The strong became stronger. Therefore, today, entertainment is supported by artificial regulators - rules.

Due to the realities, we’re already used to, today it is rather difficult to imagine a championship, in which five tire factories of three different manufacturers would participate in the peloton; where the best performances would be shown by those who have already lost everything; where rookies would take poles and wins in their debut season; a championship, where in the finals of the season, a pilot who never drove on Bridgestone enters the first turn as number one and until the end of the race gives no one even a chance to drive up to himself till the finish; where in the middle of the championship the leader of the general classification had an advantage in 51 points, only with two wins, but who had already lost 8 in the last race of the season.

Fans of motorsport were lucky to see such season. The season without external controls - only power, speed, desperate battles in every race. The season, where the newcomers went so that the experienced had no chances to win in the future. The season, where the loser became a bigger champion, and the champion appeared in the middle of the peloton. It was the last real "pre-electronic" pilot season.

2006. THE YEAR OF THE WORLD CHAMPION Nicky Hayden

Today we are already used to the trends in the production process. If, on Friday, Marquez wins a second from the lap, then, most likely, the race will be almost the same. On the one hand, it's boring, on the other - everything changes radically next weekend. Due to what happened in the 2006 season, the phrase "change radically" could be applied several times even in one race, not talking about the weekend. Jerez was opening the season. Capirossi started very fast, made a gap and continued to stretch out a lead over his pursuers. Valentino tumbled from his machine at turn one. A Honda rider, Dani Petrosa was left to collect a second place on his debut competitive ride. He even managed to approach Capirossi, but eventually it was really hard to get on terms with the rapid Italian. At the flag Capirossi won. Another rookie Casey Stoner (LCR Honda RC211V) took the pole in Qatar. Young riders with their aggressiveness begin to exceed the experienced. Rossi passed Nicky at turn one, then he sat up, and looked behind him, to see where Capirossi was. It looked as if Rossi was deciding where the best place was to take Nicky back again. Finally, he crossed the line ahead of Hayden.

In Turkey Medalry and Stoner crossed the finish line almost at the same time, and it seemed like Honda riders monopolized podium in this MotoGP round.

In Shanghai Dani won his debut race from the pole. In Le Mans Melandri celebrated the victory again, although Nakano on Kawasaki was very close to win the qualification. Valentino took Mugello and Catalunya. Assen MotoGP race was an epic. Edwards, battling with Hayden, lost the rear of his machine as he put the power down while on the still on the grass of that chicane. He was spat off, his bike careering into the tyre wall. Nakano (Kawasaki) inherited the second place, leaving Dani, Casey and Marco behind.

Despite the fact, that the leader gave 42 points to the second place and 46 – to the fifth, only some people really got what happened. It seemed like they only watched how fast Valentino will solve his problems with the motorcycle – 4 getting off the track in 8 races in the championship fight, it's like not riding at all. The apogee of the future champion career, in fact, was at Laguna Seca. Valentino Rossi looked as if he might be a contender until his machine let him down in the closing laps, and the American won on his own (the third race in his career, a year after his first).

And then everything has been changed radically. In the next five races Valentino was always on the podium – he won 59 points back and took the first place before the round in Valencia. And Nicky couldn’t get into top 3, moreover he’d lost his confidence and competitiveness.

When you see that the opponent is weak, he must be finished off – Dani decided at Estoril. Nicky wasn’t ready for this battle, and two team-mates - Dani Pedrosa and Nicky Hayden - hit the gravel – Dani’s race over, Nicky’s title hopes compromised by the crash.

The peloton came to Valencia, Rossi took the pole, then he lost the start, apparently decided that the task of finishing just behind Hayden is nothing, compared to what he had already done and fell. Just fell down. Valentino! Rossi! Just fell ... Nobody pressed him, it was the beginning of the race, there were absolutely no reason, no background to take risks.

We can often find championships, where the two most powerful pilots start a battle. By the middle of the season, one achieves a decent advantage, but in the second half of the championship the loser begins to win back. It’s harder to win back, if two leaders have a great advantage over all other riders, simply because no one can take their points. In the 2006 season, you could lose the battle and you still got a bonus of 4-5 positions from other riders, who followed the principle “If I can’t win, it’ll better to get off the track”. Today you won’t win any championship with two wins in a season (11% of victories). In other words, if there was a chance for Kentucky Kid to become a champion, then he used it.

We should also mention such events as regular good results of both Suzuki; Set’s absence; Nakano, who had a great chance to win the race in Australia, if it wasn’t raining; Kenny Roberts, who suddenly remembered how to fight, and almost won on experimental five-cylinder Honda at Estoril; Elias, who collected gravel traps on all the routes of the world during the season, but in Portugal he crossed the line ahead of Valentino; Capirossi, who, after his severe injury in Spain (an incident after which the guards were required) and the lost chances for the championship, seemed to be reborn and began to win at Ducati regularly; and of course Troy Bayliss!

Behind it all, the invisible hard work of the latest American MotoGP champion Nicky Hayden was left. Let's imagine ourselves in his place: you win the championship, 2 victories, still not so fast as Rossi, got the first place thanks to his fall. Nice guy! But what does the audience say? An accident. Analysts say the same.

The next few seasons there were no victories, no speed, and podiums – just as the rest from the rival failures. In a few seasons the public hides no longer that Nicky is held in the team only because the American market is needed. You have already been sent to satellites. For 10 years you were in top 3 less than in a single season. And you are smiling. A smile behind which you are forced to hide the whole hard work because of that victory. Then he accepted that coincidence and began to work as if the championship would be in the future as a reward, not as an advance in the past. In the world of great people only victory is valuable. Only the desire to win gives strength, only victory gives life. After the rider becomes the champion, he simply can’t without victories. Without this feeling you begin to think about leaving, and in this maelstrom of negative thoughts you think only of how to be saved, escape and survive the failure. In 2011 Valentino could not live for six months with the thought "no chance to win".

& And all these 10 years the American demonstrated an incredible level of professionalism. In the case of his failure everyone would say: he deserved it, Valentino was the best, miracles do not happen. But the miracle happened. The miracle, which became hard work, only because a person decided that he should.

Anyone would give up after the circumstances described above and left after 3-4 seasons for fishing or something like this. Anyone! Fate awards people for work. And only some of them thank it by their work. Maybe the fate re-awarded him, but now it's eternal freedom ...RIP.& Video Credit:KRC CREW

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