I seriously don't !! And frankly I couldn't care less ! I am interested in the racing, and not how a bike manufacturer exploits its success.
I agree financial considerations shouldn't decide who wins or loses. Jana made a comment about the amount of money left on the table by Rossi not winning the championship and Lorenzo winning. I just find it hard to believe that anyone could genuinely not understand the advantage in marketing a 10th Championship of arguably the GOAT and most loved GP racers of all time over someone with Lorenzo's personality. Lorenzo earned the Championship no question, regardless of the events of the last 2 races. He's extremely fast and absurdly consistent and he will win several more championships BUT he isn't and never will be on par with Rossi.
So, you are telling me that it would have been better for Rossi to win his 10th championship, because Yamaha could sell more memorabilia to the public? That maybe true, but it's frankly no concern of mine. What interest me in MotoGP is what goes on on the track. This year, I saw plenty of actions, so I am satisfied.
Lorenzo also made more mistakes than Rossi. Watching MM ride today only served to reinforce what Rossi has been saying all along IMHO, and judging from the commentary on various forums it seems that a very large segment of the MotoGP fan base share in Rossi's paranoia....
With Rossi fading, and Pedrosa no longer being a threat, Lorenzo and Marquez will become the 2 main contenders in future. I am wondering what Marquez would gain in helping his main rival to win as he has been accused. I am also wondering how Honda would react if their top rider started to help a competitor on a Yamaha. I think people will read what they want to see in that story. Sorry, but I don't buy that paranoia.
I'll tell you what I do buy - that without Rossi, MotoGP wouldn't have the infusion of money it has, and when the choice is JL or MM, the popularity will wane. I never once said that the fastest racer shouldn't win, but I think MM played dirty pool and did not honor the racing code. Anyone who's ever raced knows exactly what I mean and we will never change our mind about how a points race should be handled by riders who are no longer in contention. What I said is that Yamaha lost billions in potential merchandising sales because Rossi lost. And that DOES matter, unless, of course, you don't want manufacturers to have the money for more r&d and to make consistently better products.
Motogp will live on, with or without Rossi. I believe Yamaha or most factory teams' #1 priority is winning, everything else, marketability and whatnot comes second. Back then Yamaha didn't hesitate to let Rossi going to Ducati and kept Lorenzo instead because it believed the younger Lorenzo gave them more chance to win.
Lorenzo and Marquez may be rivals in the future but today they weren't. Honda already lost the championship; given the acrimonious divorce between Rossi and Honda back in the day Honda brass were no doubt smiling. MotoGP was the big loser today. BTW I hope Ducati gets it together and wipes the floor with both JL and MM next year; Rossi I'm afraid won't win another one due to age.
Sadly i think youre right. Rossis last chance was today and motogp possibly stole it from him. had he not had a penalty i still think he would not have won and the jorge/marquez team are too strong, but starting him from last and issuing a gag order is absurd. I can't believe so many riders are that scared of the motogp organization
I'm too new to MotoGP to have any allegiance to any rider or to argue with anyone's opinion but Rossi as well as someone of you say Marquez has been helping JL. Rossi says they've been colluding since Phillip Island. Marquez passed him there for the win when he could have held back. How does that fit in with the conspiracy theory?
I watched the race. Had Rossi been a better racer, he would have won the championship. Lorenzo was better this season, and at the end he won it. No reason to be sad. Why do some seemingly think that Rossi has some divine right to the championship? Rossi hasn't been the best racer in motogp for many years now. Get over it.
I disagree. MotoGP was a big winner today in the commercial sense. I suspect the race had one of MotoGP's highest TV audiences in a long time. Sporting rivalry, especially one that involves a box office draw like Rossi, puts bum on seats and faces in front of TV screens. With Lorenzo winning the title the interest will be carried into next season to see if Rossi can respond (plus will his feud with MM continue). F1 thrives on controversy even when the races are boring and maybe MotoGP is taking a leaf out of that book.
+1 After watching MM for two years I will never believe that he was not holding back! His trademark lunging style is what made him cool to watch as well as reckless. I lose count if I think about all the times he stuck his nose in against Pedrosa (his own team mate!). I have more respect for DP after Sunday, at least he tried to make a pass, and then MM asserted himself to make sure DP didn't get close to Lorenzo. It was so painfully obvious... I don't think that Rossi's comments were founded totally on paranoia. These guys race against each other all season; they know what's going on. I think the Spanish wall would have been there even if Rossi hadn't uttered a word...
This past weekend's race went pretty much as I expected it to. The one thing that does suck is that Rossi's fate was left in the hands of the Honda riders. Rossi did about as much as he could starting from the back. I'd like to know where that aggression was of Marquez that was displayed against Rossi.....? He never really made a solid try to get around Lorenzo, even though there was some good pressure being applied. Pedrosa looked ready to pass both of them, and was blocked by his team mate. Marquez just continues to look more and more like an ass.... Not at all impressed with him this season. He has not conducted himself as a Champion, let alone a professional. He certainly deserved a penalty in his role with the Rossi incident. What a soap-opera'ish way for the season to end. Congrats to Lorenzo.
110,000 people in the stands, the vast majority with yellow flags. Will they be there when Rossi retires?
I was a huge Marquez fan until the end of this year. Now, I certainly would follow Rossi as a fan anywhere he goes. If he went to World SBK, I would stop watching MotoGP altogether. I like motorcycle *racing* - not this farce that pretends to be racing. It was the best racing in the world - until very recently.
So was I; hell I loved watching the 4 of them do battle and was hoping the Ducatis would get in there also. Once MM was eliminated and Honda didn't have a dog in the fight it changed IMHO. Face it, Rossi's getting older and IMHO opinion he should go off to WSB. Its not as if MotoGP politics are going to change in the off-season, and he has nothing left to prove in MotoGP. He'll go down as one of the all-time greats....
I'm a normal - non rabid fan - and I'm through watching. I won't return until MM is out of it. I have no doubt about MM's lack of class. Robb
I thought maybe MM actually couldn't catch Lorenzo, but when pedrosa came in for the attack and he dropped him back in 3 turns without a hesitation or problem, I felt a little funny. I was a huge motogp fan when I was younger and still riding, but not so much anymore. I watch it because its still fun and I still enjoy keeping with up with as many Motorsports as possible. I didn't like what I saw today. It's shame there's not many pure racing series left. I pray for billions so I can fix a lot of what's wrong with world and Motorsports as a hole.
Not sure if I'll tune in next year given that crap that happened the last two races, but I lost all respect for Marc that last race. We already know who's the GOAT, though, regardless of the final standings. Pic related. Image Unavailable, Please Login
