Be patient Vale, you will do a Tiger

On the same day, in the same country, one sports star returned to winning ways...the other came incredibly close

America was so close to being the afternoon of all comebacks on Sunday. It started with golfer Tiger Woods winning the Masters in Augusta and ended with Valentino Rossi failing by under half a second to win the Red Bull Americas Grand Prix in Texas.

Taken heart Valentino, Woods had waited 11 painful and controversial years before getting back to winning ways on the fairways. The gap is nothing like as big for the 40-year-old Yamaha rider. His last Grand Prix win in America may have come 11 years ago at Indianapolis, before the hurricane and ‘white horse’ arrived, but it was less than two years ago he won for the last time at the Assen cathedral.

Those fighting second places at the last two Grands Prix surely have paved the way for some more Grands Prix victories for The Doctor. With three different race winners in the opening rounds before they arrive in Europe at Jerez and with nobody dominating the Championship surely his big chance will come sooner than later. Indeed, if the Championship continues in the same vein with the points being spread around every time we could be talking about the comeback of all comebacks for Rossi. He seriously could challenge for the title especially with a couple of Grands Prix wins to add to his incredible tally of 89 premier class victories. He is just three points behind Andrea Dovizioso in second place and that long-awaited race win at Jerez would put him top of the table.

While perhaps a little disappointed that Vale didn’t win on Sunday it was equally great to see Alex Rins win his first MotoGP™ race to give Suzuki that first win for almost three years when Maverick Viñales won at Silverstone. After such a tough injury-hit first year in MotoGP, ™ Rins has just got better and better in the Premier class and Suzuki has provided him with a race winning stead. It was also good to see Jack Miller back on the podium and performances of Franco Morbidelli and Fabio Quartararo show the changing of the guard at the front is being prepared.

I commentated on every one of Vale’s 89 Premier class wins, well not quite every one. I sat in the commentary box while he fought Casey Stoner in the battle of the Corkscrew in at Laguna Seca in 2008. I could only watch and not utter a single word because my voice had completely disappeared. Gavin Emmett and John Hopkins did a fantastic job describing one of Rossi’s greatest ever victories.

Rossi arrives in Jerez in a couple of weeks’ time in the form of his forties. Be patient Vale because I’m sure you will not have to wait as long as Tiger to stand back on the top step again.

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