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sorry, but i've got to get this off my chest...

okay, toseland is going back to WSB, no brits in the premier class, and lots of media and people are not happy about it, but i am. Why? i have been a massive fan of all road-racing since an embryo, and i cannot understand and it pisses me off that most so-called fans and media have this obsession with getting brits out into world racing BEFORE THEY ARE READY!

back in the day we had some awesome riders, they were young hungry lads, ready to take on the world but they did not have the mind for it. it was obvious. so what did the managers do, the media push for and the fans want? we got a teenage Leon Haslam in 125's and 500's, and Neil Hodgson in WSB, and they did f*** all, and everyone got on their case and destroyed them. no if's, no buts, they struggled to keep any credability, they came back to the UK, sorted there toad out, and low and behold, with a bit of age behind them, Hodgson was WSB champ, and with a pinch of luck, Haslam will be fighting for it next year, with the "written off" Toseland probably winning it...

this rant flipped my switch today courtesy of BBC experts, suzi perry and steve parrish. i quote Parrish: "looks like toselands going back with his tail between his legs" WHAT???
the lad rode his butt off for two years, did what he could, i believe he could give no more, i personally as proud as hell he was in motogp, i hoped he did better, but it was not to be.

i know its competition, second is only the first loser. buts lets stop and thing a minute. the only brits doing well are the ones we never heard of until they were ALREADY at the front.
Bradley Smith anyone? no fucker knew of his existence until he was coming to the front of 125's, and now look at him, the same with Danny Webb, Scott Redding, Chaz Davies and others.

and this flipped the switch big time, i quote Suzi Perry: "it looks no brits in the premier class for a while" GGGRRRRRRRRRR! what chance they got with people like Parrish making the above quotes!

lets look at whats happening next year:
Toseland, Crutchlow, Haslam, Rea, Camier(?) plus others, maybe? WSB
Smith, Webb, 125's
Redding maybe Moto2?

2010 is going to be THE pivotal years for brits in world championship racing. instead of whinging its not like the glory days of Barry Sheene, blah, blah, blah, lets move forward and support not rip them to shreds after a bad year or two...

sorry rant over, i know 99% of fans support and adore the riders no matter what happens, but the 1% know who they are and should keep their gob shut...
as for the media, the has-beens and never-will-be's (BBC) and other british press i say this... only a coward kicks a man when he's down...

i cant wait for 2010/2011/2012! theres gonna be brits winning in 125's, Moto2, WSS and WSB!

wouldn't it be a real piss take in say, a few years Toseland comes back into Motogp on say an LCR honda, or Ducati, and got up there? he's got years left in him!

i say sorry again, i just had to get this off my chest, typical BBC and others bullshit pressing my buttons again...

cliff

I totally agree!

Our sportspeople have always had it hard like this - I wonder if mayeb this is the same in every country, though? I mean it was pretty common knowledge that the Italian media destroyed Biaggi and that was just because he was second to Rossi!

And what about Vermuelan? How come everyone is rubishing Toseland but not a word gets said about his apparent drop in performance over what he was doing at lower levels?

Personally, I'd be absolutely gutted being a bike racer at the same time as Rossi. You don't have a chance.

vermulen was/is a prime example of if you bring a million euro's or two in sponsorship, which gets you and the staff paid for, you'll be tolerated for so long!

the UK is VERY different to the rest of the world, in our culture and our percieved role as parents. I've travelled a bit, and the attitude of parents is totally polar to ours! lets have a history lesson, lol, Rossi was three when they lobbed him a go-kart and a minimoto, he had no pressure of his parents to race, win or do well, he just had to have fun and love it!

we protect our kids more (well, mine get the rossi upbringing), and they aren't allowed to build character at a young age, its always the old "health and safety" crap, and non-competitive sportsday, etc! british riders have been demonstrating this for fifteen years (Foggy, Whitam and co. are an exception!) they don't develop the "deep balls" if you like until mid-twenties, so putting them under immense pressure at 18/19 is pointless! i've seen this in everything to the forces to simply dealing with life, our next generation is less to deal with until later in life!

When i was a teenager, i was a good XC mountain bike racer, did ok, but it was a laugh for me, did it for fun, and i was lucky that my dad had the same attitude for living fun!
at several races, i saw my teenage competitors getting their butt torn for getting beat "by that skinny kid with the crap bike" (me), and these kids were made to train, made to race, and they hated it!

i'm not saying that british riders are pussies, they are as tough as they come at times, but they need to be nurtured. its not like europe, where kids are out in the world younger, scraming round on bloody peds at 14, chasing girls and brawling!

alright, rossi was winning 125/250 in his teens, but he is an anomaly! Look back at Roberts Jr, Doohan, Rainey, Schwantz, Lawson era, they were all mid to late tewnties or thirties in their prime,alright, its the 21st century now, Rossi has the biggest depth of competiton of his life now, but he is riding his best now. he's faltered due to "choking" before now, 2006 anyone? bet you he doesn't do that now!

people always get flamed in the media, in this country being a motorcyclist is a prisionable offense to some, but we know better, yeah?
the media slag who they like, but winning is everything in sport, after business. Doohan and Kocinski was C**ts, so is Stoner, but they rode hard all the time and won, so people respected that, Biaggi rode within himself at times, just because stroking an ego that big takes effort, it was noticed, and he got that rammed into him via the italian media (which makes the daily mail look like a kids' bedtime story) the same in spain, whoever is trying harder gets the praise of the pundits!

on a side note, if i was good enough to be in motogp, and near to the front, i look at it the same as my mountain biking racing went, if i beat him, even once, you've beat the ultimate, so f*** it, every dog has his day!

you want to be rattapck wilarot, the thai 250/moto2 rider, he's a bloody national hero there, just for paricipating, let alone doing anything!