Sure sign Rossi is feeling his age

p4p1 said:

Athletes compared to who? If you're calling NASCAR(which I'm not a fan of btw) sportsmen no athletes I would say the same thing about riders. It doesn't take a ton of athleticism to be good or great. You can't say a driver isn't an athlete but a rider is.

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Agree, That pasty ... no body tone Rossi dominated the sport for years and nothing about him said athlete.

JKant said:

NASCAR demands endurance and concentration but that is not the same thing as being physically challenging in the manner that MotoGP is.

NASCAR drivers are sportsmen. MotoGP riders are athletes. Very few 40 year olds end up still riding professionally and for good reason. Extreme physical fitness is a given.

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Jimmy Johnson is a triathlete, Carl Edwards is as ripped as any athlete you will see, Denny Hamlin is a fitness freak as well. The days of the pot bellied 40 year old are gone in Nascar. The winners are the ones who are the fittest

povol said:

Big country my man, our states are bigger than most European countries.i think I remember year where a Nascar team driver did 75-80 thousand miles a year and its hectic. Leave after race on Sunday evening, get back to Charlotte which can be up to 3000 miles away, get loaded with race cars made for the next track and head out for the next race. They are only allowed to drive so many miles a day so if you do the math, these guys are on the move almost constantly for 9 months.

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Compared to NASCAR in motogp they are racing in countries which are far away from their factories, which may be difficult for them to bring in the parts if there are more crashes or so.
36 races in a single season are too much racing, is there any complaint from the drivers or teams regarding that?

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Samurai said:

Compared to NASCAR in motogp they are racing in countries which are far away from their factories, which may be difficult for them to bring in the parts if there are more crashes or so.
36 races in a single season are too much racing, is there any complaint from the drivers or teams regarding that?

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Each team will carry enough parts to rebuild bikes from scratch if needed, and often a few times over if that is what is needed due to bad luck or bad juj-ju across the weekend

At MotoGP level the distance is not an issue as they can get parts in very quickly if needed but it is fair to say that this stretch (Motegi/Phillip Island/Sepang) does test them in that aspect if they have a bad run.

But don't let distance fool you with these guys, if they need a part it will be here as quick as air travel allows.

JKant said:

NASCAR demands endurance and concentration but that is not the same thing as being physically challenging in the manner that MotoGP is.

NASCAR drivers are sportsmen. MotoGP riders are athletes. Very few 40 year olds end up still riding professionally and for good reason. Extreme physical fitness is a given.

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Nascar, I suspect (as with Aussie Supercars) would have athletes driving them. Supremely fit, well tuned and highly trained athletes for the sport in which they compete.

Very true however as you say that Motorcycle racing has few 40+ people riding professionally but that is more a side effect of the sport than showing it as requiring superior athletic abilities than does car racing. Many motorcyclists retire (sorry KJD/Dubs ) before 40 due to ongoing injury but they often still compete, just maybe not at the top level whereas Car drivers maintain the extreme fitness and are competitive at the older age.

In Oz V8's, there are drivers who would be as fit if not fitter than many motorcycle racers if you measure their fitness for their sport, not as a direct competition for the other.

...., if darts players are athletes (and officially they are), then sure as .... sticks car racers are athletes

Gaz said:

Nascar, I suspect (as with Aussie Supercars) would have athletes driving them. Supremely fit, well tuned and highly trained athletes for the sport in which they compete.

Very true however as you say that Motorcycle racing has few 40+ people riding professionally but that is more a side effect of the sport than showing it as requiring superior athletic abilities than does car racing. Many motorcyclists retire (sorry KJD/Dubs [emoji14] ) before 40 due to ongoing injury but they often still compete, just maybe not at the top level whereas Car drivers maintain the extreme fitness and are competitive at the older age.

In Oz V8's, there are drivers who would be as fit if not fitter than many motorcycle racers if you measure their fitness for their sport, not as a direct competition for the other.

...., if darts players are athletes (and officially they are), then sure as .... sticks car racers are athletes

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In motorcycle racing the riders use their whole body in riding whereas in car racing the drivers don't have to. Many of the car racing drivers retire when their reflexes become much low compared to the youngsters.

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Samurai said:

In motorcycle racing the riders use their whole body in riding whereas in car racing the drivers don't have to. Many of the car racing drivers retire when their reflexes become much low compared to the youngsters.

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Doesn't actually make a difference as if you ever drive a go-kart for example you will know that your body will ache and hurt unless you are supremely fit in terms of kart racing (I am sure 22 will have input on what and how kart racing affects the body, and possibly Dubs with MTB as well)

Car drivers are the same, they train for their sport and as such they are fitter in many aspects than would bike racers be, where in other aspects bike racers would be fitter than car drivers etc.

My take, they are all athletes but just as a marathon runner will not win a 100 metre sprint, Usain Bolt will not win a marathon, you train for the sport that you pursue.

There are asbk racers and v8 super car drivers in Australia that have had a go and could commit if wanted to racing the national road racing season in cycling. Some of them are that fit.

But yeah good old Rossi, reminds me of the "old man yells at cloud" on the Simpsons

Doohan laughed off and refused the offers from the V8 supercar drivers when they suggested he should train with them .... he wouldn't lower himself. This came from one of mine & Doohan's mates who attended a kart day at his Gold Coast track with all the V8 drivers in attendance after he smoked them relentlessly in every race.

I'm not saying that the V8 drivers aren't fit, they truly are. But from my brief experience of being on the back of Ben Henry's ASBK bike with him pushing it at maybe 80% pace (at a guess), having your ... 6 inches off the seat every single time he brutally hits the picks ... i was astonished at how fit the riders are to keep that up for 20 plus laps. The muscles you use and the intensity you have to use them to brace your body weight in braking is in no way mild but frighteningly brutal. Not much relief as soon as its turned he is picking it up and you are hanging on during acceleration which is also intense, not as ridiculous as the braking but thats exactly what follows when he is done with the straight. Go, stop, turn, repeat .... Very different to the race cars i have been in on speedway tracks and circuits, much much more intense. I've ridden and raced bikes for a good part of my life and I was worried if he did a 4th lap I may not be able to hang on and thats not exaggerating, mind you I'm so unfit I was sore for days all over my body.

povol said:

He ....... about everything, wants new tech to help him through tough decisions, now is complaining about 3 races in a row.

Rossi: Three MotoGP races in a row a bad idea

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I watched this press conference, to be fair that article is just hyped up clickbait. The conference was dull and brief, the riders all looked tired and just wanted to get out of there. His comments about the 3 back to back races was a complete non event, its only natural some riders will prefer it and others wont.

Ive worked 9 week straight rosters and 2 days on 2 days off and just about everything in between ... and every roster I've worked has been with a mix of people who loved it and others who hated it.

Gaz said:

Nascar, I suspect (as with Aussie Supercars) would have athletes driving them. Supremely fit, well tuned and highly trained athletes for the sport in which they compete.

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povol said:

Jimmy Johnson is a triathlete, Carl Edwards is as ripped as any athlete you will see, Denny Hamlin is a fitness freak as well. The days of the pot bellied 40 year old are gone in Nascar. The winners are the ones who are the fittest

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The day of the pot-bellied chess grandmaster has gone as well. But a high degree of fitness is still not intrinsic to the game.

Much like say.. a professional tennis player, an individual cannot be overweight and be a MotoGP racer. But if he's got the requisite talent, he can still be a NASCAR driver.

povol said:

And vice versa, a GP rider wouldn't last 4 hours in a Nascar

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True... They'd be bored shitless after a couple of laps.


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JKant said:

The day of the pot-bellied chess grandmaster has gone as well. But a high degree of fitness is still not intrinsic to the sport.

Much like say.. a professional tennis player, an individual cannot be overweight and be a MotoGP racer. But if he's got the requisite talent, he can still be a NASCAR driver.

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I had no idea that Ricky Gervais also raced Nascar, he wouldn't have been successful with his conventional First/Surname combination, It would be like bringing a knife to a gun fight.

Andrew Michael & Paul Peter Jr are some promising names coming into the series ..... there is rumours of a Nascar prodigy similar to Marc Marque in calibre coming through the ranks at Nascar. "Gordon Gordon" has got all the major players making him huge offers.

Maybe King Kenny Roberts missed his true calling.

Cool Blue said:

True... They'd be bored shitless after a couple of laps.


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There is nothing boring about driving a car at 200 mph with 40 of your closest friends within an inch of you at all times. Truth be told, a few laps at speed in race conditions would not only gain their respect, and probably spot their drawers a bit. If you have ever seen the actual Daytona track in person, you go away wondering how in the .... do they go 3 wide at those speeds. The damn track is very narrow.Taking it one step further, Indy Car drivers when racing on ovals are the ballsiest racers in the world.

And F1 has 4 races in 5 weeks with longer travel times. Malaysia japan n australia are all close.

povol said:

There is nothing boring about driving a car at 200 mph with 40 of your closest friends within an inch of you at all times. Truth be told, a few laps at speed in race conditions would not only gain their respect, and probably spot their drawers a bit. If you have ever seen the actual Daytona track in person, you go away wondering how in the .... do they go 3 wide at those speeds. The damn track is very narrow.Taking it one step further, Indy Car drivers when racing on ovals are the ballsiest racers in the world.

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I suspect that after you've turned left at 180 mph a thousand times you kind of get the hang of it. It's a pretty simplified format compared to other motor sports.


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Cool Blue said:

I suspect that after you've turned left at 180 mph a thousand times you kind of get the hang of it. It's a pretty simplified format compared to other motor sports.


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Far from my preferred form of motorsport, although ranking ahead of the quasi-Nascar "V8 Supercars", one of my major objections to both series being the very convenient yellow flags which so frequently seem to result in a sprint on the last lap or over the last few laps whatever has transpired earlier in the races.

There is something to it though, and obviously a particular skill set peculiar to oval track racing. All kinds of drivers from other series while competitive or even superior on Nascar "street circuits" have tended not to excel on the oval tracks.

povol said:

There is nothing boring about driving a car at 200 mph with 40 of your closest friends within an inch of you at all times. Truth be told, a few laps at speed in race conditions would not only gain their respect, and probably spot their drawers a bit. If you have ever seen the actual Daytona track in person, you go away wondering how in the .... do they go 3 wide at those speeds. The damn track is very narrow.Taking it one step further, Indy Car drivers when racing on ovals are the ballsiest racers in the world.

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Rossi drove Kyle Busch's Nascar and in one day of driving it posted a time that would have been in the previous days race top ten. Lets see Kyle do a lap on Rossi's bike and see how close he can get to the previous days top ten, .... he can practice all he wants for as long as he wants, still wont be able to do it, not even close.

Sure they drive 3 wide and within inches to the wall but they are in a car with a roll cage. Id feel a hell of a lot safer doing that than swapping paint with other motorcycles on huge lean angles in high speed 5th gear bends. In comparison Nascar only requires one ball.

povol said:

There is nothing boring about driving a car at 200 mph with 40 of your closest friends within an inch of you at all times. Truth be told, a few laps at speed in race conditions would not only gain their respect, and probably spot their drawers a bit. If you have ever seen the actual Daytona track in person, you go away wondering how in the .... do they go 3 wide at those speeds. The damn track is very narrow.Taking it one step further, Indy Car drivers when racing on ovals are the ballsiest racers in the world.

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....... A. I can't say watching NASCAR on TV is very exciting but live is a whole other experience. Daytona is not the slickest layout but - I've ridden there and I'll say this.... I dare anyone to walk along the top of the banking and look down into the bowl and say with a straight face that it doesn't take serious huevos to ride up there at 200 mph. I took a crew member out to walk the track one time and he got light headed just looking down while walking along the top of the banking. AKV80 - that roll bar cage don't mean .... if you crash at the top of the banking, which is like falling off a 4 story building while strapped to a tank filled with 24 gallons of rocket fuel.