No matter what you think about Valentino Rossi, he is the most powerful force in motorcycle road racing. With nine World championships, including seven in the Premier class, Rossi is not just a great rider, he is a rock star in the world of motorsports and a marketing force extraordinaire for Yamaha and his other affiliated brands.
He is the oldest rider in the MotoGP paddock at 39, and he just signed a contract extension with Yamaha that will see him racing at the highest level into his early 40s. We came across this nice video shot by GoPro that features Rossi’s life at the track and his hometown of Tavullia, Italy. Have a look.
See more of MD’s great photography:
Rossi earned his stripes against the will of his parents. At 1st they didn’t want him to race, but anyone who has as parents raced as Graziano did at that level knows there is a potential for greatness. Even with his Dad’s racing connections, there was still an incredibly chance that he wouldn’t be great. He was and still is great. He has earned all he has and continues to risk it for the pure challenge and intense passion he has for the sport. He is also doing it for his fans. He is also giving back to the sport with both his VR46 riders Acadamy and Moto3 and Moto2 teams and by continuing/adding to his earned Legacy. Marquez is great and shows the same passion but remember Marquez was a Rossi fan growing up. I am glad Marquez is there and winning with the same type of smile and passion as Vale. They are all crazy but these two have something that only comes to a few high level racers. Personality. Great time to be a MotoGP fan!
I usually root for the other racers than Rossi but he does usually put on a good show.
I predict that “46” indicates when Valentino will retire. I just am not certain if it means he will retire when he is 46 years old or whether it means it will be in 2046.
To be a champion at any sport it is almost certain you’ll have a ego bordering on narcissistic disorder. A few of the elite riders may not be afflicted with this but it creates not only drive to succeed also the fear of failure. Rossi joins the very prominent club or riders that stayed on top and battled age and injury. I hope he wins the championship again because any sport needs a person such as this.
He is
He’s a gifted man when aboard a racing motorcycle, determined, fearless, sometime intimidating, rarely accepting a lesser finishing position than he is capable of on a given day, always fun to watch. Few have the love of racing at the highest level that Rossi does. Lord knows he has enough money that he never has to risk his life again going 200+ mph down a long straight before braking and down shifting into a tight 1st gear turn and diving under a competitor. He doesn’t NEED to do it. He LOVES to do it. Marquez is the same way. You can see it in their faces, in their eyes, and in their results.
Will be a sad day for the sport when Rossi does retire.
Rossi is a special kind of talent, winning on the temperamental 2strokes and the electronic gadgetry laced c 4strokes. Truly an all-time great.
Rossi has certainly got alot of things sewn up, but I think it’s to his benefit rather than the sport’s. His fans and media courting/control are massively powerful, and if we think of his competitors throughout the years, all except Nicky Hayden have the perception of being bad people.
The emergence of Marquez has created a fault line amongst bike racing fans that simply wasn’t there before. It’s Rossi fans verses bike racing fans. His other natural opponents (Biaggi, Gibernau, Stoner, Lorenzo) have suffered massively, in public and in private, at his command. Challenge Rossi and you will pay. The old adage ‘you can’t live in the vatican and fight with the pope’ comes to mind.
His fans are polarising and attending a race can feel like a political rally. There’s no denying that the growth of the sport owes him a great deal, but it has got to survive and thrive after him. Ad it’s not very clear that he would care about that. He’s not quite bigger than the sport, but it’s a closer-run thing than it should be.
Agreed. I think Rossi is too much of a diva…
Any actual examples of true ‘diva’ behavior from Rossi?
We’re not talking about the behavior of his fans, or the media fawning over him. Please cite some examples of Rossi himself behaving like a diva.
+1
Quite the opposite, on a couple of pit walks I have seen Rossi come out of the garage and sign autographs when none of the other riders did.
It’s his personality and appreciation for his fans that everybody eats up. If it was only riding ability, they would have all left for the MM camp.
MM may become the fan favorite after Rossi retires. He always has that infectious smile on his face. As someone said, he truly loves what he does.
Rossi and Antonio Cairolli seem to be a bit similar in that they’re still kids at heart, loving what they’re doing, adjusting their game as needed to stay near the top… Sure wish they could share their secrets with guys like Villopoto, Spies, Stoner, et al, who burned themselves out by taking it all too seriously. I’d also put Marquez in there with Rossi…a guy who seems to be having the time of his life, win or not.
I set aside fandom for the most part. I’ll respect the great performances pf artists and athletes without idolizing their person or personality. Plenty of great ones have fostered a sort of benign personality while actually being real mofo’s. Jordan is I think mostly an SOB and Dylan a really peculiar oddball. I tend to distrust those dedicated to self promotion and Rossi is that I think.
In my eyes one thing I respect about Rossi is his general equanimity in the face of losing,for years, and an apparent eagerness to stay in the game. Seemingly aware it’s a game, embracing it and not burning out on it. A good mix of fun, entertainment and professionalism. A real trooper as they say.
il dottore è l’avvocato moderno :¬)
What a special life he has led. Not everyone has the golden spoon given to them.
And many of them waste it.
Okay, fine, I admit it, I’d swap stations in life with Valentino Rossi.