Honda Road Racerhead #25

June 19, 2009 by CJ
Filed under Road Racerhead

This week’s Honda Road Racerhead comes to you today from just outside Sequoia National Park, and with two vile in our rear-view mirror, I’m looking forward to enjoying a relaxing Father’s Day weekend with family, with a long, hot bicycle ride thrown in for good measure. Of course I’ll also be taking in the Misano World Superbike races on Sunday, and with three Americans on track, it should be a particularly fun one to watch.

Ben Spies is taking aim at shrinking his points deficit in Misano. <i>Matteo Cavadini/Alex Photo</i>

Ben Spies is taking aim at shrinking his points deficit in Misano. Matteo Cavadini/Alex Photo

In his first visit to the facility, which Ben Spies had never visited before, the Texan threw down the fastest lap time during the first practice session today, a 1:38.049 that was about a tenth faster than emerging ace Michel Fabrizio. The Italian is quickly becoming a serious rival to Spies, and in the subsequent preliminary qualifying session, he knocked Spies off the top step with a time of 1:37.016, about nine hundredths better than Ben.

But while it’s Fabrizio who’s hot at the moment, it’s his Ducati Xerox teammate, Noriyuki Haga, who Ben is most concerned with in the points chase, as Spies is currently second, fifty-three points behind Haga. Nori was only sixth-quickest in the morning session, then two spots worse in the afternoon, and about three and a half tenths behind Spies. Then again, Haga said he had troubles with traffic, so chances are he’ll be higher up in the race. The weather was hot today, but rain is predicted for tomorrow and perhaps Sunday as well.

In seaside Misano, the World Superbike stars like Ruben Xaus get to show off their impressive skills in myriad areas, like paddle ball. Or not. <i>Matteo Cavadini/Alex Photo</i>

In seaside Misano, the World Superbike stars like Ruben Xaus get to show off their impressive skills in myriad areas, like paddle ball. Or not. Matteo Cavadini/Alex Photo

As for the other Americans, John Hopkins was nineteenth-quickest in his return to action with Stiggy Racing Honda following a recovery from a badly dislocated hip, then twenty-sixth in the afternoon, while Jamie Hacking was twenty-second in the morning and twentieth in the afternoon during his second substitute ride with PBM Kawasaki.

Although Infront likes to present Misano as the San Marino round (probably because there are already two other Italian stops in the series), the truth is that the Misano World Circuit is on Italian soil, just down the road from the Italian seaside city of Rimini (birthplace of Federico Fellini). (It’s also close enough to Spies’ home on Lake Como that he could drive his Volvo to the race, although I don’t know if he did.)

And because the promoter and many of the teams are based in Italy, Italian stops are always something more than just another round in the series; they’re also almost like tradeshows in that a lot of business gets done in the pits, particularly now that the season has entered its second half. This is the time of year when team-change rumors start to heat up, and according to Italian website GP One, the current buzz is that former WSBK heroes James Toseland and Chris Vermeulen—both of whom are currently struggling in MotoGP—may be making a return. According to the rumor, Toseland (a two-time SBK champ) has reopened a relationship with Ten Kate Honda, where he could replace Carlos Checa, while Vermeulen (a past World Supersport champion and runner-up in World Supersport) could end up Alstare Suzuki.

The Catalunya Grand Prix was convincing evidence that this MotoGP season could be one of the best ever. <i>Andrew Northcott photo</i>

The Catalunya Grand Prix was convincing evidence that this MotoGP season could be one of the best ever. Andrew Northcott photo

Other MotoGP racers that GP One says could be joining WSBK are Pramac Racing’s Nicolo Canepa, Gresini Racing’s Alex De Angelis, and Tech3’s Colin Edwards.

Speaking of MotoGP, please tell me you saw the Battle of Barcelona last week—probably the best motorcycle race since Valentino Rossi and Casey Stoner went at it at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca last year. This time, it was Rossi and nominal teammate Jorge Lorenzo, who exchanged official lap-leads on four different occasions, but who swapped the actual race lead far more often than even that. In fact, the last lap alone offered a highlight reel’s worth of action.

I’ll be honest and admit that after a largely processional couple of 800cc-platform MotoGP seasons, and with electronic rider aids only getting more advanced as time goes on, I predicted that this year would be a sleeper in the premier class. The fact that it has been so incredible so far (Rossi, Lorenzo, and Stoner are all tied at 106 points) just goes to show you how unpredictable motorcycle racing is, and that when you have a few great champions with a fierce desire to reach the finish line first, sometimes that’s enough to overcome even long lists of logical reasons that things shouldn’t work out.

Rossi, Lorenzo, and Stoner are tied for the MotoGP points lead at 106. <i>Andrew Northcott photo</i>

Rossi, Lorenzo, and Stoner are tied for the MotoGP points lead at 106. Andrew Northcott photo

Rossi’s crew chief Jeremy Burgess recently told British weekly Motor Cycle News that he thinks the Lorenzo rivalry could be The Doctor’s best ever—better than those with Max Biaggi and Sete Gibernau, and Stoner—because these two are on the same bike (which also happens to be the class of the field) with the same tires. He could be right, but I’m not counting Stoner out yet either; remember, he was very sick in Catalonia.

The Isle of Man TT finished up a week ago, and hopefully, you followed American Mark Miller’s accounts, which he sent as group email updates and allowed us to post in our news section. You’ll definitely want to catch Mark’s final update, which he was very fortunate to be around to type up. Check it out for a truly incredible account of what it’s like to crash at 130 mph on the Mountain Circuit and get up and walk away. Thanks to Mark, who in turn would like to thank Joe Rocket, and Sidi for keeping him in one piece.

Okay, that’s it for this week, except to highly recommend this week’s edition of Mark Gardiner’s AGV Backmarker column. Have a great weekend.