Not the greatest of races today, but rossi really has no comparisons, I just wish they'd give moto gp the glam treatment that F1 gets. How many has he won now? Surprised there were not more fallers.

How many has he won now?

9 world titles
7 in the Premier class 500/Moto GP
1 x 250cc
1 x 125cc

but lorenzo had him from the last row of the grid…………for a while………

but lorenzo had him from the last row of the grid…………for a while………

yeah but it only matters where you finish, next year will be even better. Lorenzo more experience and stoner having a full season.

Best current rider – breaking records for a pastime!

nice photo should give them full on bermed corners.

I've struggled for years now to rate him above Ago (and a couple of others I'm too embarrassed to mention while sober) but I reckon he's now at the stage in his career where it's getting difficult to deny he's best ever.

There's a whole generation of potential champ riders now that've been seen off by Rossi- they arrived after him, and are gone before him, with f* all to show for their careers because their gp time coincided with Rossi's – a bit like Stefan Everts in mx.

Like all sports it's the results that count, and he consistently gets the results. It's alway difficult to compare different generations, but it's very difficult to argue with him being the best ever. His 7 Moto GP titles have come on a range of different makes and engine sizes. He always seems to be able to get more out of the machinery than anyone else.

And unlike a lot of sportsmen he doesn't seem to be arrogant about it.

Rossi just makes Moto GP what it is. After the boring Doohan years it needed someone to ignite it again and he has certainly done that, but I fear it is getting less of a spectacle as the bike numbers are starting to dwindle and the "Aliens" are walking away with it at the front.
WorldSBK is where the action is, Congratulations to Spies and good luck for next year in GP's as I think he might need it

" For-a-sure-a, eet was-a grrreat bahttle, a grreat victoreee! he( Max/ Sete/ Nicky/ the Italian inland revenue/ Casey)-try-a very 'ard but I-a fight-a a bit 'arder.i-a thank you all-a very much! :-)"

PMSL!!

[img]http://files.myopera.com/Lorenzo94/albums/301023/Valentino%20Rossi%20Honda.jpg[/img]

Genius @ work 😀

gotta love the mad monkey (as I think of him 😆 ) met him at Goodwood once, he's a character for sure!

Doohan boring? – bollocks I say.

Agree that Rossi is the greatest – he can win on anything. Next greatest Mike Hailwood.

yeah… don't you be mocking Mick Doohan, he's an Aussie Legend 8)

As I said on a previous thread…

Maybe now Rossi can be BBC overseas sports personality of the year. Oh on second thoughts maybe not, after all he is a multiple world champion and actually does have a personality unlike the normal sporting dullards the BBC like to promote.

Lorenzo will have his day and Stoner seems to be the only guy to tame the Ducati but both lack the mental strength of Rossi.

Loved the chicken with a helmet on. Wise words as well….

An old chicken makes good soup.

Forza Vale

I'm not mocking Doohan he achieved great success, just that the championship at the time was not a great spectacle (i.e boring years that Doohan was wining not Mick Doohan was boring) and Rossi has brought it back (and a whole new fanbase to GP motrcycle racing) but once he's gone he will be sadly missed and the championship will not be the same

it would be nice to see him win it but i feel bolt will get it again. Besides why do so many STW users feel it is such a good prize. I'm sure your federers, bolts, rossi would much prefer wimbledons, medals, championships and records to a trophy saying we think your cool.

Agreed, not saying SPOTY is an ultimate sporting acolade at all but as someone has to win I'd rather it be someone that I like for a change.

Rossi deserves to be champion every time. The question is, how good is next years title race going to be with Stoner, Lorenzo, Pedrosa (If Honda gives him a faster bike) and Spies??

Yamaha: MotoGP, WSB and WSS all in one day. Not bad…

And unlike a lot of sportsmen he doesn't seem to be arrogant about it.

Quite the opposite of arrogant actually, he personifies humility, character and a sense of general good sportsmanship you just don't get these days in professional sports. He's also totally not complacent, nor does he expect it to be a walk in the park. If he loses a race cos someone has ridden better than him (ie. Stoner or Lorenzo on the odd occasion, but not consistently), he doesn't get upset, far from it. He's usually the first to congratulate his competitors! If he makes a mistake, he acknowledges it as his fault, doesn't blame his bike/kit/team/other riders etc.

To say he's the greatest of all time just understates the magnitude of his achievements if you ask me. He still has many years bike racing left in him, and few would bet against him taking his number of premier class World titles into double figures! Nobody will argue that Michael Schumacher (on paper at least) is the most successful F1 driver ever, but at what cost? Certainly there were a couple of seasons where he cheated/pushed the rules a little too far in order to gain the upper hand. He's hardly a character. He'd blame his car/kit etc. if he didn't win. Sure, he could drive a car better than anyone of his competition (though I'd love to have seen him properly battle against Ayrton Senna, sadly it wasn't to be cos of Senna's death by the time Schumacher was becoming competitive), but he didn't have the wealth character of a certain Mr Rossi!

I'd just love to see him on a Ducati before his career is over though, see if he can tame the beast and turn it into a properly awesome world beating machine, instead of the bike it is currently where only Casey Stoner can ride the bloody thing cos it suits his (albeit impressive) riding style.

I've been a motorbike racing fan for many many years and seen them all race. It's impossible rate one great against another when they raced years apart but just like most modern sports, the standard these days is way way higher than years ago. Rossi is riding against much better, stiffer opponents than Ago ever had and Ago did have the best machinery round. Please don't get me wrong, you don't win 15 World titles for being average, he certainly wasn't but pound for pound I believe that Rossi is the best there's ever been and it's been even better being round to see him at his peak. How I would love to see him on a Ducati MotoGP bike!!!!!

Don't forget Britain gained a world Champion today-
Cal Crutchlow- World Supersport Champion 2009
The WSS has probably been the closest, most exciting bike racing through the year, Eugene Laverty pushed him hard (oooer misses).

The best thing about Rossi, aside from his sheer skill, is his pure joy at competing, at winning.
Most sportstars are, to be frank, extremely f***ed up individuals for whom coming first, at all costs, is everything. Armstrong, Schumacher,Tiger Woods etc all seem diminished should they fail to take the top spot, as if losing is worse than death.
Rossi always looks as though he would rather have a good fight for second or third than a boring err-Casey Stoner-style run into the distance.
I honestly cant think of another like that.

Apart from Cal winning WSS, Gino Rea also won the 600 superstock title as well.
Rossi did what he had to do today and just as well as I don't think he could do anything about Stoner. A class above the others today and last week. Looks better for having those three races off.

Casey Stoner was in a different league today and I believe if he had been healthy all season, he would have been champion this year.

• Rossi has won more 500cc/MotoGP races than any other rider in history, with 77 wins.

• Rossi has been on the podium 163 times across all grand prix classes, an all-time record.

• Rossi equalled the all-time grand prix pole position record of 58, held by Mick Doohan, on Saturday at Sepang.

• Rossi is Yamaha's most successful rider of all-time with 44 race victories on their bikes.

• Rossi is the only rider to have won at least one GP in 14 successive seasons.

• Rossi has never missed a GP since making his debut in the 125cc class at Shah Alam in Malaysia in March 1996. He has started 226 successive GP races across all classes since; 166 of which have been in the premier-class. Both of these are records.

• Rossi and Giacomo Agostini are the only two riders to have won premier-class titles on both two-stroke and four-stroke machinery.

• Rossi's 373 points total in 2008 is the most points ever scored in a single season.

• Rossi is the only rider to win the premier-class title on four different types of motorcycle: 500cc two-stroke Honda, 990cc four-stroke Honda, 990cc four-stroke Yamaha and 800cc four-stroke Yamaha.

• Rossi's win at the 2004 season-opening GP in South Africa made him the first rider to take back-to-back premier class victories on different makes of bike (Honda then Yamaha).

• In 2004 Rossi also became only the second rider to win back-to-back premier-class titles on different makes of machinery. Eddie Lawson was the first, winning on a Yamaha in 1988 and a Honda in 1989

• Rossi's eleven wins in 2005 is the highest number of premier-class victories in a single season by a Yamaha rider. Rossi is also the only rider to have scored five successive premier-class victories on a Yamaha.

• Rossi holds the record for successive premier-class podiums, scoring 23 successive top-three results from the Portuguese GP in 2002 to the South Africa GP in 2004.

• Rossi finished on the podium at all 16 races in 2003 (Honda), a record for number of podiums in a single season which he then equalled in 2005 (Yamaha) and 2008 (Yamaha).

Stoner is faster than Rossi. Which is yet another reason that Rossi is the goat.

Premier-class – 500cc/MotoGP:

World Championship titles – 500cc/MotoGP:
1. Giacomo Agostini (ITA) 8
2. Valentino Rossi (ITA) 7
3. Mick Doohan (AUS) 5

Race wins – 500cc/MotoGP:
1. Valentino Rossi (ITA) 77
2. Giacomo Agostini (ITA) 68
3. Mick Doohan (AUS) 54

Pole positions – 500cc/MotoGP:
1. Mick Doohan (AUS) 58
2. Valentino Rossi (ITA) 48
3. Kevin Schwantz (USA) 29

Podiums – 500cc/MotoGP:
1. Valentino Rossi (ITA) 127
2. Mick Doohan (AUS) 95
3. Giacomo Agostini (ITA) 88

Fastest laps – 500cc/MotoGP:
1. Giacomo Agostini (ITA) 69
2. Valentino Rossi (ITA) 63
3. Mick Doohan (AUS) 46

Motorcycle Grand Prix – all classes:

World Championship titles – all classes:
1. Giacomo Agostini (ITA) 15
2. Angel Nieto (SPA) 13
=3. Mike Hailwood (GBR) 9
=3. Carlo Ubbiali (ITA) 9
=3. Valentino Rossi (ITA) 9

Race wins – all classes:
1. Giacomo Agostini (ITA) 122
2. Valentino Rossi (ITA) 103
3. Angel Nieto (SPA) 90

Pole positions – all classes:
=1. Mick Doohan (AUS) 58
=1. Valentino Rossi (ITA) 58
3. Max Biaggi (ITA) 56

Podiums – all classes:
1. Valentino Rossi (ITA) 163
2. Giacomo Agostini (ITA) 159
3. Angel Nieto (SPA) 139

Fastest laps – all classes:
1. Giacomo Agostini (ITA) 117
2. Valentino Rossi (ITA) 83
3. Angel Nieto (SPA) 81

Vale actually looks like he loves what he's doing and even smiles when he doesn't win. When he fell off at the US GP, in the next race he had the donkey (ass) painted on his helmet, taking the mick out of himself. The guy is a proper proper character and when he retires, hopefully years from now, the MotoGP scene will be a much poorer place for it. Definitely the greatest bike rider to grace the tarmac ever.

Rossi is the gold standard now. A rider is not any good until they have beaten him.

The bike racing is not so exciting as it was in the days of the 500s weaving, bucking, and sideways through the corners.

The 'new' book, 'Ring of Fire' , on Rossifumi / Motogp's getting good reviews. Stocking fillers anyone??

i was at estoril for rossi's first yamaha outing there – he was 14th fastest through the speed trap but still kicked everyones ass. he just has clouds of juju.

he popped a wheelie on a pit scooter as i was walking towards him at donington and laughed at me trying to get my camera out – 'too slow my friend' as he went past!

When you're considering whether Rossi's records compare with Angel Nieto's or Agostini's, you've got to remember that the races were less demanding, of time (over a weekend's practice, qualifying etc.) money and physical exertion, so riders often rode in 2 classes at the same time. Ago rode in both 350cc and 500cc for 12 years, and won 10 World Championships in 5 years between '68 and '72. If he'd been racing in recent years, that number is likely to have been half that.

Not taking anything away from Ago and Nieto's incredible acheivements; they were clearly head and shoulders above their competition, but if circumstances had allowed Rossi to race 2 classes a year, you wouldn't bet against him having racked up many more race wins and world titles by now.

I've got to agree with West Kipper. I'm sure Yamaha pay Vale a vast amount of money to ride their bike but you do get the feeling that he'd ride for free, just for the sheer fun of it. He's fantastic to watch, and has such an incredible will to win. I'm not sure which race it was this year but there was a moment when he overtook Lorenzo hard on the brakes and just pulled his knee in at the key moment which was absolutely phenomenal.

Must be heart breaking for other riders when Valentino falls off, picks his bike up and gets back on it and still beats them. Not sure how you'd come to terms with that.

iDave did you go to estoril this year, and how did you get to the circuit? i recall someone asking.

Got to agree with what's already been said, the guy is an utter legend, not just because of his brilliance on the bike, but also because of his character.

I got the impression yesterday that once he'd run wide and dropped back at the first corner, he deliberately dropped back to go one on one with Lorenzo….

Congratulation to Vale. I thought this year was fantastic. Can't wait until next year and hopefully we'll see a fit Stoner, maturer Lorenzo and faster Pedrosa.

talls, not this year – when i went i rented a scooter in Lisbon and took the coast road. best way to do it. no traffic problems and i could be rossi on the roundabouts….