Mick Doohan, style endures at Phillip Island (1997 vs 2012)

After the jump, same place in 1997

Good manners are never lost. When I was preparing the gallery for the Australian Grand Prix, I recognized a figure on the Honda RCV that I had not seen in years. During the couple of seconds it took me to open the photo in a new tab, I thought that Casey Stoner - because he was sporting number one - looked more and more like one of the 500cc legends. But then I remembered some news and instantly I could see the photo in large. It was the great Mick Doohan riding Casey's MotoGP, without losing any of its characteristic riding style.

It is pleasantly surprising to see how despite his 47 years Mick is still in top shape and does not hesitate to get on one of the fastest machines on the planet. When I see riders like Max Biaggi or Carlos Checa, already in their 40s, I wonder how far the Australian could have come if the injuries had not crushed his body so much. Injuries that resulted from riding the 500cc two-stroke, bikes that have little or nothing to do with the current 1000cc. It would have been really interesting to know Doohan's honest opinion without any press department "adapting" his words.

To delight ourselves a little more with those, what if …? How much we like to imagine I leave you Mick's gallery giving that lap in honor of motorcycling.