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MotoGP, Pernat: "Vale, now you need to win too, not just settle"

"When there are too many roosters in the coop, some will disappear. The penalty? Let's hope MotoGP doesn't follow the F1 rules"

MotoGP: Pernat: "Vale, now you need to win too, not just settle"

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Austin is the fortress of Marc Marquez and he reiterated as much for the fifth time. The Spaniard conquered Texas, whereas Valentino took the Championship lead, thanks to a second place that came out of a mixture of intelligence and consistency ahead of Pedrosa. In the Yamaha camp, the other side of the coin is represented by Viñales, who ended up in the gravel after less than three laps, while Ducati can do nothing more than lick her wounds after a performance that fell far short of expectations. Here is what happened in the Stars & Stripes round according to the watchful eye of our Carlo Pernat.

What sort of weekend was it?

We can say that when two argue, the third wins, when there are too many roosters in the coop, some will then disappear. The two who argue are clearly Marquez and Viñales, who have been sporting nemeses from the time they were small, they don’t even greet one another in the paddock. Theirs is a battle that continues to rise, as does the bar. The two championship zeroes in Argentina and Texas are significant. Making two such mistakes is definitely not World Championship-like.”

In the meantime, Rossi moved into the Championship lead.

“Vale is the odd man out. He will not be as fast as the two rivals, partly because of his age, but he is clever and intelligent. Now it’s his turn, because he needs to start winning and he cannot always settle for second and third place. In Europe he has favourable tracks. Remember that in the wet he is more competitive than Maverick, whereas Marc is crashing too often, especially in practice. I don’t understand him when he says his Honda is not fast, since the others are not so different.”

For Ducati it was a GP to forget.

“I think there is a bit of disappointment, despite the fact that only three races have been held. They bet everything on Lorenzo, perhaps replacing a rider like Iannone too soon. Last year, the bike was competitive, whereas now it seems to have taken a step backward. Maybe they focused more on the engine than on the chassis architecture. The ban on winglets was definitely a blow for the Reds, but now they need to find a solution.”

We finally saw Iannone in the top ten.

“His performance is positive. He uses the potential he has available to him. Maybe finishing ahead of Lorenzo is a bit of a satisfaction for him.”

What do you think of the three tenths penalty against Rossi?

“To be honest, I wouldn’t know. This decision can definitely create a precedent. I hope MotoGP doesn’t follow the F1 rules, where the risk is that it will become boring for the fans.”

 

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Translated by Jonathan Blosser
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