important teams linked under the Spanish brewery's umbrella, and fielding two riders in the three classes, six in all. All six riders had their say in this document. And what did they say? Three of their state- ments opened with identical wording: "I am very happy," while a fourth buried the same words in the second sentence. The other two found different ways of saying the same thing— for Moto3's Jorge Navarro, it brought him "tranquility and hap- piness." You will also be relieved to hear that they all intend to try their best, and to achieve the best possible result. Professor Pangloss would approve. So the watchwords for the season to come are "proud and happy." Even if riders do kick each other, as long as it is done with pride and happiness, no- one could possibly object. That is why I am proud and happy to write this. And I sin- cerely hope you are equally proud and happy to be reading it. CN