The breathtaking renaissance of Valentino Rossi may be traced back to his last visit to Australia, so it is fitting that the Italian MotoGP great can all but seal an eighth premier class championship at Phillip Island on Sunday.
Yamaha rider Rossi will make his 328th Grand Prix start at the picturesque seaside circuit, drawing level with retired record-holder and fellow Italian Loris Capirossi.
The championship has been reduced to a two-horse race between Rossi and teammate Jorge Lorenzo with three rounds to go and 18 points separating the riders.
Photo: AFP
The gap is handy, but 36-year-old Rossi was reluctant to start calculating the potential results he would need to seal a magic eighth title to match the record of another Italian champion, Giacomo Agostini.
“It’s quite impossible [to predict],” Rossi said this week. “In three races, we will have completely different conditions, three different types of tracks, so I never do these types of calculation — 99 percent of the time, it doesn’t happen. We need to concentrate on Phillip Island and try to arrive in front of Jorge. This is the target, rather than making the calculation to arrive behind.”
Rossi returns to Phillip Island to defend what seemed the most unlikely of race titles.
A distant second to Honda’s runaway leader Marc Marquez last year, Rossi had all but resigned himself to another podium spot behind the Spaniard, but his rival spun out of the race 10 laps from the end.
That gave Rossi his sixth premier class win in Australia and first at Phillip Island in 10 years.
The Italian has barely looked back on his rejuvenated Yamaha, claiming four race wins this year to draw close to another championship, five years after his last was sealed at Phillip Island in 2009.
Double world champion Lorenzo has had his troubles Down Under, slicing off part of a finger during a crash one year, but he also has some fine memories.
He claimed the second of his championships at Phillip Island in 2012 with a safe podium spot behind retiring local hero Casey Stoner.
Lorenzo is confident he can push Rossi to the wire in the remaining races of the championship and believes he can take a crucial step at Phillip Island.
“I am fortunate to have competed in an era with some of the most talented riders in the history of the sport and for sure some of the best of the last 30 years,” he said this week. “This year if I win will be a more special feeling for me and Yamaha, especially to beat Honda after Marquez has won the past two years.”
US track and field athletes have about four dozen pieces to choose from when assembling their uniforms at the Olympics. The one grabbing the most attention is a high-cut leotard that barely covers the bikini line and has triggered debate between those who think it is sexist and others who say they do not need the Internet to make sure they have good uniforms. Among those critical or laughing at the uniforms included Paralympian Femita Ayanbeku, sprinter Britton Wilson and even athletes from other countries such as Britain’s Abigail Irozuru, who wrote on social media: “Was ANY female athlete consulted in
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Forget Real Madrid, Manchester City or Paris Saint-Germain, the world’s best soccer team — statistically speaking — might be a little-known outfit from the closed central Asian nation of Turkmenistan. Founded last year, Arkadag, named in honor of former Turkmen president Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, have been unstoppable, notching up 36 consecutive domestic victories in a run still ongoing. The side have not lost a single competitive match and swept to a league and cup double in their inaugural season — success unthinkable almost anywhere else. However, in Turkmenistan, it could hardly have gone any other way. The energy-rich country is one of the most closed
Former US Masters champion Zach Johnson was left embarrassed after a foul-mouthed response to ironic cheers from spectators after a triple bogey at Augusta National on Friday. Johnson, the 2007 Masters winner, missed the cut after his three-over-par round of 75 left him on seven-over 151 for 36 holes, his six on the par-three 12th playing a big role in his downfall. Television footage showed Johnson reacting to sarcastic cheers and applause when he tapped in for the triple bogey by yelling: “Oh fuck off.” Such a response would be considered bad form in any golf tournament, but is particularly out of keeping