“Lucky” is the Italian who narrowly beat Randy Mamola and Kenny Roberts to the 500cc World Champ of 1981; went on to win Superbike races than to run the factory Ducati Superbike team back in the late 1980s. Now the elder statesman is in the dog box, for downing Valentino Rossi.
VR, he opined, is over the hill. He should make way for the young guys, who are currently kicking his backside.
Rossi could, he told Tutto Motori, “run-up to [when he is] 50 – seventh or eighth every Sunday, sometimes fourth and maybe every so often a podium. [But] the Rossi we knew fought for victories every Sunday. Something important has changed.”
After the opening two rounds at Doha, seventh or eighth would be very welcome for the senior figure of the grid but never mind that now. Lucky had more to say.
Elsewhere he described early days Rossi as “a genius, a Martian. But now he’s back on earth.” Now, “he takes the bike off a young man, hasn’t won a race for more than three years, and the last title in 2009. He always competed to win. Now it is just to finish.”
Back at the height of his powers, MotoGP dreaded Rossi’s departure. He was the one-man figurehead with an army of fans, the other riders were just supporting cast. Extras on the set. When news broke that he was flirting with a switch to F1, the doom-sayers were in the ascendancy.
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der May 2021-Ausgabe von Bike SA.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent ? Anmelden
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der May 2021-Ausgabe von Bike SA.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent? Anmelden
A Ladies Perspective What a Surprise Kawasaki Ninja 1000SX
I’m sure as everyone knows by now there is little that compares to my BMW K1200S and out of the 13 different bikes I’ve been lucky enough to ride over the 18 months I’ve been riding, I finally came across one that I’m almost certain I’d swap my bike for…
Goodwood's 79th Members Meeting - Hunting, Shooting and - Racing
For that’s what marked the 79th Goodwood Members Meeting aka 79MM, held this year on April 9-10, which this time included two thrilling motorcycle races, each with a blanket finish which in Race 1 saw less than a second covering the first four bikes home.
MIDWEIGHT PUNCH - TRIUMPH TIGER SPORT 660
The Triumph brand seems to be going from strength to strength worldwide. New models are seeing the light of day in various sectors, and here in South Africa there is a carefully planned dealer expansion program in action.
NORTON ROTARY RACERS HISTORY - Rotary Race Record
For eight successive seasons the world’s first - and so far only - Rotary-engined racebikes swept to serial success on British racetracks. Here’s a timeline on their ebb and flow.
DRYSDALE HISTORY PART 4/5: 25 YEARS ON FROM CREATION OF FIRST 750-V8
2002 1000-V8 Bruiser mega-Monster was a Naked roadster with added muscle - the answer to the question of how to out-max a Yamaha V-Max!
Unnecessarily Fast, or Unnecessarily Dangerous?
“The bigger they are, the harder they fall.” This truism comes from boxing, but applies to all walks of life. Innovative MotoGP superstar Marc Marquez, however, adds a new twist.
Wet Weather Riding
Wet roads can make you faster and smoother. They also open up a whole new world of riding possibilities.
The Perfect Surprise
Anniversary Getaway
International Female Ride Day 7 May 2022
It is that time of the year again and the ladies are coming together to promote female riders and ladies in biking. This international event is celebrated globally and in SA we are not shy to participate. Last year’s event brought together about 300 ladies on various motorbikes and we are aiming for 400 participants this year.
MotoGP Springtime for Aprilia
Don’t ask me how that happened. Aprilia, I mean. From bottom of the class to the top of the podium, in one easy move. Well, perhaps not one … it’s actually taken seven years of dogged persistence in the face of serial humiliation. But it still seems to have elements of all-of-a-sudden.
