When asked about the popularity of motorcycle racer Valentino Rossi in his native Italy, the broadcaster Guido Meda did not mince words. "In this moment he is the first sportsman in Italy, and overall, I would say he is somewhere in line between the president and the pope," he said.
An announcer for the Italian television network, Meda said that because most Americans had never heard of this lanky 26-year-old athlete, Rossi's competitive debut in the US would be quite significant.
Rossi's first competition in the US dovetails with the first Moto Grand Prix World Championship race in 11 years, the Red Bull Grand Prix here Sunday.
PHOTO: AP
Rossi is perhaps the brightest star on the Moto Grand Prix circuit, the two-wheeled equivalent of Formula One auto racing. Early this season, Rossi, 5 feet 10 inches and 130 pounds, powered a howling Yamaha up to 200mph in winning six of the first seven events in a 17-race circuit.
On Sunday, Rossi will have a chance to show 150,000 spectators at the sold-out Laguna Seca Raceway and several million viewers of the Speed Channel viewers why he is not only the favorite but is also a near deity in Italy.
Rossi is a mischievous and a fun-loving daredevil affectionately known as the "Doctor" for his surgical precision on the track, and he has won the world title every year since moving into the Moto GP class in 2001. In the process, he has raised the sport's stature to somewhere between auto racing and soccer across much of Europe.
"As soon as Rossi started getting good, there was just something about him," said Chris Jonnum, the editor of Road Racer X, an American motorcycle racing magazine. "I really liked this guy. He made me interested in road racing. That's kind of indicative of why he's so popular in the world. He's got this magnetic personality, this charisma that just draws people to him and the sport."
Rossi is from Tavullia, a small town in central Italy. He recalled how his motorcycle racer father, Graziano, put him on a motorbike between the ages of 3 and 4, and how his speed scared his parents.
"My mother, very much so," Rossi said. "At first she didn't want me to race because Graziano had a lot of crashes. She still gets scared, but she understands that this is my passion and my life."
In 1996, Rossi first raced professionally at 17 on a 125cc Aprilia motorbike.
"He was a little boy with long hair, and very aggressive," Meda said. "He made a lot of mistakes -- but with every race, he made fewer."
The next year, Rossi became the youngest 125cc-class world champ at 18. In subsequent years he won titles in higher categories. He also became known for spending uncommonly long hours among his fans -- known as the Tribe of the Chihuahua -- and for postrace antics that might include a victory lap with an inflatable sex doll or a fan dressed as a chicken or an angel. Before Rossi takes the podium, he might have Reno Salucci, president of his fan club, show up trackside dressed as a policeman with a speeding ticket.
In 2003, after leading Team Honda to a third consecutive world championship, Rossi drew criticism from racers who attributed his success to superior Honda engineering. In an unexpected move, he signed a contract estimated to be worth US$11 million with a Yamaha team that had struggled for 12 years without a world Moto GP title. For other top Moto GP racers, US$3 million is considered lucrative.
His finest race, Rossi said, was his first for team Yamaha, at the 2004 season opener at Welkom, South Africa. Many experts considered the win astonishing.
"It proved to everybody that it was not only the bike," Rossi said.
By going on win the world championship last year, Rossi silenced his critics and earned an additional US$5 million.
Being relatively unknown in the US, Rossi said, was a bit of a blessing. Anonymity is the reason he lives in London.
"Italy for me is impossible," he said. "I'm too famous. When I'm at a race, I always try to be 100 percent with my fans and to sign a lot of autographs. When I'm at home, I like to sleep and do nothing."
Sunday's race, he said, would be one of the more difficult.
"The US riders are going very fast and know the track better than me," he said.
"I have a little more to learn. But my target is the podium. I hope to do a good race and give a good fight. That's my plan."
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