after rossi dissapears, which will include the droves of f1 fans and glory hunters that go along with him the old bbc will pull the plug on moto boring so fast even the GOAT loving charlie cox wont know what to do.
ive said it before and it still makes me think, donington 2001 average no. of fans all knowledgeable and interested, then 2002 massive crowd mostly wearing football tops, the ones who were around me slept or generally small talked there way through the 125/250 but produced the air horns for moto gp. dont know what sounded worse - those air horns or those 4 strokes that sonded like someone farting in a bath, i was only peeved cause i couldnt hear my 500s properly!
as ive posted before i nipped into friday practice in 2008 to see the 125/250 but caught the end of moto boring and the most pathetic thing i ever saw was danni pedrosa (not his fault) trying to pull a wheelie out of the chicane and the bike making a bunch of noise from stupid electronics and nothing happening. people who say nothings changed are fooling themselves and most likely never been to any real racing before 2002.
the old favourite is "back in 90/91 there was small grids" yes this is very true but what isnt shown is the no. of privateers who tried to qualify, now these riders are to most "fans" known as also rans but the fact is these riders are out there giving everything they've got and in most circumstances risking their and their familys future, also in a lot of countrys these riders had a as much of a following as the big stars.
try going to somewhere like salzburg in 90/91 and try to put a 5 year old 130 hp rs on the grid where the fastest lap was put up by a 115kg 170hp nsr with the likes of doohan or wg aboard, no wonder the grid were small. yamaha came to the rescue with the engines for the roc/harris bikes for 92 and the grids swelled no problem as the privateers had a weapon they could use again and for these riders were normally european and national champions.
the problem i see is that in 90/91 they were aware of the grid size and worked at it wheras now youre meant to be delighted with 13 riders finishing, i was and still am big fans of marco gentile and also alessandro valesi and it always gave me great plesure watching them and giving the programme a wave when they passed to show my appreciation, so anyone who says that it should be just the best riders in the world and no room for any others and we should be happy is not a fan of motorcycle racing.
remember at the time when they were promoting this moto gp 4 stroke manipulation they used phrases like "closer racing" "reduced costs" and "its the same type of bike that the street riders uses" now as you and i know these statments were lies as they quickly alienated all the privateer teams and myself as i dont and never will own a 4 stroke motorcycle plus the fact that we had just come off the back of some of closest racing the premier class had ever seen in 2000/2001 just added to the disappointment.
remember when in 91 the fim sent out a press release saying from 1993 the premier class would be for 500cc four strokes with a minimum weight of 130kg and mick doohans comments of "i dunno who they will get to ride them, i certainly wouldnt want to ride one if a 250s gonna be faster and more dangerous" this was only a part of the story that led to dorna getting in the door in the first place which was a long and very confusing story. a quote i remember from mr ecclstone regarding motorcycle racing "people dont want to see overtaking all the time"
well they are fine now cause there isnt any, by the way has anyone ever tried dialling the rothmans honda hotline recently? i know what im doing later on, over and out