While you are reading the May issue, this was written at the end of March, a magical time. It is the beginning of so many things – the turning of the seasons, with warm weather, sunny days and the blooming of flowers and trees. Motorcycles begin to fill the byways and trails, spring training is taking place with the return of baseball and weekends, when not out riding, are spent watching motorcycle racing.
I have been watching baseball for quite some time. I think I probably got into it because of my brother Jan. He was, in general, a game player. Not necessarily an athlete, but a lover of games, statistics and such. He took part in fantasy leagues, kept a score card when at baseball games and followed the numbers and brackets in basketball. As a matter of fact, I have a box, a LARGE box, of his APBA Major League Baseball cards (anyone interested, drop me an email).
For those not ball and stick folks, baseball has different levels and leagues and when a player is moved into the major league, it is called ‘The Show’ or, more specifically, ‘Welcome to the Show.’ Players can be in AAA, AA or A leagues for many years before being called to The Show and many players never even see it. Just because you make it to The Show, doesn’t mean you’ll stay there either.
The same progression applies to motorcycle racing. Let’s take a look at Valentino Rossi, considered to be one of the greatest racers of all time. Born in 1979, Valentino (also known as The Doctor) began his racing days in karting and minimoto. In 1996 he made his grand prix debut in the 125cc class and won the title in 1997. He moved to the 250cc class the next year and by 1999 had achieved the title in that class. In 2000 he was given a seat with Honda in the 500cc class, the highest at that time. It took him nine races, but he finally achieved his first win, racing against Kenny Roberts Jr., who ultimately won the title that year. Racing against his main rival, Max Biaggi, Rossi took home the championship in 2001. 2002 and forward, the two-stroke 500cc class morphed in the 900cc four-stroke MotoGP class. The Doctor joined Yamaha in 2004 and dominated, taking home the title trophy in 2004, 2005, 2008 and 2009. In all, Valentino Rossi has nine Grand Prix titles, has 89 race victories (the most of any other racer in history), has been on the top step of the GP podium 115 times, with a total top podium, across all classes, of 235.
We had the pleasure of seeing The Doctor race a few times, most memorably was 2006 and 2021. In 2006 we were at the Valencia Grand Prix, the final race of the season. Going into this race, Rossi was just 8 points ahead of Nicky Hayden, the Kentucky Kid. Rossi needed a second or better to take home another title. With camera trained on both Rossi and Hayden as they came around, Brian put it down to ‘just watch the race’ when, right in front of us, Rossi lost the front wheel and slid out of contention. While he did get back into the race, he only finished 13th and 5 points behind Nicky Hayden, the last American to win a MotoGP title.
MotoGP came to the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, in 2013. It took us a bit, but we did get there in 2021 and have been back since. Luckily, we were there to see Valentino’s last race on American soil. While it was far from a memorable one for The Doctor, it was one that would stay in fan’s minds as seeing the G.O.A.T of motorcycle road racing take his last lap in the U.S.A. (his last race would be in Valencia) before retiring.
As in any sport, younger, hungrier racers come in to take the place of the experienced racers. Working their way from minimoto up, some make the climb in record time. One rider to watch in the 2024 MotoGP season is Pedro Acosta. Taking the PreMoto3 title in 2017, at the age of 13, he sliced his way through the classes, winning race after race. When he took the Moto3 title at the age of 17 ½, he became the second youngest Grand Prix Champion in history and the first rookie since 1990. In his second season of Moto2, he took that title and this year, as a rookie in MotoGP, sees him taking no prisoners as he races against the likes of Marc Marquez and Pecco Bagnaia, both multi-title holders. He took his first podium at the second race of the season in Portugal at the age of 19.
Pedro, Welcome to The Show.