It is probably the greatest answer to the stock question about who you would most like to be. Jorge Lorenzo, a maverick Spaniard who once hired Russell Crowe's Gladiator costume to celebrate a win, said that he would want the grace of Gandi, the imagination of Gaudí and the skill of Rossi.

His team-mate may be overstating the value of sport to include him in such company, but a remarkable return to the pinnacle of his sport raises the question: “Is Valentino Rossi the greatest active sportsman?” Lobbyists for Tiger Woods, Roger Federer and Usain Bolt may take issue, but Rossi can more than match their dominance. He is expected to seal a sixth world title in the elite class, his eighth in all, here tomorrow, has more grand prix wins than any other rider in history and has proved that it is not all about the bike by doing it with two manufacturers.

Unlike the other candidates, Rossi has dragged his sport into the mainstream via a neon personality and post-race stunts involving dwarves, chicken costumes and Portaloos. There have been great rivalries and feuds, an infamous punch-up behind the podium and blunt summaries of those he dislikes. Honda, his former employer, were labelled “bastards”; Sete Gibernau, his rival, “a baby”; and Max Biaggi, his nemesis and recipient of that right hook in Barcelona in 2001, “a liar”. Rossi's journey to tomorrow has been a white-knuckle dust-up.

He is due to start testing his 2009 bike in the Motegi hills, north of Tokyo, on Monday, although with trademark colour he termed it “the 2008.5 bike”. If he has half an eye on the future, he can be forgiven, an 87-point lead in the championship all but guaranteeing a fantastic revival after two barren years. However, he refused to get ahead of himself when it was pointed out that he might be testing the day after a title celebration, saying: “We need to have a reason for drink.”

He is happier getting ahead of others. When asked if this would the sweetest title of all, he said: “Yes. This has been the most difficult. The gap is big, but the battle has been tighter. There has been more fighting.”

So what else has Rossi got on Woods and Federer? Their achievements are comparable, but there are key differences. Unlike those other sporting monopolists, Rossi has done it with wit and a smile. Last season he rode with numbers made from fur because he said that he had stopped pulling the rabbit from the hat. He dreams up stunts with his friends in the bars of Tavullia, his home town, where the bells ring whenever he wins. An antidote to the anodyne, he would be a sensation if a Formula One driver, which is why Ferrari coveted him for so long.

Some would argue that a motorcyclist's success is largely down to his bike. Biaggi thought so when grousing that Rossi's Honda was superior to his Yamaha. He stopped when Rossi joined Yamaha in 2004 and won his first race on the bike. Yamaha's first title in 12 years followed.

How did he win on a Yamaha that he said needed “a lion-tamer”? Masao Furusawa, the Yamaha executive officer, said: “In his first six laps on the bike he evaluated it entirely. He's like a computer.”

Rossi's father, Graziano, a former grand prix rider, said: “When Valentino shuts the visor, everybody becomes his enemy. I didn't have that, I wondered if racing was humane.”

Jerry Burgess, Rossi's crew chief, said: “If Valentino had started playing tennis at 3 and Federer had a motorbike, then the results would be the same but the names would be different. The electric pulses that send messages to their brains are quicker than in ordinary people.”

The greatest must come from a global sport and motorcycling is huge in Spain, Italy and, despite much of the media's snobbish disdain, Britain. Bolt could argue that his place in history is the only one that is not subjective - he is the fastest sprinter ever - but Rossi can claim greater skill and longevity and is the only one of the quartet to risk his life daily.

Now he has added the final piece to his jigsaw. “The last two years have taught me how to lose,” he said yesterday. It was a telling point, if greatness entails coming back from fallibility à la Muhammad Ali. Federer has started that process, winning the US Open, albeit not beating his greatest rival to do so, while Woods will come back from knee surgery to face a new star in Anthony Kim. If Rossi completes his comeback tomorrow, he will pip them all to the top of the sporting pile.

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