WSBK Biaggi/Melandri drama

[Mark Rossi]

Max was a nut case all through qualifying.

 

[Mark Rossi]

Max was a nut case all through qualifying.

Sorry I correct that, Max was a nut case through out the hole event!
* he took down Fabrizio in qualifying practice?
* blocked Melandri and Hagga on thier flying qualify laps?
* goes to Melandri's pits and slaps him?
* Rode race 1 like a imbecile?
* received a stop go penalty in Race 2 refused to take the penalty and had to be black flagged?

Crazy stuff, but made for interesting viewing.

 

[Brian66]

I am not trying to disagree with you Mark but in racing these things happen and very often.

Max has always been a fiery character so it may seem from the outside that he is the bad guy.
I have never though much of him and still don’t so I am not defending him but in most racing incidents there are two sides to listen to. Watching the replays the positioning of riders and moves by
Max were not unusual and happen many times in racing. I have seen much worse and experienced it myself.
Maybe Max was pissed off with Melandri’s actions and emotions towards Max on the track and he wanted to have his say in the pits. He and Rossi exchanged fists taking the stair to the podium once so

Max likes a bit of physical contact. As I said he is fiery.

I have been involved with shoving, kicking and sometimes a couple of fist swung in my time. Mostly when two bikes crash and one guy thinks it is the other guys fault.

I never started it but it happened often. I was always accused of being too aggressive as I used what we called a block pass many times and sometimes we both never made it around the corner. We both ran off and I was blamed!!

Rossi’s moves on Stoner, Lorenzo, and the Spaniard who I can't spell his name (Gibenau) and Roberts junior were all criticised by others. Many riders ignore flags and the black especially. You know it is pointless to do the ride through penalty so why not stay out there and get data for next time until they force you in with a black flag.

Wayne Maxwell who had a wild card ride in Moto2 in Australia and decided he needed to manhandle the guy who bought him down. It is part of racing.

There are no rules to say you must make room for a rider in qualifying in WSB. And if it is a potential threat to your position then a lot of riders use that blocking tactic.

MotoGP has regulations and fines for blocking. I think Melandri is still thinking like he is in MotoGP and he needs to adjust.

Melandri is a much stronger person as he did not react when Max slapped him and I believe he is a stronger rider and he will embarrass Max on the track more than a few times in the remainder of the season.

On Sunday I was pushed off the track and onto the dirt in a race on the first lap. We were dicing for second. I came second in that race and on the podium and in the pits we had words.

I am not in the same league as Max and Melandri but it again high lights that it is part of racing.

 

[Mark Rossi]

Some good points Brian, I didn't realise blocking in qualifying practice was not a offence.
Max had a bee in his bonnet about something, for a man with his experience and being the current World champion, I thought he handled it very bad. Not so much the slapping, but his performance in the races was really effected by his mood.

 

[Brian66]

The stewards can still penalise you if they see a blatant act of blocking which could be dangerous.
The stewards tell you this at the riders briefing and expect all riders to follow unwritten rules and give others a fair go during free practice and qualifying.

If a steward sees that the rider looks behind and sees someone coming fast then slows dramatically before and into a corner and then looks behind again and can clearly see a fast rider coming, then moves across to a fast racing line the rider will be penalised and may even be placed on the back of the grid. This is a penalty for dangerous riding.

So there is a rule there but it is taken in context by the stewards of what actually happens on the track.

It will ruin the fast riders hot lap, it is plain dangerous and the rider would be penalised.

If a rider slows down into a corner relative to the track speed in that particular corner and maintains his line plus does not look behind the stewards cannot penalise him and probably would penalise the guy coming from behind if he took out the slower guy. The following rider just has to slow down and choose a different line in a situation like that.

But these guys are looking for tenths of a second so even a small roll off of the throttle ruins that lap so that’s why they get annoyed and argue or even just comment to the media.

Max is a moody guy and I bet he doesn’t have many paddock friends. He is a dirty rider and has elbowed many riders in the past. One famous one was Rossi who he pushed with his elbow a least a meter onto the grass coming out of a corner at Mugello I think. It is on You Tube.
He had a tiff with Crutchlow at the last race last year on the podium. He needs to take a pill and retire to club racing

 

[Stokes70]

Max is a tart who needed that wsb title to boost his flagging ego after years of battering at the hands of rossi. Now it looks like he cant bear the thought of anyone being able to challenge him this year.

Brian I think the elbowing incident you were referring to was in Suzuka 2001, indeed rossi was elbowed off into the dirt before coming back a few laps later, passing max on a right hander, whilst nonchalantly flicking him the middle finger mid corner. Legend!, before going on to win the race and the title that year on the NSR500.

Here is the video from youtube!!

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[Steve Canyon]

Biaggi has a reputation for such behaviour and as you say very few friends in the paddock, he shouldn't be behaving like a child, especially as he is 5 times world champion...

Glad Melandri showed him the way on and off the track...

Some guys wheel fell off!!!!

Bit boring other than that, what happened to the brilliant racing of last year, wonder if it's the pesky electronics spoiling our fun???

Still gonna go to Monza in May though....

 

[jon]

I see Biaggi has been fined for slapping Melandri. I also think he has more hair up top than he had before, so maybe it all comes down to an over heating problem?

 

[Mark Rossi]

Jon, are you hinting Biaggi has had hair implanted?

 

[jon]

It does look as though he is a bit thicker on top but I'll have to be careful incase he reads this forum. I certainly wouldn't want to be slapped in public. I get enough of that from the wife, thank you.

 

[Brian66]

You could say I am not fond of Biaggi but yesterday he was handed a truly unfair penalty and I felt sorry for him.
He was the clear and dominate winner of that race up to that lap where he made the mistake. He even slowed to come back on the track and his lead was such that he lost little time and could have continued to the end if he kept it upright.
The rules they used to penalise him, I would bet that 90% of the riders would not know of them.

 

[Steve Canyon]

I was sitting at the chicane watching, he sat up and didn't gain any time, he lost time if anything..

We thought he had had a moment, didn't now at the time he had been handed a penalty.... yes a little unfair.....

But good for the championship...

Poor old Max

 

[jon]

Sounds a shame for Biaggi in the second race, but fair play to Laverty for holding him off in the first race and then getting past Melandri on the last lap of the second race. Coming from Northern Ireland myself, it was great to see Laverty's name up there infront of the likes of Biaggi and Melandri. Looks like he has a bright future in front of him.

 

[Steve Canyon]

He was given the penalty for not going back on track between the white lines...they where all warned about it the day before...

Poor old max.....he doesn't like being told what to do..