Marc Marquez and Valentino Rossi admitted “respect” and “danger” of Isle of Man TT
MotoGP and Isle of Man TT riders have occasionally shared a track
Marc Marquez and Valentino Rossi have previously shared their thoughts about the Isle of Man TT.
The TT, which is ongoing this week, is a must-see motorsport attraction which captures the imagination.
It represents a vastly different challenge to circuit racing and left Marquez uneasy.
"I have a lot of respect for the riders that race there, but I don't like it," Marquez said three years ago.
"I like to have fun, to enjoy riding, to look for the limit; to go to the Isle of Man is to gamble away your life, that's how I see it.
“I ride bikes to have fun, not to suffer and endanger my life."
In 2009, Rossi rode a parade lap with Giacomo Agostini around the famous Mountain Course.
"The lap is great and impressed me a lot because I know that it's dangerous and also fast," Rossi said at the time.
"I don't expect a road like this to be a track and it is unbelievable to be going flat out around it on a Superbike.
“You need to have two great balls!
"For the first lap it's impossible to push for the first lap. I want to come and make five or six laps to understand it better."
MotoGP and Isle of Man TT riders blur the lines
The worlds of MotoGP and road racing have occasionally blurred, with the mutual respect ever present.
Last year, TT legend John McGuinness nailed a personal best lap around Silverstone while following Rossi.
"This little fella from Italy came steaming past me on the back-straight," McGuinness joked.
"Somebody called Valentino Rossi, I thought 'he is pretty fast, I'll get on the back of him'.
"He dragged me round to do the fastest lap I've ever done at Silverstone.
"I bit the screen, trying to hang on as much as I could!
"I was more interested in watching him. He's the best in the world."
In January, Rossi invited Michael Dunlop and Davey Todd to his annual Race of Champions at his Tavullia ranch.
Pedro Acosta was particularly awe-struck to meet - and team up with - Dunlop for the showpiece event.
“I was horrific at it, I had no pace, but the invite alone, to be involved [was great],” Dunlop said.
James was a sports journalist at Sky Sports for a decade covering everything from American sports, to football, to F1.
