batsplat · 6 months ago
Text
another bit of context that I think is key to understanding assen 2015 is that like. okay a last corner is a last corner; it's not like valentino has ownership over it or whatever. but there is also something in-your-face bold about thinking you can beat valentino rossi at that chicane. sure we don't quite associate the gt chicane with one specific iconic rossi overtake the same way we do last corner jerez or the corkscrew, but thinking you can steal the win from valentino at the chicane is kind of in the same spirit. that's valentino's chicane. he has made countless overtakes there over the years. he loves that chicane he really does
take 2013, where assen was the first race vale won after his ducati dry spell. his overtake on marc in that race isn't at the chicane, but it's in turn one - right after marc had made a small mistake on the chicane and gets poor drive down the straight. which could be completely innocuous, but is also the kind of thing that happens when you're defending against somebody you know is very good at one specific bit of the track. which marc knew. of course he did. after the start, valentino made two other overtakes in that race: on bradl and dani (the latter of which marc had an excellent view for). guess where they both happen. guess where marc overtakes dani
and marc straight up said in the assen 2015 post-race presser that his move there was premeditated, that he'd repeatedly tested out and planned that move during practise. marc, who obviously knows valentino's record at that track, who has studied him so so closely. who knew full well that the fight for the victory was most likely going to come down to the two of them, and knew it could come down to the very last chicane. his plan to win that race was to barge valentino aside, ideally on the final lap, at quite possibly valentino's best series of corners on the entire calendar. no wonder marc was pissed when it didn't work
#valentino's like?? bitch?? you thought??#the race winning overtake in assen 2007 obviously also happened at that chicane. obviously!! it's what valentino does at assen!!#in 2018 he does. like. i'm not kidding he does ten overtakes at that chicane. somebody counted it for all the riders in the lead group#his role in that race was being a timmer chicane merchant he just copy pastes that shit#'well maybe that's just a good overtaking spot!!' you might say#you want to know how often the other EIGHT riders involved in that fight *combined* overtook at that chicane? twice. TWICE#i know 2018 does in fact come after 2015 but it's just as blatant an illustration as you can get of how he had that chicane locked down#and on the 2013 thing again - this isn't a chicane marc NATURALLY loves. in 2018 0/12 of his overtakes happen there#that being said in 2013 cal also overtakes dani at that bloody chicane so maybe dani just had a terrible day there lol#it IS a classic assen thing but it's also very much a classic valentino thing. started making a note of it rewatching races and. yeah#the hubris of it all!! unbelievable!! that marc overtake attempt was 1000% based off him studying footage of valentino over the years#and doing it at that stage of that season!! marc you little fucker. maaaaaaaaarc#hm this isn't really well thought out enough to go in the main tag lol#//#brr brr#idol tag#I suppose you could say marc DID end up providing valentino with the opportunity to do an iconic move at that chicane#very nice of him#the beauty of that last chicane contact is that marc tries to win in the most valentino way imaginable at valentino's beloved chicane#and at the very latest headed to that chicane (if not already far earlier in the weekend) valentino knows exactly what marc's planning#it's not just payback for laguna because it's a controversial move that goes in vale's favour#it's payback for laguna because marc tried to pull a valentino on valentino AGAIN and vale got the better of him
15 notes · View notes