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That'll be a first
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Has Nicky ever gone "toe to toe" with Rossi in the same way that
Capirex, Sete or Biaggi did? As in battling on the last lap or last
corner to win a race?
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It never seemed to happen in a single race this year, only over the
course of an entire season. I think they'd both agree that was more
important, don't you?
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Rossi finished 1st or 2nd nine times this year, and here are the final
margins:
Catalunya: Rossi over Hayden, 4.51 sec
Qatar: Rossi over Hayden, .90 sec
Sepang: Rossi over Capirossi, .85 sec
Mugello: Rossi over Capirossi, .58 (Hayden 3rd, .74)
Sachsenring: Rossi over Melandri, .15 sec (Hayden 3rd, .27)
Estoril: Elias over Rossi, .00 sec
Donington: Pedrosa over Rossi, 3.86 sec
Brno: Capirossi over Rossi, 4.90 sec
Motegi: Capirossi over Rossi, 5.01 sec
So Hayden finished within a second of Rossi three times this year but
never beat him in a straight fight to the end, but neither did
Capirossi, Melandri, Pedrosa, just Elias - if that means anything.
Otherwise, when Rossi lost he was soundly beaten. His only other podium
was in Australia, where he was more than 10 seconds back in 3rd.
The only times Rossi lost in anything like close fights last year were
in Turkey, losing to Melandri by 1.51 sec, and the 2-second loss to
Capirossi at Sepang. But neither was really close to the end. In 2004 he
was only on the box twice when he didn't win it, finishing 2nd to
Gibernau at Brno, by 3.5 sec, and at Motegi to Tamada by more than 6
seconds.
So in the last three years he's only been beaten in the final laps once,
by Elias, and the 2nd-closest margin was another guy getting his first
MotoGP win. In the end, the races that came down to the last lap
probably didn't mean all that much to the championship either way, with
the exceptions of Estoril and maybe that last corner at Jerez. So does
it really matter that much? Did it really matter back in '91 when it
always seemed that Schwantz came out on top against Rainey on the last lap?
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Which brings to mind thew closest finish between Rossi and Hayden this
year, at PI where Rossi beat Hayden by only .17 second. Of course that
was another "Rossi rules" episode, Hayden expecting Rossi would get
penalized for yet again passing under a waiving yellow, and that
expectation probably impacted the result on the track.
In the end the championship was decided over the last two races, when
Rossi failed to do what he needed to, or should have done, or what was
expected he'd do, losing to Elias on that last lap and crashing when he
apparently pushed too hard too early. Meanwhile Hayden was doing what he
needed to, pushing hard, moving forward, not making mistakes. It's not
his fault that mistakes by Pedrosa and Rossi meant there'd be no
"straight fight" for the championship...
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Nah, he just wins the title while Rossi chokes and bins it. Much better.
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