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EWAN McGREGOR:
The race never ends.

A week after
the last Grand Prix of the year, in early November,

the teams are out testing
for next season.

Lap after lap.

Knees on the ground
in the corners.

200 miles an hour
down the straights,

looking for
a little extra speed.

They're crazy.

They're gonna
kill themselves.

Maybe.

But what about the buzz?

The babes?

The money?

In fact, since 1960, only one
of the 500cc World Champions

has died on the track,

Gary Hocking.

He was testing
a Formula 1 car at the time.

But they all survived their
motorcycle racing careers.

How do they do it?

Why do they do it?

Week in, week out,

riding and crashing,

and riding and winning,

and always faster,

and faster

and faster.

At the beginning,
when you try the first time
the 500,

"Ah, fuck!"

[UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYING]

I used to think
all road racers were nuts.

You know, racing around a track
at that speed.

Well, it's just
like a video game

that has...
the element of danger.

As a racer, you always
have that in the back
of your mind...

You always wonder,
you know,

"When's it gonna happen?"

'Cause it will happen.
You will fall off.

Speed is something dangerous

but very exciting.

The top speed is 314.

-MAN: Nearly 200 miles an hour?
-Yeah, nearly 200 miles an hour.

It's good, huh? [LAUGHS]

For the first approach,
you will think

this is a crazy sport.

By the end of the day,
it's not that crazy.

Growing up as a kid,
always thinking, you know,

"if I could ever just race
motorcycles

"and make a living,

"that'd be the coolest thing
known to mankind."

What do I like about GPs now?

The crumpet, I suppose.

This is a real war,
these 16 races.

That's your job,
and that's what you do

and you have to win,

or you know,
you're out of your mind.

If you got second, you just
wanted to kill everybody.

The sensation you have

before the green light
is always the same.

It's always very, very strong.

McGREGOR: There are other
international championships.

125, 250,

Supersport, Superbike.

But if you want to be
the World Champion,

this is the one
you have to win.

MotoGP, the fastest men

on the fastest bikes
in the world.

♪ You want it badly

♪ You want it tangled

♪ I want to feel something
more than I was strangled

♪ I fell in love
with the sweet sensation

♪ I gave my heart
to a simple chord

♪ I gave my soul
to a new religion

♪ Whatever happened to you?

♪ Whatever happened
to our rock 'n roll?

♪ Whatever happened
to my rock 'n roll?

♪ She wants it hallow

♪ She wants it tainted

♪ She wants to feel something
more than she was naked

♪ You want to hide away

♪ You scared you'll touch it

♪ I want to feel something more than I can ever take

♪ I fell in love with
the sweet sensation

♪ I gave my heart
to a simple chord

♪ I gave my soul
to a new religion

♪ Whatever happened to you,
rock 'n roll?

♪ Whatever happened
to our rock 'n roll?

♪ Whatever happened
to my rock 'n roll? ♪

[CROWD CHEERING]

McGREGOR: The MotoGP season
runs from April to November.

Sixteen races in eight months
on five continents.

The locations may change,

but it's actually all one
and the same place,

a town that moves
around the world,

populated by a couple
of thousand highly-skilled
professionals

in the grip
of a shared obsession.

MAN: We all are just junkies,
speed junkies.

McGREGOR:
This is the routine.

Arrive Wednesday.
Set up Thursday.

Practice Friday and Saturday.

Race Sunday.
Pack up and move on.

At the start of the season,
there are 24 riders.

At times,
there will be fewer.
Accidents happen.

Most teams have two riders.

Your teammate is not your ally.

He's the first person
you want to beat.

The guy with
the same equipment as you.

The race is a sprint.
No pit stops.

Every man for himself.

Race distance
is about 75 miles,

which takes around 40 minutes

when you're averaging
over 100 miles an hour.

First place scores 25 points.

Second, 20.
Sixteen for third.

All the way down
to a single point for 15th.

But before you can think
about winning,

you have to master the bike,

which in 2001, means
the 500cc two-stroke,

the most brutal race machine
ever built.

JULIAN RYDER:
Anybody who can ride

a 500cc Grand Prix motorcycle

well enough to qualify for
a Grand Prix grid is a hero.

Anybody.
Because these things are

the most evil devices.

They are man-eaters.

If you treat them wrong,
they will bite.

Well, you've got
to be really careful

because the way the power is
on the two-stroke engine.

If you open
the power too early,

it just spins up
and spits you off,

because of the weight
of them

and the power
that they have got.

They're pretty...

I think they're
pretty evil in a way.

The two-stroke is
quite a crude engine.

But for its weight,

it's a very, very
effective power unit.

[ENGINES REVVING]

The 500 is another world.

The bike comes
from another world.

Unbelievable, no?
Because it's just sliding,

moving, a lot of power,

because just when open,
impossible to control.

OLIVIER JACQUE:
The acceleration was so fast.

I was used to
racing bikes, 250. So...

So...

How you say?
The landscape
is going like this,

but with the 500,
it's going like this.

It was throwing me around,

and it was hard
to hang on to.

It was a real rough ride.

CARLOS CHECA: When the bike is working well,

the bike is doing
what you want,

and you go fast,
and you don't
think on the bike.

It's just one.
Your wheels are your legs.

It's a good connection.
It's really a nice feeling.

It's nice.
You know, it's...

There's not words
that that can explain
for the acceleration.

Now, I need more power.

TREVOR MORRIS:
It just blows your mind

when you hear the rider say
"No, my bike's slow,"

and you know
how fast they are.

And yet they do complain,

because they get used
to the power.

I started racing
when I have 14 years old.

But I started
to ride the motorbike

when I was four years old.

Yes, long time ago.

I've been doing it
most of my life,

ever since I was
five, six years of age.

My dad used to race speedway.

It was just a fun thing,
I guess.

It was his hobby,
and he enjoyed it.

And then, I guess
as he had a kid,

he wanted him
to ride a bike, too.

CHECA:
My father was not so bad.
My mother, for sure, no.

And then my grandfather,
he had some money.

But he give me
nothing for race. [LAUGHS]

He told me, "For study,
I give you what you want.

"But just for bikes, I don't
want to give you nothing."

LORIS CAPIROSSI:
My mother is my manager,

but never see the race.

When the race is finished,
I phone home and say,

"Okay, Mom.
I finish third, four, five."

"Okay, I see the race."

All the time, my mother say,
"Okay, Loris, go easy.

"Go easy. Go slowly."

But for my job,
it's difficult to go slowly.

It's better to go more fast
all the time.

I am here because

I have a son racing
in the motorcycle... [LAUGHS]

In the Motorcycle GP
that is named Valentino Rossi.

And I am a big fan of motorcycle

and a big fan of Valentino.

My mother
was not very happy,

because she want I study
and blah, blah, blah.

But now,
come to see the races,

and yes, have a little bit
of fear like all the mothers.

My mother, too,
she say motorcycle is crazy.

VALENTINO:
My father race also.

So when I started,
she say no.

After Graziano,
also my son.

But in the end,
it's like this.

The motorcycle is
a little bit hard sport.

To be...
pay very good attention.

A lot of fun
when you get it right,

but the other side
of the coin
isn't that great.

I touched a white line.
It was very, very greasy.

It was almost like ice.

On full acceleration,
probably about
135 mile an hour,

the bike just threw me off.

Went straight into a sand trap and then into a wall.

I broke my leg
into around 17 pieces,

and my foot,
my hand, my arm,

my shoulders, ribs.

Just a couple
little odds and ends.

It's madness.
I can't think of it
any other way.

To enjoy riding
a motorcycle fast,

to develop your skills

and to exploit them
in competition is one thing.

But then to do it
at this level,

this absolutely
fearsome pitch,

weekend after weekend,

against other people
who are quite as mad

and quite as good as you,

that's what
I find fascinating,

and frightening
and admirable about racing.

RYDER: The thing about
motorcycle racing

is you can see a man
at work.

If a guy nearly goes
over the handlebars

at 120 miles an hour,

his body language tells you
what just happened.

You can absolutely tell
what's going on

just from the shapes
these guys make.

DOOHAN: At 100 and,
say, 60 miles an hour

or 260 kilometers an hour,

the bike really doesn't want
to change directions.

It just wants
to keep going straight.

You don't just
turn the handlebars.

You've actually got to
physically steer it

with your feet
and your body

to actually make it
change directions.

If you
just turn the handlebar,
the tire will turn,

but the bike will keep,
actually, straight ahead.

Doing the car racing
that I've done,

I always felt like,

"If I could just move around
in this seat a little bit,

"maybe I could change
the handling of the car."

But, you know,
it's a 3,000-pound car,

and you're not
going to affect
the handling of it very much.

Whereas,
a Grand Prix motorcycle,

sliding your butt back
two inches in the seat,

you know,
affects the nose weight

to the rear end weight
a ton on a motorcycle.

Motorcycle racing,
the rider is probably
80% of the equation,

whereas in,
say, Formula 1, in cars,

I would say that
the car is 80%
of the equation,

and the driver is 20.

The biggest difference
comes from the rider.

If they're in a good mood

and happy with the set-up
of the bike,

they make a great difference
to the actual lap time,

compared to what we can do
with adjustments.

I think 90% of motorcycle
racing is between the ears.

GRAZIANO:
I remember Valentino begin

to test motorcycle
before the bike.

I think he was two years old
or two and a half probably.

I was not able
to teach nothing.

No, no, no, no time.

I was only able
to get Valentino with me

to know the riders,

and to know the bikes
and to know the sport, yeah.

When I tried to
teach him something,

he looked me
in a strange way.

And I understand
that he want to do

all alone, every time.

I started working
with Valentino

at the beginning of 2000
or the end of 1999,

after it was clear
that Mick Doohan was not

going to resume his career
after the accident.

Valentino had already won
the 250 World Championship

and was keen to step up.

The moment I started
to work with him,

it was very clear
that he had

extremely good education
in his younger years.

The Doctor because...
[CHUCKLES]

I don't think
there is a particular reason.

But is beautiful and is
important, The Doctor.
[LAUGHS]

And in Italy,
The Doctor is a name

you give to someone
for respect.

It's very important.
The Doctor is important.

[CHUCKLES]

SHEENE:
Biaggi is a good rider.

You know, on his day,
he's really good.

It's just a matter
of finding his day.

I could be wrong,
but I just don't think

he has what Rossi has.

He's quick, but he's not
quick everywhere.

And when the bike
has a problem,

a lot of the times,
he can't ride around that.

In the smaller categories,
he was brilliant.

SCOTT: He's a very,
very complex character.

He's a very interesting man.

Max Biaggi's mother
abandoned the family

when he was,
I'm not quite sure how old.

It just isn't something
anyone talks about very much.

But she abandoned him
as an infant.

I would think
you could take it as a read

that that's going to have
a very severe effect
on your psyche.

It's driven Max to be an extraordinary perfectionist.

He's terribly punishing
on himself

when he's less than perfect.

It's also left him
with a distorted sense
of proportion.

I think he's
definitely a product

of the press PR machine

that his team
and sponsors generate,

and perhaps
he's believed it a bit.

BURGESS:
It's common knowledge

that Max and Valentino are

completely different
types of people.

Regardless of what sport
they're involved in,

they're probably never going
to ever be friends.

As far as Rossi's concerned,

it's been going on
for a long time,

since, I think, even before
he started racing.

He was a Capirossi fan.

And Capirossi and Biaggi
were racing,

so he just naturally,
as a fan,

didn't like his hero's rival.

Then there's
a personal animosity,

and there's a great personality difference between them.

And that's just grown
and grown and grown.

And Biaggi made
an interesting remark.

He said that,
"Rossi's been racing against me

"even when he was on a 125
and I was on a 500.

"And I've only been racing
against Rossi

"since he came
into the same class."

They've got all sorts
of different reasons to...
[CHUCKLES]

Biaggi is Roman.
Up market.

Likes the film stars
and football stars.

Lives in Monaco
where you're supposed to
if you're, you know...

And Rossi, seaside boy.

Grew up as what the Americans,
I believe, call a paddock brat.

Biaggi certainly didn't.

SCOTT:
I think it's really Biaggi

who drives the rivalry,

and Rossi plays with it.
Rossi exploits it.

Rossi's quite clever
in that way.

RYDER: I thought Max
was out of order.

I thought he was
well out of order.

Okay. Rossi was going
around the outside,

which was a big ask.

And Max was probably
quite legitimately
drifting out.

And he may have thought...
I don't know what he thought,

but he shouldn't have done it,
in my view.

SCHWANTZ:
It looks like he's trying

to elbow Rossi
off the track,

and that's probably
what Rossi translates it as.

When you stack two motorcycles
side by side

on the same foot and a half
or two foot of pavement

that they're trying
to race on,

a lot of times you do stuff
with your body

to keep parts
of the motorcycle
from actually hitting,

so that you don't get
a handlebar locked

with somebody else
and fall over.

So, in Biaggi's defense,
I can see him

maybe trying to get off
the bike a little bit

and looking like he's actually
trying to elbow Rossi

more than he was actually
trying to do.

Maybe Valentino was taking
more of a risk

than he really needed to.

Again,
trying to make a point.

"Well, it's Max.
I'm going to go
around the long way."

Um, Max wasn't having it,
was he?

No, it wasn't pretty.

To have actually been there,
and seen it,

and know what
the frame of mind was

between those two guys
at that given time,

you know,
maybe it was Biaggi

just trying
to be a bully or an idiot.

It was deeply cynical,

I thought,
and immensely entertaining.

And how much
more entertaining

when Rossi went past him
and flipped him
the finger afterwards?

This is the stuff
of great racing.

It was certainly...

I don't think it was
as dangerous as it looked.

Though I don't think
it was completely safe,
either.

It's wonderful.
They need to be careful

doing things
like that intentionally

'cause someone can get hurt.

But, you know, rivalry's good. That's what racing's about.

It's about winning,
which means

some poor sod has gotta
come second.

In the end, Rossi has
the last laugh of him,
anyway, doesn't he?

ROE: That's Italian rivalry
as well, isn't it?

BENNET: Oh, yeah.

Unbelievable, wasn't it?
Especially with Biaggi,

'cause it's just a big
media thing to him, isn't it?

Because Max always wants
to be in the limelight,
doesn't he?

He wants to be
on the front of magazines,

and he wants everyone
to think,
"Oh, yes, that's Max Biaggi."

Well, he has been
over the years,

especially when he was
250 World Champion,

he was like Italy's darling,
you know, for bike racing.

But since Rossi's come in,

he's stomped all over
his ground, hasn't he?

And I don't think Max
takes that very kindly.

And that's just
Italian temperament,
especially from Max's side.

I don't think so much
from Valentino's side,

because he seems
to be pretty laid back.

I would imagine Rossi
doesn't really take...

too bothered
about it all, actually.

No, it's like he just enjoys

-riding the bike.
-That's right.

He just comes across
as somebody who's trying
to enjoy himself.

ROE: You don't ever
hear any stories

-of him complaining
about things or...
-BENNET: No.

ROE: He's just there
to enjoy himself

and do the best job he can.

And he does do
a very good job
of it, doesn't he?

Oh, I mean,
he's the best out there,

-isn't he, at the moment?
-Quite right.

It's really Rossi,
when he arrived
from his paddock,

and Biaggi
was the Italian icon,

and Rossi started, basically,
just taking the mick.

Deflate it a little.

Um... And it's grown
from there.

MARTIN:
This young Valentino Rossi's
come along

who's more of a character.

There's definitely a couple of
very clever people behind him.

He stopped out on the track
after winning the 250 race,

and dived into the toilet
and come back out
30 seconds later.

Everyone was cackling to
themselves, laughing.

Max, at one stage,
was rumored to be dating
Naomi Campbell,

and I think it had something
to do with that.
I'm not really sure.

The Italian guys
could probably tell you.

They just have a chuckle
and don't say a lot.

[LAUGHING]
The inflatable doll episode.

Let me think.
Now, at the time,

there were reports
linking Biaggi

with Naomi Campbell,
I seem to recall.

Typically shallow
celeb stuff,

which one suspected
was probably

serving the interest
of each of their careers

more than any personal thing.

And Rossi picked up on this,
or his fan club did.

And when he won a race,
they got an inflatable doll,

dressed her
in a rugby jersey,
as I remember,

but with the name
Claudia Schiffer on the back.

And he went around
with Claudia Schiffer
on the back.

So, you had to know
about the Biaggi thing

to appreciate it,
but everybody did, so...

I think
the story is very easy
about me and Max.

We... we... We don't like...
[CHUCKLES]

I think is normal, no?

To have somebody
you don't like.

And one for me is Biaggi.
And one for Biaggi is Rossi.

So, it's okay. I think
we fight for the same target.

McGREGOR: At the start
of the 2001 season,

the real threat to Rossi
is arguably not Max Biaggi,

but Garry McCoy.

In 2000, his first full season on a 500,

McCoy won three races,
more than Rossi or Biaggi.

He also developed

a spectacularly different way
of riding the bike.

I'm trying to remember
which race it was.

We had a slow motion picture
of smoke pouring off
a back tire

in qualifying, I think,
in Portugal or South Africa.
I can't remember which track.

We thought, "What the...
is going on there?"

But you realized it wasn't
an accident happening,

or an engine blowing up,
or steam leaking off
an engine.

It was a tire
spinning so much,

going, say, 65 miles an hour
faster than the front tire.

It was just lighting up
and laying smoke.

And that's just ridiculous.

You can't do that
on a racing 500 motorcycle
unless you're Garry McCoy.

It was about two-thirds
or three-quarters of the way
through the first year.

Suddenly, you saw
McCoy riding quite differently

and he gets it sideways
on the brakes,

and sideways
all over the place,

and it worked.

Really. And it was
the way not to ride.

Everyone was saying
he shouldn't be sliding
around too much.

That's old-fashioned.
Don't need to do that.

-How good was that?
-Very good.

He revolutionized it.
He really changed
everyone's thinking.

KENNY ROBERTS:
I mean, Garry adds
a different dimension

to the Grand Prix.

Um, at times, I think
he's over the limit

in terms of the way
he has to ride.

McCoy is a little bit looser
than a lot of people.
[CHUCKLES]

He has good bike control,

but I don't necessarily think
it's the quickest way
around the racetrack.

It's difficult
with people like that
sitting on the sideline

saying, "You slide it too much
and whatever."

I mean,
just look at the race
in South Africa.

It was sideways everywhere,
and I won the race.

So I can't really say
that's the slow way around.

COMMENTATOR: That unique
slipping, sliding style
brings victory.

SCOTT: McCoy's strange
wheel spinning style

brought up
a huge breakthrough

in understanding
of how tires work people hadn't realized before.

They thought that
if you spin the tire,

that's what makes it
get hot, which is true.

McCoy proved that
if you spin it a lot,

only the surface gets hot.

But if you can't spin it,
instead of the surface
getting hot,

the whole carcass
of the tire heats up,

and the carcass
of the tire gets hotter,

and that damages the tire
much more than just being
a little hot on the surface.

McCOY: The crowd loves it,

and if I can win races
doing it, I'll just continue.

ROE: I've known Garry
since '98.
I know him really well.

He was riding for Shell Advance
at the time, for Jeff Hardwick.

Getting from a 125
onto the 500, it was a big...

physically, it was
a big shock to him.

But he just trained quite a bit,and he got used to it.

Then he broke his leg
at Czechoslovakia

during Sunday morning
warm-up.

Touched the back
of Mick Doohan on quite
a fast right-hand turn

and ended up
breaking his leg.

So that was the end
of his '98 season.

And then, he ended up

not doing anything
after that for a long time.

He ended up
going back to Australia

and doing few bits
of part-time jobs, I think,

for his dad
and what have you.

McCOY:
It was all a funny deal.
It left me without a ride,

and I just sort of
gave up on racing.

And I thought
I'd get a normal job,

and, you know,
stop breaking bones,

and started putting up
roller doors.

At that time, we were
looking to replace somebody,

and I believe it was
Hamish who said,

"Well, gee,
what about Garry McCoy? He rode a Honda twin last year.

"He broke his leg
and had a terrible year.

"And he might be
just the thing."

JAMIESON:
He did half of '99,
all of 2000.

So he's been, like,
two years on the bike,

which is still
a relatively short time

compared to a lot
of his competitors.

He is improving a lot.

BENNET: You see
these big slides
he does on the TV,

and, I mean,
some of them are big ones.

And he comes
in the garage afterwards,

and we may be laughing,
"Did you see that?"

Well, he's done it
and forgot it,

or didn't even notice
he'd done it.

-You know, doesn't he?
-ROE: Aye, he does.

He doesn't talk about it
or nothing.
He's not big-headed.

-ROE: He never brags
about things, does he?
-No, no, not at all.

-Just gets on it and rides it.
-BENNET: Not at all.

McCOY: Yeah, I used
to do Speedway,

and a bit of dirt track
and motocross.

A lot of, you know,
dirt background.

I feel comfortable
on the bike doing that.

Just sort of
rolling the throttle,
playing with it.

Obviously, if you just
hold it full throttle,

it's just gonna, you know,
wheel spin itself silly.

So you've just got to
sort of roll it off a bit

and try and transfer
a bit more weight
to the back.

And that's it. It's easy.

[LAUGHS]

GEMMA VOCES: I never think
he's going to crash.
I don't like to think that.

And then if he crash,
the first thing I see is

if he is walking
or if he is still
on the floor.

You're just caught up
with the moment,

and the concern
for his initial safety

and purely
the personal thing.

He's got up.
You know he's okay.
That's the main thing.

He's walking.
He seems to be okay.
Oh, he's holding his wrist.

You can see the fracture
here on this bone.

And it's not a big injury,
but the problem is
on the joint.

It's a serious one
because it affects
your ability

to ride the motorcycle
so severely.

It's fundamental
to your grip
of the handlebars,

and especially
under, sort of, braking,

all the force that's thrown
onto the handlebars.

Your own weight demands
a lot of strength
from the wrist,

and basically, a broken
scaphoid destroys that.

[SPEAKING ITALIAN]

MAN: The smallest accidents
can have fearful consequences

and the most extraordinary
180 mile an hour

end over end
into the gravel trap.

People get up and walk away.

JAMIESON: We always like
to try and understand
why it happened.

When a rider's
riding well and the bike's
working good,

everything's working
good together.

So you're getting close
to the limit of the
performance of everything.

Then there's a certain risk.
You know, where is the limit?

In that case,
Garry went over the limit.

You know, he was a little
bit quicker than he'd been

previously into
a particular corner.

And a combination of factors.

The tire was quite new,
hadn't been used so much
on the left hand side.

Adjustments we were trying
to the bike,

just pushed it over
the limit and he crashed.

[SPEAKING ITALIAN]

That kind of crash
is the worst.

Uh, at least,
I was, uh, lucky.

Never get a big injury.

Nothing broken.
Just pain everywhere.

This is stable because
we never feel it.

Before, then we
are in the sky
and you feel it,

and you say, "Okay,
it's too late. You cannot
do anything."

We have a lot of protection.

We have protection here,
we have protection here,
we have protection here.

Every time we try
to improve the leather.

Because when you have
the big crash,

you understand that
what is the problem
and you try to fix it.

Shinya Nakano's Gauloises suit
made of kangaroo.

The thickness is
1.1 millimeters.

Kangaroo, yeah, because
the weight is half weight

than compared to the cow.

Half weight and, uh,

maybe two or three times
more strong.

TROLLI: 'Cause Shinya
comes out with some ideas.

He suggests a different
kind of padding inside.

By the hips section, uh,
different thickness,

we test it and it worked out
pretty good.

And now we pass it
over to other racers.

The back protector,
I invented it in 1973.

I made it,
and the end of '77,

I gave it to Dianese to copy.

I formed, uh, the plastic part

with old visors
from a helmet

and I formed it so that
it would bend forward

but it wouldn't
bend backwards.

TROLLI: The things
that the guys wear help.

But fundamentally,
you haven't got
to hit anything.

And that's where
the design of the tracks

and to a lesser extent,
the air fence. Um,
but mainly it's run-off.

CHECA: For example,
in Japan one time,

I crashed
270 kilometers per hour
and I was sliding,

but nothing happened.

ROBERTS: Virtually all
the Grand Prix tracks,

you have so much
run-off room that

it would be a freak accident
to get seriously injured.

Where when I first came
to Europe, that wasn't
the case.

There were some racetracks
where you would get
seriously killed,

uh, if you fell off.

CLIFFORD: If a rider
ran off the track,

he was... A good chance
he'd hit the side
of the house

or a telegraph pole
or something like that.

All that has gone.
They're all purpose built
racetracks now

or with a lot of clear
road at the side.

And, you know, there's
a very good chance

if the rider slides off,
he just slides across
the grass,

into the gravel track,
gets up and walks away.

It's the nasty kind
of awkward falls

that Garry, like the one
that Garry had,

where he's thrown
into the air and he
falls awkwardly.

RYDER: Of course,
it's a dangerous sport,

but when you get

to this level in any sport,

it's amazing how many people
are playing football,

sprinting, cycling
while injured in some way.

Top level sportsmen
are very rarely at 100%.

You know, there was times
that I, you know, I was
riding with broken bones.

We all have.
Broken bones in my hands
and in your feet

and, you know,
ribs and cracked stuff.

So, you know, you just,
you just suck it up.

And you just find
ways to, uh,

ride around the stuff.

I rode with
a dislocated wrist
for the last four laps.

I'd been swung up
in the air on the bike,

and I came down
and my chest,
actually hit my wrist,

and knocked
the lunar bone out,
and my hand was like this.

I was downshifting
and upshifting
without the clutch,

but I ended up
finishing fourth,

so that's the extreme
that people go to.

That's the risk that
we're willing to take.

SCHWANTZ: I broke my arm
mountain bike riding

just before the start
of the '94 season,

so I had that to come back
from and fell off in Holland

and dislocated my wrist,
and I guess for some reason,

maybe being the world champ
from the year before,

um, I felt like I needed
to continue and try and race

instead of just
leave the sport,

go get my wrist fixed
like I probably should
have done.

A rider is not
a normal people.

When you broke a finger,

and, uh, if you are
a normal people

and you need to go to work
or something is normal,

you stay 20 days...

in your house,
you see the television,
drink coffee is okay,

but all the rider want...
want go.

[SPEAKING ITALIAN]

CLAUDIA CHERICI:
After his crash in '92,

Mick Doohan risked
to lose not just his leg,
but also his life.

His two legs had to be
joined together for one leg
to nourish the other.

30 or 40 days afterwards,

he wanted to try again
to get on a bike.

His wounds
were still bleeding.

RAINEY: When I saw
him in Brazil,

I was just amazed
that he was even there.

You know, the way he looked,
the way he was walking.

I did ride
the second to last race,
did score some points,

but it wasn't enough.

And Wayne Rainey went on
to win the Championship.

Dr. Costa did say it was silly, but he was willing to do
what I wanted to do.

And if it worked,
it would have
been fantastic.

He saved my leg
from being amputated.

Without his input
into my life, and, you know,
I wouldn't have a leg.

So let alone the, uh...
Let alone five world
championships.

[SPEAKING ITALIAN]

Dr. Costa was one
of those guys that
grew up with all of us.

[DR. COSTA SPEAKING ITALIAN]

CHERICI: He is a specialist
in orthopedic traumatology,

rehabilitation and
sports medicine.

SCHWANTZ: Having
that common person there
at every event,

knowing that if something
happened to you,

you were gonna have him
to look after you,

makes such
a big difference.

And a lot of people
see him as maybe he
does a little bit too much

to help racers
get back to racing.

But every time I got hurt,
he always asked me,

"Kevin, what do
you wanna do?"

He gives you your options.
Proper medical.

Maybe motorcycle medical
we should call it.

SCOTT: Well, he's a doctor
of philosophy as well
as a doctor of medicine.

And he's got
some unusual opinions.
[CHUCKLES]

[SPEAKING ITALIAN]

SCOTT: Costa's absolutely
blatant about his methods
of practice and treatment.

There's no secret about it.
He'll use any possible

new medical method
he can dream up

or get his hands on
to fix them up
and send them out there.

Costa is, uh,
very, very special.

He understand it's possible,
is a risk sometimes,

and for sure, if Costa say
is better you don't race,

it's better you don't race.

McGREGOR: June, 2001.

It's been a month and two races
since the operation to repair
McCoy's wrist.

Fracture is here,
and you have a clip.

If the body is strong enough,
okay, he can race.

If he's not, no way.

JAMIESON: The lowest point
is now when they're injured

and it's not
a straightforward injury,
so there's waiting.

Is he going to ride
at the next race?

We're in a great
position this year,

in as much as
Garry is very competitive,

the bike and the team
are working really
well together.

This year, it's all there,
in my eyes.

You're looking towards
winning the championship.

McGREGOR: The Catalan
Grand Prix is the sixth
race of the year.

Valentino Rossi
leads the championship
with 91 points

after three wins
and a third place,

but he fell in the last race,
the rain-soaked
Italian Grand Prix.

Max Biaggi
took third in Mugello

and won the previous
race in France.

The gap between him
and Rossi is now just
21 points.

After crashing out
of one race
and missing two more,

McCoy is 13th
in the standings
with only 27 points.

You get a total of four hours
and 20 minutes' practice
before each race.

Two hours on Friday
and Saturday,

and 20 minutes
on Sunday morning.

The afternoon sessions
on Friday and Saturday

are timed qualifying.

The fastest riders
in qualifying
start the race at the front.

About 150,000 people
will come along to watch.

It's a Yamaha Diversion
and it's the biggest
I can afford.

-My bike is...
This bike is the best.
-It's a race.

COMMENTATOR:
Welcome back to Catalunya.

They're all superstars,
even the one at the back.

There is a feeling special.

Well, what we find around.

-Do you understand
what I mean?
-Yes.

Motorcycle people
are good people.

Just resetting
the traction control.

TOBY MOODY: Noriyuki Haga,
on behalf of the Red Bull
Yamaha squad,

in the 14th place.

I'm looking forward
to a good, hard,
combative race.

He had a crash
yesterday, Nori.

He forgot they changed
the gearbox.

Already I think seven
or eight helmets have
been destroyed.

He crash sometimes
so we made enough
spare for him.

No fear,
no fear whatsoever.

-There's a faller.
-It's a West. Now that hurt.

If you fall,
dangerous in your body.

I think what I like best
is the, the risk that, uh,
riders take.

[COMMENTATOR SPEAKING ITALIAN]

COMMENTATOR:
Valentino Rossi!

We're on board with
Max Biaggi

looking at the throttle
on the brake
as he leans into turn one.

MAN 1: I like this
sport for velocity.

The sport is very dangerous.

MAN 2: The turn, the corner,
it's exciting

to, to pass the corner
with a motorcycle.

A little bit of chatter
in the front corner entry.

McCOY: When you go through
the chicane, and you
gas it up,

and throw it on its side,
it's like...

Valentino Rossi
is going to win.

McCOY: This is a tough corner
for my wrist,

'cause we're in fifth gear,
going pretty quick,

and then braking
really hard, late,

and then into
a left-hand,
sort of, hairpin.

Well, it starts off as
a hairpin and then it
just doesn't seem to end.

It just goes all the way up
until you get to the top
of the hill.

You tend to lose a bit
of traction out of here.

[INAUDIBLE]

MOODY: We are just
beyond the halfway point

in this 500 CC
warm-up session.

Barros is fastest.
From this man on screen,
Kenny Roberts.

Max Biaggi is third.

Valentino Rossi, who will
be starting from pole,
is fourth fastest.

McCOY: It's still
a little bit too early.

It's only been a month
since, uh, since I'd done
the scaphoid,

and normally they're, uh,
you know, one of the worst
bones to break,

and it's still not
fully, uh, recovered.

MOODY: The results
from this warm-up
this morning,

Barros fastest,
ahead of Sete Gibernau,

who's gone faster
than his qualifying time.

Rossi will be
starting from pole.

We weren't even sure
he could ride this weekend,

and he did
two days of practice

and it's obvious
that his wrist is healing.

And we know that in
a couple of races' time,

he'll be right up there
battling for the lead again.

PHILIPPE VIDAL: We don't
want Garry for two or
three points in this race.

When he'll come back,
it's for the win,
the victory.

[AIR HORNS BLOWING]

[INDISTINCT CHATTER]

[ENGINES REVVING]

McGREGOR: It's a dream
start for Biaggi.

Rossi is almost run off the track in the first corner.

He's pushed down
to 14th place.

If only he'd stay there
and Biaggi could win,

then Max would take
the lead in the championship.

But Rossi feels
like fighting.

[INAUDIBLE]

[ENGINES REVVING]

[UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYING]

[INAUDIBLE]

[ENGINE REVVING]

[AIR HORNS BLOWING]

[CROWD CHEERING]

[INDISTINCT ANNOUNCEMENT]

Okay. Any questions
from the floor?

[INDISTINCT CHATTER]

Yes, thank you.

REPORTER: Max, please,
would you explain

what happened, exactly,
on the stairs?

Exactly. On the stairs
when you were coming here.

Something happened
in a fight.

[INDISTINCT SHOUTING]

I didn't see anything.

REPORTER: You have blood
in your face.

-Me?
-Yeah.

[SPEAKING SPANISH]

[AIR HORN BLOWING]

Maybe it's a mosquito.

[ALL CHUCKLE]

Any other questions?

[INDISTINCT CHATTER]

After that, he wasn't seen as
quite so black and white.

Um, Max wears the black hat.
Valentino wears the white hat.

You know, people were
seeing them as...

Mmm. You know,
maybe it's not quite
that clear cut

or whether people
just enjoy it.

[CHUCKLES] Yes.
Here we go.

You know, it's Rainey
and Schwantz.

'Cause don't forget,
Rainey and Schwantz
have both said,

"The other guy was the only
guy I ever deliberately tried
to run off a racetrack."

And that's, that's as hideous
as it gets when you're on
a racing motorcycle.

McGREGOR: Wayne Rainey
and Kevin Schwantz
battled each other

in the World Championship
for almost six years,

from 1988 to September, 1993,

and the accident
that left Rainey paralyzed.

Schwantz was just
kind of a...

He was a cowboy, you know,
riding that thing.

I think he didn't
like me first,

so that kind of
made sense for me
not to like him second.

So it went on from there

and it went all the way
up until the end.

If I finished fifth
and he finished sixth,

it's just like being
on top of the podium.

Really, nobody else
out there mattered.

And I think that comes back

from when we first started
racing here in the States.

I guess maybe almost
a hate for each other.

Wayne and I both
talk about it now and
he's like, you know, he says,

"I didn't like you."

He goes, "I didn't care
if I ever saw you
on the racetrack again."

RAINEY: I mean,
we could go out there
and bang into each other,

or race each other really hard, but you know, the last thing
you want to do

is go and take
your rival's hand,

somebody that's trying
to beat you.

[INDISTINCT CHATTER]

[CROWD APPLAUDING]

When I start racing in,
uh, in my room,

where I sleep
when I was maybe 18.

I had, uh,

Wayne Rainey poster
with Marlboro Yamaha
number two.

And, uh,
a few years after,

I got that Yamaha Marlboro
number two.

That's amazing,
for me it's like a dream,

but he was my favorite.

And he is, he is anyway.

I'm always a special fan
from Kevin Schwantz.

That period with Schwantz,
Rainey, Doohan

and also Gardner,
Kocinski,

and all was the best 500
of the last 20 years.

And all are my hero
and I think
is normal because, uh,

a little bit crazy, very fast.
Races is always a battle,
you know.

And yes, I like very much.

Kevin Schwantz is
maybe more spectacular.

But when Rainey is...

is more champion
you know, because Rainey
drive with heart.

You know, this is strong.

Kevin is the fastest guy
I've ever raced against
without a shadow of a doubt.

Really, really fast.
But he used to fall down
a lot.

SCOTT: Schwantz and Rainey
were the double act,
you know.

Each made the other greater.

They had a fierce rivalry,
which predated the Grand Prix
and carried on.

And they each inspired
each other
and they'd practice

and they'd be vying
for pole position.

And one would beat
the other by two-thousandths
of a second,

and you would say,
"Well, that, you know,

"wouldn't worry about that,"
but it would be everything.

Two-thousandths
and it's only practice.

It would be everything.

And one of them
would sleep that night
and the other one wouldn't.

It was great,

and Kevin was just
such an entertaining rider.
So gifted

and would try anything.

He had fantastic character.

But enjoyed it, you see?
I mean, he's like Rossi.

He really conveyed
the enjoyment of riding.

And that's what
Rainey had lost.

He obviously wasn't
enjoying it anymore.

And you might say
the same with Biaggi.

He doesn't look as though
he enjoys riding a motorbike.

Whereas Rossi
plainly loves it.

And Schwantz is the same.
He loved it.

[DR. COSTA SPEAKING ITALIAN]

[ENGINES REVVING]

[CROWD CHEERING]

SCOTT: Funnily enough,

last year, when Biaggi
was really getting
made a fool of,

often as not,
by... by Rossi,

in some strange way,
he gained a sort
of dignity in it.

I don't think that he's...

ever gonna
beat Rossi, though,

because Rossi has a tremendous mental strength and stability,

which Max doesn't.

He's on his nerves, Max.

You can see it in his eyes,
the way he looks.

The way he relates to people.

Oh, that's not
a rivalry at all.

I haven't seen
Biaggi win anything.

You know, I'd like to see

Biaggi win
because he's on a Yamaha.

Rossi's on a mission

and he's got
these guys covered.

He doesn't have a rival.

His level's so high
and everybody else

is not close yet.

So, it's probably
going to take a rider

that's not involved
in the series yet
to race Rossi.

LINDA HOPKINS: He was probably
about 10 years old.

He saw Kevin Schwantz
carrying the American flag

'cause he'd just won
a championship.

And he looked at his dad

and he said,
"Dad, I'm gonna do that."

AL LYONS: I first met John
when he was nine years old.

He came out
for a mini road race

at Adams Kart Track,
John and his dad, Roy.

Uh, John started
racing for me.

Uh, we supplied his bikes.

And, uh,
right off the start, I mean,

he was that
one-in-a-million rider

that everybody
always looks for.

It's pretty fun
'cause, like, I'm young
and they're big.

And I'm, like,
doing good against them.

SUSANNE HOPKINS: We always did
desert riding

on our motocross bikes

ever since
we were little kids.

So that's how we started,
and then John started racing.

His father raced
in Europe years ago.

I mean, when he was 15.

I believe that his dad
won the Isle of Man.

LINDA:
He won the Junior TT's there
when he was 15 years old.

SUSANNE: He was too young,
so they disqualified him.

He didn't race after that.

I begged him not to race.

And that's why
I've been behind John 100%,

because I know
that my husband could have

probably gone out there
and done really good.

LYONS: Well, the first time
he was on the Willow Springs
track, the big track,

he was only 12 years old.

I mean, he was
only 85 pounds on a 125,

and it was with Dave Aldana
and everybody else on 750s.

Uh, before the day was over,

there was a lot of riders
coming up,

asking John to help them,
at 12 years old.

You've got to be smooth

and consistent
on the asphalt to win.

John always put on
that extra little bit
of effort,

I think, in road racing

because there weren't
that many kids around.

LYONS: So that's when
John Ulrich really started
taking a notice.

New Year's Day, '99,
I think it was,

I got a phone call
from Linda Hopkins.

When Roy was really sick

and just before he died,
he said to me...

He'd talked to John

and John said
that he was gonna
do his best in his racing,

and he promised his dad that.

And he also said

that if I ever
needed any help,

to go to John Ulrich,

because he trusted him.

ULRICH:
She wanted to know,

is it true that he couldn't
have a road racing career,

if he was finished
in road racing.

LINDA: There was no money
and he needed to advance.

ULRICH: I went out
and I got this Aprilia RS250,

because they were
going to have this
Aprilia RS250 Cup series.

It was new in the United States that year.

We flew him to Road Atlanta

for the first race
in the series.

And, you know, I knew the kid
was pretty good, okay.

But I didn't know
how good he was.

He was running around
in third place,

two laps from the end
of this race.

Now that's pretty good.
He's going to win about $750.

And I'm figuring, okay,
we're going to about
break even on this deal.

Next thing I know,
he wins the race.

So we took him to Loudon,
New Hampshire,

a notoriously
difficult racetrack,

and put him on this 600,

and again,
he was instantly fast,

qualified in the front row
for the 750 Supersport race.

I'm sitting in the pits

thinking about
what has just happened.

We've just taken this kid,

we've taken him
from one type of motorcycle,

put him on a complete
different motorcycle,

taken him to a completely
different type of racetrack,

another track he's never seen,

and he's found a way
to go way faster

than he should be going.

And my cell phone rings

and it's Peter Clifford
from Red Bull Yamaha.

And what he says to me is,

"I need the next
Kevin Schwantz.

"Do you have
another Kevin Schwantz?"

And I, I said to him,

"I think I just...

"I think I've got one.

"I think I just found one."

CLIFFORD: John Ulrich
is genuinely

the guy who discovered
Kevin Schwantz.

So when he says that this guy is something special,

I took a great deal
of notice.

ULRICH: Any reasonable
expectation

you had for him,
he leapfrogged.

In a lot of ways,
he was like Kevin,

except we found him earlier.

When we figured this out
about John, he was 16.

When we figured this out
about Kevin, he was 19.

A good guy
can ride a motorcycle fast,

whatever it is
you give him.

But if you put him on a 500

and you give him
enough time on that bike,

he's gonna be going
about as fast

as you can go on that 500

within 12 months, 18 months.

This kid is special.

DESIREE CROSSMAN: He wants to get in the top 10 this year.

And then next year,
he wants to go

even top five,
if not the Championship.

VALENTINO:
When you start to race,

you think it's possible
you become the best.

All the riders think,
uh, it's possible.

[ENGINE ROARING]

McGREGOR: 2002, the sound
of a new era.

The game has new rules.

Two-stroke engines
up to 500cc

or four-strokes up to 990cc.

In theory, they should be
about equal.

On March the 9th in Catalunya,

in the final test before
the racing begins in Japan,

the teams take
to the track to find out.

SCOTT: Well, today is obviously
a very important day

for Grand Prix
racing in general,

the first time the new generation of machines

have been seen
in public together.

This year is the first year
of the MotoGP,

as they want to call it.

It's two separate races.

And next year,

I don't think there will be
any two-strokes at all.

The two-stroke is igniting
the mixture in the cylinder,

and it's producing power

every revolution
of the crankshaft

twice as often
as a four-stroke.

You can make more power

per engine size
out of a two-stroke.

So a 500 two-stroke,
theoretically,

is the rough equivalent
of about a 1000cc
four-stroke.

The four-stroke race bikes

that are now running
in the MotoGP series

are gonna put that
equation to, uh, to death.

[REVVING]

SCOTT: Looks like Honda
has just come up

with something so good,
staggeringly good.

All Yamaha
and the rest can do

is say, "Well, how much
did they spend?"

And clearly,
a tremendous amount of money.

VALENTINO: The new bike
is exciting.

It's good, more powerful,
have 220 horsepower,

but the 500, for me,
was more exciting.

This one is more sweet.

SCOTT: The two-strokes
are a very fine edge,

but the four-strokes
are more fun to watch,

because they're looser
and wilder,

and they go sideways
on the brakes

and bounce around
into the corners.

And the riders
get away with more.

[ENGINE ROARING]

They have depth to them.

They make the two-strokes

sound a bit
lawn mower-y, really.

[HIGH PITCHED ENGINE NOISE]

[LOWER PITCHED ENGINE NOISE]

RYDER:
The Moto Grand Prix bikes

are allegedly easier to ride

up to the 95% mark.

It's that last 5%,

it'll sort out the men
from the also-rans.

SCOTT: The best riders
will always win in the end.

They might not win
by so much, though.

They'll find it harder.

I would say today,
you can't run a MotoGP team
for under $6 million dollars.

The salaries for a rider,
the extremes are incredible.

If Rossi gets $5 or $6 million at the one end,

you might have a rider

that gets $100,000
at the bottom end.

So that's a huge number
in a budget.

The second component,
obviously, is the technology.

Do you lease it?
Do you buy it?
Do you make it?

And there's
millions of dollars there.

And then there's
the over-the-road costs,

team personnel trucks,
airplane fares and so on.

And it's real money.

[CHUCKLES] It's, uh,
definitely real money.

Rider-wise, we had
Noriyuki Haga last year.

I guess he didn't achieve
for himself

nor for our team
the results we need.

He's not
with the team anymore.

Probably a mutual thing.

Over the last
couple of years,
we've tested

John Hopkins,
who's quite young.

He'll be 19 in the summer,

so we've run him
at some short tests,

which you have to do
to prepare for those days

when you don't agree
with Noriyuki Haga

that he's going to stay
for another year.

This one's
a real good track.

I'm driving up the hill
right here is real fun.

You're wide open
around here,

around this right-hander,

just sliding it
all the way up the hill.

You can do a lot more stuff
on this game than,

you know,
you couldn't really do
on a motorcycle.

MAN: Oh, ow!

JOHN: You know, he came
right down on his head.

You know,
I don't know why he's

getting up and riding again.

-He should be sitting
out for the day.
-[MAN CHUCKLES]

Maybe the next day, too.

It definitely
won't teach you anything

about riding the bike
in general.

The only thing,
you know, I'm actually

learning a whole bunch about

is, uh,
is where the track goes.

JOHN: The bike reacts
to your body position.

You're tucked down
under the bubble,

staying as low as possible,

less wind resistance,
pushing down

on the pegs,
real hard braking.

Long, sweeping left-hander,

working your way
on the throttle,

getting on it harder
and harder.

You got to move real fast,

pushing down with your legs

and switch back over
to the right.

Hang off pretty far
to the right,
using your body.

You've got to get over
the front of the bike

to keep the front wheel down.

STEWART MILLER: You're braking
from 180 miles an hour

to sometimes 40 miles an hour

in the space of 100 meters.

That's a lot of weight
on the shoulders and arms.

Each track he brakes
1,000 times, 1,000 times.

Pretty much everybody
now has a trainer

that follows them,
pushes them

through the gym.
They're athletes.

RYDER: Back in the late '70s,
with Barry Sheene

and the young
Kenny Roberts' idea

of a night before the race

probably involved a nightclub,

large amounts of alcohol,
beer, cigarettes,

and getting home
in a crashed hire car

at about 3:00
in the morning.

Kenny, who now
makes his riders, you know,

eat pasta, drink orange juice
and go to bed early.

They treat their diet,
their training

the same as other
absolute top level athletes.

Legs are a big part. I mean...

You got to drive straight
from a hairpin,

get the thing hung out
on your knee

and then from there
just carry it.

SHEENE: They use their knees
a lot more now.

Like Valentino,
as an example, you know,

he'll get through
a set of knee sliders

in half a day sort of thing.

Kenny Roberts' era,

that's when you really
started to see the body

play more of an active role

in what
the motorcycle's doing.

Before that,
it was sitting on top of

the motorcycle
and bending it in

and, you know, you don't
dare move on the thing.

ROBERTS: I got a lot
of experience from
dirt track racing.

When it's going
sideways like that,

you have to have
something planted
on the ground

to keep your weight
in the same position.

I raced indoor races
on concrete

and I used to put Supertape
on the bottom of your shoes

so the shoe would
actually slide
on the concrete,

so you could keep it
underneath you.

But when I started
dragging my knees,

you couldn't drag it
with the leather

because the leather would catch

and jerk your foot
off the foot peg.

And I started putting
Supertape on my knees.

And it's just like,
"Wait a minute.

"What are you doing?

[STUTTERS]
"What are you doing?"

I mean, no one did it.

No one thought about it.
No one did it.

It would have been
somewhere around '72.

In 1973,
I started riding a 750.

My brother-in-law,
Paul Smart,

was very good on a big bike.

So I said to Paul,
"You know, this thing,

"as soon as I
get it over sideways,

"it sort of drags
on the ground."

He said, "Well,
hang off it more."

I just rode
and let my knee hang out.

And then sometimes
it'd touch on the ground.

If your knee's
on the ground, obviously,

you can adjust your weight
with the knee.

You'd know exactly
where the motorcycle's at

because you're controlling
the back wheel

with the throttle
and lean angle.

And I'd like to steer the bike
with the back wheel.

And I could do it
on some racetracks

and do it
fairly proficiently.

The rear wheel steering thing
didn't really happen

until Kenny
had retired from racing.

You know,
the rear wheel steering thing

started when
the radial tires came in.

Barry steered the motorcycle
with the front wheel,

and I steered it
with the back wheel.

So, it's two
different theories of riding.

Yeah, he used
to slide the bike.

The bike used
to step out and that.

Yes, that happens
to everybody.

I don't think
he really understood it

because he never
really got there with it.

He was two-time
World Champion, as I said.

So who's gonna show him
anything different?

It's not like some Yank's
gonna come over here

and say, "Oh, this is the way
you need to ride."

It started
when the horsepower

exceeded the abilities
of the tires

and the riders had to find

other ways of continuing
to race fast,

especially over
a long race distance.

It required
a different kind of skill

which favored
all the American
dirt trackers.

That gave rise
to the whole era
of American champions,

'cause they were schooled
in that art

of being able to ride
the motorcycle

when it didn't grip
the road anymore,

when every time
you opened the throttle,
the back wheel would spin

instead of driving
them forward.

And you had to slide it
to go around the corner.

And that's receded a bit

with the improvement
in tires,

but it still holds good,
I think,

yeah, especially towards
the end of a race.

That's when you see
the good guys really show up,

is when things
are getting tough

and the bikes
have developed problems

and they've got to ride
around the problem.

McGREGOR:
At the Catalunya test,

Hopkins completes
over 100 laps,

twice as many
as most of the riders.

He falls once
but is unhurt.

McCoy's bike,
on the other hand,

hasn't turned a wheel,

because McCoy isn't here.

At the last test, two weeks
earlier in Portugal,

he was the fastest man
on the track.

McCOY: The temperature
was dropping.

It was quite windy that day.

As I went into the corner,

the back started
to come around on me

and it kicked back a bit.

I ended up
on top of the bike.

I landed on top
of the screen

and then I sort of fell off...

Well, fell onto the ground
on my feet

in front of the bike
with my right leg.

Um, I felt the bike hitting me in the back of the leg.

Yeah, and they had to
go from under the kneecap,

put in a big titanium rod.

It's through the whole tibia.

That's where they went in
with the pin.

Screw here. Screw there.
It's pretty clean.

Well, there's just, like,
three screw holes down there.

This year we've done
so well in testing.

We've been first everywhere
and doing it easy.

And then
you have one little fall.

It's my first fall
of the year.

I've had a few thoughts
in my mind, anyway,

of, you know, how long
is this going to last

or how long
is my body going to last?

Hopefully, it's going to be
a few more years yet.

And do the best I can
and hopefully, one day,

or this year,
I'll win a World Championship.

BENNET:
It's disappointing because,

again, Garry's doing so well,

and then it all went wrong

for want of another word,
didn't it?

These sort of things happen,
don't they?

And you've got
to accept them, anyway.

-Part of the sport, isn't it?
-That's right.

It's a fast, dangerous sport,

tarmac's pretty hard stuff.

BENNET: You know, they knock themselves so much,

that in the end,
the old body's going to say,

"Whoo,
I've had enough of this."

McGREGOR: The 500s
are in trouble,

as much as
10 miles an hour slower

than the four-strokes
in a straight line.

They can't hope to match the raw power of the bigger bikes.

-It goes in there, then...
-Yeah.

-That's how that fits.
-Yeah, that's right. Yeah.

McGREGOR: However,
wind tunnel tests

carried out
by Red Bull Yamaha

indicate that there's
more speed to come

from better aerodynamics,

maybe as much
as 10 miles per hour.

At a secret test in Valencia,

with the first race
just three weeks away

and Garry McCoy
laid up in hospital,

it's down to John Hopkins
to find out

how the new design
performs on the track.

That looks like it'll turn
a little more into the corner.

It definitely leans harder.

-Okay. Mmm.
-Faster.

With the standard fairing,

there's quite a lot of lift
at the front.

Uh-huh.

Yeah, I used to race myself.

That's how I got
involved in this.

I wasn't
good enough to cut it,

so wasn't interested.

If I couldn't win,
then I didn't want to do it.

INTERVIEWER: Why were you
not good enough?

What were the things
that you think

you need to go really fast?

Balls.

Equipment. Money.

And I didn't want to continue
being an also-ran, so...

I would rather be here

as a mechanic
in the World Championship

than messing around at home.

When you stand
on that pit wall

and Garry goes past you

at 160, 170 mile an hour,

and you could actually
put your hand out and touch him

and the hairs
on the back of your neck

stand on end,

that's a buzz.

CROSSMAN: I was talking
to one of his mechanics.

Next thing, you know,
we heard the bike give out

and then we saw
dust in the air,

and usually
John gets right up.

But we didn't
see him get up.

I jumped on the scooter

and everyone jumped in the van, so I was a little behind.

I was a little nervous.

JOHN: I was going
for a good lap

and everything
was going good.

Out of the sharp one,
I tried to get on it

and it just came out, flicked,
flicked me back.

I mean,
it flicked me so fast

I didn't even know
what happened.

Next thing I know,
I'm up in the air

going straight down
towards my head.

And I landed on my head

and skidded around
a little bit...

and then was pretty dizzy,
had to lay down
for about 10 seconds.

When you're floating
through the air,

sliding across the ground
at that speed,

there's nothing
really you can do.

If you try and stop yourself
from flipping,

going that fast,

I mean, that's when
stuff's gonna break.

You gotta sit there
and pretty much just take it.

Take the beating.

McGREGOR: It wasn't
the aerodynamics
that upset the bike.

Hopkins' crash
was just another reminder

of the 500's vicious nature.

[DR. AMADEO ROCHE
SPEAKING SPANISH]

CLIFFORD: I would say
we've ended up

with more questions
than we have answers

and that's not,
unfortunately, the unusual.

DAN WELBURN: I expected
to see an obvious

improvement in speed,
straight line speed,

and, uh, for one reason
or another,

I don't know why,
it hasn't gotten any quicker.

McGREGOR: Hopkins has
two weeks to recover.

By then, he will be
10,000 miles away

in Suzuka, Japan.

At Suzuka, he will have
four hours and 20 minutes

to learn the hardest track
of them all

and qualify for the first
Grand Prix of his life

with no new aerodynamics
to help him.

But at least he won't be riding with a titanium rod in his leg.

[ANNOUNCER SPEAKING INDISTINCTLYOVER SPEAKERS]

[ENGINE ROARING]

JOHN: It's really hard to get
a feel for a bike,

though, with the wind.

I'm really fighting
the wind out there.

It's really windy
and the wind's
sort of pushing you.

McCOY: It didn't seem
too bad mid-corner.

Especially out of the hairpin,
coming out of that second left.

JOHN: Yeah.

New tire, please.

JAMIESON: As you answer
any criticism of the bike

by an adjustment
by improving something,

by finding a better tire
or more horsepower,

the rider then takes it
to the next level

and makes it worse again.

You know?
And that's basically
what goes on.

No, not really gripping
like it should, I think.

MAMOLA: We just saw
a cloud of dust.

Then we saw him standing there. First thing we do is,

we try to find out whether
or not they're injured,

and I knew he wasn't
because he was standing there

like this against
the hay bale.

The attitude is like,
"Boy, I just screwed up."

JOHN: Cold tires.

Trying to put in
a real good lap

and the wind
was blowing really bad,

and just a number of things
all equaled up

to one big slide
and then a big highside.

To go 100%, 102%,

whatever it took,
I could do it for three laps.

I could always plan on
going three laps faster,

but no more than three laps.

You're usually racing
around 90%, 95%.

DOOHAN: It was
a big crash today.

And it's just
one of those things.

Again, you're pushing
at the limit

and, uh, you know,
he said he had

a little lapse of concentration
and that'll do it.

MAMOLA: When he left
the seat of the bike,

he was probably doing about

125 miles an hour
and accelerating.

All of his gloves had been
worn down

to basically nothing,

trying to slow himself down
before he hit the guardrail.

It shook him up a bit.

I mean, it would shake
anybody up, believe me.

SCOTT: It's been a while
since he has been down.

So, yeah, I think it'll
sober him up a bit, you know.

You start to feel invulnerable,
don't you?

Especially with
the kind of adulation

he gets all the time.

SCHWANTZ: It does
kind of take that

"I'm invincible, I'm bulletproof, uh, you know,

"I'm 10-foot-tall" mentality.

ROBERTS:
In motorcycle racing,

you convince yourself
that you're Superman.

You get this kind of glow
around you that

you think that
you're never gonna be hurt.

And I used to spend
half my time

trying to say
I'm not really that.

Sometimes, your press
and what people say to you
gets overwhelming.

You just get to believe

that you can just make
that thing stick,

and you can make it slide

and you can make
all these things happen

any time you want.

And sometimes you can't.

You've got to constantly
remind yourself

that you are human,

because, you know, God,
"I just messed up a little bit

"and didn't quite do it."

You know,
Wayne's accident was
really nothing spectacular.

RAINEY: But that day,
I was just off a little bit.

I was struggling,

but I'd been
in that situation many times.

So, it wasn't nothing new.

It was just an error
on my part.

I just got in
a little bit too hot,

carrying a little bit
too much corner speed,

so I had to really
bank the bike over

really hard
to keep it on line.

And, uh, when I
just opened the throttle,

it stepped out.

And it was just an easy...

It was an easy,
uh, crash, you know.

I mean, 'cause,
like, it stepped out

and I fell off
the side of it,

and I was, like,
sliding with the bike

across the track,

but when I went off the track, I hit a curb

and it kind of
sent me up in the air,

and then I landed
in the gravel trap

and it had speed bumps
in it for the F1 cars.

And at that time, uh,

that's what we were using
in motorcycles.

As soon as I hit that,
it started setting me off,

so then I, you know,
I didn't have any control

over how I was landing
or where I was gonna
land and...

TAD PILATI:
He has no feeling

from the center
of his chest down.

Uh, he's being held
in a hospital near Rimini.

He's in stable condition

and, uh, the next 48 hours

are going
to tell us everything.

RAINEY: Now all the sand traps
are smooth,

but sometimes it takes a...

You know, big incident
to get something changed.

Being World Champion
was the ultimate,

but after I won it,
it was time to do it again.

Looking back,
I wish I'd have stepped
back out of it

and said, sometimes, you know, you've got to get beat.

I didn't let myself
think that.

It was just something that,
uh, I was addicted to,

and it took a... You know,
it took a big accident,

uh, to take me out
of that situation.

SCHWANTZ: Quite a while
after the race at Misano,

I was in my motorhome,

I looked outside and there was a bunch of journalists

and TV cameras
and all kinds of stuff

sitting at the door
of my motorhome.

I thought, "What's going on?"

So I walked outside
and they said,

"Hey, you hear you won
the World Championship?"

And I said, "Do what?"

I said, "There's still
three races to go."

And that was when
they told me of his injuries,

and I was probably
as shocked as anybody

to hear the news.

VALENTINO:
I'm superstitious, yes.

80% of riders
have some superstitions.

I understand it may be stupid,
but it's like this. [CHUCKLES]

Some actor and actress
are superstitious

and do nothing of danger.

No? So I think it's normal.

A rider, when you go
on the bike, you risk.

And I think
it's quite normal.

We've got
another five minutes to go

before the start
of this MotoGP,

the four-strokes
versus the two-strokes,

the second official
qualifying session.

That's what
happened yesterday,

Capirossi from Rossi,
from Ukawa, from Roberts,

being the provisional
front row.

Some of the muscles that have
faded away, I need them.

It makes it
a bit difficult to hang on.

MOODY: Valentino just about
to come out of the garage,

and he's had two crashes
this weekend.

He had one yesterday morning.
He's had one this morning.

He was lucky yesterday.

He saw God yesterday.
He was frightened.

There's been so much talk
about the Yamaha M1,

the four-stroke
that you're looking at,
being a disaster,

not being up
to what they'd hoped.

BIAGGI: I feel I cannot ride
100% with this bike.

Our people realize

where the problems are
and they know.

Let's, you know, hope that

they can create
something different
and more competitive.

I don't know where
he gets his excuse book,

but I wish I had one of 'em
when I was racing.

RYDER: There's Capirossi.
He's now on pole schedule.

MOODY: Now this is
the Valentino Rossi bike
from last year.

He's sitting up!
There's a problem!

Somebody's down!
Somebody's down!
It's another Red Bull!

-McCoy! McCoy!
-It's another Red Bull!

RYDER: It's McCoy.

MOODY: It was McCoy
and McCoy is down!

And McCoy is on the racetrack
and he's not moving.

That's why Loris Capirossi
had to sit up.

We can see the accident
from our commentary box

and there you see it
on screen.

He's gonna be put
on the stretcher.

The yellow flag's
obviously being waved.

[ANNOUNCER SPEAKING JAPANESE
OVER SPEAKERS]

McCOY: So I started to brake
and tried to get it back

and the back had lifted up.

The wind must have
pushed it around.

I saw the dirt come.

Well, he's a determined
old fellow. Yes, he is.

Very determined.

I mean, the thing is,
you don't want him to
hurt himself any more.

VALENTINO:
This pole position is, uh,

more important
for me than normal,

because it arrives
after two crashes

and I'm very happy.

DEBBIE IRVINE:
He was really on it.

He would have been
maybe a second off pole

had it all come together.

Then on the last section

where he crashed yesterday,
he lost it all.

[RAIN PATTERING]

[ELECTRONIC MUSIC PLAYING]

VALENTINO: This time
when I wake up,

I say, "Fuck."

MAMOLA: I was petrified
of the rain.

I used to look in the top
of my motorhome
that had a sunroof

and I used to pray
that it wouldn't rain.

SCHWANTZ:
I used to love the rain,

because I felt like
it made my motorcycle

exactly the same
as everybody else's,

and at that point,
it turned into
a rider-to-rider battle.

[ENGINES ROARING]

CROSSMAN: I just told him
to stay on the bike.

He'd done it a million times.
There's no reason to worry.

JOHN: I really just
got ahead of myself.

Ran it wide and then
it was so slick that

I expected to, you know,
keep it up and it just
went out from under me.

McCOY: I couldn't get
the right position
with my leg.

The movement in the ankle

just didn't seem
to be there, really.

One of the screws
for the pin in my leg
seemed to be coming out.

In the end,
it was really painful.

I had to cut a hole
in my boot

so that the screw could
stick through it
a little bit,

uh, just to take
that pressure off.

I make, uh, websites.

-I am, too.
-Oh, yeah?

My hobby, uh, motorcycle.

This week... [SOBS]

This weekend's a very,
very wonderful time
in my life.

[SOBBING]

I want to see you again.

You... you... [SOBS]

Thank you.

-Take it easy.
Go watch the race.
-Yeah.

Thank you.

JOHN:
I was charging too hard.

Went in a little wide
and cut the front.

Bike was still able to go
so I just brought it back
into the pit.

First time, he just got
straight back on the bike.

And the second time
he came in,
we changed the fairing.

He'd lost his foot peg.

And the gear changer
was loose.

We replaced
a couple of brackets
while we were at it.

And then he went out.

[ANNOUNCER SPEAKING JAPANESE
OVER PA]

[ENGINE ROARING]

Enough other people fell off
that he finished in 12th place.

CLIFFORD:
Well, it was different.

It was an exciting way
to start a Grand Prix career.

I would imagine he isn't
gonna continue like that.

-What have you done
to the motorbike?
-[JOHN LAUGHS]

IRVINE: I can't remember
anybody coming in
and having repairs done

and going out
and managing to finish
so well.

So, it didn't go as planned.

My first GP,
I'm really happy about it.

Two crashes
and finishes in the points,
that's a pretty good job.

[INDISTINCT CHATTER]

[LAUGHTER]

I promised
I'd bring it home today,

so I guess
I gotta bring it home.

LINDA: The race
was red-flagged on the 21st
of 28 laps due to rain.

John Hopkins, 11th place,

World Championship
classification,
15th, 14 points.

I've never been away
from him this long and,

you know,
and I worry about him.

He called me
at six o'clock this morning,

probably about
15 minutes after the race.

So, that was good.
He was all happy.

LINDA: I'm gonna fly to Italy
on the 29th of May

to go to Mugello.

I've never seen him
race one of these bikes.

McGREGOR:
The Italian Grand Prix
in Mugello

is the fifth race
of the season.

From Suzuka, the teams
moved on to South Africa,

Spain and France.

After four races,

Valentino Rossi
has three victories

and one second place.

Max Biaggi has finished
only two races,

taking ninth in Spain
and third in France.

John Hopkins has scored points in every race,

with 11th
his best result so far.

As for Garry McCoy...

The real disaster
is the fact that Garry's leg,

instead of getting better,
actually got worse.

Not only had the accident
in Estoril broken his leg,

but it also shocked
an old ankle injury

and that caused bone spurs
to grow.

He had another operation

to clean out
the misplaced bits of bone

and is now left with
a six-to-eight-week recovery

following that operation,

which was done
just 11 days ago.

It's really feeling
quite good,

but, you know,
I think the Championship's over
for us this year.

[MOTOR SPUTTERING]

[ZOOMING]

MAN 1: Rossi!
MAN 2: Biaggi!

MAN 3: Rossi!
MAN 4: Biaggi!

MAN 4: Rossi!
MAN 5: Biaggi!

[CROWD SHOUTING INDISTINCTLY]

VALENTINO: Impossible.
Especially in Italy.

Is, uh,
impossible from '97.

[CHUCKLES] Different life.

Have, uh,
good point and bad point.

When you go to some place,
"Ah, Valentino, I like you.

"I see the races.

"You are the best.
You are the number one."

And it's okay.
One day, two days is okay,

but after,
it starts to become...

starts to become work.

McGREGOR: At Mugello,

Yamaha has a new chassis
for Biaggi's bike.

He's immediately faster
than he's been all year.

And so without the benefit

of any new parts for his bike, is John Hopkins.

JOHN: She gets
a little scared sometimes

when she's
in the stands at races.

She has to watch
with her eyes shut,
I guess you could say.

LINDA: I kind of watch him
on the straightaways.

I don't like it
when he's leaning over
all that way

and he's sliding around.

We've had two bikes
top 200 miles an hour today

at that spot
just up there.

That's quite a landmark.

Here's a bit of a thing.

Yamaha technicians have been
on the outside ofthe final corner this afternoon.

The quickest man exit speed
at the final corner
this afternoon

is the Honda V5 of Tohru Ukawa, 235 kilometers an hour.

Second quickest, Max Biaggi,
Marlboro Yamaha four-stroke,

232 kilometers an hour,
three K's less.

Quickest two-stroke,
John Hopkins.

[CLAPPING HANDS]
Bang, bang, bang.

227 clicks all day.

DOOHAN: Amazing.

In reality, this year
he shouldn't really be judged.

He should
just be let to ride,
no pressure.

But already he's impressing
a lot of people.

VALENTINO: For me,
John Hopkins is a talent.

He's good. Fast.

First year with the 500
is not easy for anybody.

JOHN: Everything's starting
to come together.

I'm actually really starting
to find my strong point
towards the other riders

and that's under braking.

I'm finding myself
a real late braker.

Plus, this is the first track
that we went to in the series

that I've actually had time on
before we came here.

That does help,
knowing where you're going.

McGREGOR: In Friday qualifying,

Hopkins is seventh fastest
in only his fifth Grand Prix.

The fairy tale
ends on Saturday.

He runs out of road
in final qualifying

while his rivals
find more speed.

At the end of the session,
he's down in 13th place.

And then he gets a bad start.

[ENGINES ROARING]

-[MOTORBIKES ZOOMING]
-[CROWD CHEERING]

Seventeenth.

McGREGOR: Up at the front,

it looks like Biaggi's
in the mood for a race.

I think it's a rivalry
that's good for the sport.

Biaggi really needs
to step up

to make it continue
to be a rivalry,

because Rossi's got his name
and his number, his address,

car license plate.

He doesn't just have
his number on the racetrack,

he's got him beat
in all different categories.

Watching Rossi, yeah,
he follows, follows, follows.

Four or five laps from the end, he goes. He checks out.

I don't think that's gonna
be the case forever.

It's just,
I think Honda happens to have

a little bit better motorcycle than most right now,

and they've got
the best rider.

[CHEERING]

[INDISTINCT CHATTERING]

Ahh, I'm so proud of you.

JOHN: All in all,
it went really good.

Got a 12th.

So can't be,
uh, disappointed with that.

I was aiming
for the top ten.

INTERVIEWER:
What about Catalunya?
You've tested there.

JOHN: Yeah,
I like that track.

So, yeah, I really look forward
to going there and racing.

JOHN: The lady, well,
that symbolizes
the trophy girl.

You win a race,
there's the trophy girl.

You got the checkered flag.

You want to get
to the checkered flag first.

She's holding
the American flag.

Born in America.
I'm an American citizen.

The British Union Jack,
as her dress,

symbolizes my whole family's
from England.

I was the only one born
in the U.S.

[ENGINE REVVING]

[SPEAKING ITALIAN]

MARK NEALE: Valentino,
is it your first time here?

-Yeah, uh, in this track? Yes.
-NEALE: Yeah.

Do you think they'll invite you to come again?

[CAR CRASHING]

For sure, no. [LAUGHS]
The first and the last.

No problem with the crashed car.What crashed car?

VALENTINO: This is my sport
and my first passion,

to ride the bike.

But to drive rally car is...
I like very much.

Maybe in the future
is possible we change.

Now I go quite fast.

So if I stay at this level

for another
two or three years, is okay.
We stay.

[AIR HORNS BLOWING]

McGREGOR: At the IRTA test
in March,

Hopkins' best lap
at the Catalunya circuit
was one minute, 46.4.

Over one-and-a-half seconds
slower than Rossi.

Since then, his bike
hasn't got any quicker.

But as he shows
in the final minutes
of qualifying, he has.

JOHN: I knew
it was a really good lap,

and you see
the big screen over here,

and the big thing
with all the timetables
and I got around, you know,

three-quarters of the lap
and I see 21 on top and wow.

So, yeah. I'm pretty happy.

CROSSMAN: My heart
just stopped.

I was, like,
jumping up and down.
Tears were coming out.

Oh, man. I didn't think
he would do it that fast.

McGREGOR:
For a few glorious moments,
Hopkins is number one.

Unfortunately, there are still three minutes of qualifying
to go.

And in that time,
he's bumped down to sixth.

No matter.
He's made his mark.

[ENGINES REVVING]

He took tenth in the race.
His first top ten finish.

Valentino Rossi won,

as he did two weeks later
at the Dutch Grand Prix,

where Hopkins
finished seventh.

Then, in qualifying
for the German Grand Prix,

Hopkins fell at high speed
and broke a bone in his hand.

He missed the race,

but was back on the bike
a month later
in the Czech Republic.

Valentino Rossi went on
to win 11 Grand Prix
and the Championship.

Max Biaggi challenged him
only occasionally,

winning two races and finishing a distant second overall.

John Hopkins completed
his rookie season

in 15th place,

scoring points in 12
of the 16 races.

The last line
of 500cc two-stroke history

was written by Garry McCoy.

Back to full fitness
at the final race
in Valencia,

he put a two-stroke
in the front row

of a MotoGP grid
for the last time.

In 2003,
as Barry Sheene predicted,

there will be
no more two-strokes.

McCoy, like everyone else,
will be on a four-stroke.

McCoy crashed out of
the Valencia race
without injury

and victory
went to Alex Barros,

who was given
a Honda like Rossi's

for the last four Grand Prix.

He won two of them,
leading some to ask,

"What would have happened
if he had started the season
on a four-stroke?"

A week after
the last Grand Prix
in early November,

the teams are out testing
for next season.

The race never ends.

But for every rider,
there comes a day

when he must face the fact that he can no longer do this.

What happens then?

RAINEY: It's 100 degrees.

It's the 29th of July, '02,

I'm out here playing
in my kart. [CHUCKLES]

With Eddie.

I think we're in hell.

No, we're at Willow Springs and, uh, what is it, 100, 105?

And, uh, I'm very hot.

I got into karting, kind of, right after I retired.

Ricky Johnson,
a motocross rider,
friend of mine,

he had one,

and I got out there
and it's just awesome.

And then Wayne got hurt
and I thought, well,

this would be kind of
a neat thing for him.

We could put hand controls
and get him to try it.

RAINEY: I thought,
"Are you kidding?

"I can't put
a helmet back on

"and go out there
and drive a kart and..."

"Aw, come on.
Come on. Come on."

So I finally went out there
and drove and I went,
"Wow, this is fun."

The next thing I know,
he's out there racing.

Now I'm out there
chasing him.

BOY: He's smoking them, Rex.

REX: Uncle Wayne's
smoking everybody.

After my accident,
I ran the team, had the team.

ROBERTS: I know
it was tough for him

to actually give up racing.

I reached a level
where I said,

"I don't want
to do this anymore."

He never reached that level.

And tragically, the accident
was before he was
at that level.

[DR. COSTA SPEAKING ITALIAN]

SCOTT: He's been released
from his demons.

They're demons
that drive these people.

Now he will look back
on his obsession

and find it
as hard to understand

as I did at the time,

or normal people
did at the time.

[MAN SPEAKING ITALIAN]

In '95, in the rain,
at Suzuka,

I rode around that entire race looking at stuff

that I had never seen
at Suzuka before.

Guardrails in certain spots
and, like,

"Whoa, man,
I'm slowing down."

And then,
the flight home from Japan,

Wayne Rainey sitting me down

and saying,
"Kevin," he goes,

"you look like
you're not having fun."

He goes,
"You're supposed to be having a good time out there."

And he goes,
"And if you're not,"

he goes, "you need to stop."

I was pretty worn out

and I didn't have
the motivation
of Rainey being out there.

I think there were just
too many cards in line

for me to say,

"You know,
it's time for me to go."

DOOHAN: Pushing the machine
and yourself.

Seeing how much
you can get away with.

That was what it was with me
and not to say I'm mad,

but, you see,
I was enjoying racing.

I love motorcycles.

Winning was great,
but it was a bonus.

I just wanted to see
how much I could actually
get out of myself,

and how much I could
get out of the motorcycle

and how long
I could continue to win for.

[INDISTINCT CHATTER]

[ENGINE ROARING]

LINDA: They say,
"Why do you let
your son do that?

"He's gonna kill himself."

It's given him meaning.
It's his life.

It's something
he believes in.

JOHN: There's moments on a bike

when everything
just comes together.

You connect
with the bike completely

and just,
the track, everything flows.

I mean, you could ride
10 to 40 laps

and just hit
the same mark every time.

'Cause when it's on, it's on
and it's the greatest feeling.

[SOMBER INSTRUMENTAL
MUSIC PLAYING]

[UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYING]

I've been on crutches
twice in my life.

Once when I was 13,
racing a bike.

And once when I was 40.

Near my home and Kenny Roberts'
house in Spain.

I was run off the road
by a truck,

and my foot hit a post

and I spent 35 days
in the hospital

and had a four hour operation

and had to wear
an external fixator,

where pins are
coming out of your leg
and all that kind of stuff.

It was kind of ironic that

[CHUCKLES]
I go through 28 years
of my life racing,

and then on a scooter

I get pushed off the road
and have an accident.

My message to anybody
that rides on the road,
um, you know,

that has any kind of a desire

to go fast
around the corner

and maybe put their knee
on the ground

is don't do it
on the road.

The road is not a circuit.

Keep the speed down a bit
because you never know,
you know,

if there's a bit
of dirt or oil or whatever
on the street,

anything out there,
or a dog or whatever.

Wombat, kangaroo. [CHUCKLES]

Just go somewhere

and find a local track day
and go out and, you know,

do a couple
track days a year

and just take out
your aggression
on a racetrack,

where everybody's out there
doing the same thing.

Why risk your life
on the road?

Because it's more easy,
simple to go on the track

and be more safe.

Now the bike, it's possible,
you buy are fucking fast.

Suzuki have 150 horsepower
and Honda has 140.

And it's incredible.

I like to ride a bike
on the street.

I have a CBR
and I always ride,
but need to,

especially need to stay
every time concentrated

when you ride,
because it's dangerous.

It's dangerous,
not only you,

but all the fucking idiots
drive the car,

because they don't...

look at the bike.

Because with the car,

it's bigger than the bike,
so, no problem.

-I have a scooter...
-INTERVIEWER: Yeah.

-Two-fifty scooter,
big scooter. I enjoy, huh.
-[LAUGHS]

But, uh,
when I ride a scooter,

I wear always gloves
and helmet and a big jacket.

I think I'd find myself...

having some trouble
with authority

on a motorcycle
if I ever got
on the road, so...

I just choose not to.

But, uh, yeah,
the safety issue
plays a big, big part

in me choosing not to ride
on the street.

What would I say to guys
that want to go fast
on their own bikes? Um...

"Make sure
your medical insurance
is up to date."

INTERVIEWER:
Do you ride a bike?

No. It's far
too dangerous, isn't it?

[LAUGHING]