P110
CN
III IN THE PADDOCK
BY MICHAEL SCOTT
W
hat are you going to do
on your 40th birthday?
Or, given motorcy-
cling's ever-ageing demograph-
ic, what did you do?
A bit of gentle skydiving/
white-water rafting, perhaps?
Set off on a mammoth touring
holiday? Polish your paintwork?
Or down the pub with a few
mates to get bladdered, to
acknowledge the passing of an
unwelcome landmark?
I can't even remember my
own, but I can take an educated
guess at what Valentino Rossi
did on Saturday, February 16: a
hefty session in the gym, maybe a
run, then a bunch of interminable
laps at his Tavullia training ranch,
keeping a gang of fast and hungry
kids respectful, by beating them.
Under the guise of training them.
Okay. Maybe he took a day off.
But the day after.
I know Rossi fans can be a
touch over-eager to find offense
in anything I say about the great
man (which is in itself a tempta-
tion), but it really is impossible
Valentino Rossi will
start the 2019 MotoGP
Championship having
just celebrated his 40th
birthday. Does he still
have wins left in him?
If so, how many more?
PHOTO: GOLD & GOOSE
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
TO HIM
