Tuesday, June 10, 2008

MotoGP Cataluña 2008 Report

OK, I know I should have written the report earlier but I've been busy digging a very long trench over very rocky ground for my new mains water pipe.

Or bugger it - it's too late for my review of the race so take a look at the thought provoking Race Report over on MotoGPMatters.com, part of which I've included here:

Ask a dozen riders what their favorite race was, and you'll get a dozen different answers. But as different as those answers may be, in the end, they divide out into two camps. On the one hand, there are the Racers, the riders who love nothing more than to battle with their rivals all race long, only to pass them in the final corner and go on to take the win. On the other, there are the Winners, the riders who only care about getting away from the pack and dominating the opposition. The Racers love to win by fractions of a second, the Winners love to win by minutes.

This issue doesn't just divide racers, it also divides fans. Some enjoy nothing more than watching their favorite rider put in lap after perfect lap, gapping the competition by a second or more every time the cross the line. To them, their pleasure in racing is in watching a motorcycle being ridden as fast as humanly possible, the rider attempting to ride the bike at its very limit every inch of the track. For these fans, riders are like brain surgeons, exercising their skill to the utmost of their ability.

Other fans come to see combat, and want to see as many riders as possible dicing for the lead throughout the race. For them, the perfect race was one where the lead changed twice at every corner, only for their favorite rider to triumph in the end, edging their front wheel over the line ahead of the competition by just the thickness of the tire. To this kind of fan, the riders are gladiators, the winner decided in mortal combat by a mixture of skill, cunning and brute force, in varying proportions.

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