He's won 7 of 8 races so far this year, and I think he was sick at Laguna Seca, so hardly a poor showing there in light of that. The way he talks in the interviews he seems pretty sharp. At 25 now, what else is there for him to really do on a bike? This'll be his 6th World Championship IIRC, and Yamaha is consistently getting better compared to the Hondas, so next year will probably be #7.
I didn't hear about him being sick at Laguna, but he definitely did not look like his usual self. Either way the day belonged to Hayden, that was a great moment seeing him carry the Stars and Stripes on the victory lap!! Rossi in a Ferrari, I dunno, I fear it wouldn't work out as well as people might hope, and it would be a shame to see Val struggle.
Actually it will be his seventh world championship and fifth fifth big bike championship. 1996 Rookie in 125 1997 125 Champ 1998 Rookie in 250 1999 250 Champ 2000 Rookie in 500 2001 500 Champ 2002-2005 MotoGP champion He is signed with Yamaha through the end of 2006. 2007 also happens to be the first year of the new 800cc regulations for MotoGP. Watching him absolutely destroy the field this year, it would be a safe assumption that he will win again next year as well. That means that Rossi will have won every 1000cc MotoGP championship, an interesting footnote in racing history. Rossi has already shown that he is certainly the best racer of our generation, and maybe the best ever. He has nothing left to prove, although chasing Agostini's win record could motivate him as well. John Surtees (the only F1 and 500 champ) has said that Rossi is the only racer today that could possibly duplicate his championships in both series. He has also recently said that if Rossi is going to make the switch, he will have to do it in the next year or so. After 2006 the Ferrari squad will look very different than today. It makes you wonder... Rossi may go WRC instead, but I doubt that will happen. If he wants a new challenge after 2006, I personally hope it is either F1 or Ducati MotoGP.
Good point on getting #7 this year. I hadn't even though of him going to Duc, that would be unbelievable to see him there in 2007, definitely give him a challenge. I wonder how well he would fit in in Formula 1. Regardless of their speed in a car, most of them are a bunch of whiney tools, and it'd be a shame to see Vale get castarated compliments of the man. Excluding Coulthards fashionable stubble, none of them even have facial hair, ever. They must shave twice a day. And here Vale would come traipsing in with his earring and crazy ragged hair. Granted, for those same reasons, it would kick serious ass to see him beat all the tennis playing, manicured and pedicured pretty-boy carbon copies that currently make up the F1 grid.
its really a stretch: but sometimes alonso has some pretty wild hair, for F1 that is. and he has flipped the bird at monaco. gentleman conduct? you decide
Again Rossi drove the F2004 today at Fiorano! ( 2 days in a row) Some nice pics of Rossi in the Ferrari. http://www.ff1.it/ff1/sezioni/f1/f2004/Valentino%20rossi/VALE/index.htm Jean Todt and Luca di Montezemolo were there to watch him. Rossi worked on track until late in the afternoon and completed a total of 80 laps with a best time of 59.21, over three seconds slower than the track record held by Michael Schumacher in the F2004.
If the "retired" Schumacher were to coach Rossi for a season or two, I think that would be all the help he would need to get up to speed.
Let's put it this way, you don't get to become champion of motorcycle racing without some natural skills, these guys are at the limit 90% of the time so I think he has the talent, it's just matter of refining it for F1.
I think the Ferrari of the future would look good with Kimi and Rossi. That is my ideal team to replace MS & RB.
Unfortunately 3 seconds on a tiny track like Fiorano is enormous ... and in exactly the same car, night and day. Even 0.5 of a second is a long time gap (ie. even RB can get that close to MS). Now ofcourse if the lap length was longer ... but at around 1 minute it is a very short track, thus that 3 seconds is 5% slower. Another example is look at the pathetic Jordans this year they are within 3 seconds (I think) of pole and they are all over the place and constantly out of control. Time will tell ... Pete
Not even close. Around a track like Silverstone, I would venture that after 2 days of riding (same as Rossi has had) MS wouldnt get within 10 seconds. Bikes are an entire different game. The finesse on throttle required and incredible whole body weight transfer and coordination is an entirely different thing than anything F1 offers. Going from a bike to a car, the basic balance, feel, coordination and such transfers very well. But going from a car to a bike, many of the critical skills on a bike do not come into play with a car at all. Terry
LOL. How close do you think the other MotoGP riders could get to his time on the same bike? He's got the coordination, is accustomed to track life, etc. for him to make it in F1. Just my $.02, but if he really wants to be F1 World Champ he should let bikes go after 2006 and get into GP2. I'd kind of rather see him bring Ducati back to life though to be honest.
To date, Rossi has won eight of ten races this year (second and third in the other two). He has scored 236 points out of a possible 250, and his closest competitor has 116 points. Seventeen races were scheduled this season, and if Rossi gets a first in the next two races, he'll have 286 points which would make him the 2005 MotoGP champion (as his closest competitor's best possible finish would be taking 2nd in the next two races and first in the last five races to accumulate 281 points).
GP2 is a waste of time for Rossi, The cars are dog slow, and no one cares about the series. With a good coach, he will be on the box his first year in F1
Rossi should do what all aspiring F1 champions did (er, most) and get a drive in say F3 ... and then win that and then start in say RBR before moving to a WC team. He will loose face big time if he jumps in a competitive team and sncks ... but if he sncks in a RBR he will be able to leave quitely with a reasonable amount of self respect still intact. Just because he is a God on a bike does not mean he can handle the MUCH harder passing games/strategy of car racing ... passing on a bike is a piece of piss (no aero to worry about, miles of track and many lines ...). Saying that I have enjoyed watching him out play his opposition so I think he would master it Pete
It's not a waste of time. Sure he can practice on Fiorano all year. Maybe at the end of 2006 he will be lapping Fiorano between 0.2 - 1 seconds behind Schumi. The guy needs race experiences on four wheels with 19+ cars on track. You want him to become like Trulli? (I have nothing against Jarno) Good qualifier but not the fastest during race day. But like you said Rossi won't go to GP2. Him, Todt and Montezemolo don't want to hurt his reputation.Lets say he wins the title in GP2, everyone will go nuts but if he doesn't even come close many will be disappointed. You should watch GP2 one day. Lots of action! At the Hungaroring, they were doing laptimes of 1.35- 1.36 minute. That's 10 seconds slower than a Minardi this year at Hungaroring.
I relly like Rossi, I think he will bring a neede dose of excitement to F1. I mean the last thing they need is another ice-brick like Kimster. Plus think of the whole teenage girl demografic that will be drawn to F1.
Imagine how much fun he must have had with an F2004 to play with for 2 days! I would have thought he could have got his own helmet though instead of borrowing Schumachers. Image Unavailable, Please Login
I thought Rossi's attempts at rally driving have pretty much been a failure. For someone with the track smarts and racing experience (two wheeled and four) of Rossi to be a full 3 secs a lap slowerin last years car tellsme that he just isn't up to scratch. The difference between a champion and an also ran is measured in tenths not full seconds on a track that small. He had two full days, not 10 laps and this is his second outing in the car. Rossi is a god on two wheels, not four.
Possibly, but I also doubt that he is going to push 10/10s with that kind of chance. Imagine if he put the car into a wall but was only 1 sec behind Schumy. Everyone would be saying that he will be the next Sato with off track excursions every GP. I think its wiser to give this kid some more time in the cars. I have not written him off yet.
