In my capacity as a journalist in the MotoGP paddock, I do my best to refrain from sympathizing more with one rider than another or becoming a fanboy of anyone in particular. In fact this is often pretty easy, because behind the scenes glimpses into the riders’ personalities when they are temporarily out of the limelight sometimes offers a less than flattering perspective of their on-stage personas. This is not always the case: some of the riders appear to be as genuine and sincere as anyone you could hope to meet, in spite of their places at the top level of an international sport. But others appear to have one persona to show the public, which can be noticeably different from the ‘real’ personality beneath.
For example, at this year’s Day of Champions, the Riders for Health benefit event held at the British Grand Prix, I was backstage all day photographing various subjects for my friends at Riders for Health and in a position to see the stars of the event, the 125, Moto2 and MotoGP riders, come and go for their appearances on stage. Most of the riders generously participate in this event, but not all. One, who has had a very hard time with the British media, refuses to answer the call at Silverstone, though he did appear at Indianapolis to a warm reception from the American crowd. Another helped me understand that even though some stars appear larger than life, they are still deep down merely human, with the same weaknesses and fears the rest of us share. For them, however, their egos are in much more dangerous waters because their actions are under such intense scrutiny and by so many millions of people as to make the insecurities of us normal people seem on a scale almost not worth considering by comparison.
Take one of the current biggest stars in motorcycle racing. On stage, whether literally or not, he is likable, engaging, generous, in addition to being one of those people so talented at his profession that he amazes the rest of us with what he can do on a motorcycle. He made his appearance on the Day of Champions stage and as ever, charmed the crowd and his adoring fans in particular. He blooms beneath the spotlight, and his personality with all eyes focussed on him is as deftly managed as his on track skills. After speaking to the crowd, he was supposed to descend the stage and go forth to share his glow with the people by approaching the crowd and handing out t-shirts and signing autographs. But just as he was about to emerge from backstage and back into the public eye, his chief rival took the stage, and seeing that the crowd’s attention would be less on him than on what was happening behind him, this fellow’s polished persona evaporated. He stopped just before the entrance to the fan area, still hidden from their view, and refused to go out to meet them. His handler then began an intense discussion in a language I do not speak, but the tone was clear enough: Get the hell out there, but not before you get your game face back on. Back and forth they went in heated words and intense expressions, and finally the professional rose above this setback of crowd attention and ventured forth. I feel sure he would’ve stayed longer had not his rival diverted the fans’ attention. He did his duty, then retreated backstage, once again letting the polished persona fall away and the ire of another off-track battle lost show plainly on his face. Fans with backstage access, thrilled to meet the superstar, were treated gruffly and dismissed as the rider’s ego seethed. The courtesy car arrived and the star disappeared back to the paddock, having lost a battle that the general public would never know about.
For some of the riders, what happens on track is but a component of the overall battle raging for supremacy in Grand Prix racing. And it’s not just the riders who suffer this uniquely painful situation. The teams they represent have egos as well, and perhaps the cumulative egos created by a united effort to make the best motorcycle are even more vulnerable than the solitary egos of the riders.
Honda felt the sting of Rossi’s departure for Yamaha with such intensity that his leaving probably still haunts the dreams of some HRC personnel. Now that Rossi is moving from Yamaha to Ducati, it’s Yamaha’s turn to confront a similar situation. It’s not the same by any means: Honda said it was their bike that was winning and that the rider was secondary, which Rossi’s ego took issue with. So he went to Yamaha and beat Honda, putting HRC in its place. Yamaha has now chosen to put its future in the hands of Jorge Lorenzo instead of Valentino Rossi, and faces the possibility of Rossi making the same point to them in 2011 as he did to Honda in 2004. At the moment, the Yamaha is considered the best all around bike, which is due largely to Rossi’s development contribution, and Yamaha must be losing sleep wondering if they can keep this position without the help of Rossi and his team of geniuses.
We might all find it difficult to be gracious under such pressure, and Yamaha is certainly struggling with this challenge. In spite of their fondness for showing the world their extended family of past Yamaha champions as part of their marketing efforts, Yamaha is not generously and fondly saying goodbye to the man who would be by far the largest feather in their cap should they manage to keep him in the Yamaha family after his retirement. Just the opposite, it’s now more likely that Yamaha will not allow Rossi out of his contract early so he can test his new Ducati in November, and Yamaha has reprimanded Rossi for how the final lap and a half of the Japanese Grand Prix unfolded this past weekend.
To me this latest chink in the Yamaha armor is a very telling detail about the company’s doubts regarding their decision to let Rossi go and put their eggs in the basket known as Jorge Lorenzo. Publicly criticizing Rossi shines an unflattering light on Yamaha, but I can’t image that their real ire wasn’t directed at Lorenzo for mixing it up with his teammate when he is so close to clinching his first premiere class title. When I spoke to Hector, Lorenzo’s friend and assistant, at Laguna Seca, I asked him how Lorenzo was approaching the title chase and if, having nearly a 2-race-win advantage in points halfway through the season, Lorenzo would focus on the title chase and ride a bit more conservatively should he find himself in a dicey situation. Hector said that would be very hard for him, as Lorenzo always wants to win.
With that in mind, I just watched the last lap and a half of the Japanese GP again, and I don’t find anything Lorenzo or Yamaha can complain about in Rossi’s riding. The first pass by Lorenzo in turn 5 is not successful because Rossi carries more speed out of the corner and Lorenzo loses control of the front, allowing a wheelie to unsettle his balance. Lorenzo leans into the faster Rossi as he retakes the position. The first contact appears to me to be due to Lorenzo’s mistake, not Rossi’s overly aggressive riding. When Lorenzo comes back in turn 7, he turns into Rossi with his bike barely in front, forcing Rossi wide into turn 8 and slowing both of them down. Again, the contact is instigated by Lorenzo, and Rossi reacts to it in a defensive way.
Lorenzo makes a clean pass at turn 7 on the last lap, but Rossi comes right back when Lorenzo goes a bit wide and leaves the door open. To me this is certainly not dirty riding by Rossi, it’s a mistake by Lorenzo and Rossi’s pass is perfectly fair. At this point the race is over, as Lorenzo never gets close enough to try again to retake 3rd position before doing a mysterious wheelie over the finish line.
In fact, watching the last two laps with the benefit of frame by frame control makes me wonder what all the fuss is about. It was very exciting at the time, not knowing what might happen next, but examining the behavior of both riders makes me think there are more politics and ego getting involved after the fact than there was dramatic behavior on track. It’s Lorenzo who forces the issue each time, and Rossi responds, in my opinion quite reasonably given that it’s Lorenzo who is running into Rossi’s line both times that they touch.
Lorenzo’s complaint is quoted thus at MotoGP.com: “The three or four moves I made on Valentino I felt were correct and fair. On the other hand his moves were legal but on the limit, from my point of view.” For Lorenzo to say that Rossi was unsafe sounds to me like the plaintive note of an ego smarting after being outraced again. For us, Catalunya 2009 was a long time ago, but for the ego that came out of that contest in second place, I suspect that race seems like yesterday. For Yamaha to criticize Rossi sounds like a company unhappy with its decision to bank its future on a rising star rather than keep the best rider of our time on its machine. The battles that we see on track are but part of the war, bringing to mind Alexander Pope’s famous line: “What mighty contests rise from trivial things!” Does it really matter, after all, if the Yamaha is a better bike than any other, or if one rider can beat his rival? To the ego, nothing else matters. Nothing at all.
