Valentino Rossi has paid tribute to Japanese rider Norick Abe, who was killed in a road accident last weekend.
Italian Rossi was a huge fan of Norick Abe and when he started
his world championship career in 1996 he arrived with the
nickname ‘Rossifumi’, such was his support for the three-times
500 MotoGP winner Norifumi.
Valentino Rossi’s support for Norick Abe started when he watched
him as a wild card riding for Honda as a wild card in the 1994
Japanese MotoGP in Suzuka.
Norick Abe was fighting with legends Mick Doohan and Kevin
Schwantz before he crashed late in an enthralling race.
That performance dazzled a 14-year-old Rossi, who today
(Thursday) in Phillip Island spoke of his sadness at the death of
Abe when his scooter collided with a truck making an illegal U-
turn in Japan. Norick Abe was 32.
Valentino Rossi, who was already mourning the loss last month of
rally hero Colin McRae, who died in a helicopter crash, told MCN:
“For me this not a great year. Two of my idols died in a little over
two weeks, so it is incredible. When I was young I have all the
posters of Norick and McRae in my room. I..." full story on MCN
Norick Abe & Valentino rossi in 2001 - pic from yamaha-racing.com