There are those who fear being the butt of a joke, and those that embrace it with a smile.
Valentino Rossi put himself in into the second category at Monza, when an Italian comedy show sarcastically presented with an award for underachievement on the Ducati.
"I'm one of the most deserving recipients in the history of the award - the Italian rider said, making fun of himself -
I'm feeling like a joke because I'm not competitive with this Ducati. I'm not able to ride at 100%, while the others keep improving. I like to win, and so I'm suffering to with these results. But we will keep trying at every race, and I'm definitely not giving up." When asked about rumors he could leave the team, Rossi set the record straight:
"I'm staying at Ducati. We will give our maximum to make the Ducati-Rossi combination successful."