San Marino MotoGP 2011: Lorenzo keeps the battle alive

OFF: Lorenzo speeds into the distance from the go in Misano

WORLD champion Jorge Lorenzo showed supreme quality to defeat the Repsol Honda's and win Sunday's round of the MotoGP season, at Misano.  Held under the title of San Marino, Lorenzo took the lead from the start and was never headed to lead home Dani Pedrosa and championship leader Casey Stoner in a fairly processional race.

     Stoner started on pole position for the eighth time this season and looked odds-on favourite for a fourth successive win, which surely would put any thoughts of back-to-back championships for Lorenzo out of any thought.  However, recent races seemed to take their toll on the Australian, who produced his weakest race since finishing a distant third in Portugal at the beginning of May.  The build-up to the weekend was dominated by the news that Colin Edwards is to leave the Tech 3 Yamaha team at the end of the season, whilst the likeable Loris Capirossi will stop racing altogether at the end of the season.

     At the start of the race, Lorenzo jumped straight into the lead, with Stoner backing off, clearly thinking of championship implications.  Pedrosa made an average start and only just held off a forceful Ben Spies on the opening lap.  Meanwhile, Marco Simoncelli began to recover from a poor start, as he produced a rude pass on 'The Doctor,' Valentino Rossi and Andrea Dovizioso to take fourth place.  At half-distance, Lorenzo started to pull away, with a series of blistering fast laps to pull away from Stoner.  

     By now, Stoner was struggling with his fitness levels and a dodgy tyre choice.  Pedrosa reeled him in and last year's Misano winner went through with six laps to go.  With the top three positions sewn up by the closing stages, the fans were thrilled to watch a three-way dice for fourth between Simoncelli, Dovizioso and Spies.  They were three abreast at one point on the final lap, with Simoncelli hanging onto fourth.  Seventh place was the best Rossi could achieve on one of his home circuits and Cal Crutchlow got another much-needed finish.  Crutchlow finished tenth, three places ahead of team-mate Edwards.

      With a 35 point lead and five races remaining, it is still Casey Stoner's championship to lose, but Jorge Lorenzo isn't giving up without a fight and Misano proved just why he is world champion. 

The Senna movie - A fitting tribute

By Simon Wright (Personal Review)

ON TUESDAY lunchtime, I went to the cinema to watch a motor racing movie about one of my heroes, who really appealed to me, Ayrton Senna.  When The Senna Movie was announced for commission at the beginning of last year, I was looking forward to seeing the final piece of work.  Senna’s life, both on and off the racetrack was certainly full of theatre and deserved the proportions of a movie on a big screen.

     Ayrton Senna was only 34 years old when he was killed, crashing into a concrete wall on the Imola circuit during the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix.  Although I’d heard a lot of positive reviews about the movie from motorsport experts, commentators and from the Senna family themselves, I did hope this would be a moving that would give depth to his life and be a fitting tribute.  Maybe it was concern from The Social Network, which showed how Facebook was created, but struggled to appeal to me when I saw it in November last year, but I was hoping that The Senna Movie wouldn’t go down a similar route.  My plaguing doubts turned out to be completely whittled away.

     When I came out from the film, I realised that I had witnessed a piece of sporting drama in the big screen that had really captured the imagination.  Even being a motorsport fan, I saw some never-before-seen footage and learnt more about the great Brazilian’s life.  The main focus point of the movie was the two controversial clashes with Alain Prost at the Suzuka circuit which decided the 1989 and 1990 world championships.  I saw footage of the driver’s briefings from both years which were very interesting.  In 89, Senna looked a serious figure, one who seemed to be fed up with the politics already before the Japanese event.  Prost seemed far more relaxed about the whole situation.  That was surprising, considering it was Prost who couldn’t cope with Ayrton’s attitude and had already decided to quit the McLaren team at the end of the season.  A year later, Senna looked even more fed up with the politics in the sport, especially against the controversial FISA president Jean-Marie Balestre.  He was convinced that Balestre was cooperating with his fellow countryman Prost for the championship both seasons.  In 1990, Senna walked out of the drivers briefing after Nelson Piquet raised a controversial point about the chicanes at Suzuka and he was furious that the other drivers agreed with Piquet, who disliked Senna anyways.  When pole position was refused to be moved onto the cleaner side of the grid, the consequences became inevitable for the tangle in the first corner.

SMASH: This crash led to another clash between Senna and Balestre

     A year later, Senna clashed again with Balestre, this time over chicanes at the German circuit, Hockenheim.  Ayrton had escaped unharmed from a spectacular crash in practice for the Mexican Grand Prix, which had been made worse by the lack of absorption from the tyre barriers.  He was furious to find tyre stacks put at the end of the three long straights on the Hockenheim track.  He bickered with Balestre, insisting that cones should be used in place for safety.  This time, the other drivers agreed with the world champion and it is believed that this confrontation of views led to Balestre’s downfall and eventual departure as FISA president.

     Senna’s death at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix rocked not just the world of Formula One and sport, but the worldwide news, which showed the significant impact he had on the sport.  His country Brazil went into national mourning.  Brazil was going through some difficult times and alongside Pele, Ayrton Senna gave them a glimmer of hope and belief that united a country full of divisions.  Watching Senna in the movie on that Imola weekend was sad.  He never smiled on the weekend and looked to be occupied with other matters.  It was interesting to see new camera angles of the terrifying startline crash which saw spectators injured, Ayrton’s reaction to Roland Ratzenberger’s fatal accident on the Saturday, his fury at how slow the Safety Car was going whilst the debris was being collected up, moments before his demise. 

     I was only five when Ayrton Senna was killed.  I remember fuzzily watching some of the race on Eurosport, although I can’t honestly remember the accident.  However, Senna was one of my inspirations in life and his legacy on the sport will never be forgotten.  Ironically, another of my inspirational figures in Nelson Mandela, who at the time, was being sworn in as the president of a previously divided South Africa.  He is still missed, even 17 years on from the tragic accident.

     The Senna Movie is a chilling, emotional and passionate piece of theatre and I’d urge everyone, even those who don’t have any following with motorsport to watch the movie.  It is very powerful and a fitting tribute to a Brazilian legend.   

Tomizawa Tragedy At MotoGP Meeting

Motorcycling is in shock tonight, after the tragic death of promising 19-year old Japanese rider Shoya Tomizawa.  Tomizawa died in hospital from fatal head injuries, suffered during a Moto2 event on the Misano circuit in San Marino. 

Moto2, which is the class below the premier MotoGP circuit, was hosting the twelfth round of the season and Tomizawa was 7^th in the championship standings, having won the season opening event in Qatar.  He was in the leading bunch when he came off his bike on Lap 15.  Tragically, he was then hit by Italian Alex de Angelis, an experienced MotoGP rider and Britain’s Scott Redding.  Both Redding and de Angelis were propelled into the gravel trap and though Redding suffered minor concussion, both riders escaped serious injury.

When medics got on the scene though, it was quite clear that Tomizawa was in an awful state, with reports circulating that he had hit his head on the track, before being struck at full speed by the other riders.  He was rushed into hospital and quickly got placed into an induced coma, but a statement on the MotoGP website confirmed his death at 1.20pm UK time from “subsequent cranial, thoracic, and abdominal trauma.”

The Moto2 race was stopped and restarted, won by Spain’s Toni Elias.  Despite the reluctance of some MotoGP riders, it was agreed that their race went ahead, which was comfortably won by Honda’s Dani Pedrosa.  Jorge Lorenzo finished second to keep a comfortable championship lead, with his Yamaha team-mate Valentino Rossi on the podium at his home event.  Despite all the top-class riders knowing that the accident was bad, none of them knew the severity of Tomizawa condition until after the race.  As a mark of respect, celebrations were muted and no champagne was sprayed on the podium.

This is the second death at motorcycle events in two weeks, after 13-year old Peter Leinz was killed in a warm-up event for the Indianapolis MotoGP event last Sunday.  Like Tomizawa, Leinz was also hit by another rider.  It is the first death on the proper MotoGP circuit since Dajiro Kato lost his life two weeks after a smash in the 2003 Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka.

Like the rest of the MotoGP paddock, my thoughts go out to the family and friends of Shoya Tomizawa.  A promising talent, whose dreams of success will turn out to be tragically unfulfilled.

SHOYA TOMIZAWA (December 10^th 1990 – 5^th September 2010) RIP

Imola 1994 - The Darkest Weekend In Formula 1 History

This weekend marks the 16^th anniversary of that shocking April/May weekend at Imola in 1994.  The San Marino Grand Prix will be remembered for one of the most hideous times in Grand Prix history, with a catalogue of spectacular and deadly crashes, which may have helped the safety of today’s modern-day cars, but caused its destruction in the process, taking away the life of the greatest Grand Prix driver of his generation, Ayrton Senna.

The horror of the weekend began on Friday 29^th April 1994, when in the first official qualifying session, the young Brazilian Rubens Barrichello lost control of his Jordan Hart car approaching the quick Variante Bassa chicane.  His car launched off a kerb and smashed into the tyre wall at colossal speed, narrowly avoiding going over some catch fencing, which separated the track from local spectators.  Only the quick reactions of Professor Sid Watkins prevented the talented Barrichello from swallowing his tongue.  Remarkably, he walked away with just a cut lip, minor bruising and a broken nose.  His weekend was over, but his life had remained intact.  It reminded Grand Prix fans and drivers of the real dangers that the sport possesses.  Just 24 hours later, the luck ran out.

31-year old Austrian Roland Ratzenberger was qualifying for only his second Grand Prix, having finished his first race in Aida, Japan just a fortnight earlier.  Eighteen minutes into Saturday’s second qualifying session, Ratzenberger’s front wing broke off exiting the flat-out Tamburello bend.  It is thought that the wing may have been weakened by an earlier off-track excursion.  With no steering capability, the Simtek Ford car ploughed straight into the concrete wall at Villeneuve, on the approach to the Tosa hairpin.  The impact was thought to be close to 200mph, Roland powerless to control any impact with this crash.  With his car smashed to pieces, it came clear from a very early evident stage that Roland wasn’t going to be as lucky as Barrichello was.  Once again, the session was stopped and the medics did what they could to save the rookie’s life.  However, it was a battle in vain, with Ratzenberger being pronounced dead on arrival at Bologna Maggiore Hospital.  He became the first driver to be killed at a race meeting for twelve years, since Ricardo Paletti’s demise at the 1982 Canadian Grand Prix.  The last driver to suffer a fatal crash in an F1 car was the Italian Elio de Angelis at the wheel of a Brabham, during a test session at Paul Ricard, France in 1986.  The next tragedy to hit the sport was less than 24 hours away.

Having taken his 65^th pole position, the Williams FW16 of Brazilian, Ayrton Senna raced into an instant lead, from German wunderkind Michael Schumacher (winner of the first two races) and Gerhard Berger’s Ferrari.  However, the race was put under caution, when JJ Lehto’s Benetton stalled on row three of the grid, and was collected immediately by the unsighted Pedro Lamy in the Lotus.  Lamy escaped unhurt and Lehto suffered a light arm injury, but it was spectators hurt; eight of them hit by flying debris from the crumbled Lotus Mugen Honda.  After five laps under Safety Car, Senna charged away, needing the points badly to keep up with Schumacher at the top of the drivers’ standings.  On lap seven, Senna’s car refused to turn into the flat-out Tamburello corner, pitching straight-on into a concrete wall at some 140mph, possibly even greater speed.  The destroyed Williams returned to the edge of the circuit, throwing debris in all directions.  The race was red-flagged.

Once again, it was clear that Senna was in a grave condition from the outset, with very little sign of movement from the cockpit of his car.  As Watkins and the marshals got to work again, the severity of the crash, especially from the pictures being beamed around the world on Eurosport made the scene even worse.  Senna was airlifted to hospital from the track, and very quickly, medical bulletins filtered through that any hope of a recovery was being realistically lost.  The race continued, with Schumacher claiming another win under a deep black cloud.  After the race, Senna was announced as clinically brain dead and his life machine was switched off.  Brazil went into a state of national mourning, the world of sport stunned into silence.  Where would Formula 1 go now, after the loss of its most influential and iconic figure?  Another crash involving Michele Alboreto’s Minardi in the pit lane in the restarted race, which injured mechanics from Lotus and Ferrari just added to the doom and gloom around the Autodromo Enzo E Dino Ferrari.

Fortunately, the steps taken to improve safety in Formula One have been of massive leaps and boundaries.  Many drivers since then, including Robert Kubica, Heikki Kovalainen, Takuma Sato and more recently in Hungary last year, Felipe Massa have had serious, shocking accidents, but have been able to live the tail and go racing again.  The 1994 San Marino Grand Prix will go down as the darkest weekend in motorsport history and sixteen years on, its legacy will remain, but its pain will never heal.

   

R.I.P Roland Ratzenberger & Ayrton Senna: Gone, but never forgotten!