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[Darth Loo-knee]

Have a great discussion at the weekend with a few mates about who is the Greatest Motorcycle Racer of All Time....
Winner by Unanimous Decision
The Doctor Mr Valentino Rossi.


Do you agree?

[albitz]

Absolutely and hes not finished yet - hopefully.
It will be interesting to see how he stacks up against Lorenzo this year.He was definitely beeter than Lorenzo when they were last team mates,but while hes been away Lorenzo has really come on in leaps and bounds,and imo has been the best rider out of the possible race winners the last couple of years.So for me if he can still beat lorenzo he is still the best,if not he will have lost his edge and it will be time to hang up his helmet.
I suspect he is thinking similar things himself.Its a shame Stoner called it a day,as they could have hopefully been fairing bashing,arguing and winding each other up every race,which would have added to the interest.
Ive been watching bike racing since the ealy 70,s from the end of the Ago era onwards and seen them all come and go.I dont normally like to be a fan of the big popular name,but it was so obvious from his time on 125,s onwards that Rossi was very special indeed,and he kept getting more special until he sat on a Ducati and then it all went tits up for whatever reason.
Ive never seen anyone who can ride a bike like him,ever. I hope he still has his ojo.Time will tell.
Other than him,outside of the GP circus.Joey Dunlop,as a man and a rider,an absolute hero.

[feeutfo]

No argument here, Stoner took his crown for a while IMO though. (Then gave it back by retiring)


Of all time?
Ago
Rainey
Schwartz
Doohan
Rossi

Mmmmyeah probably Rossi. Is this on titles? Race wins? Or just opinion...?

[Marks DTM Calib]

Italian so he can't be 

[feeutfo]

Italian so he can't be 

He is I'm afraid. The Groomer tells me he's Gay btw.

[Elite Pete]

Rossi's not bad in an F1 car as well. He got within 2 tenths of Kimi Raikkonen’s lap record

[Marks DTM Calib]

Rossi's not bad in an F1 car as well. He got within 2 tenths of Kimi Raikkonen’s lap record

An Italian operating a machine effectively with no reverse gear, surely not

[albitz]

Rossi's not bad in an F1 car as well. He got within 2 tenths of Kimi Raikkonen’s lap record

An Italian operating a machine effectively with no reverse gear, surely not

Afraid so.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9CgMCsctPEw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PI0bdjvMf2A

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfPM77TsGaA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKzvSlnf3WY

[Lazydocker]

Italian so he can't be 

He is I'm afraid. The Groomer tells me he's Gay btw.

Perhaps he's a follower of our very own "Mr Icon"

[omega3000]

Rossi is the greatest , met him a few years back . He has the right attitude that many look up to 

[albitz]

After Rossi I think I  might go for Doohan.His level of determination was scary,and he was as hard as nails.His comeback after injury was immense.He was supposed to have his leg amputated but Dr Costa sewed his legs together and then split the blood supply into both legs to rejuvenate the leg which had almost died.
He came back the following year and won the world title that year and the next four years after that.Downside was he probably didnt have the level of competition that Rossi has had throughout his career.
Ago is also very noteworthy.If I could have chosen my own name I think I would have gone for his - Giacamo Agostini.Got to be the best name ever. You couldnt do anything but be a racer with a name like that.
He still holds most of the records for titles etc.but his MV was unbeatable in its day,so he didnt have to try as hard as the others.It was on a different level,until the Jap 2 strokes came along.
Also cant ignore Mike Hailwood.He went away for 11 years and then came back to the TT in 1978 and won.The experts said he would make a fool of himself,but he confounded them all.
And of course the aforementioned Joey Dunlop.Unbeatable on the roads,and his 3 wins (including on a 1000cc bike) in 2000 at 48years old was almost beyond belief.It was just a shame he didnt call it a day after that,but he just loved his racing too much to stop.

[feeutfo]

If Dunlop had gone short circuit racing, where would have got to?

[omega3000]

Vote ukip rossi  Barry was good though and mamola .

[BazaJT]

Been priveleged to see many racers in action from Agostini onwards,a fan of Rossis from the start in '96 on 125s,if he's not the best then IMO he's certainly in the top three.Can't see him catching Angel Nieto[13 championships]or Agostini[15 championships]But I fervently hope that he wins at least another one to take him to double figures.He's no slouch in a rally car either!!

[albitz]

Ah,I forgot about Angel Nieto.Barry Sheene said he was easily the best rider he had ever seen.
Joey competed in a lot of short circuit races,particularily early in his career.He won many races on short circuits (I saw him win a few myself) and a lot of people said he could have made it to the top in GP racing had he commited himself to the short circuits,but racing on the roads was what he really loved to do.
Ironically,the worst injuries he got during his career happened at Brands Hatch in 1989.It was almost the end of his career and it took him several years before he was physically able to race big bikes at the highest level again.
Afaik,he didnt bother much (if at all) with circuits after that.