The Press is in overdrive over the Valentino Rossi accident. Cripes, the poor boy crashes and hurts himself for the first time since anyone can remember, misses his first race meeting in 230 outings (since the start of the 1996 season, to be precise) and suddenly everyone’s saying that he won’t be back this season and that he’ll announce his retirement at season’s end. 🙂
The Italian Press, only marginally less foaming-at-the-mouth than the Spanish Press and probably MORE so when Rossi is concerned, is already asking what will MotoGp be like without Rossi. Dire predictions of drastically reduced crowds at Mugello last night were completely off-base with the die-hards flocking to the track even though Rossi would be a no-show. And Andrea Ianonne certainly gave them something to cheer about with his domination of the Moto2 race.
Rossi is, of course, a thorough-going professional and the very idea that he would let one accident (albeit a nasty one) curtail his career is preposterous. After all most every other rider on the grid has had a whole heap of accidents, some of them as bad as Rossi’s and have come back to racing and kept on as if (almost) nothing had happened. The name Michael Doohan does spring to mind. So, make no mistake, Rossi will NOT retire because of this accident.
However, the speculations is valid in the wider sense. Rossi is, after all, 31 years old, and, despite the fact that some of his fellow riders are older than that (Capirex is 37, I think), fact is that few, if any of them, have ridden as long as he has and with the intensity that he has brought to his racing effort. If anyone was entitled to feel burnt-out, it is VR. But eveything seems to suggest that the opposite is the case. While others (notably Colin Edwards) seem to be wilting under the pressure, Rossi positively thrives on it, his racing and his attitude as fresh and invigorated as what it has ever been. Yes, he HAS been a little subdued this season, a combination of his MX-induced shoulder injury and the very real prospect that his team-mate is now ready to take over his mantle, but, mark my words, Rossi at his WORST is still better than the majority of the other riders put together.
Nevertheless, thought must BE given to what will happen to MotoGp once Rossi does decide to retire. Because the fact is that, MotoGp IS Valentino Rossi. Without him, the product is vastly cheapened. Rossi has, in fact, become bigger than the game he plays and DORNA must be packing it wondering how their income will be affected once there is no #46 on the grid. Should Rossi’s recuperation be for the 4-5 months that some doctors are predicting, they will get a perfect opportunity to assess that in a real-world situation for the rest of this year.
Most agree that Rossi will see out his days at Yamaha. I think that’s a given. You can forget the Italian Press’s constant rumour-mongering about a shift to Ducati as wishful thinking at its grandest. His contract is up for renewal at season’s end, and, given that he almost certainly will see his team-mate lift his title, the end of the season would be a logical time for him to call it quits. He has paid his dues like nobody before and no-one would begrudge him if he took the money and ran.
My 10 cent’s worth? Rossi will renew his contract with Yamaha for at least another year and will race on for as long as the lira keeps flowing and the fun factor appeals. How long that will actually be? Anyone’s guess. Like eveything else that pertains to Rossi throughout his steallar career, expect the unexpected.
PS: It’s also worth thinking about in this situation. Who will REPLACE Rossi? Is there another superstar waiting in the wings that can assume his mantle when he goes? My feeling is that we will have a lull because no name springs to mind that can generate the excitement and have the charismatic impact that Rossi has had.
