I could not disagree with you more. Why in the world would you want to take the greatest rider of all time and stick him in an F1 car? Right now, on a bike, he is the dominant reason as to why he does so well, rather than the bike, whereas in F1, the car is more important than the driver. I think he should stay in MotoGP until he is no longer competitive, and win as many WCs as he possibly can - leave a dominant stamp in the MotoGP history books. I don't find the races nearly as interesting without Rossi in the field. There is nothing as interesting in the world of motorsports than Rossi making a bad start, dropping back to 10th or worse, and watching him carve up the field to take a win. There is no finer racing on the planet.
Racing is not mainly about being fans or admirers of a particular individual. Racing is about competition. When someone is dominant, competition suffers and becomes uninteresting. MotoGP is not particularly interesting when Rossi dominates...
... of course, Lorenzo might be on his way to change all that; but, if he becomes the new dominant force, I wouldn't see that as much of an improvement... Cheers, Gabriel
Ironically it is the races where someone completely dominates and wins by a country mile that people remember for many years. I forget the year (2003?) at the Australian GP. Rossi was given a penalty and still won by 15 seconds or so. There was another wet race in Portugal (also 2003?) where Rossi won by 20+ seconds, but it could have just as easily been 45 seconds he was so dominant. He lapped way up into the field. The other type of memorable race is when a dominant rider starts at the back and carves through the field to win. But in this instance is it really competition? The better rider passes backmarkers and never looks back, the only drama is if they have enough laps to catch and pass everyone.
It's a surprise, but it also makes sense. Lorenzo is the real deal and is probably the next Rossi... If there is such thing, as people say Vettel is the new MS. All Yamaha are going is bringing new blood into the team and with Rossi leaving the salary that he deserves. Sad to see Rossi go after all this time though.
These are definitely the most memorable races for me. Yes, I agree, passing the also-rans is no incredible feat, but catching up to the caliber of riders such as a Stoner or a Pedrosa, and passing them after being so far back, is incredible to watch. If you are privileged enough to get to see someone at Rossi's level once in your lifetime, in any sport, consider yourself lucky. Watching an absolute master at his craft, for me, is so thrilling to watch. Watching Rossi race brings back memories of watching Ayrton Senna race in F1, something I never thought I'd feel again.
I was at the 2002 GP in Valencia, Spain. Valentino won (BTW: he was on a Honda back then). Good for him. I don't consider myself lucky for having been there. I wanted to see racing, competition-intense racing; didn't happen. The crowd was great though, as always in Spain... Cheers, Gabriel
Perhaps one day you'll realize you got to see something special. I liken it to someone who maybe got to see Fangio race live, and didn't think of it as being anything special back then, but now realizes how special it truly was. No matter, to each their own. Everyone has their own perception.
Rossi rode Toseland's factory R1 today at Brno in another test of his fitness. He was on regular WSBK Pirellis, the first time he has ever used this tire. Keep in mind he currently is on crutches with a broken but pinned leg and still has his shoulder injury from the pre-season. According to Brivio, Rossi's best lap time was 1:59.135 http://twitter.com/davide_brivio For comparison, yesterday in the race Crutchlow's best race lap was 1:59.291 and Toseland's best was 2:00.089. CCs best lap in qualifying was 1:58.510 while JT's was 1:59.699. I love to root against him, but Rossi is absolutely magic on a bike... Rossi will have press conference this afternoon. It is assumed he will announce his return to MotoGP. But there is also some scuttlebutt that this is where the Ducati announcement will happen.
I doubt he will do it but my hope is after 2012 he will move to WSBK for a couple of years to keep himself entertained. Infront/Flammini could offer to split the profits from the series with Rossi while he rides (in addition to his personal sponsors), and both parties would make a ton of money. If Rossi were to leave on top of MotoGP, holding every major record, and switch to WSBK it would be a huge blow to MotoGP. We have gotten a taste of MotoGP without Rossi this summer and my guess is everyone involved save Lorenzo doesn't like what the future will be in a couple of years.
He was also quoted "Once I'd understood my physical condition today, I had great fun riding the R1 and even did some work on the settings! " So it seems that even while doing a physical test ride, he can't help but tweek the bike to make it faster for the WSBK team. I'd love to see him on the Ducati, but I also hope he has a few more wins in him this year. He must be a VERY fast healer to be on a bike already.
Yeah, I'd be very surprised if he were to do something like that. It would be like Schumi leaving F1 for Indy Cars. I can't imagine Rossi would be motivated by money, at this point. I'm sure he has much more than he could ever spend. Does anyone know what he'll be making with Ducati? What does he get from Yamaha now?
Whatever it is, it isn't enough. Look at the media frenzy around Vale this week. He is the cash cow in MotoGP. And for the most part, universally loved and respected by fans....even when he pisses off a particular nation with harsh moves (Spain, for instance, after harsh passes on Spanish riders), they forgive him the next year and are cheering for him the one after that. My wife's only interest in MotoGP is to cheer for Vale.....in 2006, we were at odds over my cheering for Nicky and her disappointment when Rossi fell in the last race of the season. He is quite a popular person in racing.
The BBC's Moto GP commentators were saying that they had spoken to people within Yamaha and Ducati at the Catalunya GP and both had said unofficially that Rossi to Ducati was a done deal. I get the impression that it had always been Rossi's plan to race for Ducati before he retired and that his crash and broken leg have made him suddenly realise that he needed to sign up with them now as he isn't going to be racing Moto GP for much longer. Afterall, it was only a few weeks ago that Rossi was saying he was anticipating re-signing with Yamaha, even with Lorenzo still there (previously he'd said Yamaha must choose between Him or Lorenzo). The sad thing is that we won't get to see him go head to head with Stoner on the same machine ( I doubt that Stoner will be too unhappy about that though!). Rossi/Ducati is pure merchandising gold and something alot of his fans have been dreaming of for a long time. I just hope he gets a chance to show his magic on what I think of as the "two wheeled Ferrari", and win a couple of championships with them, it would be a fitting way to end his Moto GP career (Assuming that he really is going to Ducati of course!).
I really don't care who he rides for. But since he is supposedly going to Ducatti, it gives more of a reason to get a Ducatti now. I'll ask him next weekend. And if I actually do get that opportunity, I will let everyone know.
I think he meant on the same machine, but yeah, good to see Val back on the bike this season...impressive stuff. He should be in top form next season once he has time to fully rehab the leg and his shoulder. It would be nice to see him and Nicky on the same team again...when they were both at Honda Rossi sure did kick some ass, I think they work well with each other.
I finally got to watch this past weekend's race on my DVR last night. Wow, incredible stuff from Rossi. I wish he could have made it to the podium, although 4th is mighty impressive. Hat's off to Pedrosa.....he rode a great race.
Reliable source says Yamaha has agreed to let Rossi test the Desmosedici after Valencia (last GP of the year) in exchange for delaying the announcement of his move until August. Yamaha did not want the announcement during the Laguna weekend. http://www.twowheelsblog.com/post/4830/valentino-rossi-to-test-ducati-gp10-at-valencia-gentlemens-agreement-with-yamaha
