Misano This and That

29. September 2007The Race of the MotoGP in Misano brought about some changes. New tracks, new press centre and new spacious grand stands where the spectators somehow appeared to be a bit forlorn, although with more than 27,000 people the number was almost as large as last year.
But for the Tifosi could not really establish an emotional connection to the event. Other than with most of the other motor sports series, there are no Italian pilots, no Italian team, and no Italian brand either. That’s quite different to the presentation of the two German manufacturers of commercial vehicles. MAN’s jumbo marquee is at present the ultimate thing and will be hard to beat. And so Mercedes’ equipment was a bit smaller, but the performance they gave when handing over the new 50 SilverTec F1 trucks to their Italian owners, was enjoyed not only by the representatives of the Truck GP of the Nürburgring.
Otherwise, the support programme had not much to offer, and so the truck racers were more than ever the centre of attention. Naturally, all eyes are presently focused on the duel of the two title aspirants, Markus Bösiger and Antonio Albacete. But it should not be forgotten that there are at least three pilots – David Vrsecky, Jochen Hahn and Gerd Körber – who could be good for a victory. And then there are Jean-Philipp Belloc, Egon Allgäuer and Chris Levett who lie in waiting, that one of the nominally faster pilots will make a mistake or get into trouble, in order to get on the podium.
How close behind one another the trucks at the top are, was clearly recognizable during the Cup race on Sunday. For several laps the gap between the trucks was not more than a few centimetres. Bösiger, who was leading, had some problems with one of his tyres – probably the result of some pushing from behind – which reduced his speed a bit. Nonetheless, he managed to fight off the permanent attacks of his chasers – first of all Gerd Körber. The German never before in this season was so near to the verge of a win, and when, 3 laps before the finish, he spotted a narrow gap on the inner track of the nearly 180 degree turn “Quercia”, he dashed forward to get into that gap. But Bösiger did not yield, and when Körber hit the Swiss’ Freightliner fully in the side, the dream to win the race was shattered for both pilots. Supposedly, this incident resulted in the – temporarily??? – breaking off of a friendship that lasted for decades. But after the final rounds in Jarama, at the latest, ruffled feelings should have cooled down.