The interesting part is if this thread had been titled "So Valentino Rossi turns 40 this week", it wouldn't have gone beyond a page....
Is G97 Davie Stone? I would say skip but I know Skip and there is no where near enough 4 letter words in his posts.
The WSBK thread posts about Honda got me thinking about your question. Wasting time? Not sure, but, did his time net the on track results that his potential, and tenure promoted? We can make all of the excuses we like for him, but, overall, I'd say no, they didn't. He had a great career, but I'd venture a guess that even he would say it came up pretty short on delivery as a whole.
I think he’s an all time great even if he never got a championship. There are very few who’ve achieved anywhere near his results, and he’s done better overall than several who got the championship. If GOAT status is based only on racing results then this is a very simple exercise. It’s Agostini. If it’s about overall impact, unquestionably it’s Rossi. Rossi is on the same level as Oprah, Tiger Woods, MJ or Lance Armstrong pre-2012. Marquez probably will exceed his accomplishments on track at least marginally, but the little Joker will never be the cultural phenomenon Valentino was and is. There will probably never be another like him. That’s probably a good thing for the sport, because at one time he was bigger than MotoGP itself.
Oh shit, you know what's gonna happen next, right? I think he still is. Nobody racing for second for this many years can maintain that kind of following. Hell, just look at the birthday wishes video. You think even half of those people follow MotoGP?