Rossi vs Lorenzo: Is MotoGP 2015 season a two horse race?

Qualifying troubles for Rossi and Lorenzo’s near robotic riding ability has meant the MotoGP championship battle is poised to go down to the wire.

The 2015 MotoGP season has gotten to the point that it doesn’t matter anymore who the eventual winner is in what looks to be a two-horse race between the Yamaha riders. At least to neutral fans, that is. For someone in the thick of the championship battle like Valentino Rossi.

The Italian legend was concerned prior to the start of the season of Ducati availing of technical concessions given to manufacturers that had not won a race since 2013.

With softer tyres available throughout the race weekend as well as a higher allocation of fuel in the races, Ducati’s Andrea Dovizioso and Andrea Iannone have performed beyond the already impressive improvements to the GP15 to be a factor in qualifying as well as for podium positions.

Both those factors have made life slightly difficult for Rossi who has, on more than one occasion, had to fight his way through the field from a relatively poor starting grid slot. Relative that is, to his Spanish teammate, whose form has been nothing short of outstanding since the Spanish Grand Prix at Jerez.

Four straight wins have almost wiped out a difficult start to the season for Jorge Lorenzo, who missed out on sure podium finishes for reasons as bizzare as the padding in his helmet becoming dislodged and impairing his vision.

The operative word here being almost because despite his qualifying troubles, Rossi has not been away from the podium at all until the seventh round of the season. While he may have only two wins to Lorenzo’s four, the podiums have meant that Rossi holds a one point lead over the Spaniard and is unlikely to fall too far away from reach should Lorenzo’s hot hand get hotter still.

Amidst this dominance by Yamaha and increased pace of Ducati is the very strange sight of Marc Marquez and Honda struggling to keep up.

An arm surgery to Dani Pedrosa and three retirements for Marquez means that the rider who looked to be on top of the world just a year ago is left looking like a rookie in comparison.

One should note that there were slip ups when Marquez was pressured by Lorenzo for the title in 2013 and that 2014’s Bridgestone tyre compound construction heavily favoured Honda.

On a slightly more level playing field and with both Rossi and Lorenzo riding at their best, Marquez is looking humbled after his meteoric rise to the top of the MotoGP pile in the last two seasons.

If nothing else, it sets up the rest of the season nicely. Not giving Marquez the benefit of the doubt for a comeback would be foolish. His talent and speed are unquestionable but it’s his temperament that will now be tested. That is the point at which champions can become great and provide a ton of thrills for those following their exploits.