Monthly Archives: June 2018

THE FIRST TIME – NEVER FORGOTTEN

Assen is like my very first kiss – never forgotten. Perhaps not quite in the same way as that stolen kiss outside the front door with her father waiting on the other side for his daughter to return home, but still a memory to cherish.

I can thank Assen for my first ever grand prix, witnessing Barry Sheene win his first 500cc grand prix and then my first grand prix as a proper newspaper reporter and won by a Dutchman. No wonder the very mention of that strip of hallowed tarmac in the northern extremities of Holland moistens the old eyes and it’s not the dreaded hay fever.  

It all came back to me last year on a glorious Wednesday evening as we raced through the flat Dutch countryside towards Assen. The windmills, the canals, the cows, the bicycles and the June sunshine took me back 44 long years. Sitting in the back of the Tee Mill tours coach at 5am in the morning on the very same roads on route to my first grand prix – what an adventure at the 1973 Dutch TT.

In those distant dark days there was no British Grand Prix to witness the World Championship stars in action. The British round of the World Championship was still held every June at the TT races in the Isle of Man. We did get a glimpse of our heroes at the big International races on the mainland at events like the John Player International at Silverstone and the Race of the year at Mallory Park. Of course we made the annual pilgrimage to the Island but the trouble was many of the top World Championship riders had already decided the TT was too dangerous. One such rider was my ultimate hero Jarno Saarinen. We’d seen him ride at Silverstone and Mallory and after many council meetings at the local pub we made the momentous decision to give the TT a miss and go abroad, well Europe, to the Dutch TT. At least it was still a TT but we never imagined just how different it was to the Isle of Man.

Saarinen was spearheading Yamaha’s two-stroke assault on the World 500cc Championship and had already won in France and Austria. Then came the bombshell. The BBC Light Programme’s seven o clock news on Sunday May 20th announced that both Jarno Saarinen and Renzo Pasolini had been killed in a truly terrible accident at Monza in Italy. We were shattered but were even more determined to travel to Holland to pay our respects. We were in good company with around 25 packed coaches of fans meeting at Dover to cross the channel and drive to the legendary Assen.

It was a trip into a completely new world and learning about so much. We had a great courier on board our coach with Brands Hatch star Pat Mahoney keeping us amused all the way there and especially on the way back, via Amsterdam. At 6am in the morning we’d never seen so many people and bicycles at a race meeting. You could buy beer and chips covered in mayonnaise at that time in the morning and the sun never stopped shining. Six World Championship races, including sidecars around the most famous circuit in the World. The icing on the cake, Phil Read winning the 500cc race on the MV Agusta, four strokes still ruled the roost but not for much longer.

Then all back on the coach and a night in Amsterdam where we thought the barman liked us so much he didn’t charge us for each round of drinks. It was only when we were leaving the bill appeared. All part of the education that has stood me in good stead for the next 45 years.

By |2020-04-29T09:39:51+00:00June 28th, 2018|News and Events, Nick's Blog|Comments Off on THE FIRST TIME – NEVER FORGOTTEN

Dutch TT 2018 – Fast Facts

  • The MotoGP podium at the Catalunya Grand Prix (Lorenzo, Marquez, Ross) set new records for the accumulated number of grand prix wins (246) and the accumulated number of premier-class wins – 173.
  • At the Dutch TT Jorge Lorenzo could become just the second rider to win three successive races on a Ducati; the only rider to have achieved this previously is Casey Stoner.
  • If Jorge Lorenzo wins the Dutch TT he will be the oldest rider to win three or more successive premier-class races since Mick Doohan in 1998.
  • Following his wins at Mugello and Catalunya if Jorge Lorenzo wins the Dutch TT he will become only the third rider of the MotoGP era to win three or more successive MotoGP races for two different manufacturers, joining Valentino Rossi (Honda and Yamaha) and Casey Stoner (Ducati and Honda). In addition to Rossi and Stoner the only other rider to score three or more successive premier-class grand prix races on motorcycles from two different manufacturers is Geoff Duke in the 500cc class on both Norton and Gilera.
  • The win in Catalunya was the 112th time Jorge Lorenzo has stood on the podium in the MotoGP class, the exact same number as Dani Pedrosa. Only Valentino Rossi has stood on the podium more often in the premier-class of grand prix racing.
  • Lorenzo’s win in Catalunya was the 150th time he has stood on the podium in his grand prix career. He is fourth rider ever to reach the milestone of 150 grand prix podium finishes, joining Valentino Rossi, Giacomo Agostini and Dani Pedrosa.
  • Two years ago at the Dutch TT Jack Miller took his first win in the MotoGP class; this was the first win in MotoGP by an Independent Team rider since Toni Elias won in Portugal in 2006.
  • The last eight MotoGP poles at the Dutch TT have been taken by eight different riders: Jorge Lorenzo was on pole in 2010 followed in successive years by – Marco Simoncelli, Casey Stoner, Cal Crutchlow, Aleix Espargaro, Valentino Rossi, Andrea Dovizioso and Johann Zarco.
  • In the last seven years only two riders have won the MotoGP race at the Dutch TT from pole position: Casey Stoner in 2012 and Valentino Rossi in 2015.
  • In Catalunya Jorge Lorenzo became the first rider to win in the MotoGP class having started from pole positions since Marc Marquez at Phillip Island last year.
  • Neither Dani Pedrosa nor fellow factory Honda rider Marc Marquez has started from pole in the MotoGP class at the Dutch TT. The last Honda rider to start from pole in the MotoGP class at the Dutch TT was Casey Stoner in 2012.
  • The last rider to win the MotoGP race at the Dutch TT in successive years is Valentino Rossi, in 2004 and 2005.
  • Last year Valentino Rossi become the oldest winner in the MotoGP era at the age of 38 years 129 days, which also made him the 7th oldest winner of all-time in the premier-class of grand prix racing.
  • If Marc Marquez finished in the top three at the Dutch TT it will be his 69th podium in the MotoGP class, equalling the number of MotoGP podiums achieved by Casey Stoner.
  • Last year at the Dutch TT, Scott Redding became just the second British rider (along with Cal Crutchlow) in the MotoGP era to set a fastest lap in a race.
  • Yamaha have gone 17 MotoGP races without a win, since the Dutch TT last year. This is their longest winless sequence since the 18 race winless streak that included the last two races of 2002 and the 16 races of 2003.
  • Only two riders have scored points at all five MotoGP races in 2018: Maverick Vinales and Danilo Petrucci.
  • Maverick Vinales has scored points in the last 17 successive races. The last time that he did not finish in a point scoring position was the Dutch TT last year when he crashed at the chicane at the end of the 12th lap.
  • This year the Dutch TT takes place in July for the first time since 1955.

 

 

 

 

By |2018-06-28T09:42:50+00:00June 28th, 2018|Martin Raines Blog, News and Events|Comments Off on Dutch TT 2018 – Fast Facts

Dutch TT 2018 – Facts and Stats

  • The Dutch TT became part of the world championship series when it was first created in 1949 and Assen is the only circuit to have been part of the series every year since, making this the 70th Dutch TT that has counted towards the world championship classification.
  • In 2016 the Dutch TT was held on Sunday for the first time; all previous Dutch TT events had taken place on Saturday
  • The original Assen circuit, that was used up to 1954, measured 16.54 km. This was reduced to 7.7 km in 1955 and then in 1984 further modifications to the circuit reduced the length to 6.1 km.  The current layout has been used since 2006, with a few minor adjustments.
  • The 500cc race at the 1975 Dutch TT is the only premier-class grand prix race where the first two riders across the line have been credited with the same race time. Barry Sheene and Giacomo Agostini finished so close that the timekeepers of the day, using manual timing accurate to 0.1 sec, were unable to split them.
  • Yamaha are the most successful manufacturer at the Dutch TT since the start of the four-stroke MotoGP formula with nine victories, seven for Valentino Rossi and one each for Jorge Lorenzo and Ben Spies.
  • Honda have had six MotoGP wins at the Dutch TT with six different riders: Valentino Rossi, Sete Gibernau, Nicky Hayden, Casey Stoner, Marc Marquez and Jack Miller.
  • Ducati’s single MotoGP win at the Dutch TT came in 2008 with Casey Stoner. Ducati has had just three podium finishers at Assen in the past seven years: Andrea Dovizioso was second in 2014, Scott Redding third in 2016 and Danilo Petrucci second last year.
  • The last win by Suzuki at the Dutch TT was in the 500cc race in 1993 with Kevin Schwantz. The best results by Suzuki in the MotoGP era at the Dutch TT are 5th place finishes by John Hopkins in 2007 and Chris Vermeulen in 2009.
  • Just 0.063 second separated Valentino Rossi and Danilo Petrucci at the end of the Dutch TT last year; the sixth closest finish of the MotoGP era, after: 2006/Portugal (0.002 seconds), 2011/Valencia (0.015 sec), 2016/Italy (0.019 sec), 2003/Czech (0.042 sec), 2003/Germany (0.060 sec).
  • The rider with most GP victories at Assen is Angel Nieto with 15 wins in the 125cc and 50cc classes, followed by Giacomo Agostini who had 14 wins riding 500cc and 350cc machines.
  • Among the current riders, Valentino Rossi has been most successful at Assen with a total of ten victories, eight in MotoGP and one each in the 250cc and 125cc classes.
  • The eight Moto2 races at the Dutch TT have been won by seven different riders: Andrea Iannone (2010), Marc Marquez (2011 & 2012), Pol Espargaro (2013), Anthony West (2014), Johann Zarco (2015), Takaaki Nakagami (2016) and Franco Morbidelli (2017). Of these riders, all with the exception of West are now competing in the MotoGP class.
  • The six Moto3 races at the Dutch TT have been won by six different riders: Maverick Vinales (2012), Luis Salom (2013), Alex Marquez (2014), Miguel Oliveira (2015), Francesco Bagnaia (2016), Aron Canet (2017). Of these riders only Canet still competes in the Moto3 class.
  • Only once has the Moto3 race at Assen been won by a rider qualifying on the front row – in 2014 when Alex Marquez qualified in second place on the grid.
  • Moto3 rookie Bo Bendsneyder finished 9th at his home grand prix in 2016, which is the best result for a Dutch rider in any class of grand prix racing at the Dutch TT since Jurgen van den Goorbergh finished ninth in the 500cc race in 2001.

 

By |2018-06-26T12:56:12+00:00June 26th, 2018|Martin Raines Blog, News and Events|1 Comment

Thank goodness for the switch, it could have got boring

After witnessing Jorge Lorenzo hammer the opposition for the second Grand Prix in succession at Barcelona on Sunday, I will be honest to admit the thought did cross my mind – thank goodness Lorenzo is making the amazing switch to Repsol Honda next year because this could get boring. It’s not a thought that would have even entered my head after watching him stomp into the Ducati garage at Le Mans after finishing in sixth place just four weeks previously. What a difference a month can make in the frenzied tangled web of the MotoGP™ paddock.

Even in the world of MotoGP, it’s an amazing turn around but one fact to shine through the fog of intrigue is once five times World Champion Jorge Lorenzo gets the bit between the teeth, he is a very difficult man to beat. The Barcelona win may have not been from start to finish – which is the Mallorcan’s great forte – but he was only one lap short, taking the lead down into Turn 1 on the second lap and never to be headed again. That was the last the opposition saw of him as he romped to his 46th MotoGP win. In 24 of those victories, including his maiden Ducati win at Mugello two weeks previously, he has led every lap of the race, which is some record. Throw in his first Ducati pole after 25 attempts and the transformation is complete, although it probably took longer than both Ducati and Lorenzo could ever have imagined.

Just to thicken the plot between those two wins for Ducati, Lorenzo announced he was leaving the Italian factory at the end of his two-year contract to join Marc Marquez at Repsol Honda next season. The timing could not have been more bizarre but the thought of the two Spaniards on the Championship winning Honda next season must send a shiver down the spine of the opposition, but not of Team Boss Alberto Puig. His two riders may have won the MotoGP world title for the last six years but his no nonsense, say it as it is approach that turned promising youngsters into World Champions has prepared him for the pit lane conflicts that are bound to occur when two of the MotoGP™ greats chase the same title. Only one of them can win it but what a great problem to have. Surely Honda have pulled off the signing of the year, or even the decade? Although Casey Stoner’s arrival from Ducati in 2011 was not such a bad move.

Ducati must be confused although a lot better off financially. After Andrea Dovizioso’s brilliant victory at that first Grand Prix of the year in Qatar they, like many of us, thought Dovi could really challenge for the title this year. Whatever the situation with Lorenzo and his struggles to adjust to Ducati they had the potential World Champion on the other side of the garage, but three crashes in the last four races have wrecked his chances of bringing Ducati that first World title since Stoner way back in 2007.

One thing that is for certain MotoGP™ is never boring, on or off the track. Prepare for the next instalment.

By |2020-04-29T09:39:51+00:00June 21st, 2018|News and Events, Nick's Blog|3 Comments

Grand Prix of Catalunya 2018 – Fast Facts

  • Jorge Lorenzo’s won the Italian Grand Prix by 6.37 seconds which is the largest winning margin at Mugello in the MotoGP era and also the largest winning margin for a Ducati rider since Casey Stoner won the Australian GP in 2010 by 8.598 seconds, which was also the last start-to-finish win for a Ducati rider.
  • Although Lorenzo had a clear lead at the front of the race, the battle behind him for points was as close as ever. The 9th place finisher Alvaro Bautista ended the race just 11.154 seconds behind Lorenzo, making this the closest top nine of the MotoGP era in a race that has gone the full distance.
  • The total accumulated age of the three riders on the MotoGP podium in Mugello was 102 years 209 days – the oldest podium in the premier-class since the Grand Prix of Finland in 1975 which was won by Giacomo Agostini from Tepi Lansivouri and Jack Findlay
  • Jorge Lorenzo is first rider to win in MotoGP on both Yamaha and Ducati (Loris Capirossi won on Yamaha and Ducati, but his Yamaha win was in the 500cc class). With his win at Mugello Lorenzo is the seventh rider to have a winning career spanning more than 10 years in the premier-class, joining: Rossi, Barros, Pedrosa, Read, Agostini and Capirossi.
  • Lorenzo’s win at Mugello came more than 14 years after his first GP win I the 125cc class at Rio in 2003. Only four riders have longer winning careers in Grand Prix racing than Lorenzo: Valentino Rossi, Loris Capirossi, Angel Nieto and Dani Pedrosa.
  • Lorenzo’s win in Italy was the 149th time he has stood on the podium in his grand prix career. His next top three finish will make him just the fourth rider ever to reach the milestone of 150 grand prix podium finishes, joining Valentino Rossi, Giacomo Agostini and Dani Pedrosa.
  • Valentino Rossi is the most successful rider across all grand prix classes at the Catalunya circuit with ten victories (1 x 125cc, 2 x 250cc, 1 x 500cc, 6 x MotoGP). The next most successful, with five wins is Jorge Lorenzo (1 x 250cc, 4 x MotoGP).
  • The last rider to win a MotoGP race starting from pole position was Marc Marquez at Phillip Island last year. This eight race sequence without a rider winning from pole is the longest in the MotoGP class since there was 12 races without a winner from pole starting with the 2006 Portuguese GP.
  • Ten different riders have finished on the podium in the first six races of 2018 – the same number of different podium finishers throughout the whole of 2017.
  • In Catalunya two years ago Maverick Viñales set the fastest lap of the race on his way to finishing 4th riding a Suzuki – his first fastest lap in the MotoGP class.
  • Yamaha have gone 16 MotoGP races without a win, their longest winless sequence since the 18 race winless streak that included the last two races of 2002 and the 16 races of 2003.
  • Only two riders have scored points at all five MotoGP races in 2018: Maverick Vinales and Danilo Petrucci.
  • Arriving at Catalunya Hafizh Syahrin and Franco Morbidelli are level on points in the battle for the Rookie of the Year title, each with 17 points.

 

 

By |2020-04-29T09:39:51+00:00June 14th, 2018|Martin Raines Blog, News and Events|Comments Off on Grand Prix of Catalunya 2018 – Fast Facts

HERE WE GO AGAIN

The two weeks of pain, anguish and that so familiar feeling of disappointment and ultimate let down is about to start once again. Every four years we patriotic English fans in the MotoGP paddock community prepare for the worst. We start with so much hope and optimism which is slowly drained from every bone in your body before the final humiliation much to the delight of the other nationalities – Yes the Football World Cup in Russia is about to start.

I’ve lost count of the times I’ve stumbled out of the IRTA paddock office late at night after witnessing yet another England defeat. The misery shared by many others amid the empty beer cans and pizza boxes. An evening which would have started with so much excitement and laughter ended with more than a choice few words and then total silence as we walked through the dark deserted MotoGP paddock.

This is not a new experience. Even I was not in the MotoGP paddock when England won the World Cup in 1966 but I was there 24 years later when they came very close although my choice of venue and fellow television viewers was not perfect. A small hotel deep in the Ardennes forest on the border of Belgium and Germany would not have been my preferred venue for a World Cup semi-final clash in Italy between England and Germany. I never realised that the Spa Francorchamps circuit, which was hosting the Belgium Grand Prix that weekend, was so close to the German border. I was the lone English voice amongst the German fans still smarting from that final defeat 24 long years earlier. It was a truly epic encounter that went to a penalty shoot- out. Enough said, because we all know how England always fares in dreaded penalty shoot outs and especially against Germany.

I remember the Qualifying press conference for the 2006 British Grand Prix at Donington Park. The World Cup game between England and Portugal in Germany was taking place at the same time. Distracted from announcing the Tissot watch winners would be a fair assessment of my state of mind at the time. While the photographs of the pole setters was being conducted I received a note from the Italian journalists telling me with great delight that England’s star player Wayne Rooney had been sent off. I rushed to the IRTA office when conference had finished without too many questions from the floor being offered to the journalists. I arrived in time for the penalty shoot–out and so no need to say anymore.

I’ve also jealously watched a nation celebrate success in a major football tournament. The night of the 1988 Dutch TT in Assen Holland beat Russia in the final of the European Championship in Germany and how they celebrated. I was in Amsterdam which went even crazier than normal while Schiphol airport the next morning was a sea of orange and tulips to welcome the victorious team back home.

Ironically I watched the last World Cup final with the only Argentinian in Germany. The final between Germany and Argentina was being played in Brazil and we were at Leipzig airport preparing to fly home after the German Grand Prix at the Sachsenring. I sat with Diego the Dorna photographer watching his side lose as the Germans celebrated all around. It was feeling I knew so well although as I told Diego at least Argentina had reached the final. The last time England did that was in 1966.

So here we go again.

By |2018-06-14T08:24:13+00:00June 14th, 2018|Uncategorised|Comments Off on HERE WE GO AGAIN

Catalunya 2018 – Facts and Stats

  • This is the 27th successive year that the Circuit de Catalunya has hosted a grand prix; it was first included in the motorcycle grand prix series in 1992.
  • Only three current venues have a longer ongoing sequence of hosting grand prix events: Jerez, Mugello and Assen.
  • The last time that Spain did not have at least one GP winner across the three classes at the Catalan Grand Prix was 2002.
  • During the four-stroke MotoGP era, Yamaha have taken nine victories at the Catalunya circuit, the last of which was two years ago with Valentino Rossi.
  • Honda have had just four wins at the Catalunya circuit during the MotoGP era, the last of which was in 2014 with Marc Marquez.
  • Ducati with Andrea Dovizioso took the win last year to add to the manufacturers two previous MotoGP wins at the Catalunya circuit, including their very first ever in the class with Loris Capirossi in 2003.
  • The last win by Suzuki at the Catalunya Grand Prix was in the 500cc class in 2000, with Kenny Roberts JNR. Two years ago Maverick Viñales’ finished fourth, which equalled the best result for a Suzuki rider at the Catalunya circuit since the introduction of the MotoGP formula in 2002, which had previously been achieved by John Hopkins in both 2006 and 2007.
  • Aleix Espargaro started from pole three years ago in Catalunya – which was the first pole for Suzuki since Chris Vermeulen took the top qualifying spot at the Dutch TT in 2007.
  • The last Yamaha rider to start from pole in Catalunya was Jorge Lorenzo in 2010, which was also the last time that the rider starting from pole won the MotoGP race at this circuit. In addition to Jorge Lorenzo, the only other rider to have won the MotoGP race at Catalunya from pole position is Valentino Rossi in 2006.
  • There have been nine premier-class victories by Spanish riders at the Catalunya circuit; Alex Criville in 1995 & 1999, Carlos Checa in 1996, Dani Pedrosa in 2008, Jorge Lorenzo in 2010, 2012, 2013 & 2015, and Marc Marquez in 2014.
  • There has been at least one Spanish rider on the podium in the MotoGP race at the Catalan GP for the last eleven years.
  • The eight Moto2 races that have taken place at the Catalunya circuit have been won by seven different riders: 2010 – Yuki Takahashi, 2011 – Stefan Bradl, 2012 – Andrea Iannone, 2013 – Pol Espargaro, 2014 – Tito Rabat, 2015 & 2016 – Johann Zarco and 2017 – Alex Marquez. Of these riders, only Marquez is still competing in the Moto2 class.
  • The six Moto3 GP races that have taken place at the Catalunya circuit have been won by six different riders: Maverick Vinales, Luis Salom, Alex Marquez, Danny Kent, Jorge Navarro and Joan Mir. None of these riders are still competing in the Moto3 class.
  • Honda riders have won the Moto3 race at the Catalan GP for the last four years.

 

By |2018-06-12T13:28:11+00:00June 12th, 2018|Martin Raines Blog, News and Events|1 Comment

A decade of winning in MotoGP for Jorge Lorenzo

Jorge Lorenzo’s victory at the Italian Grand Prix was more than ten years after his first victory in the MotoGP class which came in just his third race of his debut season, at Estoril in Portugal in 2008. As shown in the following list he is just the seventh rider to have a winning career in the premier-class of grand prix racing lasting longer than ten years:

Longest winning careers in the premier-class of Grand Prix

  Rider First GP win Last GP win Length of winning GP career
1 Valentino Rossi Great Britain/2000 Dutch TT/2017 16 years 351 days
2 Alex Barros FIM/1993 Portugal/2005 11 years 204 days
3 Dani Pedrosa China/2006 Valencia/2017 11 years 182 days
4 Phil Read Ulster/1964 Czech/1975 11 years 16 days
5 Giacomo Agostini Finland/1965 West Germany/1976 11 years 7 days
6 Loris Capirossi Australia/1996 Japan/2007 10 years 338 days
7 Jorge Lorenzo Portugal/2008 Italy/2018 10 years 51 days
8 Andrea Dovizioso GBR/2009 Qatar/2018 8 years 235 days
9 Eddie Lawson South Africa/1984 Hungary/1992 8 years 110 days
10 Mick Doohan Hungary/1990 Argentina/1998 8 years 53 days
By |2020-04-29T09:39:52+00:00June 8th, 2018|Martin Raines Blog, News and Events|Comments Off on A decade of winning in MotoGP for Jorge Lorenzo

M AND M – ONLY ONE THE MADDEST PLACE ON EARTH

It was a truly glorious English Summer morning when I woke up on Sunday. A morning to treasure with birdsong the only sound to pierce the silence as the orange sun rose above the green trees. As we prepared for the weekly visit to the local Supermarket of course my thoughts and particularly my heart turned to without a doubt the maddest place on earth at the very same time. It may have been 1200 kms away but I could see and smell that yellow smoke pouring down the Mugello hillsides like a secret mist while those wooded Tuscan hills shook to their very core with 100,000 crazy people dancing, singing and partying to support their local hero in the only way they know how. I also thought back seven days earlier to the total contrast in the atmosphere at another place beginning with M where the four wheel counterpart to MotoGP were about to do battle. Both Mugello and Monaco had start to finish winners but in every way they could have come from different planets.

Of course those yellow clad Italian fans were disappointed that their Emperor Valentino Rossi did not follow up his amazing pole position at Mugello but third place behind the two Ducati’s made it a cause of more celebration, not that they needed much persuasion as they poured onto the hallowed tarmac after the 23 lap race. They also witnessed a little bit of history with Jorge Lorenzo’s long awaited first victory on the red 355 kph plus Ducati monster.

It was great to see Lorenzo back on the top step of the podium although it has not taken quite as long as you may have imagined. It was his 24th ride on the Ducati since his Yamaha switch and only Casey Stoner and Loris Capirossi have achieved that first win in a shorter space of time. Stoner won first time out and Capirossi on his sixth ride but behind Lorenzo come Troy Bayliss on 33, Andrea Iannone 61 and Andrea Dovizioso 71. Rossi rode the Ducati in battle 35 times but never won. 

The 6.370s victory margin was the biggest for Ducati since Stoner won in Australia eight years ago and Lorenzo is the only rider in the MotoGP era to win on both Ducati and Yamaha machinery. He also joined a very special elite band of riders whose grand prix wins in the elite class span over ten years. The others in the decade club are Giacomo Agostini, Alex Barros, Phil Read, Dani Pedrosa, Valentino Rossi and Loris Capirossi – some list!  (more detail of this list here: https://www.nick-harris.co.uk/a-decade-of-winning-in-motogp-for-jorge-lorenzo/ )

 So Mugello or Monaco – Absolutely no contest although both beat queuing to get out of the Supermarket car park.

By |2018-06-08T12:37:19+00:00June 7th, 2018|News and Events, Nick's Blog|1 Comment
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