P114
CN
III IN THE PADDOCK
BY MICHAEL SCOTT
W
hat makes a good
motorcycle race? Is
it a demonstration of
artistry and genius when a rider
breaks away and stamps his
authority by leaving the rest for
dead? Or is it a bruising tussle,
where the winner is the one with
the biggest elbows in the last
corner?
Tricky question.
I'm not sure of my own an-
swer. Having been trackside for
such dominance as shown by
Freddie Spencer or Mick Doo-
han, I was lost in respect, if not
particularly excited. For enjoy-
ment, Rainey versus Schwantz
took some beating.
Then there's Rossi. In his
pomp, he understood that both
were to be admired. He knew
how to make a race of it, even
when he knew he was going to
win.
So let's go for excitement
rather than awe.
And let's look at Moto3.
I recall greeting the replace-
ment for those delicious 125
two-strokes with some scorn.
They sounded, I wrote, like
"lawnmowers with an exhaust
leak."
Boy was I wrong. Not about
the sound, maybe, but about
everything else. All the things
that really matter about world
championship racing.
The bikes are little gems.
Dorna's plan that they should
be built down to a price was
SMALL ONES ARE JUICIER
