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VR has already given up on the C'ship. There's a marked difference between the way he was in teh first half of the season to now. Those few hard-headed races where he drove with a red mist have put him where he is. Pity.
Meantime, notice period boy decided to close a deal in his last few days!:D

I do hope that Rossi is able to beat the raining world champion, though.

Pun intended, or happy coincidence? lol:

Very apt either way.

Came across this article:
http://www.motorsport.com/motogp/new...r-2018-830421/

Being a 'Rossi-forever' kind of fan, I knew I had to be elated by the news, but surprisingly, I am not.
The first thing that came to my mind when I read the article was the famous line from The Dark Knight- "You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain."

I sincerely hope that Rossi gives it a very serious thought. Part of the immortalisation lies in the 'What if he was still here..?' question. When that question finds a not-so-suitable answer, even legends can lose their halo.

The "What if he was still here..." feeling is what Schumacher left when he first retired from F1 back in 2006.

When he retired again after having answered that very question with his second run in F1, it just didn't feel the same. That void no longer existed post his retirement.

Coming to MM93 this season,
In his last three seasons at MotoGP, MM93 has had at least one DNF. Law of averages is what I am reminded of when I see that Marquez hasn't had a single DNF this season.

Marquez's new risk mitigation attitude seems to be working for him. At the end of last season, he had 242 points with 5 victories. With four races left this season, he is already at 248 points with the same number of victories he had at this stage of the season last year. (4)

Amongst his other accolades, MM93 has a record he won't be particularly proud of - Fastest crash in MotoGP: 209 mph (336 km/h) (2nd practice Mugello 2013) lol:

Round 14 of 18, he is in the second spot in the championship. He has the machine, he still has the rider skills. I think there's still time enough, at least one season, before he should consider dying a hero, no?

Sigh! I'm a Schumi-forever guy too. I purposefully avoided mentioning his case. :(


Er..Isn't that what this line conveys? :)
"I sincerely hope that Rossi gives it a very serious thought"

Agree. However, in my humble opinion, even at his peak Schumacher might not have had similar impact on F1 that Rossi has on MotoGP. I'm not really sure if F1's popularity took a considerable hit after Schumacher's first retirement. There will be a big hit for MotoGP though once Rossi retires. Rossi is the closest I've seen a sportsperson become bigger than the sport itself. Here's a guy who hasn't won world championship since 2009 and is still the biggest crowd puller. One thing that financial stakeholders in MotoGP (Promoters, Advertisers, Circuit owners, TV Channels etc) fear most is the news of Rossi's retirement.

That said, Rossi will need to win a world championship in next 2 years. Else, he may not have enough motivation to continue as a rider. He may be involved as a team owner or a brand ambassador though.

On a side note, here's what Lorenzo has to say about Rossi in his latest interview.

"We can see with [Valentino] Rossi that with The Ranch and the young people around him he seems younger and it gives him the energy to keep going in MotoGP. It is important to have the dream and the motivation to keep going."

This interview of Lorenzo at Gpone.com is one of the most insightful I've read (of any rider) in a long time. Honest and straight from the heart stuff.

Read more: MotoGP, Jorge Lorenzo: I am as I am, not as others want me to be | GPone.com http://www.gpone.com/en/201606292828...#ixzz4MEHG8Ht9
.

Pedrosa out of Japanese GP (and possibly the next two) due to a collar bone fracture in this massive highside. This is the biggest highside I've ever seen! He is off the bike near inside kerb and lands on the other side of the track. Considering that the motegi track width varies between 12-15 m, he is thrown off for a distance of atleast 10m. Very lucky that it's just a collar bone fracture.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQzNfBZPbnM

JL had a pretty big high side too and being taken to the hospital for a cranial xray this morning!

Pretty good front row for tomorrow.

1) Rossi
2) Marquez
3) Lorenzo

Race starts at 10:30AM tomorrow!

Well done Marc Marquez, World Champion, well he certainly rode like one, today. The other world champions didn't fare well today, both of them crashing out of the race. Quite strange crash to be honest, especially the Lorenzo's crash.

Cheers Marc, you certainly deserve this years championship. :thumbs up:thumbs up

Congrats to Marc Marquez, the 2016 MotoGP World Champion!
It came a race sooner than expected but it is well deserved.
Honda was really lucky this year to achieve success with a single rider.

I guess Honda did their homework right after 2015. Their 2014 and 15 engines were very aggressive and both riders were complaining. This year's engine was designed to be less aggressive and more rider friendly. From what I read, the 2017 engine (used in testing) sounds even less aggressive than the current one. If yes, it could mean more trouble for competitors.

Phenomenal ride by Marquez! He is now the youngest three time world champion in premier class. Another record he took away from Rossi. If he didn't win this year, Rossi would have continued to hold that record (Marquez beat the record by less than an year's time). If Marquez races till 30, most of Rossi's records would be broken.

Off the track, the last few weeks saw some verbal action. Rossi gave this interview to Suzy Perry in which he brought out the 2015 incident again and claimed that Lorenzo and Marquez stole the championship away from him. It is very unlike Rossi of the old times. Looks like he's still licking the wounds.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xca9GZO5nco

Marquez's reply (in this article from GPone) was very classy.

“to be honest, I’m surprised that he went back to that subject, but the season finale is approaching and [editor’s note: Valentino] has a lot of experience in these types of situations. He knows how to play his cards well.”

“I want to continue my battle on the track. I have no interest in off-track competitions and I don’t want to get involved”

Read more: MotoGP, Marquez: my battle with Rossi is only on the track | GPone.com http://www.gpone.com/en/201610063372...#ixzz4NEEEMX7i

Marquez did take the battle to track and won like a champion!

Kudos to MM, rode a very mature race, not just today but all through the year. Deserves to be champion this year. The above quoted "IF" is a very big IF, lets see how long he can sustain. I will be rooting from him and Vinales after Rossi retires.

VR - He is a legend, enuff said.

PS: Please switch on the closed captions on the embedded video and read, it is hilarious!!! lol:

Congratulations and a well deserved championship for Marc and he became a more matured rider this season adding points whenever he can't win instead of being too much aggressive.

Being a Rossi fan myself, I wish at least in the next season The Doctor should win his 10th title.