17/09/2006
Honda `disappointed` as Rossi escapes punishment.
Nicky Hayden`s Repsol Honda team manager has expressed his `disappointment` at the decision not to punish Valentino Rossi for allegedly overtaking under yellow flags during Sunday`s Australian Grand Prix.
Rossi is currently locked in an increasingly tense title fight with Hayden, who leads the 2006 MotoGP World Championship by a reduced 21 points over reigning five-times title holder Rossi after the Italian gained a further five points on the American at Phillip Island.
Rossi and Hayden had both battled their way back from poor starts and were sixth and seventh respectively when the moment of controversy occurred, on lap 18 of 26, as Rossi reportedly passed Casey Stoner for fourth under waved yellow flags following an incident involving Carlos Checa.
Rossi retained his position ahead of Stoner into the next corner, gaining valuable time on Hayden as a result, but Race Direction later ruled that no further action should be taken as it was deemed Stoner had momentarily re-passed Rossi.
"I am very disappointed that Race Control reached the decision they did regarding Valentino Rossi`s overtake under the yellow flag," said Repsol Honda team manager Tanaka.
It took Hayden two more laps to also pass Stoner after which he closed to within 0.3secs of fourth placed Rossi - but the Italian grabbed a further last gasp advantage by overtaking a fading Sete Gibernau for third place out of the very final corner
A MEMBER OF THE FORUM:
Both Hayden and HRC are really showing their desperation now with this kind of garbage. If they truly believed that Valentino had broken the rules, they would have lodged an official complaint, but according to Reuters News, this did not happen. Instead they've tried to influence race direction with innuendo and gossip, with Hayden chosing to whine like a schoolgirl to reporters after the race.
Hayden knows that he is very close to losing his ability to 'coast to the title' - if Rossi can score just 11 more points than Hayden at Motegi, then that will leave only 10 points to make up at Estoril and Valencia, two tracks that Rossi is historically strong at. If that happens, Hayden will no longer be able to win the title by just finishing close to Rossi, he will actually have to beat him, something he has not done since Shanghai at the start of the year (with the exception of Laguna, and the Le Mans breakdown). Hayden is feeling the heat, and I wouldn't be surprised to even see a DNF from him in the remaining rounds.
SOME VIDEO OF THE PASS:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9RgP5uGGdc
MEMBER OF THE FORUM'S OPINION OF THE PASS:
see for yourself. rossi passes stoner, we see the yellow waving flag in the background, stoner briefly overtakes rossi before rossi takes over for good.
jeak, i think pi race direction didn't react to the pass under yellow until the complaint was lodged. this is their way of trying to save face, imho. and what are they going to do. under the rules, they need to notify the riders team so they can bring up a pit board to tell the rider what position to drop back into. none of this happened.
QUOTE FROM ROSSI:
“Regarding the talk about the yellow flag, they will do nothing because anyway Stoner re-passed me, so there is no problem. Last night we actually talked about this marshall at turn three with the safety commission because even during the practice he was waving the flag when there was no crash, but just because there was a rider going slow. Actually this is quite dangerous
ANOTHER MEMBER OF THE FORUM:
I think it's not clear-cut if Stoner got by or not. But the rules don't say "if the person you pass manages to sneak by you for half a second, you're in the clear", they say "If a rider realises immediately he's overtaken under waved yellow flags, he must raise his hand and let pass the rider or riders he has overtaken."
Regardless, I think that race direction didn't see it happen and tried to save face, and things are as they are. Had the penalty been applied, it would probably have changed things from Rossi w /16 points and Nicky w/ 11 (+5 Rossi) to Nicky with probably 13 and Rossi with 11 (+2 Nicky). A 7 point swing this late in the season is pretty big (that's 2nd to 4th), but not necessarily decisive.
Anyway, if the next three races have the same finishing order as this one, Melandri will win the championship, with Nicky 2nd and Rossi 3rd. Exciting stuff.
Honda `disappointed` as Rossi escapes punishment.
Nicky Hayden`s Repsol Honda team manager has expressed his `disappointment` at the decision not to punish Valentino Rossi for allegedly overtaking under yellow flags during Sunday`s Australian Grand Prix.
Rossi is currently locked in an increasingly tense title fight with Hayden, who leads the 2006 MotoGP World Championship by a reduced 21 points over reigning five-times title holder Rossi after the Italian gained a further five points on the American at Phillip Island.
Rossi and Hayden had both battled their way back from poor starts and were sixth and seventh respectively when the moment of controversy occurred, on lap 18 of 26, as Rossi reportedly passed Casey Stoner for fourth under waved yellow flags following an incident involving Carlos Checa.
Rossi retained his position ahead of Stoner into the next corner, gaining valuable time on Hayden as a result, but Race Direction later ruled that no further action should be taken as it was deemed Stoner had momentarily re-passed Rossi.
"I am very disappointed that Race Control reached the decision they did regarding Valentino Rossi`s overtake under the yellow flag," said Repsol Honda team manager Tanaka.
It took Hayden two more laps to also pass Stoner after which he closed to within 0.3secs of fourth placed Rossi - but the Italian grabbed a further last gasp advantage by overtaking a fading Sete Gibernau for third place out of the very final corner
A MEMBER OF THE FORUM:
Both Hayden and HRC are really showing their desperation now with this kind of garbage. If they truly believed that Valentino had broken the rules, they would have lodged an official complaint, but according to Reuters News, this did not happen. Instead they've tried to influence race direction with innuendo and gossip, with Hayden chosing to whine like a schoolgirl to reporters after the race.
Hayden knows that he is very close to losing his ability to 'coast to the title' - if Rossi can score just 11 more points than Hayden at Motegi, then that will leave only 10 points to make up at Estoril and Valencia, two tracks that Rossi is historically strong at. If that happens, Hayden will no longer be able to win the title by just finishing close to Rossi, he will actually have to beat him, something he has not done since Shanghai at the start of the year (with the exception of Laguna, and the Le Mans breakdown). Hayden is feeling the heat, and I wouldn't be surprised to even see a DNF from him in the remaining rounds.
SOME VIDEO OF THE PASS:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9RgP5uGGdc
MEMBER OF THE FORUM'S OPINION OF THE PASS:
see for yourself. rossi passes stoner, we see the yellow waving flag in the background, stoner briefly overtakes rossi before rossi takes over for good.
jeak, i think pi race direction didn't react to the pass under yellow until the complaint was lodged. this is their way of trying to save face, imho. and what are they going to do. under the rules, they need to notify the riders team so they can bring up a pit board to tell the rider what position to drop back into. none of this happened.
QUOTE FROM ROSSI:
“Regarding the talk about the yellow flag, they will do nothing because anyway Stoner re-passed me, so there is no problem. Last night we actually talked about this marshall at turn three with the safety commission because even during the practice he was waving the flag when there was no crash, but just because there was a rider going slow. Actually this is quite dangerous
ANOTHER MEMBER OF THE FORUM:
I think it's not clear-cut if Stoner got by or not. But the rules don't say "if the person you pass manages to sneak by you for half a second, you're in the clear", they say "If a rider realises immediately he's overtaken under waved yellow flags, he must raise his hand and let pass the rider or riders he has overtaken."
Regardless, I think that race direction didn't see it happen and tried to save face, and things are as they are. Had the penalty been applied, it would probably have changed things from Rossi w /16 points and Nicky w/ 11 (+5 Rossi) to Nicky with probably 13 and Rossi with 11 (+2 Nicky). A 7 point swing this late in the season is pretty big (that's 2nd to 4th), but not necessarily decisive.
Anyway, if the next three races have the same finishing order as this one, Melandri will win the championship, with Nicky 2nd and Rossi 3rd. Exciting stuff.
