Five-time motorcycle world champion Mick Doohan says that we may have seen Valentino Rossi’s last win in MotoGP.
Rossi has won 79 premier class races, including seven world titles, but his switch this season to Ducati has thus far has delivered one podium and zero wins.
Doohan, the winner of 54 Grands Prix and five-consecutive world titles (1994-1998) says that with the rise of Casey Stoner and Jorge Lorenzo, winning races isn’t going to get easier for him.
“He’s been around for a long while and I think that’s the key with any sportsman or sportswoman – how long can you remain completely immersed in the sport and forget about any outside influences?” Doohan says on Rossi, 32.
“Rossi’s been around with the 125’s, 250’s, MotoGP – he’s got a lot of titles and a lot of seasons under his belt.
“It’s not really injuries coming in, I think it’s more just getting tired and not wanting to push yourself, whereas somebody like Casey has still got the desire to push himself and win championship after championship.
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“That’s not to say that somebody like Rossi doesn’t want to be number one – but it’s not going to get any easier for him. And the longer it takes for Ducati to get the bike to a position where he feels comfortable on it, I just feel that where he is in his life-cycle, in his career, he’s not prepared to push it the way that Casey or a younger guy would be prepared to push it to gain the results.
“It’s now a Catch-22: there’s those guys who are prepared to push it, Valentino’s got the experience, but he maybe hasn’t got that desire to push himself beyond the limits anymore.”
The Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix will be held this weekend at Phillip Island (October 14-16).
If you’d like to get up close and personal with Mick Doohan, you can with Speedcafe.com. CLICK HERE for information and availability regarding the Pirtek Legends Dinner, to be held on the Gold Coast next Thursday (October 20). Doohan is one of Speedcafe.com’s leading guests, along with 1980 F1 world champ Alan Jones and other Australian touring car heroes …
