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MotoGP 2020

Dark Angel

Still kickin' it!
It’s been a tough decade for Rossi fans like myself.

Things went “wrong” when Valentino left Yamaha for Ducati in 2011, and they’ve never been quite right since then. The last time he was world champion was 2009, and the nearest he’s come to winning his tenth world championship title was in 2015, the year of the Malaysian debacle when his own lack of self-discipline caused Marquez to crash and, as a result, the imposition of a grid penalty that cost him the title at the last round in Valencia.

This year, with the announcement that Maverick Vinales has committed to Yamaha until 2022, we could be seeing the last competitive racing year of the man who has come to be known as “The GOAT”, and, love him or hate him, it won’t be the same when he’s not there.

For all that he’s achieved; for the sport, for himself and for his fans, it’s time to say: “Thanks, Vale”. (y) :clap::clap2:

It’s been emotional. :headbang::worship2::thumbup:


 

Cougar377

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Rossi is a once in a generation phenomena.

Much like Barry Sheene and James Hunt, he shook up his chosen sport. He created/became a larger than life persona that appealed to a wide spectrum of the public and in doing so introduced massive numbers of people to a sport that they might otherwise only have had a passing interest in following. MotoGP owes him a huge debt. Marquez (the elder) might wear the crown now but he's an automaton in comparison with Vale.

It'll be a sad day when he retires from MotoGP, but if he moves on to 4 wheeled motorsport then I hope they're ready for the whirlwind...!
 

Cougar377

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I predict....

1) He'll retire from MotoGP

or....

2) He'll set up his own team

I don't see the GOAT going to Petronis and I don't see him as a development rider.
 

Dark Angel

Still kickin' it!
Well: while every athlete has to contemplate retirement sooner or, as in Rossi’s case, very, very much later, no matter what the sport or the circumstances, many competitors also try to look for ways not to retire. In this, Valentino is probably no different from any other as he responds to the internalised pressure to continue:
  • I’m retiring soon - but not yet.
  • I’m retiring at the end of the 2020 season - but only if I can’t compete for a place on the podium
  • I wouldn’t be averse to becoming a Petronas rider - they’re a great team!
  • I’m not retiring, because I’m still competitive, but I’ll see how I feel at the end of 2021
..and to the external (and none-too-subtle) pressure, from Yamaha. What pressure? Why would Yamaha want him to continue?

Because, when Rossi left Yamaha to go to Ducati in 2011, Yamaha motorcycle sales were adversely affected. It wasn’t a “slump”, but 2011 and 2012 saw sales stagnate. When Rossi re-joined Yamaha in 2013, sales increased by 5 million units
  • Yamaha have promised full support and factory machinery if Rossi decides to go to Petronas.
And the pressure from his fans? Don’t even mention his fans! :p

What a life, Vale; what decisions you must face! :(

I can’t even decide whether or not to hang the washing out! :(
 

sr71caspar

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I predict....


2) He'll set up his own team

I don't see the GOAT going to Petronis and I don't see him as a development rider.

He already has his own team(s) in GP3 and I think he's got one for GP2 also.


I'd be surprised if he doesn't get a development rider role somewhere.
 

Cougar377

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1) When Rossi re-joined Yamaha in 2013, sales increased by 5 million units

2) Yamaha have promised full support and factory machinery if Rossi decides to go to Petronas.


3) I can’t even decide whether or not to hang the washing out! :(

1) I'm not sure how sales would be affected now though. Don't forget he was the main man during that period. He's lagging a bit behind now...sad to say.

2) I don't believe Yamaha would be supplying the latest greatest kit to Vale in a satellite team until the factory team had it. Can you imagine the paddies that the official factory riders would throw if that happened...?

3 )If you wait a bit then it'll be dark and cooling off soon. Decision made for you then. :D
 

Cougar377

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Ah, I see.

I honestly think he will go rallying.

And continue to manage his GP team.


I'm looking forward to Fabio taking it to Marquez this year.

Yep, rallying, touring cars, GT or even the Dakar....he'd be good in any of those.
 

Dark Angel

Still kickin' it!
I'd be surprised if he doesn't get a development rider role somewhere.

I’m not too sure about that. From what I’ve heard, and read, testing and development is the exact opposite of competing to win. If Valentino hasn’t lost his fiercely competitive instincts after twenty-five years at the top, I can’t imagine that he’d want to become a non-competing development rider any time in the foreseeable future.
 

Dark Angel

Still kickin' it!
1) I'm not sure how sales would be affected now though. Don't forget he was the main man during that period.
For the past twenty-five years or so, kids aged from two to forty years of age have been submerged in the Rossi legend. That’s an awful lot of purchase power that (probably) neither Marquez nor any rider who follows will be able to duplicate.

Rossi’s fan base isn’t uniquely founded upon his proven ability to win championships - it’s also based upon his popularity across generations of race-goers, as well as his longevity in, and influence upon the sport itself.
2) I don't believe Yamaha would be supplying the latest greatest kit to Vale in a satellite team until the factory team had it. Can you imagine the paddies that the official factory riders would throw if that happened...?

In many ways - probably more than we can imagine because we don’t share the Japanese “honour code” - Vinales and Quatararo will always be “the newbies” as far as the Yamaha management is concerned. No matter how many races or championships they might win, Rossi will always have "done it first". After fifteen years’ service from The GOAT, I’m pretty sure that Yamaha's bosses are Rossi fans, too.
3 )If you wait a bit then it'll be dark and cooling off soon. Decision made for you then.

Sorry mate. ‘Fraid I just said “fuckit” and cracked open a beer! :beer-toast1:
 
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Cougar377

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For the past twenty-five years or so, kids aged from two to forty years of age have been submerged in the Rossi legend. That’s an awful lot of purchase power that (probably) neither Marquez nor any rider who follows will be able to duplicate.

Rossi’s fan base isn’t uniquely founded upon his proven ability to win championships - it’s also based upon his popularity across generations of race-goers, as well as his longevity in, and influence upon the sport itself.


In many ways - probably more than we can imagine because we don’t share the Japanese “honour code” - Vinales and Quatarao will always be “the newbies” as far as the Yamaha management is concerned. No matter how many races or championships they might win, Rossi will always have "done it first". After fifteen years’ service from The GOAT, I’m pretty sure that Yamaha's bosses are Rossi fans, too.


Sorry mate. ‘Fraid I just said “fuckit” and cracked open a beer! :beer-toast1:

I would like to think that Yamaha would treat him well if he went to a satellite team... but remember how badly Honda treated him..?
 

Dark Angel

Still kickin' it!
I honestly think he will go rallying.
And continue to manage his GP team.
I do, too. But he doesn’t manage his GP teams “hands-on” stylee. He pays people to do that for him!
I'm looking forward to Fabio taking it to Marquez this year.

Arrrr... I don't think so. :rolleyes:

Marquez is where Rossi once was: with the biggest, richest, most technologically advanced motorcycle manufacturer in the world - and they've given him a bike that works for him.

Think back to 2004 when Rossi quit Honda and went to Yamaha. No other rider (and Honda gave factory bikes to six of them, if I remember correctly!) no other rider could manage the front end and power delivery problems inherent in the bike that are still manifested in today's MotoGP machines (according to Crutchlow et al). Only Rossi could ride that bike to its full potential, and Marquez is in almost exactly the same position today. He's a phenomenal rider, just as Rossi was, then.

I find it impossible to imagine that Vinales and Quatararo, as brilliant as they are, could ever be in the same league as either Rossi or Marquez.
 
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Dark Angel

Still kickin' it!
I would like to think that Yamaha would treat him well if he went to a satellite team... but remember how badly Honda treated him..?
I remember the headline in MCN quoting Honda at the end of the 2003 season: "We will destroy Rossi!"
...So... :partyhat: ...What does he go and do in 2004...?! :asz::qmeparto:

Yamaha took Rossi back after he went to Ducati.

That's an incredibly rare sign of respect.

End.
 
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Cougar377

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I think the big difference between Honda and Yamaha is their respective corporate ethos.

For Honda nothing is bigger than Honda. Nothing. They're prepared to tolerate a personality like Rossi because they know it helps to increase the "cult of Honda", but they won't let an individual become bigger than the machine they are riding. For them, Marquez is the ideal rider....someone prepared to be subsumed into the corporate identity. I've often wondered how the top flight at Honda coped with Joey. Whoever said at board meetings "look, just let him be. Let him do his own thing because he will bring us race wins", should've been consulted on how to treat Rossi back then.

Yamaha...and in particular Lyn Jarvis...understand the value that someone like Rossi brings to the team and the brand. You get a double package...a talented rider who wins often AND a marketing department's wet dream and I believe that's why I they re-signed him. He brings so much more to a team than just race wins and podiums....as you mentioned earlier, bike sales being one of the biggest ones. Being prepared to wrap your corporate branding around someone like Rossi is like being given a licence to print money....IF you're prepared to give a little in return.
 

Dark Angel

Still kickin' it!
I think the big difference between Honda and Yamaha is their respective corporate ethos.

I don’t want to bang on about this, but it’s a good point that you’ve raised there - so I will (but only a tiny, tiny bit)!

Honda’s philosophy demands the perfection of the machine and all of its support systems. I think most race fans - and racers, too - can recall that among Rossi’s stated reasons for leaving Honda was the immutable fact that Honda considered the bike to be the focal point of all their efforts, and the rider - any rider - was simply there to ride the machine; in other words, the rider “didn’t matter”, it was the machine that would win the race.

In contrast to the above, Yamaha (the last of the Japanese manufacturers to enter the motorcycle market in 1955), originally built reed organs and pianos. Their philosophy demanded not only "harmony", but also “beauty that fulfils its design function as it moves the heart of the user”. Well, the M1 MotoGP bike certainly moved Rossi’s heart and he soon began to refer to it as “my M1”, which highlighted a relationship that he’d never once expressed while with Honda. Remember his “love letter” to his bike - and the “Bye-bye baby” T-shirt when he tore himself away from Yamaha? Contrast that with “The Chain Gang” uniforms and trackside rock-breaking protest with his buddies when he wanted “away” from Honda!

I’ll leave it there, but; good shout, Cougar - a really good shout. (y)

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I've often wondered how the top flight at Honda coped with Joey. Whoever said at board meetings "look, just let him be. Let him do his own thing because he will bring us race wins",

Oh, dear - here I go again!

I never met Joey Dunlop - never saw him race - but in 2017 I went to the Manx Grand Prix with a few mates and there, during a night out, we walked into a pub and the first bloke I saw was Michael Dunlop. He was sitting at a little table having a pint with a pal of his and… everybody just left him alone and carried on with their own enjoyment.

RESPECT.

He’s just a bloke. No, no - not an “ordinary” bloke; he’s "just a bloke" with an almost tangible aura that finds its way into the deepest channels of your mind - whether you want it to or not - and no matter who you are, powerful, rich, poor, famous or a nobody. He’s a bloke who absolutely commands respect.

I wonder what his dad was like?
 

Malone

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I met Joey Dunlop when I was doing a bit of work at the NEC and he was a great chap, eager to stop his walk elsewhere to have a picture and a brief chat. Top man. Him and Chris Walker and Neil Hodgson were good to stop and chat. Neil was on a stand opposite to me and we had a bit of banter back and forth. I also met Suzi Perry there before she became the “megastar” she is now. Very cute and cuddly.

on the other hand Gofarty only wanted to be somewhere else and away from the crowds.
 
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