Rossi burst into the world of MotGP in 1996. There has not been a single year since then that he has not won a race. 2011 has proven to be the hardest in his illustrious career, the legend is yet to be on the top step of the podium. Had it not been for a lucky race where he finished third thanks to other top riders crashing out, Rossi would never have seen the podium this year.
For a man who has tasted so much success all his life, getting comfortable with failure is an almost impossible task. At the end of each failed race you see the man’s spirit taking a beating. As much as he still tried to be the media friendly, crowd loving, larger than life rider the real story is now visible on his face. As a huge fan of the Doctor, I feel his pain too. I still hope and pray during each race that I’ll get to see the glimpse of the man who began on the 4th row of the grid chasing down one rider at a time to finally claim the race. However this season there has been none of that.
The internet is filled with articles on what went wrong. I’m no expert and I can’t really comment on what the engineers did right or wrong. I can only bring out the obvious. It just shows that the Japs build better rider friendly bikes that like to win on the track. Rossi and JB have done everything they knew to get the bike to behave like the M1 that Rossi loved to ride. They have gone through 4 chassis changes already and yet Rossi still thinks the bike isn’t ideal for him. As far as im concerned this year proved that Rossi is no superhero. I used to brag that put Rossi on a Pulsar and yet he will still win the race as no one has that kind of talent. I was truly wrong. Rossi is after all just a good rider. He isn’t GOD
What this year truly means for me is how under rated Mr Casey Stoner was all throughout his stint at Ducati. If he can get the supposedly un rideable bike to win the championship then it could only be with some seriously talented skills. I don’t ever remember Stoner making so many changes to the bike. He did mention more often than once that the front end does not stick too well but despite that he went on to win plenty of times. I think Its time we gave the man a bow.
Another entity that will be under a lot of pressure is of course Ducati. They were hoping that Rossi would help change the image of the company and the wins on the track would lead to increase in sales on the field. The amount of money they have invested in MotoGP is way too large for a company that sells only 40,000 bikes a year. They really need results and they need it fast. Everyone is hoping that the next season would turn things around, but one must realize that MotoGP rules don’t permit you to test the bike outside the season. There are only two occasions when you can test the bikes, one at the end of this season and one right before it. A lot of the next years bike will have to be ready before this season ends but going by what’s been happening to the bike I’m not very optimistic.
Having said that I’ll be a Doctor fan for life. I’d like to believe that the Doctor would rise again from the ashes and make the next year his swan song. I hope we get to see him in the budh circuit next year. I hope he wins and I hope he retires after next season with the quintessential smile on his face.
For a man who has tasted so much success all his life, getting comfortable with failure is an almost impossible task. At the end of each failed race you see the man’s spirit taking a beating. As much as he still tried to be the media friendly, crowd loving, larger than life rider the real story is now visible on his face. As a huge fan of the Doctor, I feel his pain too. I still hope and pray during each race that I’ll get to see the glimpse of the man who began on the 4th row of the grid chasing down one rider at a time to finally claim the race. However this season there has been none of that.
The internet is filled with articles on what went wrong. I’m no expert and I can’t really comment on what the engineers did right or wrong. I can only bring out the obvious. It just shows that the Japs build better rider friendly bikes that like to win on the track. Rossi and JB have done everything they knew to get the bike to behave like the M1 that Rossi loved to ride. They have gone through 4 chassis changes already and yet Rossi still thinks the bike isn’t ideal for him. As far as im concerned this year proved that Rossi is no superhero. I used to brag that put Rossi on a Pulsar and yet he will still win the race as no one has that kind of talent. I was truly wrong. Rossi is after all just a good rider. He isn’t GOD
What this year truly means for me is how under rated Mr Casey Stoner was all throughout his stint at Ducati. If he can get the supposedly un rideable bike to win the championship then it could only be with some seriously talented skills. I don’t ever remember Stoner making so many changes to the bike. He did mention more often than once that the front end does not stick too well but despite that he went on to win plenty of times. I think Its time we gave the man a bow.
Another entity that will be under a lot of pressure is of course Ducati. They were hoping that Rossi would help change the image of the company and the wins on the track would lead to increase in sales on the field. The amount of money they have invested in MotoGP is way too large for a company that sells only 40,000 bikes a year. They really need results and they need it fast. Everyone is hoping that the next season would turn things around, but one must realize that MotoGP rules don’t permit you to test the bike outside the season. There are only two occasions when you can test the bikes, one at the end of this season and one right before it. A lot of the next years bike will have to be ready before this season ends but going by what’s been happening to the bike I’m not very optimistic.
Having said that I’ll be a Doctor fan for life. I’d like to believe that the Doctor would rise again from the ashes and make the next year his swan song. I hope we get to see him in the budh circuit next year. I hope he wins and I hope he retires after next season with the quintessential smile on his face.
legends should retire when they are on the top
ReplyDeleteWell there's lot of time for Rossi's retirement and its the Rossi who would be deciding it. It should not be the case that if a great racer(Legend and GOD for me) is not having a single win a season should retire. Everyone knows what Rossi and his team faced with Ducati. Sriram, even I was surprised when Rossi was not even closer to the top during practice sessions, qualifying sessions and in races. But, a person just can't change the way he thinks for someone of whom he is fan of, from many years. Well I'll not go much deep into it, but 2012 would definately be a surprise from Rossi to all MotoGP fans. Though Qatar went bad for him, there's lot more to go.
ReplyDeleteCheers!!!