Rossi proves he’s ‘The Doctor’ on call
ITWAS one call this doctor just had to take.
Nine-time world champion Valentino “The Doctor” Rossi jetted into Manila over theweekend not just to make a pitch for the Yamaha OneMake Race, The Yamaha GP 5, but also to endorse the Lend a Hand Project spearheaded by Yamaha Motor Co. Ltd., Yamaha Motor Racing, MotoGP and Yamaha Motor Philippines for Supertyphoon “Yolanda” victims.
Vale took the stage in a specially arranged meet-and-greet at SM City Sta. Rosa amidst the cheers and chants of “Rossi! Rossi! Rossi!” by a throng of fans. The Italian gamely went around the stage to give fans his much-coveted autograph, causing near pandemonium among the big crowd that gathered long before themall opened.
Teammate and rival Jorge Lorenzo was prominently mentioned in the media interviews that followed his raucous welcome. He considers his overtaking move at the corkscrew at Laguna Seca and overtaking Lorenzo at the last corner in Barcelona (2009) as his favorite overtaking maneuvers. When asked to name his Top 3 circuits in the MotoGP calendar, Rossi without hesitation named Mugello, Italy, as his top pick, ranked Barcelona, Spain, next and Sepang, Malaysia, third.
‘Great motivation’
On how he sees his fight with Lorenzo for this year, Rossi was quoted as saying, “You know, for me to have Lorenzo as a teammate is a great motivation, because now Lorenzo is one of the best two riders in theworld and, to try to beat him, to stay with him, is a great motivation for me; and last year he arrived a lot of time in front of me so this year I have to be stronger and faster to fight him.”
As the face of the Lend a Hand Project, Rossi hoped that his Manila visit would be able to raise money for the charity after donating some items for the relief efforts. Due to his testing duties at Sepang, however, he was not able to fly over to Tacloban City and see for himself the devastation brought about by Yolanda. But he is keen on flying back and helping in any way he can.
Rossi then headed out to the parking lot of SM to do a few laps around the Yamaha GP 5 track. Even if the searing heat was bearing down on the fans, they never wavered in their desire to see Rossi, suited up in full racing leathers, whizzing around the track.
The day ended with a dinner reception for local Yamaha dealers and Yamaha officials at the Marriott, and here, Yamaha unveiled the signed exclusive items for the charity drive.
Rossi sure knows that on his flight back, he brought with him the gratitude of an entire country.