Results 500cc Czech GP

Re: 500cc Czech GP

Hola, like you, I watched the race live. I also believe that Rossi was comfortable even though he was trying hard and I also agree that he pressured Max into crashing.

Sorry Colin, I think your article is very biased. If Biaggi was comfortable, he wouldn't have been looking over his shoulder so often. Biaggi never had the race sewn up and although riding smoothly, wasn't as fast as Rossi. By the way, you failed to mention that Rossi set a new lap record. Getting the fastest time for pole position is great, but it counts for nothing in the race results. Perhaps you should stick to spectating.

It was good to see Criville on the podium again and also to see McCoy in the top ten. Sad to see Abe miss the podium - but that's racing. However, it was very disappointing to see Roberts spit the dummy and retire.

I look forward to the next round - but if you're reporting on that one Colin, please try to be objective and leave your 'Max Biaggi Fan Club' hat at home! .

ozstrider

I'm in agreement with the other posters... Biaggi never had the race sewn up. To me, the telling factors were...



When Roberts was between Biaggi and Rossi, Biaggi was trying hard to break away. When he saw on his pit board that Rossi had passed Roberts, Biaggi went even harder, and dropped his lap times by 1-2 tenths. But Rossi dropped his lap times by 4-5 tenths (setting fastest lap and race lap record in the process) and caught Biaggi. Then Biaggi slowed by almost a full second per lap, but Rossi did not (would not? could not?) pass Biaggi. *That* is when Biaggi started looking back every lap, and seeming very uncomfortable.



I think Biaggi wanted Rossi to come past so that he could follow a while and figure out where Rossi was faster and slower, so that he could plan his race strategy. When Rossi did not come past, Biaggi started wondering if maybe Rossi had cooked his tires already, and decided to try to make a break again.... and that's when Biaggi crashed out.





Also, Biaggi's crash did not seem like a simple "rear tire broke away" crash. The overhead view from the helicopter made it seem like he lost the front. The view from behind showed that he lost it just as he went past the curb. Any idea if maybe he clipped the curb with a hard part or touched the paint with the front tire, perhaps?



I've said it before and I'll say it again... Rossi has clearly demonstrated that he's the fastest man out there when he wants to be (even when aren't going his way), so it's his championship to win or lose.



Kudos to Biaggi, though, for picking himself up and getting back into the race. If those 6 points are the difference in the championship, he earned it.

"Desperately hard"?!?

I'm with you guys. Either Colin is a major Biaggi sycophant, or he was watching a different race. Yeah, Rossi's bike was "shaking and sliding," that's his style. He races like an American (cf Ben Bostrom), he likes to get that rear wheel out and slide into his turns, which makes him look very loose when he's riding next to Mad Max, who has a more traditional European style, more smooth and controlled.

Rossi is indeed a mediocre starter, but it doesn't seem to keep him off the podium. The guy can pick his way through from tenth or twelfth place and just reel the frontrunner in. He's often stated that he's not really comfortable or fast on his bike until he's burned at least half a tank of fuel and the thing starts to feel lighter. This is why he is often so exciting to watch in the last five to ten laps.

That's what I saw happening in this Brno race. Max was at the limit, riding smoothly, yes, but looking over his shoulder knowing that Rossi was just starting to get fast. Max also saw his lead decreasing by 1-2 tenths every lap, so he knew Rossi was outrunning him. He clearly entered that left-hander too hot, and I think he did it because he was feeling the pressure to push past 100 percent. But even if he'd stayed up, Rossi would have passed him.

Nice to see Criville on the podium too. Also nice to see all of those Hondas at the top of the heap (OK, I'm prejudiced)!

Re: 500cc Czech GP

OK guys, I know when I'm beat. I've re-checked the video of the race and re-checked my report and I agree I over-stated Biaggi's performance. What stuck in my mind as I wrote the report was Rossi spinning the rear hard out of many of the corners, with the bike getting out of shape as a result, as well as Rossi's post-race interview in which he acknowledged that Biaggi's bike had a better setup and it was very hard work to chase him down. On re-checking the video, I realised I overlooked Biaggi missing his brake point at turn 1 on (I think) lap 7, so I guess he wasn't so smooth after all. It was the front tire that tucked under, as many of you pointed out.

Believe it or not I'm not biassed towards Biaggi as some of you suggest. Check out some of my reports earlier this year with comments on Rossi's extraordinary riding skills. I have some sympathy for Biaggi as he gets a lot of stick from racing fans and is cast as the bad guy in rivalry with Rossi. I think Rossi has more natural talent as a rider, with a huge advantage of having an open friendly personality. This makes him easy for everyone to like, whilst Biaggi has a closed personality, not easily mixing with press or fans. In the past you'd often run into Rossi chatting with the Italian press in the press office at GPs, but Biaggi was never this approachable. Biaggi's most respected character trait is his ability to handle high-stress situations such as the 250 title-winning end-of-season races in '96 and '97. If it ever comes down to a single head-to-head race to decide a title, my money would (usually) be on Biaggi.

But it looks unlikely that it will turn out like that this year. I hope Biaggi can close the gap for the excitement of the racing, but Rossi's in a very strong position.

I don't have any answers, but recent history has shown that this kind of dominance is not entirely uncommon in motorcycle racing.



For a couple of years there, Doohan was making everyone else in 500GP look like complete amateurs. People were actually insinuating that he should slow down so that the racing would seem closer.



In WSB, Fogarty was never quite that dominant, but certainly had his spurts of clear-cut superiority.



In AMA 250GP, the level of competition is not so high, but Rich Oliver was/is often so dominant (winning by 30+ sec) that the only real race is for second place.



And there are other (probably even better) examples from other series, I'm sure.



And, while we're on this topic, does anyone else remember the Daytona 200 a few years ago when Scott Russell crashed early on, but remounted (with a broken shift lever as I recall), blew past everybody like they were standing still, and won? That is still probably the single most dominating motorcycle race performance I have ever seen. On that day, he was so much better than everyone else, it was simply stunning. The stuff of legends.

Re: 500cc Czech GP

Totally right about the about Biaggi and his bike set up, the bike has to be perfect. Same thing with another certain 250 rider(John Koscinski), the bike has to be perfect perfect perfect. He was the most notorious guy in terms of pissing off every team he's been on when the bike doesnt go to his liking. As with Biaggi, Johnny K has had limited success in anything but 250's(ok I know he won the WSK title!) While the two guys have been brought up to race bikes pushing the front tire to the limit, that is not the way to ride 500's still, even though theyve been made more "rider friendly" even to the up and coming 250 guys. Rossi has fortunately has studied old racing tapes from the greats of 500 racing and has of course the tutelage of the Thunder from Down Under himself MicK Doohan. I would like to see Biaggi win more so...for Yamahas sake, theyve been nothing since the Wayne Rainey days of yore, only now has the bike been made competitve to the mighty Hondas.....too bad they dont have a capable 500 rider still to lead the way.