Assorted rants, opinions and other venting...: The best MotoGP rider, in the world...

I was drawn to moto racing in the times of the 125/250/500cc two stroke bikes. I grew watching (barely) Rainey, Doohan, Schwantz and Mamola.

I learned that the best talent doesn't always equal wins, as bike and sheer luck can stop a great talent from being World Champion. Recurrently. But that doesn't take any merit away from non-record and victory collecting riders.

I've also learned that having the best ride and being a good rider is frequently not enough. A good rider can get 90% out of the bike, 90% of the time and most importantly, 90% of the time it matters.

Talents with hot heads will do it 100% of the time and crash. Usually on the worst moment ruining their chances and seldom even getting to the main category.

But when good riders come across an "alien" rider, they get eclipsed by the latter's talent and results. Doohan did it to Crivillé. Rossi did it to, mostly everyone, starting with Biaggi but especially Lorenzo on the same bike. Stoner was also a treat, no matter what he rode, but left. Simoncelli was on his way to do the same, when a stupid crash (and not a reckless one) took his life.

(RIP Super Sic)

Now we have Marc Marquez. He obliterated the competition last year in Moto2, wining against the favorite and now finally crowned Pol Espargaro. He even managed to win one race where he forgot to put it in gear at the start and dropped to virtually last, and also won the final race starting dead last after a penalty (video and post about it here).

He went on to MotoGP this year to beat the Yamaha/Lorenzo perfection duo and adapt faster to a new bike and a new category than Yamaha's returning Rossi, and humiliate his teammate Pedrosa in the process.

(photo credit martinheathphoto.com by @martinheath)

This year he showed courage and speed to go at 100%, the intelligence not to and settle for second, and the wisdom to now when to do each in an almost perfect balance.

After getting used to the new ride, pushing hard and even falling a few times, he took advantage of his speed to force his way forward, and a couple races where his opponents were out because of injuries to take the lead in the championship. In the end, he controlled his pace and fighting instincts in the final races to finish "only" second or third but maintain his lead in the championship.

The final race in 2013:
Lorenzo deliberately rode slow while leading, to try and see if Marc would get in trouble with traffic and if Rossi could catch up with him. Marc held his own. He even had to brake mid corner on occasion to prevent driving over Pedrosa in 2nd. Pedrosa made his moves on Lorenzo to try and shake his strategy, but the Yamaha/Lorenzo superiority meant he could get the lead back literally in the next corner. Then they came together. That is when Lorenzo decided to throw the tactical towel and just gun it. Chased and passed Marc after dropping the lead on the Pedrosa incident and tried to pull away. Was he trying to get Marc to follow and maybe make a mistake, or was he trying to make a point by winning uncontested? Whatever the intentions, THAT is racing. Driving as fast as you can for the win. NOT slowing the pack down and playing a dangerous chess on two wheels game. Marc kept his cool. Pedrosa came back and he waved him trough back to 2nd. He did not fail or react poorly to any kind of pressure. He is now just 20 years old. On his first year in MotoGP: