The Most Popular Motorcycle Racer In The World

Valentino Rossi

Rider: Valentino Rossi
Nickname: The Doctor, Rossifumi, Valentinik, King of Mugello
Nationality: Italian
Team: Yamaha Factory Racing
Machine:Yamaha YZR-M1 (#46)
Born: February 16, 1979 in Urbino, Italy
Valentino Rossi is a legend in Grand Prix motorcycle racing. Fans around the globe cheer
for the charismatic Italian and he responds with flamboyant post-race celebrations and a riding
style that always attracts attention. The Doctor became a Champion of all three GP series, 125,
250, as well as the final year of classic 500cc racing. Rossi joined Mike Hailwood and Phil Read
as the only men to have accomplished this task.
Valentino has been going by the motto of "one year to learn, one year to win" throughout
his GP career. Rossi began racing GP in the 125 class in 1996. The following year he became the
youngest ever GP champion at age 16, winning 11 rounds along the way. He was moved up to
the 250 class in 1998 where he finished second with five wins. In 1999 he once again become a
champion (the youngest 250 champ to date), dominating the series with nine victories. Next up:
500GP aboard the venerable Honda NSR. In 2000 young Rossi finished behind Kenny Roberts
Jr. and returned in 2001 with a mission: to become a 500 GP champion. He did just that. After a
year-long battle with rival, Max Biaggi, he wrapped up the championship with 11 victories and
established himself as one of the greatest GP racers of all time.
After his first title in the premier class, Rossi rattled off four more with five straight
wins from 2001-2005. During that five-year span, The Doctors position as GP champion was
challenged but never bested by his lead rivals: Max Biaggi and Sete Gibernau. Rossi also made
an unexpected move during that timespan, switching from the long dominant Honda to Yamaha,
which he promptly developed into a title-winning machine.
The most dominating rider in the modern era, the unthinkable happened when Rossi lost
his title to Nicky Hayden in 2006. Rossi's failure came when he crashed during the season finale
at Valencia, losing his points lead to Hayden. Sporting the Excalibur motif on his 2007 preseason
factory Yamaha, the unspoken message from Rossi was loud and clear: The once and future king
is dead set on recovering his crown. The Doctor fell short in 2007, however, losing his
supremacy to Ducati's Casey Stoner and finishing the season third in the championship.
In 2008 Rossi took Fiat Yamaha and switched to Bridgestone rubber, the same slicks as
Stoner. The result was a return to form and a dominating season from Rossi, with another
MotoGP crown. The following year Rossi repeated the feat, scoring yet another world title. The
Doctor had to work for it, however, with his greatest competition coming from across the garage
in teammate, Jorge Lorenzo.
2010 proved a difficult year for Rossi. While Lorenzo was on a powerful winning streak,
Rossi suffered a broken leg during a practice crash at Mugello. The incident left The Doctor on
the injured list for multiple rounds, and when he returned Lorenzo had a sizeable lead in the
championship. Rossi eventually finished third in the '10 season behind Lorenzo and Stoner. In a
much anticipated move Rossi severed his long relationship with Yamaha to sign with Ducati for
2011, and there the Italian will seek his eighth MotoGP title.
Rossis stint with the Italian manufacturer didnt live up to expectations. In 2011 the
Doctor only made the podium once, scoring a third-place finish at Le Mans. He finished inside
the top-10 through the majority of the rounds, but struggled throughout the season to find a set-
up that worked for him. He managed to take seventh in the championship, tied mathematically
with the late Marco Simoncelli.
The 2012 season wasnt much better for Rossi, except that he was able to take two
podiums during the season, one again at Le Mans and the other at Misano. In both cases The
Doctor finished in second-place and by the end of the season hed moved into sixth overall.
Right to end of the 2012 campaign Rossi worked to find a bike configuration that would solve
the power delivery and grip issues on the Desmosedici, but to no avail. Rumors swirled mid-
season that he would end his contract with Ducati at the end of 2012, and by August of that year
the rumors had been confirmed. Rossi signed to ride with his former team, Yamaha Factory
Racing, once again alongside Jorge Lorenzo.