2007 MOTOGP SEASON WRAPUP

by Mark Bracks

You should see the tens...

Ok! Ok! Ok! I've been slack over the past few weeks: I'm not making excuses because no one listens to them but anyway, you know what rhymes with slacks! So here I am, I'm back to try and make up for it.

First up, thanks for the show of support while I have been gallivanting around the world spreading the word of MotoGP. I've had a great year and I'm stoked and humbled you have enjoyed my ramblings. Well I know most of you have...

I digress!!!

It has been an enthralling season, both on and off the black bits. I'd be the first to admit that the racing at every GP was not up to the standard of previous years but being an Aussie I couldn't give a rats arse in a KFC store. Having a fellow countryman dominate the world has been a privilege to witness from the hallowed ground of pit lane.

The racing suffered slightly because there were too many rule changes in one year. It was a big enough challenge moving from the 990's to 800's let along coming to terms with a new tyre rule and the fuel limitation. It took many teams most of the season to get their head around different things and even after 18 races Michelin were still fumbling the ball like a punch drunk rugby player as they tried to overcome the Saturday Night Special syndrome of previous years.

Its ironic how this new regime was brought in to slow things down but in many cases the lap times have been equalled or bettered. "Slowing them down." What a crock! When was the last time anyone fell off in a straight line (apart from Nakano at Mugello when his Bridgestone disintegrated at over 300 km/h)?

Now high-sides are virtually a thing of the past. About the only one to do it this year was Stoner at Phillip Island which is pretty surprising as he has taken to the bike and its electronic idiosyncrasies like a duck to water.

Melandri did highside big time at Misano but that was after his rear wheel kissed the wet Astroturf on Saturday morning -- and what a cracker of a highside it was too!!

Rossi did a similar thing at Valencia during qualifying as he ran out to the astro-turf breaking bones in his hand trying to hang onto the Yammie before it flicked him over the bars. I'm sure he was gutted about his hand but he was also dirty on wrecking his helmet as the aboriginal dot painting he premiered at Phillip Island had become a favourite.

Rossi and Pedrosa at Valencia

Rossi uncharacteristically out of shape

2007 also saw the influence of engineers more than ever before, mainly because of the fuel rule as all teams had to make sure the bikes ran until the end of the race. One example was Hayden at the last race. He managed to do a decent lap time in qualifying but he knew on Saturday afternoon that race day would be a different story as they had to lean off the mixture so it would last the distance and in doing so knocked a bit of the power off it.

While it is open slather with the electronics, engineers are going to play a big part in the outcome. Sure, the rider still has to steer the thing but ask the riders and they hate the influx of electronics. Mention electronics to Capirossi and he goes off the Richter. Can't say I blame him as everything is so well programmed that it does take away from the rider's talent. At least F1 have seen the light and will start next year without any driver aids. Maybe MotoGP will follow suit some day.

Then there was the proposal for a control tyre. Thankfully good sense prevailed and it didn't eventuate. Funny isn't it that when Bridgestone was struggling and learning no-one was yelling and screaming for a control tyre.

Unfortunately, one casualty in all of this is Dunlop as we have seen the last of them in the premier class for awhile after the French Tech 3 decided to head along with Michelin.

It's puzzling that a company that has had championship success with tyre shredding 500cc two-strokes and has dominated the lower classes for years couldn't manufacture a suitable race tyre for the four-strokes. They have a cracker of a qualifier to do the job but it's a pity they couldn't make that sort of grip last a race.

Rossi pit stop at Motegi

One big disappointment for me in all of this is the attitude of Rossi and his demands that has seen him move to Bridgestone. I'm sure I will get a few reactions on this but to see him do the spoilt kid act with "I want what he's got!" was pretty ordinary, considering the success that Michelin has achieved with Rossi and his talent. A few ordinary races and you would think that Rossi was coming last every week. Michelin shod bikes finished second and third in the championship for crying out loud. Besides Stoner, where were the rest of the Bridgestone runners every week?

As it was, The Doctor missed out on second by a solitary point and that had more to do with two engine failures (Misano and Valencia) than the tyres. Maybe he should've focused more of his angst on the bike itself and not what the tyres were doing. Maybe Michelin tried to do too much with the introduction of the 16-inch front and then later in the year the 16-inch rear that Hayden used a few times. Rossi has been quoted as saying that the Yamaha's top speed only increased by one km/h during the season.

"Now I want you to wait until I turn the handle, and then go really fast. Do you understand?"

A few so-called experts in the paddock reckon that Rossi dogged the last race and came in when there was nothing wrong with the bike because it wasn't blowing any smoke - it was his injured hand that was the problem. I had to laugh at their knowledge: just because an engine isn't blowing smoke doesn't mean all is well with the internals. I'm sure many of you know that, generally, if it ISN"T blowing smoke there is something amiss in the bottom end, whereas if it is blowing smoke something is amiss up the top.

At Misano you could hear the thing rattle as it came down the straight as it lunched itself and dropped a bottom end bearing. At Motegi in Saturday morning practice they were using the new pneumatic-powered valve when it dropped one and it was smoking worse than a Spanish bar. That was the last time we saw the pneumatics used in the Yamaha for the year. Fast forward to the last race and it dropped another lower bearing.