I would have probably stolen cars - it would have given me the same adrenaline rush as racing.

Riding a race bike is an art - a thing that you do because you feel something inside.

The most important thing is to have a good relationship with the bike... you have to understand what she wants. I think of a motorcycle as a woman, and I know that sounds silly, but it's true.

To be a great motorbike racer, the most important thing is passion for the bike.

The speed is something dangerous but very exciting.

Giving yourself threads doesn't mean you don't believe in yourself in my opinion.

Maybe the bike is more dangerous, but the passion for the car for me is second to the bike.

I feel 100% a Yamaha rider in my heart. I had a long career and raced with several factory bikes, but the highlight of my career is undoubtedly with Yamaha.

I'm Valentino Rossi. And I want to be a person, not an icon.

Our sport is dangerous. We risk the life out there, so we need to stay calm and focused and leave all the rest out.

But I could also start F1 or rallying. I love rallying much more.

The 9th key may be the door opener. Don't give up after trying the 8th. Keep doing it!

I so wish life also had the option of undo making it easier to deal with things you erred. I would have gone back in time to undo every mistake of mine, for which I have paid a very heavy price.

I never realized how much I loved life until I knew it was being taken away.

His management philosophy, tempered in his rain-dancing days, was always to give the project to whoever had the most to gain from success--or the most to lose from failure.

The damaged loves the damaged.

A black...gets a job with a white-owned company. He is the only black at the firm. He works hard, but he's fighting a losing battle against his genes.

Your choices are really very limited. They are limited by your level of awareness. If you can change your level of awareness radically, then you can change your destiny.

Through the senses, anger comes, and sorrow comes.

Is a lifetime long enough to hold the regret that I have for that fantastically aborted but crazily sweet love affair?

It's not Brits who think American readers are a bunch of whinging morons with the geo-social understanding of a wire coathanger, it's American editors.