Rossi; great rider but!

I know I'm going to upset a few of the many Rossi fans but though Rossi was a brilliant racer, he wasn't squeaky clean. Not many would demand that their Boss sacks their team mate as Rossi did with Lorenzo, even though Lorenzo had just won the Title.I can only think of Phil Read who shafted Bill Ivy over who was going to win the 125cc and 250 cc championship. Also when Rossi couldn't stop Marquez from passing him "his foot slipped off the foot rest"and knocked Marquez off. It could have been a lot more serious than it was but I don't think you would get the likes of Dani Pedrosa or Dovi stooping so low. OK I've had my say and though many consider Rossi the GOAT, I think that title goes to Mike the Bike Hailwood. Maybe it's my age.

Valentino Rossi is undoubtedly the greatest and largest star in the history of professional motorcycling.
He transformed the sport into a global capacity.
Rossi saw off the likes of Biaggi and Gibernau. The rivalry with Stoner was one for the ages.
Lorenzo was never a real rival, he made of career off Rossi’s hard yards at Yamaha.
Marquez whilst truly great, he’s fortunate the Doctor was 14 years his senior. As prime vs prime Rossi would’ve crushed him.
Everyone remembers the Rossi of recent years the true Rossi was some 10-12 years ago.

Additionally, Rossi legacy may well be greater as a mentor than as a rider. His funding of young Italian riders - Bagnaia, Morbidelli and his own brother Marini none of whom would’ve made it to MotoGP without Rossi - that’s the legacy that will live on for decades to come.

PS Rossi kicking Marquez, whilst silly, was fully justified after Marquez stuck his nose into Rossi/Lorenzo feud.

I think it is great that people can have differing opinions civilly.  Air ones view and the other not taking it personally. I don't really know enough about the sport to comment on it.  Marquez seems unbeatable when fit while Rossi was a great of the past.  Before Rossi there was Giacomo Agostini.  ps I hadn't heard of Mike the Bike Hailwood, so I need to look into that.  pps: I see that maybe you don't differ as much as I thought on first reading - one I think is referring to maybe the greatest "rider" while the other is referring to the greatest "star".  Whether Rossi in his heyday would have crushed Marquez in his heyday must be difficult to determine.

Motor cycle racing in the 50s 60s and 70s was vastly different to modern Grand Prix racing. Safety was an afterthought and any rider that was unlucky to be involved in a crash often suffered serious injuries and even death. There was no loads of kitty litter on the corners to soften the fall, maybe a few hay bales if they were lucky Todays riders expect to come off at some time but they know they would be unlucky to receive any injury. It wasn't unusual for top riders to compete in two or sometimes three classes of races, 250 350 and 500cc and all on the same day apart from the Isle of Man TT which had a various number of 37 mile laps on ordinary roads lined with stone walls and buildings. In between Grand Prix races of which there was less than 10 per season most riders rode in short circuit at various places in the UK and on the continent, they needed to do this to try and win some prize money to pay for their expenses. Riders had to pay an entrance fee to entertain the crowds and only the select few were paid appearance money. Mike Hailwood was considered by his peers to be the one to beat, and proved himself by coming off a ten year lay off and winning in the Island.

Of course Rossi was a tough competitor deep down, just hid it fairly well in his public persona. His record of course makes him one of the absolute all time greats, although as others have noted, and similar to F1, the difference between eras makes it difficult to compare a modern era rider with the likes of Ago.

I remember way back when he won a title by riding Gibernau further off track than Verstappen did to Hamilton last week - definitely a 'they shall not pass' moment.