[mc/rider]

Originally Posted by Stevensville Mike Okay, I'll play the Devil's Advocate here: These boys are paid to go hard and go for the gap. There are seams in the track down the Long Pond Straight. They run the whole length of the straight and are perfectly parallel to the ones (on each side of them). If you watch the replay from Rossi's car, as Sato is coming past him, at a very high rate of speed, on the outside, and timing his move, Rossi's RF wheel can actually be seen going to the right, towards the wall, as noted by the seam in the track. Sato, coming down, maybe never figured Rossi would try and move right to set up his entry into Turn 2? Sato is not an idiot. He is good. Take your non-American blindfolds off. And besides, unlike Rossi, he has nothing to lose for he is not in the championship run. Maybe Rossi should have used a little bit of head and breathed the throttle? Hell, it was only Lap 1 and he has a lot to lose. These guys are going for all of the marbles. Had A.J. Foyt made a move like this 40 years ago, he would have been hailed a daredevil/hero/icon/badass. Two sides to every story. Sometimes three. But Sato is a badass shoe. Far from an idiot.

It does look like Rossi was drifting right setting up the turn