05-05-13, 08:39 AM
Yes without doubt things have changed.....but the technology of today allow riders to do the things they do.
But you mentioned adapting.....what happened when Rossi went to Ducati? It didn't work out too well.
As for Hailwood.....he took ten years out and came back to win the TT.....on bikes that were light years ahead of what he was used to. If the ability is there to that degree then it can be done.
But ask yourself how many riders since then have taken 10 years out and then come back and done that? Do you honestly think any riders of today are capable of that?
We only saw a glimpse of the ability that the likes of Hailwood and Saarinen posssessed during that era.....because they were restricted by technology. Though those guys always rode beyond the boundaries of that technology to a level that was untouchable in their day. And totally dominated.
The only rider who's come remotely close to that in the modern era is Mick Doohan. But injuries notwithstanding, could he now return and be the force he was? Highly unlikely.....great rider though he was, he was no Mike Hailwood.
But you mentioned adapting.....what happened when Rossi went to Ducati? It didn't work out too well.
As for Hailwood.....he took ten years out and came back to win the TT.....on bikes that were light years ahead of what he was used to. If the ability is there to that degree then it can be done.
But ask yourself how many riders since then have taken 10 years out and then come back and done that? Do you honestly think any riders of today are capable of that?
We only saw a glimpse of the ability that the likes of Hailwood and Saarinen posssessed during that era.....because they were restricted by technology. Though those guys always rode beyond the boundaries of that technology to a level that was untouchable in their day. And totally dominated.
The only rider who's come remotely close to that in the modern era is Mick Doohan. But injuries notwithstanding, could he now return and be the force he was? Highly unlikely.....great rider though he was, he was no Mike Hailwood.