have just been on the phone to my ex and now have a different view on this whole affair...top marks to mm for skulduggery... live by the sword die by the sword. as long as he knows that he will one day be denied a shot and perhaps put out to pasture by a younger rival and can live with it all is fair in love and war...
Oh dear.... Your "face palm" hasn't upset me in the least,as I've already stated,and I've no idea why you've become fixated on the idea that it has. I was/am genuinely interested in what others thought of a nationality limit,as a concept. And I've already listed the reasons why I floated the idea,the main one being,would there have been such a furore if Rossi had been beaten by riders from 3 different nations at Valencia? There was absolutely no need to go into the detail you have,(but it is appreciated nonetheless). We have,like most people on here,a difference of opinion on various subjects,including this one. I'm not at all unhappy that you have a different view on my suggestion. Just a couple of things I picked up from your contribution though: You've listed all of those bikes as "factory class",which they are,and that list of course includes the satellite teams . But the term I used,(deliberately), was,"works rides". The MotoGP website describes the difference thus: "Satellite bikes are Factory bikes but they are leased (not sold) to other teams. There is usually some minimal support contract in place, but it varies. The bikes may start out as the same spec as the full-factory bikes, but are generally not updated throughout the season.. or minimally updated. It varies. In some cases the bikes may be the previous year's full-factory bike. It just depends on the agreements". Bearing those things in mind,it is hardly surprising that the only bikes to have won anything are the,"Repsol Honda & Movistar / Yamaha Factory Racing",bikes you refer to,as they,plus Ducati and now Suzuki,are really the only ones capable of winning,in the dry anyway. And those seats are currently occupied by three Spanish bottoms and one Italian,with three competitive also-rans also having Spanish pilots. Is that unhealthy for the sport?.Judging by the reaction to the,(suspected),actions of the leading three at Valencia,many people may be thinking it is. However as Glidd has pointed out,the fortunes of different nations brighten and fade over time,and perhaps the sun will not always shine on Spanish riders. But...and it's a big but...Dorna are Spanish,and they own the rights to MotoGP.Repsol are Spanish and they sponsor Honda.Movistar is the main Spanish telephone operator,and they sponsor Yamaha. In other words,all of the big movers and shakers in MotoGP are Spanish.And there are three MotoGP rounds held in Spain. You are absolutely right when you state that there are commercial considerations taken in to account when riders are chosen. So it would not be a surprise if,(IF),those commercial considerations were perhaps the deciding factor when, say,there were a number of riders of more or less equal ability being considered for the very small number of winning-capable bikes. If the sponsors sell mainly into the Spanish market,then it's very possible that very good,(or perhaps better),riders are/were/may be overlooked, in favour of successful marketing into Spain. Is that fair? Probably not. Is life fair?.Definitely not. Is there a remedy to the unfairness? Very possibly. Is it likely that the remedy,whatever it is,will be applied?.Who knows. Unless those riders get the chance of equal machinery,there will always be the plucky losers,also-rans and might-have-beens who MAY have been very successful given the chance. Maybe they should force the works teams to provide more works bikes,or put an expenses cap on teams,or share sponsorship money,or whatever...myriad ways probably...of which my original suggestion was but one. Please don't respond if you don't want to,and"face palm",away to your hearts content,if you feel the need...it doesn't,and won't, bother me in the least. I've only quoted your post as it contained interesting facts that I felt worthy of response,and it certainly will not concern me if you are indifferent to anything I write We quite often refer to each other in the workshop as ,"Old Bean"...it's a piss take of the upper classes,as we are usually covered in grease and wearing a boiler suit. Please accept my apologies if being referred to in that manner has caused you offence,it was not intended. And please revise the image of me in your head,as I am still wearing the aforesaid greasy boiler suit There's a good chap...:Cigar:
TBH the thing that bothers me most is that there are 3 rounds in Spain. I understand why there are (commercial interests) but I think it's just wrong as surely there are many other countries that would like a GP and it would be more interesting for the non-Spanish fans. Also having 3 GPs just favours Spanish riders - as if they are not favoured enough already. I don't see why there should be 2 American GPs either, although it is true that the US of A is a big place. Can't see many eastern seaboard fans flying to the west coast for a race, let alone riding there. Qatar is also bollox. What is the point of organising a GP in a desert in front of no one? Ah yes, money. What about a Scandinavian GP or a return to South Ifrica? Maybe they should be helping the Greeks out with a GP. Not to worry. Soon the Chinese will buy Dorna, if it makes any money, and the entire grid will be little yellow guys and there will be 5 GPs in China. You read it here first.
This year's calendar included GPs held at Jerez, Catalunya, Aragon, and Valencia. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I make that four GPs in Spain. And incidentally GPs at Mugello and Misano, so two held in Italy. Six of the 18 rounds were held in Spain or Italy.
At lest spain has the facilitys to deal with 4,we have silverstone and donnington at a push,the spanish events are a lot better organised with traffic etc,and the prices are a lot better.
Spain has a love affair with sport, Motorcycles and Motosport for the most part. That means lots of advertising revenue, decent ticket sales and circuits etc so they can handle 4 rounds. The British public outside of bikers couldn't give a toss and will complain about the traffic/noise/ruffians and you have to sign risk assessments in blood etc etc. That has a lot to do with circuits not wanting to touch it with a barge pole. One of my mates owns land that used to host Championship MX and I saw it happen with his circuit. Qatar is just rich Arabs flexing their wallets just like the world cup is. As a market for bikes it's a non entity. Anyone who has toured in Southern Europe will usually tell you how much they like bikes. I have old men, young kids and even police stop and talk to me about my bike and ask if we need directions when we look lost (which is a lot) so it's just a nice place to go to a GP and fairly easy and cheap to get to for most of Europe.
So we could be heading for a world championship which only has participants from one country and is only held in said country, Like the Americans? Its a good way to ensure you and you're country are the worlds best.
Speaking of touring countries, Spain/Italy/France etc, the one thing I notice is a lack of sportsbikes. Not many to be seen compared to cold wet blighty yet they dominate. Yes I agree the folks tend to be more receptive to sportsbike riders but where are all their bloody sportsbikes? If I remember correctly, the UK is the largest market for them in Europe? I think its partly the weather in the UK and the excessive cost of trackdays. If trackdays were half a schilling I reckon it may well have been me bumping Rossi off at Sepang. :Meh:
You are indeed correct. I was replying to the post about Spain having 3 GP's this year. I hadn't picked up on the fact they had 4, but I knew they did have previously. :Shamefullyembarrased:
