Any chances the great king of MotoGP had to keep his hopes alive to fight for the title this year are gone. This past weekend at Montegi, Japan, Rossi couldn't manage but a 13th place finish, allowing Casey Stoner & his Ducati crew to clinch the title 3 races before the season is over.
It was a race for the history books. Unpredictable racing conditions made for a lottery game picking the right tire choices. Specially for the Michelin shod riders. In the end, Bridgestone dominated this round easily with only Nicky Hayden being the lone Michelin representative in the Top 10. Even Dunlop managed to best Michelin with Silvan Guintoli finishing in 4th.
The race began with a wet track. So everyone was on wet weather tires. But by midway through the race, there was a clear dry race line developing around the track that proved fatal for wet tires. The riders began going into the pits as if there was a sign of free beer posted at the pit entrance. During the tire changes, Rossi had made the correct tire choice before the race & charged to the front... but his tires where DONE once he got there.
The champ drops into the pits for his #2 bike on slicks. It seemed like the obvious choice as more & more riders where coming out of the pits going a full 7 seconds a lap faster on dry tires. One lap on the new bike & it was clear Rossi could not match the pace of his wet tires. Rossi dropped to 13th place as the first riders to switch tires with the correct tire choices assumed the lead.
Casey didn't fare too well either, but in the end the Bridgestone rubber was good enough for him to salvage a 6th spot finish giving him an 80+ point advantage with only 75 points left up for grabs. Casey Stoner is the new MotoGP world champ.
On the cool down lap, the former World Champ, Nicky Hayden, stopped to congratulate Casey as he was being handed the Australian flag. In the back ground you could see Rossi zoom by past them.
The big news this year is the Bridgestone Dominance. Rossi, Pedrosa, Hayden have all expressed they wanted to switch rubber for next year. Prompting Michelin to threaten to leave the league if they loose their top Factory teams.
Randy Mamola has been reported to have said that there may be a spec tire rule for next year. The announcement on the tire situation is supposed to be made public after the Malaysian GP.
Of special interest... at least for me that is
. Is Ransy DePuniet's 2nd place finish. The French usually has the habit of crashing. Often making the green machine look like a John Deer lawn mower as he shoots into the weeds. He didn't dissapoint, he did run off the road in the race, but managed 2nd nonetheless. I can't wait to see Hopper race the Kawasaki next year...
Race Results here...
Soup :: Loris Capirossi WIns Japanese Grand Prix :: 09-23-2007