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Message: <blockquote data-quote="okow" data-source="post: 3304" data-attributes="member: 14"><p>Years have passed and looks like the Americans and the Aussies have yet to churn out a World Champion in the top category of Motorcycling.From the 70's thru to the 80's and the 90s they were there until the unlikely Kenny Roberts Jr winning the title in 2000.......then Rossi came along and has made 5 in a row!Remembering the Greats! Several names come to mind:Of course when we talk motorbike racing and an American, 3 time consecutive 500cc World Champion Kenny Roberts (senior) comes to mind.Racing for Yamaha, I remember his yellow and black Bates leather suit very well.Then they had the Great Freddie Spencer....why great?...because he raced and won the 250cc and 500cc World Championships in the same year - 1985! A feat no one has followed until today. Just imagine, after racing your heart out in a grueling 30 or so laps on a 250 to jump on a bike again and race in the 500s after a few minutes rest....and it was like that for every race for the whole season. He didnt win 1 race or both classes....he won the Wolrd Chgampionships in both those classes in a single year.The came Eddie Lawson (1986, 88, 89). Lawson, with a background of dirt riding had stiff competition from Spencer, Wayne Gardner - Australian, Wayne Rainey and Kevin Schwantz. Gardner broke Lawson's reign for 1 year in 1987 and Lawson took it back for the next 2 years before being dethroned by Wayne Rainey(1990, 91, 92). Sadly, while racing and what looked like a "mild" crash left Rainey paralysed for good from the waist down in 1993. That crash opened the door for Schwantz to grab the title.Then came Aussie Mick Doohan's unbeatable record of 5 straight World Championships - 1994, 95, 96, 97, 98.  Doohan came in with his own style of riding techniques that is tha mainstay for today's champions - Power sliding or drifting out of corners and laying darkies as you exited. What an awesome sight, imagine your rear end sliding out on a bend while you exit at speeds of 200 to 230 kph. Doohan once said, "Iam turning in and out of corners the fastest the bike can take......guess I'd have to slide it thru..dirt style" "What's the point going round a bend if you can straighten it" That style is being abdopted to a lesser degree by Rossi today.Alex Crivlle (Spain), Doohan's Repsol Honda team mate made it to the top spot in 1999 for just 1 year. ...and the last one like I mentioned earlier was Kenny Roberts Jr.Well, Rossi (Italy) has equaled Doohan's record for a straight 5 year victory and he still looks very unstoppable.For the record, all the riders mentioned above have raced in Malaysia before.</p></blockquote><p></p>

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