It's been quite extraordinary how many people have come up to me since the Shanghai MotoGP and exclaimed, 'what a race!'.  | Right from the word go in China he was top of the sheets for times and he and his motorcycle were in the groove. Steve Parrish on Valentino Rossi |
Personally I didn't think it was that great, Dani Pedrosa followed Valentino Rossi round and round before Rossi sped off and won. Pretty straightforward, really. But the reason why people thought it was so good is simply because Rossi won. The Italian's popularity shows no sign of waning. It was classic performance from him after his recent drought and confirmed 'The Doctor' is back. It looked like Pedrosa was stalking him and sitting comfortably on his tail, but Rossi found a second a lap on him, pulled the pin and disappeared. Right from the word go in China he was top of the timesheets, and he and his motorcycle were in the groove. He exuded an air of confidence that shows that the methodical work him, Yamaha and Bridgestone have put in is paying off. Valentino and his bike are gelling a lot more after the transition from Michelin to Bridgestone tyres over the summer. It's the biggest factor on any motorbike you can change. You can change the chassis, the forks etc yet the tyres will always be the biggest element. | LE MANS MOTOGP Qualifying live: Saturday, BBCi (Freeview channel 302) and BBC Sport website, 1250-1405
125 and 250cc races live: Sunday, BBCi (Freeview channel 301) and BBC Sport website, 0945-1215
Race live: Sunday, BBC One and BBC Sport website, 1230-1430
Coverage on the BBC Sport website is available for UK users only |
He has taken time to dial that in, but he is back on track and primed for battle with Pedrosa, Casey Stoner and Jorge Lorenzo who are set to fight tooth and nail for the Championship. Defending champion Stoner has become Mr Grumpy again. He intimated that someone on his Ducati team chose the wrong tyres for him in Shanghai. He felt that they shouldn't have changed to harder tyres and it destroyed his feel for the bike over the weekend. He has to take it on the chin and take part of the blame himself. It's not as if he finished last, he got third and is still in touch. He isn't enjoying the procession of victories he had last season, but the pace has got faster and everyone is bridging the gap. Ducati were never going to have the advantage they had last year, he set the bar and now everyone has run up towards it. As for Lorenzo, boy he is a tough lad. To finish fourth after riding with one broken ankle and one ankle with ligament damage was impressive. I think his display really made him a lot of friends with the public. He's always been seen as a cocky kid with a bit of arrogance, but what a tough ride from him. I really didn't think he would be racing with the injuries he sustained. But that's motorbike racing for you, the riders know it comes with the job and they know they are going to get hurt. He might be inhibited in France this weekend although I can't imagine, after seeing his performance in China, that he is going to be far away from the front runners. He also has the benefit of knowing the track well having won the 250cc race in Le Mans last season, which gives him a head start over fellow MotoGP rookie James Toseland. It will be tough for Toseland to get to grips with another new track. It's always hard being one or two practice runs away from where everyone else is simply because you are learning the circuit. Le Mans maybe will be easier for him to learn than Shanghai was as it's not that technical a circuit and only really has one dodgy corner, the rest are pretty straight forward - it's a blast between shorts straights and sharp corners. Le Mans prediction: 1. Rossi 2. Pedrosa 3. Stoner Steve Parrish was talking to Paul Birch
The BBC also has coverage this weekend of Northern Ireland's famous NW200 race around the Portstewart-Coleraine-Portrush triangle. Live action on Saturday 17 May (1200-1245, BBCi/online and 1300-1345, BBCi/online) and a highlights show on Sunday 18 May (2220-2320, BBCi/online). For detailed listings click here
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