Valentino: Stile Italiano

Eccolo, Valentino Rossi even crashes with impeccable Italian style. We can only wish we looked this good whilst riding our motorcycles. E'una poesia nel movimento!* (Click to enlarge photo.)

* It's poetry in motion!

Ducati: Non hanno felicita

Friends, all is not well with our team at Ducati Corse. The star rider of Ducati's MotoGP motorcycle racing team, 2007 World Champion Casey Stoner, has been afflicted with illness for several months now, resulting in poor results in recent races. When I saw him race at Laguna Seca last month, the poor lad could barely dismount from his Ducati racing machine. Che peccato, Casey is not doing well.

Now, those "in the know" realize that MotoGP is right up there with Formula 1 auto racing for physical requirements in a sport; so, Casey is--and must be--in prime physical condition in order to race the 240 horsepower MotoGP bikes. So why is he failing physically then? In the wake of top doctors here in California being unable to locate any severe physical ailments, there has been speculation that the pressure that Casey is under to repeat his dominance of 2007 is so intense, that he is cracking under it. Such a phenomena is referred to as "psychosomatic", where the body cannot handle the immense mental demands, and thus begins to shut down.

Of course, it doesn't help poor Casey at all when he looks over and sees Italia's own eight-time world champion Valentino Rossi laughing and joking his way to the top step of the podium, into the championship lead, seemingly effortlessly.

Ducatisti worldwide wish Casey the best and hope that he can recover from his illness soon. A presto, amici!
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To learn more about the illness and the latest developments in Casey's racing programme, here is an article from just today that you may wish to read. (Click to enlarge.)

Valentino Rossi, il vincitore!

Hello my wonderful friends! Oh how I've missed you all!
[Long, Awkward Pause]

This past July, we once again made our annual pilgrimage to Laguna Seca racetrack for the MotoGP race; as I've mentioned before in Blogiorno, MotoGP is the premier motorcycle racing series worldwide, and if a rider can win a MotoGP championship, they are truly World Champion. Fortunately, the spectacle that is the MotoGP United States Grand Prix is only an hour and a half up the coast from my home here in California, making it a very easy journey.

Since the USGP has been in America in the "modern era", I've been cheering on my favorite rider, Italy's Valentino Rossi, hoping for a victory, even praying to our pal Benedict XVI for one, even though I'm not Catholic; that's how desperate I've been. Finally, this year it happened! Not only did Valentino win this race, but he did so in such a way which left no doubt as to who the best motorcycle racer in the world is. He took the lead from Ducati's Casey Stoner on the first lap, and a battle of epic proportions raged for the next 45 minutes, with Stoner finally laying his bike over in the gravel. This race was without a doubt the best race I've ever been to, and perhaps the best MotoGP race I've ever seen; in fact, some seasoned MotoGP commentators have remarked that it was perhaps the best MotoGP race of all time!

At the end, after Valentino won, he stopped his bike at the world-famous "Corkscrew" turn, where he first took the lead, and he kissed the tarmac. Bravissimo!!!

Unfortunately, there was a minor dark cloud: Tom Cruise, his wife Katie and their "entourage" just HAD to watch the event from the Ducati timing stand, right on the racetrack, across from our seats, making us feel like lepers, and effectively sucking the oxygen right out of the race. Yes, Tom and his posse just had to cause a stir, bringing with them the standard paparazzi mayhem. WHAT. A. DRAG. Okay, okay, just kidding Tom, it was great to see you there. Now go away...and let Valentino bask in his well-earned glory!

You must see highlights of this race, so click here.

For more on Valentino, click here.

Grazie mille for reading! Until next time my friends,

Ciao!

Ducati's Greatest Day

Ciao my friends! And now, for your reading pleasure, a bit of noteworthy news from the exciting world of motorcycle racing. Last weekend, the Ducati motorcycle racing team, with the help of a fine son from the Koala nation of Australia, made some serious history by clinching the 2007 MotoGP World Championship. As we've noted before here at Blogiorno, Italy is perhaps THE center for all things excellent in the world, and racing is foremost in their achievements. Ducati set about to win the MotoGP championship in 2002. Five short years later, they did exactly that, taking their very first title. Their rider, 21 year old Casey Stoner of Australia, clinched the title for Ducati and all of Italia at the Japanese Grand Prix, which took place at Motegi Circuit in Japan. Even better, the race was won by the second Ducati rider, Italian Loris Capirossi.

To clinch the championship, MotoGP rookie Casey Stoner only needed to finish ahead of Italy's beloved son, Valentino Rossi. Casey finished sixth, and it was done. Normally, anyone beating Valentino Rossi triggers an immediate blacklisting here at Blogiorno, but we paused, took several deep breaths into the oxygen masks we knicked from British Airways and let the rage pass on by. Only the balm that is Ducati could quell such anger, which was soon replaced by unbridled joy, knowing that the manufacturer of our beloved street bike has been rewarded for their travail. The result of the race in Japan was, as you might expect, laughter and tears in the Ducati Marlboro Team pit, as well as in the Borgo Panigale factory headquarters, where more than one thousand fans watched the race alongside the Ducati dignitaries. Talk about rejoicing!

In my visit to the Ducati factory, I would have loved to see the Italians building the MotoGP race bikes; in fact, the racing shop is located in the center of the factory floor. However, visitors are forbidden from entering that area, and actually, you cannot even so much as point your camera in the general direction of said shop without politely getting your hand slapped by one of the beautiful Italian tour guide girls. Why? It is because of the millions and millions of dollars that it takes to field a MotoGP team, much less finish in the top 5 or fight for the championship. We're talking hundreds of millions of dollars just to get into the game. The pressure to win is very intense, and the danger of losing your technological edge via industrial espionage is equally as intense--that is no joke, and it happens all the time.

So this--the big money game that is MotoGP--is the reason for all the secrecy. It is also the reason for big tobacco's presence in motorsport, and for Marlboro being the chief sponsor of the Ducati racing team; large conglomerates like theirs are the only ones who have that kind of money to throw around. Here at Blogiorno, we don't have any objection to large corporations sponsoring racing teams, nor do we see any reason to pile on the already fledgling tobacco industry, especially because demonizing that industry was, for a time, the favorite chia-pet cause of Hollywood elitists...at least until they got distracted by all the shiny objects eminating from--cue Darth Vader's theme song--Walmart. (Cue a big eyeroll too, while you're at it. Grazie.) So while we simultaneously acknowledge the dangers of smoking AND laud the how-can-they-be-THAT-bad people at Marlboro, we also state unequivocally that if Walmart sponsored the Ducati Racing Team, we'd still be right there, sporting that smiley face mascot of theirs proudly on our official Ducati Racing Team merchandise.

So there you have it...the good folks at Marlboro, with their smooth good taste and rich tobacco flavor, now have themselves a World Championship racing team. But much more importantly, the Ducati Racing Team have realized their dream of taking motorcycle racing's highest honor, the MotoGP World Racing Championship.

Here are a few memorable quotes from the champions:

CASEY STONER, 2007 MotoGP World Champion
"At the moment it all feels a little bit unrealistic! I'm struggling for words, I don't think there's any feeling that can compare to this...we finally did it!"

LORIS CAPIROSSI, race winner, 7th in World Championship
"We struggled a lot this weekend, but I won my third consecutive race here...it's a great moment for me. It's also a great day for Casey, for Ducati and for the team."

GABRIELE DEL TORCHIO, CEO Ducati Motors
"This success is the best demonstration of Ducati excellence, is a triumph of Italian intelligence, talent, competences and the warmth that is one of our country's most vital assets. It's an important and remarkable achievement. It is a dream come true. We are speaking of a great feat realised thanks to Casey's commitment, bravery and team work, united with the work of our draughtsmen, technicians, engineers, team members, sponsors and everyone at the factory."

CLAUDIO DOMENICALI, Ducati Corse CEO
["Corse" means "Racing" in Italian. - AA]
"It is a dream come true - a fantastic feeling, really fantastic. I don't have enough words to thank all the guys who have contributed to this incredible achievement, which shows that Italy is a nation whose passion and talent can succeed in a hugely technically advanced field. It's certainly a good reason for Italians to be proud."

Bravo Signor Casey Stoner, Scuderia Ducati, e Italia!

Io presento Valentino Rossi!

Hello my dear friends! As you lay awake at night pondering the meaning of...so many things, so...very...many...things, one question you must surely have is this: Who is the best motorcycle racer in the world as we know it? Fortunately, Blogiorno has the answer to this particular question, though few other answers to much of anything else. From a small town in Italy called Urbino, located near the Adriatic coast, comes World Champion Valentino Rossi. Valentino Rossi is an Italian professional motorcycle racer, and he is one of the most successful racers of all time, with 7 Grand Prix World Championships to his name. There is another racer with more than 7...that is the great Giacomo Agostini, also of Italy, who has 15 GP World Championships!

Rossi rides in MotoGP. MotoGP is a worldwide series that takes place on almost every continent in the world, with rounds in China, Turkey, Spain, Australia, Germany, Japan, Italy and several other countries, including the U.S. Simply put, MotoGP is the pinnacle of two-wheeled track racing. Every racer aspires to be in MotoGP.

Thankfully, only an hour and a half north of my villa in San Luis Obispo, California, a round of MotoGP takes place: the U.S. Grand Prix at Laguna Seca. I have attended this international event twice to watch "The Doctor"--Valentino's nickname--compete. [See photo, right.] What an event. Alas, Valentino has not been able to win in the U.S. yet. Why? Is it a major flaw in his 200+ MPH, 220 horsepower Yamaha M1 motorcycle? No. Is it jet lag? No. Is it Pamela Anderson--who attends, along with many other "stars"--distracting him by shamelessly trying to hurl herself at him from the pits? No. It is the crummy Michelin tires that the Yamaha team is contractually bound to use; they are just not up to the task. THANK YOU FRANCE. Hopefully a U.S. victory will come in the future for Valentino.

So, cara amici, Valentino Rossi is considered to be the greatest motorcycle racer of our modern age. He is not particularly imposing, but when he gets on the bike, no one can touch him, equipment being equal, which it never is. It is said that Valentino races lines like no other racer, and that his heartrate is astonishingly low when he rides, barely breaking 100 beats per minute.

Currently, Valentino lives in London, England, simply because he is mobbed in Italy almost immediately and cannot walk down the street. Such is the love the Italians have for their humble son. But make no mistake about it, though quite humble in demeanor, he is a superstar. On a worldwide scale, he is much better known than any American athlete, with perhaps only Tiger Woods rivaling him. His success has also earned him tremendous riches: According to Sports Illustrated, Rossi is the 7th highest earning sports personality in the world, 2nd outside the United States, earning an estimated $30 million a year, not including endorsements. Mamma mia!

Grazie mille for reading...until next time!