Anyone follow MotoGP (GP500)?

Are you guys in the states able to watch MotoGP? I wouldn't be able to live without MotoGP on TV :D The TV is worthless without it :yesnod Rossi rules!! Incredible talent!!!

And if the VCR cannot B programmed, I call in sick....:lol JK Swedie, U can watch all the races here in the states. They air on speedchannel!!! Here is the url http://www.speedvision.com/ Enjoy, and yes THE DOCTOR does RULE!!!!!!!! Swedie ck this Rossi site out!!! http://www.valentinorossinet.com :thumbup Enjoy!!!

Mr Valentino got sooo many websites. That guy has some sickness that make him ride bikes fast as hell. I want that sickness. I hope it's an airborn virus so that if I meet him I'll just throw some peppar at him and let him sneeze in my face :D and then :makeout HAHAHAH oh well, I'm just as good I'm sure :yesnod never seen speedvision. Is this a channel you need to pay for? Just curious... I won't even have a TV once I'm moved over.. not even a bed. Doh!

YAAAAAWWWWNNNN!!!!!! Maybe some of you guys enjoy watching Vale race on Sunday afternoons, but I think the GPs were more exciting & closer when the REAL guys were out there doing it. I'm talking about Rainey, Shwantz & Doohan. I've got all GP500 races on tape since 1989 & though I was always a Shwantz fan, looking & relooking the tapes, I realized what one hell of a rider Wayne was. Vale doesnt even come close, he just doesnt have the opposition. PS The greatest & best road racer of all time in my opinion is the one & only Kenny Roberts Sr. I got the chance to know him at the FIM 750 at Silverstone in '77 & he was fantastic because we were racing there just before on the TZ 750 & 350, but he was just fantastic! Cecotto was there too, he was real fast, mean & aggresive. The second greatest talent was Jarno Saarinen but thats another story

well, yeah, for a hillbilly toothless nascarloving skoal spitting good old boy channel, they are ok;) Personally, I think it was better before Fox bought out Speedvision to air more hillbilly car hilites, and I'm convinced that motorbike racing is the redhaired freckled step child that they would gladly abandon if possible. I too think that KR sr is the greatest of ALL time ( I got to see him in his prime on pavement and dirt;) ) HOWEVER****************> I am really starting to believe that Rossi may just be the best overall. WHY??? Let me tell you my opinion ( for what it's worth:p ) about motorbike rracing, since I've been actively involved in one level or another for nearly 30 years:eek: In the 70's and 80's superior RIDER talent was the biggest factor. Compared to the machinery, tires, frames, suspension components etc, that stuff that Roberts, Sheene etc rode was SHIT:fact The most gifted rider that could ride thru all the problems thru SUPERIOR RIDER ability ( Roberts, then Spencer ), Won, Period. Now, even on our Aprilia GP team we have real time data aquisition for interpretation, and an unbelievable ( overwhelming really ) number of internal transmission ratios, ride height adjustments, rake and trail offsets etc. Now, you can get pretty fast and close to the leaders if you are a determined and skilled racer, but those last few ticks come from the ability to set up the bike. Doohan kinda started it, and Rossi is even better at communicating to his mechanics and technicians what changes are needed to be so dominant. Rossi IS the most gifted rider with the best ability to hit set up #'s to win. I'm not taking nothing away from Kenny at all ( he's my hero;) ), but I think in many ways, for his era, he had so much more essential TALENT that, that was the overall decider. Rossi is GOD !

I am watching the reruns from last weekends race. The 250's are on right now. The GP races are awesome!! They are pretty big here but when I was in Germany, man those Europeans love them some GP races! Rossi is awesome, and the Rossi/Biaggi rivals are great. If I ever painted my silver R-1 (doubt it), I would get an exact replica paint job of either the Max' Biaggi's bike (Malboro Yamaha) or the Red Bull bike. Both are nice.

I agree that riders in hte 70's or 80's wer more talented riders than many today due to that bikes back then weren't faster than say 500cc bike today.. (not GP machine). okay a little faster but they sucked. Rossi wins so easily.. he lost his 2nd place to 7th I believe and then won the race! Now that's an achievement. Gonna go racing on the track on Sunday.. to see what it's like. Hope to good I won't wreck.

No one has done it better than DOOHAN. No one. Mind games, fitness or skill. :thumbup The new four stokes are super cool though.

Comparing riders of yesteryear & today has always been a touchy subject. Technology has brought us things that could be only dreamt of in the past. One factor however, cannot be ignored. Its the supreme judge, it has the last word and is unappealable. LAP TIMES!! When riders like Shwantz, Rainey & Doohan hold lap records for 7, 8 , 9 years, then a young 21 year old comes along and thrashes everybody, you think, wow, he's GOOD, someone even thinks he's GOD. But this GOD is not setting new track records, despite the hyper tech. NSR 500/RC211V, tires, suspension, electronics, computers, safer tracks, better track asphalt, etc., etc,. I remember when those 3 guys used to smash lap records, lap after lap , at the END of the race when their SHIT tires were on the canvas at virtually every GP, every year! And when you saw on the screen; Lap 10. Rainey New Official lap record, then Lap 11 again, then Doohan New Official lap record, you realize that these are not normal human beings. I live near (20 miles) the Mugello circuit where Honda HRC tested their Repsol GP bikes with Doohan, Criville & Okada. twice a month in 2 & 3 day periods from March to October. I've seen Doohan lap consistent 1. 53 highs / 1. 54 lows on crap material ( by todays standards). His entry at the curves Arrabiata 1&2 are considered to this day, as mind blowing. His exit at Arrabiata 2 has become a legend. Ask anyone who works on or visits the track if Valentino on super/hyper equipment is as good. They'd laugh in your face; Vale doesn't even come close! His LAP TIMES prove it! Even Rossi today admits Doohan was a better, faster rider! So where does that put Wayne & Kevin???!!! Valentino is GOOD, not GOD.

I didn't say he was God, but he's atleast Very GOOD. :D Giving all racers in the MotoGP class Honda's new RC211V maybe will even things out.. THEN we will see which one of the riders that is THE best! Sad that Doohan quit after his crash. And now Criville also left (due to some sort of faint dicease).

Swedie, I know you didn't. Olddog did.

Your points are well thought out, but you are WRONG about track records, they are being, and have been getting wasted for quite some time. To think that Rossi would not win among those riders you name and be there at the front always with them is a pipe dream. If there is a shadow over ANY GP champ ( really, how can that be? :confused: ) it would have to be Doohan. He simply was never really tested most of the time. Creville could shadow him if Doohan set the pace, but often made mistakes if he took the lead. I know schwantz still holds the lap record at at least one GP to try to butress your assertion . Rossi's place is secure, surely one of the best EVER:fact I loved watching Doohan, Lawson, Koscinski, Shwantz,Rainey, and Gardner during the late 80's and 90's, great stuff. But I'm not stuck in the past, it's a different era and for the moment Valentino's only real challenge is his teamate Ukawa:p

Olddog, Don't put words in my mouth, I didn't say Rossi wouldn't win with those guys, or be with them at the front. What test did Doohan need to do? You have a lapsus on the 1992 season when the guy almost had his leg amputated, his comeback was unique along with Niki Lauda's in motor sport history. How many guys in modern GP500 racing win the world champiomship first year? No one. Not Rossi, not Biaggi, nor Kenny Jr. Just one phenomena called Kenny Roberts Sr. The only shadow around now is over Rossi. WHO IS TESTING ROSSI?? Ukawa ? Capirossi? Katoh? Are we joking ??? Re look the 1991 season. The things that happened at Hockenheim (& I'm not only talking about the famous Shwantz/ Rainey outbreak on the last lap, watch the whole race...... what test does Doohan need after THAT race. And I'm not stuck in the past. Lap times, the longer they hold, the more they become prestigous. 3 years is good by todays standards, more is phenomenal, considering the crap equipment they had by todays standards. I'll close with a question. How would you feel if you lapped a certain racetrack in say 2. 20.00" on a 1991 FZR1000 with 1991 tires, then watched the local track hero/champion on his new R1 lap 0.3 sec. slower?

im sorry but a disagree with both your opinions as rossi or doohan being the best ever why i hear you ask theyve both only won on HONDAS the biggest player on gps with an unlimeted budget and countless resorces i dont think doohan or rossi would be where they are today if it wasnt the type of bike they both ride only got a look at past champs to see the name HONDA keep cropping up rainey and schwantz and lawson are not mentioned in the same sentance when comparing greates riders but ide back schwantz against doohan or rossi on identical bikes anyday of the week . just my 2 pennys worth

No doubt, whenever honda decides to really get serious ( Ducati in WSB being the exception, although Edwards DID win straight off ), the shouting is over. We were speculating about results at sears if Gobert would have been on either hayden's or Duhamel's RC-51's:confused: Absolutely no disrespect to either one of those 2 great riders, but on EQUAL equipment, Gobert would go bye bye:hellobye Nobody else that I can think of could push a sad old R-7 even into the top 5 here now. I respect your opinions, they are as valid as mine. It's always fun to speculate on such things, but the arguements will never be settled;)

You guys should take a look at this article...it gives some good insight to what it takes to be a motogp rider.. http://venus.13x.com/roadracingworld/scripts/Include.asp?include=../issues/apr02/rossi.htm

Great article. Adaptability is a tough thing, no doubt. From personal experience ( NOT comparing Jonah to Rossi ) I've seen Jonah HAVE to change his style to on different machinery class to class. Last year on his Aprilia 125 it was ALL about entry and extreme hi corner speeds. With the RSV- 250, we are talking 210lbs gassed, 90 rwhp;) , compared to 160lbs and 48 rwhp. He still runs in real hard, but doesn't carry quite the absolute mid corner speed as before on the 125. He spins the back end up and is squaring off certain corners to get a better drive using the available acceleration. Rossi just magnifies that process to perfection;) Surely, if he stays healthy and retains interest, he has the possibility to rewrite even more racing records than we can imagine. Thanks;)

It is really impossible to compare all these great racers to one another and line them up in order of skill. They all had different styles, and they all had different bikes. They all were great at different times too. Motorcycle racing is not like stock car racing (although that might solve this delimma of who's best) so $ plays a big role in this equation too. Actually it plays one of the biggest. What if Biaggi had Rossi's bike? Rossi didn't exactly sweep last years gp. Don't get me wrong, I consider Rossi the best, but I'm 25 and got into racing recently so I never grew up the those other old farts you guys talk about ( Rainey and Gardner and Swantz). I'm biased I guess. But you know who I consider my hero's? All the grassroot racers that are on the club level. There's nothing like coming home from work, giving the girlfriend a little attention, and then tinkering around on your own bike, knowing in a few weeks you and your bike are going to do battle with the area's best riders. We all have that bug in our system that those greats do, they just had the opportunity and drive to make careers out of it. If olddogs kid really wants that than I wish him Godspeed, but I think if you talk to the national and pro racers, it just doesn't sound like they are having a whole lot of fun. But every CCS and AFM race I participate in, everyone is having a jamboree, and they all seem a whole lot nicer...

Club racing is fine, but when you can whip everyone in your area ( the northwest for us ), what's the point? Big fish in a small pond syndrom? We have only one guy lately from our area with the talent and courage to put himself up against THE BEST, our buddy Jimmy Moore . Go ahead and get good at your home track, but if you want to see how you really stack up, at some point you need to get out of dodge and play in another sand box;) Don't get me wrong, Jonah is a product of club racing, he's not interested in beating these guys over and over....................... and HE IS having fun:yesnod Even club racing, it's a demanding, expensive, sometimes dangerous pastime. If it doesn't make you smile, why do it? Also, almost all the national level guys, including Jonah, get pretty sullen at big races. Not much back slapping and happy talk like at a local race. Their fun is excelling;) The smiling happens when the jobs done And Biaggi on rossi's bike? No difference, Rossi still wins. As the article so well pointed out, Max Has NOT changed his front end 250 style riding, and until he adjusts to rear wheel steering, limited success. My opinion only;)

I think all top riders are good to do what they do ,it takes a lot of determination. I had the chance to meet Mick Doohan He comes in to the gym that I work out at every once and a while. He even came in after the crash that ended his career ,He had A halo brace around his leg With pins sticking out of his leg and he was still working out. My god these racers are super human!!!!!! Thank you, :thumbup

18 months ago I was racing at Three Sisters circuit in the UK (a tiny go-kart track) and Casey Stoner was there too...he was only 14 or so & his dad had brought him to the UK to enter club races & learn how to crash. I was on a CBR600 and the current 600 champion at the track, he had an RS125 and you should have seen him whup everyone. Talent by the bucketload. Sound lad as well - no ego. Now he's in 250 gp's at 16 and watch him go!

IMHO Wayne Rainey was the best GP racer ever. Who knows how many more world championships he could've won if it wasn't for his career-ending injury? Doohan's comeback was remarkable - how he could compete at such a high level, and win, with the injuries he sustained (wasn't it he who first used the thumb brake out of necessity?). Certainly a tribute to the human spirit and definitely shows his competitiveness. I do, however, feel that he didn't race the quality of competitors throughout most of his career like Wayne did. Same with Rossi, I don't think there are many serious competitors for him at this moment. The almighty Honda has made him look that much more impressive, deserving or not.

all the best riders would have an All-Star race event. 4 example, if u put Rossi, Biaggi, Checa and Ukama from GP500, Bayliss, B. Bostrom, Edwards and Haga from WSB, Hayden, E. Bostrom, Gobert, Duhamel, Miladin and Gobert from AMA SB. 1. Who do U think would win 2. What bike would have the advantage 3. What track would be neutral and fair 2 all bikes/riders 4. Has an event like this ever existed I personally think the GP bikes have the power advantage and Rossi would kick all their asses. What do u think? PS. WSB Race 1 is under way in Monza, Italy on Speedchannel with Race 2 to follow.

ALL THE TIME(RELIVES TO):rock

Originally posted by Abe ALL THE TIME(RELIVES TO):rock U were watchin:cool: