Ducati Monster Forum

about a racer that makes you like or dislike them?

With all this talk about Rossi being cocky, and the awesomeness of the Ben I'm curious.

I'll start.

Rossi is my favorite because he seems to always be having fun, or makes me feel that regardless of the result.

Mladin is my least favorite because he makes racing seem like a mundane business transaction.

I just switch around depending on who has the hottest umbrella girls that week.  [moto]


Boobies  ;D

Stoner=whiney be-artch, also he is irritated by all that pesky fan business, you know the people who pay his salary.

Ben=He's growing on me, but I used to think he was arrogant and stuck up.

Colin=I like, but sometimes I wish he'd keep his mouth shut... the sport already has Mladin! ;D

Fabrizio=I like'cos he brings some colour to the field and he seems genuine. Haga the same reason.

fwiw, ben is shy.. that often comes across as arrogant.

i like rossi because he is such a clown. an extremely capable racer, and a clown

I think I hold grudges, since watching sports is more fun when there's a villain.  I started disliking Tony Elias after he took out Rossi in the first race of 2006.  Now, every time he makes a close pass, I think he's an out-of-control maniac (which probably isn't fair, but it's fun to yell at the TV).

Sofuoglu because my WSS villain when he tried to hit Hayes on the front straight in Portugal.  I don't have a WSBK villain at the moment, but Fabrizio has been auditioning for the part.

It's also hard to talk when you're dragging half a million mouths on your penis.

I like Haga the best right now. I love the way he fights.

Tied up there is Lorenzo, his win or crash attitude is admirable. He reminds me of a young Haga. He is also admits his mistakes, and seldom pregnant doges about his team or machine.

I secretly like Spies, but I won't permit myself to admit it until after next season. I root for Haga and guiltily root for Spies as well. I love his humility and bluntness. I don't find him arrogant at all, not like Rossi at least.

I don't actually dislike any racer, but I tend to support the guys that are out there having fun. I like Ben Bostrom and Rossi for that reason. The only thing that really puts me off is when a racer does something unbelievably stupid (Pedrosa on Hayden for example) or comes across like they deserve to win through something other than hard work and team dedication.

what's ironic is that jorge has attracted so many new fans.. to his very deliberate credit.  that guy gave 'cocky blowhard' new meaning in his 250 years.  he was a world class punk.

understatement.

I think he still is.

With no first hand experience, it's difficult to form an objective opinion.  Basing it on what I see/read on TV/YouTube/Mags.....

 [thumbsup] Rossi -- He's unshakeably confident in his ability, and his record speaks for itself.  He's aggressive but doesn't appear to intentionally ride dangerously - seems that he's quite aware that he, too, could be badly hurt if he rides too stupidly.  Charming and glib, he's come across professionally in all the interviews I've seen.  Doesn't talk trash more than is necessary.

[coffee] Spies -- Also supremely confident with the record to back it up.  However, I think he has shown that he can be (a bit too) aggressive, bordering on unsafe, at times.  As he gets older I would think he'll reign that in.  Needs to get away from his mom.

:P Stoner -- Too much, too soon, and not emotionally or socially prepared or equipped to properly handle the past success or the recent failure.  Gollum-in-training.  Might benefit from a few years in the Marine Corps.

[thumbsup] Hayden -- A real trooper, very talented rider, and team player who maximized his opportunities to win the championship a few years ago.  Seems to have the respect of his fellow riders.  Maturely dealt with all the drama at Honda and Ducati....needs to take a "killer instinct" refresher course from Rossi.

[coffee] Pedrosa -- Quick starter, slow finisher.  If they hung 30 pounds/14 kilos of lead on his bike to get the total weight up near everyone else's, he'd be finishing behind Hayden every race.  Might have been (mentally and linguistically) handicapped into some bad attitude and flawed decision-making from all the stroking he received coming up to the big bikes.  Seems to have figured out that he's no longer the big fish in the (little) pond...there's hope for him as a human being.  Improving his English (or whatever is the lingua franca amongst the riders) should help him fit in much better.

:o Lorenzo -- still seems dazed from the whipping Rossi's been putting on him.  May be suffering from the same XXXXL-helmet disease that Stoner contracted.  His rumored demands from Ducati/Yamaha suggest he's little more than a modern grab-all-I-can celebrity, which won't be good when he's coming back down the ladder.  Of all the top riders, he's the likeliest to hurt someone on the track.  Also would benefit from a stint in the Corps.

[thumbsup] Loris, Melandri, Colin, Haga, Dennis Hopper, and Peter Fonda  ;D

OK, WTF does that mean??

Besides, Rossi is a God living amongst us. All the others pale in comparison. End of story.

Haga is one of the most respectable guys on any grid, thats why I admire him, his style, and his demeanor on/off the track.

I am not sold on Ben b/c I don't want him to be "that good".  This will all change when he hits GP....I'll start pulling hard.

I hated Rossi when I first started watching GP in '07, but he consistently amazed me, then won my admiration.  He truly is the best rider we may ever see!

I think Stoner is wickedly good, but if any of this recent nonsense turns out to be anything other than a life threatening illness, I won't be able to trust him again.

Put 'em on a Duc and I'll give them the benefit of a doubt 8)

To some people, every thing he does is perfect. He can do no wrong. Yes, he is an amazing rider. Yes, he has the potential to be the best ever. But he is not there yet. And I find it hilarious when people sycophantically turn every thing he does into a display his greatness. 

One of my favorites is Alvaro Bautista because he tends to be a slow starter but always fights his way to the front. Also, he always seems to be having a good time and is in high spirits during podium interviews.

I am also a big fan of Loris Capirossi because he is just plain likeable. He tries his ass off and when he's interviewed he is always appreciative.

Racers like Pedrosa and Kimi Riekonen turn me off because they never seem like they are enjoying themselves.

Troy Bayliss FTW. All round nice guy and someone I could have a beer with. (if only  :'()

+1 on Loris.

Barry Sheene as well. RIP.  :'(

LOL, You'd better start keeping to the shadows. You have a mark on you.

huge +1 here on him!

I think my personal problem with Dani is because of how he is poised and pawned by Puig...but it is also the frightening Eddie Munster nervous smile that he has that really kinda bugs me too....his race craft seems...well...not well thought out when it comes to seriously dicing on someone and he has made some passes that made me rather cringe that he was going to take someone out( nothing as far as a specific incident comes to mind immediately)...

I like it when the racers are seemingly enjoying what they are doing and express themselves earnestly...like Colin did after the Donnington race for example...that seems to be a trait  that has been weeded out by the necessity to be a perfect poster boy...the personality seems to get left behind when they have to express thanks to everyone and mention all of their sponsors for to get the dollars out of those contracts ( I somewhat think that is part of the reason that WSBK now has that desk for resting helmets for post race interviews so that those sponsors can get their name in without the racer having to specifically mention them and they be able to give the comments they want to amidst the cooling down that goes on afterward)

what he did in the ama was amazing.  some of the hardest racing i've ever seen between those two.  but what he's done this year.. fan or not, you can't really run out of superlatives.  he simply should not be capable of this, this soon.

that said, i don't really care what these guys do when they're not on their bikes.  you can be a rossi or a stoner with the media.  or you can wear a "six million dollar man" rhinestone studded jacket to the awards banquet... whatever.

In general, I like the anglophone riders first, out of country / historical pride - American, British, Aussie.

I agree with the Bayliss fans - he just seems like a guy you could go to a pub with and have a great time.

mitt

Spies has amazing talent & is obviously very fast. I hope he doesn't end up the same way Toseland did in GP if/when he switches. The transition seems to be very difficult for SBK guys (Hayden, Edwards, Bayliss, Toseland, Xaus, Vemeulen, etc.) - it takes a lot of time & they don't always have time. I think Spies was faster than Mladin in a lot of cases but I believe at least one of his championships in the AMA was dependent on the suspect (IMO!) disqual(s) that Mladin received during the season. I think a lot of people don't give Mladin the credit he's due because they don't like him.

I like Edwards & Mladin for the same reason - they don't buy into the whole PR thing & just get on with it.

I normally have respect for riders who are good, (not a complete list) Rossi, Spies, Stoner, Bayliss, etc. But I think the performance of a racer is contextual. Hodgson for example was 2nd or 3rd in WSBK until the faster guys left & then he won the championship. He's a great guy (I've been lucky enough to have met him a couple of times) but I don't know how fast he really is. That's why I was a Schumacher fan, he was incredible but not perfect either.

Rossi is amazing but he has this "super clean" image which really isn't true. People want to ignore his faults because he's so good. He will fight dirty if he needs to & the mind games that he plays are pretty bad. Other riders have got really bad reputations from doing the same things but Rossi seems to have the whole "teflon" thing going on.

I like Stoner because he's really, really fast, because he doesn't buy into the whole PR thing and because he's an Aussie. I think his recent "illness" is a little suspect & smacks of other issues. Schwantz wrote an article on soup about it which may be on the money. I hope he turns out to be a more mature rider and shows that he's capable of competing over the long haul but we'll see. I think his last couple of seasons suggest that he is capable of performing when he's not always winning but this season is different, Lorenzo is adding into the mix among other things.

I like Melandri, Capirossi & Dovizioso because they're good. Melandri has been awesome on the Hayate. I think Hayden is a stand up guy but just isn't one of the top riders. Pedrosa just always seems to have issues of some kind preventing him from really shining. We're blaming the bike right now apparently but I don't know. He seems to be really good sometimes & just so so the rest of the time. Not to mention that Puig comes across as a total douche.

Lorenzo looks like he'll be amazing but if he switches bikes he could be in trouble. He's on the best bike on the grid as developed by the best rider so he's really able to just focus on racing. If he switches to Honda (or somewhere else), he may end up having issues.

I'd love to see Haga win this championship & then retire, he deserves it & would be in a much better position if it weren't for the injury.

it was for sure only 1 season: 2008. and the championship was not exactly dependent on that; they were fighting and it was very close, just like 2007.  the crank thing ended it and gave ben the title w/out the fight but there was no forgone conclusion for either rider prior to all the AMA technical bs.

btw, you should go back and watch the 2007 season.  especially the last race, but really the whole season.



absolutely.

Well, it's not like I'm watching this season...

In MotoGP, I root for Stoner over Rossi, and Rossi over Midgety McRepsol and Lorenttttttho.  I would root for Hayden and kinda do, but it's pretty pointless.  He was more fun to watch on the 990s. 

In WSBK, I root for Spies and Haslam's fiance's boobies, and whoever is gonna do the next craziest thing (Xaus, Kiyo, Rea, Biaggi, whoever).  I like Haga and would root for him 'cept that I'm such a Spies butt-boy that I just can't do it. 

I'm not exactly sure what it is that I like about any specific racer, and don't think I'm ever really consistent in the attributes that make me like/dislike someone.  I know that I don't expect the riders I like to be angels or not to whine or to be nice guys.  In fact, I'm often annoyed when they're too nice or too quiet about problems (Hayden).  And I get sick of all our discussions about whether someone is a whiner or not or whether they were a pregnant dog in their post-race interview. 

I expect racers to be racers -- aggressive, professional, sometimes not professional, and even a bit mean sometimes.  I love someone like Rossi or Bayliss or Spies who will hunt a guy down in the last couple of laps and absolutely kill their soul.  Likewise, I don't tend to like the guy who is always being hunted down and/or who always loses (Sete, Max B, Lorenzo, Fabrizio).  I like Stoner and Mladin, who are just faster than everyone else, touchy, and unapologetic about it.  Or someone like Haga, who will go balls to the wall, even when a normal human would slow the make the beast with two backs down (unfortunately, he's just not as interesting to watch this year, likely because of the bike).  Or old-man Capi, who can and will, deliver an old-school ass-whoopin' every once in a while.  And if a racer not that interesting on-track, it helps if they're interesting off-track, like Edwards or Haga or like Rossi *used* to be.  There are a buncha others that I like for various reasons-- Melandri, Dovi, some of the WSBK Brits, Simoncelli, etc., but again, there's not one single reason why.  I know that it's not about whether they're nice or whether they whine, but it's not totally divorced from their off-track persona.  I don't have to trust a racer or think he's a good guy.  I just want him to be a racer. 

I don't like Pintsize Mcmake the beast with two backsstick or Douchebrizio.  I used to not like Biaggi, but he's grown on me a bunch.  So has Lorenzo.  Sete is a sack of ball sweat, but he's interesting as a racing commentator.  And JT just makes me sad.  Hopper no longer really exists, which is a blessing because he is dumb as a f'n rock and other than his awesome wheelies never lived up to his hype.

Disclaimer:  these are my opinions today, and today only.  I'm a fickle little pregnant dog, and might change any or all of them on a moment's notice.

[laugh] [laugh]

John McGuinness

 [bow_down]

Capirossi i like,he loves his fans ,super nice guy.

+1

All those IoMTT riders deserve more recognition.  Hard to believe that race used to be a "MotoGP championship".

I really enjoyed the Guy Martin (where's my tea?) interviews on TV this year  ;D

There aren't too many racers I have strong feelings about.  In general, I like all of them.

Favs:
Haga, Rossi - love the enthusiasm and balls out racing styles
Simoncelli - Maybe it is his hair, but I like watching this guy
Stoner - whatever people say about him, his duel with Rossi at Laguna 08 was one of my all-time favorite racing moments

Growing on me:
Spies - I thought he was a bit arrogant at first, but I really enjoyed watching him and Mladin battle in AMA.  Now that he's in WSBK I've become more impressed with his determination and ability. 

Least favs:
Pedrosa, Raikkonen - why is life so hard for these guys?  they make living a dream look tedious and inconvenient

[laugh]  aint dat da troof

Raikkonen on the podium at Valencia last Sunday. Listen to the commentary starting at 2:30.  [laugh] (the youtube poster filmed his TV so the sound is pretty low)

Podium @ Valencia GP 2009 - Formula 1 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2no6qg_Gnc#normal)

Raikkonen even sprays his champagne with lack of enthusiasm. It almost looks like he's just taking a leak on the people below the podium.

He's probably into that, being from Finland.  ;)

yeah, but hobbes makes fun of everybody. you ever hear him do his impressions?

Kimi drinks it first before sharing  [drink]

I have a lot of Respect for Valentino Rossi, I'm not a fan, but I respect the guys talent, and I respect what the guy can do on and off the track, he's not afraid to say what he thinks, or how he feels on a given situation, and he does play mind games with other riders very well.

Stoner, as a fellow countryman, I do feel a certain obligation to support him, but even before he started with Ducati, he was never good with the Fans or the Press, and I think that has now been amplified now he has been racing at the top level of the sport.
He just can't seem to take losing, if Rossi comes in 2nd or 3rd, you can tell he would rather be in 1st place, but he doesn't let it get to him, he stores it in the memory bank, and tries not to make that mistake again, he comes back stronger.

Stoner seems to let it get to him to much, he takes things to personally (The Laguna Seca race in 08 being a classic example) I very much feel that Stoner is genuinely crook, I think he is just letting everything get to him, he is building things up in his head for why things are going wrong. He just can't move on from a bad race or bad performance.

That's just how I see it anyway, maybe I'm full of shit, but I just think Stoner needs a boot up the Arse, told to stop taking every thing so seriously, chill out, relax more.
And he may find his racing will improve, maybe he needs to have a chat with the Doctor about having more fun!  ;)

great thread :)

my faves are hayden & rossi

hayden because he's so hawt!  [evil]
rossi because he's so fun :)
both are extremely talented and are having fun doing what they do

my least fave is pedrosa

he just seems miserable most of the time  [roll]