Return of the King : Valentino Rossi
By: Neil Everett |
Published 22 May 2008, 20:04 | Views: 2,441 | tags: motogp, valentino rossi, yamaha, jorge lorenzo, dani pedrosa, casey stoner, bridgestone, michelin
No wins in eight races, it doesn’t sound like a lot, well unless your name is Valentino Rossi.
Rossi has dominated the premier class since his arrival in 2001, taking five MotoGP titles along the way, three with Honda and then just when all the critics said it couldn’t be done two more with Yamaha. The sad fact it seems these days is that the more successful you are the more people will want to see your downfall.
During the 2006 season Rossi got taken off at the first corner in
Backstage the knives were being sharpened. Rossi at 29 years old was now one of the senior members of the paddock and the critics loved to kick a man when he’s down. The young pretenders Pedrosa and Stoner had certainly got their kicks in on the former champ, whilst the press were busy ripping their former idol to shreds in the press about tax allegations.
Then Just when it appeared that things couldn’t get much worse for Rossi, his own team announced that for the following season they were to sign Jorge Lorenzo, the two time 250cc champion to the factory team as Rossi’s team mate, which Rossi took as a slap in the face that they had lost faith in his abilities.
With what probably seemed like the whole world wanting answers and seemingly everywhere he turned reporters and photographers hunting him down like a pack of ravenous wolves, Rossi snapped and decided to make it clear that he would not put up with Yamaha resting on their lorals in 2008, nor was he happy with the support Michelin had been giving him over the last two seasons. The press responded, picking up on the story, claiming that the bitter former champion was looking for excuses and although other members of the paddock were making similar claims, Rossi was made the scapegoat.
Rossi got the changes he asked for, he got new tyres from Bridgestone, and Yamaha’s bike is probably on par or slightly better than the best in the paddock at the moment. Rossi’s test times were good and there was every reason to be optimistic about the new season.
However the opening race in
Rossi was wounded, the last two and a half years had clearly taken its toll on him, the fans were willing Rossi to get back to winning ways, the doctor has a pulling power than is matched by none in the MotoGP paddock, but while the fans were hoping and praying the media was getting ready to slay the creature it created and herald a new king. But like all good champions Rossi wasn’t going without a fight and was determined and forthright in his post race interview at Estoril.
Valentino must have sat in the Motorhome that night wondering if he had made the right decision. Surely if he was on Michelin this year he too could run at the front. Changes needed to be made to get the best out of the new tyres, it was no use crying over what could have been, and they did.
When Rossi arrived in
Pedrosa managed to stay in contact with Rossi but never seemed like he had the pace to take the lead again, leaving Rossi to end the longest streak without a win in his MotoGP career and herald a new era with Bridgestone tyres. The relief was clear to see on all of the Yamaha crew. It may have only been four races into the new season, but it was starting to look like the decision to change tyres was going to be Rossi’s downfall.
For his championship rivals, seeing Rossi win on his new rubber was a psychological blow.
Sure enough Rossi was able to run at the front with his main championship contenders in the early stages, before gapping the chasing pack before the mid way point in the race. Rossi was able to put together back to back victories for the first time since the Mugello/Catalunya GP's back in 2006 and he was clearly delighted that his 2007 post season gamble had paid off.
Honestly I didn’t expect to be so fast today but together with Jeremy and my guys we decided to make some small modifications this morning and in the race my M1 and my Bridgestone tyres worked brilliantly from start to finish. When it started to rain a little bit I thought “oh no!’ and so I steadied a bit and tried to ride very sweetly. I had such a good rhythm and I really didn’t want to have to change bikes. Luckily the rain soon stopped and I was able to continue in the same way. It’s great for Yamaha to have the first three and I want to congratulate Jorge especially for doing such a good job in his condition. Thanks to everybody in the team; the job that Yamaha has done in three months is incredible. I enjoyed myself so much today, the atmosphere in our garage is perfect and now we will make two important days of testing, try to improve even more and then head to Mugello.”
Valentino’s win at Le Man was the 90th of his MotoGP career, putting him level with Angel Nieto and only behind the great Agostini in the all time chase. The doctors return to form should send shivers down the other riders spines, with many of the new generation beginning to believe they had the measure of the seven times world champion. Rossi’s return to form will be a cold, hard reminder that there is only one king of the MotoGP paddock and it looks like he will be around to sit on the throne for a few seasons as yet. Now the only question that remains is can anyone dethrone the King?
