Winners Rossi’s
DURING HIS 20 SEASONS IN THE 500-cc and MotoGP classes Valentino Rossi has won seven world titles and a record 89 races. He spent four years with Honda, taking 13 victories in two seasons with the NSR500 and another 20 in the next two seasons with the RC211V, plus three titles. He has enjoyed by far the most success in his 14 years with the YZR-M1: 56 race wins and four world titles. The NSR, RC211V, and YZR-M1 perfectly track the development curve of grand prix motorcycles over the past two decades, as engineers increased their knowledge of power delivery, chassis behaviour, and electronic rider controls.
Honda NSR500
(2000-2001)
VALENTINO ROSSI LAST RACED an NSR500 in November 2001, but he still rates the 500-cc V4 as the best motorcycle he has ever ridden. ‘The simple truth is that no bike in the world can match a two-stroke 500,’ he says. ‘I loved its violent character — the front tyre never on the ground and the rear tyre all over the place. Either you rode her or she punished you. There was no middle ground.’
Like all 500 riders, Rossi learned to ride a 500 the hard way. He crashed out of his first two 500 GPs, at Welkom and Sepang, then finished a lowly 11th in his third 500 outing, at Suzuka, 29 seconds behind winner Norick Abe.
Even Crew Chief Jeremy Burgess was worried by his rider’s progress. ‘Valentino was very, very badly spooked by the two non-finishes and he was very spooked by the 11th place in Japan,’ recalls the Aussie who had previously won five consecutive 500-cc titles with Mick Doohan. ‘Suzuka was
