Valencia 2011

RACE DAY EVENTS WERE PRECEDED BY A SPECIAL MOTOGP TRIBUTE THAT TOOK PLACE IMMEDIATELY BEFORE THE 125 RACE. ALL THE RIDERS FROM EACH OF THE THREE MOTOGP CLASSES TOOK PART IN A SIMULTANEOUS SINGLE LAP RIDE AROUND THE TRACK IN HONOUR OF MARCO SIMONCELLI. THEY THEN JOINED ALL THE TEAM CREWS IN THE PIT-LANE FOR A 2-MINUTE 'NOISE' AT THE REQUEST OF THE SIMONCELLI FAMILY. IT WAS CREATED BY REVVING ENGINES AND VALENCIA'S TRADE MARK FIREWORKS WHILST A HUGE CANVAS OF MARCO WAS UNVEILED UP THE SIDE OF THE PIT TOWER.

ALL THREE RACES WERE SUBJECT TO THE VAGARIES OF THE WEATHER IN THAT IT WAS COLD AND DAMP WITH LIGHT RAIN ON AND OFF. IT NEVER BECAME WET ENOUGH FOR WET TYRES SO SLICK TYRES WERE THE ORDER OF THE DAY. CLEARLY, RIDERS WOULD HAVE PREFERRED EITHER TOTALLY DRY OR TOTALLY WET CONDITIONS BUT IT WAS NOT TO BE.

THE FIELD ASSEMBLED ON THE GRID, DID THE USUAL WARM-UP LAP AND THEN WAITED FOR THE LIGHTS TO GO OUT. AS USUAL, THE WHOLE PACK OF 16 SURGED FORWARD HEADING FOR TURN 1. UNFORTUNATELY, ONLY 12 RIDERS EMERGED TO CONTINUE ON TO TURN 2. FORTUNATELY, THE FOUR RIDERS WHO WENT DOWN WERE UNINJURED WITH ONLY NICKY HAYDEN HAVING A WRIST PROBLEM BUT NO BROKEN BONES. THE OTHER RIDERS WERE VALENTINO ROSSI, RANDY DE PUNIET AND ALVARO BAUTISTA.

IT WAS SIMPLY A RACING INCIDENT - ALVARO'S FRONT WHEEL TOUCHED ANDREA DOVIZIOSO'S REAR WHEEL, ALVARO WENT DOWN AND HIS BIKE SLID INTO THE OTHERS BRINGING THEM DOWN IN A DOMINO EFFECT. THE FRONT ROW, TOGETHER WITH ANDREA WERE UNIMPEDED BY THE CARNAGE BEHIND THEM AND THE 3 HONDA RIDERS SPED OFF WITH CASEY SOON ESTABLISHING A SIGNIFICANT LEAD, DANI PEDROSA AND DOVIZIOSO BATTLING EACH OTHER FOR 2ND PLACE AND BEN SPIES HOLDING A WATCHING, CLOSE BRIEF.

THIS SEEMED TO BE THE WAY THE RACE WOULD CONTINUE - SPECULATIONS OF A HONDA 1,2,3 WERE RIFE BUT, AFTER THREE-QUARTERS OF THE LAPS WERE COMPLETED, THE RAIN CAME DOWN A LITTLE HEAVIER. BEN QUICKLY MOVED UP TO 3RD ON LAP SEVEN AND THEN TO 2ND SOON AFTER AND SET OFF AFTER CASEY.

AS FRONT RUNNER HE WAS THE ONLY RIDER WITH NO INDICATION OF HOW BADLY THE NEXT CORNER WOULD BE AFFECTED AND SO HE GRADUALLY BACKED OFF WHILST BEN, ABLE TO WATCH WHETHER CASEY CAME ACROSS WET PATCHES, COULD AFFORD TO SPEED UP. CASEY'S 10-SECOND LEAD QUICKLY DISAPPEARED AND THEN, WHEN CASEY FLUFFED A GEAR-CHANGE, BEN WENT PAST AND INTO THE LEAD.

SO BEN LOOKED THE LIKELY WINNER BUT HE WAS NOW THE ONE WITHOUT ANY INDICATION OF THE STATE OF THE TRACK. HOWEVER, AT THE START OF THE LAST LAP, HE HAD LEAD OVER CASEY OF APPROXIMATELY 10 BIKE LENGTHS. THE RACER IN CASEY THEN TOOK CHARGE AND BY THE FINAL CORNER HE WAS MUCH CLOSER.

AS THEY EMERGED FROM THE CORNER, IT STILL LOOKED AS IF BEN WOULD BE ABLE TO HOLD OFF CASEY BUT THE SUPERIOR ACCELERATION OF THE HONDA OUT OF CORNERS JUST, AND ONLY JUST, SAW CASEY TAKE VICTORY - BY 0.015 SECOND!

Race Results posted by
David Little
7th November 2011

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