Misano 2011

By Harry Lloyd

Race day was again hot, although much cooler than the previous days. It was almost the ideal temperature; hot enough for the track to heat the tires, but cool enough for the riders to be somewhat comfortable. It was a very nice temperature for all the fans, and being comfortable is very important when you’re sitting in a grandstand all day! Luckily when the races are in Italy you can be assured that the food will be excellent, even a simple Panini is delicious, and cheap, although you have to be careful when you pop out to get a Panini as you may return to find an Italian sitting in your seat. Believe me, an Italian is not someone who is easy to move, especially when you can’t understand them! Despite Italians being somewhat stubborn when it comes to moving their seats they do add a lot to the atmosphere, cheering and hollering at any rider doing as little as showing a wheel to the rider ahead. You really end up getting caught up in the excitement of it all-cheering and hollering.

The warm-up session went well for both Danny and Marcel. They lapped quicker and avoided any incident. I also believe that they played around with some different settings as both riders were in the pits for five to ten minutes during the brief warm-up session. This brief twenty minute session is as much about making sure that everything on the bike is in working order as it is about trying a last minute change. The best known example of someone doing this is Rossi. Nine times out of ten Rossi will find his race setting during his warm-up session after Burgess has had a night to think. I’m sure at some point all riders do this, willing to try a last ditch effort to find a better setup. Many times races come down to a gamble and the riders-teams, hope it pays off.

The race was again tough for Mahindra at their home track. Despite the largest amount of Mahindra hats I have seen at any of the tracks, Danny and Marcel had to fight every second of the race. Both the riders started well, charging into the points. The Mahindra riders were lucky to avoid contact as Zarco and Faubel traded paint at the front and Harry Stafford slid out. As the group began to sort its self out and everyone slid into position, team Mahindra began to get into a rhythm, keeping their heads down. As the race went on Danny and Marcel were both fighting for points, especially between each other! At one point Marcel ran out wide giving Danny a chance to charge up in front, Marcel then began to slowly gain back on Danny who appeared to be dropping back! It wasn’t until after the race that I found out Danny had been having engine trouble in the latter part of the race. Perhaps the most confusing part of his engine trouble was that none of the team members really had any idea why his engine was playing up. This is surely something that the rider and team will sit down and try to figure out next round.

While Danny was having more technical problems Marcel had managed to fight his way up to 15th, very impressive after running wide! You could really tell that Marcel was pushing as you could see the bike moving around as he opened up the throttle as soon as he could. The entire 125 race was exciting, from Marcel to the final dual between Zarco and Terol. I think that Zarco has the worst luck in the 125 grid as he has lost at least four races by less than half a second! He, like Danny and Marcel, deserves a better result which reflects the efforts he puts in. The next few tracks, apart from Phillip Island are tighter than Misano, Brno and Indianapolis which should suit the Mahindra better. Hopefully the next few rounds will see both the boys back in the points.