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

and they were British so huge in the press, I am sure Rossi gets treated the same way in the Italian press.

The whiniest moaniest dummy spitting Australian Once said to Rossi Your ambition outweighs your ability what a cockwomble

I remember the Moaner said that, I must have screamed at the TV for a good 5 minutes…what an arse. Come back and prove it Stoner.

I remember reading something years ago about Rossi living in London for a good while ‘cos the Italian press were too much to deal with whereas here he’s not such a massive celeb?

I’ve only ever sat down to watch Moto GP once and I remember the name Valentino Rossi because during the race he managed to run over Marco Simoncelli’s head; I decided it wasn’t the spectator sport I though it was and haven’t watched since.

Thanks for the uninformed disdain.

The manner in which Rossi dealt with Marco’s death made me respect him more.
As did the initially unfathomable and unpleasant sacking of JB.

It would have been so easy to give up at either of those points, but it’s typical of the man that he kept going.

He’s a stone cold modern hero.

Still not the GOAT though:

My GOAT

My other GOAT

Don’t understand the Stoner hate btw.
You can admire them both.

Rossi has his flaws – they make him more interesting.

Surely even the most ardent Rossi acolyte would admit that life was much more fun with him around.

Have always been impressed with Rossi’s mind games

He’s talented and can race and put on a show that appeals to the masses but he has this knack of unsettling his opponents by not really doing anything. But they know he could. And he probably will. But they don’t know where or when

I’ve learnt a lot from him

Don’t understand the Stoner hate btw.
You can admire them both.

It’s mainly the moaning. No doubt Stoner was possibly the most technically gifted person person ever to grace a motorcycle in the last 10 years (we’ll never know because he’s to big a fanny to race anymore), but **** me could he moan about it. His style on the bike was out of this world, I used to be unsure whether he was actually that good or just pinning the throttle on and some higher power was constantly saving him from falling… Crutchlow has taken over the Moaner mantle, he just doesn’t have the skillz to back it up.

Moaning = “being asked in press conference what the issue was and explaining the problems to the press” ?

Further frustration came as Stoner attempted to rejoin the race, only for marshalls to attend to Rossi, all but ignoring the Australian.

“It was a racing incident and there’s not much we can do, what is more frustrating is the reaction of the stewards and their assistance for Valentino and not for me,” Stoner said post-race.

Ah diddums 😆

Oxley’s take on Casey Stoner – interesting and insightful reading.

Linky

(I am not Mat Oxley, BTW, so you cannot claim your five pounds)

I still begrudge Stoner retiring so early really. would have been great to see hims till on it as he was spectacular. He isn’t comfortable with media and could be a dick but actions speak louder than words. A Marc and Stoner team would be awesome.

anyway, Rossi is 36. Still winning, still adapting to overcome new talents when others careers have long since faded. He is one of the greatest personalities in sport and isn’t a dick despite being massively successful. His love and enthusiasm for riding bikes after all these years is incredible and a real inspiration to me.

a lot of sports people could learn a lot.

He is an idol.

As has been said, in a world where sport has become corporate and sanitised Rossi is a breath of fresh air. The ‘WLF’ on his leathers stands for Viva La Figa (long live the Pu**y).

Cheers Pondo an interesting read, still don’t like him. If he finds the fame bit so hard why is he hanging out and giving advice to Villopoto on his adventure over here.

As Oxley says “he moaned a bit”

As Oxley says “he moaned a bit”

And then follows it up with “and off the bike he was always frank and fascinating”. Which is more than can be said for Rossi.

3 or 4 years ago I’d have still gone with GA as GOAT but now I really couldn’t choose between them. No one brings the level of excitement that Rossi does. Marquez is a fantastic racer but time will tell + it’s a very different era now, like F1 and other sports where technology plays such a huge part, that if the best rider doesn’t have the best bike they are unlikely to win – unless it’s wet of course.
Stoner being an obvious exception 😉

Yes Blobby we get it you don’t like Rossi 😆

Actually, I really like Rossi, I think he’s great. Though he’s not the person a lot of people think he is, which is why this is an interesting thread. Likewise Stoner.

he’s not the person people think he is

I really only care about the racing aspect and I have never met him but you’ve got my interest. Care to elaborate?

Though he’s not the person a lot of people think he is

People rarely are let alone “stars”, let ’em have their heroes for what they think they are. Hell, my kids think I’m awesome…they just haven’t figured out I’m a bell end yet 😉

mr blobby, are you referring again to allegations of his sexuality?

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

Watching a few MotoGP vids on Youtube the other day, I ended up on the race he crashed in. Reminded me it’s one of the worse motorsport accidents I’ve seen.

15 minute edit window? Oh well.

Actually, I really like Rossi, I think he’s great. Though he’s not the person a lot of people think he is, which is why this is an interesting thread. Likewise Stoner.

If you have something to say, then why not just say it?

Even if Rossi likes ‘uphill gardening’ how does that make him any different as a bike rider or personality, you need to get out of your cave more 🙂

mr blobby, are you referring again to allegations of his sexuality?

Eh? No that’s not the case, not that it matters!

More that he is a seriously hard working, massively competitve, pretty ruthless, toys out the pram if things don’t go his way type. Which is at odds with his media persona. A proper student of the sport too and massively insightful. It’s a shame you hardly ever get to see that in interviews.

I think you are shy of the mark there Mr Blobby, he made it clear that Gibernau wasn’t going to win another GP, his fall out with Honda was public and his annoyance with Ducatti was in the open. He is utterly ruthless as a competitor. I can remember him congratulating Marquez last year and the commentator said Rossi will be laughing and joking while figuring out how to slide the blade between his ribs.