Exactly. Some people like to have a Goat cemented in their heads because it simplifies things and they don’t have to concentrate too hard though.
Rossi won on 2 stroke, 4 stroke 990 and 800’s with two manufacturers which is pretty good going, also across Michelin and Bridgestone. That’s an impressive run, but he never had to come back from injury really, arguably the leg break at Mugello he was never the same after. Marquez for me won quicker and a higher win rate, he also did Michelin and Bridgestone, is about to win on 2 manufacturers and I think will then go on to win on 850’s. Marquez gets my vote, just. Oh… and Marquez let someone re-brake his arm voluntarily to make it straight, that’s grim! But a massive massive sacrifice
Marquez is the fastest rider of the last 20 years without a doubt. He came to MotoGP and left every other rider in his dust for a number of years.
Yeah good point he shook things up very quickly on arrival in the class - have to wonder how many titles he lost as a result of Honda's demise rather than his own. His comeback this year now hes on winning machinery shows he's not lost it
Same with Kim Newcombe, he built his own bike using a Konig boat engine but was killed in a non GP race before the last round. Posthumous 2nd in the championship splitting the MV's.
Hailwood is up there after winning championships and TT's he went to cars won a European F2 championship and a George Medal for rescuing Clay Regazoni from a burning car Then back to winning TT Or somebody rarely mentioned on Forums like ours. John Surtees multiple 500 champion and F1 champion
He also did it on a bike that no one else could ride and changed the style of Motogp riding. Everyone tried to copy him including Rossi.
True, before Marquez no one was riding elbow down and saving front end crashes, now, mostly only he is but some others do and all the kids ride like that. So a bit like Barry Sheen changed things with back protectors etc, and Kenny Robert’s created the knee down style, it’s generational shifts which is probably the sign of a great.
I think MM sort of invented the airbag suit so even the haters cannot knock him for that, I guess Crutchlow helped also.
Reminds me of the old joke “Do you agree with the people who say that Ringo is the best drummer in the world?” “…Ringo isn’t even the best drummer in the Beatles”
Airbag vests have been around a long time, they had wide used in equestrian events before motorcyclists wised up.
Developed as an integrated system by Dainese and first worn by Marco Simonchelli according to the internet. Andy
indeed, the 250 riders who were dianese were trying them for years, circa 2008, and the initial ones had a big airbag that inflated around the neck. In 2009 Rossi nearly left dianese because they wanted him wearing them in MotoGP but he would be one of the only ones and it made the suit heavier and he was a bigger rider anyway and he didn’t like it. Also they patented it… the first Alpinestars suits etc had to pay royalty to Dianese until a certain point. weird side note, Rossi mostly ran long exhausts and silencers where he could because the noise of the little slash but pipes annoyed him too much… other fact, Toseland got told he needed to change boot manufacturers when he was in MotoGP because his boots were 500g heavier than a alpinestar boot.
