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MotoGP
MOTOGP: Rossi Seeks Redemption
MotoGP legend Valentino Rossi has finally put his disastrous Ducati era behind him but still has some unfinished business to attend to.
Multi-time MotoGP champion Valentino Rossi (Photo: Evan Williams)
It’s hard to say a guy with nine world championships as something to prove, but Valentino Rossi finds himself in that position.
The Italian made his reputation as arguably the greatest roadracer of all-time by wiping the slate of his rivals in the Honda days, then moving to Yamaha and immediately winning on a bike that hadn’t done much before he threw a leg over it.
Was it that simple? No. There was a strong team providing technical help that also made it possible, but Rossi was still a huge part of the success.
Right or wrong, it gave him the reputation of a miracle worker who could win on anything, especially if backed by his core group, led by former Mick Doohan crew chief Jeremy Burgess.
Well, the Ducati experiment, hyped throughout Italy and the world, proved to be one of the greatest disasters in racing history. It tarnished the rep of everyone involved, including Rossi’s.
Two years later, Casey Stoner’s image was greatly enhanced -- not only for what he did on the Honda but also for what he had accomplished on the beastly Ducati prior to his departure and Rossi's arrival.
The Ducati MotoGP effort looked hapless as they tried for two years to fix the bike’s understeer issues. The bike was often was in trap speeds but slow in terms of lap times and saw experienced riders Rossi and Nick Hayden (both former World Champions) crash way too often while riding it.
Ducati threw so many updates at it in 2011 that the riders sometimes weren’t exactly sure what they were riding. For 2012, the humbled company even tried a more conventional approach with an Japanese-style aluminum frame but that didn’t work either.
By mid-2011, Rossi, the eternal kid, began to look… old. It was clear the move was a huge mistake.
But by Indy 2012 and the return to Yamaha announcement, the old Valentino was back. It was like he had hope again.
And as of his first laps on the 1000cc M1 turned on Tuesday, Rossi is officially back at Yamaha, who has proven they can field a competitive, user-friendly bike, and will remain there for the next two years at a minimum. The Return at the Valencia (then Aragon) was basically a washout, but all the photographers got their “money shot” of Rossi leaving the pit on an M1 again.
Rossi doesn’t need to win the championship and he’s not going to catch Giacomo Agostini’s record of 122 Grand Prix wins. He’s in the twilight of his career and not the rider he was a few years ago. Hey, he wasn’t the rider he was in his prime in 2010 on the Yamaha when Jorge Lorenzo already looked stronger.
What Rossi needs to do is run strong and win a few races just to put an asterisk over the Ducati years. That will make the Ducati era just an interesting sidebar to a great career.
That way, he can say, “Hey, it wasn’t me!”
The Italian made his reputation as arguably the greatest roadracer of all-time by wiping the slate of his rivals in the Honda days, then moving to Yamaha and immediately winning on a bike that hadn’t done much before he threw a leg over it.
Was it that simple? No. There was a strong team providing technical help that also made it possible, but Rossi was still a huge part of the success.
Right or wrong, it gave him the reputation of a miracle worker who could win on anything, especially if backed by his core group, led by former Mick Doohan crew chief Jeremy Burgess.
Well, the Ducati experiment, hyped throughout Italy and the world, proved to be one of the greatest disasters in racing history. It tarnished the rep of everyone involved, including Rossi’s.
Two years later, Casey Stoner’s image was greatly enhanced -- not only for what he did on the Honda but also for what he had accomplished on the beastly Ducati prior to his departure and Rossi's arrival.
The Ducati MotoGP effort looked hapless as they tried for two years to fix the bike’s understeer issues. The bike was often was in trap speeds but slow in terms of lap times and saw experienced riders Rossi and Nick Hayden (both former World Champions) crash way too often while riding it.
Ducati threw so many updates at it in 2011 that the riders sometimes weren’t exactly sure what they were riding. For 2012, the humbled company even tried a more conventional approach with an Japanese-style aluminum frame but that didn’t work either.
By mid-2011, Rossi, the eternal kid, began to look… old. It was clear the move was a huge mistake.
But by Indy 2012 and the return to Yamaha announcement, the old Valentino was back. It was like he had hope again.
And as of his first laps on the 1000cc M1 turned on Tuesday, Rossi is officially back at Yamaha, who has proven they can field a competitive, user-friendly bike, and will remain there for the next two years at a minimum. The Return at the Valencia (then Aragon) was basically a washout, but all the photographers got their “money shot” of Rossi leaving the pit on an M1 again.
Rossi doesn’t need to win the championship and he’s not going to catch Giacomo Agostini’s record of 122 Grand Prix wins. He’s in the twilight of his career and not the rider he was a few years ago. Hey, he wasn’t the rider he was in his prime in 2010 on the Yamaha when Jorge Lorenzo already looked stronger.
What Rossi needs to do is run strong and win a few races just to put an asterisk over the Ducati years. That will make the Ducati era just an interesting sidebar to a great career.
That way, he can say, “Hey, it wasn’t me!”
Grand Prix of The Americas
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