Passion verses perfection

Perfection versus passion. Exactitude versus adaptability. Lorenzo versus Rossi. What a surprising season this last of (almost) full factory bikes has turned out to be. 

ast Sunday’s Aragon GP brought the season past the three-quarter mark; and while Marquez’s fifth race crash of the year finally put paid to the last remote chances of taking a third title in a row; the narrowing of the focus to just the two Movistar Yamaha team-mates has taken nothing away.

Rather the reverse. The difference between the two is just 14 points. In Rossi’s favour, against all odds. After all, Lorenzo has taken six wins this year, Rossi only four. And, rather amazingly, he failed to beat Pedrosa in a fierce battle. That was a first; but the Honda man was helped by having the extra horsepower to get it all back down the straight. No such differences exist between Rossi and Lorenzo.

It is one of racing’s oldest clichés that the first person you have to beat is your team-mate. Clichés become clichés because they are all too true. Never more so than in MotoGP 2015.

Here we have two riders on two basically identical bikes and definitely identical tyres. There are no excuses, and no blurred edges. When you do see differences, these are entirely down to the riders, and their individual riding styles.

The stop-watches reveal many similarities. The visuals show many differences. Motorcycle racing is a very personal motorsport, in that the rider’s body weight is a major part of the overall dynamic equation.

These two riders show that personality differences cut even deeper than that.

Lorenzo is a remarkable rider. Few in racing’s history have operated with such surgical precision. Everything he does is considered. You can tell that from the way he talks, and even more from the way he rides.

It is as if he has switched the bike onto autopilot; with software containing just two programs. For the first couple of laps, it’s simply Flat Out. Thereafter, it defaults to Maintain The Gap. This is achieved with almost inhuman accuracy.

His six wins this year have all come the same way: leading from first lap to last, winning from the front.

Earlier this season former racing hero Randy Mamola opined that Lorenzo’s weakness was that “he has only one knife”. But boy that knife is very, very sharp.

But it is not a colourful way to win races, and Lorenzo is not a colourful character. Not in public, anyway.

The contrasts with Rossi run through every aspect, from personality to use of the twist-grip.

Valentino is articulate and quick-witted in conversation, and knows exactly how to exert a powerful and natural charm. This plays well with the fans, and forms the basis of a massively successful commercial empire. Makes you wonder just how much is calculated; but Rossi never lets that show.

He’s the same on a motorcycle. Of course the veteran of xxx years of campaigning is also accurate, or can be, reeling off precision laps to order. At present, as he freely admits, these laps are not quite as fast as Lorenzo’s. This particular knife is not as sharp.

But Rossi has more than the one knife. He has a great selection, from short-bladed paring and stabbing dirks to a great curving cutlass; from stilettos to swords.

In this way, he is able to adapt to changing circumstances, to tailor his skill to current requirements. He can ride with his heart as much as his head. And while Lorenzo’s body language speaks of tight control, Rossi’s exudes passion and enjoyment.

There are four races left, and a titanic battle ahead. Looking at it logically, Lorenzo is the more favoured. Faster, anyway.

Looking at it with passion and enjoyment, then Rossi has the upper hand.

Motorcycle racing is not a very logical pastime. People do it because they love it, not because it is a necessary step towards any relevant or important conclusion.

Rossi for champion then.

Words: Michael Scott Photos: Gold and Goose