Marco Simoncelli

Guest Blog: Mat Oxley - Dorna: un favor, por favor

Submitted by Mat Oxley on

Here’s a special MotoGP request ahead of this weekend’s Jerez GP

I’m often a bit mean about Dorna, because they’re the people in charge of MotoGP, so they’re in the firing line. But they are big enough to take it. I fully realise that much of the time they do great work, but I’m only a journalist, so, as Pavarotti once said, “when a journalist write about the positive he write fives lines; when he write about the negative he become a poet”.

Dorna’s greatest act over the past year or so has been to admit that MotoGP is too expensive to survive entirely on outside sponsorship, so it has wisely and kindly decided to underwrite the poorer end of the grid for the foreseeable future. This is in stark contrast to Formula 1 and top-level football, where those in charge only seem to care about the headline teams.

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Guest Blog: Mat Oxley - Homage to Catalunya

Submitted by Mat Oxley on

MotoMatters.com is delighted to feature the work of iconic MotoGP writer Mat Oxley. Oxley is a former racer, TT winner and highly respected author of biographies of world champions Mick Doohan and Valentino Rossi, and currently writes for Motor Sport Magazine, where he is MotoGP correspondent. We are featuring sections from Oxley's blogs, which are posted in full on the Motor Sport Magazine website.

Homage to Catalunya

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2013 Misano MotoGP Post-Race Round Up: An Imperious Lorenzo, Rookie Mistakes, And Remembering Shoya

Submitted by David Emmett on

If half a second is a long time around Misano, seven tenths of a second is almost a geological era. Jorge Lorenzo was lacking grip and braking stability on Saturday; on Sunday morning, Ramon Forcada stiffened the front to improve Lorenzo's braking, and the factory Yamaha man crushed the opposition in the warm up. Four hours later, the reigning world champion did exactly the same again in the race, destroying his rivals in the first three laps, and holding on for a victory that was both overwhelming and important.

The first three laps? Lorenzo probably won the race in the first 100 meters off the line. Lorenzo had fluffed his practice starts on Saturday, bogging down and not really getting off the line. On Sunday, he was so fast away off the line that he had two bike lengths before he had even changed up into second gear. By the time he crossed the timing line at the end of the first sector, he was already 0.4 seconds ahead. By the end of the first lap, he was 1.2 seconds ahead. It was already game over.

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2012 Sepang MotoGP Thursday Notes: Championships Up For Grabs, And Memories Of A Racer

Submitted by David Emmett on

The Sepang round of MotoGP could see all three championships clinched this weekend, with Jorge Lorenzo, Marc Marquez and Sandro Cortese all closing in on their respective world championships. The job is easiest for Cortese, all the German has to do to become the inaugural Moto3 champion is finish one place behind Maverick Vinales and the title is his. After getting a little too excited at Motegi, Cortese will doubtless be heading to Sepang in a much calmer frame of mind.

Marquez also faces a relatively manageable task, but unlike Cortese, he does not have his fate entirely in his own hands. If Pol Espargaro wins at Sepang, then the earliest Marquez could be crowned champion would be at Phillip Island. If Espargaro does not win, the Marquez is in with a very good chance: should Espargaro finish the race in third or worse, then Marquez only has to finish directly behind him; if Espargaro finishes second, then Marquez has to win. On current form, it would be hard to bet against Marquez, but Sepang was the circuit where the Spaniard was badly injured last year, suffering damage to his eyes which limited his vision and threatened to end his career. It will be interesting to see whether the memory has spooked Marquez, but judging by his performance this year, that seems faintly ridiculous.

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2012 Misano Thursday Round Up: Of Fallen Riders, Ducati's Junior Team, And The ECU Face Off

Submitted by David Emmett on

The return to Misano was always going to be an emotional affair, the first time MotoGP has returned to Marco Simoncelli's home circuit - now renamed in his honor - since the Italian fan favorite was killed in a tragic accident at Sepang last October. Though Simoncelli is being remembered in many different ways during the weekend - nearly all of the riders in all three classes joined for a lap of the track by bicycle this evening - the remembrance has been cheerful rather than mawkish, a celebration of his life rather than mourning at his death. Fans, riders, mechanics, photographers, journalists, many have made the pilgrimage to Coriano, Simoncelli's home town just a few short miles from the track, paid their respects and headed to the circuit feeling better for the experience. Simoncelli's ghost may haunt the paddock at Misano, but happily, he does so in the guise of Casper rather than Banquo.

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Simoncelli Family Creates Simoncelli Foundation In Memory Of Marco

Submitted by David Emmett on

The death of Marco Simoncelli at Sepang earlier this year was utterly tragic, but some good will yet come from the popular Italian's demise. On Thursday, Simoncelli's parents, girlfriend and sister announced that the final documents had been signed to create the foundation set up in Marco Simoncelli's name. The Marco Simoncelli Fondazione has been set up as a non-profit organization, with the aim of helping those in dire need.

Exactly which projects will receive funds gathered through the foundation is yet to be decided, though Paolo Simoncelli, Marco's father, is keen to use the money as effectively as possible. According to GPOne.com, projects could include helping children with special care needs, such as extremely rare diseases, receive treatment and care. Paolo Simoncelli also said his initial impulse was to support large projects, but that such projects were fraught with danger. The foundation could instead support a few much smaller causes, as it is easier to exercise more control over such initiatives and ensure that the money is spent directly on helping those in need.

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