Randy Mamola says....

[elephino]

I won't be posting very many of these as you should really join the list (see the site mentioned at the bottom) but I thought this was a rather interesting one...

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In his press release after the race Max Biaggi conceded that Valentino Rossi was
going to win the Championship. He also said he felt he was the Yamaha rider that
pushed it the hardest and there was always going to be a risk he was going to
fall down more than the other Yamaha riders. He felt the tools of his trade, the
Yamaha, needed to be drastically changed if he was going to have a chance of the
title. He said the team thought they had prepared the machine to cure his
problems but it has just not worked.

To me Honda has always been the leader. Certainly many more of the MotoGP
circuits favour the Honda rather than the Yamaha but that does not mean that
Yamaha or Suzuki can't win grands prix or World titles. The Honda suits more
riding styles than the other two. Max has crashed in three of the last four
races when he's lost the front end of the Yamaha. My interpretation of that is
that Max carries a lot of corner speed which means you have to increase the
angle of lean which in turn increases the chances of losing the front end of the
machine. If you get everything one hundred per cent right it's the fastest way
to ride round the race track but when tyre performance goes down or the level of
the race changes you have to adapt to what ever the situation is. The rider
should be able to react to these different situations.

Max when he qualifies or is riding on his own is beautiful to watch. His smooth
style is more like a surgeon because he puts the bike in the same place at the
same time. It's more like poetry in motion the way he can open the gas and the
bike just does not move.

When you ride a Honda you leave a bigger foot print in the corners. The Yamaha
will go in the same places but with a lighter footprint, which makes the margin
of error greater. Therefore, you have to be much more precise which makes the
Yamaha more difficult to ride. That does not mean you can't beat the Honda
because I don't think the Suzuki was the best bike last year but Kenny Roberts
won the title. He had the best package including the 17 inch tyres and put a
great season together.

I don't think that Max took a gamble using the 17 inch rear tyre in the race.
He'd lost the front end using the 16.5 inch in two of the last three races . The
race was nine seconds slower than last year won by Kenny, using a 17 inch rear.
Max should have been able to go the full distance at that speed. The 16.5 makes
the bike a little more temperamental in turning and how you set it up. The 17
immediately makes you feel at home and comfortable and that's what Max needed.

If we had an all Honda Championship with everybody riding the same machines the
same guy would be winning, riding the yellow number 46 machine. Then some people
would say certain teams have more experience than others and so where do you
draw the line. You have to learn how to adjust to different situations during
the race.

Valentino was struggling in Motegi and his team brought him back and he did what
he had to do. He should win the title in Australia and there are a few people
getting shirts printed ready for Sunday as we speak.

We got a taste of what it's going to be like next year and both Mick Doohan and
Freddie Spencer were impressed with their demonstration laps on the RCV
five-cylinder four-stroke Honda .Mick told me since he rode the machine two and
a half months ago at the Suzuka 8 hour race the bike had really improved. You
just know that Honda will not let up until they are ready to win grand prix
races. The photos of the bike do not do it justice. When you see it in the flesh
it's really nice. You just can't believe there are five cylinders hidden under
such a small bike.

I'm involved in two different projects with the Yamaha two-seater in Australia.
I'm doing speed comparisons with a 250 cc road bike ridden by Malcolm Campbell
and a 750cc road bike ridden by Kevin Magee round the Phillip Island circuit
which should be fun. We re-fit the 11 kilo rear spring for the passengers I will
be taking round later. Not only do we have some VIPs but also some contest
winners which I always enjoy looking after. I love taking people round who have
the same passion for MotoGP as myself.

One of my passengers is Sarah Jane who is the most downloaded girl on the
internet. Apparently she loves bikes and rides a street bike. With her I might
just have to adjust my riding style.


The Grand Prix Supporters Association
http://gpsa.co.uk

[gomick]

the yamaha seemed to have the edge up until lap 10 or whatever at brno....max has crashed out of the lead in 2 of the last 3 races, hence he has thrown away 50 points (2 wins) 45 (1st/2nd) or 40 points for 2 second places, plus say a 4th place finish at estoril.....rossi is 67 points up - max you have choked ..... but you are still a great rider and will challenge again next year - shall be interesting to see who jumps aboard the new bike 1st - rossi on his honda or max on the yamaha....should be some *****ing next year