VALENTINO ROSSI
Nine-time champion Rossi invented the modern era of noquarter-given racing and still has the killer instinct at 37-years-old
“For all the riders the perfect race is to start first and arrive at the finish line with a five-second advantage! But for sure the battle is the most excitement. First of all, because if you battle it means the performance between you and the other riders is very similar and also because you need to have the space in your brain to ride the bike, but, at the same time, you must work out where you can attack and in which way. The battle is also very good because it gives you a lot of adrenaline and it’s the best thing for the people that follow the races.
“It’s difficult to be friends with the riders with whom you have the harder battles! Every rider has his own style; some riders are more aggressive and some riders are less aggressive. I think it’s normal to be aggressive, especially in MotoGP, because it’s really difficult to overtake. You never have the chance to make an easy, comfortable overtake because the braking distances are so small, so you always have to risk it.
“The important thing is to always try to be aggressive, but not too much. You need to have respect for your rivals to leave some room, but, in general, all the strong riders I’ve raced against are always very strong in a battle.
“When I had my first big fight with Max [Biaggi] and beat him at Motegi in 2000 I said it felt like an orgasm. I had some very hard battles and some good overtakes with Max. Another of my favourite overtakes was during the battle with [Casey] Stoner at Laguna. Not the one at the Corkscrew but the one where we exited from Turn Two and I went around the outside at Turn Three and we touched a little bit. Also, the last corner in Barcelona when I beat Jorge in 2009. That one was good. When you are fighting for victory then the overtakes are always more important and it’s always a great feeling when you arrive in front.
“When you are overtaking, it’s very important to know where the other bike is and what type of corner it is. The later you overtake, the more likely it is to be an aggressive overtake and if you touch the other rider it’s even more aggressive. It’s a bit of joke now but some people still talk about how I passed Jorge at Misano in September. I had my bike completely ahead of him, 20 metres before the corner. He said he didn’t see me but it’s very clear to me that he did see me. The reason we nearly collided was because he expected me to go wide, so he wanted to cross my line and go underneath for me. If we have to speak any more about this overtake then we must have no more overtaking!”