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/128355
Rider of the Year Va lentino Rossi . .iiiIi. . . "It's not going to be easy to beat hat guy." Nicky Hayden I th ink the championship... he's just consistent. It's not rocket science. He wins on his good days and gets second, th ird when he 's not having a good day. - Nicky Hayden Colin Edwards I'll tell you how he won the cham pionship - Honda was his biggest ally. Honda really helped him o ut, but they do n't know it. But at the end of last year, Honda said to Michelin, had a mee ting, "We have to have a tire with more side grip" - so they built it. And it didn't wo rk on the Ho nda; it chattered , everything chattered . T hey got it sorted out early and they fixed the bike for it ea rly, and Hon da forgot to change the chassis. They were a big help in getting where he 's at and nobod y will adm it that, but that's the hones t trut h. Kenny Roberts Sr. When [Mick] Doohan was with Honda and them guys, we put together a team that could beat Honda. But Honda , the way they're going, they don't have a team that can beat Vale ntino in my opinion . "You're never quite sure whether he's playing or he's serious, but then, all of a sudden, he's usually the one that gets to the line first, which is what it's all about. " - Garry Taylor Kenny Roberts Sr. I just think we're in a period in Moto GP where Nicky's [Hayden] too young yet and probably doesn't have the right people surrounding him to get that job done - to take it to him. There hasn't been anybody that has actually take n it to Valentino and said, "We think this, this and this and these are the areas we're going to wo rk on to beat him." T here isn't, fro m what I see, there isn't a team that's able to do that. Nicky Hayden It's not going to be easy to bea t that guy. We got our work cut out for us. I can't rea lly say one thing, but I think you 've just got to get to his head . Start making him lose some of that confidence and be lief and swagger and 32 JANUARY 5 , 2005 • CYCLE NEWS everything he's got right now - that he just believes can beat anybody, any day, and he's bee n doing it. I th ink maybe somebody's going to have to get in his head . Garry Taylor He's not infallible. He does make mistakes. He's not been pressured much - because he's that good and that much in front, he 's not been pressured. Kenny [Roberts Jr.] showed when he was beating him in the cham pionship year, and I think tha t Sete 's [Gibernau] shown that he's beaten him. Ifsomeone's going to make a habit out of it, the n they 've got to have the machine and the package ready to pressure him. I don 't really hold out a huge hope for that be ing effective very often . Freddie Spencer What it's going to take, and obviousl y Sete [Gibe rnau] did a co uple of times, but it's going to take tha t effort level each and every race, and it's going to take somebody tha t has that abil ity that when it's not right, to be ab le to run the same pace . And that's ultimately what it is. IfValentino can maintain the pace and raise it just a little bit when he needs to when things aren 't perfect... tha t is very rare, a very rare ability And to recover - at . this point, we hope Nicky [Hayde n] can do it, talking from a Honda side... Sete [Gibern au], Max [Biaggi]. But at this point, nobody's bee n able to do that. Garry Taylor It's always te mpting to say the person that 's there at t he time is the best eve r, but I don' t t hink you can ever make those compariso ns. You look at Barry Sheene, he was riding a Suzuki with I 10 horsepower on it with two choices of tires. Now we're up over 200 ho rse power. Everything 's changed on the bike . He 's [Rossi] ce rtainly the best now. I don 't think anybody would argue about th at. I th ink the discussions of who 's the best rider, it's interesting bar talk, a nice way to spend a boo zy evening. Pro bably we haven 't seen his full potential. You' re never quite sure whether he 's playing or he 's serious , but then , all of a sudden, he 's usually the one that gets to the line first , wh ich is what it' s all about. He 's pretty unique . eN