I enjoyed it a lot and today was the best way to finish.” I received a lot of respect, a lot of support from the other riders from MotoGP. Also today: all of the riders from the (VR 46) academy used my helmets. “I received a lot of surprises on Thursday. I didn’t expect there could be a weekend like this,” Rossi said in the interview at the top of this post. Next season his VR46 team will make its debut in MotoGP next year as a Ducati satellite.Valentino Rossi’s statistics could speak for themselves, but in his 372nd and final top-level start of a storied career spanning more than a quarter of a century, he finished 10th one final time in the Valencia Grand Prix and showed he could still contend with the best MotoGP riders in the world even as he bid them farewell. He retires with 115 victories including a record 89 in MotoGP, 235 podiums (199 in the top flight), also a record, and the longest career of any rider in the sport's premier class. He added six more in the new MotoGP class in 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2008, and 2009, the first two with Honda, the rest with Yamaha. Graduating to the premier class he was runner-up in his first season in 2000 before taking the final world title race in the 500 cc format a year later with Honda. Rossi claimed his first world title in 1997, a year after making his 125 cubic centimeters debut, following up with the 250 cc championship in 1999. Rossi's last title dates back to 2009 and his last GP victory in 2017 but that has not dulled the adoration felt by the motorcyling fans for Rossi who leaves the stage with his place assured as one of the true greats of his or any other sport. If this season was his poorest in 26 seasons at world level – he finished a distant 18th in the standings – there were no tears, just a trademark grin from "The Doctor." In the paddock, the nine motorcycles that brought him world titles have been lined up side by side since Thursday when he posed with each for an evocative photoshoot.Ī giant street-art fresco displaying the portrait of the smiling "Dottore" overlooked the starting line. His number 46 was everywhere, including on Bagnaia's helmet and up in the stands of the Ricardo Tormo circuit where his initials and number "VR46" fluttered on yellow flags in the Valencian sunshine.
Petronas Yamaha SRT's Valentino Rossi reacts after competing in his last ever race at the Valencia Grand Prix, Cheste, Spain, Nov. He dominated the race but once former Brazilian footballer Ronaldo waved the chequered flag, all the attention turned to Rossi as the riders stopped to pay homage, fireworks went off and cries of "Vale" echoed around the stands. The 24-year-old finished the season 26 points behind Quartararo as runner-up in the title race. It was a fourth win of the season for Bagnaia, who came through the VR46 Academy created by Rossi. Yamaha's Fabio Quartararo, who had already secured the world championship, finished 5th after a heavy fall in qualifying.īut the often joyous winner's podium paled alongside celebrations from the exultant pack that tracked Rossi's every move, chanting Vale, Vale (his nickname) and even throwing him in the air. Jorge Martin, of the Ducati-Pramac team, and Jack Miller (Ducati) completed the podium at the 18th race of the season for a first-ever Ducati podium sweep. The 42-year-old Rossi, a nine-time world champion across categories, took all the applause from the crowd of 75,000 people, as he rode an ovation lap in Valencia, which was his 432nd GP since starting his career back in 1996.
Ducati's Francesco Bagnaia clinched Sunday the season-ending Valencia MotoGP where racing legend Valentino Rossi said an emotional goodbye to his glittering career with a 10th-place finish.
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