Bad Rossi...

[Big Kahuna]

What a joke.

Rossi's last corner theatrics in the first MotoGP race of 2005 was both willful and malicious. It wasn't the first time he performed that maneuver in the race. He did it to Melandri, and then Nicki. He ran that same line, cutting the corner and then running wide many times throughout the race. In one case forcing Nicky out to the edge of the track. It was almost as if he was practicing for the final corner.

Yes, it's true that Rossi had been pulling his foot off the pegs throughout the race, but in the last corner his foot wasn't just out, it was on the ground. He was not just repositioning on the pegs, he knew that it was his last chance to get by Sete and he overcooked trying to pull that same maneuver and fearing the worst had to put his foot on the ground.

I was surprised that there was not immediate action taken against Rossi. I thought the move was obvious, dangerous and done so maliciously. I was even more surprised and Sete's lack of comments on the matter even though he was obviously very upset at the press conference following the race.

Rossi wanted to win so bad, he was willing risk the life of another rider by riding such a dangerous line. If it wasn't for Sete, Rossi would have ended up in the gravel as there was no other way he was going to make that corner.

Is this sort of desperate riding what we can expect this year from Rossi? He's a great rider but it's hard to respect a guy with very little class.

[BigRoy]

I dunno racing is racing :D I dont actually see anything wrong with his racing, sete should have covered the inside better. He was at fault IMO, I even bet on him to win! What I dont agreee with Rossi afterwards rubbing it in! He won the race but gloating and rubbing sete's nose in it aint right :( Most racing in the UK is like it, you must cover the inside! Makes it exciting though. :D

[Matt-954]

After the first 2 rounds of World Superbike, and the even more boring Daytona 200 race, this one was at least fun to watch.

Rossi may have made a questionable move, but Sete left the door open for him to do it.

From Soup (http://www.superbikeplanet.com/2005/Apr/050410u8.htm) ...

There was a new noise at MotoGP in Jerez: the sound of booing aimed at Valentino Rossi.

Championships are earned, not handed out.

[Big Kahuna]

Championships are earned, not handed out.But they shouldn't be stolen either. Rossi was wrong and was even being a smart ass about it in the wrap up. Either way you look at it, the rider in front has the line and the rider behind must yield. Rossi stuffed his bike under Sete knowing very well that the results would end in impact.

[Opposingrealities]

I totally missed the race (very sad about that) but knowing Valentino it is not unheard of. Rossi and Sete respect each other and get along quite well, but Valentino can't stand to lose to him. I am not going to defend Rossi's actions and I feel for Sete. Rossi knows he is one of the best riders of all time and as such he doesn't want to lose, even if it is only one race. Sete is a very calm person so it doesn't surprise me he made no comment; He was assuredly pissed off, but he didn't want to attack Rossi. It also comes down to the fact Rossi knows Sete is his only real competition and he will need every point he can get to beat him. Hopefully Rossi will exercise better judgement from now on.

[Calkidd]

I am with you BK, what a jacked up way to win a race. From what I understand Rossi had broken a bone in his ankle, I guess during trials. This might be the reason for moving his foot off of the pegs. But your right, he did put his foot down on the last turn.

This is going to be a interesting year. Sete knows Rossi's tactics and will adjust his riding style to defeat those tactics in races to come. My money is on Sete for the championship.

I have lost most of my respect for Rossi after that race. There is nothing more aggravating than a racer to gloat after a race. That is most of the reasons I can not stand Maldin or Yates.

[Deano]

Since when was Sete in front of Rossi going into the corner ?

Im sorry but Ive read alot of this stuff over the last week about how Rossi was the villian when the guy done nothing more than went for a gap that was there for the taking and he took it ! Look at the picture Sete knew he was there but tried to force Rossi to brake by cutting across him , Rossi didnt and knew Sete would make an impact .

Here is a video of the last 2 laps of the race
http://www.helmetcam.org/motogp/jerez05.wmv

This picture of the last corner shows that Gibernau was at best side by side but never in front of Rossi .
http://www.maxxmoto.com/jerez.jpg

This also high lights their exact position at the time of impact
http://www.repubblica.it/2003/e/gallerie/sport/rogib/esterne101525271004152657_big.jpg

And this little video shows how pathetic Gibernau was about a brake lever in the shoulder :rolleyes:
http://www.helmetcam.org/motogp/gibernau_crap_actor.wmv

[Big Kahuna]

Did you see the entire race? Rossi pulled that move on two other riders, Melandri and Hayden. He went in low and push them wide to make the pass. Even made Nicky stand the bike up to avoid hitting Rossi when he slid in under Nicky's line.

Are you trying to say that Rossi was in control heading into a corner? I don't see him routinely sticking his foot out and setting it on the ground. Just a few corners before the impact Rossi almost tossed it, he was having major tire problems and should have never attempted such a move. I don't know how you are interpreting the handle bar shot in the shoulder, but it looks pretty severe to me. After the impact Rossi continued to push Sete wide, thus making these action even more deliberate and obvious in my opinion.

This video shows it all:

http://www2.motogp.com/ppv_multimedia2/337/337588_36228.wmv

This just goes to show how people see things differently. The only one who knows the truth is Rossi himself but he'll never be man enough to admit his faults.

Rossi will probably go down as one of (if not) the best rider ever. It's a same this title has to be held by a rider with absolutely no class.

[Deano]

Rossi will probably go down as one of (if not) the best rider ever. It's a same this title has to be held by a rider with absolutely no class.

Are you genuinely trying to say Valentino Rossi has no class :eek:

Hes rides an inferior machine compared with the factory Hondas yet beats them and takes last years title from Honda and he has no class ?

Thats funny :D :D :D

[Big Kahuna]

Yeah, class has nothing to do with how good a rider you are. I know Rossi is good, and I know he has no class. Two different things.

I he rode the whole race in desperation. It's going to be interesting how he does throughout the year.

[Calkidd]

After watching the video tape you can see that Sete and Rossi had two different lines and the impact was part of the difference in lines. However, after the impact Rossi simply continued to push Sete right off of the track, plain as day. There should have been no reason why Rossi continued out from his path. If anything he should have pushed harder keeping his line. But of course, if he would have done that Sete would have won the race.

[Deano]

Id say the reason Sete got pushed out was because his shoulder hit the front brake lever of Rossi`s bike forcing the bike to stand up momentarily and thats why both riders ended up on the outer edge of the track ;)

[Big Kahuna]

Looks to me that Sete hit the bar, not the brake. If he would have hit the brake, Rossi's bike would have slowed (or crashed) and not been able to continue to push Sete wide.

Try it, take a corner at the speed and then hit the brakes "momentarily" and see if you're still sitting on the bike. :eek:

[Deano]

Not really , Rossi was already applying the front brake and if Sete`s shoulder hitting the lever slighty increased the braking pressure further than was required then the bike would want to stand up , its happened to me a couple of times where Ive had to brake then apply more pressure and the bike immediately wanted to stand up :o

[Big Kahuna]

Um kay! I get it, you're just messing with me now.

[Blademan]

I finally saw it last night (love that TIVO), anywho, I think that Rossi just bullied his way in. I think they should pull the victory and give it to Sete. it is just dirty pool.

[Deano]

I think they should pull the victory and give it to Sete. it is just dirty pool.

But thats the point , the race officials didnt see anything wrong with the incident and neither Gibernau or Honda lodge a complaint with the race directors , surely if they felt that strongly that Rossi had deliberately forced Sete of the track they would have intervened :confused:

Anyway its only a few days until the Portugese GP so heres hoping Rossi gets another win :p :p :p

Hey can I ask how Neil Hodgson is getting on in AMA ? since he moved to that series we dont get to hear much about him now ? and how do you guys rate his chances ?

[BigRoy]

Well he got 2nd at daytona :D Upset mladin by taking the racing line into the 1st corner. LOL You still got the tiger Deano?

[Big Kahuna]

I'm happy to see Hodgson in the AMA. I think he may be our best bet yet to take Mladin out of the championship. If he can bring home that Ducati in second place on one of the fastest races of the year, just think what he'll be able to do on the more technical tracks.

[Deano]

You still got the tiger Deano?

I certainly do mate , Ive just finished all the suspension , brakes and cosmetics and can now finally go about tuning the engine :D

Is AMA a big thing in the States ? I mean here BSB is a really big deal and wondered does AMA share the same success :confused:

We dont hardly hear anything of it here :(

[angry john]

ama superbike is not realy a big deal to the public.. us racers and recreational riders dig it up, but sadly is not telivised or even in a special place in the newspaper. i am a native californian and i love racing but little is shown or told about racing in san diego. mabe other areas are diffrent. i am stationed in england and man the brits love there motorsports. went to a race this sat. and every available area around the track was crowded. my girl is short and she missed most of the races because everyone was standing in anticpation and chearing as the ridders passed.

[chrisOH]

After watching the video tape you can see that Sete and Rossi had two different lines and the impact was part of the difference in lines. However, after the impact Rossi simply continued to push Sete right off of the track, plain as day. There should have been no reason why Rossi continued out from his path. If anything he should have pushed harder keeping his line. But of course, if he would have done that Sete would have won the race.I agree with everyone. I think Rossi tried to stuff it, however after looking at the replays Sete also turned in a lot earlier in that corner on that lap versus the other 20 some laps. He knew Rossi was there and still tried to cut his front wheel, but Rossi beat him to the corner and Sete just had keep pulling in. I also do believe Rossi would not have ran that far wide had there not been contact as Sete did hit the brake lever a bit plus hitting the bar and forcing Rossi's bike to stand up as well.

About penalization it is hard to tell. I say they should have docked Rossi 5 points and that would have made the championship still even into the next round. I am surprised they didn't penalize, since Tamada got DQ from the Motegi race his first year on even safer move on Sete than Rossi's. Although FIM- ran by Italians, Rossi - Italian. Anyone see a reason???? :rolleyes:

[chrisOH]

Yeah we have only one Cable channel that carries any road racing. ESPN does get some of the Motorcross and Supercross. At least this year the commentary is better now that the got Freddie Spencer in the booth and gave Dave Sadowski the boot (he was terrible). Coverage still sucks, most of race is left on the top 2-3 bikes and only time we get to see the battles at that back is when the leaders are lapping them.

Also AMA does not run the races as smoothly as Europe seems to. One crash - Red Flag. Little rain postpone the race (given 4-5 tracks are on Ovals with infields so no rain races can run).

I would love to see some WERA or CCS national racing being shown as well but SPEED channel or Nascar Channel (that can't even show Nextel Cup) is pathetic.

[Matt-954]

I was at Freddie Spencer's school 2 weeks ago and asked Freddie what he thought about the incident. Freddie (who has a strong Honda bias) sided with Rossi. We watched the video and he talked for several minutes about the whole incident. The jist was that Sete should have known better. Rossi had made a mistake a few turns earlier and was mad. Sete left a gaping hole for Rossi, Rossi took it.

[angry john]

WHAT EVER HAPPEND TO GOOD SPORTMANS SHIP. i have loved racing and a close race is the best. people like fighting at the front for positions and its what racing is all about. winning is what these guys get paid to do, but intentionaly pushing a rider wide/off course or hitting a bike intentionaly just to get a pass is cheap. if the incodent resulted in a crash it would not be a point deal and either rider could have been hurt bad. i love bike riding but ending up with a broken bone or any other injury form intentional bumping at the outragous speeds those bikes go is f****** stupid.