In the past we have reported that the seemingly brave boys who ride around on motorcycles at great speed, not caring for life or limb are for all practical purposes sissies or pussies as Valentino Rossi once described his rivals Jorge Lorenzo and Casey Stoner. In the past Lorenzo has been most outspoken about the “dangers” of going to Motegi since the circuit is close to the Fukushima nuclear reactor which suffered a melt down following the March tsunami. Later Casey Stoner too took a strident stand of not going to Japan. The FIM and Dorna have used the services of an independent agency ARPA to test the levels of radiation around Motegi after the figures of the International Atomic Agency were disputed. ARPA too found nothing dangerous and said in its report that radiation there was “negligible”. Honda owns the Japanese circuit and wants its riders to race there as do Yamaha and Suzuki which are like Honda Japanese companies. Given this Stoner and Lorenzo have in the recent past said that they are now open to racing at Motegi. But not Rossi. He now says that neither he nor Ducati are prepared to go to Japan unless the race is at Suzuka, which is far away from Fukushima. Rossi is now echoing the sentiments of Stoner who earlier said motorcycle racing is not a way of expressing solidarity with the Japanese people. Rossi now says it is okay for relief workers to go there but not for motorcycle racers. We suppose relief workers are lesser mortals whose lives can be sacrificed at the altar of service while the most useful motorcycle racers need to be preserved for their higher value. It is one thing to be afraid, but a totally different thing to talk like an idiot.