Mathematically it is still a tall order, but by no means can anyone say that Valentino Rossi is entirely out of the running for the MotoGP title. From losing ground to both Marc Marquez and Jorge Lorenzo, Rossi has managed to close within 43 points of the leading Honda rider in the championship standings.
And in a period of four races, he has finished ahead of Marquez, the British and San Marino GPs being the hardest pill to swallow for the Spaniard who has started to show signs of desperation. That is on account of knowing that his Honda is not the class of the field by any stretch of the imagination. Ducati has the grunt and Yamaha has the best combination of power and handling which, in the hands of Rossi, is strong pretty much everywhere.
The eagerness to maximize any kind of pace advantage led Marquez to push too hard in his bid to grab second place behind the latest new MotoGP winner Maverick Vinales at Silverstone. His spirited fight to twice muscle past Rossi was proof of that but then he went too far when trying to snatch second place away from Czech GP winner Cal Crutchlow.
In doing so Marquez went off the track to end up losing a podium finish to Rossi who happily took third, knowing that any little dent he makes in the Spaniard’s championship lead would be enough to turn up the pressure on him and cause some desperation.
Such desperation was perhaps evident in the San Marino GP where Marquez went for a harder than anticipated front tyre after struggling in qualifying. The idea being to avoid a repeat of Barcelona and Jerez where he wore out the front faster than Rossi would on his better handling Yamaha. Not to mention Marquez is far more of a demon when it comes to braking aggressively.
In those circumstances, it was Dani Pedrosa who seemed to have made the inspired choice in terms of tyres. Michelin’s first year as a control tyre supplier has brought with it many uncertainties, as was evidenced by seven different riders winning a MotoGP race this year.
The combination of a base set-up found over previous races and his own lower bodyweight meant that a soft-option front tyre for Pedrosa made the Honda man the rider to beat.
In a race that greatly resembled the pre-Michelin era of MotoGP – where Honda and Yamaha streaked away at the front, never to be challenged – Pedrosa scythed past Marquez, Lorenzo and Rossi to become the eighth different rider this year to win a MotoGP race.
While Marquez could finish no better than fourth on the day, Pedrosa’s pass on Rossi for victory meant that the Doctor didn’t gain as much ground on Marquez as he could have.
On paper there are still some fast and flowing tracks where Honda power and Marquez’s insane riding ability would allow him to stretch the points lead again but the number of races remaining are slowly running out.
For both Rossi and Marquez, a championship win would surely rank high in their own personal estimation. For Rossi because it would be a title since 2009 and after bitter feuding and desperate racing against young blood. And for Marquez because he would have done so in a bike that can neither claim to be the best handling or the most powerful. All one can hope for is that MotoGP fans give both riders equal applause for their efforts to entertain us while having little love lost on track for each other!
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