In a recent media appearance with Italian talk show host Piero Chiambretti, an excerpt of which was revealed by Sportmediaset.com earlier this week, Rossi approaches touchy topics of MotoGP's recent history, like his relationship with former teammate Jorge Lorenzo, his true image of former title rival Casey Stoner and, most importantly, his view of the famous rivalry with Max Biaggi.
Asked about Stoner, whom many see as the main contender for the MotoGP title this year, Rossi reckoned that the Australian rider has always had a problem with doing mistakes when less expected.
“Stoner is the favourite for the championship, but I also say that to bring a jinx on him,” jokingly commented Rossi. “I give him 10 out of 10 for speed and talent, but a bit less for tactics and cunning. He is a mad man who often repeats the same mistake.”
Moving on to Lorenzo, Rossi admitted that the reigning world champion was a tough nut to crack during their 3-year tenure as teammates, but wouldn't go as far as calling him “intelligent.”
“Jorge is a great because everybody agrees about him in the sense that everybody thinks he is unpleasant. He is strong, he deserves 9.5. I won't say he is intelligent because that's a strong word. Let's say he is crafty.”
Furthermore, he gave his new teammate and former MotoGP rival Nicky Hayden an 8, less than what he thinks of countryman Marco Simoncelli, whom he rated as an 8.5. Finally, he referred to his long-time rival Max Biaggi, saying that the Roman never knew how to handle defeat in the MotoGP.
“I look back on those fights with fondness. Away from the track, he used various tricks to try and destabilise me. Knowing how to lose is one of the most difficult things and Biaggi was never very good at that,” he said.
Ouch... that must hurt! We bet those comments will stir up quite a controversy in Italy, so we'll keep you updated on it...
Google News