Barry Sheen was pretty handy.

Valentino is the reason a lot of people will always find it hard to call Hamilton a legend. No matter how many GP’s he wins.

I dunno. If Hamilton manages 9 world championships I’ll begrudgingly afford him ‘legend’ status. For now he’s another type of end.

Roughly 300 races, won about 100 been on the podium about 200…

two out of three races he finished no worse than 3rd, one of three races he’s won.

Astounding record.

[video]https://youtu.be/RwugGObsDPc[/video]

Roughly 300 races, won about 100 been on the podium about 200…

two out of three races he finished no worse than 3rd, one of three races he’s won.

Astounding record.

I know you can only race who you’re up against, but Gibernau, Biaggi and Barros weren’t the stiffest competition. And a lot of wins got racked up in that era. And the works Honda / Michelin combination was head and shoulders above the competition.

Look back a bit and you have Doohan, Schwantz, Rainey, Gardner, Lawson, Roberts… I’m sure Rossi would still have excelled against that competition but I doubt he’d have racked up as many wins.

In an age where sportspeople tow the corporate line, and come across as quite dull, Rossi is there with charm, charisma and passion.

I don’t know why people are saying he “was the best”, he still is. Watch….. he is going to break Giacomo Agostinis record at a time when it is harder to win.

Marco is showing his weaknesses now.

he is going to break Giacomo Agostinis record at a time when it is harder to win.

And when he’s only racing one class per weekend, rather than 2.

In an age where sportspeople tow the corporate line,

Sorry, but there are profits to be made:

There’s only one more famous man in Italy … the Pope !!!!

Rossi’s first win on a 500, back in 2000 at Donington-

[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IWiM2EAux0o[/video]

Nying nying…ding ding ding… nying…bwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarp!

😀

And when he’s only racing one class per weekend, rather than 2.

Precisely.

Marco is never going to touch Rossi’s record.

Worth watching the Stoner/Rossi vid just for the classic StoanerMoan!

The bit by Mrblobby about ‘having it all his own way’ in the early days is unfair.
He got the top Honda ride on merit by winning the 125cc and 250cc championships on route to the big class. He still had to beat Biaggi (arguably the finest 250 racer of them all) and had to deal with Kenny Roberts jr who was a World Champion on the big bikes himself. He took on Barros, Capirossi and Checa who were all GP winners and stamped his authority on the class.

Then a new generation of riders appeared, Melandri, Hayden, Elias, Hopkins, Vermeulen and Pedrosa. While the new breed won races they couldn’t consistently beat Rossi, of the above riders Hayden took the 2006 title only.

Stoner was a better threat and showed Rossi the fast way round in 2007 to win a title but Rossi’s strength is an ability to learn and adapt, the following year it was business as usual and Rossi took the 2008 and 2009 titles….it took a move to Honda before Stoner could win another title, the Ducati got worse year on year as did Stoners results.
Interestingly both he and Rossi criticised the slow pace of development at Ducati with engineers preferring to pore over data rather than listen to rider feedback.
In Rossi’s first year with Ducati he couldn’t get comfortable on the bike and asked for new foot pegs, this is something Honda and Yamaha would get measured and machined in a week if that…..Rossi waited half a season, no wonder he left.

On top of the GP stuff he rode a WSBK spec Honda to victory in the Suzuka endurance race with Colin Edwards and in these very late stages of his career he is still racing and winning. What is remarkable is that he started winning in the top class in 2000…..and is still doing it now, that is unheard of and kind of dismisses the idea that he has been flukey with his career….a 15 year fluke?!…,nope, the bloke is the real deal.

A living legend still active in his sport and not just making up the numbers, it’ll be a sad day when he goes.

That looks like great stuff. What channel is Moto GP on?

BT Sport or the rerun on ITV4 the following Monday

Who the hell is Valentino Rossi?

He’s a lanky, bumbling, happy Italian chap with an innocent charm and a good sense of humour. He also happens to be rather good at racing motorcycles (And cars too)
People like him because he’s not a sponsors dummy and because he knows how much he means to his fans (Of which I’m one)
He can make the best other motorcycle riders in the world look a bit crap, then be complimentary to them afterwards, he’s never involved in any scandal, he’s humble, but most of all (To me) it’s obvious he races because he enjoys it.

Fudger that is possibly the best Stonermoan of all. “Some of the overtakes weren’t fair” ha, classic. He wasn’t overtaking you when you binned it on the slowest corner of the track! He must have felt like such a tool.

He is the GOAT (greatest of all time).

TBH to me a great is someone who has a talent window, dips in performance but somehow keeps that utter belief then enjoys success again.

I can think of that German bloke, Lewis (possibly if he gets 3rd. Ffs in his dark years journey Button beat him) and…

I have the no. 46 tattooed on myself, haha!….I love bikes and he epitomises the attitude about bike and bikers I love.

Euwww you want to sex him

We followed Rossi all through the Eurosport years and enjoyed pretty much every race the bloke rode in.

Strangely he became part of our lives on a Sunday throughout those Summers.. (along with all the others) I’m rather glad to have at least in part been part of his legacy just by the fortune of being able to watch him ride a bike.

The mans a Dude.

Best Rossi battle ever:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHVNC_TzuLw

“I stay in Moto GP so Sete will never win again” Or words to that effect, and he never did either.

Who the hell is Valentino Rossi?

someone in 2015, who is afraid of his own sexuality

Funny how people have spent the last fifty years trying to not make it (who he aims his todger at) a big deal, yet it still gets dredged up.

Rossi is a hero .. end of

Words like hero, legend and superstar are often very overused, but in his case very apt.

..and on top of all that, everyone who posts on an STW thread about him agrees. How AWESOME is that? Really does put winning a couple of moped races into perspective, doesn’t it?

He is God himself!

someone in 2015, who is afraid of his own sexuality

He’s scared of banging women?

An Italian friend of mine met him in a club in Venice years ago out on the pull or at least with a woman, definitely not gay, not that it actually matters.

Reckon Stoner and Marquez are just on another level in terms of riding ability, but in terms of results then he definitely has claim.

The saying goes “Form is temporary, Class lasts forever”…

Stoner is/was a real talent, on the right bike, in the right conditions, nobody could touch him. But dear god didn’t we hear about it when those conditions weren’t perfect! If Rossi doesn’t win, he gets off the bike and when asked why he didn’t win says “simple, I wasn’t quick enough” which is why people respect him, whereas Stoner is worse than the Boy who cried Wolf!

Marquez is an incredible talent too. But nobody is putting money on him having a long career! Lorenzo used to be a bit “win it or bin it”, but he matured a bit to his credit. Marquez you worry for, cos he doesn’t seem like he has the mental ability to tone it down a bit when required.

A living legend still active in his sport and not just making up the numbers, it’ll be a sad day when he goes.

More so than any other man in any form of motorsport ever, Rossi is pretty much universally loved. Beyond his sheer natural talent, he works harder than everyone else behind the scenes, he’s humble, he’s uber cool, he’s incredible to watch (he makes everyone else look like they’re just pointing and squirting as he makes his bike dance into and out of corners), and more than anything, you know that if you met him he’d be stoked to just talk bikes and racing with you…

Put it this way, you could have a brew and a chat about bikes and racing with Guy Martin and it would be ace. Valentino Rossi would be the one leading the charge to the nightclub, getting the beers in, and then insisting you stole a traffic cone on the way home!

An Italian friend of mine met him in a club in Venice years ago out on the pull or at least with a woman, definitely not gay, not that it actually matters.

That’s the thing about Rossi that makes him WAY cooler than any other racers, past or present. The likes of Barry Sheene or James Hunt were so caught up being cool, they liked to ram it down the public’s throats. Rossi is the coolest cos better than anyone, he’s always managed to keep his private life away from the media (more than likely helped in no small part by his hugely loyal fan club, and his closest friends), and he doesn’t go out of his way to show off how cool he is (and nobody likes a showoff!).

Lorenzo once had form. All riders have their peaks and troughs, I don’t honestly believe the hype around Marc.

I wish we could have seen Marco Simoncelli mature, I think he would have been great. 😥

I wish we could have seen Marco Simoncelli mature, I think he would have been great.

Indeed. I’m man enough to admit there was a tear shed that day 🙁

It’s great to see Rossi back to winning ways again, a legend of the sport no doubt.

I wish we could have seen Marco Simoncelli mature, I think he would have been great.

Immensely sad loss to the sport, he was destined for great things, but also his death messed with Rossi’s head for so long!

Lorenzo once had form. All riders have their peaks and troughs, I don’t honestly believe the hype around Marc.

Lorenzo has lost the “do or die” attitude, which has significantly increased his chances of having a lengthy career, though he has of course lost the edge he had.

Marquez is probably the best raw talent we’ve seen in a long time. But… For how long? The candle that burns twice as brightly burns for half as long and all that!

Which is where we come back to Rossi… Others may have more raw talent, but nobody else out there wants to win as badly as he does (even now, and he’s been doing it a long time!), and time and again he’s beaten “more talented” opponents by working harder than them, out smarting them, pushing himself and his bike right to the very edge and holding them there until his opponents make a mistake. He isn’t the GOAT because he’s the most talented guy to ever ride a bike, he’s the GOAT because he wants to win more than anyone else ever has!

He is the GOAT!!!
Followed him for the last 10 years now and there is no one who can entertain on track like he does. Doesn’t matter where he starts from he always saves it for Sunday. The cameras follow him no matter where he is and you slowly watch him make his way through the field. awesome, incredible to watch and the sport will miss him when he retires.

Agree the loss of 58 had me bawling, a fantastic man who was always smiling.

Marquez is a worry. I think he is the real deal and not a flash in the pan, but he has been using up the lucky points. In Moto2 he was devastating and brutal to his competitors.

Stoner was just a technician crazy fast but hated the racing when it got to rubbing paint. The whiniest moaniest dummy spitting Australian 😆 Once said to Rossi Your ambition outweighs your ability what a cockwomble 😆

he’s incredible to watch (he makes everyone else look like they’re just pointing and squirting as he makes his bike dance into and out of corners)

Not watched much bike racing then?

He brought the fun back into racing. At times in his career he’s had it relatively easy (and used to sandbag to give the crowd a show), but to his credit he switched to an inferior bike to give himself a challenge – and still won. Only Stoner and Marquez have/had him beat on sheer speed over the years, but no-one races like Vale. Motivated beyond belief and imo the best bike racer there’s ever been. More Steve McQueen than Barry Sheen.

he likes of Barry Sheene or James Hunt were so caught up being cool, they liked to ram it down the public’s throats.

I think that’s a bit unfair, they just refused to compromise who they were for the sake of the spotlight they lived under, not unlike Vale.

Oh – and Oxley’s latest scribblings are up. 🙂

Linky.

Do you have three words for Marc Marquez?

https://vine.co/v/MIiUxqJVA2I