To clarify, I think the suggestion that Bridgestone are favoring Lorenzo is as ridiculous as the suggestion that Bridgestone are favoring Rossi. I reject tinfoil, whether it be yellow or black and red.
Of course I'm in agreement with you on this, it seems to be one of the most highly anticipated finishes to a season since 2006 IMO, funnily enough nine years the same guy is the focus of it.
My opinion of the season thus-far stands, it has been down to favorable circumstances for both riders and indeed Marc.
For Lorenzo, the medium Heat treated option has worked extremely well for him, and in the majority of his wins the track temp has also been in the perfect zone. I only say this because when its not and when the other compound options have been the best choice he has been struggling to get on the podium. And of course the wet and changing conditions have seen him struggle too.
For Rossi the same is true only flipped, the harder compounds and wet conditions have seen him dominate and the big difference is he is stronger when circumstances do not favor him. The reason why Lorenzo has won more is because the medium heat treated option has been a more consistent choice than the harder, and certainly the extra hard which Rossi used to such devastating effect in Argentina-and I think this is last time that option was even available? Not crazy conspiracy just circumstance.
My beef is with the whole 'Jorge is faster in the dry/normal conditions' commentary which is becoming rife, this is normally backed up with Rossi needs rain or miracles to beat him. This should be justified with Jorge is faster with the dry/medium compound heat treated optimal temperature conditions, because when its been dry without these factors (Qatar, COTA, Argentina, Assen, Sachsenring) then he has been off the podium generally, and Rossi has beaten him in the dry.
Motegi has been very interesting to this point also. Jorge doing his usual with the slightly softer Medium in more optimum conditions, until in FP4 and QP the tables turned-as did the climactic conditions. What is fairly incredible and noted in other commentary is the amount which Rossi has gained over the weekend-and with this, all of this talk of data sharing has emerged from the Lorenzo side of the garage-
Question
-Haven't they been data sharing since 2009 as teammates? And why now is it all of a sudden a problem other than the obvious turnaround in the timing sheets? On the flip side for Jorge, was he and his team not looking at Rossi's data in Assen, COTA, Qatar, etc etc?
I do like your QP summary, it does make sense that Rossi's first run behind Lorenzo was indeed a masterstroke-not close enough for a tow but close enough for a good marker and as you said whether or not this was deliberate or as it has been so difficult to define of the years with Rossi- just a happy accident, remains to be seen.
But of course this is just one lap strategy and the race is looking a little more tricky, what is clear is that Rossi and his team have really worked very hard to ensure that Marc, Dani and the Ducati's are not in front of him on the grid-which in turn signals their clear intent for the race.
