Rossi’s best-ever win… Moto GP’s greatest-ever last lap

I still haven’t got my breath back, yet! Because that was the most amazing last lap in any form of motor-sport that I think I’ve ever seen. Some people have been questioning Valentino Rossi’s reputation as being the greatest motor-cycle rider of all-time over the past few weeks and months. But ‘The Doctor’s amazing victory at Sunday’s Catalan Grand Prix made his point spectacularly; he’s still the boss.

For those of you who haven’t seen it yet, have a look on the internet today for Rossi’s incredible last-corner pass on his Yamaha team-mate, Jorge Lorenzo. Because, by all logical standards, it really shouldn’t have been possible. Rossi aimed his bike up the inside of Lorenzo on the dirty, non-racing-line part of a bumpy, uphill 130mph left-hand corner. And the reason why Lorenzo didn’t defend himself is that it ought to be impossible to pass there.

The two rival Yamaha riders’ attitudes were telling when I interviewed them afterwards. Rossi was practically bouncing up and down on the ground; I’ve never seen him looking so obviously delighted, before. He told me, with a wide smile on his face, “That was the hardest and best overtaking maneuver that I’ve ever pulled off!” Lorenzo, meanwhile, still looked absolutely stunned. He simply didn’t understand what and how Rossi had just done to him. He kept repeating his compunction that “I put my bike in the right place…I was on the right line.”

That astonishing last lap – in which the lead must have changed four or five times, at least – was a contrast to the rest of Barcelona’s race, which wasn’t truly thrilling. But that just concentrated all the drama onto the Catalan Grand Prix’s final act. It was easy to forget, too, that there was a race going on behind the two Yamahas. And a very interesting one, too..

Because Casey Stoner’s fine third place may well prove crucial to him, later in the year. And only in the parc ferme, later, did we in the media discover just how good a ride it was. It rapidly emerged that Stoner was almost on the verge of passing out, couldn’t speak and was by no means a well man. In fact, Ducati confirmed afterwards – they’d kept this understandably quiet in the lead-up to the race – that their number-one rider had been taken ill the previous night, hadn’t slept the previous night and had even considered pulling out.

For that reason, Stoner’s success in staving off Honda’s Dovizioso on the final lap – they finished a tenth of a second apart – was particularly praiseworthy, especially considering how well that the powerful Hondas were performing on this ‘high-end’ Barcelona circuit. And the Ducati man’s success in reaching the podium has left us with the incredible situation of all three major Moto GP title contenders now each being equal on 106 Championship points.

All of which leaves me counting down the days and hours until our next Moto GP race in Holland, in a fortnight’s time. The legendary Assen circuit is a track which rewards a bike which puts its power down smoothly onto the tarmac and handles nicely. In theory, that should make it another Yamaha circuit, but absolutely anything seems possible, this year! And bear in mind that both Stoner and Ducati should both be restored to full health by then.