P134
CN
III IN THE PADDOCK
BY MICHAEL SCOTT
H
ere's a pub quiz question
for you all. Who is the
most intelligent MotoGP
rider?
Of course there is no simple
answer. Or perhaps there is.
It's whoever won the last race.
I've followed GP racing closely
for a long time, and somewhat
against the flow of conventional
wisdom have always been con-
vinced that the very best racers
have an element of fierce intelli-
gence underlying their success.
They might not necessarily be
well-read, articulate or socially
adept; they might be foolish with
money, or profligate in other
ways. But stupid? Never.
Actually, the same is true in
most sports, at the highest lev-
els. Even those which rely more
on muscle memory than quick
thinking and careful tactics,
which depend on the uncon-
scious rather than the conscious
mind.
But bike racing especially so.
Instinct and muscle memory can
take care of the riding, but there
is more to the competition than
just going fast around corners,
and modern bike racing, that of
the last couple of years in par-
ticular, even more. Control tires
and one-size-fits-all electronics
DON'T LEAVE YOUR BRAIN
IN THE TOOLBOX
