38,000 fans showed up at Bologna for the Ducati send off party with Valentino Rossi as the main attraction, and since Italy just seems that it can’t get enough of the “The Doctor,” he gave long interview to Piero Chiambretti (one of Italy’s top talk show hosts) that will be aired this Friday and Saturday night on Channel 5.
Sportmediaset.
com has picked up an extract from the show (which we’ve translated for you) and Rossi’s replys will send his detractors into a tizzy and his fans into the usual defense mode.
Regarding his eventual switch to World Superbikes, Rossi confirmed it, but his reply will not go down well with the aficionados who are always arguing about which championship is better.
“I hope to stay a few more years in MotoGP, then ‘retire in Superbikes, which is the B series of MotoGP, but it’s fun.
At 17 I wanted to open a kiosk, and maybe I’ll do it when I definitely retire.
”About his switch to Ducati: “I thought about staying in Yamaha or going to Ducati which I thought about for some years, this was the right time.
Sorry ? No, we have not even started.
How will the Japanese take it? We have to see how it goes, if I’m in front of them, then they’ll take it badly, otherwise they’ll be happy.
”His shoulder problems: “The shoulder still hurts, today I saw the doctor who operated on me and it turns out that the biceps tendon still isn’t back in place where it should be.
Bones are much nicer, they heal up faster, instead the shoulder …” On his lack of serious injuries until now Rossi has his own theory, “Fear is important because it keeps you from overdoing it, even if we have a higher limit, but every time you fall you’re afraid.
They say that I know how to fall, but I don’t think so, it’s just plain luck.
”Rossi’s predictions and on rivals: “Stoner is the favourite for the title, but I’m saying this to bring him some bad luck.
I give him a 10 on speed and talent, but a little less on tatics and cunning, he’s crazy because he keeps repeating the same mistakes.
Lorenzo? “He’s great, because everyone agrees on it, in the sense that everyone thinks he’s unpleasant.
He’s strong, I give him a 9.
5.
” also adding “I don’t think he’s intelligent because that’s a big word, let’s say he’s cunning” “Hayden is strong and fast and my team mate, so he’s the first rival I have to beat, I give him an 8.
The wall? With Hayden it won’t be there, while with Lorenzo, I didn’t want to reveal all my tricks, it was controversial, but data passed anyway.
”On Simoncelli: “He deserves an 8.
5, he still has to show a lot of things, but he’s got a very fast Honda, and he’ll give us a hard time.
” His rivalry with Max Biaggi: “I see our past battles with fondness, outside the track he used various tricks to try to annoy everyone.
Knowing how to lose is really difficult and Biaggi wasn’t very good with that.
” His tax evasion story: “At the time I was wrong, when I realized what was going on I didn’t pull back, I changed all the people who were involved that put me into that situation, but I found out I lot of things.
” The famous video (a personal video which was broadcasted on all the national news stations denying the allegations of tax evasion)? “It was a mistake.
”On the stalking case: “He used to send me emails with a lot of insults and threats – maybe he was a friend of Lorenzo’s,” said a laughing Rossi.
“It happened before the Mugello where I got hurt, so I had other things to think about, but I know that they caught him.
”And on the gossip that he dumped his old girlfriend Arianna back in 2007 for Elisabetta Canalis (George Clooney’s current squeeze) “I can confirm, that she never put out for me, and it’s not true that I’ve got that many women, I’m careful.
”