By cy.Reporter, 27 August, 2021
A few weeks after deciding to retire from active action at the end of this season, cyNews sought to overtake one of the greatest drivers in MotoGP history. Enough cubics, enough adrenaline, hundreds of victories and World Championships in all categories, created the legend of the legendary "doctor" Valentino Rossi…
February 16, 1979. Little Valentino is born in the city of Urbino or Urvino in central Italy, a city of about 15,000 inhabitants. Luckily for him, Valentino saw Graziano's father take an important step in motorsport. Thus, Valentino Rossi had no choice but to love speed and motorsport.
His birthplace may have been Urvino, but he spent his childhood with his family in the town of Tavoulia, which has a population of about 8,000. Thus, little Rossi had the opportunity to practice his motor skills, away from the lights and dangers of a big city, as the only game he could play with his father was riding a motorcycle. So, at just 5 years old when many kids start kicking a ball, or trying to get the auxiliary wheels off their bikes and learn balance, Valentino Rossi already had his first kart! As little Valentino improved, so did his father.
In 1990, at the age of 11, he won the regional kart championship and showed from his childhood what would follow. Thus, in 1991 he "jumps" in the minimoto category and after several successes he finds himself competing at the national level. The beginning for his entry in the top moto GP. In 1995 he won the Italian 125cc championship in collaboration with Aprilia and in the same season occupied the 3rd place in the European Championship, thus securing a place in the moto GP. Step by step, Rossi begins to "build" his legend. His first season in the 125cc category finishes in 9th place in the World Rankings, while the following season, having switched to Nastro Azzurro Aprilia, he wins the World Title in his category!
In 1998 he is in the 250cc category and a year later, completing 309 points, he won the World Championship. However, Rossi does not stop and reaches the category of 500cc having joined the potential of Honda. Thus, in 2001 he wins this title of World Champion and now everyone learns him as a "doctor". Even today there is a myth about why this nickname "accompanies" the World Champion. Others claim that he is called a doctor, as he drives with precision and cold blood, as if he is having surgery, others consider him a "doctor", as he now has "Doctor" in motor sports with so many titles and others because he enjoys the absolute respect as the function of doctors all over the world and in Italy it is commonly called so, a man who has won the respect of public opinion.
The sequel for the Italian is dreamy and he wins the next two consecutive World Championships. The new King is here and it's Valentino Rossi. However, the King does not forget the man who inspired him and helped him reach the top. So, in honor of his father, he fights with the number 46, the same one he wore when his father was fighting. Then Yamaha gets his signature and the Italian "doctor" has absolutely no problem being at the top of the world. However, for the next two years it fails to reach the top…
2008. The stubborn Italian finishes first with 373 points and having the dose of humor that always distinguishes him appears at the award with a t-shirt that reads "Sorry for the delay", meaning the previous years he failed to reach the top of the world… All During this time, the Italian Ducatti wanted to bring the Italian and create the perfect collaboration, reaching the top with its "doctor". However, the results were not as expected. The four-stroke V4 Desmosedici motorcycle did not seem to match the Italian style, thus completing the World Championships in 7th and 6th place respectively. Positions that were far from the wishes of the Italian World Champion. The return to Yamaha was not combined with titles but had clearly better results than working with Ducatti. The Italian was close to winning the World Cup several times but in both 2014, 2015 and 2016 he was in second place in the World Rankings.
So, at the beginning of August, the Italian decided to announce that at the end of this season he will end his career. "I decided to retire at the end of the season, it is a difficult decision. I wanted to keep running for another 25 years but it's time to say enough. Unfortunately this will be the last half for me. It's sad and difficult for me to say that next year I will not be riding a motorcycle. I have been doing this for almost 30 years and next year my life will change. But it was nice and I'm happy, it was a long and nice trip with unforgettable moments with all the teams and the people I worked with".
The 41-year-old driver so far counts 115 victories in 414 Grand Prix in all categories, is the only one who has celebrated the title of World Champion in all three categories, while the nine World Championships need no further recommendations. However, the most important "championship" is coming for him in a few months, as as the same dressed doctor informed and looking at his partner in a photo he posted, in a few months he will become a father giving birth to a little girl ιος Who knows maybe after for several years the Rossi family acquired in another jersey the number 46…
Research, writing, editing: Christos Davos (cyNews sports editor)
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