Valentino Rossi has been embroiled in a scandal after saying he is glad that his new baby is going to be a daughter as it means she won’t be a MotoGP racer. Bird-brained internet dwellers claim this is an insult to women everywhere.
What did Rossi say?
When he was told that his baby would be a daughter, Rossi said “it was good news because we won’t have to decide whether to let her race or not, she surely won’t race in MotoGP and I’m happy.”
Uh, yeah. So?
This has triggered some of the occupants of the internet, who are as trigger-happy as a Clint Eastwood character and always on the lookout for some manufactured “hate” to be offended by. Supposedly Rossi’s claim is an appalling display of sexism. Many of the triggered Twitter brigade are pointing to Ana Carasco, the first woman to win a motorcycle racing world championship in the Supersport 300 series. (At this stage we have to point out that a woman had previously won a motorcycle sidecar world championship. It’s important not to offend sidecar fans as all six of them are complete lunatics).
What does Ana Carasco say about this?
She refused to jump on the outrage bandwagon, merely saying Rossi’s words were “unfortunate”. She also says that she gets what he was saying, as young girls are generally less likely to be into motorcycles. Carasco also said that she wouldn’t want any kid of hers to race either.
This whole tale of Rossi’s woman-hatred is a load of old tripe then, isn’t it?
Yes, clearly.
Will there ever be a woman in MotoGP?
Probably, one day. However, it’s more likely that the first woman in MotoGP will be someone who has already raced in the series and “does a Caitlyn Jenner” to embrace his womanhood. Neil Hodgson would be the ideal candidate as he is a big girl’s blouse already, so would have less transitioning to do. However, to become a woman he would likely have to cut back his use of hair products and spent less time checking himself out in the mirror before leaving the house.