My hero : Valentino Rossi

From Rossifumi over Valentinik to The Doctor. Rossi is truly a living motorcycle legend and still racing. 9 world championships and 103 Grand Prix victories, the #46 is the Greatest of his Era. To me he is the greatest of all time but since you cannot compare eras, it is hard to say who is the G.O.A.T. Some say it is Agostini, other stick with Hailwood and to me it is Rossi mainly because I have the privilige to watch him race on television and live. I am fuly aware that I am witnessing history in the making and enjoying every moment of it. He is one of the biggest sportstars in the world today alongside Schumacher, Tiger Woods ( whose performances off ht e golf course seem even more impressive lately ;o) ), Kobe Bryant, Michael Phelps, Usain Bolt and Roger Federer.

Rossi's on track performances speak for themselves. His friendly face, his funny accent when being interviewed by the BBC, his post race celebrations, his flair, his sense of humour, his colourful helmet and bike designs makes him popular all over the world and adored by many.

But his sheer speed, skill,  determination, mental and physical ability on the bike make him so very special. Every wants to beat him and that's his true challenge...show the others that he is still the best. Only a few have had the privilige to beat him in a straight fight. Capirossi, Barros, Biaggi, Gibernau and Stoner have succeeded but not consistently. Colin Edwards ( his team mate at Yamaha from 2005 to 2007 ) had a look into his data once after a rain soaked British Grand Prix where Vale crushed the opposition. His reply was "the guy has built-in traction control stuck up his ass"...

What makes Valentino so special for me ? His dedication and skill. He has raised the standard of motorcycle Grand Prix racing and even when he seems to be off the pace, you never know what he still might find to be right up there when there were no previous signs of him being able to keep up with the front runner(s). Ask Stoner what happened in Laguna Seca 2008 and Assen 2007. I was there and after his poor qualifying ( 11th and on Michelins ) I didn't think he had a chance against Stoner and the Bridgestone tyres that were outperforming Michelin on all tracks. Stoner took the hole shot and took off while Vale had to work his way through the field. In the end he managed to close the gap to Stoner but I thought that was the maximum he could do. He must have wrecked his tyres by now but...I was wrong. He passed Casey and won with over 2 seconds. A remarkable performance by a remarkable racer. Later, Rossi declared this race to be one his top five races he had ever ridden. It basically says it all for me...