Who is the overall best racer and what did they reign supreme upon?

[goliathgotit]

Do you have a favorite racer? Bicker it out in here. Who is the very best? Are they still racing? What makes them the best racer ever in your eyes?

I want to start naming names, and getting down and dirty. I mean if we can put up with the constant whining about who will be president in November, then surely we can hash it out over something that actually has an impact on our daily lives, like motorcycle racing heroes.

I will start off by nominating Chris Carr for holding the motorcycle land speed record of 354MPH in the salt flats of Utah in 2006.

I don't care what you say,thinking about two wheels @ over 300MPH in any conditions just makes me want to s---- my pants. I can also say, that no one has been able to beat him yet, thus he is the best.

[HellFireX12]

Ive only started watching racing the past few years, and mainly stick to GP but, not to sound like a band wagon fan, Rossi is awesome just the way he flys through the corners is insane, and this past season was a good example Stoners bike was soo much faster than every one elses but Rossi was actually faster through the corners most of the time even without as many electronics to help keep it up.

John Hopkins is cool too hes not the best but puts on a pretty good show, and Melandri I love the way he gets off the side of his bike and pulls the thing over, he hangs almost completely off the side its crazy.

[BH121869]

I don't keep up with them these days but I grew up admiring Gary Nixon and Mike Halewood, I may have spelled that wrong. When the metrics started winning I lost interest and have not been to a Daytona race since Honda won. Nothing against Honda at all,at least it was a four stroke. I did not enjoy the two strokes sound and missed all the bikes that ran equal and made it fun. Nascar will go the same way one day. I do like Rossi.

[webhustler]

I will go out on a limb here, but the man with the most broken bones, Evil Kenevil has to be the best there was. Especially in today's competition world, you see too many people sitting out due to something minor, and this guy would keep going if you had to tie him to the bike. He also probably made biking a household name. Who else has done that to the non biking home?

[a1c_joker]

Jeremy McGrath reigned supreme in the world of Supercross in the early-to-mid 90's. He came on the scene and was pretty much unstoppable. Then along came Ricky Carmichael, who pretty much followed McGrath's footsteps and arguably went above and beyond. When racing comes to mind (be it offroad, I know) those two always pop up in my mind. Look at their track records. They are icons of the sport.

~Joker

[selmer]

I loved watching Eddie Lawson dicing it up with Wayne Rainey and Wayne Gardner and Kevin Schwantz.

Lawson is my top guy. Awesome and inspiring.

dv

[badmonkey]

Rossi is the greatest.

Doohan is the next best.

Guys like lawson, rainey and schwantz deserve some mention.

[kschilk]

As far as being the best, i.e. "most talented racer", I'd have to name Steve Wise. Wise was the only rider to win MX, Supercross and Superbike (predecessor to Supermoto) Championships. After that, he moved directly into the GNC Series and even won the Mid-Ohio National, in his first year. He had the potential to be a GNC Champion but was forced into retirement by injuries. He was also named the 1982 AMA Athlete Of The Year. As far as being the most versatile racer of all time, I don't think anyone can compare with his record...other than maybe Dick Mann.

As for a "best racer" in general, I'd have to break it into three categories...MX, GNC and a general off-road category that would include other off-road racing disciplines, like Enduro/Cross Country, ISDE, Desert/Baja, etc.

For MX, I'd name Roger DeCoster. Aisde from his seven 500cc World Championships, Roger has done more for the sport of MX and its riders than anyone. He was a major driving force behind the technological explosion in motorcycle design and performance of the '70s and '80s. Even after his retirement from racing, he has remained the primary riders' liason to the factories, the AMA and race promoters. His powerful influence resulted in safer tracks and improved racing formats, as well as better contracts for the riders. He was instrumental in drawing in the outside industry sponsorships that are so prevalent today in all forms of motorcycle racing. He has used his international notoriety and prestiege to benefit the sport, its riders and several childrens charities. As Honda MX Racing Team manager, he volunteered his team to represent the U.S. at the 1981 World Team MX Championships (MX and Trophees Des Nations), when the other factories pulled their riders from the original U.S. Team lineup. The team was seen as second-rate by the FIM and due to protests by other teams, were nearly disqualified. RD's diplomacy prevailed and he led the team to a first-time U.S. Team victory in both events, that ended the European's historical domination of the sport. This began a 13 year winning streak for the U.S. and the FIM's efforts to end it, resulted in major changes in the rules and racing format. In a nutshell...Roger DeCoster started as a privateer and retired from racing with 7 World Championships, then went on to become the most powerful and influential force in the history of the sport.

For GNC, I have lots of favorites....like Gene Romero, Kenny Roberts, Mert Lawwil, etc. but I'm gonna' choose Dick Mann here. He also started in MX/ Scrambles and went on to be a GNC Champion. Because of his versatility as a racer, I'm rating him tops here and second only to Wise, as history's most talented racer.

For everything else, obviously....Malcolm Smith. Aside from his ISDE Medals and Baja performances, his overall contributions to the general sport of off-road motorcycling are unmatched. He's been a long-time ambassador for the sport and has been instrumental in motorcycle development over the years. His performance in the movie On Any Sunday, probably did more to attract people into the sport and show motorcycling in a more positive light, than anything before or since. As the "most talented racer" overall, I'd rate him third. I suppose if I had to pick a "greatest MC racer of all time", based purely on the number and prestiege of their victories, the level of their contributions to that particular form of racing and the length of time they were a dominant force in it...I gotta' say Roger DeCoster.

[selmer]

I will start off by nominating Chris Carr for holding the motorcycle land speed record of 354MPH in the salt flats of Utah in 2006.

I don't care what you say,thinking about two wheels @ over 300MPH in any conditions just makes me want to s---- my pants. I can also say, that no one has been able to beat him yet, thus he is the best.

Funny, when I first started teaching, I worked at the same school as Chris Carr's mother. I had NO idea that the two were related, even being the big AMA/motorcycle racing geek that I was at the time. Nice lady,very dedicated to her craft.

Really small world sometimes. 1988 - graduated from high school with a guy who would later become one of the top first-call studio guitarists in the state. 1995 - worked at the same school as Chris Carr's mom. 2006 - Scott Speed in Formula 1 auto racing is from the town I live in, not one of my former students, he went to the other high school in town.

Weird.

dv