paprika

roller skating through lukey heights

[bikefuckersoftheworldunite]

Top 5 closest finishes between Valentino Rossi & Sete Gibernau [links lead to full races officially available on youtube or fb]:

1. Brno 2003 +0.042

2. Sachsenring 2003 +0.060

3. Phillip Island 2004 +0.097

4. Catalunya 2004 +0.159

5. Le Mans 2003 +0.165

[gromky]

Top 5 closest finishes between Valentino Rossi and Sete Gibernau

insp @bikefuckersoftheworldunite set <3

[roooooosssssse-deactivated20260]

WEST COAST - LANA DEL REY - LAGUNA SECA (2005-2013)

[roooooosssssse-deactivated20260]

some laguna facts:

-the united states grand prix was hosted at the laguna seca raceway for 15 seasons total: 1988-1991, 1993, 1994, and 2005-2013.

-for the nine races hosted in the 2000s, there were only six different winners: valentino rossi (2008), dani pedrosa (2009), jorge lorenzo (2010), and marc márquez (2013) with one each. nicky hayden with two (2005 & 2006). and casey stoner with three (2007, 2011, and 2012).

-the infamous “corkscrew” at turn(s) 8 / 8a sends riders down a steep hill, dropping 59 feet (or about 5 & a half stories) from entrance to exit. due to the angle that they enter the corkscrew, riders are forced to take the turn “blind”: without being able to see where they’re going to end up when they start.

[bikefuckersoftheworldunite]

Valentino Rossi and Sete Gibernau: The Great Cold

sources: ‘Il grande freddo’; ‘Sete y Rossi, una attraccion fatal’;‘A Decade in MotoGP’ documentary; ‘Rossi mantiene su actitud beligerante e ignora a Sete’; dueruote’s Jerez 2005 post race report; ‘Valentino todavía sigue pensando en Gibernau’; Valentino’s interview circa Donington’05; ‘Me da igual lo que Rossi diga de mí’; Ring of Fire’ by Rick Broadbent; Sachsenring 2005 Eurosport commentary; Mugello 2006 race commentary; ‘Gibernau dal college alla Ducati’; ‘Valentino Rossi: portrait of a speed god’; Valentino’s 2007 interview; ‘2004 MotoGP season review’ by Julian Ryder; ‘2005 Motorcycle Yearbook’; Valentino Rossi: All His Races’ by Mat Oxley; Motorcycle Racer may 2005 issue

[most quotes are autotranslated from spanish or italian]

[bikefuckersoftheworldunite]

Vale at Mugello 1998

[kwisatzworld]

[daidegas]

Mugello TODAY, http://www.daidegasforum.com/forum/pista/632790-prove-libere-mugello-8-gennaio.html

[vegasgrandprix]

i love looking at old race posters and i think this one for the 1993 detroit grand prix might be one of my favorites

[bikefuckersoftheworldunite]

Valentino alongside Marcellino Lucchi and Tetsuya Harada on the podium at Mugello 1998

[story behind that podium]

[kwisatzworld]

At Mugello that year, I was racing in 250 and Marcellino Lucchi won the race. I had decided that I would go to the podium undressed, that is, in beachwear: swimsuit, sunglasses, towel around my neck. And I made the mistake of doing it even though I hadn’t won. At the time, I didn’t think much of it because I was very happy with the outcome of that race: Lucchi had won at 43 years old, so the event was special, while I had beaten Capirossi and Harada, my real rivals. So I thought there was something to celebrate anyway, and in the end I did my little scene. And I went to the podium in “beach” mode. The next day in the newspapers, I read total disapproval. They wrote that I had behaved in an egocentric and selfish way because I wanted to take visibility away from Lucchi; I had prevented him from enjoying that beautiful moment, because I wanted to be the center of attention anyway. Naively, I just wanted to have a bit of fun.

[verdemint]

enjoy this video of vale preparing for the most controversial celebration of that time ... beach day in mugello 1998

[lepetitprince46-blog]

Valentino and his first attempts at the English language

[daidegas]

1998 Mugello,GP250 Valentino Rossi, Marcellino Lucchi more at: http://www.daidegasforum.com/forum/f162-foto-video.html

[bikefuckersoftheworldunite]

Start of the race at Phillip Island, 2004

[bikefuckersoftheworldunite]

Renaissance Man

[article about Mugello 2004 taken from ‘2004 MotoGP Season Review’ by Julian Ryder]

Italian motorsport hadn't seen a day like it since the Ferrari one-two at Monza the month after Enzo Ferrar's death in 1988. An entire nation screamed its approval of Rossis home win

There may have been more dramatic races in the history of the World Championship, it's just that nobody could quite recall when they might have happened. Far, far in the future, ageing race fans will bore their offspring with tales of Mugello 2004, the race that was decided by a six-lap sprint after 17 laps that would, on their own, have qualified as one of the best races ever seen. Add in the fastest crash in the history of GPs and the most intense crowd celebrations since Gardner won the first Australian GP at Phillip island and you have an all-time classic. It is probably no coincidence that it took place on one of the finest tracks (alongside Phillip Island) in the calendar. Who else but Valentino Rossi could have won such a race?

Or should that be races? The opening 17 lap dry non-race was also won by Valentino but only after over 35 changes of the lead. This was the first of two races where the Hondas were supposed to outposer the Yamahas on kilometre-long straights, and indeed Max Biaggi did drive past Rossi on the first flying-lap only to be repassed at the first turn, Then a second yellow bike appeared at the front as Makoto Tamada turned up to demonstrate his splendid ride to fourth here the prevaus year hadn't been a fluke. That was the first time the paddock sat up and took notice of the all-Japanese combination of Tamada and his Bridgestone tyres; this time he made his point by riding round the outside of Blaggi and Rossi on more than one occasion.

Another all-lapanese combination, Nakano's Bridgestone-shod Kawasaki, then supplied some unwanted drama. As he came across the start/finish line within touching distance of 200mph, his rear tyre chunked and spread lumps of rubber and green bodywork all over the track Shinya managed to hang on until the pit-lane exit where he was flipped off, only to tumble for what seemed like forever before coming to test against the concrete wall on the inside of the track As the shocked crawd started baying for a red flag, Nakano had the astonishing presence of mind to wave his arms to indicate he was not just conscious but okay: Well-coordinated action by the marshals cleared the track of debris so the race could continue.

Back in pit lane the Kawasaki team at first thought they'd suffered another engine failure and it took them a couple of laps to ascertain the facts Hofmann, meanwhile. had seen a lot of green debris and slowed of his own accord. As Bridgestone were realising what had happened, Tamada felt a vibration from his rear tyre and pulled to a halt at the end of the front straight, smacking his tank in frustration. The only other Bridgestone user in the race, Kenny Roberts, had already retired. And then came the rain.

Under the regulations that came into force in 2003, those 17 dramatic laps counted only for grid position for what would now be a Grand Prix run over the remaining distance: six laps.

And that's how the men who were still standing after 17 laps found themselves sitting on the grid for a six-lap dash for the points. Almost all of them had slick tyres on theit bikes and they were looking at the fastest stretch of tarmac in the championship with a soaking wet Turn 1 at the end of it.

Rossi, Gibernau and Biaggi made up the front row; They'd finished the first race with just over one-and-a-quarter seconds covering them, but the men with a lot to gain and nothing to lose were lined up behind Baggi. Troy Bayliss had been over 18 seconds behind Rossi but would now start from sixth, while Ruben Xaus had been a further three seconds back and was ninth. No wonder the men on the front row looked nervous.

The charge down to that ominously damp first corner was led by Norick Abe, who was deposed by Barros before the end of the lap, It was obvious that parts.of the track were truly soaking, although a lot of it was dry Crucially, the track temperature was still high enough to keep the slicks working properly and, to everyone's shock and relief, no one fell off. It was also warm enough to dry the track out rapidly. However while it was still properly wet in places, both Bayliss and Xaus got to the front and Shakey Bryne made it into the leading group.

After three laps the track was almost completely dry and normal order was resumed just in time for the chequered flag. in fact the three men whod led the 17-lap affair ended up in exactly the same places after the six lap race. Bayiiss was the chief beneficiary of the restart, ending up a close fourth, his and Ducatis best finish of the season so far, As Capirossi had scored the team's highest grid slot, albeit in eighth, maybe the extended comparisons in qualitying between the 2003 and '04 bikes were starting to bear fruit: Xaus's fearless charge to fifth had echoes of his Superbike days and brought him forcitly to the attention of the established stars, who just knew they'd be seeing him again soon, Despite the finishing order, Rossi and Gibernau were not happy with the first 17 laps counting for nothing and said they'd take the matter of interrupted races up with the Safety Commission. Bayliss, not a man one would ever think could be fazed by anything said he never wanted to be in that situation again; a reference to the conditions rather than the regulations. Blaggi, on the other hand, didn't care. 'But, said an Italian journalist, echoing the top two finishers argument, Bayliss or Xaus could have won!' That's life, deadpanned Max, using a Roman dialect term for extra effect.

It only remained for the crowd, over 125,000 of them, to chant Rossis name in front of the rostrum and then "indulge in community singing for the most rousing rendition of a national anthem youll ever hear Rossi himself was lost for words aftenwards, eventually comparing the emotion of the scenes with an historic Ferrari win on Italian soil.

All three men on the rostrum had something to smile about. Rossi had won on a track everyone thought would host a surefire Honda success and he became the first Yamaha winner at Mugello since Wayne Rainey in 1991. He'd eschewed the special fancy dress he usually dons for his home GP but he did have a special paint job on his crash helmet, in a self-deprecating dig at his fourth places in the previous two races, it was painted to look as if it were made of wood and sported a medal on the front with a big figure 4 on it. In many European countries there is a satirical name for the place after gold, silver and bronze medal positions - and in Italy it is the wooden medal. Sete Gibernau could also be content with his day's work, having lost only narrowly to an Italian at the Italian GP and held on to his championship lead, while Max Blaggi had made it six podiums from seven starts in the premier class at Mugello, despite lacklustre qualifying.

But there was one man at Mugello who was probably happier than any of them: Hasegawa-san, the boss of Yamaha, was making his first visit to a race outside Japan. He was in Rossis pit garage as the crowd invaded the track for the rostrum celebrations. As they sang the anthem, the man whod signed the cheque that paid for Rossi's transfer from Honda to Yamaha leant against the wall and laughed continuously.

[caperedolives]

Mugello 2006 after practice

[valentinorossi-fanpage-blog]

[25points]

Sete Gibernau and a very young Dani Pedrosa, after winning at Le Mans in 2004. Photo by Emilio Perez de Rozas.