I was initially going to write this piece the day before the start of the Styrian race weekend, but then a piece of news dropped that shifted the focus of the entire weekend. Not often is there a revelation in the sporting world that was so heavily predicted by the media and the fans that could still rock news feeds across the globe, and like many MotoGP fans I was swept up in the conversations that followed the bombshell announcement on Thursday evening.
So, let’s get it out of the way first. Valentino Rossi, nine time world champion and arguably the single greatest grand prix motorcycle racer of all time, will retire at the end of the season. The Italian superstar has been racing since 1996, and stepped up to the premier class in 2000, marking a 22-year run in the 500cc/MotoGP class. He has set records that will likely take decades to rewrite – 199 premier class podiums don’t exactly fall out of the sky – and has a perfect legacy in the form of his VR46 rider academy, which will now sport machinery in both the Moto2 and MotoGP classes. There were apparently conversations surrounding the possibility of him continuing to ride with his own team, but Rossi will instead step into a managerial position, as well as into the 4-wheeled arena.
How do you measure success like Rossi’s? For starters, you could look at the number of rivals that have spanned his time in the premier class. Riders like Biaggi, Gibernau, Pedrosa, Stoner, Lorenzo – these are some of the all-time greats, and all of them came and went during the time Rossi spent in the top class of motorcycle racing on the planet. Even Marc Marquez, the modern-day master of MotoGP, has seen his fair share of defeats at the hands of the wily Italian rider, and will have his work cut out for him trying to dethrone some of the records Rossi set during his illustrious career. This is a man who has single-handedly shaped the way people perceive MotoGP in today’s media, and is one of the few stars of our sport who is something of a household name across the planet. That is how big a superstar Rossi is, and that is what the sport will lose at the end of 2021.
As I mentioned, his legacy will live on in the sport. Rossi’s VR46 Academy has already managed to get three riders into the premier class (Morbidelli, Bagnaia and Marini), and has permanently increased the number of young, talented Italian riders in the various grand prix classes. As a team manager, he will remain in and out of the paddock, and he will hopefully get to see a new perspective on just how big of an impact he has had on the sport as he witnesses his young proteges taking on world titles from the sidelines. His fans will likely be disappointed at the news of his retirement, but he has left a permanent mark on the sport. That’s something to be proud of, in my opinion.
All this, and we haven’t even gotten to the racing yet. The second half of this incredible 2021 season kicks off with a double header in the Austrian mountains, with the Styrian grand prix this weekend and the Austrian round next week. It’s a fast circuit, with many flowing sections and less corners than other tracks we visit on the modern calendar (technically there are 10 corners, but one of them is nothing more than a full-throttle kink to the left, so I tend to ignore that one). Lap times will circulate in the low 1:20s, meaning every lap is an all-out sprint as riders attempt to extract as much power and drive out of every straight.
If you hadn’t already clued in from those descriptors, this is something of a Ducati favourite. Since the circuit joined the calendar in 2016 we’ve seen Ducatis win 5 of the 6 races held here, including three wins going solely to Andrea Dovizioso. The sole defeat the Italian factory has been dealt here was at the hands of Miguel Oliveira in the Styrian GP last year, and that was a last corner pass that left the entire community in awe. The Portugese rider has since added two more wins to his belt, and it seems safe to say the KTMs will be heading into their home track with confidence they can take the fight to the Ducatis.
They likely won’t be the only ones, either. Though on paper this reads like a Ducati rider’s dream track, almost every other factory has displayed strength here at different points in the past. The Suzuki’s showed a massive amount of promise here last season as their wiry cornering allowed them to make up the time they were losing on the straights, and both Marc Marquez and Nakagami have had excellent results here in the past on board Honda machinery. Even the Yamahas often aren’t too far off the pace, though their 2020 results left much to be desired. That may or may not have had something to do with the number of major crashes they were a part of, however.
For the uninitiated, both the Austrian and Styrian races in 2020 were red-flagged due to major crashes. In the first case it was a coming together between Zarco and Morbidelli that resulted in one of the bikes flying back across the track and coming millimetres from wiping out both Rossi and Vinales. In the second, it was Vinales’ brakes failing him, forcing him to bail off the bike before it careened into the air fence, puncturing the fence and catching fire in the process. These were fast, ugly crashes, and caused a great deal of concern both within the paddock and from the fans themselves. Sure, it’s a lot of fun to watch motorbikes flying around the Austrian track at high speeds, but when it suddenly turns into life-or-death moments it tends to leave one feeling more nervous than excited.
Safety will be the topic of plenty of conversations this weekend, especially with the weather. There’s already been some rain on the circuit so far, and the forecast predicts plenty more come race day. The riders are concerned about the potential for more big scares in the wet, as the track is known for becoming rather treacherous when water is able to build up. Rumour has it that riders are considering petitioning to have the race moved to the Monday if the weather doesn’t play along, and personally I tend to agree with this move. We had our fair share of carnage last year, and it would be a terrible shame to follow it up with more of the same in 2021.
For Quartararo, this round marks the beginning of the most challenging task of his career: defending his championship lead. The Frenchman has had an unbelievable first half of the season, and should he maintain that form for the second half there is genuinely no reason he shouldn’t be crowned come November, but we’ve been in this position before. Quartararo had the lead in 2020, and he slowly started to unravel, to the point where Mir was able to swoop in and steal the crown while Quartararo finished down in 8th in the standings. The Frenchman needs to keep his composure this time around if he wants a genuine shot at his first MotoGP title.
His opponents are plenty, however. The Ducati trio of Zarco, Miller and Bagnaia are all still in with a chance, and will benefit greatly from the next two races if they can keep control over the other bikes. Mir and Oliveira also represent potential trouble for the current leader, with Mir hoping to finally receive the rear height device he and Rins have been begging for from Suzuki. Even the enigma that is Maverick Vinales cannot be ruled out of the championship battle just yet, as Yamaha appear committed to providing him with a good bike for the rest of the season despite the announcement that their relationship will not continue into 2022. That’s a lot of riders Quartararo has to keep tabs on in this second half of the season, and if he finds himself conceding too many points to any one of them his championship challenge may come into doubt.
There is one rather odd thing going in Quartararo’s favour, however, as we enter the second half of the championship. We don’t know how long the championship will go on for, as COVID-19 rears its ugly head once more in multiple regions across the planet. The races planned later in the year for Australia, Thailand and Japan have already been cancelled, and it seems Malaysia may be next on the chopping block. While there is always the possibility for replacement races being scheduled in other European tracks, it does raise the concerning idea that the season could simply be cut short at any time should the virus get properly out of control once again. This plays into the hands of the current championship leader, obviously, as all Quartararo has to do is keep himself on top at the end of each given round.
It’s a bleak thought, and a tough reality to face, but the flip side of it is that after a month of waiting, MotoGP is finally back. Whether or not you care about the gossip going on regarding 2022 contracts, whether or not you’re a fan of Rossi, whether or not you are glued to the safety talks happening – bikes are back on track, and that is a beautiful thing indeed. Here’s to the remainder of 2021 – may it be a long and fruitful season.
Solomon Talks Bikes 