P106
CN
III IN THE PADDOCK
BY MICHAEL SCOTT
T
he trouble with writing
about Valentino Rossi is
that you never know quite
what he'll do next. The Doctor
is massively talented, ruthlessly
charming, reliably race-fast, and
infused with a competitive spirit
beyond the understanding even
of some of his on-track rivals, let
alone what you and I might call
"normal people."
Quite apart from being one
of the very greatest racers of
all time, Surtees, Hailwood,
Agostini and Roberts (and, yes,
Marquez) all rolled into one;
quite apart from being a one-
man promotional genius, the key
figure in making MotoGP popu-
lar worldwide; quite apart from
having become The Godfather,
ranch-master and team owner of
a revival in Italian racing—quite
apart from all these accomplish-
ments, he is also apparently
unstoppable.
Or is he? Rumors that started
to scuttle around the steamy
Sepang paddock were not hard
to believe. Approaching the end
of his worst-ever season (dis-
counting the disastrous 2011/'12
on the sub-standard Ducati),
the first without a win since his
rookie year of 1996, and turning
40 next February, Rossi must be
WILL THE DOCTOR RUN OUT
OF PATIENCE?
If Yamaha can't
deliver a bike
to keep Rossi
happy, will the
MotoGP legend
sign off early?
