P138
CN
III IN THE PADDOCK
BY MICHAEL SCOTT
T
o be called "a dangerous
maniac" by a rider who
once enjoyed the same
description should be at the
pinnacle of any self-respecting
GP racer's ambition.
In fact, those aren't the exact
words Rossi chose to describe
French parvenu Johann Zarco.
But that's only because he is
polite. Or if not actually polite,
aware that he needs to guard
his words, lest they be twisted
and used as a weapon against
him.
What he actually said was
that Zarco needs "to be more
quiet," and to understand that
MotoGP bikes are not the same
as Moto2 bikes, in all sorts of
important ways.
Primarily they are faster and
heavier, and thus more danger-
ous to crash.
Secondly, a more subtle
point, different MotoGP bikes
have different characters. In
Moto2 everyone is saddled with
identical engines and gearing,
and nearly all of them are on
identical Kalex chassis. It's hard
to find any advantage, so over-
taking seldom happens, and is
often of necessity a brutal busi-
ness of bumping and boring.
In the big class, with proper
RUBBING IS RACING, THE FRENCH WAY
