#if he stays at honda he sleepwalks to a title. but he just can't do it if he feels like the victory is being claimed + defined by others | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

batsplat · 7 months ago

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Saturday afternoon I ran into Gibernau in the paddock. "I heard that tomorrow HRC are having a press conference," he said. "That's right, just after the race," I replied. "You'll say you're staying at Honda, won't you?" he asked. "No, actually. I'll announce I'm moving to Yamaha," I answered. I saw a flash in his eyes. First astonishment, then happiness. I could tell he had done some quick thinking and figured that it would only be good for him. He reckoned that I wouldn't do much on a Yamaha. I could read it on his face, just as I later could read it in the faces of so many other people who doubted me and my choice.

Valentino Rossi in his 2005 autobiography, What if I had never tried it

#brr brr #//#sg15 #vale's autobiography is unsurprisingly circumspect about the details of that relationship and how and why it deteriorated #but the little details we get are so interesting #vale always wanted to prove people wrong. endlessly aware of people's expectations of him. always willing to play with them to subvert them #literally he wanted to do 'call an ambulance but not for me' like that's one of his career go-to's. he loves being the comeback kid #it must be endlessly frustrating that he came so close to pulling off the greatest trick of them all and fell just a little bit short #i think you always have to be quite careful with him when you're talking about his 'desire to win' as if it's that straightforward or pure #of course he wants to win but it's also about what he's trying to SAY when he wins. what he's trying to do with it. what's the statement #it's what a lot of the celebrations are about at their core - sending a message. symbiotic relationship b/n victory + expressing identity #leaving to go to yamaha in 2004 was done with the full awareness that a title that year was unlikely. that it might take at least a year #if he stays at honda he sleepwalks to a title. but he just can't do it if he feels like the victory is being claimed + defined by others #ten is just a number. but when nobody thought you could claim it? then it's the most precious number of them all #curse tag #clown tag

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