Marc Marquez! Calm the F*@$ down!

[wfooshee]

Just got back onto the DVR and watched Sunday's MotoGP. Moto3 and 2 were as boring as I can remember them ever being. A lap or two of maneuvering after the starts, and then both were parades. MotoGP was better for a while, with Marquez hounding Lorenzo lap after lap after lap for second place. He'd dive too deep into a turn and get repassed. He'd almost hit Lorenzo making another dive. Then he dropped back about a second and it seemed like he'd accepted his 3rd place.

Then last lap, last turn, he brakes about a week and a half late, and there's no way in Hell he's even gonna make the turn. not even close. He's all but sliding off the outside, when Lorenzo tips in and runs across his nose. He had to: he was out of race track!

The impact is exactly like billiards. They reflect off of each other, with Marquez pointed up the main straight (Lorenzo's previous path) and Lorenzo off into the weeds (Marquez's previous path.) How they both stayed on the bikes is beyond me, but then I'm not a MotoGP rider. (Duh!)

So Marquez gets his second place and Lorenzo comes home third, but it took a fist-fight type attack to do it.

I have been very impressed with Marquez as a rider, watching him come up through the ranks. He had an incredible season in Moto2 last year, and now with the abolition of the "rookie" rule, he moves up to MotoGP on a factory bike. He was incredible at COTA a couple of weeks ago, but today..... I lost a lot of respect for him.

You just can't go shoving people out of the way to make a pass. Yes, you can pass by diving on the brakes and taking their line away, even if they have to sit up a moment. That's OK.

Punting is for American football, though, not motorcycle racing!

 

[Bugnatr]

He did the exact same shit to Tom Luthi last year in Moto 2. I lost respect for him then.

Payback is a bitch.

 

[Surly]

And here I was thinking MotoGP would be boring without Mr Casey Stoner(Love your work). At least he got his wins with class not ass.

 

[steveoreno]

It certainly wasn't boring though! If he does this enough he might hurt himself or someone else.

 

[Auburn]

Before you condemn Marquez too much, maybe you should watch Lorenzo do the exact same thing at the same track early in his career on November 15, 1992.

Supebikeplanet.com

The difference was Marquez got a wheel in front of Lorenzo, where Lorenzo ran into the back of the other rider and took him out. At least Marquez didn't take him out. It's racing, lighten up Francsis.

Have you ever been in a corner leaning on each other at a 100 mph? I have been several times at the begining of a race, where we are seven wide going into the first turn leaning on each other knowing that anyone of us on the inside could crash and take us all out.

It happens. It is the last lap of the race and they get paid to win. Sometimes you need to do a little rubbin'. Lorenzo should have known from his own history that there could be a pass attempt in that corner.

I don't see anything wrong with the pass, Lorenzo left the door open and Marquez went through it.

 

[eg23232]

If Lorenzo is dumb enough to make such a huge mistake on the last corner (named after him!) on the last lap after being hounded by Marquez for the entire race, he deserves to get stuffed. Lorenzo went wide, off line, and Marquez took advantage. Kudos for being hungry for the win.

 

[steveoreno]

I have seen the video of Lorenzo knocking the guy out before and I agree it happens. Here in Indy we have an expression for such events, "That's racin for you" Lorenzo should pull his big boy panties up and move on. I hope Marquez stays aggressive but not to the point that he has a short career.

 

[Falko]

I am not a fan of blocking, and that is all Lorenzo did through most of the second half. Marquez had a shot at running to the front, but had the rolling road block Lorenzo. Last turn Lorenzo opened the door and Marquez slammed it.

 

[wfooshee]

I still say this was too aggressive. If he hadn't hit Lorenzo, he'd have been out there where Lorenzo ended up. He had no hope of making the turn.

OK, rubbin's racin', I get it. Riders touch when they pass, sometimes. But when BOTH bikes change direction from the hit, then the hit is too hard, and the hit was from the guy attempting the pass.

The thing I don't quite understand is why Lorenzo couldn't have waited another half second to turn in. He'd have been wide, and maybe outside the track line, but Marquez would have been WAY out there, and Lorenzo could have just turned up the straight and gone in for 2nd. Would have been just another over/under double pass, like they'd already done 2 or 3 times. I don't know if Lorenzo knew Marquez was coming through that hard.

 

[UberKul]

Since Marquez is my guy this season I liked the pass but felt kinda guilty. I think Lorenzo should have checked up and let him blow wide but who is really going to do that on the last turn?! It was a math problem and Marquez came out with the best geometry beginning at the intersection.

 

[ULEWZ]

Anything goes last lap. Just remember Valentino Rossi at Laguna seca a few years back going into the dirt to pass in the corkscrew. I think that was against Casey Stoner.

 

[airboss]

Rossi and Stoner at Laguna Sega 2008 a classic.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JY9mrKR5SkA

and they touched ...more than once.

 

[NMRoadRunner]

That, gentelmen. Is the good shit! Nothing like that at COTA, except maybe the Rookies Cup

 

[wfooshee]

The Laguna Seca race was awesome! And clean. They touched once in a while, but nobody crashed into anybody else (although Rossi came close on that one corkscrew pass.

)

If you haven't seen it, here's a fan video of the incident. The first bike is a lapper, Lorenzo and Marquez are the next two bikes.

 

[900gc]

If Marquez didn't use Lorenzo as a berm, he would have run really wide or off the track. HARD racing move for sure.. Kind of reminds me of what Rossi did to Sete Gibernau in'05 except Rossi had a better position tight to the apex and Gibernau could have stayed wide but he tried to close the door. No where near as tough as Marquezs' move. Lorenzo was in the middle of the track and if Marquez COULD have gone in tight, I don't think they would have touched, but I don't think Lorenzo expected a Kamikaze move like that either. Can't count the times that this kind of move has resulted in calamity for both riders though.

 

[Bugnatr]

If Marquez didn't use Lorenzo as a berm, he would have run really wide or off the track. HARD racing move for sure.. Kind of reminds me of what Rossi did to Sete Gibernau in'05 except Rossi had a better position tight to the apex and Gibernau could have stayed wide but he tried to close the door. No where near as tough as Marquezs' move. Lorenzo was in the middle of the track and if Marquez COULD have gone in tight, I don't think they would have touched, but I don't think Lorenzo expected a Kamikaze move like that either. Can't count the times that this kind of move has resulted in calamity for both riders though.

Well put. He did push Lorenzo wide, nothing new for Marquez in Moto 2 No doubt the kid has talent but so did Simoncelli.

 

[Auburn]

Here is Kevin Schwantz's perspective on the race at Jerez.

 

[Niehart]

Some how I never thought Kevin would be the voice of reason but he sure seems to be.

 

[warprints]

I don't race, so I don't have the perspective of some of the others here (or Schwantz), but the pass seemed legit to me. Maybe being an observer is easier than being in the heat of battle, but I certainly expected a pass with a high likelihood of contact. I'd expect Lorenzo should have expected the same.