Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

I L- _ One suspects he is less than half-seri ou s - poki ng fun at the orthodoxy tha t only ex-dirt-trackers can ride 500s properly. Irreverent fun is his specialty and, afte r all. he only turned 18 in Februa ry. His favorite form of relaxation is to get together with his friends and, on scoot ers, taunt th e traffic police, he relates with a g rin , speaking fair English at breakneck speed, his arms waving wild ly. And he likes a bit of a joke. Hence the name emblazoned across the back of his leathers: "Rossi furni." It started ou t, he sa ys, becau se " I lik ed verv mu ch Norifumi Abe in 1994, and his -racing style. And now also because I like very much the japanese riders in 125. They are very funny , but they a re no t all crazy . I am good friends wit h the Aoki brothers an d , after Su zuka , I stayed w ith them for 10 days. I enjoy racing wi th them very mu ch." He mentio ns Saka ta , Ved a and Toku d orne in particular. but singles out Tomo m i Man aka as the one who is really going fast. He nce also his vi ctory-l ap ant ics, w hic h hav e become more ex uberan t with each fresh w in, leading to a warning earlier in the year, and a fine soo n midseason - there's no tim e for that much fun in the strict TV sched u les. There was th e monkey-climbin g-th e- after fence act in Spa in, the Supe rman cape at Assen (actually reading "Superfumi" ), the jester's cap-and-bells in France, the blow-up ball-and-chain weapon in Germany . And, most pointed of all, the inflatab le do ll at Mugello, d ressed to party, with the n a me "Claudia Schiffer" emblazoned across the back. "Tha t was because of Max Biaggi ," Rossi ex pla ins, "beca use he is saying that he is a friend of Naomi Ca mpbell. So I took Claudia Schiffer." He caug ht up quickly du rin g the sea so n, and developed his wild sty le as he went. "Last yea r I remember I had very mu ch fun, " Ro s si said . "I amused He is voluble on the subject of Max, especia lly since the older rid er gave him a ve rba l wa rni ng in japan , before th e third round of this yea r. (Th is, by the way , was after Valentino had performed a humorous parody of Max on an Italian TV show.) "In japan, I was in a restaurant, and he came up to me, and he said to me, 'Stay quiet, because I am number one.' "I don't know Max. I onl y know him from t he ne w s p ape rs . But when I watched him before, he was never my favorite rider . There are five or six riders who are as fast as Max. But I d on't like the person - or my impression of the perso n. He always says, 'I am the best... the bike is bad.' He is always complaining abo ut the bike. No w still he is d oing it." All of this is music to th e ea rs of Ca rlo Pernat, Aprilia's racing chief and thus Biaggi' s archenemy, wh o is sitting in on the interview to help with translation when Valentino's impe rfect English lets him down. And why should n' t Pem a t enjoy his . you ng p rodi gy? He has plans for him , but their association may not last foreve r. "Last year, Aprilia gave me so me help from the Aus tria n GP," Rossi sa id. "This year, the bike is very good . And I am learni ng how to set it up, wi th the help of the team. Their experience helps me very m uch. "My weight is my o nly problem." (Although skinny as a rake, the 5-foot-7 Rossi has a good 22 poun ds on his tiny japanese rivals.) "Bu t my height is an advantage. I have very long arms, so I can really move the bike around very eas ily." Ind eed , his trademark is to pick and choose d ifferen t lin es from his riva ls w hile a lready traveling fas te r, so h e rid es a ro und th e m as if by special arrangement wit h the pitiless laws of ph ysics. "Nex t ye a r I w ill move to the 250 class with Aprili a," he says. "I know the 125s w ell ; but with th e 250, I will be starting again from ze ro. I have only ridden a 250 once, for a few laps at a test. I thought it was very fast." Is the ultim ate goal500s? "I d on't kn ow. I ne ver e ven think now a bou t 500s . Al so , Aprilia d on't have a 500." ("Yes we do - the V-twin," Pern at remind s him. "Of course, " says Rossi wi th a laugh, "but not one that can win .") Rossi admi ts he is su rprised by h is success rate this year, as well as by how soon he has achieved what can only be d escribed as dominance of the 125cc clas s. "In 1995 I rod e in a Du cad os Ope n 125 ra ce, w ith many G P riders in it Martinez, Oettl , Sakata and some others . When I saw how fas t they w e nt, I tho ug ht then it would be impossible for me to ride like tha t. "The nex t yea r I w ent to the IRTA tests at Jerez befo re the season. I remem- ber Sakata pa ssing me into the first corner. Hegained abo ut one second on me in one comer. I realized that the World Cha m pionsh ip rid ers ha ve a d ifferent style, braking very d eep. I tried to follow Tokudom e - he mad e it through the comer, but I w en t on straight." myself, bu t I also crashed very much . Becau se fifth or 10th place was okay, or to crash was also okay . This year there is much more pres sure. If I co me seventh, I'm not happy." There is ano ther kind of pressure that is taking a toll - th at of his escalati ng fame. His show ma nship and flair have made him hu gel y popular, a nd he is payi ng the pri ce. " It is a bi g probl em fo r m e," he said. "I d on't want to be fam ou s. I just like to ha ve fu n w ith my friends. This yea r I am doin g a lot of wo rk a t home - ph oto sess ions and so on. I'd prefer to be riding to the beach on our scoo ters ." Ro s s i's only serious inju ry so far came in 1994 while messing around on scoote rs. He wa s a pa ssenger on the back, and they we re h it by a dozy ca r d river. "I had three fractures in my left leg:' he said . "Now 1 still have big problems with that leg." Out on the track, however, he seems almost invi ncible. Apart from a closinglaps tumb le in japan, a nd being edged at the line by Veda in Austria, he has won every ot her of the first nine races , as often as no t in runaway s tyle. He's even won whe n he d idn 't think he should have - a particularl y memorable defeat of Man ako at Assen. Na tu ral justice means he will su rely be champion this yea r, u nless accident or injury intervenes . And then wha t? He gives an other infectious laugh. "If I continue to improve as fast as I have done over the last two. years, then I will be perfect." '"

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