Guest Blog: Mat Oxley: Rossi's Tactical Retreat

Submitted by Mat Oxley on Wed, 2012-08-15 17:01

MotoMatters.com is delighted to feature the work of iconic MotoGP writer Mat Oxley. Oxley is a former racer, TT winner and highly respected author of biographies of world champions Mick Doohan and Valentino Rossi, and currently writes for Motor Sport Magazine, where he is MotoGP correspondent. We will be featuring sections of Oxley's blogs, posted in full on the Motor Sport Magazine website, over the coming months.

As a world-class cynic who fled his hometown for the duration of the London Olympics, I have to admit that even I enjoyed the Games.

Team GB’s performance proved that if you invest the correct amount of time, money and brains, anything is possible. Even in Britain. Hopefully the country will learn something from the past two weeks, so that the Olympics will be remembered as something more than the icing on a rather mouldy cake.

Apart from watching Mo Farah, Jessica Ennis and Bradley Wiggins, I most enjoyed seeing Usain Bolt do his thing, which was rather like watching Valentino Rossi at the height of his powers. Bolt is one of those very rare athletes who manages to combine total dedication to his task with an ability to look like he’s treating the whole thing as a bit of a laugh. The way he joked with officials and fans before and after his races reminded me very much of Rossi.

Read the rest of Mat Oxley's blog on the Motor Sport Magazine website.

Comments

As a big fan of..

Submitted by motociclista_8 on Wed, 2012-08-15 17:47.

..Mat Oxley, it's great to see MotoMatters.com publishing his blogs. His writings never fails to impress me. Reading them feels like watching some classic motorcycle racing.

Total votes: 24

big fan of Mat's

Submitted by MSS 58 on Thu, 2012-08-16 02:31.
Site Supporter

love his books; connects me to the times that I have missed as an MGP fan of only about 7 years.

I think his statement "someone who’s fully failed for the first time in his life" is the single biggest thing. Rossi has been so humbled that he may have lost his ego and the edge that came with it.

In the words of The Karate Kid, "the student has become the teacher!"

Total votes: 28

Good article.

Submitted by Swiftnick on Thu, 2012-08-16 07:54.
Site Supporter

I was only saying to Mrs Swift last week how Bolt was athletics' Rossi from years ago. He was having a joke with the volunteers holding the kit box, they absolutely loved it.

I hope the UK footballers learn something from the athletes, and the UK bike racers come to that, who have been a credit to their sport over recent years.

Total votes: 23

Although I admire Oxleys work..............

Submitted by Hollowman on Thu, 2012-08-16 19:01.

But I think that he can tie himself in knots at times. For example, when Rossi and Stoner were going hammer and tong in 08 and 09, he was busy licking up to Rossi, making suggestions that Stoners illness wasn't anything of the sort, saying that he was "running back to mummy".

When Rossi started to fade from 2010 up until now, he jumped on the Stoner bandwagon, bigging him up, comparing him to Doohan (who he coincedentally wrote a biography about), talking about how he was going to kick ass, he has had to back track on that theme a little, and give Lorenzo some credit.

All in all, his blog is well written, well balanced, not trying to lick up to anyone, and porbably gives as good an analysis of the situation that anybody could.

Total votes: 26

OLYMPICS

Submitted by TheBaron on Sat, 2012-08-18 12:43.

Hi Mat, regarding the Olympics: a few points - 1, despite the drum-beat of the Free Marketeers (the modern equivalent of the old Privateers in Queen Elizabeth I's time), the private sector failed miserably when it came to the question of security, and the British Army showed them what professionalism is; 2, each of the medals earned by England cost the taxpayer 3.1 million pounds; 3, the exploits of the English team has apparently fired up lots of school kids, but they are screwed because most English schools have SOLD their playgrounds!

Total votes: 22

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