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The 2016 edition of Grand Prix motorcycle racing at long last resumes this weekend, with a much anticipated visit to the revived Red Bull Ring in Austria.
A season which has ebbed and flowed across the grid in terms of competition, sees only nine events remain on the schedule – ahead of the familiar November finale in Valencia.
During the pre-season testing period, it was far from palpable where Honda rider Marc Márquez currently sits in the standings. The Spaniard emerges from the summer vacation with a mighty 48 point lead, over the usual assemblage of competition in his pursuit.
On paper, the Movistar Yamaha squad maintains the fastest package in the form of their M1 machine. Yamaha seem to have also adapted over to the new and more unpredictable Michelin tyres much better than their rivals at Honda.
Rather it seems, it is the ‘alien’ efforts from the 23-year-old, dual-world champion that sees him extracting extra performance out of the RC213V – while his more experienced teammate Dani Pedrosa continues to struggle with both bike and tyres.
Márquez’s approach to the championship seems to have drastically altered in the transition from 2015 over to 2016 also.
Where in the previous season, the youngster would neglect the bigger picture for immediate victories, resulting in being scoreless in six of the eighteen events – while now the endgame appears to be the prime focus.
This was demonstrated in races such as the Catalan Grand Prix and the climactic race at Assen which saw Aussie Jack Miller triumph. Márquez visibly forfeited the charge for the lead on both occasions, knowing well that he’d still accumulate more points than his closest championship rival in reigning world champion Jorge Lorenzo.
That questionable strategy could be argued as having been one of the reasons for Valentino Rossi’s demise in the 2015 championship to Lorenzo. Rossi relied on a long term growth of points, rather than achieving the absolute maximum at every round.
As it stands, the championship leader has finished on the rostrum at every race thus far, barring one. His three victories is shared too by the reigning world champion, however inconsistencies have plagued both the factory Yamaha riders in their title tilt.
Lorenzo’s non-finishes include a fall in Argentina, following his winning start to the season in Qatar and of course being taken out by the frenzied ‘maniac’ Andrea Iannone in Barcelona. Most disappointing however have been the recent results of tenth and fifteenth at the last two rounds, where the Majorcan was completely baffled by his own lack of pace.
Converse to Márquez, Rossi’s design in 2016 has centred on aggression. Sure this has allowed the nine-time world champion to ride the fastest he has, since re-joining Yamaha in 2013, but as a result has crashed out twice for pushing beyond the limit. A rare engine blowout also saw to adding naught to the Italian’s points tally at his home race in Mugello.
With almost two race wins worth of points to his advantage, the third premier class title which many touted unlikely following the pre-season could be heading the way of Márquez.
It remains to be seen whether the formidable Yamaha duo can iron out their inconsistencies to attain what looks unattainable at the moment. Lest we forget the impact their fellow factory comrades on the Suzukis and Ducatis may have.
Starting of course with this weekend among the lush green of the Styrian Mountains, where the hills will be alive with the sound of the glorious 1000cc motors, underneath the leather, flesh and bone that mount these machines.
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