Category: Crew On Two

This weekend marks the 20th anniversary of Valentino Rossi’s first career win at Brno in 1996. 2o years on and in his quest for title number 10, Rossi is still winning, currently sitting on 114 wins. So, it is only right that we celebrate this sensational achievement by listing Vale’s top 10 GP victories. Enjoy!

10.) Misano, 2009

After an unforced crash in Indianapolis, Valentino Rossi effectively handed his arch rival and nemesis Jorge Lorenzo a 25-point race win, closing the gap massively. So, in true Valentino style, he used his true home race to mock his error, with a donkey on his crash helmet. Then, when he won, he put on his donkey ears as he went to the podium. Not something too big to start us off, but a very funny celebration from a very silly mistake at the previous meeting.

9.) Indianapolis, 2008

Did we mention Indianapolis in the last race? Well, a year before, the Italian took a stunning win at the track on his first attempt, going against his personal form of not gelling with new circuits straight away. However, the race was red-flagged due to hurricane Ike hitting during the Grand Prix. Valentino beat Nicky Hayden and team mate Jorge Lorenzo, who joined him on the podium. Main title rival Casey Stoner finished 4th.

8.) Sachsenring, 2006

A hectic race which saw the Doctor desperate for points after a slow start to the season, which consisted of just three wins and one other podium. Being knocked off by Toni Elias in Jerez, tyre issues in China, engine failure at Le Mans and an injury at Assen meant Valentino was desperate for some luck, and despite a win here in Germany, it was by no means easy. A race-long battle with Pedrosa, Hayden, Melandri, Roberts Jr, Tamada and Capirossi meant the positions were frequently changing. After Tamada was wiped out by Roberts Jr 10 laps in and after Capirossi faded, Rossi was enshrined in a battle with Melandri, going down to the last corner where Valentino defended excellently (unlike 2003) to take a much needed win. Melandri and Hayden joined him on the podium. It was his 86th win in MotoGP.

7.) Phillip Island, 2004

Valentino had the chance to wrap up the MotoGP title in his first year on the Yamaha, and he didn’t let the chance go begging. A stunning last lap between him and Sete Gibernau meant that he was well in the mood to take the Spaniard on. After Gibernau slipstreamed through on the straight, Rossi took him back going down into the Southern Loop, with the crowd absolutely bouncing with excitement. After defending too heavily into the Honda hairpin, the Honda of Gibernau got back through on the inside, now confirming he was ready to battle. Rossi re-took Sete at Lukey Heights, the two now side by side, shoulder to shoulder. Rossi held on until the line to take the win and the title at the first time of asking on the Yamaha, making it one of the greatest achievements in the sport’s history.

6.) Phillip Island, 2003

Staying in Australia, Phillip Island is again the venue, but this time for a scintillating solo performance. After passing under a yellow flag, The Doctor was now required to pull out a 10 second advantage in order to hold on to his lead. He wasn’t racing anyone, just the track and himself. He pulled out 10 seconds, and just when you thought he’d done enough, he upped the pace again, eventually pulling nearly twice the required amount. He won by 6 seconds by the time the penalty had been taken into account, and is still to this day one of the greatest solo performances.

5.) Welkom, 2004

Skip forward a year now to 2004, and Valentino Rossi was on pole for the first race of the season; his first time on the factory Yamaha too. Leading down into turn one, followed by a pack of Hondas consisting of Barros, Hayden, Biaggi, Gibernau and Tamada, Rossi started to stretch them but it was his arch rival from 500cc racing Biaggi who would stay with the reigning champion. The Honda would get past on the straights and the Yamaha would dive up the inside on the corners, that’s how the race went. Gibernau capitalised mid race but couldn’t hold the pace. Biaggi got passed Valentino with three laps to go, and that’s how we thought it would stay. The Doctor however was prescribing something else, with a desperate lunge with just two corners to go, pushing them both out to the edge of the track. Rossi held off Max, meaning he became the first (and so far, only) rider to win back to back races on different machinery. A true, virtuoso performance.

4.) Assen, 2015

One of the more modern rivalries now, with his former protégé Marc Marquez. Rossi was on pole for the first time in the season, and had been competitive right from Friday morning. With Jorge Lorenzo just one point off his championship lead, Rossi needed to break the Spaniard’s run of four consecutive victories. Lorenzo’s poor qualifying meant Rossi and Marquez escaped at the front; little did we know just what we were in for. 7 laps to go and Marquez took the lead from Rossi at turn one, allowing Rossi to see where the reigning champion was strong. With three laps to go, Rossi took the lead back with a classic “set up in one, execute in the next” move. He got through at Mandeveen, but Marc fought back through Duikersloot (turn 11). Rossi held it as the crowd cheered for the Italian. This was now a dogfight between the veteran champ and the young pretender. A mistake by Marc with two laps to go looked to give Valentino a certain win, but a stunning final half a lap from Marquez put him in a position to throw his Honda up the inside at the infamous final chicane. Marquez barged Valentino into the gravel, with the 36-year-old keeping it pinned across the run off to take a historic win, his 9th at the track. It was the start of a rivalry which would soon threw the whole sport into jeopardy.

3.) Laguna Seca, 2008

In the bronze medal position (it’s the Olympics season after all) is Laguna Seca and the battle of the Corkscrew. After an impressive qualifying, Rossi put his Yamaha in a good position for the race, starting from row one. He said before the race he has to do anything it takes to disgruntle reigning champ and man in-form Casey Stoner. He wasn’t kidding. Rossi battled past Nicky Hayden on lap one, before chasing after Stoner. Jorge Lorenzo landed on Mars when he highsided out of the race at turn five, and as the camera went back the leaders, Rossifumi had parked it at the Corkscrew, hitting the front. We were in for cracker! Two laps later and Stoner leaned on Rossi on the way up the Rahal straight and the Italian wasn’t having it. Throwing all caution out the window and turning his brain off, Rossi went sideways, up the inside of the Australian at the Corkscrew, before running off track, losing the front and colliding with Casey as he re-joined the track! Casey tried everything to get past the wayward Italian at Rainey’s but couldn’t do it; even the marshals were clapping as the two came into the final corner! With 10 laps to go, Stoner blasted passed Rossi on the straight, only for Rossi to attack back into turn 2. Stoner charged up the inside at turn 3 but Valentino just hung the bike out, around the outside, and held the position. Stoner just couldn’t hold the lead as Rossi knew he had to snap straight back. On the final corner with just a few laps to go, Stoner crashed at the final corner after running wide, handing Rossi a win. The pair had such a lead that Casey was able to remount and finish second. OK, we was robbed of a grandstand finish, but with racing like that, I think we’d seen enough already!

2.) Jerez, 2005

A year in which Valentino Rossi dominated, but it didn’t start off that way. A year before in Qatar, Rossi swore that Gibernau wouldn’t win another race and my word did he mean it. After getting passed Gibernau on the penultimate lap, Rossi put half a second into his rival going into the final lap. However, Rossi made a mistake at turn 6, the Drysack hairpin, allowing Gibernau back through, and when Rossi tried to re-take him at the next corner, Gibernau showed him the edge of the track. It was like a red rag to a bull (we are in Spain). Out of the Angel Nieto corner and Rossi popped the front wheel once, then twice and made a dive for the lead at Criville corner, but lost the front end and the lead as Gibernau swept back through at Ferrari. It was all down to the then-named Ducados hairpin (now Lorenzo). Vale took a deep, inside line, smashing into Gibernau and pushing him off the track at a closing speed of goodness knows what. Rossi wheelied across the line with Gibernau beating new team mate Melandri to 2nd. However, this time, unlike the other battles, the action didn’t stop there. In something of a Chili-Fogarty moment at Assen 1998 in WSBK, the two clashed in Parc Ferme, with their helmet carriers becoming a little bit aggressive (verbally). When they went up to the podium, Rossi shook hands with close friend Melandri, and after an awkward 5 seconds or so, Gibernau shook The Doctor’s hand too. Oh isn’t MotoGP all friendly?

So, before we go on to do our number one, lets highlight some other wins that we haven’t got on this in depth top 10. Assen in 2007, when Vale came from 11th to first to win was a stunning ride, as was his wet weather win at Donington Park in 2005, after making several mistakes. His 2004 win at Mugello (pre-red-flag) with Gibernau was hair raising, not to mention Suzuka 2001 when his rivalry with Biaggi was born. Brno 2003 was also a great finish, as it ended Gibernau’s run of beating him in last lap scraps. His first win of 2014 fittingly came at Misano, throwing the 100,000 fans into a frenzy. Sepang 2010 was incredible, as it was his first win since suffering a broken leg at Mugello. Maybe the one that should be on here is Assen 2009, particularly for the banner, as it was his 100th race win.

1.) Catalunya, 2009

The race before his unveiling of his 100th win was at Catalunya, a circuit Valentino hadn’t won at since 2006. Initially, it was Rossi, Lorenzo and Stoner, the three greats but soon, Stoner faded with his illness getting the better of him, leaving it down to the Yamaha pairing of Rossi and Lorenzo to Pasodoble around the 4.7km circuit. Rossi held the advantage with two laps to go, but Lorenzo slipstreamed passed him down the straight into turn 1 – well, we thought he had. Rossi cheekily tucked his knee in and went around the outside of Lorenzo down into turn one, letting the brakes off in unbelievable style. He went wide, but not enough and The Doctor was now leading the Spaniard again.

Last lap time and as they came across the line, Jorge went passed as the two went into the pit lane exit, and this time, he made the move stick. Rossi tried to cut back at turn two but Jorge slammed the door back in his face. We were in for an absolute barnstormer, but not in anyone’s wildest dreams could we predict what would happen. Rossi went for the inside line at turn four but Jorge Lorenzo was taking him all the way, and struck another blow as Rossi went wide. Another look at turn five but no pass, Rossi was now resting solely on one corner; turn 10! However, Lorenzo’s corner exit speed out of turn 9 was so strong that Vale couldn’t stay with him to make a move into turn 10. He let the brakes off again and closed in but couldn’t execute the move. They were banging together like castanets and there was now only one possible overtake, turn 11, but again, Rossi didn’t get near Lorenzo. He was now in serious trouble; all the passing places were gone, there were no straights to drag past his team mate and there was no chance of a move in the final two corners, if anything, it would take a huge mistake from Lorenzo – well, that’s what the millions watching, commentating, writing and reporting the race thought anyway, including myself as a 10-year-old. Rossi closed in through turn 12, almost touching the rear end of Lorenzo before stuffing his Yamaha down the inside at turn 13, the final corner. He went slightly wide but not wide enough for Jorge to fight back; Valentino had committed the biggest robbery ever; Crimewatch wasn’t meant to start until 9pm. The Italian had beaten bike number 99 in a head-to-head to claim win number 99 of his career. He’d defied the odds, defied everyone’s thoughts and took the lead on the last bend, of the last lap; an unthinkable, unbelievably difficult, if not impossible, place to pass. Rossi hadn’t just made the move, but he absolutely nailed it, not leaving Jorge a chance to snap back.

One of the sport’s greatest passes, and without doubt the sport’s best head to head, Rossi had re-defined desperate racing. He went on to win the title which, for now at least, is his most recent. What an incredible race for an incredible rider who in turn, is an incredible human being. Who’d put it past him winning another?

Hot off the heels of a superb 1-2 win in Austria last Sunday, which marked the return of Ducati to the victory rostrum in MotoGP for the first time since 2010, the Ducati Team has now moved about 300 km further north-east to the Czech Republic for the eleventh round of the 2016 world championship, which takes place at the Automotodrom circuit in Brno. Andrea Iannone and Andrea Dovizioso, first and second in the Austrian GP, are already gearing up to take to the track on for MotoGP’s next round.

The circuit offers a truly fantastic spectacle for the fans, but also for the teams and riders, with its main features being a succession of variable-radius corners together with numerous steep uphill and downhill sections. Fast and flowing with plenty of room for different trajectories, the Brno circuit is one of the most popular tracks on the calendar.

In last year’s edition of the Czech Republic Grand Prix, Iannone finished fourth overall, despite a technical problem that hampered the performance of his Desmosedici GP15, while Dovizioso was classified in sixth place after holding on to fifth until the final lap.

Statistics-wise, the Austrian weekend marked a series of milestones in the history of the Borgo Panigale manufacturer in MotoGP since its debut in 2003: win #32, the third 1-2 win after Valencia 2006 (Bayliss-Capirossi) and Phillip Island 2007 (Stoner-Capirossi), the 35th pole position, the 35th fastest lap, the 100th and 101st podium, while for Dovizioso it was GP #250 in his career.

The Czech Republic GP weekend programme will get underway on Friday morning with the first free practice session at 9.55 am, while the 22-lap race is scheduled for Sunday at 14.00 CET.

Andrea Iannone: We have a good pace to fight for the podium at every round

“It is still very difficult to explain my feelings after the win in Austria, but I can only say that it was a truly incredible weekend. Now we go to Brno for the next race and I think that this circuit is also very good for us. Last year I finished fourth despite a technical problem but now we have a good pace for fighting for the podium at every round. For sure also our rivals are very strong at this track but I think there is a good chance for me to score a good result again.”

Andrea Dovizioso: We can be competitive

“After our 1-2 in Austria, Ducati must now take a lot of confidence into the next few races even though we must never stop working to improve the little details, because our rivals are very strong and the Yamahas at Zeltweg were able to finish the race close to us. In Brno it will be more difficult but in the last few races we have improved everything in the bike so I am sure that we can also be competitive in the Czech Republic.”

After the Austria Grand Prix, which took place last weekend at the Red Bull Ring of Spielberg, the Ongetta Rivacold Racing Team, is ready to come back on track. We are in Czech Republic, at Brno circuit. On this track, last year, Niccolò Antonelli got his first win in the World Championship and was the real protagonist of the week end, by getting the pole position and the higher step of the podium. This year, the young rider from Cattolica is facing the weekend in not perfect physical conditions. For his teammate, Jules Danilo, the goal is to come back in the top ten again.

Niccolò Antonelli: I won’t be physically ready to do what I did last year

“This will be a special weekend for me. Last year, on this track, I won my first race in the World Championship, so I have good memories here. Unfortunately, I won’t be physically ready for doing what I did last year. Anyway, I want to improve compared to the last race and I will work to get the best possible result”.

Jules Danilo: In Austria, we lacked concentration

“We luckily only have one week from Austria and after a difficult race it is always important to come back on track immediately. I trained a lot in the last three days in order to start again with the right motivation as, in this phase of the season, it’s important to be motivated. In Austria we lacked concentration and consistency and I did some mistakes which prevented the top ten. So, I have to stay calm and start the weekend at the best”.

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Alvaro Bautista and Stefan Bradl, who both had their race in Austria compromised by a double ride through because of jump starts, showed absolutely respectable times during the race in terms of pace. On a track like Brno, theoretically more suited to the qualities of the Aprilia technical package than the Austrian track, all the conditions are there to aim for a good result.

Alvaro Bautista: We hope to improve our qualifying

“We are coming to Brno highly motivated. Despite the jump start problem and the display issue, in Austria performance throughout the weekend was positive, especially in terms of our race pace. The track is very different. There are no demanding braking sections like at the Red Bull Ring, but you need to make sure the bike flows well. Technically, you need a bike that is both easy to handle and that has good acceleration. The straights are not very long, but they are rather demanding in terms of power. I think that the advantages we found in Austria with the new engine will also help us in Brno. We will start off focused straight away from Friday, with the goal of finding a good pace and perhaps also improving performance in qualifying”.

Stefan Bradl: We need to stay focused

“Having a race straight away after the Austrian round gives us the chance to bounce back immediately. The circuit definitely suits the RS-GP better than the Red Bull Ring, so our chances of showing our competitive we are increase straight away. Last year, in my second race with Aprilia, I made a good finish in the points after a positive weekend. We will need to stay focused and set our sights on the best possible result”.‬

Team Suzuki Ecstar riders Maverick Viñales and Aleix Espargaró approach the HJC Helmets Grand Prix Ceské republiky race with different feelings: While Viñales will try to repeat – and hopefully improve upon – his 2015 performance where he fought very close to a podium position, Espargaró will have to overcome the injuries suffered last Friday at the Red Bull Ring race in Austria, where he fractured his left hand.

Overall, the previous race was a positive one for the team; although Espargaró’s crash worried everyone, the improvements showed by both riders gave the Suzuki engineers added enthusiasm and more valuable data to work on.

Brno’s challenges include a number of elevation changes through forested hillsides as well as fast and slow corners, which test the rider’s skills and also engineering technology to the limit. The track has a length of 5.4 km (3.36 miles) with six left and eight right-hand corners.

Sunday’s MotoGP race will take place over 22 laps for a total distance of 118.9 km (73.9 miles).

Maverick Viñales: We arent making enough progress

“I’m curious to go to Brno because it’s a track I like and last year I had a positive GP here. It is a fast circuit and yet technical, I think the GSX-RR can suit the circuit with its good-performing chassis and also the improvements we have done with the engine and the seamless; and compared to last year, I think this can give me further help for a positive weekend. Of course we still have some issues to face: The traction is not performing as well as I’d like, we are making some progress but it is not quite enough yet. The set-up will be crucial, but also the electronics will play an important role. My goal will be to work as hard as possible from the very beginning on Friday, and try to transform the positive feeling I have about the track into a positive result in Sunday’s race.”

Aleix Espargaró: Our technical package is better

“The race in Austria was really tough for me, unfortunately the finger hurt a lot and I couldn’t keep proper grip on the handlebars when the tyre-drop started to make the bike move. This resulted in a retirement and it’s something I never like when it happens. I really tried hard until the very last lap because I wanted to finish the race, but it was impossible and I had to give up. We only had a couple of days of recovery before this Brno race, but I tried to work hard to recover as much as possible and I hope I will be in good condition for this weekend. The Brno track is a nice one, last year Maverick had a very good race and this year our technical package is even better, so I’m confident for a positive result. In Austria we made some improvements and steps forward with the machine, being competitive all weekend, so we will try to exploit that positive path we’ve found.”

After a strong ride from Movistar Yamaha MotoGP riders Jorge Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi last Sunday, the teammates immediately headed to the Automotodrom Brno with the aim to further their championship challenge during this weekend‘s back-to-back race in the Czech Republic.

Lorenzo arrives in Brno in second place in the championship standings and with a confident mind-set after a third place in Spielberg. Thanks to the 16 points he collected last Sunday he decreased the margin to the rider leading the championship to 43 points with eight Grands Prix left.

This weekend the current World Champion aims to deliver another top result

to further strengthen his record at the Brno circuit. Previously he secured a 125cc victory in 2004, two 250cc first places in 2006 and 2007 and a MotoGP win in 2010 and 2015.

Rossi also underlined his fast pace last week at a track that supposedly didn‘t suit the Yamaha and increased his point-total to 124 points. He looks forward to delivering another strong performance by making the most of the YZR-M1‘s strengths this weekend in the flowing hills of the Czech Republic.

The nine-time World Champion has fond memories of previous events at the Brno track. He secured his first ever 125cc win at the Czech Republic track in 1996, now twenty years ago. He followed it up with a 250cc victory in 1999, a 500cc first place in 2001 and modern era premier class Brno win in 2003, 2005, 2008 and 2009.

The Brno track hosted its first FIM Czech Grand Prix in 1987 and has been a fans‘ and riders‘ favourite thanks to its great atmosphere and stunning location. The circuit has a fast layout consisting of 14 corners in total (six left, eight right), a 636m longest straight, and multiple changes in elevation to test the bikes‘ set-up. The hills surrounding the circuit also offer spectators an excellent view so they won‘t miss a moment of the thrilling racing action.

Lorenzo: I like Brno a lot

“We achieved a great result in Austria after a difficult period for me, so I‘m pretty happy to come back with a podium finish. I‘m happy to ride again this week at Brno in a back-to-back race. That racetrack is beautiful and it suits the YZR-M1 perfectly. I like the Brno circuit a lot because it has plenty of high-speed corners and I have good memories there. Last year we dominated the race and I hope to have good feelings there again this time round. We need to stay in the fight again and try to recover some more points for the championship as we did in Spielberg.”

Rossi: I want to get back on track!

“I like that we go back on track immediately. In Austria I wanted to get on the podium but I wasn‘t able to so unfortunately. Anyway, it was a good race. After the tests we were a little bit in trouble but during the race we didn‘t do so badly. Now we go to Brno, a track that we know well and that I like very much. Last year Jorge was much faster than me and I’m curious to see if this year I will do better. We are working well and the Brno GP is close. I want to get back on track!”

MotoGP is where the very best of the best race against each other for the most coveted prize in the whole of motorcycle racing: The MotoGP World Championship. However, I have noticed a recent trend, that isn’t really that recent; Spain and Italy are dominating the top spots in MotoGP. Is this the start of something bigger, or is this the end of their reign? Is there going to be any riders in the future representing countries in Asia in the masses that Spain and Italy are now? There’s a lot of questions and I’m going to answer them.

Valentino Rossi, Andrea Iannone, Andrea Dovizioso, Danilo Petrucci and Michele Pirro. Five Italians that currently race in the top level of motorcycle racing. To me, this is OK if you have earned your right to be there, which they all have in their own ways. But what I want to know is what really keeps them in the paddock because I’m fairly sure I am not the only one who thinks that there are other factors involved. Sponsorship is a main reason. Valentino Rossi brings massive money to Yamaha. When he left them in 2010, the title sponsors left too; a year after his return and the they return. But is this capitalist outlook ruining the championship? I’d like to say ‘yes’.

The same thing is happening with Spain. I won’t list the riders because that may take some time but there are more Spaniards than Italians on the grid. This could be down to sponsors, particularly when it comes down to Repsol Honda wanting two Spanish riders but I believe this is something even bigger. Dorna. The Barcelona based MotoGP owners have really bought a Spanish feel to the championship but is it too much? Four Spanish races, nine Spanish riders, four Spanish sponsored teams and two Spanish based teams; it’s a hell of a lot and if you were a country looking in you may think that it is totally impossible to try and get a new race on the calendar or to try and help the riders from that country develop. The championship has almost lost its world feel to it, not in sense of tracks but in sense of the line-up. The focus on European riders has absolutely crushed the chances of young talent from outside of Europe getting in. Or has it?

Just one Frenchman on the grid this year in the name of Loris Baz, the former World Superbike race winner and title contender. With all due respect to Loris however, he isn’t threatening the top five because no big team will invest in him because all the sponsors have control over which rider goes where. However, this isn’t a recent thing either, there has been a serious lack of French riders in the top class ever since Randy De Puniet went to Pramac Ducati in 2011. The last French winner in the premier class was way back in 1999 when good ol’ Regis Laconi stormed to his first and only win at the brand new Ricardo Tormo circuit. Before that it was Christian Sarron in 1985 and the dauntingly fast Hockenheimring! The last French top class podium was De Puniet at Donington Park in 2009; these are stats that really shouldn’t be read out! However, France has an advantage over countries that are only just getting into the sport: Le Mans. The historical home of the French Grand Prix is still on the calendar and therefore France is still connected to the championship. There is another distinct difference in the paddock too. In 2015, Frenchman Johann Zarco set records on his way to his 1st title, Alexis Masbou won in Qatar at the start of the year and Fabio Quartararo had some stunning rides, so France is slowly but surely getting back into the groove, maybe not in the same numbers as the Italians and Spaniards but it’s a groove nonetheless.

Something that has gone missing in the championship is the noticeable lack of fast, competitive Americans and Australians who are up the front winning races. It’s ten years since the last American GP winner which was Nicky Hayden and there hasn’t been an Australian title threat since Casey Stoner in 2012, despite Jack Miller winning at Assen this year. Once upon a time you couldn’t move for fast Americans and Australians, similar to Italians and Spaniards today. Doohan, Gardner, Magee, Beattie, Rainey, Schwantz, Kocinski, Spencer, Chandler, Lawson, Mamola, Roberts, Russell the list could go on for hours on end. Now, not one American in the whole paddock and just one Australian in the top class in the name of Jack Miller. Again, I put this down to the obsession from Dorna to get Europeans in the paddock. It’s almost like the whole paddock has been brainwashed into believing it’s Europe or nothing. And this is evident in the lower ranks too. Not one Australian is a full time rider anywhere else in the paddock. Remy Gardner is competing in the CEV Moto2 Championship and is doing a sterling job too but apart from that, I am struggling to see where the next Casey Stoner is coming from. I don’t want to see an Australian on the grid for the sake of it, I want to see them winning races and battling it out in the top five. Josh Brookes is a fast rider but he has already made his bed in Superbikes and the gap between the two series has never been so big and so hard to make a successful jump. Josh’ age isn’t on his side either and that isn’t appealing to the team owners. As for Americans, they are creeping back. James ‘Rocket’ Rispoli is a real crowd pleaser and is more than capable of making the switch whilst he’s still young and PJ Jacobsen is a top runner in World Supersport and the most likely in the future to bring success to the USA again.

However, this is where everything starts to change because there is one part of the world that is producing riders like China produces toys and it isn’t Europe this time; it’s Asia. Ratthapark Wilairot has got to be hailed as a legend for representing Thailand on the world stage. He has really set an example to the talent that is coming up from the Far East. Thailand is having a real boom of riders and another rider you can thank for that is Tadayuki Okada. The Honda Team Asia set up is designed to give riders from Asia the chance to shine on the world stage and it hasn’t half worked a treat! Khairul Idham Pawi, a quiet Malaysian lad who contested in the CEV and Red Bull Rookies in 2015 took his and Malaysia’s first ever MotoGP win in Argentina in only his second race this year. He should have been followed home by Adam Norrodin, also Malaysian but he crashed out heartbreakingly at the final corner on the final lap. In the CEV, there are four Honda Team Asia Junior riders; Kaito Toba, Nakarin Atiratphuvapat, Kazuki Masaki and Ayumu Sasaki are all front runners as proven at the latest round at Catalunya. The reason these guys can go far is that thw Honda Team Asia set up has got roots going all the way up to Moto2, where Nakagami and Wilairot ride now. Getting onto the world stage could be the biggest break that they have and it could mean that in the next five years, we will see the first Thai world champion or even see Japan back on the top step in the premier class. You may think that is an over exaggeration but it really isn’t. Look at all the stars that have come through CEV. In 2010, Maverick Vinales won it. Seven years later he will be riding on a Factory Yamaha in the MotoGP class.

Now, where else is getting a bit more involved in motorcycling? South America is the answer. Yonny Hernandez is the only South American in MotoGP but that could all change soon. In the CEV Superbike class, Max Scheib is the current series leader. The Chilean is aged just 21 and is winning races against the Spanish equivalent of Shane Byrne: Carmelo Morales. If Scheib could make the transition over to the Grand Prix paddock quick enough then he could be the next big thing and the reason that Chile gets involved with MotoGP even more than it does now. In the CEV Moto2 class, Eric Granado, the former World Moto2 rider is winning races and also closing down the series leader Steven Odendaal. He, for my personal liking, was thrown into Moto2 way too young and now he has been given the chance to mature in the CEV, he could be one to keep an eye on in the future. Steward Garcia in the Red Bull rookies is also on course for doing magical things and at just 16 years old, he has got a long time to mature and become a great rider. Gabriel Rodrigo in Moto3 has been getting faster and faster all the time too. He looked in contention for a podium up until he crashed out at turn one at the Catalan Grand Prix.

There is one other area of the world that is starting to flag up on my radar. Kazakhstan. “Where”? I hear you all ask in a high pitch shriek. Yes, this Central Asian country is putting a bid in to host a Grand Prix in 2017! However, they have also got a very good young talent coming through who caught my eye when I started watching the CEV Moto3 championship earlier this year. Makar Iurchenko was originally born in St. Petersburg in Russia but represents Kazakhstan when riding. A country that nobody has ever associated with bike racing is quickly becoming a real economic hub for that part of the world. A bustling, glamourous capital city of Astana, MotoGP could be very interested in going there in the not too distant future.

Back to Europe now but not to Italy or Spain or even good old Blighty, carry on going North until you hit countries such as Norway, Sweden and Finland. Finland has been involved in MotoGP for a long time now with past riders like Jarno Saarinen and KTM’s current test rider Mika Kallio. Moto3 KTM boss Aki Ajo is Finnish. However, Sweden has kind of disappeared from MotoGP. It lasted hosted a grand prix 26 years ago, a race that Wayne Rainey won in the 500cc class, Carlos Cardus in the 250s and Hans Spaan in the 125cc category. Sweden has a former double champion of the 125cc class in Kent Anderson. Here’s a few names some of you may remember. Peter Linden, Bo Granath and Ivan Carlsson. Yes, all Swedish and all very, very successful. Sweden is coming back though, Alexander Lundh is racing for Sweden but I noticed that again, in the CEV, a Swedish flag was waving. Johnny Rotvik and Pontus Duerlund may not be right at the sharp end of the championship but they are representing Sweden and that is a start. Did you know that for the last Swedish win you have to go back all the way to 1975 and Leif Gustafsson on a Yamaha at Brno. Norway is another country on the rise like I said. Never has there ever been a Norwegian on a MotoGP podium in any class, but there is some fresh blood coming up through the ranks. Thomas Sigvartsen in the CEV Moto2 championship has been having a consistent year and so has Michael Meller Pedersen who although is nearly 27, is showing that it isn’t impossible to be successful with an unfavoured nationality.

The whole point of this article is to just tell you why one or two countries are dominating the premier class but to also show you that there are plenty of riders from other countries also coming through the ranks. And the whole point of getting riders into the world stage? To have a Grand Prix in that country. If a Thai rider was battling for the Moto3 title, I could guarantee you that Thailand would be on the calendar the following year because as soon as one rider does well from that country, the crowd get involved and want to go to a race; in the Far East, where the fasting growing economies in the world are situated, it may be just the perfect time to start hosting races in the region. The image that could be created from hosting races in a whole host of different countries would be amazing. Thailand, Chile and Kazakhstan are already looking set to join the calendar soon and that alone suggests that because of the Junior CEV Championship, these countries are benefiting and will continue to because of the success of the riders and the races that could go ahead.

Tapping into these markets wouldn’t just be good for the countries in the short term either. A whole new tourist industry would be opened up, which leads to construction jobs when hotels need building and staff jobs when the hotels and cafes open. That means more corporation tax is paid and more people are earning money to pay their taxes. The economy will grow through inward investment from TNCs and then before you know it, a country that had very little appeal is being visited by millions. It all sounds too idealistic but it really isn’t. Look at Qatar, now people go to Losail for the season opening night race but have their annual holiday out there. The same could happen for any new country that joins the calendar. My dad went to Thailand for the World Superbike meeting at Buriram, before meeting up with his wife who lives over there and having a holiday. Yes, it really does happen and he isn’t the only one.

The talent that is coming through the championships is quite simply incredible. If I could force you to watch the CEV then I would, but I can’t so never mind. In the next ten years when Marc Marquez is the battling with Maverick Vinales, you may just see the current Moto3 riders like Romano Fenati and Brad Binder in the mix too and a shedload of Asian riders too. All of a sudden, we could have ten nationalities in the top ten at every race. And that is what I mean by the importance of representation. One rider winning regularly from Thailand could suddenly bring (even more) bikes to Thailand. Ratthapark Wilairot has done this for Thailand, he put that country out there. A more successful example could be Gabor Talmasci, winning the 2007 125cc title and all of a sudden, the Hungarian’s get back involved with motorcycle racing. Robert Kubica did it in F1, when he put Poland on the map. Alex Barros did it for Brazil in MotoGP. Alex Criville did it for Spain in the top GP class. And who would bet against it all happening again in the future with the current crop of rising talent? Yes. Who would have thought that representation on the global stage could be quite as important?