Agostini tips Rossi as excitement, pressure rises

Giacomo Agostini, the most successful rider in motorcycle grand prix history, tips Valentino Rossi to have the edge as 'excitement and pressure' rises in this year's MotoGP title battle.

Rossi, 36 and the oldest rider on the grid, is locked in a duel with Yamaha team-mate and fellow multiple world champion Jorge Lorenzo, 28. Lorenzo's most recent championship was in 2012, while Rossi has been kept waiting since 2009.

Speaking to a small group of reporters during a Dainese party at Misano, marking the 1000th deployment of the company's D-Air system, Agostini said:

"Valentino knows [what to do], especially when we get to the end of the championship with more excitement and pressure. I think he is [looking] best because he has a lot of experience and of course he has a points advantage.

"In racing you also have the technical side, so the championship will depend on if anyone loses 25 points because of an engine or something. But otherwise I think the decision will go down to the last race."

After Sunday's grand prix, which saw Lorenzo crash out and Rossi increase his title lead from 12 to 23 points with five rounds to go, Agostini told GPone.com that Rossi's chances of winning the title had grown to 80%.

Rossi crossed the line fifth in the hectic dry-wet-dry encounter, which saw victory for reigning champion Marc Marquez. However the Honda star's four race falls look to have ruled him out of contention for a perfect third MotoGP title.

"He is very good," Agostini said of Marquez. "Sometimes we also need a little luck in racing and this year he started with some problems, also he crashed in training and broke his finger.

"Of course, the fans like him because he always attacks, always tries to win. But at 22 you have to do this! Because if you think too much at 22, at 30 you don't race! You close the throttle."

Misano was the 49th victory of Marquez's grand prix career, putting the young Spaniard equal eighth on the all-time win list alongside team-mate Dani Pedrosa. The only current riders ahead of them are Lorenzo (fifth, 59 wins) and Rossi (second, 112 wins).

Leading the records for both overall titles and race victories is Agostini.

The Italian won 15 championships - seven in the 350cc category and eight in the premier 500cc class - between 1965 and 1977, riding for MV Agusta and then Yamaha.

Rossi has nine world championships to date, with Lorenzo and Marquez next best of the present field on four each. Since no riders now compete in multiple classes (Ago won both the 350cc and 500cc championships between 1968-1972) it is hard to imagine 15 titles being beaten.

But after a drought during his Ducati years, Rossi - contracted to Yamaha until at least the end of 2016 - is starting to threaten the outright victory record. Official statistics list Ago on 122 grand prix wins (ten more than Rossi) although the man himself always quotes 123, to include a race victory in the 750cc world championship.

"I have a few records still. Valentino is very close for grand prix wins, I have 123 and he has 112. Very close. It's possible he will beat that record," Agostini said. "Everybody likes to keep records. Nobody likes to be beaten! But I would prefer some very good rider to beat my record and I hope when Valentino beats my record he invites me for dinner!"

Rossi has already taken the 500cc/MotoGP win record from Agostini, while an eighth title would match his fellow Italian's top tier achievements. Such success means both Agostini and Rossi are obvious contenders for any 'greatest ever' discussion.

"Is difficult because now we forget John Surtees, we forget Mike Hailwood, Tazio Nuvolari," Agostini said.

"And it's impossible just to make the statistics, because today who gives the emotion to the people? Is Valentino, not me. In my time, it was me. In 20 years, somebody else. All of [the great riders] were big champions."

Having made a convincing argument against pure statistics, the sprightly 73-year-old couldn't resist a contradictory quip before being whisked off to meet and greet the Dainese guests.

"It's difficult to say one or another [is the greatest]," Ago commented, pausing to break into a smile: "I had more titles, I had more wins - so at the moment I am!"