MotoGP is nigh: Vali, Dany, Jorge, or Marc... who do you like and why?

[Yukonica]

I was raised on Kenny, Freddie, and Wayne GP. I still recall television coverage of the kid in 125 who is about to begin his 19th year in the saddle.
Perhaps MotoGP is again in a golden age: like the years with Joey Dunlop at the TT.
Vali has class. He has created history and he knows where the camera images end up...(Salary: $22 million a year). He is the ambassador of the sport. Not a bad rider either.
Dany is a technician. He is hired, rehired and rehired again because he is consistent. Perhaps a bit cold toward fame but he knows his job is to put in results. He does.
Jorge isn't lacking skills or a fan winning smile. Yet the cameras rarely catch him with his game face off. When they do; I see a man I'd be proud to meet.
And Marc....  Golden Boy/Man/Demigod in the making. I hope his career stretches as far as Vali's.
I like the kid. He's not shy, polite, or forgiving on the track.
Although I don't care for his unethical 'old lady elbowing' through the pack regardless of race line;  there can be no doubt he is there to win and winning is the name of the game.

[Hugh Straub]

The Doctor (if not Ago) is likely the best road racer of all time. He's got at least one more winning season left.

[tonyduc]

One of my favorites is Melandri, very gutsy rider-now back in MotoGP with Aprilia, and nice looking wife (well they all do). Remember last year's WSBK final race, he had both races won outright but let Guintoli pass him for points to win the championship.

[Crusty]

I'm another Rossi fan. I want to see him win a lot more races and win at least one more championship.

[menzies]

Well I would like to see Hayden win again but that aside I like Rossi.

[oldbike54]

The Doctor (if not Ago) is likely the best road racer of all time. He's got at least one more winning season left.

 Hailwood ! If Honda had not pulled out of gp racing and NOT paid Mike to ride any other factory bike , he would have won several more titles . As far as modern racers , gonna be hard for the old guys to unseat Marc . I can't forgive Pedrosa for crashing Nicky , almost costing his world title .

  Dusty

[father guzzi obrian]

It's pretty hard to watch the video of Marquez crashing, well not crashing in that corner where he laid on the ground and basically lifted the bike up with his body and wheelied away.  The kid is great, hope he does not have a bad crash.....  (NGC, but Italian content: Wife really loves Vali)

[flip]

I'm a Rossi fan. He seems to have almost as much class, personality and humor as he has talent. I'd like to see him tie Ago for career wins.

[LowRyter]

of course I'll push for Nicky and Vali.  I know that Mrquez is the likely winner.

Can't wait to get to Austin. 

[drw916]

Heart says Rossi. Head says Marquez

[LowRyter]

Hailwood ! If Honda had not pulled out of gp racing and NOT paid Mike to ride any other factory bike , he would have won several more titles . As far as modern racers , gonna be hard for the old guys to unseat Marc . I can't forgive Pedrosa for crashing Nicky , almost costing his world title .

  Dusty

at Indy when the introduce Danny, the crowd boos and howls.  They will NEVER forgive him and make sure he'll never forget it.   ::(

at Austin when they introduce the riders, they don't make any noise for anyone other than Vali or Marc.    ;D

[Aaron D.]

Rossi is, in my opinion, a better candidate for greatness than Ago-he sure ran up the numbers with a sweet bike against a bunch of privateers. Not that he wasn't a good rider.

Marquez is still hard to bet against, but I think Rossi might be the one to carry the battle to him-again, I have to agree with Lorenzo that Rossi may be the best ever.

Funny, whe Rossi and Stoner were saying the bikes were too easy to ride, it took someone new to show that all you have to do is go faster, then they'll be hard again. As Redding said, there is NO limit.

[oldbike54]

 Every generation has the "greatest ever" . In his era Mick Doohan was dominant , Ago had very little real competition , (kind of a myth) , maybe the best roadracer ever was Angel Nieto , or Hugh Anderson  , (ever heard of them) , neither one raced big bikes . Heck , if Schwantz hadn't been so loyal to the boys from Hamamatsu (sp) who knows ...

  Dusty

[Aaron D.]

Yes, I've followed GPs since Ago was on MVs and racing Hailwood. Ago had lots of competition, but also had years when..not so much.

[Arizona Wayne]

Every generation has the "greatest ever" . In his era Mick Doohan was dominant , Ago had very little real competition , (kind of a myth) , maybe the best roadracer ever was Angel Nieto , or Hugh Anderson  , (ever heard of them) , neither one raced big bikes . Heck , if Schwantz hadn't been so loyal to the boys from Hamamatsu (sp) who knows ...

  Dusty




Doohan won a lot of races but that's because all the top US racers got out of racing for 1 reason or another.    500 GP racing got so boring then World Superbike is where all the action was.   Then GP switched from 2 strokes to 4 strokes and here we are now.  But WSBK still puts on a better show for the fans, IMHO.   :BEER:

[wrbix]

Nicky's come back year!

[oldbike54]

 Wayne , Doohan was already matching up favorably against the Americans before they retired , he was the next generation of fast , remember he was already beginning to win against the 4 Americans and Wayne Gardner before they left . Most experts believe that if Saarinen had not been killed , and Steve Baker had been treated fairly by Yamaha that Roberts may not have been offered the Yamaha factory ride , thus the American invasion might never have happened . Anyway, "Greatest of all time" really means that a competitor was the best of a generation , nothing more . Was Babe Ruth really better than Mickey Mantle or Mike Trout ?

  Dusty

[flip]

If we go back a few years, I loved to watch Gary McCoy slide a bike around a track. Go further back in time and I was a Kevin Swantz fan.

[youcanrunnaked]

Heart says Rossi. Head says Marquez

 :+1

At Indy last year, I sprung for pit passes for the Friday practice day.  My gf and I got to meet many of the MotoGP riders, and even managed to converse with a few. From this admittedly limited experience, I will say that with one exception, they are all very nice guys who appreciate their fans.  The best were Rossi and Marquez.  Considering their immense popularity, they manage to treat all of their fans with respect and even affection.  The worst?  No question -- Pedrosa.  A brooding sourpuss who treats his fans as if they are an annoyance.  Also, it was obvious to me that he resents playing second fiddle to Marc Marquez.  A little story to illustrate:

My gf rode her own bike with me to the Indy MotoGP; Soth Florida to Indianapolis and back -- 2,400 miles, her longest trip by motorcycle to date.  She brought with her, strapped to the back of her bike, a stuffed Ninja doll ("Ninji"), which we photographed at various stops along the trip (sort of like a Flat Stanley).  





Proud of her accomplishment, she brought Ninji to the track with a Sharpie, hoping to get a few of the riders to sign the doll as a memento of the trip.

At the end of the first morning practice, we waited at the Repsol Honda garage.  The first rider to sign Ninji was Marc Marquez.  My gf was thrilled to meet him, and she got to tell him about riding all the way from Miami, Florida to see him race.  He showed an interest in her story, and remarked about how he liked to visit Miami.  He posed for a picture, and she even gave him a kiss (on the cheek).



Here is Ninji at The Brickyard, with Marc Marquez's signature prominently on its belly:



Then we waited at the Repsol Honda garage for Danni to come out... and waited... and waited... and waited.  When he finally came out, he stopped briefly to sign a few autographs.  My gf showed him Ninji and briefly told him her story while handing him the doll and the Sharpie.  Danni looked at the doll, saw Marquez had signed it, and refused to sign it!  He walked away, making a beeline for the rider's lounge.  That was it; autograph session -- over!  A few people followed after him, hoping to still get a photograph with him or his autograph, including my gf. Pedrosa stopped one time on the way to the lounge and signed a couple of autographs.  Again, my gf approached him with Ninji and a Sharpie in hand; he looked right at her, turned away and continued walking.



Douchebag!

[Yukonica]

It's pretty hard to watch the video of Marquez crashing, well not crashing in that corner where he laid on the ground and basically lifted the bike up with his body and wheelied away.  The kid is great, hope he does not have a bad crash.....  (NGC, but Italian content: Wife really loves Vali)

Do you recall which race or even which year? I'd love to rack down the clip.
We thought we were cool as kids getting the knee down like the big boys.
These days they are putting sliders on elbows.... lean angles into the low 60 degrees... wow!

[oldbike54]

Do you recall which race or even which year? I'd love to rack down the clip.
We thought we were cool as kids getting the knee down like the big boys.
These days they are putting sliders on elbows.... lean angles into the low 60 degrees... wow!

 There is a series of pics on WG of the amazing save , somewhere . They have been in mags and probably available on YT .

  Dusty

[youcanrunnaked]

^^^  IIRC, there is no video, because it happened in a practice session.

However, there are still pictures, such as this:


A few people have compiled the stills into a stop-action type video, such as this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CuQVKWizmJw

[Arizona Wayne]

Oh, I see, so if a racer doesn't give you or your gf an autograph then they're a douchebag, no matter how they do in a race?  ???   Where does it say in their contract they have to give autographs to fans?  Some racers are fan friendly, some are not. I don't hold that against them.  I get pictures(when possible) of racers but never once asked for an autograph in decades of watching them race.

[oldbike54]

 Wayne , a racers personality doesn't have any bearing on his ability , that is true . But if Pedrosa wasn't the darling of Repsol and Dorna , (both Spanish) , he would have been gone long ago . Remember the John Kocinski saga , great talent , zero PR skills , Honda went so far as to hire a shadow for Kocinski in an attempt to keep him out of trouble . Didn't work all that well , he was out of a ride . The famous encounter between John and the state trooper is a cautionary tale .

  Dusty

[Arizona Wayne]

Wayne , a racers personality doesn't have any bearing on his ability , that is true . But if Pedrosa wasn't the darling of Repsol and Dorna , (both Spanish) , he would have been gone long ago . Remember the John Kocinski saga , great talent , zero PR skills , Honda went so far as to hire a shadow for Kocinski in an attempt to keep him out of trouble . Didn't work all that well , he was out of a ride . The famous encounter between John and the state trooper is a cautionary tale .

  Dusty

Kocinski had 0 PR skills, yet when he wasn't racing he was busy selling high priced homes in real estate, or so they say.  ???   I recall Wayne Rainey, Eddie Lawson, Mat Mladin, Freddie Spencer not being autograph signing fans in their prime either.  Maybe Rossi started  this you gotta sign autographs to be popular with the fans attitude.  

I see it like pro golfers........some like to sign autographs(Mickelson), some don't.  They're in the middle of what they do for a living.  They have things to concentrate on.  Do they want to waste time with some groupies?

[Aaron D.]

I don't know what's in Dani's contract, but a lot of them do have PR duties.

And a douchebag is a douchebag no matter how well he rides, sounds like the guy who was there saw a douchebag in action. And remember, none of them have a worthwhile job if no one wants to watch them.

[Arizona Wayne]

I don't know what's in Dani's contract, but a lot of them do have PR duties.

And a douchebag is a douchebag no matter how well he rides, sounds like the guy who was there saw a douchebag in action. And remember, none of them have a worthwhile job if no one wants to watch them.

Luckily for Dani he's not the only 1 out there to watch, so he can be hisself.  ;D   Somebody has to be the bad guy in a play.  :wife:

[youcanrunnaked]

Oh, I see, so if a racer doesn't give you or your gf an autograph then they're a douchebag, no matter how they do in a race?  

The point of my story was not that Danni didn't give my gf an autograph; it's that while he was signing autographs for others, he purposely spurned her request to autograph Ninji, twice, simply because Marquez had autographed it first. (Several other racers autographed Ninji after Marquez; Danni was the only one to care that somebody (Marc Marquez) had autographed the doll before him.)  That's a douche move.

While all other riders took the time to pose with fans and sign autographs, Danni practically sprinted to get away from them.  That's a douche move.

While all other riders smiled and conversed with their fans between practice sessions, Danni spent the time either hiding or scowling.  The below expression on his face was typical:



As you can see, it's not that he wouldn't sign any autographs or pose for any pictures.  I posted two pictures of Danni posing and signing with others, while my gf waited politely next to him for her turn.  When it was her turn, he looked at her, looked at the doll, and walked away.  That's a douche move.

Danni is well-known for being a cold, emotionless, unapproachable robot.  "Pedrobot" is his well-deserved nickname.  You don't get a reputation like that unless you make it a habit to make douche moves.

FWIW, those pit passes were $100 each per day, over and above the price of admission.  That's money that helps fund the race purse, among other things.  The fans who pony up (let alone travel over 2,000 miles) to see their heroes are entitled to a little more consideration, IMHO.  (NASCAR drivers are required to attend free autograph sessions before each race, which might explain in part why NASCAR is about 100x more popular in this country than MotoGP.)

I don't know about golfers -- I don't follow golf.  I do know that among the maybe three dozen riders that I interacted with over the Indy MotoGP weekend last year, some were friendlier than others, but Danni was the only one to act like a douche.

Finally, while Danni is a talented rider, I don't like him.  The title of this thread reads in part: "Who do you like and why?"  I don't like Danni -- because, in front of my very own eyes, he showed me that he is a douchebag.

[Arizona Wayne]

Apparently your gf didn't know what to expect from Dani?

[redrider]

I like Nick but he is done. Honda will not allow their "A" riders to be eclipsed by the satellite teams. I wish Rossi could garner one more championship. Lorenzo is hungry and always a threat. I'm still not 100% in Marc's corner. Probably because I despise effing Honda. I'm betting on Dovi and Ducati with Ianonne running interference.