I have a question for all "Rossi bashers" here:
Does Rossi enjoy any "unfair advantages" now, vis a vis other factory riders? Yes? No? Which ones precisely?
If not, think: if Rossi can be this competitive at 37 in a level playing field with Lorenzo, Marquez, Pedrosa, Dovi, Iannone, Vinales etc., how the heck can anybody insist that he needed preferential treatments to be successful when he was younger and stronger, racing against supposedly weaker rivals?
The two things can't go together.
Discuss...
Hard to keep this brief, so apologies - although I do appreciate your post, I am aware many are weary of the debate including myself. You have been here for a long time and will remember the mindless glory hunting hero worshippers that at times reduced this forum to little more than a puerile juvenile yellow fan club. You were also present last November, post Sepang, when we were deluged by a wave or irrational fanaticism verging on the deranged, which you oddly chose not to take exception to.
I can only speak for myself, but I don’t believe that anyone is disputing the remarkable talent of Valentino Rossi as a rider. His huge potential was immediately evident in his first season in 125cc I remember his debut and I greatly enjoyed watching his ascendency through the classes culminating in his justifiable signing by Honda and the hugely exciting at the time creation of the quasi factory team around the rump of Doohan’s crew on the NSR500. Throughout his career in the top class, I have marvelled at his finesse, his poise and his grace in command of the motorcycles that he has ridden – even during his tenure at Ducati. Further, if conditions are sub-optimal, if tyres degrade, on a greasy surface or in the wet – he consistently comes into his own. He always lamented the passing of the 500cc and rued the increasingly obtrusive electronics, knowing that his natural advantage – his innate talent and unique gift was being marginalised. We often like to hypothetically speculate, all things being equal, a control series involving identical motorcycles and tyres – out of the current field who would prevail? It is my belief that several riders would suffer, whilst others who don’t currently feature due to limitations in machinery would come to the fore. Valentino – at the age of 37 would still be up there.
My personal frustration however is the level of fanatical veneration that surrounds Rossi as a rider and his legions of unquestioning fans that insist in foisting the false canard that is the ‘GOAT’. I genuinely do not believe that he is the ‘greatest of all time’. You too have conceded that this is a tiresome narrative but you’ve never questioned those that enforce it on this forum as some sort of divine right or indisputable absolute or more crudely as a bludgeoning tool. Yet, ironically, you speak of ‘Rossi Bashing’. Hilarious. It is precisely this mindless hagiography that I object to – hence the iconoclasm of my posts. I simply don’t accept much of the mythology that has been built around him – my choice and as long as these idiots continue to enforce this ‘greatest of all time’ ‘doctrine’ upon this forum, the more I will respond. Further – contrary to the adoration of the masses, he is no saint. Does that matter? – For all their charisma neither were Sheene or Ago for example – and neither were immune to the Rossi-esque mind games. Behind the smiles and the charm, both were coldly ruthless and uncompromising, but without the disingenuous insincerity that I detect with Rossi. Subjective I grant you, but it is something that became increasingly prevalent throughout his career and a facet of his personality that I amongst some others greatly dislike.
The ascension of Valentino has been immense for the profile of the sport but it has also damaged the integrity of it. His commercial value re-enforced his comparative advantage which is self-perpetuating and his cult of personality has exceeded the profile of even the sport itself…which is hugely damaging.
There is no doubt in my mind that Rossi earned his position at the pinnacle of this sport, but it is one that has been persistently propped up by inequity and favourable disproportionate treatment. In answer to your question, a younger Rossi may well have prevailed and didn’t necessarily ‘need’ such ‘preferential treatment’ to be a contender – but that didn’t mean that it wasn’t there. As his influence grew it skewed aspects of the sport further in his favour in some cases – I believe - to the detriment of other riders; at the very least it at times stymied the opposition.
Perhaps he too began to believe in his own mythology, his own invincibility, and up until October last year, the conceited move to Ducati for me was the most telling factor in what was in my eyes, already an artificially tainted career.
