Things at Valencia for the final GP could've been so different in the MotoGP class and really they should have been but for two episodes of misfortune, Jorge at Assen and Dani at Misano which in turn would maybe have lead to a different podium at Phillip Island at the penultimate round, where win or bust for Pedrosa was the order of the day.
It was Lorenzos early season form that helped him secure the title, every season is a marathon not a sprint but in 2012 it was Yamaha who got the head start in to that marathon while HRC were still tying their laces. Yamaha were hurting from losing their crown to Casey Stoner at the end of 2011 and came out swinging, Honda had made errors with the new bike that both riders were critical of, although I guess one of the riders was just moaning for no reason... However the Yamaha looked to be on rails and the metronomic rhythm and blistering pace of Lorenzo was no match for his biggest rivals and the season looked to be a foregone conclusion as far in to the championship as Silverstone.
But Honda fixed the RCV213V a little and the tide turned...
Dani Pedrosa found some self-belief, a consistent but somewhat lack-lustre start to the season saw the diddy Spaniard consistently finish top four and remain fully fit. His first victory of the season at the German GP at Sachsenring saw the beginning of a sequence that, had Honda produced THAT bike for Qatar would have seen a whole different light shed on the 2012 season.
Sachsenring was almost the beginning of the end of Casey Stoners title charge, a fighting second at Silverstone followed by a win at Assen showed he had the desire to defend his crown, even though at that point he was all for retirement from the sport, a distant eighth at Mugello made many ask questions of Caseys commitment before a dominant win at Laguna (the race noted for its ONE pass) saw a brief upturn in fortune but then came Indianapolis qualifying, and we all know what happened there...
Caseys injury at Indy saw a fire lit under Pedrosa, after spending the whole of 2011 in the dark shadow of his imperious team-mate, he looked a different rider. While Stoner struggled round the Brickyard (struggled as in finished fourth, 30 secs ahead of Valentino Rossi) with an injury that curtailed his season, Dani, in true Spanish style, took the bull by the horns (you see what I did there? Always thinking...) and embarked on a remarkable string of results which Lorenzo had no answer to, regardless of how hard he tried. You could sense the tension in the Yamaha camp as Dani was on a run of form that matched Lorenzo's early season stats, at Phillip Island though the story was to end prematurely.
I know that every season can be looked at in hindsight with ifs, buts and maybes but really, IF after qualifying on pole for the San Marino GP at Misano, the chain of events that followed hadn't happened therefore making Dani over-ride too early at Phillip Island and IF Jorge hadn't have been skittled by Bautista at Assen or dropped it at Valencia...well the championship would have looked the same...
Jorge was going to win at Assen, of that I have no doubt. Dani was going to win at Misano, again of that I have no doubt - such is the season we've just had - so taking that in to account, with the Phillip Island result staying as per qualifying leaving Dani in third, which was also more than likely and Jorge staying on to finish second at Valencia, then Dani Pedrosa still would not have been 2012 World Champion. Jorge would have still taken the crown 390 to 369. Even though both riders shared an outstanding run of results, it was Pedrosa's early season form over the first six races with three 3rds and a 4th that ultimately cost him the title compared to Lorenzo's staggering 1st/2nd consistency throughout the year.
But, back to reality, as it was Dani had to ride hard, fast and early at Phillip Island to stand any chance of clawing the defecit back on Jorge, and in Stoners back yard it was, ironically, the tallest of orders for the shortest of riders... On that day nobody, and I mean N.O.B.O.D.Y, was going to beat Stoner on his final appearance in front of his adoring crowd and it was the simplest mistake that handed Jorge Lorenzo his second world crown. A crown won the hard way, from the front and without the 'ah, but' stigma of injury to his closest contenders.
Dani was back to dominant form at Valencia where interference from Mother Nature saw the most exciting race of the season unfold. Starting from Pit Lane after a last minute tyre change saw Dani chase down race leader Lorenzo and win from the very back of the pack. Sadly an uncharacteristic lapse of concentration saw Jorge end the season in the gravel, and with it the chance of taking the record for most podium appearances in a season, after a mis-guided attempt to pass James Ellison, who rode a fantastic last race to finish a deserved ninth. Shock of the day was a CRT machine leading for two laps, a mix of youthful exuberance and nationalistic pride helping Aleix Espagaro to his short burst in the limelight before normal service was resumed.
Maybe Dani felt a little karma at this point after his Phillip Island off, over-excitement putting paid to a points haul there and the same for Lorenzo at Valencia. Either way it didn't prevent him from hammering home his seventh win of the season and taking the 'prize' of Most Wins in 2012. He'll carry that forward in to 2013, whereas Jorge showed us that he still has, albeit deep-rooted, that impetuousness that flared so often in the junior classes with his haste to get around James Ellison but his consistency is nothing short of phenomenal, and if Dani starts '13 the way he ended '12, then it's going to be an amazing season.
Testing for 2013 was held in difficult conditions over the Tuesday and Wednesday following the GP with Valentino Rossi's long-awaited return to Yamaha the focal point of most peoples attention. The keener eyes of the paddock were waiting for the young pretender to take his place at the top table. Enter Marc Marquez....erm...but not until the Thursday and, sadly by that point, Yamaha had de-camped to Aragon.
This is the point where my limited vocabulary runs out of superlatives, his performance in testing was nothing short of spectacular. Whereas rookies before him had had two full days and a 100+ laps to get within 2 seconds of the fastest time of the test Marquez required half a day, 28 laps in total, to get to within 1 second of Dani Pedrosa's best time. I said it last time, this kid is special, very special. He may well visit the Clinica Mobile on a regular basis as he searches for the limit on a 1000cc Prototype, just as Jorge did in his maiden season on the 800. But believe me, he's going to win races next season. Dani, Jorge, Marc, Cal, Stefan all fighting it out to be on that podium...oh and Valentino too. Bring on Sepang!
David Emmett at Motomatters.com sums the testing and rookie debut up far better than I right here and if you haven't already, then read it - it's an education in to the future of MotoGP and that future IS Marc Marquez.
Final word, as I said earlier, goes to @guyhanderson 'What if...'
Casey Stoner retiring at the age of 27 is nothing if not remarkable. And he neatly steps away from the circus as a
two-time world champion to enjoy fishing and his marriage and daughter as well
as some V8 car racing it seems. It must
take a lot of determination to get to the top and even more to walk away from
it all when riding the crest of the biggest wave in bike racing. Its almost been universally accepted in the
racing circus that Stoner has done what a lot wish they could do; that is
separate the mind-blowing act of racing from reality. Its not that important to Stoner; it might be
to armchair experts and 99% of the other riders, but to him? “Pfft…!” as he might say.
But what if he hadn’t? What if he
had stayed at Honda next year? He was possibly the number 1 in the team as the
reigning World Champion at the time of joining and recognised by all as being
the fastest on the RCV213, although Pedrosa’s transformation into a tougher,
faster rider this year has been not much short of brilliant.
Stoner staying would have caused HRC a mighty headache. Remember the 3 man team last year with
Stoner, Pedrosa and Dovizioso? As rich
as Honda are they only wanted a 2-man team, and only ran a three man team
because Dovizioso (foolishly?) exercised his rights in his contract that said
if he was third the season before he would be retained. But Stoner left Ducati and Honda wanted
him.
So to 2012 and there was one thing that was 100% cast-iron certain;
Honda wanted to keep Marquez in the family.
Marquez is Spanish, but don’t read too much into that – they’d have
wanted him if he had been British and that fast! Repsol have no problem with Marquez, after
all he’s already riding a bike sponsored by them; a perfect marketing tool for
Repsol and the other sponsors. There was
no way Honda were going to let him go to Yamaha. Can you imagine Lorenzo and Marquez in a team
together? What a prospect; the current World
Champion and almost certainly a future WC.
Now Rossi is good and alongside Lorenzo, Yamaha have a great team, but
Lorenzo and Marquez? Phew. Anyway dream
on; its not happened - yet. You almost get the feeling Honda paid Yamaha to
take Rossi, so they couldn’t have Marquez.
Don’t ya?
So if Stoner hadn’t have announced his retirement; Stoner, Pedrosa and
Marquez in one team? I think not. Marquez to LCR to replace Bradl who is rookie
of the season would have been a tough call.
So I guess Marquez to Gresini might have been the only way, but those
guys are the only team to run Showa suspenders still. The rest of Honda went to Ohlïns (after
Yamaha sold them) because basically they make better suspenders. And as you can tell everybody wants
Ohlins. I guess there could have been
some technical and political manoeuvring to give Marquez a full-on full-fat
factory bike at Gresini, and he may have brought some headline sponsors with
him, but at the same time I doubt Repsol would have been happy. Or Pedrosa out of Honda and off to Yamaha with
Alberto Puig? Blimey – now there’s a
salivating thought! Puig is pretty much
a Honda man, and I doubt he’d hold the same sway at Yamaha as he does at
Honda. Alternatively, Pedrosa to Ducati,
but Dani is much shrewder than that – he’s seen the metaphorical car crash that
has been happening at Ducati for the past 2 years. Personally I would have liked to have seen
Pedrosa at Yamaha, but you have to admire his loyalty staying at Honda ever
since he stepped up to the main class, despite all the speculation.
At the end of the day, as much as Casey Stoner retiring might be a big
disappointment to 99.9% of race fans, it sure as hell helped sort out the
remaining riders’ team places.
Takes a special kind of talent to get 'pfft...!' in to a piece doesn't it...
Thanks for reading.
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