Valentino Rossi Number 46
Valentino Rossi (born February 16, 1979 in Urbino, Italy) is an Italian professional motorcycle racer and multiple MotoGP World Champion. He is widely considered one of the best motorcycle racers of all time, with 7 World Championships, narrowly missing an 8th one in 2006. According to Sports Illustrated, Rossi is the 7th best-compensated athlete in the world, earning an estimated $30 million a year. Following his father, Graziano Rossi, Rossi started racing in Grand Prix in 1996 for Aprilia in the 125cc category and won his first World Championship the following year. From there, he moved up to the 250cc category, again with Aprilia, and won the World Championship in 1999. He won the 500cc World Championship with Honda in 2001, the MotoGP World Championships (also with Honda) in 2002 and 2003, and continued his streak of back-to-back championships by winning the 2004 and 2005 MotoGP World Championship after leaving Honda to join Yamaha.
The early years
Valentino Rossi was born on 16th February 1979 in Urbino, Marche, and grew up in the town of Tavullia. Son of Graziano Rossi, a former motorcycle racer, he first jumped on a bike at the age of two, and his astounding career progressed in leaps and bounds. Rossi's first racing love was actually go-karts. Fuelled by Rossi's mother, Stefania's, concern for her son's safety, Graziano purchased a go-kart as substitute for the bike. However, the Rossi family trait of perpetually wanting to go faster prompted a redesign; Graziano replaced the 60cc motor with a 100cc national kart motor for his then-5-year-old son. Although Valentino showed interest in such things as his guitar and playing soccer, his interest in school and study waned. Shrugging off his mother's attempt to get him to attend soccer school, he found more interest in the gravel pits and various motorcycle GPs. Graziano attempted to forge documents in an attempt to get Valentino's junior kart licence one year before he was legally allowed (he was 9 at the time), but ultimately failed. Valentino won the regional kart championship in 1990. At the time, a new craze had taken over. The minimoto had now become his weapon of choice, and before the end of 1991, he had won 16 regional races. Although minimoto was for fun, he continued to race karts and finished fifth at the national kart championships in Parma. Both Valentino and Graziano had started looking at moving him into the Italian 100cc series as well as the corresponding European series, which most likely would have pushed him into the direction of Formula 1. However, the high financial burden of racing karts led to the decision to race minimoto exclusively. Through 1992 and 1993, Valentino continued to learn the ins and outs of minimoto racing, steadily racking up win after win.
The move to motorcycles
With Valentino Rossi growing both in size and talent, it became abundantly clear that a proper motorcycle was required to further his progress. In 1993, Rossi acquired a Cagiva Mito 125cc motorcycle, which was damaged in a first-corner crash no more than a hundred meters out from pit lane. The bike was repaired, giving Rossi an opportunity to correct his first-corner mistake, only to crash it going into the second corner. It was an amusing yet trying moment for Rossi, who was trying to decide whether motorcycles were really for him. Valentino ended up finishing ninth that race weekend. Although his first season in the Italian Sport Production Championship was varied, he consistently improved his skills, leading to a pole position at the season's final race in Misano, where he ultimately would finish on the podium. By the second year, Rossi had been provided a factory Mito by Cagiva team manager Claudio Lusuardi and cruised to the Italian title.
The World Championship era
In 1994, Aprilia by way of Sandroni had found a new young talent in Valentino Rossi and proceeded to use him to improve its RS125R and in turn allowed Vale to learn how to handle the fast new pace of 125cc racing. At first he found himself on a Sandroni in the 1994 Italian championship and continued to ride it through the 1995 European and Italian championships. Rossi had little success in the 1996 World Championship season, collecting more crashes than anything else, failing to finish five of the season's races. In August, he won his first World Championship Grand Prix at Brno in the Czech Republic on an AGV Aprilia RS125R. By the end of the season, he was in ninth position, plagued with somewhat inconsistent performances, yet showing stunning speed at times. Rossi treated it as a learning process and refined his skills enough to comfortably wrap up the 125cc World Championship in the following 1997 season, winning 11 of the 15 races. By 1998, the Aprilia RS250 was reaching its pinnacle and had a formidable team of riders in Valentino Rossi, Loris Capirossi and Tetsuya Harada. But even with a fast bike and experienced championship-winning teammates, Rossi struggled in his first season in 250cc. Rossi considered 1998 the toughest year of his career, due to the persistent pressure to perform that he felt from Aprilia, the media and effectively everyone around him. The death of two of his friends in a car accident also took a toll. Again, he found himself learning the ways of his new bike in the first season, concluding the 1998 250cc season in second place, only three points behind the champion Loris Capirossi. In 1999, however, he won the title, collecting 5 pole positions and 9 Grand Prix wins along the way. Rossi was rewarded in 2000 for his 250cc World Championship by being given a ride with Honda in what was then the ultimate class in World Championship motorcycle racing, 500cc. Jeremy Burgess, part of Honda Racing's brains trust, had shown him the NSR500 and was convinced that the pairing of it with Rossi would bring nothing but success. Retired 500cc World Champion Mick Doohan, who also had Jeremy Burgess as chief engineer, worked with Rossi as his personal mentor in the first year at Honda. It would also be the first time Rossi would be racing against fierce rival, Max Biaggi. Although the two had never raced against each other, an intense rivalry had developed due to Rossi's arrogant yet loveable nature and Biaggi's proud, king-of-the-hill persona. The media naturally escalated things, printing any juicy gossip they heard, be it alleged or real. Rossi proceeded to showcase the NSR500's strengths, constantly using his analytical mind to refine it even further. It would take nine races before Rossi would win on the Honda, but like his previous seasons in 125 and 250, it was inevitable that 2000 would be a warm-up to a dominant second season. Vale finished 2nd to American Kenny Roberts Jr, with Max Biaggi finishing in 3rd place. Rossi stormed home to an overwhelming World Championship in 2001, winning 11 races, including the first three and the final four of the season. It would be the final 500cc season not just for Rossi but for everyone. Also in 2001, Rossi teamed with American rider Colin Edwards for the Suzuka 8 Hours endurance race aboard a Honda VTR1000SPW. The pair won the race despite Rossi's "lack" of experience racing Superbikes.
MotoGP
2001 had turned out to be the swansong for the 500cc World Championship; the 500cc giving way to the newly created MotoGP class. The two-stroke 500cc were rapidly being replaced by four-stroke 989cc engines, allowing the factories to provide their riders with staggeringly fast motorbikes. Honda outfitted their factory riders with the RC211V, a liquid-cooled V5 four-stroke with traditionally odd aerodynamic aesthetics but phenomenal speed. 2002 was the inaugural year for the MotoGP bikes and with all riders experiencing the same teething problems getting used to the new bikes (or dealing with the inferior 500cc bikes), it was all Rossi needed to grasp the Championship with two hands from the very first race and never let go of it. Rossi won an astounding 8 of the first 9 races of the season, eventually claiming 11 victories in total. It was more of the same in 2003 for Rossi's rivals; Rossi claimed 9 pole positions as well as 9 GP wins to his third consecutive World Championship. The Australian GP at Phillip Island in 2003 is considered to be one of Rossi's greatest career moments due to the unique circumstances in which he claimed victory. After being given a 10-second penalty for overtaking during a yellow flag due to a crash by Ducati rider Troy Bayliss, 1st-place Rossi proceeded to pull away from the rest of the field, eventually finishing more than 15 seconds ahead; more than enough to cancel out the penalty and win the race.
From Honda to Yamaha
There was much speculation during the second half of the 2003 season about Rossi's plans for the future. Most suspected that he would succeed in his bid to claim a third consecutive title and wondered where the amazingly talented Italian would go in the future. There were even rumors that he would attempt a career in rally cars after he had competed in a Peugeot 206 WRC rally car at the 2002 Rally of Great Britain (although he crashed the car into a tree). His contract with Honda was up at the end of the year and there were rumors that Rossi had become somewhat disillusioned with his ride at Honda. His tenure at Honda had effectively run its course; he had provided Honda with a 500cc World Championship as well as consecutive MotoGP World Championships, he had helped perfect the RC211V into a formidable, almost unstoppable racing machine and considering Honda's reluctance to pay top dollar to secure his services in 2004, seemed to have overstayed his welcome. Partnered with increased skepticism that the reason for his success was the dominance of the RC211V rather than Rossi's talent, it was inevitable that Honda and Rossi would part. Mid-season rumors pointed towards a possible move to Ducati, which sent the Italian press into a frenzy; the concept of the great Italian on the great Italian bike seemed too good to be true. Ducati did indeed try to seduce Rossi into riding their MotoGP bike, the Desmosedici, but for numerous reasons Rossi passed the offer up. Critics say that compared to the other manufacturers, Ducati had a significant way to go before being competitive even with Rossi at the helm. This proved to be the truth with Ducati's lacklustre performance in the 2004 season, which had actually been worse than their inaugural year in MotoGP in 2003. In his 2005 autobiography, "What If I'd Never Tried It?", Rossi offers another reason for choosing Yamaha over Ducati, saying that the mindset at Ducati Corse was a little too similar to the one he was trying to escape from at Honda. Ultimately, Rossi signed a two-year contract with rivals Yamaha reportedly worth in excess of USD$12 million; a price no other manufacturer, even Honda, was willing to pay. Rossi's move to Yamaha would be a baptism of fire. His fiercest critics claimed that on an inferior machine (the Yamaha YZR-M1), Rossi would not be able to recreate his World Championship wins of the previous years, especially with increased development of the RC211V and the likes of Max Biaggi and Sete Gibernau on Hondas. The RC211V was a superior machine in almost every aspect although it was guaranteed that the gap would shrink with the defection of Rossi and Jeremy Burgess (chief mechanic for Rossi at Honda, whom Rossi had also convinced to join). The 2004 season would give Rossi the ability to show everyone, especially his critics what he was made of and provide him with an opportunity to prove that it was his talent rather than his bike that won him his championships. With the traditional first race of the season at Suzuka off the list due to safety considerations, the 2004 season started at Welkom in South Africa. Rossi shone through to claim first blood in his new team colors and somewhat silenced some of his critics who thought the Yamaha would still play second fiddle to the Honda. Rossi would go on to claim 8 more GP wins during the season, battling Sete Gibernau ferociously until Rossi eventually closed the door on Sete's hopes in the penultimate race of the season at Phillip Island. Gibernau and Rossi had become bickering enemies during the course of the season; whereas in previous seasons they had been competitive but friendly rivals, various disputes arose during 2004 which led to their falling apart. Rossi would continue to rub salt into the wound for both Gibernau and Honda by winning the ultimate race of the season at Valencia. It was a painful blow to both Gibernau and Honda; Gibernau, so close to a World Championship, and Honda, starting to become aware of what they had let go. Valentino Rossi ended up with 304 points to Gibernau's 257, with Max Biaggi 3rd with 217 points. In 2005, Rossi captured his 7th World Championship and 5th straight MotoGP Championship. He finished with a total of 367 points, an incredible 147 points ahead of 2nd place finisher Marco Melandri (220 pt), and Nicky Hayden finishing 3rd with 206 points. The 2006 MotoGP season started off with Rossi, once again, being the favorite to take the Championship, but he had trouble in the first half of the season. Rossi finished 14th in Jerez and had a pair of DNFs in Shanghai and Le Mans. Nicky Hayden held the points lead throughout most of the season, but Rossi was slowly working his way up the points ladder. It wasn't until Motegi when Rossi finally grabbed 2nd in the points race behind Hayden. In the Portuguese Grand Prix, the second to last race of the season, Hayden was taken out by his teammate, Dani Pedrosa, and did not finish the race. This led to Rossi taking the points lead with only one race left in the season. Rossi crashed early in Valencia, the last race, and Hayden went on to win the 2006 MotoGP Championship. Rossi finished the season in 2nd place. Valentino Rossi will return to MotoGP for the 2007 season riding the new 800 cc Yamaha YZR-M2.
By Seasons
By class
Races by year
| MAL 6 | IND 11 | JPN 11 | SPA 4 | ITA 4 | FRA ret | DUT ret | GER 5 | BRI ret | AUT 3 | CZE 1 | IMO 5 | CAT ret | BRA ret | AUS 14 | |||
| MAL 1 | JPN ret | SPA 1 | ITA 1 | AUT 2 | FRA 1 | DUT 1 | SMR 1 | GER 1 | BRA 1 | BRI 1 | CZE 3 | CAT 1 | IND 1 | AUS 6 | |||
| JPN ret | MAL ret | SPA 2 | ITA 2 | FRA 2 | MAD ret | DUT 1 | BRI ret | GER 3 | CZE ret | SMR 1 | CAT 1 | AUS 1 | ARG 1 | ||||
| MAL 5 | JPN 7 | SPA 1 | FRA ret | ITA 1 | CAT 1 | DUT 2 | BRI 1 | GER 1 | CZE 1 | SMR 2 | VAL 8 | AUS 1 | SAF 1 | BRA 1 | ARG 3 | ||
| SAF ret | MAL ret | JPN 11 | SPA 3 | FRA 3 | ITA 12 | CAT 3 | DUT 6 | BRI 1 | GER 2 | CZE 2 | POR 3 | VAL ret | BRA 1 | PAC 2 | AUS 3 | ||
| JPN 1 | SAF 1 | SPA 1 | FRA 3 | ITA ret | CAT 1 | DUT 2 | BRI 1 | GER 7 | CZE 1 | POR 1 | VAL 11 | PAC 1 | AUS 1 | MAL 1 | BRA 1 | ||
| JPN 1 | SAF 2 | SPA 1 | FRA 1 | ITA 1 | CAT 1 | DUT 1 | BRI 1 | GER 1 | CZE ret | POR 1 | BRA 1 | PAC 2 | MAL 2 | AUS 1 | VAL 2 | ||
| JPN 1 | SAF 2 | SPA 1 | FRA 2 | ITA 1 | CAT 2 | DUT 3 | BRI 3 | GER 2 | CZE 1 | POR 1 | BRA 1 | PAC 2 | MAL 1 | AUS 1 | VAL 1 | ||
| SAF 1 | SPA 4 | FRA 4 | ITA 1 | CAT 1 | DUT 1 | BRA ret | GER 4 | BRI 1 | CZE 2 | POR 1 | JPN 2 | QAT ret | MAL 1 | AUS 1 | VAL 1 | ||
| SPA 1 | POR 2 | CHN 1 | FRA 1 | ITA 1 | CAT 1 | NED 1 | USA 3 | GBR 1 | GER 1 | CZE 1 | JPN ret | MAL 2 | QAT 1 | AUS 1 | TUR 2 | VAL 3 | |
| SPA 13 | QAT 1 | TUR 4 | CHN ret | FRA ret | ITA 1 | CAT 1 | NED 8 | GBR 2 | GER 1 | USA ret | CZE 2 | MAL 1 | AUS 3 | JPN 2 | POR 2 | VAL 13 | |
| QAT | SPA | CHN | TUR | FRA | ITA | CAT | GBR | NED | GER | USA | CZE | SMR | JPN | AUS | MAL | POR | VAL |
Records
500cc/MotoGP records:
- Rossi is second in all time world championships standings with 5 world championships along with Michael Doohan with 5 world championships, behind Giacomo Agostini with 8 world championships
- Rossi is second in consecutive world championships standings with 5 consecutive world championships in 2001-2005 along with Michael Doohan with 5 consecutive world championships in 1994-1998, behind Giacomo Agostini with 7 consecutive world championships in 1966-1972
- Rossi is second in all time race wins standings with 58 race wins, behind Giacomo Agostini with 68 race wins
- Rossi is second in all time podiums standings with 91 podiums, behind Michael Doohan with 95 podiums
- Rossi is second in all time pole positions standings with 38 pole positions, behind Michael Doohan with 58 pole positions
- Rossi is second in all time race fastest laps standings with 49 race fastest laps, behind Giacomo Agostini with 69 race fastest laps
- Rossi is second in most race wins in a season standings with 11 race wins in 2001, 2002 and 2005, behind Michael Doohan with 12 races wins in 1997
All class records:
- Rossi is fourth in all time world championships standings with 7 world championships along with Phil Read, behind Carlo Ubbiali and Mike Hailwood with 9 world championships, Angel Nieto with 13 world championships and Giacomo Agostini with 15 world championships
- Rossi is third in all time race wins standings with 84 race wins, behind Giacomo Agostini with 122 race wins and Angel Nieto with 90 race wins
- Rossi is third in all time podiums standings with 127 podiums, behind Giacomo Agostini with 159 podiums and Angel Nieto with 139 podiums
- Rossi is third in all time pole positions standings with 45 pole positions, behind Michael Doohan with 58 pole positions and Max Biaggi with 56 pole positions
Other records:
- Rossi is the second rider to win consecutive world championships in different manufacturers (2001-2003 with Honda and 2004-2005 with Yamaha along with Eddie Lawson (1988 with Yamaha and 1989 with Honda)
First Grand Prix: 1996 MAL 125cc First Pole Position: 1996 CZE 125cc First Race Fastest Lap: 1996 FRA 125cc First Podium: 1996 AUT 125cc First GP Victory: 1996 CZE 125cc Grand Prix Starts: 153 500cc/MotoGP Starts: 93 250cc Starts: 30 125cc Starts: 30 Grand Prix Victories : 77 500cc/MotoGP Victories: 51 250cc Victories: 14 125cc Victories: 12 2nd Placements: 23 3rd placements: 13 Podiums: 113 Pole Positions: 40 Race Fastest Laps: 65 World Championship Wins: 7 1997: 125cc 1999: 250cc 2001: 500cc 2002: MotoGP 2003: MotoGP 2004: MotoGP 2005: MotoGP Total Points: 2773 source:wikipedia.org
