If Haslem loses I won't feel sorry. I do not like his attitude this year. Things went A-ok in the beginning of the season and you saw nothing but smiles. Then Max starts getting his bike sorted, and utilizing his bike's advantages at certain tracks, and the whining beginning from Haslem. Somehow its lack of support from Japan that caused him to dumb it at miller, and finish behind guintoli on a few of occasions. He even finished behind Camier on at least one occasion I can remember, which to be truthful, the camier/aprilia combo is probably not much higher on power to weight ratio than Leon's suzuki.
Leon started the season off well, let his momentum fizzle, then starts riding like trash with poor championship management, and then blames it all on lack of support form Japan.
Did Max whine and ..... last year when his aprilia handled like a shopping cart? Maybe he told the facts as they were, but never made excuses or harped over it. He just got down to business and sorted the package out. (it still handles like a shopping cart by the way, but he rides around issues though and makes do, something Leon could learn from). Don't get me wrong, Leon Haslem is entitled to state facts as they are, he has every right to say in interviews and such how the suzuki is probably all around a bit worse than the aprilia. But the public displays of begging for help from Japan, the complaints, et al, were laughable. No matter how bad that suzuki is, its better than that .... he had last year, it won him some good races, got him second in the championship, and at the end of the day its the team he chose to ride with. Nobody forced him to go to suzuki.
Haslem fans might need to wake up and realize that Max is just a better championship rider overall at this moment. He has more experience leading and managing, as he did in his 250 glory days. The failures in 500cc might have dented his spirit for a while, but like anything that hurts you short term, it will make you stronger in the long run. That is what we are seeing.
