Wayne Rainey described an out-of-body experience when he was so totally in the zone on his race bike that his timing and his lines were perfect. Rossi has talked about the same type of zone, and referred to it as making a “poem†on his motorcycle.Â
By hiring Valentino, Ducati not only gains, perhaps, the greatest rider of all time, but much more. The timing, as I will discuss, is also perfect, and Rossi can leave Ducati with a valuable legacy a few years down the road.
Nicky Hayden is an important part of this story. Sure, Nicky has often struggled since engine displacement in MotoGP was limited to 800cc a few years ago. He loved the power and the handling characteristics that went along with the 990cc motors, and it was during that era that he won his World title … Details