lee
12-24-2008, 10:44 AM
Most bike racers would sell their own grandmother to make sure they've got the best bike on the grid. Not Valentino Rossi.
Back in 2003 Rossi was riding the world's greatest motorcycle, Honda's. The V5 was so good that it had won 29 of the first 32 MotoGP races in the hands of five different riders.
But that summer the Italian decided he had had enough of Honda, so he made the apparently deranged decision to sign for Yamaha who were suffering their worst premier-class season in decades. Expert pundits insisted that Rossi had made a disastrous decision in signing to ride the much-maligned YZR-Mr. Even the man himself was worried enough to get in his excuses early.
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"Maybe I am a little bit crazy," he said at the time. But against all odds The Doctor succeeded and became the first rider to win back-to-back premier-class races on different bikes. That is maverick behaviour, big time. No other rider would have dared sign for Yamaha at the end of 2003 but Rossi has a strong independent streak. Honda's mistake was not to treat him as such.
It was obvious that Rossi had a different way of looking at things from the moment he first contested the world championships. In the spring of 1996 he walked into the GP paddock ¬undoubtedly one of the most macho places on eanh - wearing his hair like a girl, with an Alice band to keep the flowing locks under control. What other rider would dare do such a thing?
Rossi-style victory celebrations aren't maverick anymore, everyone's at it these days, but back in the 1990S they certainly were unorhodox. Indeed this apres race shenanigans popping into a portaloo during a victory lap or riding around with a blow up doll changed the face of GP racing. And in 2003, when the Iraq war was looming, Rossi was the only man in the paddock brave enough to stand up and condemn the aggression.
Even Rossi's racing lines are n'on-conformist. He has always been able to use pans of the racetrack that other riders can't reach, either to pull off an unexpected passing manoeuvre or achieve a devastating lap time. He is able to do this because he's more open-minded than many racers, because he dares to think outside the box.
Back in 2003 Rossi was riding the world's greatest motorcycle, Honda's. The V5 was so good that it had won 29 of the first 32 MotoGP races in the hands of five different riders.
But that summer the Italian decided he had had enough of Honda, so he made the apparently deranged decision to sign for Yamaha who were suffering their worst premier-class season in decades. Expert pundits insisted that Rossi had made a disastrous decision in signing to ride the much-maligned YZR-Mr. Even the man himself was worried enough to get in his excuses early.
158
"Maybe I am a little bit crazy," he said at the time. But against all odds The Doctor succeeded and became the first rider to win back-to-back premier-class races on different bikes. That is maverick behaviour, big time. No other rider would have dared sign for Yamaha at the end of 2003 but Rossi has a strong independent streak. Honda's mistake was not to treat him as such.
It was obvious that Rossi had a different way of looking at things from the moment he first contested the world championships. In the spring of 1996 he walked into the GP paddock ¬undoubtedly one of the most macho places on eanh - wearing his hair like a girl, with an Alice band to keep the flowing locks under control. What other rider would dare do such a thing?
Rossi-style victory celebrations aren't maverick anymore, everyone's at it these days, but back in the 1990S they certainly were unorhodox. Indeed this apres race shenanigans popping into a portaloo during a victory lap or riding around with a blow up doll changed the face of GP racing. And in 2003, when the Iraq war was looming, Rossi was the only man in the paddock brave enough to stand up and condemn the aggression.
Even Rossi's racing lines are n'on-conformist. He has always been able to use pans of the racetrack that other riders can't reach, either to pull off an unexpected passing manoeuvre or achieve a devastating lap time. He is able to do this because he's more open-minded than many racers, because he dares to think outside the box.