There has been a virtual media blackout on results of the duel between multi-world champions Valentino Rossi and Lewis Hamilton who swapped vehicles on Monday (9 December 2019).
Shared sponsor Monster Energy has only issued a few photos of the duel and some basic comments, but no results so far of the timed race on Valencia’s Circuit Ricardo Tormo.
There is also this short promo video that was posted on Twitter, then later removed. It reveals nothing of the results.
However, we have come up with five reasons why we believe Rossi won the duel.
Why Rossi won duel
1 Valencia track
Rossi knows the circuit.
He has been racing at Valencia for many years now in various categories and has won eight MotoGPs there which is more than any other rider.
Hamilton doesn’t know the track.
F1 does not race at the track and has only done limited testing there.
In fact, Hamilton apparently required Rossi’s fellow racer, Franco Morbidelli, to escort him around the track to show him the correct lines and apexes.
Rossi also later went for a spin with Hamilton on their bikes.
2 Yamaha M1 Vs Mercedes F1
Hamilton’s Mercedes F1 which Rossi drove has a maximum speed of 362.3km/h which is slightly faster than a MotoGP bike.
While we don’t know the top speed for Rossi’s bike, the top MotoGP speed is 356.4km/h, set by Andrea Dovizioso, in the 2018 Italian Grand Prix.
Also, the Valencia MotoGP lap record is held by Jorge Lorenzo with 1:29.40 minutes in 216, while Rossi is the fourth fastest with 1:30.13.
The F1 testing lap record is held by Anthony Davidson, set in 2006 in a Honda RA106, with a time of 1:08.54, more than 20 seconds faster than the MotoGP bikes.
Besides, the 2019 Mercedes F1 car will be a lot quicker than an F1 car 13 years ago!
3 Experience
Rossi has quite a deal of racing experience on four wheels while Hamilton has none on two.
Last month Rossi tested the Ferrari 488 GT3 he will race in the Gulf 12 hour endurance race on 14 December 2019 at Abu Dhabi.
He’s pretty talented on four wheels and has won rallies before.
In 2006, he tested for Ferrari and was just 0.7 seconds off the times set by Michael Schumacher who also tried his hand at motorcycle racing after his first F1 retirement.
However, he hasn’t raced on two wheels. In fact, he crashed the previous weekend at Jerez preparing for the Rossi duel and there are reports he may have thrown the bike away on Monday.
4 Congratulatory comments
The few congratulatory comments from Rossi and Hamilton give little away.
Hamilton said: “It’s so awesome to see a legend like Valentino in the car.”
Rossi said: “I was a big fan of Lewis’s before but now I am even more.”
But it’s this Rossi comment that seems to indicate the elements were against the bikes.
“Technically, Valencia is a hard track and today was windy so, at one point, I thought it would be difficult for Lewis to continue, but he was brilliant on the bike and his position on the M1 was great. I think he had loads of fun, which is the main thing.”
Sounds like he had fun but lost!
5 It’s Rossi!
After all, it’s Rossi, the nine-time world champion!
Rossi has long wanted to get into four-wheeled racing, especially rallying where he has already had some success.
After winning nine world titles, Rossi has little to prove on two wheels, but a lot to prove to sponsors on four.
Six-time F1 champion Lewis, who switches from Mercedes to Ferrari in 2021, has not expressed any interest in switching to motorcycle racing.
We expect the official video from Monster Energy to appear in the next couple of weeks but don’t expect it will be any clearer on who won!
Multi-world champions Valentino Rossi and Lewis Hamilton will temporarily swap vehicles on Monday (9 December 2019) when they take part in a promotional race at Valencia’s Circuit Ricardo Tormo.
But could the swap be longer term?
Rossi has long wanted to get into four-wheeled racing, especially rallying where he has already had some success.
After winning nine world titles, Rossi has little to prove on two wheels and likewise six-time F1 champion Lewis has little to prove on four.
While Rossi is contracted to MotoGP for another year, he had a poor 2019 season.
Last month Rossi tested the Ferrari 488 GT3 he will race in the Gulf 12 hour endurance race on 14 December 2019 at Abu Dhabi.
He’s pretty talented on four wheels and has won rallies before.
In 2006, he tested for Ferrari and was just 0.7 seconds off the times set by Michael Schumacher who also tried his hand at motorcycle racing after his first F1 retirement.
Meanwhile, Hamilton is doing a swap of his own switching from Mercedes to Ferrari in 2021.
He’s long shown interest in motorcycle racing and crashed last Saturday at Jerez preparing for the duel with Rossi.
Their “race” has been made possible by their shared sponsor, Monster Energy.
We can’t wait to see the video next week!
As for who will win, it is interesting to check the lap times at the Valencia circuit.
The lap record is held by Jorge Lorenzo with 1:29.40 minutes in 216, while Rossi is the fourth fastest with 1:30.13.
F1 doesn’t race at the track, but has tested there.
The unofficial F1 lap record is held by Anthony Davidson, set in 2006 in a Honda RA106, with a time of 1:08.54, more than 20 seconds faster than the MotoGP bikes.
So that seems to suggest that Vale has the upper hand in the F1 car!
MV Agusta has launched its fourth limited-edition model, the Brutale 800 RR LH44, in collaboration with five-time Formula 1 champion Lewis Hamilton.
Only 144 bikes will be made, each with Hamilton’s race number “44”.
They will cost $A38,880 ride away, which is about $14,00 more than the RR version and $10,000 more than the RR America.
Lewis Hamilton collaboration
The Brutale 800 RR LH44 is distinguished by a blacked-out ceramic exhaust, LH44 rim design, pearl shock red lever sets, and carbonfibre highlighted side covers, fuel tank trim, front and rear fenders and dashboard cover.
It also has a compact and lightweight two-channel ABS 9 Plus that features Rear Wheel Lift-up Mitigation to control the pressure on the front brake and avoid rear wheel lift-up.
MV Agusta says the Euro 4 inline-three cylinder engine has “undergone extensive technical updating”.
However, they don’t say what that is, but horsepower remains at 140hp with a top speed of 244km/h.
Limited editions
MV Agusta has launched a host of limited edition models in the past few years as they have struggled under financial constraints to produce new models.
While we’ve lost count of the number of “limited-edition models” they have released in recent years, we do know this is the fourth in collaboration with Lewis Hamilton.
It sort of makes a mockery of the term “limited edition” when they produce so many.
Top of the range of limited-edition models was last year’s $A125,012 Claudio F4 which pays homage to former company president Claudio Castiglioni.
Claudio F4
Meanwhile, MV Agusta have produced only a couple of new models since 2013 and suffered from a frustratingly slow supply chain. We know of one rider who waited six months for a sump plug!
Instead of fixing supply, updating their bikes or launching new models, MV continued to churn out limited-edition models with a lick of paint, some extra farkle and a hefty price tag.
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