Hitting the Apex

1

This is how it begins.

A motorcycle racer

and his crew chief

looking for speed.

I'm thinking how to corner well

with my knee to the ground

how the crew chief has explained.

It's difficult.

This is how it begins.

A motorcycle racer and his crew chief.

And his race engineers

and his suspension engineer

and his tire engineer

and his electronics engineer

and his mechanics,

looking for speed.

From the smallest minimoto track

to the fastest grand prix circuit,

from little bikes

that cost a few hundred

to MotoGP missiles that cost millions.

From 20-mile-an-hour childhood thrills

to 220-mile-an-hour

grand prix battles.

The principle remains the same.

Find the fastest line around the track.

And then figure out how to go faster.

Grand prix motorcycle racing is

the process of turning fire into speed.

The combustion of fuel

and air in the engine

and the fire in the heart of a rider

willing to risk everything to win.

Time is the enemy.

The fractions of a second

lost or gained in every corner

which add up to defeat or victory.

And the few years that you have

to make it to the top

and try to stay there.

This is what you have to do.

Brake as late as possible.

Stay wide.

Turn.

Hit the apex. Accelerate.

Brake.

Lean... further.

Faster.

Stay on the motorcycle.

Hit the apex. Accelerate.

Stay on the motorcycle.

Crashing... hurts.

It wrecks your bike.

It wrecks your body.

It wrecks your chances.

Stay... on... the bike.

And fight.

Every lap.

Every corner.

Every second.

In 18 races around the world.

Flat out

for over 2,000 miles each season.

Fight to the finish.

Fight to the top.

Fight.

This is the story of six fighters.

Six of the fastest motorcycle racers

of all time

and of the fates that awaited them

at the peak of the sport.

When the speeds had never been higher,

the competition more intense

or the talent on the track

more brilliant.

It's the story of what is at stake

for all of them.

All that can be won.

And all that can be lost,

when you go chasing glory

at over 200 miles an hour

on a motorcycle.

I love sleep. I love sleeping.

Marco, my helper, wakes me up.

So I take some breakfast.

I just feel that I'm more nervous

than on Saturday.

You start feeling the butterflies

in your stomach.

I hate this feeling.

You feel more tired.

You feel... You are less strong.

Wake up, breakfast, warm up.

Normally I sleep well but that time

I will be a little bit nervous.

Sunday morning,

the feeling is always the same.

Scary, fear, adrenaline.

Think positive,

but also scary to make some mistake.

Together, the worst

and the best moment of my life.

Valentino, you're so handsome!

The countdown

to the MotoGP race at two o'clock

is punctuated

by the roar of the support events...

The junior class at 11.

The intermediate at 12.20.

Then it's time.

There are many things

out of your control.

These are the things

that make you a bit uncomfortable

in that particular hour

before the race.

I enjoy it.

It's great to see my son

get to the top.

But you also suffer.

As parents, we are afraid

because it's very dangerous.

The danger's inevitable.

It's motor racing on two wheels

at very high speeds.

We're always trying

to make it better.

We're working on rider equipment.

The airbags inside the leathers.

And then the rules that I apply

to not allow the riders

to do things that put them in danger.

The road to the MotoGP

world championship

is long, difficult and dangerous.

It must be taken at maximum speed

at all times.

The finish line is thousands of miles,

hundreds of races and hundreds

of crashes from the start.

Thousands of young riders go racing

each year in Europe, Asia and America,

dreaming of a place on the world stage.

Very few of them will get there.

Nobody knows

the ferocity of the competition

better than Valentino Rossi.

He's raced in over 300 grand prix

since 1996,

won over 100 of them

and taken nine world championships.

He made it to MotoGP

the way most of them do,

rising through the junior

and intermediate classes,

learning the grand prix tracks

on 140-mile-an-hour bikes.

Then 170-mile-an-hour bikes

before the move to MotoGP

and over 200 miles an hour.

Year after year, he's fought off

wave after wave of challengers.

Over 100 riders have come and gone

in his time at the top.

Rossi is the only one left

from the MotoGP class of 2000.

From 2001 to 2005, he won

five MotoGP championships in a row.

Rossi goes through and

there's nothing Biaggi can do about it.

Oh! They touched! He's wide!

Oh, Rossi's pushing him off the track!

Rossi's gonna take victory

in the Spanish cup.

He was

the undisputed king of the sport.

At the end of the decade

he was still fighting, still winning.

One more premier class title

and he would equal the all-time record.

One more step to cementing his status

as the greatest motorcycle racer

of all time.

But by 2010, Rossi had his hands full.

The men who could beat him had arrived.

If you'd known where to look,

you could have seen them

coming for him all along.

1994, Spain.

Seven-year-old Jorge Lorenzo

slips and slides his way

around a car park in Mallorca.

Casey Stoner on 166.

Keep your eyes on Casey.

1997, Australia.

Twelve-year-old Casey Stoner

leads the pack in a dirt-track race.

Casey Stoner 166

with that nice comfortable lead.

He led hundreds

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