<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (phleg @ May 6 2008, 10:19 AM)
<{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>+1
We had 6 or 7 winners in 2006, but the racing was out of this world, which made people tune in.
Nonetheless, mainstream audiences are glory hunters and don't like it when Rossi looses. It's the Manchester United syndrome. Remember amid the obligitary yellow fever at Donington in '06, and the sad .......s that booed Pedrosa in Parc Ferme, or the treatment of Casey at last years Day of Champions auction? Rossi is bigger than the sport itself, and that's always a bad thing.
990's produced better racing and were a better spectacle end of story. We now have the ludicrous situation in which the Ducatis in the proddy based series are nealy half a litre bigger than the bikes of the four stroke prototype blue ribbon class. This all stems from Suzuka where we lost all the wrong things. Firstly, one of the greatest prodigies in racing in decades. Secondly, the track itself (granted, parts of it were unsafe - but lets go to Laguna instead???? -go figure) - a great circuit axed; and third those awesome one litre machines which during their final year produced the best racing since the late 80's early 90's 500cc era.
What we should have lost instead was 1/Butler and Uncini /2/ petty over zealous micromanagement which instead snowballed in the following years, and /3/the inluence and interference of the big manufacturers in the rule making process. I'm afraid IRTA has sadly lost sight of its original purpose.
HRC pressed to emasculate this series. We now have processional racing, and bikes which are ironically lapping faster than their supposedly more dangerous predecessors, (and now, looking to exceed their straightline speed).
Four different winners or not, It'll be a long time until we see another race like Sachsenring or Estoril '06.
