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/707505
IN THE WIND P46 ROSSI CALLS FOR RACE RADIOS I n the wake of two disastrous races in his quest for a 10th MotoGP World Championship, Valentino Rossi has floated the idea of ship-to-shore radio com- munication as is used in four- wheel racing such as IndyCar and Formula 1. This is not a new argument and was last tested by MotoGP riders over a decade ago, with even Wayne Rainey testing it during his time as 500cc World Champion with Team Roberts and Rossi believes it might now be the time to introduce the technology to MotoGP. "This is not Formula 1, but if we had the communication with the box it would be a lot easier," said Rossi when speaking to MCN's Simon Pat- terson. "Sometimes with the pit board it's difficult—in Assen, if they had told me I had already two seconds of an advantage I could have slowed down and not made the mistake. I don't know why we don't have, but it could be important to have it in the future." One rider who is clearly not in favor of the idea is Marc Marquez, the rider who made the most of the two recent wet weather races to open up a commanding lead in the series while other faltered around him. The two-time champion says that the lack of radio communication is part of what makes MotoGP racing unique, and that "I cannot imagine being fully leaned over at 200 kph and having someone speaking in my ear! This is not car racing, and if you don't have a good plan before the race you know about it. In our team, we always have a clear plan; it's something we work on a lot after I was disqualified in Australia in 2013!" CN MILLSAPS STRETCHES OUT POINTS LEAD IN CANADA D avi Millsaps returned to his winnings ways in round eight of the Canadian Rockstar En- ergy Drink Motocross Nationals, presented by Motovan. Millsaps, who has been riding injured since round four and finished off the podium for just the second time all season at the previous round, came back roaring at Pleasant Valley MX Park in Truro, Nova Scotia, July 23-24. The now healed-up rider dominated the day's MX1 racing action. Millsaps, on the KTM Canada Thor Racing 450 SX-F, was quick- est in qualifying and led all but one lap of both MX1 motos. The overall victory padded his already substantial points lead over Brett Metcalfe (Yamaha), who went 2-2 on the day for second overall. Millsaps now has 379 points to Metcalfe's 344. The race for second in the championship is much tighter. Sitting just two points behind Metcalfe is Matt Georke (Yamaha) with 342 points. Mike Alessi (Ka- wasaki) is fourth with 318. Georke went 3-4 on the day for fourth overall, while Alessi struggled with crashes in the first turn of both motos and ended up seventh overall with 8-7 results. Tyler Medaglia (Husqvarna) was third overall with a 4-3. Cole Thompson (KTM) won MX2 with a 1-1 sweep, while Da- kota Alix (KTM) took second with a 3-3. Mark Worth (Kawasaki) was sixth overall with an 8-5. In the MX2 Championship, Thompson enjoys a comfortable lead. He has 403 points and next in line is Shawn Maffenbeier with 329 points. CN Would a ship-to- shore radio have helped Valentino Rossi in the last two races? He seems to think so. PHOTOGRAPHY BY GOLD & GOOSE