From the beginning of the motorcycle road racing world championship in 1949, Italian marques dominated the fastest class, for 500cc bikes. Gilera was victorious in the early years, winning ten riders or manufacturers championships in the class. MV Agusta scored for the first time in 1956, and between then and 1974, won an amazing 33 500cc titles.
Since Phil Read’s last championship on an MV four in 1974, no Italian motorcycle has won the series in the largest class. The rules and the name have been changed in the last few years, and the premier series is now known as MotoGP. Regulations call for 800cc four-stroke engines.
When MV Agusta faded from the scene in the mid-70s, Ducati took their place as the premier Italian sporting make. Their large V-twins have won many national and international superbike titles, but have never won a championship at the Grand Prix level.
Phil Read takes his MV Agusta 500cc 4C to victory at Imola in 1974. This was MV's last championship-winning season.
|
This year may provide a different outcome. Australian Casey Stoner, in his second year of MotorGP racing, has won five of this year’s eight races for the Bologna-based firm.
For the first part of the season, the buzz was that the Ducati GP7 Desmosedici had power on the field, but was not a fully balanced package. That might have been disproved at the British Grand Prix at Donington on Sunday 24 June. In a mostly wet race that should have negated the Ducati’s power advantage, Stoner won convincingly, despite a poor start that saw him in 12th at the first corner.
Ducati rider Casey Stoner celebrates his wet British GP win with a Champagne shower. Sponsor Alice is a telecommunications and internet company. Marlboro is blanked out because of British tobacco advertising regulations. Source: Ducati Corse.
|
On a course streaming with rain, he took the lead a just past half distance and now leads the world championship by 26 points.
If you are disgusted with modern automobile racing with its needless full course yellows, “debris on the course” slowdowns, passing in the pits but not on the track and all the other frustrations the organizing bodies throw at us, you might watch a MotoGP sometime. This is real racing. The riders take the track on motorcycles that have horsepower and speed figures over 200. The Ducatis use a 90-degree, 4 valve V-4.
Second Ducati Team rider, Loris Capirossi was the fastest rider at Donington for a time. Here, he leads Marco Melandri's Honda. Capirossi crashed out while running fifth. Credit:Ducati Corse.
|
The races last for approximately 45 minutes of heart-stopping action, with no pit stops. A full course caution is rare and the yellow flag is almost always confined to a given corner. Over 100 mph feet-up, two-wheel drifts are common and the riders often inadvertently touch fairings as they battle for track position.
Speed TV hosts most rounds of the MotoGP Championship. It’s always better to see something live, and Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca will feature the Red Bull United States Grand Prix on July 22. This is the only MotoGP event held in America. I’ll look for you there, but I can’t really talk much. There’s too much going on to take my eyes off the track.
Tickets, lodging information and a nice MotoGP promo video are available at
www.laguna-seca.com.
The TV schedule for the Red Bull US GP wil be:
Sat. July 21. Qualifying on Speed TV 3:00 PM Eastern, 12 Noon Western.
Sunday July 22. Race on Fox 5:00 PM Eastern, 2:00 PM Western.
