garyb425 - 23 November 2009 11:10 AM

I don't think, from a points standpoint, that Rossi dominated the way Stoner did in '07 - the championship was foregone conclusion about 5 races in the year Stoner took it.

Watching Stoner disappear on the straights was not pleasant even for the die-hard (non-Stoner) fans.

I do agree with some of what RR said earlier. Also, part of Rossi's appeal is he isn't afraid to race or intimidate unlike Stoner or Pedrosa who run away when thay have the chance. Rossi will play around and put on a show.

It works into his favor because you never know what he has in the bag. Is he struggling for real or is he playing,.

In other words, in most of Rossi's wins, he displayed good racecraft; fans tuned in to watch it and that translated into TV ratings. I don't see that kind of racecraft in the current crop of riders, not even in Lorenzo. Hopefully, Simmoncelli would step into that mold soon.

Crytic - 23 November 2009 12:33 PM

In other words, in most of Rossi's wins, he displayed good racecraft; fans tuned in to watch it and that translated into TV ratings.

MotoGP's survival can't depend on finding a replacement for Rossi. The ratings may take a dip when he leaves, but as long as the racing is decent the series will be fine.

There are plenty of great/good riders in MotoGP, and it's not something shameful that there aren't 18 GOATs lining up on the grid.

hornet1 - 23 November 2009 11:41 AM

garyb425 - 23 November 2009 11:10 AM

I don't think, from a points standpoint, that Rossi dominated the way Stoner did in '07 - the championship was foregone conclusion about 5 races in the year Stoner took it.

Watching Stoner disappear on the straights was not pleasant even for the die-hard (non-Stoner) fans.

I do agree with some of what RR said earlier. Also, part of Rossi's appeal is he isn't afraid to race or intimidate unlike Stoner or Pedrosa who run away when thay have the chance. Rossi will play around and put on a show.

It works into his favor because you never know what he has in the bag. Is he struggling for real or is he playing,.

I don't think Pedrosa, Stoner, or Lorenzo are scared at all. That would be like saying Mick Doohan was scared. They just ride as hard as possible to win by as much as possible. Rossi on the other hand usually only wins by as much as he needs to.

I just think it reflects the fact that Valentino's race strategy is somewhat unique. He uses his racecraft to play mind games as well as study the other riders. Who knows how much of an edge this gives him, but in a way that's the point. His competitors never really know what the deal is.

I don't think Rossi is 'playing' as often as others do. He will let the other guy take the lead, wait for an error while conserving his fuel and tires and making his plan for late in the race - but is that playing or a plan?

Personally, I think the nature of the bikes and tires when Rossi really grabbed ahold of the public made it seem that he was "playing" with someone when he really was not.

The tires on the 990s were such that they did not maintain their grip characteristics near as well as they do now, so, there was more of an ebb and flow to the races back then. Someone might be strong in the early/mid/late part of the race and not so strong in the other stages so there was alot more shuffling throughout the race.

Plus, there have been plenty of times where Rossi would pull away in the 990s and 800s. If he can, he does... if he can not, he just maintains pressure and makes a late race dash.

NDSkies - 23 November 2009 01:32 PM

Plus, there have been plenty of times where Rossi would pull away in the 990s and 800s. If he can, he does... if he can not, he just maintains pressure and makes a late race dash.

Again that gets into the way Rossi usually only wins by what he needs to win by. If he's out front he manages the gap, if he can't break away he waits to make his move late in the race.

Back in the 990 era I think there was some measure of mind games to Rossi stalking someone until the end of the race then checking out. On the other hand he has flat out said that he prefers not to push at 100% the whole race because it makes it much more likely to make a mistake.

garyb425 - 23 November 2009 01:22 PM

I don't think Rossi is 'playing' as often as others do. He will let the other guy take the lead, wait for an error while conserving his fuel and tires and making his plan for late in the race - but is that playing or a plan?

+1
I dont think Rossi really toys with people that much. Anyone who watched Mick Doohan can remember how Doohan used to slow down and wait for guys to tag on to the back then gradually pick up the pace till the guy binned it. After the guy crashed then Mick would throw down a lap or 2 that was faster than when he was breaking away earlier just to demoralize everyone else. Now that was playing with the rest of the field. How many times did Criville bin it trying to play with Mick?

Best I recall, Rossi only rode 100% in one race, the 03' Philip Island round where he got docked 10 seconds for passing in a yellow flag zone. It was truly a sight to behold watching him that day, much like in 94 with Gobert on the Kawasaki.

There's nothing in the world like watching a racer leave nothing on the table!

I think he was at 100% in his first race with Yamaha - only beat Gibernau at the last corner.