| I don't see it as overly strange - Rossi doesn't go well at Valencia, never has - last year he crashed in qualifying and struggled in the race - maybe the circuit doesn't suit the Yamaha, but plenty of top riders don't like Valencia.
Hayden on the other hand was right on it there last year - pushed Melandri hard all the way for the win. It's left handed (suits Americans), and Hayden seems to like it. I always thought if it came down to Valencia Hayden would have the edge.
Honda have also done something to Hayden's bike over the last couple of weekends - from being uncompetitive in Brno, Philip Island, Sepang, Motegi - he suddenly went to Estoril and was right on the pace, and again at Valencia, the bike was much quicker than it had been elsewhere.
Consistency wins championships in any sport, ***** or bust doesn't (which Yamaha have been this year).
Also think Rossi was in a no-win by the last race - even if he had won Hayden would have blamed it on Pedrosa...
2 riders, 2 different styles, but overall Hayden and Honda just did a better job this year than Rossi and Yamaha (IMHO) |