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On Sunday, Valentino Rossi hung up his leathers after an illustrious 26-year MotoGP career. Nine world titles, 115 victories, 235 podiums and 65 pole positions later, the sport’s greatest bowed out aged 42.
Rossi was motorsport’s Muhammed Ali, Diego Maradona, Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods. He was simply the best and his impressive statistics fully back that up.
Legends like Max Biaggi, Lloris Capirossi, Nicky Hayden, Casey Stoner, Jorge Lorenzo, Dani Pedrosa and Marc Marquez, Rossi beat them all.
Rossi’s golden years came between 2002 and 2010, winning seven titles throughout the 2000s and still regularly challenged for race victories until 2019. The nine-time champion transcended MotoGP and put it in the mainstream sporting spotlight which has seen him be compared to sporting giants like Jordan for the number of new eyes he’s pulled onto this great sport.
The Doctor has captured the hearts of millions over his career. Many fans will have only known a MotoGP grid with the Italian lining up every race and being amongst the hot-favourites to take the victory, something that the 2021 MotoGP champion Fabio Quartararo put nicely in a press conference following Rossi announcing his retirement back in August:
“The news is difficult to believe, he was already a two-time champion before I was born…”
The Frenchman added:
“He’s the guy who made me want to be a MotoGP rider, from when I was a kid watching him, waiting for hours outside of the hospitality to get a picture. For me, he is the legend of the sport, he had an amazing career – he is a legend and he is still my idol today.”
The Italian lit up the sport with a series of iconic celebrations. From bowling, toilet pitstops, playing the violin, hatching eggs, giving lifts to chickens and ‘The Prisoner of Brno,’ the sport’s showman has celebrated in truly memorable ways.
After crashing out of the 2009 Indianapolis Grand Prix, the Italian poked fun at his own mistakes by putting the face of Donkey from Shrek on his helmet for his home race in Misano a week later. That race he went on to win and took to the podium wearing donkey ears, one of Rossi’s funniest celebrations.
He celebrated his 100th Grand Prix victory at the Dutch Grand Prix at Assen in 2009 by unveiling a banner with his previous 99 race wins shown, images that will live on forever.
Another fan favourite was after an incredible battle with Stoner at the American Grand Prix in 2008. Rossi’s race-winning overtake was at the infamous corkscrew corner at Laguna Seca, albeit slightly taking the inside to turn 8a. The Doctor took his fourth victory of the season and celebrated by bowing down and kissing the track at the top of the corkscrew.
That iconic battle in the States with Stoner will go down in MotoGP history.
So too will the tussle with Lorenzo at the Catalan Grand Prix in 2009 as the Fiat Yamaha teammates fought hard in the closing stages of the race before Rossi dived up the inside of the Spaniard at the final corner on the final lap on course to his ninth title. A hard-fought battle that had MotoGP fans in all corners of the globe on the edge of their seats.
The record-breaking Italian became the first rider to win back-to-back championships for two different manufacturers as he moved to Yamaha from the Repsol Honda outfit for the 2004 season, one of many records Rossi broke.
He held off Biaggi to take glory at the South African Grand Prix which kickstarted his sixth championship-winning season as The Doctor would also win the title in 2005, 2008 and 2009 with the Japanese manufacturer.
When MotoGP rolled into town, anywhere in the world, the circuit and surrounding areas would be painted yellow. Every race was a home race for Rossi, but none more so than Mugello.
The Tuscan hills and surrounding towns would turn yellow for the Italian Grand Prix as would Misano later in the season. The Italian’s hometown, Tavullia, is a Rossi-paradise where the village streets are covered in fluorescent yellow as the speed limit, quite fittingly, is 46kph and still to this day is a popular tourist destination for Rossi fans.
When home races rolled around, he would run special helmets. In 2009, Rossi sported one of his most iconic helmets to date. His crazy smile on the top of his helmet for the Italian Grand Prix at Mugello showed what his face is really like when slamming on the brakes at the end of the kilometre-long pit straight into turn one.
Another one of Rossi’s most loved home race helmets is the ‘Wish You Were Here’ piece he wore for the 2013 Misano Grand Prix. This helmet featured artwork and words from Pink Floyd’s ‘Wish You Were Here,’ a fitting tribute to his great friend and former MotoGP rider Marco Simoncelli who passed away in 2011.
A glittering career that may never be equalled! ?
Enjoy @ValeYellow46's greatest hits! ?#GrazieVale pic.twitter.com/1AQVLtBu4G
— MotoGP™? (@MotoGP) November 14, 2021
Vibrancy, humour and speed, three words you could describe Rossi by but sometimes it’s not always plain-sailing.
Some would agree that he deserved 10 titles, however, in 2006, the Italian fell narrowly short of the late, great Hayden as he crashed in the Valencia showdown. Rossi was also a strong contender for the title in 2010, however, he broke his leg in practice at Mugello which ruled him out of four races.
Rossi was again narrowly beaten in 2015 by Lorenzo but many would say that he was robbed of the title. At the penultimate round of the season, the Doctor and Marc Marquez contested a fascinating battle before the duo tangled at turn 14 with Marquez crashing.
This earned Rossi a grid penalty and the Italian had to start from the back of the grid with teammate and title rival Lorenzo on pole position. Despite a valiant effort from Rossi to finish fourth, it wasn’t enough as the Spaniard clinched the title with a victory.
Unfortunately, that elusive 10th title never came but his career legacy possibly defies double that amount of championships.
Nevertheless, nine world championships spanning across a 12-year period is astounding and may never be replicated again. The positive impact that Rossi has had on MotoGP will be seen for many generations to come.
The Doctor was rightfully inducted into the MotoGP Hall of Fame on Sunday and is immortalised in history alongside the sport’s finest including Giacomo Agostini, Wayne Rainey, Barry Sheene and Kevin Schwantz.
MotoGP is Valentino Rossi and Valentino Rossi is MotoGP. Rossi’s retirement leaves a seismic hole in the paddock to fill as he moves onto pastures new, but the young stars of tomorrow have the sport in safe hands.
Grazie Vale!
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