So this is me trying to make an archive for some of my fav vale’s gifs/photos/videos, obv vale has been kinda a child star since he was 5 years old so theres just so many things around the internet lol
So whats my criteria? Literally nothing, vibes maybe
Im prob sooner or later gonna do a better archive job but for now for every post theres gonna be a tag about what type of post that is (type: photo, type: video, type: gif, type: interview, type: book, type: lore…)
And year (year: 2004, …)
If i dont know the year im gonna use this tag: year: 1979
(Also #!!! is for posts i have to go back to maybe change something or idk)
THE DEFINITIVE VALENTINO ROSSI HAIR TIMELINE (1996-present)
- as composed collaboratively with fellow valentino rossi scholars on the basis of many (many) hours of determined and hair-pulling (haha) research.
(some conjecture required for the early years but hopefully more or less accurate)
It took nine races for Valentino Rossi, the out and out favourte to take the 250cc crown, to take the lead in the championship for the first time. At the Sachsenring, we saw the real Rossi shine through: playing with his bike the way he likes to play with life.
Sunday 18th July. For the fifth time this season, Valentino Rossi was on the top step of a GP podium. It was a regular ritual, taking place just a few days from the summer break and it meant the Aprilia rider was leading the world championship at last.
On his head, complete with yet another hairdo, the green hair of Donington making way for a shaved head, was a straw hat bearing the legend: 'Nazionale Esportazione senza filtro,' national export without filter. "All the riders have a cap with a cigarette brand on it and I also wanted to be a real rider. Impressed with my win, a major sponsor has come on board. Its a new brand with a growing market."
The vital piece
Valentino Rossi laughed heartily. Having been merciless towards Loris Capirossi, he had just had a dig at another of his "enemies,' Massimiliano Blaggi, who never goes anywhere, even for the Thursday night football match, without his red and white cap.
Victory and the lead In the championship, Valentino Rossi was once again the vital plece in the big puzzle; the man who held in his hands the key to the transfer market for the 2000 season. At this point in the year, it was becoming increasingly possible, week by week, that the prize ride, the best plece on the board, Michael Doohan's, might be up for grabs.
Valentino Rossi is the most sought after man in the paddock. Not only because he is he the hottest talent around, but also and above all because he has the ideal image which appeals to the greatest cross section of the very large following which the sport attracts. Amongst those who are transfixed by him is Michael Doohan himself, who could become the boss of a new Honda team, backed by Shell and Winfield cigarettes. "At the moment, I have not been approached. I have not seen a contract, had a proposition or discussed budgets. Doohan has never spoken to me about this project. Although I do know he has talked with my father Graziano, who is my personal manager."
There'll be another train after this one
So will Valentino Rossi tace for Honda in the 500 class? Or will he do another year in the 250 class with Aprilia? "Of course I am fascinated by the 500s. I also know that one day I am bound to make the move there. It is a given. But and it's a big but, I like the 250 class and I want to win the world champlonship. It would be too stupid for me to rush in now, and then in a few years time to regret my move and to tell myself that I should have been patient and waited another year before making the big jump. At the moment, there is a sixty percent chance I will stay with Aprilia in the 250 class, thirty percent that I switch to an existing Honda 500 team (Erv Kanemoto's) and ten percent says I Join the team Doohan is planning to set up. There is a saying that one should jump on the right train when it comes along, but I reckon that if I continue running at the front, the train will always stop at Rossi station every year! At the end of 1996, some people reckoned I should have moved straight up to the 250 class. I stayed with the 125s, I won the title and I becamne popular. I am not 36 years old. I know that plenty of opportunities will present themselves in the future, as long as I am still competitive. If I stay in the 250 class and finish thirteenth in the champlonship next year then neither Aprilia nor Honda, nor even a superbike team or even a motocross outfit would want me for 2001. However, if I win..."
"I like fighting with Capirossi"
This was what Valentino Rossi had to say just before the summer break. On the track, the darling of the crowd had just won again after coming off best in yet another duel with Loris Capirossi. "I love facing up against Loris, because it's always a good fight. Today, he caught me out, coming round the outside on lap four and I got him back the same way. That's racing! Last year with Harada was a lot less fun. He is the kind of rider who follows you all race and then stuffs you by four seconds on the last lap. That was no fun, just like any race whose strategy is pre-planned around a table. Me, I live for racing and the action and for the moment. I adapt to situations. I look for a solution and when I find it, I win. When I lose at this little game i am furlous with rage for a little while. But I quickly forget about it."
[from a 2004 issue of Motociclismo; autotranslated from italian; @melatifosa<33 thank you sooo much for the scans, they’re at the bottom of the post btw]
Both have worked with Valentino Rossi. But today, Jeremy Burgess and Juan Martinez experience the World Championship on opposite sides. One is the chief mechanic for the world champion, the other for Sete Gibernau. Here is how they describe their riders, the technical differences, and the sporting similarities. Along with an assessment of the ongoing battle.
Valentino Rossi unites them and, at the same time, divides them. The champion from Pesaro is a fundamental milestone in their professional careers. For Juan Martinez, Gibernau's current chief mechanic, he was exactly that from Mugello 2000 until Valencia 2002. For Jeremy Burgess, he still is, even if Rossi is the latest in a long line of champions he has worked with. Before him, there were Doohan, Gardner, Spencer, Haslam, and Mamola. One is Australian, from Adelaide, the other Spanish, from Mollet del Vallès; they have a 20-year age gap and different professional backgrounds. Yet, for several seasons, they worked side by side. Two years ago, Juan Martinez took care of the suspension on Rossi's Honda, while Burgess was already directing operations in the garage. The master and the apprentice: the Spaniard learned the basics of his current job alongside two icons—on one side, one of the greatest riders in history, and on the other, the wizard of technicians, 'someone who makes a difference,' as Rossi constantly reiterates (and who, in fact, wanted him at all costs for his new adventure at Yamaha).The apprentice and the wizard now challenge each other from afar, inside the garages of the two main rivals of this championship. They experience every moment of this exciting battle right alongside their riders. They do not just prepare the bikes: they share victories and defeats, as demanded by that perfect understanding a good mechanic must build with his rider to instantly grasp every need. They know their weaknesses and strengths. Technical ones too, because nobody knows the secrets of the bikes they constantly work on better than they do. They are an indispensable point of reference, the link between the racing department and the men on the front line. That is why we asked both Burgess and Martinez to tell us about this season. From their point of view—undoubtedly privileged, but unquestionably very interesting.
Jeremy Burgess
"Is Sete a surprise? No, I wouldn't say so. Sete was the strongest competitor in 2003. He won four races and finished second in the championship. He has an excellent team, a winning bike, and an extra year of experience."
Here's Gibernau as seen by Jeremy Burgess, Rossi's crew chief. A perfect portrait. Drawn by the best technician in the World Championship, the man who took on the Yamaha challenge alongside Rossi. Or perhaps because of Rossi, to be with him, the rider who somehow also won the heart of this 51-year-old Australian, good-natured and only seemingly shy. A man who, as he says, didn't hesitate to undertake a long journey ("thousands of miles") to come and race here in Europe. And for this very reason, in the end, he wants one thing above all else: to win.
"We all want it on our team. Valentino, me, my mechanics. It is a common goal, what binds us and motivates us in the challenge we've accepted."
Where do we start? With the opponent?
"No, there's always that. Every year there's a rival to beat. Although this year is tougher, I admit."
So why did you agree to share Rossi's adventure...
"Yes, it's the first time in 25 years of World Championship racing that one of my riders has changed teams. It's never happened to me before: not with Mamola, Haslam, Spencer, Gardner, and Doohan. They ended where they started. Rossi, on the other hand, wanted to change. And I with him. Crazy? The results say no. We only started in January (the contract with Honda expired in December 2003 and it wasn't possible to start before that, ed.) and we won three of the first five races. And to think, many people swore we wouldn't be able to make Yamaha competitive in such a short time."
Yes, no one expected it. In such a short time...
"That's the meaning of this challenge. That all of us and Yamaha want to win. And we've had some problems. Not major ones, especially some setup difficulties, like at Le Mans and Jerez, but we were good at understanding what wasn't working and finding a solution. Then in Welkom we didn't know where to start and we wasted the entire first day of testing trying to figure out what we needed to do. Then in the race, Rossi took care of it. But Barcelona was also tough, due to the Honda's greater speed, which negated some of our bike's advantages."
Only small problems. And the big ones?
"I'd say the lack of data. We started from scratch with no references. Because the work done by the Yamaha riders previously was of no use to us. With Honda, it was different because we knew the bike well, which has practically remained unchanged for three years. Gibernau is now taking advantage of much of the work Rossi did for Honda. Furthermore, after a year of experience, he knows his bike better and can set it up quickly. We need more time, and when things go well, we manage to get things right just in time for the race."
Are you navigating by sight?
"We learn something every day. Of course, in the first tests, the progress was clear, while now we're making slower progress. But it's also true that we're closer to the Honda, in qualifying and in the wet. But every race remains an open challenge."
Last year, you knew exactly where you were and what the others' level was.
"Of course, if you test in the dry and it rains on race day, or vice versa, as has already happened this year, it's a big problem. In our situation, we have to make the most of every moment of practice and qualifying to gather even the smallest fragment of information."
Well, that way you rediscover the challenge. It's more exciting...
"Oh, sure. When you get the results we've achieved, it's more exciting. But what if we finish fifth or sixth...?"
Rossi called this team a dream team. Do you think so too?
"A dream team?... (Burgess laughs heartily). We know each other well. We've worked together for a long time. We have the same goals. Everyone here wants to win. It doesn't matter how tough it is. It is for everyone, for Valentino and for us. But I didn't come all this way from Australia for nothing..."
You have a perfect understanding with Valentino.
"I immediately understand what he wants and I know how to fix the problems with his bike. We're happy, and every race is getting better. And to think everyone thought we were crazy for switching to Yamaha."
Can you win the title this year?
"Let's just say we're giving it our all, even if this is really a learning year..."
Did Gibernau surprise you?
"No, I expected it. But where are the others? What happened to Biaggi, Edwards, and Barros?"
Is the Honda RCV 211V, which you know well, better than the Yamaha M1?
"The Honda definitely has advantages: top speed, an excellent engine, and three years of development behind it. Yamaha started developing the new engine with Rossi in January. But we're very competitive, and five wins in the first nine races prove it."
Gibernau says the Yamaha has more traction than the Honda.
"The Yamaha has more traction but less power. But I don't think he'd switch, unless he wanted to give us twenty or so horsepower. But then, afterward, he wouldn't be able to pass us on the straight. Since our engine is less powerful, we have to focus primarily on traction and braking. The Yamaha is more agile and corners faster, but if we want a setup that allows us to be strong under braking, we have to sacrifice some of this agility. A bike that's very stable on the straight is sometimes penalized when cornering, especially the fast ones. That's why we always have to carefully calibrate the M1's setup. The Honda, on the other hand, loses what it loses in the corners, it makes up on the straight, thanks to the engine."
Aren't you afraid of getting lost in the adjustments? Why is it true that the Yamaha has more than the Honda?
"Yes, he has more, but we don't use them all. It's important to understand what you need. For example, if I give you five or six tires to try, after a while you have to identify at least the ones that really aren't right for you. And you discard them right away. The same thing happens with Valentino. I know what he needs for his riding style. So I only focus on the necessary adjustments."
What kind of bike does Rossi prefer?
"One that allows him to pass the others...Jokes aside, we have to work carefully with the setup to be able to brake hard, without losing ground in the corners. Sure, if we had 10-12 km/h more speed... but it's not that easy. Luckily, Rossi is the one who gets on the bike."
Yeah, at least he is a certainty.
Juan Martinez
Yesterday Rossi, today Gibernau. Juan Martinez, Gibernau's bike technical director, grew up in the court of the champion from Pesaro. And above all, in the school of Jeremy Burgess. "The number one," as the Spaniard still maintains today. "The most rational, perhaps the only one capable of directly achieving the result he wants. With him, two plus two always makes four." Juan isn't ashamed to show such deference to his direct rival, the master he remembers fondly, even though it's him he faces today in the challenge between his team and the factory Yamaha squad. Until two years ago, Martinez was Valentino Rossi's suspension director, a champion in his field whom the Pesaro native surely misses. Juan has made a career: desired, almost forced, by Gibernau in 2003, he has become his trusted technician, the man entrusted with the task of putting him in a position to face Valentino Rossi.
Knowing your opponent is the first rule to beating him. So what are the differences between Rossi and Gibernau?
"They're less different than you might think. They have many things in common, starting with the commitment they put in. They both work hard to achieve their goal, and they're quite similar in terms of setting up the bike."
Rossi like Gibernau? Same riding style? Same settings?
"It’s not exactly like that. They follow different paths to find themselves at the same point, though. I think it depends on how they ride. They're quite similar. They both move a lot on the bike, and they move to adapt to the bike. They approach corners in the same way, although Sete tends to edge a little more (he follows a sharp trajectory, a bit like the apex of a corner, ed.), while Valentino prefers to round out the corners. But they both understand the importance of corner entry. Because the speed with which you exit, the ability to accelerate earlier or later, depends precisely on how you approach it. It seems trivial, but not all riders understand it, or not all are able to put it into practice."
It would be nice to swap bikes and see what happens...Jokes aside, was it difficult for you to leave Rossi?
"I have a great relationship with Valentino and I have enormous respect for him. I left him only because I had this important professional opportunity. If I were to do what I was doing, as a suspension technician, I would have stayed with him."
And how do you get along with Gibernau?
"I have a good relationship with him. He's very committed to his work, he works hard, and he's also nice. We have a good understanding, and that makes my job easier."
What's missing from winning the title?
"Sete has grown on all levels. And he's calm because he knows he's giving his best. Even more than last year. He's more confident in his choices, also because he has a year more experience. His limit is having to work with what he has available, in technical terms. While Rossi had the space and the means to ask for modifications with the Honda, to build a bike to his own needs, Sete is instead working on someone else's bike, even if that "other" is called Rossi."
But isn't the private Honda equal, if not superior, to the Yamaha?
"The Honda is superior in speed. But the straight where you can exploit this advantage, over the course of a 1:40 lap, averages about 6-7 seconds. The Yamaha, on the other hand, has more traction exiting corners and therefore accelerates sooner. The reality is that we are a private team and Rossi's is a factory team. To make a difference, to find that little bit extra, we have to work as best we can with what we have."
But this year's Honda is faster than the 2003 one.
"The Yamaha too, for that matter. But the RCV has changed a bit since last year, so we can't use all the benchmarks and parameters from 2003. We still need experience to be able to compare it with last year's setup. Sure, we know it better now but the bike is under more stress because it pulls harder on the track; you just have to look at the times, which have dropped significantly. The underlying problems, in choosing the settings, are more or less the same, but the scale has changed. So yesterday's solutions are no longer valid today."
Would you go back to the 2003 bike?
"No, because with that bike we weren't doing the times we do today anyway."
How are you feeling about this season, ultimately?
"It's a fantastic challenge that I'm very passionate about. We're a satellite team against a factory team. They have one of the best drivers in history and one of the strongest teams of all time. Yet, we're there, competing with them."
btw here’s the tshirt he is wearing (it’s from juicy couture):
THE CEREMONY TOOK PLACE IN ST. PAUL'S CATHEDRAL. BLONDE ARRIVED ARM IN ARM WITH HER DAD. FORTUNE AWAITED HER UNDER HER MOTHER'S IMPASSIVE EYES. HE CELEBRATED MILLIONS, ARCHIVES OF CANTERBURY. HE SAID, PARAPHRASING INSTEAD
