[clementw]

Amazing tribute. Not a fan of bike racing, but this write up was a hook and it it didnt let go! Worthy tribute to a superstar

[Bagheera_duke]

This an awesome writeup for a legend. I absolutely agree the way you have differentiated Valentino Rossi with other world champions. He is truly a legend and I can say that MotoGP is Rossi, although he was not winning from past few years, we the die hard fans were expecting that something miraculous will happen in the coming days. Nevertheless he was the best rider and I cannot think of anyone else replacing that talent. There may be many champions but they cannot be Rossi.

[HTC]

@forty6.
Whoever read your tribute to 'The Doctor' will immediatly identify that the guy with yellow cap and yellow fluorescent tshirt standing next to Rossi is 'YOU'. Hope I'm not wrong.

Wow, what a tribute man. Take a bow. Every sentence oozes your passion and love for the legend. I guess given a chance, you could have written few pages more.

Coming from a middle class family, I can relate to many things you have written. Depending on sports you love, we latch on to our heroes. In a way it gives us hope, we look forward to sunday matches & races. I guess you went a little overboard with convincing your dad to build house in sector 46. Pity your dad for falling for that lol. Most importantly, I see how much your dad loved you. Simple things but so much they tell.

Fortunately I happened to start watching motogp as formula 1 races used to be after moto gp races. I used to watch F1 races due to peer pressure, Mika Hakinen & Schumi rivalry what not. But I realized I was enjoying motogp more than F1 races.
The speeds at which they go in straights, the front tyre wobble when taking aggresive bends, the rawness and the more human approach to control the machine, all these gave goosebumps. Even now.

Before Rossi, Max Biaggi & Pedrosa used to be my favs, but once Rossi entered, things got really interesting. Rossi even after carrying so much pressure and responsibility, never failed to try new things. His 'The Doctor' on bum was so funny. Imagine the guy behind him has to read it through out the race he he. Also he made the fluorescent color acceptable to masses.

After Rossi, Stoner is someone whom I liked watching race. But he retired soon. Now I dont have the time or patience to follow any of the races. But still catchup with key happenings on youtube.

Thanks for taking time and sharing your tribute. Hope Rossi gets to read it one day and I can tell for sure that he will have a lump in his throat if not couple of tear drops.

[forty6]

Originally Posted by SinghBHP

WOW !!! What a writeup, what awesome use of words and connecting Rossi's Journey with your life Journey. Unbelievably Amazing !!

Thanks mate. While I don't mind the comparison, a certain Mr Rushdie will.

Originally Posted by StarrySky

Great write-up.

I was lucky to watch the legend race many years back, in 2007. Here are the best couple of pictures I could capture with my P&S camera, which was struggling to keep up with the speed of the bikes.

Hey, is this Assen? Because the first time I watched a motogp race was there. It was wet and a bit cold, but the atmosphere was very nice, not mental like Mugello, but nice.

Originally Posted by Bagheera_duke

This an awesome writeup for a legend. I absolutely agree the way you have differentiated Valentino Rossi with other world champions. He is truly a legend and I can say that MotoGP is Rossi, although he was not winning from past few years, we the die hard fans were expecting that something miraculous will happen in the coming days. Nevertheless he was the best rider and I cannot think of anyone else replacing that talent. There may be many champions but they cannot be Rossi.

Thanks mate. I do agree there won't be anyone like a doctor for us, in our lifetimes.

Originally Posted by HTC

@forty6.
Whoever read your tribute to 'The Doctor' will immediatly identify that the guy with yellow cap and yellow fluorescent tshirt standing next to Rossi is 'YOU'. Hope I'm not wrong.

Err, I am the other buffoon in the picture. The one in the yellow overall is much better prepared childhood friend and fellow Rossi bhakt (can we use that word positively anymore?). He is wearing the cap that was given to him to get it signed, because there is only so much I could carry to get autographed. My sartorial choices have always been a bit lacking. Sorry for the disappointment.

And, yes, stoner was fun to watch, if only grudgingly. Marquez has got the mix of Stoner and Rossi, but he just looks so manufactured, rather than being a true goof. Or maybe it is just me not accepting him as Rossi's heir.

Mika vs Schumi was also quite good. As was Alonso and Seb. But it got boring after the Red Bull domination and I dropped out. This year it has gotten interesting again though.

Those days are gone, but racing is still fun. Hopefully you will get back to it.

Mod Note: Please quote ONLY the relevant bits of a post. Quoting a full, long post inconveniences our mobile readers.

[StarrySky]

Originally Posted by forty6

Hey, is this Assen? Because the first time I watched a motogp race was there. It was wet and a bit cold, but the atmosphere was very nice, not mental like Mugello, but nice. [/b]

No, this was at Le Mans.

[forty6]

Aah. Lucky you. Le Mans. The Bethlehem of 24hrs racing. One day this one will also be seen.

[neeraj0272]

https://www.crash.net/motogp/news/99...-thoughts-2019

Mark of a true champion and above all a true sportsman who participates in his sport for the love of the sport and not for the sole purpose of chasing records or only for glory.
While being the best Motogp rider of all time, in his fading years Rossi still had the grit and humility to be at the start line at every race every year.
Thats why he is the most loved Motogp rider.

[GutsyGibbon]

This was in 2008. It was only my second time at Laguna Seca - MotoGP, and what a race it was. I went there to cheer for Stoner, I had a motorcycle campsite by the cork screw. I sat by the corkscrew not knowing what to expect. What a show it was, Stoner and Rossi were locked head to head every single lap. At around 9 laps to go, Stoner crashed and Rossi ended up winning. This race is showcased as a MotoGP classic, and I feel privileged to have watched it up close. Here is a pic of cork screw that I took during the race, its not a Yamaha or Rossi (I was too busy watching), but it was an iconic win for Rossi none the less. It was here I saw Rossi overtake Stoner time and again.


At that time, I was not sure I had witnessed something special. I was bummed that Rossi beat the bike and the rider I cheered for. Post race, I developed a massive liking for Rossi.


2018, I saw Rossi and Marquez duke it out in Austin. This time, I saw Marquez win, but even more respect for Rossi. What a champ what a fighter.