Whenever the history of motorsports or the greatest athletes in the sport is discussed, the name of Mick Doohan would easily be one that will be mentioned without much protest.
The 53-year-old epitomised the famed Australian toughness winning five consecutive titles (1994-98) in the 500cc motorcycling championship, the precursor to today’s MotoGP. This, after he had a serious crash in 1992 where he injured his right leg seriously and at one point faced amputation.
The incident in 1992 happened at a practice for the Dutch TT race when Doohan was leading the championship by 65 points with five wins and two second-place finishes and was forced to miss three rounds, losing the title by four points. The injury meant he could also not use his right ankle for braking and instead used a left-thumb operated rear brake.
On coming back from that injury Doohan said, “It was about physically getting myself back. By the end of the 1993 season, I still had issues with my right leg but the desire to win the championship kept me going. I knew if I could get myself physically fit I could be competitive.”
Doohan is in the city with his son Jack, who has preferred four-wheelers and taking part in the MRF Challenge 2000 this weekend.
New season
The most exciting aspect for the new season of MotoGP is that reigning five-time champion Marc Marquez will be joined by three-time champion Jorge Lorenzo at Honda and the Australian feels that the mental strength of the riders will be the crucial factor.
“The Honda bike is primarily built for Marquez because he is the lead rider. The bike development has been heading in his direction. Lorenzo should adapt to the machine fairly well but it will come down to who’s mentally the strongest.
“If Marc likes something and Lorenzo doesn’t it’s going to start messing with your head. They both are coming off injuries. I am excited to see how it unfolds. Marc is a bit crazy and I don’t think it will bother him. Lorenzo is calm and calculated,” said Doohan.
Doohan also feels Marquez could well become an all-time great of the sport. “He is young enough, just going to turn 26. Rossi’s gonna be 40 and he is still there. It’s just about how many years to hang around to surpass that number (eight premier class titles held by Giacomo Agostini). Marquez has certainly got the desire and as long as he doesn’t burn out, he has plenty of time left in him.”
Before signing off the motorcycling legend also said that India can have success at the world level with a strong national series pointing to the examples of Japan and Malaysia which produces top riders.