I know this is not TT & most of you know that my interest these days is in the history of the sport, but I still go to the TT every year & attend some GP's, the British scene having lost it;s appeal since the demise of the pure racing classes & the introduction of the production bikes.Having seen the qualifying times for the Motogp with Valentino on pole are we about to wittness the emergence of someone very special?
someone who will be there at the top with all the other great names of the past, I certainly think so.

Agreed. This guy is something special as even Neil Hodgson,suggests in the Sun newspaper today,bearing in mind he is still only 24 years old.

I think 'someone special' may be an understatement Elwyn. He has to be the most amazing rider and to see him on pole is no surprise to me. What an exciting Moto GP season we have to look forward to.

He is a very intelligent rider, as well as looking spectacular (on and off the bike), and a nice approachable guy too. He's a once in a lifetime sportsperson. Pity "sports" reporting is all about football.

All motor sport is falling into a pattern...F1 has Schumacher...unbeatable....... and now we have Rossi who will win all through the season and make this two-wheeeled equivalent to F1, a one-horse race.

Even so Rossi is THE BEST in motorcycle racing as is Schumacher in F1...But does this make motorsport any more INTERESTING ???

In olden days there was no system of pole positioning--I can remember drawing a "Lolly stick" out of a pot just before starting a race and that was your grid position for that race..

We had to OVERTAKE to win, not steam out in front and depend on Larry your pitman to fill your petrol tank quicker that Jackie, your rivals pitman..

Surely, if these guys are so brilliant they could face going through back-markers to win the race with credibility ?

WHATUSAY ??????

Same with the TT...Geoff Duke started at numbers 57 and 79 in his day and STILL won.........There was no seeding of riders..Or am I being "oldaysish" ??

Would love your comments folks,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Old Fool I may be but the racing seemed to be more exciting ........

Yes Ian, being a person from the "Olden Days" I'm inclined to agree with a lot of what you say. Racing was far more interesting for the spectators when the fastest had to move through the pack. This was especially so with speedway car racing in Oz. We do have one meeting (I think) with the touring cars where one race is a reverse grid but I don't think the competitors are too keen. The bottom line is you must look after the paying public and as much as the riders don't like it we are bringing back some handicap races at our motorcycle speedway.

Since it is not possible to have a straight line start, as in Motocross or Speedway, I personally would like to see how the top guys would perform if they they had to "draw" for their grid positions.
We are all proud here of our Saudi Boss who has just run in the London Marathon. He is 64 years old and had a race number of 33 thousand some thing. He believes he could have cracked the 4 hour barrier but his starting position meant it was several minutes before he could even start to move forward, let alone, start running.
He needed a pit stop on the way round but the queue was over 10 minutes long, just to take a pee! He finished within the first third and was running for the Great Ormond Street Hospital.

While I agree with a lot of what you say, what impressed me so much was,in Valentinos' case, first time out on what in past seasons has been a loser, and on his very first ride, he won, convincingly and with hard, exciting riding..I think he did emulate the past heroes. While he may dominate, he has shown that it is not a case of best bike, easy ride...let's try Shu in a Sauber (might still do it!)
In Frankie's case, hey guys...he DID come up throught the field, breaking records lap by lap, passing riders, coping with backmarkers, and he's old enough to be Dad to half the riders. And on a partly last year's bike.
He's a hero.

I think Micheal Schumacher and Valentino Rossi are both equally as brilliant in their respective sports, after all Schumacher did win the World Championship in 1994 with Benetton Ford at just 24 years old, which in Car racing is VERY young, and then 4 times on the trot with Ferrari from 2000-2003.

You are right, Russ, and I'll bet there were "oldies" in the 60s who said that young upstart Hailwood would never be half the man Stanley was, and by the way, its so boring when he keeps winning!
I am equally sure Hailwood would (and I am sure Ago does) say "That young man is a star".
Furthermore, unlike some recent world champions I will not deign to name, he is a nice guy, who speaks to everyone, and speaks ill of none. Even his arch rival, the feisty Biaggi could not praise him enough on Sunday. Avanti, Valentino, Il Dottore!

While my daughter insists she has to have VR all to herself, Stella and I are prepared to share Frankie. I am sure he would cope very well with both of us, and with our good friend Diana, who deserves him far more than we do !!
Sexism rules on ttwebsite!

Can I make four!!!! Please......

As regards this "sharing" due we get to choose what bits ??.....................
;0)