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No Fenders scribe Tomaso samples a Movistar Yamaha
Scooter' during the 2014 MotoGP weekend at COTA. (The Tomaso Collection)
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Otay, so this
AIN'T Open Wheel Racing per sei, albeit they've got pretty small fenders; Hya!
Yet once again your humble No Fenders scribe is currently basking in the Texas
Heat, having just arrived in Austin, in order to attend this weekend's MotoGP
race at COTA, nee Circuit Of The Americas to see "The Aliens" once
again; after a resounding trip to my second ever MotoGP race last April, which
I scribbled about in;
Obviously, the early money's gotta be on
Marquez doing the Hat Trick 'O Championships, while his Repsol Honda team-mate
Dani
Pedrosa will
be hard pressed once again to upstage him, along with the rest of the grid.
Movistar Yamaha appears to be the lead
"Works" Honda team's main challenger, as "The Doctor," nee
Valentino Rossi still hungers for more titles, while it'll be interesting to
see if team-mate George Lorenzo can get back to his MotoGP world champion form,
as think his shoulder surgery slowed him down initially last year, right?
Whilst recently spotted the news that Rossi thinks that the Ducs' (Ducati)
riders have an "Unfair Advantage" with their softer rubber allowed
per the Italian squad running to Open Class specs.
As making things "Clear as Mud on a
Rainy Day!" Is the still muddled two class format which is further
complicated by three Factory efforts utilizing the Open Class specifications,
which allows for a softer Bridgestone
rear tyre, four more liters of fuel and continuous engine development, albeit
in tandem with the sport's common "Spec" Magnetti Marneli ECU.
(Engine Control Unit)
As I was totally unawares that both MotoGP classes
were currently utilizing Seamless shift technology, as even more intriguingly
is the fact that the different manufacturers have devised unique shifting
patterns, i.e.; Ducati's 2nd-to-6th, etc.
Along with Ducati, Suzuki, who returns in
2015 and new Italian Scooter' manufacturer Aprilia will run their respective
"Works" efforts under the Open Class rules, which thankfully will
become more refined next year when everybody will run a common mandated ECU,
although it sounds like there will still be room for engine development, etc.
And while Marques is still my favourite
current rider, without knowing anythingy 'bout him, whilst scribbling this, I'm
becoming more 'N more interested in the rookie Spanish rider with flair to his
name, that being the 20yr old Suzuki rider Maverick Viñales.
Also curious on how Cal Crutchlow, a
favourite with the ladies; Hooah! Resumes his career trajectory towards the top
of the MotoGP mountain, having left Ducati for a perceivably more competitive
Honda, while NO idea on how the new Aprilia will prevail?
And then there's just one lone 'Yank
remaining after the "Texas Tornado," aka Colin Edwards retired last
year. As it seems a longtime ago that Nicky Hayden, known as "the Kentucky
Kid" won the '06 title ahead of Rossi. With Nicky hoping for improved
performance from his Open Class Honda, as he'll contest a second year aboard
one of Drive
M7 Aspar's (Open Class) Scooters.
Meanwhile, upon taking very quick cursory
looks thru the supporting Moto2 and Moto3 Feeder Series entry lists, I gleamed
these few following factoids.
Alex Marquez, younger brother of Marc, who
won the Moto3 title last year, has graduated to Moto2 and surely is setting his
sights upon joining his elder brother in the top category shortly.
And lastly, it'll be interesting to see how
Doce Femme Fatales in the Moto3 category do? As look for the names Maria Herrera
and Ana Carrasco,
as Maria will ride aboard the #6 factory Husqvarna team's Scooter, with Ana straddling RBA Racing Team's
#22 KTM respectively.
Not to mention The Binder bros, as surely Brad
and Daren hope to emulate those Marquez guys, right? As Brad's taken over Jack
Miller's ride at Red Bull KTM - reportedly a coveted seat.
And the
"Junior" Moto3 grid won't be devoid of 'Oz riders, with a
familiar name from the past. As Remy Garner, 16yr old son of former GP500
champion Wayne Garner from Down Under will proudly fly the Aussie flag in just
his fourth year of road racing, while his younger brother Luca also is working
his way up the motorcycle racing ladder...
While I believe that the race will air on Fox
Sports 1, I have NO idea what time, so per usual, check your local listings...