Finest 10 bike racers of all time?
Discussion
blade7 said:
Hailwood and Agostini out on their own. Rossi, Doohan and Rainey pretty equal. Roberts and Sheene equal. Riders than won one championship because the favorite crashed out, fine for one season, not all time. Superbike winners, also rans in the all time standings. Spanish riders, finest crashers. Stoner finest moaner.
‘Rossi, Doohan and Rainey pretty equal’ is a good shout. If you had to put them in order IMHO Rainey, Rossi and Doohan. I wouldn’t say these are the best ever (far from most of them) but racers I admire for different reasons…
Valentino Rossi
Kenan Sofuo?lu
Peter Hickman
Ben Spies
Noriyuki Haga
Marc Marquez
Jonathan Rea
Carlos Checa
Sylvain Guintoli
Shane Byrne
Ben Wilson
Joan Lascorz
James Haydon
Carl Fogarty
Valentino Rossi
Kenan Sofuo?lu
Peter Hickman
Ben Spies
Noriyuki Haga
Marc Marquez
Jonathan Rea
Carlos Checa
Sylvain Guintoli
Shane Byrne
Ben Wilson
Joan Lascorz
James Haydon
Carl Fogarty
Edited by duudiz on Friday 18th June 09:23
Stuart Fordyce said:
shurm said:
Rea ?
If you purely restrict it to WSBK, yes. But his lack of a career at the very highest level, or on the roads, means he won't really be in this discussion for me. I know Carl had success at the TT, but his career was by far focused on WSBK.
Muzzer79 said:
Stuart Fordyce said:
shurm said:
Rea ?
If you purely restrict it to WSBK, yes. But his lack of a career at the very highest level, or on the roads, means he won't really be in this discussion for me. I know Carl had success at the TT, but his career was by far focused on WSBK.
srob said:
I think it’s really difficult to call era to era. I love all bike sport and have always followed it and been lucky enough to see most famous riders since the first big race I went to which was the 92 British GP at Donington.
There’s the obvious (Hailwood, Dunlop(s), Ago, Sheene, Rossi etc) but there’s some further back that were proper good but forgotten now. Stanley Woods, Freddie Dixon etc.
The other issue I have with claiming Rossi’s a GOAT (which he may be, and I know you weren’t claiming that OP but it’s connected) is could he cope with the very, very real chance of death riders in the 60s and before had? It wasn’t an outside chance for those lads it was statistically likely for a while!
Also Hailwood would race in the 125, 350 and 500GP races in a day.
Dunno, slightly pissed pondering a bit I think it’s an interesting question but a really tough one to judge!
Like your thinking Simon but wouldnt you have to include one of my all-time favourites, Bill Ivy too? What about Geoff Duke too?There’s the obvious (Hailwood, Dunlop(s), Ago, Sheene, Rossi etc) but there’s some further back that were proper good but forgotten now. Stanley Woods, Freddie Dixon etc.
The other issue I have with claiming Rossi’s a GOAT (which he may be, and I know you weren’t claiming that OP but it’s connected) is could he cope with the very, very real chance of death riders in the 60s and before had? It wasn’t an outside chance for those lads it was statistically likely for a while!
Also Hailwood would race in the 125, 350 and 500GP races in a day.
Dunno, slightly pissed pondering a bit I think it’s an interesting question but a really tough one to judge!
Also for sheer guts & performance, Peter Hickman for his IOM record?
sprinter1050 said:
Like your thinking Simon but wouldnt you have to include one of my all-time favourites, Bill Ivy too? What about Geoff Duke too?
Also for sheer guts & performance, Peter Hickman for his IOM record?
Yep there’s loads going a bit further back. Also for sheer guts & performance, Peter Hickman for his IOM record?
My point is that I think it’s impossible to compare eras as the conditions are/were so different. Could a modern racer cope with the psychological pressure of likely serious injury or death or racing in three classes a weekend? Similarly could some of the older racers have coped with the additional pressures that come with having to please sponsors and the crazy forces put through the body by modern bikes?
We’ll never know!
Rob 131 Sport said:
Stevemtb said:
If Carl Fogarty is included in this list then Troy Bayliss should also be in without a doubt and possibly Nori Haga.
I don’t recall either of them winning on the Roads. Fogarty was a TT sensation for the time he was in it. Rob 131 Sport said:
I don’t recall either of them winning on the Roads. Fogarty was a TT sensation for the time he was in it.
Roads are a far harder challenge than doing little in GPs. I'm not sure where I'd put Foggy, as he's before my time to be honest. But it would be well ahead of Bayliss and Haga wouldn't even be in the discussion.Stuart Fordyce said:
shurm said:
Rea ?
If you purely restrict it to WSBK, yes. But his lack of a career at the very highest level, or on the roads, means he won't really be in this discussion for me. Dave Jefferies. It was a bad day when he left us.
Ago, A great racer and a nice bloke too. I chatted with him ( briefly at the GFOS once.
John Surtees, a fantastic racer, and a Goodwood regular.
Mike Hailwood
Barry Sheen
Carl Fogarty.
Steve Hislop.
Valentino Rossi
Joey Dunlop.
Jonathan Rae.
I reckon that’s about right.
Ago, A great racer and a nice bloke too. I chatted with him ( briefly at the GFOS once.
John Surtees, a fantastic racer, and a Goodwood regular.
Mike Hailwood
Barry Sheen
Carl Fogarty.
Steve Hislop.
Valentino Rossi
Joey Dunlop.
Jonathan Rae.
I reckon that’s about right.
Edited by Maximus_Meridius101 on Saturday 19th June 12:20
In no particular order...
Fogarty, got off his arse, got out there and made his career happen. Won a world endurance championship to pay the bills for his private WSBK effort.
Surtees for winning on two wheels and four and not taking any s
t off old man Ferrari.
Hailwood, could win on pretty much anything and managed to finish 1st & 2nd in a sports car race.
Roberts, won three on the trot and made everybody raise their game with his unrelenting professionalism.
Lawson, also for his unrelenting professionalism, being the first ever rider to win back to back titles for different factories and being one of only three riders to win a 500GP race for three different manufacturers, see Hailwood above.
Joey Dunlop, won on the Island on everything from a 125GP to a TZ750 to a WSBK V-twin to a F1 RVF. The top brass at Honda thought he was some sort of god, Dunlop thought he should spend the off season delivering food and blankets to East European orphanages.
Doohan, made Lawson and Roberts look like a pair of slackers with his Terminator like focus
Hislop, for being faster round Donington on a 998 than Rossi on a full factory Honda RC211V and being far better than he was ever given credit for.
Hickman for being so bloody fast on the Island.
Michael Dunlop, first man to lap the Island under 17m, 19 TT wins but most of all for winning the 250 race at the 2008 NW200
Fogarty, got off his arse, got out there and made his career happen. Won a world endurance championship to pay the bills for his private WSBK effort.
Surtees for winning on two wheels and four and not taking any s
t off old man Ferrari.Hailwood, could win on pretty much anything and managed to finish 1st & 2nd in a sports car race.
Roberts, won three on the trot and made everybody raise their game with his unrelenting professionalism.
Lawson, also for his unrelenting professionalism, being the first ever rider to win back to back titles for different factories and being one of only three riders to win a 500GP race for three different manufacturers, see Hailwood above.
Joey Dunlop, won on the Island on everything from a 125GP to a TZ750 to a WSBK V-twin to a F1 RVF. The top brass at Honda thought he was some sort of god, Dunlop thought he should spend the off season delivering food and blankets to East European orphanages.
Doohan, made Lawson and Roberts look like a pair of slackers with his Terminator like focus
Hislop, for being faster round Donington on a 998 than Rossi on a full factory Honda RC211V and being far better than he was ever given credit for.
Hickman for being so bloody fast on the Island.
Michael Dunlop, first man to lap the Island under 17m, 19 TT wins but most of all for winning the 250 race at the 2008 NW200
Gassing Station | Biker Banter | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff