The Italian Dream

Finally!.....
Valentino Rossi + Ducati

Rossi, now in RED!

Parting lines (updated)

1. What (and why) boys think about their bikes is as unexplainable and complicated as girls!
Bigger or smaller, boys will be boys!

2. It's official!
Valentino Rossi will be riding for DUCATI corse faqctory racing MotoGP team from 2011.
This also means that this is his last year with his favourite Yamaha YZR M1, the bike he developed over last 7 years, and brought victories for the Yamaha team. The greenish yellow 46 on blue Yamaha will now be seen on red Ducati.

3. This is what the 9 time world champion Valentino Rossi said yesterday in a press release on his parting from Yamaha,
"Now the moment has come to look for new challenges; my work here at Yamaha is finished. Unfortunately even the most beautiful love stories finish, but they leave a lot of wonderful memories, like when my M1 and I kissed for the first time on the grass at Welkom, when she looked straight in my eyes and told me ‘I love you!"
:)

Read the full press release here.
UPDATE: Reading between the lines of Valentino , what makes him much more than the best rider ever... what is more important than winning, to him?

The Metropolitan

This is first time I am writing about a scooter! I loved this! The Honda Metropolitan, also known as Honda Jazz in Canada. The Vespa inspired, cool, simple, chic and with Honda realiability! I doubt it is an Italian design though. But thats what (apart from price) makes it even better than Vespa, Italian design and Japanese technology! At 49cc it's more like a fashion accessory than a scooter. This is a good example of how you sell an underpowered scooter. Don't just sell it as a scooter. Apart from communicating that its a simple, easy casual commuter, it also gives you a chance to make a statement and to have fun! The simplicity of form makes it easy for a large audience to connect to it at some or the other point of time, in some or the other colour. This is a good example of how something can be elegant as well as fun! A very nice play of form, proportions and colours.

Here it is, the only scooter I loved! Because when I say 'scooter', this is exactly what I imagine. For anything else, better go for a bike! ;)

I am not sure about the front though! A normal head mounted headlight would have been better I guess. It also reminds me of our popular Activa. Ohh, and Honda Activa did something similar to Bajaj here in India. When it was launched, critics said, "Honda has made a better Bajaj!"

These are few pics depicting Vespa way of making a fashion statement.

Pure Italian

If you are from the world where JLo stands for Jorge Lorenzo, this is a big news for you!

Valentino Rossi shifting to Ducati from the next MotoGP season!

The news that every Italian was waiting for, for many years! It seems finally their dream is coming true. Finally.... Italian flag and the Italian rider on the Italian bike.

Finally.... no confusion being Ducati fan and being Rossi fan.

Ducati Desmosedici and Valentino Rossi... what a combination!

Finally, it will be Red + Yellow... ( do I mean orange? ;) )

I am waiting for official news and next season!

(somehow I still continue to like yamaha also... at least untill I afford a Ducati)

46

What else can I do except writing about the number '46' in reference to Valentino Rossi, in my 46th post? :)
He has always raced with the number 46 in his motorcycle grand prix career. Rossi has stated that the original inspiration for this choice of number was the Japanese "wild card" racer Norifumi Abe whom he saw on television speeding past much more seasoned riders in a wet race. He later found out that it was the number his (valentino's) father had raced with in the first of his 3 grand prix career wins, in 1979, in Yugoslavia, on a 250c Morbidelli. Typically, a World Championship winner (and also runner-up and third place) is awarded the #1 sticker for the next season. However, in a homage to Barry Sheene (who was the first rider of the modern era to keep the same number), Rossi has stayed with the now-famous #46 throughout his career. The text on his helmet refers to the name of his group of friends: "The Tribe of the Chihuahua", and the letters WLF on his leathers stand for "Viva La Figa", Italian for "Hooray for the Pussy". He has so far escaped any sanctions or ultimatums that he take the letters off because the "W" in "WLF" represents the two "V"s in "ViVa". Equally obvious is his success at escaping any disciplinary action from the FIM or Dorna for having the letters so brazenly on the front neck area of his leathers. He traditionally also incorporates his favorite color (fluorescent yellow) into his leather designs. Even though Rossi's won the MotoGP title 8 times he has never put the number 1 on his motorcycle representing the World Champion, instead staying with his famous "46". However, Rossi has worn the #1 reserved for the reigning World Champion on the shoulder of his racing leathers.