THE HUMILIATION OF VALENTINO ROSSI
How long can the agony be allowed to go on? It may be too early to call time on Rossi's relationship with Ducati but the great man's patience must now be stretched to the limit. Finishing tenth in Qatar is bad enough but being thrashed by your own team-mate is just too much.
Remember how it was little more than a year ago? "Rossi signs for Ducati" screamed the headlines as the media convulsed into collective orgasm. It was the dream team, a marriage made in in heaven short only of being personally blessed by the Pope.
The greatest Italian rider of all time was marrying into the most famous, and successful, racing dynasty. Now divorce must surely beckon.
What has gone wrong? How could a racing machine on which Casey Stoner won the world championship a couple of years become so uncompetitive? Was it that a machine built around Stoner just couldn't be ridden as quickly, even by the great Rossi? Was Rossi, following a particularly serious accident, not the rider he was - it is, after all, eleven years since he won the first four-stroke MotoGP on a Honda. Did we just not give Stoner the credit he deserved?
All the above could apply but there is one other. Stoner's championship was on Bridgestone tyres designed specially to suit the Ducati's power and handling characteristics. The rules changed with the introduction of a control tyre which meant that all teams were supplied with, more or less, the same formula for the rubber. Things were never the same.
It has to be said that the Bologna factory has worked it's socks off in an attempt to provide their hero with a winning machine. And with the introduction of 1000cc formula came a new alloy frame etc.etc. Surely the new formula was a great opportunity for Ducati?
So where do Ducati and Rossi go now? He is not one to throw his toys out of the pram. We have only had one race. And, in any event, what are the alternatives?
More time will undoubtedly be given but you can be sure that Ducati's new owners and commercial sponsors like (whisper it) Marlboro and insurance giant Generali will not be happy. Plus Valentino Rossi is a proud man. Watch this space.
CELEBS ON THE PODIUM
The season-opener at Brands Hatch proved, yet again, how tricky Easter meetings can be due to the unpredictable nature of the English climate. All-in-all it was a pretty miserable start to what promises to be a cracking series.
The day was brightened up for some of the sodden fans - group of pubescent teenage boys, in particular, who just so happened to be standing near the podium - by the appearance of Katie Price, formerly known as Jordan, to present the winners of the first Superbike race with their trophies.
These appeared to be particularly large ones. Whether this was at the request of the pneumatically enhanced Ms Price is not known but her presence was appreciated not just by the lusty youths but also more mature types such as commentator Fred Clarke and his trusty sidekick Baldrick when she visited their eyrie.
Brands Hatch boss Jonathan Palmer dutifully acted as escort to the 'star' and a television crew before appearing on television himself to explain why he was having to postpone the second Superbike race due to a multiplicity of crashes on the greasy surface.
(Readers not aware of the identity of the aforementioned Ms Price have either been asleep for
the last five years, don't watch shows like Big Brother or read Heat. Suffice to say she is famous for being famous and is very good at it.)
Another visitor worthy of note, but who would not claim to be a celebrity, was British welterweight champion Kell Brook. The boxer, ranked sixth in the world, and his manager Eddie Hearn are friends of PBM team owner Paul Bird. They flew from Sheffield in the Bird chopper and to say they were impressed would be an understatement.
"I'd rather face Manny Pacquiao than ride of those," said Kell. "In fact, one day I hope I will!"
TOO KNEE-JERK?
It was only natural the following the multiplicity of crashes which resulted in the abandonment of the second leg of Brands BSB that instant analysis should be followed by instant solution - that any machine which crashes cannot continue.
But was the right conclusion reached? No doubt an already wet track was made worse by one, two or maybe three machines depositing oil or petrol followed by the application of a solution to remove the slippery substance. The general state of the weather, cold and wet, was a major contributor plus the fact that some riders simply overdid it or were caught out.
Perhaps it makes sense that once you've crashed you're out. You may have broken something and, as James Whitham explained, the "no continue" rule used to apply until rescinded under international regulations a few years ago.
But there have been a number of heroic rides following crashes, including one by Mike Hailwood in the 1965 TT of all places, of which legends are made.
