Editorial: A Team Sport?

Andrea Wilson | October 9, 2014

There’s no I in team, but there is an ME. It’s a cheeky response to an old adage about being a team player. And although clever, it’s not welcome in a team environment. Because, after all, putting the greater good of the team before yourself is the key ingredient to having a successful team.

Now enter motorsports. And a gray area.

Even though it’s the individual effort that stands out, racing is still a team sport. Trust me, no racer wants a team that consists of just themselves. A pure individual effort means… well, good luck with winning. And even better than a team is a great team. A great rider might be able to overcome a bad team, or a team that lacks resources, but true success comes with a great team. So to overlook the importance of a team’s effort in racing is naive.

It’s not so much the team, but the word teammate that’s really the heart of the gray area in motorsports. You’re both on the same “team.” Well, sort of. That’s where it gets tricky, because the only way to have a harmonious team dynamic is the acceptance of the alpha dog. Two alphas on one team can be costly and I’m not talking salaries. It can cost teams championships. If you need an example, look to World Superbike. The two top teams – factory Kawasaki and Aprilia – both have a pair of alphas and the blessing and curse that goes with it. Yes, if you’re a team owner you double your odds of race wins and a shot at the championship, but those championship dreams can also turn into a nightmare by a rider not willing to play a supporting role when they have no shot at a championship.

Alphas don’t like supporting roles. And neither do racing purists. The words – Team Orders – make riders and fans alike cringe. In the individualist spirit of things, it is may the best person win. No one gets excited about a race winner who was waved past to help secure a championship for a teammate. It’s all rather anticlimactic and uninspiring. In fact, unless you’re a fan of the rider bidding for the championship, you cheer for the guy who stares down team orders or gives it a not so nice hand gesture.

Generally the only time you become the “bad” guy is if you takeout your teammate, especially if it’s a bonehead move that jeopardizes his/her championship hopes. And there’s no greater example in recent memory than the Portuguese Grand Prix in Estoril 2006 when Dani Pedrosa took out teammate Nicky Hayden and turned Hayden’s championship advantage over Valentino Rossi into a long shot with one round to go. And there was a big outcry for better team support for Hayden – although without using the dreaded words “team orders.”

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