91Èȱ¬

With some of the top Moto GP riders whingeing about Simoncelli's "aggresive" riding style I feel they are maybe being a bit soft ! If Moto GP had a decent number of bikes on the start-line every race I wonder how the poor chaps would cope ! I think some of the riders need to cast their minds back to what racing was like before they reached the "Elite" grid.
It says at every race track "Motor racing is a dangerous sport". Keep the sport safe but keep it sensible ! A ride through penalty was just a silly knee jerk reaction to elite rider whingeing.

Good article Matt. I agree with all you say. Sic is a bit wild but means no harm i'm sure. Sad about Dani, but no-one knows if he was braking extra late to cut off Sic.
The key thing to come out of this surely is that race direction need to have proper consistent policies. Your examples prove that. If riders know whats going to be time-penalised they will think twice.

On another tack, who is Azi Farni anyway ? No disrespect to her, but what qualifies her to interview Moto GP riders ? Has she ever raced? Been involved week by week ?She seems pleasant enough, but does that do it ? There are normally two types of interviewers in bike racing.....those who know the sport inside out, like Steve and those who add a certain flavour , like Suzi did. What exactly does Azi bring to the party please? There must be scores of ex racers who would make a great , knowledgeable interviewer if we are not going for sex-appeal? Great coverage tho 91Èȱ¬ , thanks.

Think Motogp needs hard chargers like Simoncelli , there are too many riders in the premier class that are quite happy to ride round in a procession. At first i thought it was partly Pedrosa`s fault by getting into the bend too hot and running into Simoncelli who was doing a hard move round the outside , but after watching another video of the incident i`m not so sure that was the case. Now i think it was more of a case of both riders going for the same bit of track at the same time , with neither rider wanting to give way , what i would call a racing incident.

"who is Azi Farni anyway ?"
She is a very good reporter that does not have to look pretty and ask silly questions that everybody knows the answers too. She to me is one of the finds of the seasons.....

Great column, Matt - my armchair-pundit view is that Race Direction have been played by (mainly, but not limited to) Lorenzo and Stoner and their comments (or more accurately, bleating) about Simoncelli recently. It appears they maybe have taken Melandri's description of them as (together with Pedrosa and Rossi) The Aliens a little too seriously, and perhaps are already feeling threatened by an outsider upsetting the natural order of motoGP...

...(almost) more critically, I really hope this is not the sign of things to come, where an increasingly risk-averse approach leads to F1-style racing, which is to say, not racing other than line-astern for fear of being hauled through the pits for an attempt at overtaking.

Finally, I don't really understand why live programmes continue to interview people like Slash. He has demonstrated his inability or unwillingness to talk without profanity. So don't interview him live! But instead networks continue to shove a mic under his nose and then fall about when he invariably uses the f-word... :o?

Surely this is all a bit of "handbags"? It is racing after all and when Simoncelli settles down i think he may turn out to be the next "big thing" Pedrosa was going wide at that corner anyway,his back wheel was bouncing. It was a hard move but no harder than some of the "goats" overtaking moves, ask biaggi,gibenau,criville,stoner etc. I think that lorenzo's move on dovi was probably harder but he is the current world champ so nowt will be said. I canremember a certain micheal doohan not being impressed with a young "Italian upstart" a few years ago, and he now has nine world titles. Come on chaps we don't want moto g.p to end up like F1 processions do we? I know i don't

Can someone really be on the "bring back Suzi Perry" bandwagon when Azi is clearly far better educated about the racers and the racing? I'm sure there's plenty of pictures of Suzi on the net to keep you busy whilst the rest of us watch the racing and listen to more inciteful interviews! (And Google will tell you EXACTLY how well qualified Azi Farni is to have the job!).

As for the crash - MotoGP is going soft, end of. Still no telemetry evidence, we know why don't we Dani, and still no retrospective punishment for Lorenzo after his use of Dovi as a berm to get himself round a bend and up a place. One rule for one..............

Pedrosa at the time was behind (next to, but definitely behind) Simoncelli. I'm not a racer, just a road rider, but in either context I'd say the greater responsibility is on the person behind, as they can see the full picture and act accordingly. I know he's a fierce competitor, and it's a race, and so naturally Pedrosa didn't want to back off. But by the same token he cannot moan too much when he comes off. He has the weight/aero-dynamic advantage over Sic - he would have been better served letting him have that corner, then attacking him again a little further along. I'd say they were both guilty of lacking cool-headedness in that instant, and both suffered as a result - unfortunately for Pedrosa, his suffering will be longer lasting. Racing incident. The end.

And Lorenzo needs to pipe down and race.

The move wasn't any worse then anything you see week in week out in bsb or wsbk.

Simoncelli was done on reputation and nothing else. You get hard moves every race and if you start to admistor this type of punishment then overtaking will only get less and less which wont help a sport which is struggling as it is.

I really worry about what way motogp is heading at the moment.

i think jorge lorenzo should look back at the race he,s the most harsh rider out there its funny how lorenzo and stoner start wingeing when some1 like simoncelli comes along thats just a matter of time befor he does start to win they want it giving to them its a race things like that happen rossi as had to fight for everything he as stoner and jorge should do the same stop all the bitching and get on with it your like babys and marko just keep going for it you really are fast forget them 2

@petebutty

Suzi knew her stuff, and she's a bike rider - therefore earning the respect of the paddock. She was not just window dressing. Azi is doing a great job as far as I can see.

As for Lorenzo, I'm sick of his childish whining. Even winning the World Championship diesn't seem to be enough for him. He wants all to bow down before his massive ego. Dani's a tough fella, and I'm reasonably confident he'll put it down to a racing incident.

The only thing i think you did wrong at LeMans was bothering to talk to that Slash bloke whoever he may be. There was a huge "minder" standing next to him, and when you walked away the minder gave you a real odd look. I thought he was going to chase you round the grid!!!
That could of been more exciting than the previous Estoril race!!!

Dani has a real problem now, not only to be ready in time for the next race but because he is so light he needs to put his weight as far forward as he can both under heavy breaking and heavy acceleration (under braking to ensure the front end doesn't break and whilst accelerating to prevent uncontrollable front wheel lift, wheelies).This will put huge pressure on his damaged collarbones and shoulder. I saw it as a 50/50 accident although it was unconventional to pass on the outside into a left - right chicane, Dani could have showed prudence, let him pass and use his superior power to weight advantage(about 20 kilos lighter than Simoncelli on a similar Honda with roughly the same power if not slightly better as it is the factory bike) to claw back position on the straight. Instead he will be back, some time, but as a rider/amateur racer and physician who treats fellow riders and racers of all levels I can tell you he will struggle to ride comfortably for the rest of the season. Being uncomfortable on these machines adds seconds a lap in a sport where tenths of seconds count. Maybe not the first 4 or 5 laps, but by lap 20 if you are in pain you are generally slow. Great win by Stoner (someone who both fell off a lot in the past and courted anger from fellow riders) Simoncelli is a great racer who will get wiser or crash hard and learn that way! Great to see Rossi back on podium, once he has a bike he can trust we will be in for a real season of jousting between the planets best on two wheels.

Some good points and further proof that opinion about the culpability of the pass itself is subjective.

@petebutty Thanks for your comments. Re Azi, as pointed out by Lostboy she has exactly the right credentials for her role and I think for her first year of live television she has slipped in seamlessly and is improving quickly. Likewise as Chris_Page says Suzi was respected in the paddock for her qualities as a journalist and presenter.

@mark_r6 @scamax yeah I guess Slash was a risky one but I think it's nice for viewers to see the vast spectrum of people who are into their MotoGP. I saw the big fella when I watched the race back on iPlayer - glad I got out of there when I did!!

@imperialduke hopefully you're right - I think we are only a couple of races off seeing Rossi fighting for wins again

Have none of the current crop of MotoGP riders ever watched a WSB/BSB race?

They'd soon stop complaining about simoncelli's riding style then.

I also want to pick up a point Steve Parrish made in his column about Simoncelli getting mullered down the straight by Pedrosa on the same machine, and understanding his frustration. When is MotoGP going to introduce a proper all-up weight limit? ie: weight of bike and rider combined. OK, Pedrosa's a quick guy, there's no doubt of that - but if things carry on this way, the entire grid will look like horse-racing jockeys! And it's horribly unfair on the bigger blokes (like Simoncelli) that they're immediately at a disadvantage just because they weren't born 5ft2" tall.

I mean come on, even F1 has the weight of car and driver added together. And it's not every day F1 gets one over on MotoGP.....

Look.... The way I see it is that something has to give in Moto gp. There is no denying that these guys are at the top of their game but I want to see the rivalries of old on the track, not handbags in the paddock. Simoncelli is giving the factory lads a proper run for their money, Cal may do too when he's learnt the circuits. Who knows, may be 1000cc and more bikes on the grid might spice things up a bit, I'm all for rider safety and nobody wants to see repeats of incidents we have had in the past but this after all is an inherently dangerous motor sport.

For me, Moto 2 is where it's at just now. I love the fact that qualifying has no resemblance to the outcome of the race. The passes these guys are making week in and out make Moto gp incidents look tame just now.

Finally you guys and gals do a great job keeping us upto speed. Cox's comment about the doctor just about to make a house call was priceless. I feel that the 91Èȱ¬ let you down with sometimes questionable coverage. Red button continuation for example. The only negative for me is Azi trying to do pit lane interviews during the race with 200hp bikes flying by. You can't make a word out on the tv. Any chance of giving Colin Edwards a bit more Mic time. His interviews and one liners are class as opposed to the monotonous drones of Lorenzo, Pedrosa et al.

It wouldn't have been a race if everyone had taken the safe option. Although it isn't nice for Dani Pedrosa to be injured, you have to take risks to get anywhere. Marco Simoncelli wouldn't have intentionally set out to hurt anyone, he was doing his job on the day.