Even before contemporary MotoGP battles such as Rossi vs. Lorenzo or Marquez vs. Rossi dominated the headlines, another bitter and personal rivalry between Valentino Rossi and Max Biaggi took shape in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Their rivalry was much more than the race tracks and world titles. It was a battle of personalities, national pride and generational change, as two Italians scrapped hard, not just over victories, but also to control the narrative of the sport.