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iSport Moto GP expert
Kunal Ghate not only shares his views on the upcoming Mugello - but takes a daring step forward in questioning the dominance of the 'Doctor' - is Lorenzo Rossi's worst nightmare?
The Mugello round of motogp was the most exciting race till now of the 09 season, many significant things to talk about from the race but for me the most significant event was Lorenzo's crash on the sighting lap. Rejoining on the spare bike with just seconds to spare and then finishing in style on podium in 2nd place ahead of teammate Valentino Rossi.
Is this the end of an era for Valentino Rossi, is age catching up fast on the doctor? I hate to say this but Jorge Lorenzo is the next emerging champion of motogp. Think of it, Lorenzo crashed on the sighting lap then switched to the spare bike which was obviously setup for a dry track since it had stopped raining, more than that think of his thought process at the pole position. He stayed as cool as one can be, though he messed up his launch, which was expected since he was on a dry setup. Lost a lot of positions at the start but regained every position except the 1st at the finish line.
All this just proves that the boy's result does not matter on the kind of bike he is riding and the pressure he is under, clear indications of a true champion. I am not saying he will win the 09 championship, it’s too early (still) to predict that, but what I am saying is, Lorenzo is the next big thing in motogp.
Lorenzo says, "I've had a great season so far but it hasn't all been perfect and I made a big mistake in Jerez when I tried to pass Stoner, so hopefully I can do better for my home fans this time! After Mugello and Le Mans we know that anything can happen and you just have to keep calm and focused. Now we're going to my home, the closest place to my Island of Mallorca and one of my favorite tracks. I've always been fast there; right back to when I went there for the first time when I was in 125s and got my first second row start. My main aim this time is to have a better weekend than last year and to completely forget what happened. I improved on last year in Mugello so hopefully I can do the same again in Barcelona."
We shift focus to the next round i.e. Circuit de Catalunya the second round in spain, this is where Lorenzo will spring back and take his home victory since he crashed in Jerez and did not finish the race.
The circuit is just a few mile north of Barcelona and is known as Montmelo by the Spaniards. It is one of the most technically demanding circuits, with 8 very high speed right handed corners and just 5 left handed ones which are very slow. This creates a unique challenge for the tyre design as the right handed curves increase the temperature on the right shoulders of tyres a lot more than the left shoulders. So the tyre will be heated up on the right side and relatively a lot cooler on the left side as the slow left hander turns will not put much heat into them.
