It was remarkable just how loud the Spanish crowd were at each Rossi pass And the pitlane was out to applaud Rossi in after the race
I've been thinking a lot about what happened this season. I can't imagine that Rossi would make up stories which could potentially hurt his reputation and championship chances. I think Rossi didn't intend to knock Marquez off his bike. As Lorenzo has stated afterwards, Rossi was up against three Spanish rivals and he wanted the title to go to Spain*. It would have been very tough for Rossi, with or without dirty tactics. In the end this result has left a bad taste and took away a lot of enjoyment of this series. *by the way what's up with Spain's domination in MotoGP? A third of the riders is from Spain, 4 (FOUR!) races of 18 in Spain, the two top teams' major sponsors are from Spain and a Spanish governing body. I don't think that's a healthy situation.
You think? My husband is a huge MotoGP fan AND a Spainiard, and he thinks it all stinks to high heaven.
I don't think he 'should' go anywhere, but if he does go to WSB that would be the series I'd be watching next year. Not because I'm a Rossi extremist but simply because I think he is the most fun to watch! The way he races is the best and is far more fun than watching Lorenzo or Marquez. I know MotoGP has the best machinery but I feel MM tainted MotoGP to a degree and it is enough to put me off and switch to SBK in a heartbeat. I realize there are a lot of rabid fans out there making similar threats, but I'm more on the logical side than the rabid side. And I personally do enjoy watching Rossi race more than watching the others. I also used to be a hardcore F1 fan, watching every qualifying and race without fail, and flying to 1 or 2 races per year even though I had no particular team allegiance... now I'm not an F1 fan, I just read the summary of each race and no longer watch it. I think other series have far better racing and less politics, not to mention the engine formula and sound is terrible now. In fact, I'm probably only watching MotoGP so much because F1 has gotten so boring, and I needed something to switch to that was pure racing (well, it was until the last few races). So I'd certainly be happy to switch to watching a different motorsport series again for the same reason.
I started watching MotoGP because of Rossi, and will hate the day he is no longer in the series. With or without him, I will continue to watch the highest level of motorcycle racing, as it is still incredibly exciting. Even though Marquez has shown some of his true colors this season, he is still exciting to watch. With Lorenzo and Pedrosa in the mix, and the ever improving Ducatis, it is still a recipe for some really exciting racing. If Rossi were to go to WSB, I would be watching that series as well. I feel he can still fight for WCs in MotoGP, even though he is past his prime - he is just that good.
A lot of the commentary here is from those who never competed. Go look at Superbike Planet.. Marquez did exactly what Rossi accused him of.... Art
The more I think about it the more I believe that it was a huge mistake for Rossi to race in Valencia. On the one hand his run up to fourth was spectacular and just what everyone in the grandstands wanted, and it kind of proved his point, "Here I am racing my heart out while the two Hondas are just playing shadow with Lorenzo, but I also feel that if Rossi had been a no show it would have leant more weight to his conviction re: collusion, not to mention the high level of embarrassment it would have caused FIM.
This statement just really concerns me: Lorenzo told the Movistar MotoGP TV channel shortly after Sunday's race that Marquez and Pedrosa's Spanish nationality had 'helped' him during the race, saying: “They knew what I had in play. The fact they are Spaniards like me helped me. That helped me because for sure in another kind of race they would have tried to overtake, which they didn't this time. Read more at MotoGP News - MotoGP Valencia: Lorenzo: I was better than Rossi in everything I don't know what he meant by that... but it sure reads as if something took place. There's just way to many "odd" things... which maybe on their own mean nothing, but put together seem to point a finger. I think it was the race before Sepang when Marquez mysteriously ran wide and let JL through. Just things like that.. and now this statement... seem to give some credibility to Rossi's assertions.
It wasn't an overnight domination. In fact the first big bike champion wasn't until 1999, and that was because Mick Doohan finally received a crash injury he couldn't ride around. Spain smartly adopted the GP rules for their national series. Kids learned on more or less GP bikes (lower classes) and when old and good enough started thier GP career. Non-Spanish riders also came to the CEV series so it was quality throughout the field. The US massively dropped off at the same time. The AMA series of the time prepared riders for WSBK, Hayden was the only successful US GP rider to come through that series during that time. There have been races in the past five years where it was not just all Spamish winners, but all Spanish podiums. This is not by accident.
Typically (IMHO)....If you need to try and convince someone, yourself, why you deserve something....you don't deserve it.
Regarding Lorenzo piece I quoted... I guess he's since backpedaled a bit... but I think he said that in a non-orchestrated moment which gave a peek at the real truth. I'm pretty much convinced at this point that there was some sort of collusion. Taking everything in total and hearing Lorenzo say that, sort of makes it hard for me to think something wasn't going on.
Stoner/Ducati 2016? Yes please. Anything that could upset the Spanish grip on the series is good in my book. http://www.motorsport.com/motogp/news/stoner-could-be-set-for-ducati-test-role-in-2016/
The story says it would be for a test role, which he has already been doing with Honda. I'd love to see Stoner come back......immense talent, and still young.
Ducati actually runs their test bikes in actual motogp races, Pirro is their current test rider and he ran in several races this past season including the last race at Valencia. So there is a good chance Stone would run in races next year.
One thing I read some time ago was that his relationship with Honda soured this season when they wouldn't let him fill in for Pedrosa (saying he wasn't fit after so long off), and the serious crash he had at Suzuka where they blamed rider error initially when later they admitted it was a partially stuck throttle. Would be nice to see him on a Ducati again, incredible if Smith or Espargaro missed a round and he filled in on the M1.
The big winner is Lorenzo as next year VR will do anything he can, including helping his teammate, not to let MM win again.
Vale from what I'm reading is having quite a bit of input into the development of the bike and the new tires. Don't think these guys will be sharing development data......
Stoner at ducati in '16 as test rider. He might also do the odd race and maybe come back fully in '17. Stoner is good.
