Elbowing to victory

The world of sports has been dominated over the last couple of months by the best footballing countries competing for the FIFA World Cup and the nations of the Commonwealth contending for 261 gold medals in Glasgow.

On the track the motor racing world has been focused on the F1 Mercedes team, marvelling at the rivalry between their two drivers, secretly grateful that one of them is not running away with the championship as Sebastien Vettel has for the last four years (totally dominant in two).

The same is not true in MotoGP where Marc Marquez, in only his second season racing at the pinnacle of the sport, is screeching ahead in the title race. Most intriguing is that not even the most ardent fans of Valentino Rossi appear to begrudge him his success, or complain that he is making the sport boring.

How can that be?

While not quite reinventing the wheel, Marquez is rewriting the technology handbooks and changing how experts believe you can use them!

In specialist publications over the last two months much has been written about the remarkable angle at which Marquez leans into the corners, reminiscent of the Doctor in his pomp. In much the same manner in which this amiable Spaniard is claiming Rossi’s records he has managed to take it further, to the extent that his suit manufacturer has had to instal elbow pads in the form of detachable diamond-shaped, magnesium ‘sliders’.

However, rather than having his elbow scrape the floor every time he goes around a bend unnerving him, Marquez gains a feeling of security, claiming that it provides another ‘touch point’ which helps him gain a better feel for his performance and enable him to better manage his limits.

Rivals marvelled at Rossi in his heyday and attributed his success to his late braking into corners, which helped bring nine world titles.

This is another area in which Marquez excels although, true to form, has adapted his technique and introduced a new style.
The laws of physics would normally dictate that a motorcycle, particularly one as powerful as this 220-mph Honda, should keep both wheels on the floor. However, the MotoGP leader likes to hop the rear wheel into the air and float the weight of the bike to the outside before opening the throttle and powering around the bend ‘sideways’.

These skills and, as he humbly points out, the quality of his Honda team had produced 10 wins from 11 races, the first 10 in succession prior to this weekend. The only blemish came in the last race at Brno where he finished fourth. The only consolation was that the race was won by his stable companion, Dani Pedrosa, thereby keeping arch-rivals, Yamaha, off the top step of the podium.

Actually, there was another consolation, producing a stunning piece of riding, the likes of which had never been seen before … and it was not only the result of the wobble.

Misjudging a right hand corner and leaning at four degrees more than his customary 63 degrees, Marquez lost his back wheel. Sliding towards the gravel trap with the whole of his right side scraping along the racetrack underneath the weight of his Honda, Marquez kept hold and then hit the gas, remarkably bringing the bike upright.

From this position he was able to haul himself back atop his machine and continue the lap.

To put this into perspective, it is the motorcycling equivalent of England’s goalkeeper Gordon Banks’ FIFA World Cup save many moons ago from Pele that is still revered to this day, possibly better!

Normal service was resumed last weekend at Silverstone with Marquez returning to the front of the grid and, despite trailing two-time world champion, Jorge Lorenzo, for much of the 20-lap race, was able to overtake and build a lead over the final laps.
 
The manoeuvre to pass Lorenzo was breathtaking as he tried to cut inside, touching the Yamaha rider before conceding position, before ducking inside again on the very next bend, this time successfully, in the process vanquishing the ghost from last season when he lost on the last lap.

His 11th win of the season makes him the first rider to achieve this number of victories in a single season since Rossi himself in 2005, yet Marquez still has another six races to go, the season finishing in Valencia on November 9.

Rossi has the consolation of achieving a new record that will take the Honda-ace some time to pass – that of the highest number of race starts in history. The number 46 reached 246 races at Silverstone and was able to celebrate with the final podium position.

He has now amassed a whopping 288 points and leads his compatriot Pedrosa by 89 points with a maximum of 150 available.
British interest was riding high with Bahrain’s favourite, 23-year-old Bradley Smith, who forced his way up to sixth on his Yamaha Tech3 at one point before he was forced into the pits after running wide. 

The 21-year old Scott Redding was the highest-placed of the five home riders, finishing in tenth. Cal Crutchlow’s disappointing season on the Ducati continued although simply crossing the line can be seen as a minor victory given he has failed to finish in half of his races.

This race at Silverstone was particularly poignant as it is potentially the last MotoGP race that the Northamptonshire circuit will witness.

Starting from 2015 the rights to the British GP will be held at a soon-to-be-built circuit in Wales. However, the crucial aspect is that the track will not be completed until 2016 at the earliest with additional delays possible if the current impasse over a Government investment continues.

In the meantime, MotoGP will be hosted by either Silverstone or another sentimental favourite, Donington Park.