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MotoGP, Rossi: "Among riders there is a false politically correct attitude, the fault of social media networks"

“Maradona and Senna were legends, now the culture has changed. Sometimes I watch the GPs on TV and I wish I was there, but then I think I’ve done my bit. Now it's up to the others"

MotoGP: Rossi: "Among riders there is a false politically correct attitude, the fault of social media networks"

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Monza is going crazy over the arrival of Valentino Rossi, who is being chased around the paddock in search of an autograph or a selfie. The times of his serial victories in MotoGP are over, but the Doctor is always in the hearts of the fans. Even now that he is racing in cars. Perhaps because he is the last of the old school racers, as the Americans would say. So much passion that he manages to convey to people. And what about heirs?

Valentino spoke about it in an interview with Matteo Aglio in La Stampa: “in MotoGP we have many strong riders, Bagnaia could become a driving force - he said - After me, motorcycling has returned to being what it was before me: a sport for enthusiasts. I, somehow and for some reason, had managed to introduce it to grandmothers and small children. I honestly don't know why, maybe it was a combination of my results and my character. In the ‘90s sportsmen were seen as legends, I'm thinking of Maradona or Senna, the culture has changed. Who is the Senna of today? Maybe Hamilton, but he's not very young either."

It seems like another era, without social media networks and with healthy rivalries that divided the fans. Rossi has racked up a lot in his career and hasn't always been politically correct.

“Now anything you say bounces off 300 sites and you carry the consequences for at least two weeks. You do a half-hour interview and then everyone looks for the clickbait headline, this is annoying. What happens? There is a fake politically correct attitude among sportsmen, they are all friends, they hug each other. That’s nice? I liked it better before, when you said what you thought – is his opinion - It's human that you resent those who do the same thing as you or better than you, it doesn't matter if you're a doctor, a pizza maker, a rider. Always having to hide it makes everything more fake”.

While one doesn’t see an heir to him as a character, it's true that Valentino has left his very strong proteges to MotoGP. Like Bagnaia, Bezzecchi and his brother Marini, on the podium last Sunday in Austin.

“I'm happy, he deserved it, and we needed it. He was fast, but he needed a good result. When something always goes wrong, you start to feel incomplete. Now he's ready to always be competitive” Rossi is convinced.

Perhaps Luca will no longer be just the Doctor's brother.

“It weighs a little on him, but he decided to ride a motorbike knowing what he would be up against and his decision surprised me - said Rossi - The fact that he is not called Rossi makes the burden a bit lighter and by nature we are opposites. He can have his own personality”.

Sure, seeing Valentino in the fray with the Academy riders would be nice.

“The results I obtained in my career help me not to feel melancholy. Sometimes, when I watch the GPs on TV, I wish I was there, but then I think that I’ve done my bit. Now it's their turn” he concluded.

 

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