Ridefast Sept 21

At that stage, many people were watching the
125cc race just to see Rossi, and then falling
asleep for the 250 and especially the 500 race
that mostly saw Mick Doohan disappearing
into the distance followed by a drawn-out
string of stragglers not keeping up, followed
then by a boring interview with the winner.
The 125cc class was the business because of
Rossi - until 1998, when he moved to the 250
class, then everyone started watching 250s.
In his first year, Rossi either finished on the
podium or crashed. He took five wins in his
debut year but also had five DNFs. Despite
the inconsistency, he finished runner-up, just
23 points behind eventual champion Loris
Capirossi.
The 1999 season saw the Italian come back
strong, scoring just one DNF and claiming
eight wins - and the title.
Throughout his 250 career, Rossi continued
his flamboyant way, hosting post-race
celebrations, including the famous portable
toilet skit where he parked his bike against the
tyre wall and popped into the marshal’s Portaloo,
leathers and all.
2000 saw him jump up to the 500cc big boy
class, with his first race in Welkom, right here
in SA. After much anticipation, Rossi caught
some Free State superbug and was sick and
sniffly the entire weekend. He did his best
during the race but eventually fell off while
running mid-pack.
Rossi and his new crew chief, the famed
Jeremy Burgess, said they were using the
first year as a testbed, preparing for year two
when they would have a proper go at the title.
Except that, in his debut 500 year, he scored
ten podiums and two wins, earning himself a
second in the championship.
His second year in the 500 class dominated,
scoring 11 wins, 13 podiums and an easy
championship.
The following year was the debut of the
newfangled MotoGP four-stroke class where
Rossi rode the mighty Honda RC211V V-five
and again dominated, winning 11 races and
finishing on the podium in every race apart
from the Czech Republic where he crashed.
The 2003 season saw similar domination
– it would appear that the pair of Rossi
and the Honda were unbeatable. No other
manufacturer could get even close.
And then… for 2004, Rossi moved to Yamaha.
“What?”
Said everyone in the world.
There was much speculation about how Rossi
would do on a machine that clearly was not as
strong as the Honda. Some people believed
he could win the title in his second year on the
Yamaha. More optimistic people thought Rossi
could take a few wins in his first year. Nobody
expected him to win the title the first time
around. Even fewer people believed he could
win his first race.