Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128208
Is Rossi as Good as his Stats? By DENNIS NOYES PHOTOS By GOLD [, GOOSE T Rider (age) Biaggi (31) here hasn't been a rider as popular in Grand Prix circles since the late and much missed Barry Sheene won back-to-back 500cc titles in 1976 and 1977. If sheer charisma, whatever that is, is a true measure of a champion's stature, then Valentino Rossi is a giant. But how good is he, really? Is he as good as his stats? Sports and stats have always gone hand in hand for Americans. As a kid back in Illinois, I spent many evenings making creative use of statistics to try to build the always shaky case for the imminent success of the Chicago Cubs. But as a motorcycle journalist living in Spain, I discovered that Europeans don't track stats much and that other than counting wins and titles, motorcycle racing organizers don't either. Over recent years, I've worked with Britain's Dr. Martin Raines to develop a basic database that today provides enough information to produce a satisfying stat line. With these stats in hand it is possible to make some observations about riders that would otherwise be mere opinion. After this year's spring testing, for example, an Alex Barros fan might suggest that, now that he's on a full factory Gauloises Yamaha, he is a very likely champion. A fan of Tohru Ukawa, now riding a full factory RC211 V Honda for the Camel Honda Pons team, might argue Class MotoGP 500+ Stats 250+ Stats Total Barros (32) MotoGP 500+ Stats 250+ Stats 80+ Stats Total Ukawa (29) MotoGP 500+ Stats 250+ Stats Total Capirossi (29) MotoGP 500+ Stats 250+ Stats 125+ Stats Total Starts 16 62 87 165 16 163 14 17 210 15 16 77 108 14 59 84 27 184 Wins 2 8 29 39 2 4 0 0 6 1 0 4 5 0 2 12 8 22 Poles 4 15 33 52 1 3 0 0 4 0 1 2 3 0 5 23 5 33 Fast laps 1 8 28 37 2 8 0 0 10 2 1 2 5 0 2 18 4 24 Podiums 8 28 53 89 6 18 0 0 24 9 1 29 39 2 16 37 20 75 Compare the above results with Rossi's impressive lifetime GP slats. Rider (age) Rossi (24) Class MotoGP 500+ Stats 250+ Stats 125+ Stats Total Starts 16 32 30 30 108 Wins 11 13 14 12 50 Poles 7 4 5 5 21 Fast laps 9 15 II 9 44 Podiums 15 23 21 15 74 that now that he's finally out of the long shadow of Rossi, Ukawa can be expected to emerge as a strong contender for the crown. Likewise, a Max Biaggi fan might suggest that Biaggi, back on a Honda again, even if not on a full works machine, will now be the man to beat Rossi. Using Dr. Raines' stat lines, we quickly see that career performance establishes Rossi and Biaggi as habitual winners and front runners, while Barros, a late bloomer whose best season came at the age of 31, and Ukawa, frequently on the podium but rarely on top of the box, have lagged well behind the two Italians in the art of winning motorcycle races. A Loris Capirossi fan, inspired by his quick times at the Catalunya tests, might fail to notice that, although a champion in the 125cc class (twice) and on a 250, little Loris has won only twice in 73 starts at the 500 and MotoGP level. Here are basic stat lines for the five riders mentioned, showing GP starts in 250 and in 500cc/MotoGP, wins, pole positions, fastest laps and podiums. 56 APRIL 9, 2003ยท cue len e _ s A very wise old engine designer once told me, "RPM without relation to stroke is a meaningless statistic. n In the same way, wins without relation to starts is also rather meaningless as a comparison among riders. Using the basic information above and given the fact that Rossi and Ukawa have both spent their entire GP careers on works machines, it is significant that Rossi has scored 50 wins from 108 starts (46.3%) while the same number of starts has yielded only five wins (4.6%) for Ukawa. Looking at Capirossi's line, it is seen that while Loris has won 22 of 184 starts (11.9%),20 of those wins have come from a combined 111 starts in the 125 and 250cc classes (18%), while at the top level he has scored only two wins from 73 starts (2.7%), and always on factory bikes. Since stats refer only to past performance, however, it is possible to argue that Capirossi on the Ducati Desmosedici will suddenly become dominant.