Valentino Rossi

Valentino Rossi
NationalityItalian
Born (1979-02-16) 16 February 1979 (age 45)
Urbino, Italy
Bike number46 (retired in honour in the MotoGP class)
Websitevalentinorossi.com
Motorcycle racing career statistics
MotoGP World Championship
Active years20002021
ManufacturersHonda (20002003)
Yamaha (20042010, 20132021)
Ducati (20112012)
Championships7 (2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2008, 2009)
2021 championship position18th (44 pts)
Starts Wins Podiums Poles F. laps Points
372 89 199 55 76 5415
250cc World Championship
Active years19981999
ManufacturersAprilia
Championships1 (1999)
1999 championship position1st (309 pts)
Starts Wins Podiums Poles F. laps Points
30 14 21 5 11 510
125cc World Championship
Active years19961997
ManufacturersAprilia
Championships1 (1997)
1997 championship position1st (321 pts)
Starts Wins Podiums Poles F. laps Points
30 12 15 5 9 432
Signature
Valentino Rossi signature
GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup career
Debut season2022
Current teamTeam WRT
Racing licence FIA Silver
Car number46
Starts20
Wins1
Podiums3
Poles1
Fastest laps0
Finished last season5th in 2023
GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup career
Debut season2022
Current teamTeam WRT
Car number46
Starts10
Wins0
Podiums0
Poles0
Fastest laps0
Finished last season15th in 2023
Previous series
19982018
2002, 2006, 2008
2012
20192023
2023
2023
2023
Monza Rally Show
World Rally Championship
Blancpain Endurance Series
Gulf 12 Hours
24H Series
Intercontinental GT Challenge
Le Mans Cup - GT3

Valentino Rossi (/ˈrɒsi/; Italian: [valenˈtiːno ˈrossi]; born 16 February 1979) is an Italian racing driver, former professional motorcycle road racer and nine-time Grand Prix motorcycle racing World Champion. Nicknamed The Doctor, he is widely considered to be one of the greatest motorcycle racers of all time.[1][2][3] Rossi has nine Grand Prix World Championships, seven of which were in the premier 500cc/MotoGP class. He holds the record for most premier class victories, with 89 to his name. He won premier class World Championships with both Honda and Yamaha. He is also the only road racer to have competed in 400 or more Grands Prix,[4] and rode with the number 46 for his entire career.

After graduating to the premier class in 2000, Rossi won the final 500cc World Championship (becoming the last satellite rider to win the top-class title to date) and the 8 Hours of Suzuka with Honda in 2001. He also won MotoGP World Championships with the factory Honda Team in 2002 and 2003 and continued his run of back-to-back championships by winning the 2004 and 2005 titles after leaving Honda to join Yamaha. He lost the 2006 title with a crash in the final round at Valencia. In 2007 he ultimately finished third overall, before regaining the title in 2008 and retaining it in 2009.[5] After a 2010 season marred by a broken leg and no title defence, he left Yamaha to join Ducati, replacing Casey Stoner for the 2011 and 2012 seasons, and endured two winless seasons with the Italian marque.[6][7]

Rossi returned to Yamaha in 2013 and finished fourth in the standings followed by three successive runner-up positions in 2014, 2015 and 2016. His best chance of winning a tenth title came in 2015, where he led the standings for most of the season, finishing five points behind teammate Jorge Lorenzo, the eventual champion. 2017 was the final season he achieved over 200 points in the championship and he took his final race victory at the 2017 Dutch TT at the age of 38. After three winless seasons with the factory Yamaha team, he moved to Petronas SRT for 2021, retiring after only one season with the satellite Yamaha team and failing to achieve a podium for the first time in a career spanning 26 seasons in Grands Prix. The dominant force in MotoGP in the 2000s, all of Rossi's seven premier class titles came in this decade, including 77 race wins and 48 pole positions. In the ensuing 12 seasons, he managed 12 race wins and seven pole positions. During this period, Rossi was the 6th most successful rider in terms of total race victories.[8]

Rossi was inducted into the MotoGP Hall of Fame as an official Legend by the FIM at the awards ceremony after the conclusion of the 2021 season.[9] His #46 bike number was retired at the 2022 Italian Grand Prix.[10] Rossi owns the Racing Team VR46, which competes in both Moto2 and MotoGP as of 2022. He also plans to be involved in and administering his motorcycle racing team VR46.[11] In addition to his team management role, Rossi competes full-time in GT World Challenge Europe, driving for Team WRT.[12]

  1. ^ "Moto GP great Valentino Rossi to retire at 42". ESPN.com. 5 August 2021. Archived from the original on 3 October 2022. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
  2. ^ "Is Rossi the greatest of all time? | GRR". Archived from the original on 7 October 2022. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
  3. ^ "The real reason why Valentino Rossi is the greatest MotoGP racer of all-time". Visordown. Archived from the original on 18 August 2022. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
  4. ^ "Valentino Rossi: Italian says racing in 400th MotoGP is 'great achievement'". BBC Sport. 24 October 2019. Archived from the original on 7 March 2021. Retrieved 26 October 2019.
  5. ^ Cool Rossi crowned world champion Archived 28 October 2009 at the Wayback Machine, BBC News.
  6. ^ "Yamaha and Valentino to part company at end of 2010". Yamaha Motor Racing. Yamaha Motor Company. 15 August 2010. Archived from the original on 19 August 2010. Retrieved 15 August 2010.
  7. ^ "Valentino Rossi to leave Yamaha for Ducati in 2011". BBC Sport. 15 August 2010. Archived from the original on 2 September 2017. Retrieved 15 August 2010.
  8. ^ "Best of 2010s: MotoGP's superstars of the decade". Crash. 18 December 2019. Archived from the original on 29 September 2021. Retrieved 29 September 2021.
  9. ^ Valentino Rossi named MotoGP™ Legend Archived 24 March 2023 at the Wayback Machine motoGP.com, 15 November 2021. Retrieved 16 November 2021
  10. ^ "MotoGP officially retires Valentino Rossi's #46 at Mugello". www.motorsport.com. 28 May 2022. Archived from the original on 14 September 2022. Retrieved 14 September 2022.
  11. ^ "Valentino Rossi to retire at the end of 2021". motogp.com. Dorna Sports. 5 August 2021. Archived from the original on 22 November 2021. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
  12. ^ "Valentino Rossi to be joined by Muller, Vervisch in WRT GTWCE squad". motorsport.com. 4 March 2022. Archived from the original on 7 April 2022. Retrieved 7 April 2022.