Still crazy after all these years.. With Phil Hall.
The very public dust-up between singer/songwriter, Paul Simon and his wife in New York recently highlighted to me again just how public the private lives of people has become these days. Even if you are not a follower, obsessed with the lifestyles of the rich and obnoxious, you cannot help but be exposed to the most intimate details of their lives.
And it got me thinking about the personalities and proclivities of grand prix riders. A quick “head check” of this subject was quite revealing. Despite seemingly living their lives in a goldfish bowl, the amount that we actually know about the non-racing personas of our favourites is quite small in most cases. This seems to indicate one of two scenarios to me. One is that the riders have enough money to ensure that they can live their lives away from the track in relative peace and quiet, or the other is that their lives aren’t interesting enough to attract the interest of the average paparazzo.
Perhaps there is an element of truth in both of those, or, perhaps there is a third possibility. Perhaps the average motorcycle racing fan is more concerned with substance than style? Perhaps he/she has enough decency still left to allow the heroes to have their privacy in return for the enjoyment that they offer in the public part of their lives? I like to think that there is merit to this suggestion because it illustrates something about character that is encouraging to see.
But what DO we know about our racing heroes? Well, it goes without saying that, the more famous they are the more people want to know about them, I guess.
Of all of them, no rider demonstrates our constant need for news more than Valentino Rossi. I’ll get back to him shortly. But take him out of the equation, how many column inches do the rest of the riders command? Actually, surprisingly little.
Vale’s team-mate, Jorge Lorenzo is no media darling. Dour, intense and focussed, he has been seen to smile often (though not as much this year – I’ll get back to THAT later as well), Jorge has a fanatical following, though probably generated more by others than by himself and his media machine. Back in the day, Jorge was quite the “bad boy”. He was cautioned and then suspended by the authorities for some appallingly un-sportsmanlike riding during his Fortuna 250cc days and his introduction to MotoGP generated more bad publicity than good as he flung the M1 at the scenery regularly during his first season. Some would take the view that any publicity is good publicity and that the fact that we still remember that, though it was 6 years ago, shows that it was. Jorge’s “Lorenzo Land” stunts during his dominant years were well thought-out but garnered less than thrilling reviews. Most seemed to think that they were a pale imitation of Rossi’s witty post-race activities and that painting a clown face on a person whose personality didn’t really back it up was a bit silly.
In the other garage, we have the other Spaniard who has always been in the media background. Despite riding for the best team with arguably the best bike, Dani Pedrosa seems to attract even less media attention than his compatriot. Shy, retiring, seldom smiling, someone has suggested a little unkindly that he is so colourless that, when the story of his life is written, he won’t be in it. Ask the average punter to summarise and they will probably say, fast but boring. Ask for a highlight and the answer will probably be his banzaii pass on Hayden at Estoril in 2006. Press for more details and the answers will come less easily. Constant runner-up, unlikely to win a World Championship, unbeatable on his day. Hardly the media darling, either, then.
What about some of the other riders? What about the Americans, for example. Surely coming from the USA where the public fixation on information and celebrity is deeply ingrained we should have more joy here. Colin Edwards. Good development rider (though he hasn’t been able to take any of the bikes he has developed to a win despite an eternity in the top class), always ready with a pithy comment; witty and stubbornly articulate (thank goodness someone bucks the PR machine) and all-round nice guy (what is it that they say about nice guys?) Likewise Nicky Hayden, despite spending 8 years in the class, most of it on top machinery, has only won 3 races (two of those in his championship year, 2006). Ask for a highlight and the average punter will again point to Estoril 2006, his “cry-baby” post-race performance after winning the title in 2006 and his terrifying coming together with Colin Edwards in the last corner at Assen, way back when.
We know Randy de Puniet a little better, mostly because of his Playboy sponsorship from a few years ago and also because he has an Australian wife, model and all-round media personality, Lauren Vickers.
I could continue, but the point is, I think, made. If an aspiring journalist was looking for the inside scoop in MotoGP he or she would have to either be VERY well connected, dig VERY, VERY deep or, like many seem to do, would have to troll the press releases for tit-bits or, worse still, make up stories that have just enough elements of truth to be seen to be believable. Grand Prix riders DO value their privacy and do whatever they can to protect it.
BUT, it leaves the sport (or, more pertinently, the INDUSTRY) in a spot. Needing an audience to whom it can deliver its product, if the product itself is sanitised and protected to the point where there is little of interest to report, what is to stop the fans from losing enthusiasm for it and drifting off to follow some other pursuit which is more exciting?
Some would say, perhaps fairly, that I am being unkind. The fact is that motorcycle road racing is the very BEST product that a company can have. It is fast, noisy, dangerous, glamorous, has world-wide appeal and is packaged perfectly so that millions can be made from delivering it to the public. So, amidst the dour and unsmiling superstars of the current era, where is the promotable, outrageous star that can be the poster boy for the sport?
Here I return to my theme (some may say, “About time, too.”) The saving grace of MotoGP racing has, for the last 15 years or so, been the outstanding talent and promotability of Valentino Rossi. While other talents have come and gone (Casey Stoner, for example), Rossi has remained the constant. Since first he burst on the scene in 125, his boyish charm, his humour, his glamour, his accessibility and his talent have made him an indispensable part of the PR machine that is MotoGP. Rossi has endeared himself to millions, attracted a cult following that borders on religious and, when he speaks (or even when he DOESN’T) the media hangs on his every word.
Rossi’s post-race celebratory stunts were epic (inflatable dolls on his back on the slow-down lap; fans dressed in medical uniforms, the innovation was amazing.) Sometimes I think that people wanted Rossi to win so badly, not just because they wanted another victory but so they could see what crazy things he would do after the race. Rossi’s self-deprecating humor as illustrated in his famous “donkey” helmet design filled many column inches. His press conferences were often a rolling comedy show, using his undoubted superstar position as an excuse to NOT toe the party line and just say what the PR people wanted him to say. The intensity of his performance on-track and the psychological mind games that he used against his opponents are now part of MotoGP folk lore and the media adulation that has followed him since way back then is also. He has given the PR machine more than enough material without them having to make up stuff (though, of course, some have anyway).
That is not to say that there haven’t been some clouds to darken the otherwise sunny skies. Rossi has remained largely injury-free with the exception of his horrific leg fracture a few years back. Given that he has been at the “pointy end” for the majority of his career, this is nothing short of miraculous. His big accident was a BIG one, though. His move to Ducati was an unqualified disaster on every level and he has since struggled to regain both his confidence and his winning ways since returning to Yamaha. The death of his good friend and countryman, Marco Simoncelli, was a huge blow and there are some that say that his injury and that death did a great deal to take the edge off his previously bulletproof persona both on-track and off.
2014 has seen a re-invigorated Rossi. With the odd decision by Yamaha to build the development of the current M1 more around Rossi’s riding style than Lorenzo’s, Rossi has started to finish races in higher than 4th or 5th as has been his wont in the last few seasons. And, with his return to form that somewhat resembles the Rossi of old, the impish humour and sparkle has returned as well. Though his face still shows the ravages of the last few years of struggle (and, to be fair, the advancing years as well) the intellect is still sharp and the wit is starting to show through again.
You can do anything you like with Photoshop if you’re good enough, so I have no idea about the provenance of the picture doing the rounds on the internet at the moment, but it doesn’t really matter. Even without the clever captioning, the picture does back up what I have been saying about Rossi being in a much better “place” than what he has been for some time. The joking and good humour seems to have returned and we are all the better for it. Yes, he may be in his late 30’s (ancient by racing standards!) but VR46 IS still crazy after all these years.
