[kropotkin thinks...] - 2009 MotoGP Valencia Preview - End Of An Era

[Ninjette Newsbot]

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There is always a strange atmosphere at the final MotoGP round at Valencia. It is probably the biggest party of the season, but a sense of sadness permeates the party atmosphere, making it feel more like the wild and desperate abandon of the night before the world is due to end than the joyous celebration of racing it could be. The Valencia MotoGP round is as much parting as it is party.

That sense of loss will be even more real this year, for MotoGP fans are once again about to lose one of the great triumphs of motorcycle racing. After the 500s made way for the 990cc four-strokes, then the 990s were cast aside for the 800s, at Valencia, the 250cc bikes are due to make their final ever outing, before being consigned to the dustbin of history, pushed aside for the 600cc four-stroke Moto2 machines.

There are many perfectly rational and sound reasons for the switch from two strokes to four, not least the question of cost. With Aprilia having a virtual monopoly on the class, the Italian manufacturer could pick and choose its winners and set the price of the factory-spec RSA250 at whatever rate it wanted. And with the other manufacturers having pulled out several years ago - though Honda still has a lingering presence - that meant that competition in the class was effectively dead.

More Is Less

But despite all of their shortcomings, the 250s are going to be sorely missed. The magical combination of light weight and decent power made the bikes more than fast enough, yet still incredibly nimble. As Andrea Orlandi, crew chief to Mapfre Aspar's Alvaro Bautista put it so succinctly: "100 kilo. 100 horsepower. Perfect."

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