Grand Prix jousting has evolved in recent years towards a little more contact between drivers who no longer hesitate to take the crowbar to open the door that has been closed to them in a corner. An evolution that is often attributed to Marc Márquez's unbridled style assumed from a very young age, while the progress made in motorcycle electronics and equipment has removed a lot of apprehension. But veteran Sete Gibernau is not of this opinion on the attribution of this paternity. For him, it all started in Jerez in 2005 with Valentino Rossi. He knows something about it since he was the victim!
This period of confinement definitely pushes for confidences that the whirlwind of competition had until then prevented from being shared. Precisely, the tide has turned and today there is dead calm, imposed by the planetary crisis of coronavirus. So we let go. Recently, Livio Suppo, Racing Consultant told behind the scenes of the bickering between Red et Márquez in 2015, the echo of which can still be heard today. But Vale was also another controversy, ten years earlier. With a Gibernau which refreshes the memory with conclusions of its own…
So, if today we happily push our adversary out of the way, it is because there was a case law: Jerez 2005, with, as the culprit, Valentino Rossi which made the narrator of the event a victim. He explains, speaking to BT Sport after a rebroadcast of the Jerez race in 2005 as part of his “Greatest Races” series, that the way the event has been “understood” since that day has changed it. negatively and set a precedent for racing to be more aggressive in MotoGP.
« I don't know how many times we've talked about this shift, but the more time passes, the more I understand that things are changing. ", said Gibernau, who returned to competition last year in the inaugural MotoE World Cup after retiring from MotoGP in 2009. Many people saw this change, and from that moment on, it opened the door to many other opportunities. At the end of the race we both did what we thought was best for the championship. But since then things have changed in MotoGP, which I don't agree with »
We will remember that in 2013, Marc Márquez remained unpunished after a similar maneuver on Jorge Lorenzo in the same corner to grab second place on the final lap, although there have been numerous instances since of what was considered acceptable contact.
« I have my opinions, and like I said, I don't have to be right or wrong. Everyone has their own ideas. If I put myself now in the situation of watching a race and seeing what happened at Jerez, where two guys risking their own lives touched each other in a difficult final corner, with my son wanting to be a driver, and everything the world would give victory to a guy who touched another, I wouldn't want that to happen. »
« I don't want anyone to get hurt. It's one of my priorities and that's how I understand sport and racing ". For further, Gibernau believes more needs to be done to eradicate this type of racing, although he admits it would be difficult. “ MotoGP is already so dangerous that in my opinion we should all pool our know-how to avoid these kinds of situations ", he added. “ Is this difficult to do? Yes it is difficult. Is this impossible to do? I do not think so. »
« It is the responsibility of whoever is in charge of the championship to put in place the rules to stay away from this type of situation because, as I said, we risk more than a simple accident. " SO, Red responsible but not guilty? Everything is discussed…
