The 2009 125cc World Championship announced itself once more to be a close fight with many different riders on the forefront. It's a championship where one rider dominating is rather seldom due to the slim differences in material, considering that 95% runs Aprilia bikes. Team, rider and tactics are crucial to deliver a consistent performance during the season which results in a challenge for the title.
The preseason favourites are the Aspar boys : Julian Simon, Bradley Smith and Sergio Gadea. The strongest outfit for many years in the 125cc class is chasing another title after losing out to Mike DiMeglio and Derbi racing in 2008. Both Simone Corsi and Nicolas Terol for team Jack & Jones as well as Stefan Bradl are expected to be fighting for the 2009 crown.
The first two races had a surprise winner : Andrea Iannone. But the following races, the "normal" order was reinstated with Simon winning in Le Mans and Smith victorious in Jerez and Mugello. A very exciting and strange race in Catalunya gave Iannone his 3d victory in 6 races and put him firmly in contention for the title.
Come Assen and it was all about Julian Simon and Bradly Smith for the remainder of the season. Gadea managed to win in Holland but 4 top 2 finishes ( including two wins ) for Simon vaulted him to the top of the standings. Iannone was no longer in contention by then, in fact he only managed to gather 54 points in the last 10 races compared to his 71,5 in the beginning of the season. Corsi nor Bradl could continue their 2008 form and ended 11th and 10th in the standings. Terol managed 5 podiums ( one win in Brno ) to clinch third spot at the end of the year. Gadea recorded a strong mid season ( with one win in Assen ) but was far from consistent to threaten his teammates. The strongest challenge came from little Pol Espargaro whose second half of 2009 provided 6 top 5 finishes ( including two wins ) to end up 4th and a label of 2010 title favourite.
A world class performance by Julian Simon in Philip Island saw him clinch the title with two rounds remaining. Winning the final two races as well, was the icing on the cake so he ended his 2009 campaign in great style and underlining his status of world champion.
Additional Facts & Figures
- The average margin between first and second during the 2009 season was 3,638 seconds.
- 10 races out of 16 ended with less than 1,000 seconds covering winner and second place.
- The biggest difference was at Le Mans : 27,084 seconds.
- The smallest gap was at Indianapolis : 0,120 seconds.
- 35 regular riders started the season.
- The field consisted of 23 Aprilias, 5 Derbis, 2 KTM, 2 Maxtra/Hajoue, 2 Loncin and 1 Honda.
- After the first round in Qatar, Hajoue decided to pull the plug on its 125cc project.
It was a difficult choice ( the other moment being Simon's misjudgement in Catalunya when he thought he'd won when in fact there was one more lap to go. In the end, he didn't even make the podium. ) but I chose the last corner clash between Pol Espargaro and Andrea Iannone at Misano. Not that this is a rare phenomenon but the argument and action it was followed by was not your everyday sight. Yes, in NHL and on a football pitch it is quite common an your average Saturday Night pub brawl as well but on a race track ?
Espargaro runs over to the Italian to get some feedback on his action and what he was thinking ? My guess he must have said to him : "Actions speak louder than words, hombre!" and he reinforced this with a headbutt.
Afterwards he apologised to the Spaniard and received a 5000 USD fine.
Exceptional performance
The final race of the season in Valncia saw a wild card entry by Toni Mang's team for Marcel Schrotter. The boy, both German and European 125cc champion, managed to finish 5th on a underdevelopped Honda.
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