This topic has spurred quite a response from everyone, and it is definitely polarizing. Reading through the replies here, and in the Estoril thread, it's evident that people are really placing more emphasis on this than is probably deemed. After all, it's just racing - a sport of passion - not a combat situation where you are counting on someone to keep you safe and alive. I read a few times, and in a few places, that people would give their left n*t to ride a GP bike, or race in MotoGP, and there will always be a part of me that feels the same. However, I want to point out that from my viewpoint, it feels like a lot of armchair enthusiasts are really getting bent out of shape. That doesn't sound very nice, but that's the reality of the situation. Everybody knows better, everybody has a clear picture - sure. This is one of those grey areas, because it's not black and white at all. I know that Alex let us down - the crew, that is - but we are a team and if he's having trouble or a problem, we would all want to help the best we could. I"ll tell you, we knew what was up when he pulled in, just by looking at his face through the helmet. Not a single person on the team was angry, we were all just saddened. I suppose the reality is, I'm too close to everything right now. You can't really understand when you're in it, like when your folks are getting divorced and they're both confiding in you. It's altogether so complicated and sticky. And this is just one part of it. Really - the glamour and mystique of the series is part of the build-up and adds to the excitement, but I'll tell you that every one of us out here is human. I really, really think there were so many classier ways to go about this whole mess. It bums me out. Anyway, it's 6:30PM here at the track and Shinichi has just shown up so we're changing the bike up a bit for him. Might be a long night, haha.
It also didn't help that his 500V4 was being beat by the 500 V-Twin.
