Valentino Rossi press articles

Maybe the next one will be about the other boys[/b]

We will have to find out, hopefully it will though, as it is odd

MotoGP » Rossi shrugs off Friday fall.
Friday, 24th October 2008

Valentino Rossi 'quite happy' despite a fall at Valencia on Friday.

Valentino Rossi began his quest for a tenth 2008 victory in the Valencia season finale by setting the fourth fastest time during two wet free practice sessions, the second of which saw the Italian slide off his championship winning Fiat Yamaha.

This morning's session was run in very heavy rain and cool temperatures, and Rossi completed just eight laps of the 4km circuit, leaving him in 13th position.

The afternoon saw the rain ease off and the Italian was able make more headway with his wet-weather set-up, completing 21 laps and finishing the session fourth fastest.

Rossi was unhurt when the rear of his M1 spun around on entry to the last corner with 18 minutes to go, sending him sliding into the gravel. After failing to bump start his fallen M1, Rossi later returned to the track on his second bike.

"Today was a difficult day because this track is quite bad when it's wet and cold like this - the asphalt really doesn't give enough grip," said Rossi, who lost the world championship at Valencia in 2006 and was denied second in the 2007 championship when his bike broke down at last year's event.

"This morning I went out just when it started to get really heavy and so I wasn't able to do any good laps, but this afternoon was better.

"In fact I felt good and I was quite fast with the Bridgestone wet tyres, so I think we have good potential if the conditions are like this again.

"Unfortunately I had a small crash at the last corner when I made a mistake and lost the rear, but I wasn't hurt at all and I was able to go back out with a slightly harder tyre and continue to work," he confirmed. "Anyway, we were fourth finally and I am quite happy although we can be faster. Now we have to wait and see the weather for tomorrow."

"Things weren't so bad and Valentino was up there with the fastest riders, but we definitely have a bit more work to do," added team manager Davide Brivio. "He had a small crash when he lost rear grip at the last corner and slid off, but it was very slow and he wasn't hurt. It seems that it's likely that this weather is going to continue, unfortunately, so now we need to put together all the information we gathered today and continue to improve things tomorrow.”

Rossi's team-mate Jorge Lorenzo had a promising opening day at his home race, finishing third in both sessions, whilst Repsol Honda's Nicky Hayden topped the time sheets in both the morning and afternoon.

"It's a pity to be coming to Spain in the rain but anyway we made a good start today and I am quite happy," said Lorenzo, looking to wrap up the 2008 rookie of the year title on Sunday.

"This morning was very wet and it was quite difficult to ride, but this afternoon the conditions were a bit better and I was able to be quite a lot faster and also do some good work on the set-up of my bike. My Michelin tyres are working well in the rain and I think we can make some more progress tomorrow if it's like this again, although of course I hope for sunshine!

"It's nice to be back in Europe but it's very busy for a Spanish rider at Spanish race and I have to have a lot of time for everybody! I have a special livery on my bike, which I like very much; it has the flags of all the countries where I have won and was designed by a member of the public in an Italian competition. It's all of 'Lorenzo's Lands'!"

Further information World Title Valentino Rossi

Valentino Rossi


“I think it’s difficult to say, but maybe this is even better than the first championship with Yamaha in 2004. In 2004 I arrived after three championships in a row; the change was very big and no one expected me to win then, not even us to be honest! But this year is great too because I didn’t start as the number one favourite after losing for two years. The taste of this is something special.

“In 2006 I lost because of bad luck; I still won the most races and was the fastest on track for most of the time, but in 2007 Stoner was a lot faster than us and so we got to the end with a big of disadvantage. Winning this championship was very difficult but also very, very important.

“The decision to change to Bridgestone tyres, which I took together with Jeremy, my team and all the Yamaha crew, was very important, as were the changes to the bike because the first 800cc M1 last year was not competitive enough. We spoke a lot during last season and I remember a strange meeting in Valencia last year, me with a broken hand, speaking with Furusawa about 2008. From then we started to work on the improvements for this season. It’s also been important to have the right people in the right place and this year everything has been correct. It’s been step-by-step.

“I think I have made a lot of good decisions this year and we have been competitive from the start. Qatar was the worst race of the season but I knew our potential was good so, although we were a bit worried at that point, we weren’t desperate because we knew if we fixed a few problems we could try to win.

“I grew up a lot in the last two years, because at the end of 2005 I had a great career and I had won all the important targets so far. 125, 250 and then five titles in a row in MotoGP with two different bikes – I felt unbeatable. But in 2006 and 2007 I learnt to lose and this has been very important. I came out much stronger and my level of concentration and effort to win this championship has been higher than ever before.

“This season has had some different periods. At the beginning of the year we had some important results when Bridgestone wasn’t the strongest: Jerez, Portugal and others, and in that period we took a big advantage from Stoner. After Barcelona Casey started to ride like a demon and dominated three races in a row, and then we went to Laguna which was the turning point of the season. Laguna was a real battle and from then on we have flown.


“The show after the race was one of my friends pretending to be a ‘notary’, signing and certificating the eighth championship ‘deed’. It was very exciting to be planning the championship t-shirt and celebration once again with my friends and fan club and the one we came up with is funny I think, it says ‘I’m sorry for the delay!’

“I am very content at Yamaha and this is why I signed for two more years. I had some good offers at other factories, but I already changed bike once and proved everything I wanted to and so there is no need to do that again. Also I am no longer 20 years old and I need a good atmosphere in my team in order to keep me focused and happy, and I have this at Yamaha. The atmosphere in our team, from the Japanese all the way down to the garage is fantastic and this is what makes me want to stay.

“I think 2009 will be even more difficult than this year. Now I am the world champion again and I have demonstrated that I am still very fast; I think I rode the best of my career this year apart from the mistake in Assen, but next year is another story, it depends on how the winter is and how Stoner, Pedrosa and also Lorenzo are next year, as well as the other riders because there are many fast people in this championship. I think it will be a great championship and I’m looking forward to it, but first I want to finish this year and try to win the final three races!

“As I said, there are many strong riders but of course I hope that in the future nobody will win like Valentino Rossi! Maybe my brother Luca will be as strong as me…I wanted to take him on my bike on the celebration lap, but they did not allow it. Maybe I will wait for him to be a MotoGP rider before quitting, then I will beat him in the first year, and then I will stop riding!

“When you are 20 or 22 yrs old, you live everything in a different way. It’s different… In 2000, maybe, I could have won on my debut, but I underestimated myself! In 2001 it was the last chance for me to win in 500, so I gave it my best and did that. In 2001 it was the year of the battle with Biaggi, in 2002 it was the year when everybody said that I won because of my bike, then 2003 was the year of Gibernau, it was hard until the end. They were fantastic years but with Yamaha it is different. I enjoy it more.

“During 2003 I started thinking about Yamaha. Of course I was scared about the new challenge, it was a big question mark. This year, when I tested the new bike and the new tyres, I understood that I could win. In 2004, however, when I tested the new bike I understood we had to work a lot. Sincerely, the feeling of winning in Welkom in 2004 was the strongest emotion of my career; more so than in Laguna Seca this year. The 2005 the M1 was very fast and that one and the 2008 one are the best Yamaha bikes ever.

“I think Stoner next year will be back stronger again, so maybe he is the hardest rival I have ever had, more than Gibernau and all the others I fought against in the past. Last year I was sorry that after so many successful years, some people thought Valentino was finished and Casey was the new Valentino. As I said, until I stop riding a bike, my objective will always be to win. I like this life and I always try to do my best in it.”


Statistiscs on Valentino Rossi's career

In becoming only the second rider ever to win the MotoGP World Championship following a two-year gap, Valentino Rossi has cemented his place amongst the legends of motorcycle racing. A return to the form that won him five consecutive premier-class titles between 2001 and 2005 has seen the Italian reinstated at the very pinnacle of the sport, with a host of career milestones reached along the way.

Here is a full list of Rossi’s historic MotoGP achievements in 2008:

Rossi has joined Giacomo Agostini as one of only two riders to have taken six or more premier-class World Championships.

Rossi is only the second rider to regain the premier-class title after a two year gap – the other rider to do this was also Agostini.

This is Rossi’s eighth world title across all classes. Only Agostini with 15, Angel Nieto, with 13, Mike Hailwood and Carlos Ubbiali, with nine each, have won more.

Rossi is the first rider to win the premier-class title on four different types of motorcycle: 500cc 4-cylinder two-stroke, 990cc 5-cylinder four-stroke, Yamaha 990cc 4-cylinder four-stroke and a Yamaha 800cc 4-cylinder four-stroke.

It is eleven years since Rossi’s first World Championship success in the 125cc class in 1997. The only rider with a longer period between his first and last titles is Angel Nieto, who won the 50cc crown in 1969 and the 125cc equivalent in 1984.

With his 69th career MotoGP win at Indianapolis, Rossi broke Giacomo Agostini’s record for the most premier-class victories; a record that has stood since the legendary Italian’s final victory at the West German Grand Prix in 1976.

With 37 wins, Rossi has had more success with Yamaha than any other factory in his career


Rossi is also Yamaha’s most successful rider, having scored 13 more premier-class wins for the factory than Kenny Roberts.

With three races to go he is the only rider to have scored points in every round of the 2008 season.

Rossi’s sequence of five straight race wins since Laguna Seca is his longest run of wins since 2005, when he also scored five successive victories.

Other facts about Rossi’s career.

In 1997 Rossi became the second youngest ever 125cc World Champion after scoring 321 points and eleven wins.

Two years later, he became the youngest ever 250cc World Champion with nine wins.

In 2001 Rossi joined Phil Read as one of only two riders ever to win the 125cc, 250cc and 500cc titles.

Rossi’s debut victory for Yamaha at the opening race of 2004 in South Africa made him the first rider in history to take back-to-back wins for different manufacturers.

After winning the MotoGP World Championship three times with Honda, Rossi took his fourth premier-class title with Yamaha in 2004 and became the only rider other than Eddie Lawson to win consecutive premier-class titles for different manufacturers.

Valentino Rossi - Career
Nationality: Italian
Born: 16th February 1979 in Urbino, Italy
World Championships: 8 (6 x MotoGP/500cc, 1 x 250cc, 1 x 125cc)
GP victories: 96 (70 x MotoGP/500cc, 14 x 250cc, 12 x 125cc)
GP podiums: 148 (112 x MotoGP/500cc, 21 x 250cc, 15 x 125cc)
GP Pole Positions: 51 (41 x MotoGP/500cc, 5 x 250cc, 5 x 125cc)
First GP: Malaysia, 1996 (125cc)
First GP win: Czech Republic, 1996 (125cc)
GP starts: 207 (146 x MotoGP/50cc, 30 x 250cc, 30 x 125cc)

Rossi makes positive start on 2009 campaign in Valencia



One day after the final race of his victorious season, MotoGP World Champion Valentino Rossi began working towards the defence of his title with his first day’s testing aboard the 2009 prototype M1. The Italian was third fastest in a time of 1’32.921, quicker than his best lap in yesterday’s race.

Rossi made two runs of six laps each with his 2008 M1 in order to check some settings and also get a feel for the new tyres, as today was the first day of the new mono-brand tyre rule with Bridgestone now the official supplier for all riders. He then made five runs and a total of 28 laps on the new prototype, setting his best time on the second run.


Valentino Rossi - Position: 3rd Time: 1'32.921 Laps: 40

“Today we began work on 2009 and I was able to try the new bike for the first time. It is only the first prototype but my impression of it is very good and it seems they have done a good job. We are working on the engine in order to have more acceleration on the exit from the corner and there is a small change, not enough yet but in the right direction so this is important. We worked on the setting and the weight distribution and I was faster with the new bike so this is good! We need more time to understand the bike and more laps but this is only the first day and it is very positive.

The other ‘big’ thing today of course is the new tyres and I am really happily surprised. This is not the best track to try them at as we don't have so much data for here but anyway they feel very good. I was expecting less grip but we had a lot and everyone was fast today. The track conditions are a lot better today than they have been during the weekend so this makes a difference, but anyway we can already see that they are quite good. I think Bridgestone have done a good job but of course it will be hard to know for sure until we have been to some different tracks. We have to wait and see. For me they feel good even in comparison with my Bridgestone tyres from all of the season so I am happy so far.

I have a special ‘world champion’ helmet now which I like a lot and which I will use throughout the winter testing. As for the number one…I will keep my 46 of course but I will put the number one on my back as I did in the past.”

Valentino Rossi to test drive a Ferrari
The Associated PressPublished: November 1, 2008

SAO PAULO, Brazil: MotoGP champion Valentino Rossi will be switching to Formula One later this year — at least for a few laps.

A Ferrari press officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity because she was not authorized to speak to the press, said Saturday the team would give Rossi a test drive to commemorate his world championship.

The test drive should take place before the end of the year in Italy, she said.

Rossi clinched his sixth MotoGP world championship in September at the Grand Prix in Japan.

The Yamaha rider, one of Italy's most popular sporting figures, has tested an F1 car several times with Ferrari, which had said it would welcome him to join the team on a permanent basis.

The press officer did not say if the team was planning extend a new invitation.

Valentino Rossi won’t ditch famous number 46
By Matthew Birt

MotoGP

30 October 2008 11:03


Valentino Rossi has confirmed he will again shun the chance to run the number one plate in MotoGP next season, instead keeping his famous number 46.

The Italian has never carried the number one plate following any of his previous MotoGP world championship wins, always preferring to stick with the number 46 used by his father Graziano.

Next year will be no exception, though as he has done in the past, the eight-times world champion will carry a number one on the back of his Dainese leathers.
Rossi said: “I will definitely keep 46 because it is my number and everyone knows it.

Sometimes I am a bit sad because number one is also a great number, but I always ride with 46 and I want to continue. I will have the number 1 on my back as in the past.”

Valentino Rossi dismisses latest Ferrari link
By Matthew Birt

MotoGP

30 October 2008 10:55


Valentino Rossi has again rejected suggestions that he is seriously contemplating a future switch to Formula One.

The Italian has been offered another test drive in Ferrari’s F1 car, which inevitably led to rumours circulating that the 29-year-old might make a full-time switch, having been strongly linked with a move during 2006.

But the 2008 MotoGP world champion, who kicked off his 2009 preparations earlier this week with a brief outing on Yamaha’s new prototype YZR-M1 in Valencia, said: “I’m not going to Formula One. The Ferrari test is just a present for me winning the championship.

"I don’t know when or where it will be, but it is nothing more than a test. I have another two-year contract with Yamaha which means at the end I will be 31 and that is too late to go to Formula One.”

ok so here is an interview by William Kimberley from Mototech with Masao Furusawa

This year has been a roller-coaster one off the fiat yamaha team as it has fought back on level tearms with Ducati. Losing out ot Casey Stoner in the opening round, Valentino Rossi then got into his stride to open up a substantial lead over the Austalian world champion and the rest of the grid as the season reached its mid point- but then the tide turned again, this time in Stoner's favour. It was during the summer months that William Kimberley talked to Masao Furusawa, the person responsible for the Fiat Yamaha team, at the British Grand Prix at Donington Park.

By June last year it was already shaping to be a bad year for the Fiat Yamaha team and Masao Furusawa, executive officer for engineering operation at yamaha motor company, was extremely displeased about things as he told me in a interview at the British Grand Prix (Moto Tech 2 - September/October 2007). 12 months on and he was a little happier about things but still was not full of the joys of spring.
"After Valentino lost the championship in both 2006 and last year, I decided that I needed to concentrate more on our MotoGP operations, although it had been at the expense of my time spent on production bikes," says Furusawa in recognition of the fact that he had to let some of his responsibilities go this year in order focus on turning the team's fortunes. "I strongly wanted to train some engineers to take on management roles in the team but it turned out it was a little but too soon to have do this."
However, it is a one year secondment as Furusawa hopes to have a winning team in place that he can continue next year while he goes back to focus on production bikes. "next year I would like to get back to that side of the business," He says, "But it does depend on the result we get in the MotoGP."
One off the biggest changes for Furuawa and the Fiat Yamaha team have have to contend with this year running the bikes on diffrent tyres - Bridgestone for Valentino Rossi after he insisted that his bike be shod with the Japanese rubber at the end of last season and Michelins for Jorge Lorenzo.
"We made many changes to the 2008 M1 compared to the 2007 version and we have improved it a lot and Valentino is satisfied with our work so far but, of course, the biggest change for us has been the change from Michelins to Bridgestones on Rossi's Bike," says Furusawa. "We had a hard time learning how to get the best performance from the new tures after switch and had no data but last year he predicted tgat changing would be the right thing for him. He was right although, of course, we weren't able to predict how differently the tyres would behave.
"However, Valentino has become more and more satisfied race by race abd we gave been able to find an ideal set-up for him which has enabled him to win so many races this year although we know that the remaining race will be tough this year. Our competitor's great performance is a big push to all of us to improve our M1 further, maybe even more than we did during last winter."
There is no doubt that Furusawa values having Rossi in the leam, having just re-signed him for another couple of years.
"The reason I always continure to be confident is because I trust Valentino so much! I like his way of thinking, he is always positive and this rubs off on everyone else. He never complains or criticises. On the contarty, he is always looking forwards and searching for new solutions! He has exactly the same approach to problems I have. He always has a positive and logical way off thinking, like me. He also has a very good sense of humour, a I like this a lot. I like him as a person very much. This is the biggest shame is that my age is almost the double off his but the level of thinking is the same! The only diffrence is that he is just 29. When i was that age I never though about tatics and strategies! I have huge respect for him. He is the genius behind the bike.
" I also like Jorge very much - he is a good guy and a very good rider. Honestly, he is very diffrent then i had expected before he joined Yamaha. I was impressed by his mature attitude and his fluent English. He is a very smart guy, smarter than i expected. He has a big talent as a rider: he is very smooth amd very effective. I am sure taht in the future he will dominate in MotoGP.




(i will post the rest 2morrow sorry but im really tired promise the rest will be on here 2morrow nigh i just have to translate it from german to english some one brough me the german one insted of the english one)

(ok so a bit more off the interview sorry it taking me long but i didnt notice now much there was)


"At the beginning off the season we started off without any ambitions as we thought it was to early for him to win a race because he was a rookie. He was just supposted to be here to learn about his M1 but then he surprised us with his incredible three pole positions in a row and then with his victory. Everything happened much earlier than we had expected. Generally speaking, he is a very good entertainer for Yamaha and for the spectators. His season supassed expectations early on but of course he has had some problems since then which we are working hard to address."
"I am also satisfied with Ramon Forcada, his new crew chief, as is Jeremy Burgess. JB is an easy and sophisticated guy. He hates to worry about politiccal correctness, like me! Now both he and Roman are combining their wealth of experience with the new technology very successfully. Regarding Jorge's bike specifically, I understand very well what Roman is doing with Jorge and with Jorge's bike. I speak with him regularly and I am satisfied taht we have the same recognition about Jorge."
Furusawa's main docus, though is on getting the equipment right to give his riders the chance of winning. After last years disappointment, this year is turning out to be more satisfactory but there has been a great deal of hard work to get things to this stage.
"We have had worked a great deal on the chassis setting and we have changed the geomentry of the bike in order to get a good balance with the tyre character. Since we moved from 990cc to 800cc, a higher conering speed is needed in order to get faster lap times and to win. We have therefore tried many different chassis settings in order to find out the best bike geomentry, the centre of gravity, the rider position, the wheelbase length, chassis stiffness and so on."
"At the moment, though, there is no need to work more on the chassis, although this is something we will have to consider for next seaso. Lately we have been experiencing some problemswith acceleration on the exxit of the corner, so we now need to work to find a better bike geometry and chassis setting alongside the development of the engine control system. I still think that the M1 is the best bike out there, althought Casey has had a string of very impressive results"
Asked whether electronics should be more regulated in MotoGP and the rules changed,
Furusawa relpies: "This is not a popular discussion at the moment and we are looking at the overall situation and whether we need to change the rules. It's true that many riders have crashed this year, including Jorge, who had a very bad seres of crashes, and also Dani Pedrosa but the question is if theses crashes have something to do with the current bike technology."
"We moved from 990cc to 800cc to have safer bikes, but the new bikes have a higher cornering speed and this might present a danger to some riders, I think we need to do something and the biggest issue is the electronic control system. I any case, it is clear that we at Yamaha will have to develop better ECS in order to bet our rivals. I rather like a simple system to get sophisticated functionality but that is really difficult which is why im still studying a new system for the future"

Fiat sign new Yamaha deal
By Matthew Birt

MotoGP

05 November 2008 09:32


Fiat has signed a new two-year deal to remain as title sponsor of Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo’s factory Yamaha MotoGP squad.

There had been fears that Fiat would withdraw its sponsorship with car sales hit hard by the current economic crisis.

But with Malaysian fuel giant Petronas waiting in the wings to take over the title sponsorship of world champion Rossi's squad, Fiat confirmed last Friday on an October 31 deadline that it would continue to back Yamaha.

Fiat first sponsored Yamaha in 2007, and Masao Furusawa, Executive Officer Engineering Operations of Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. “I heartily welcome the extension of the agreement with Fiat as title sponsor of our MotoGP Factory Team for another two years. We will be working to continue the great partnership that resulted in the Fiat Yamaha Team winning the triple crown in 2008”.

Lin Jarvis, Managing Director of Yamaha Motor Racing added: “We are delighted to be continuing our partnership with Fiat for a further two years. It remains a very interesting mix for an Italian car manufacturer to be partner of a Japanese motorcycle manufacturer in the world’s premier motorcycle racing series.

"After a tough first season in 2007 we were really happy to win the triple crown titles this year for Yamaha and for Fiat. Fiat’s decision to continue for a further two years is a sign of confidence in our activities and a strong confirmation of the value of being involved in the MotoGP championship.

"Our target for the future is clear: we want to continue with our winning ways and provide even more excitement for the fans of the Fiat Yamaha Team”.

Rossi to test Ferrari at Mugello
Posted Today, 4:53 AM by GMM


Nov.6 (GMM) Valentino Rossi's Ferrari test will take place over two days later this month at Mugello.

The Italian daily La Gazzetta dello Sport said the event, in homage to the 29-year-old MotoGP rider's latest title triumph, will be held at the Ferrari-owned circuit on 20 and 21 November.

Rossi tested for the famous Maranello marque several times in 2005 and 2006, as the two sides contemplated joining forces.

In 2008, however, it has been made clear his Ferrari test is for fun only.

Gazzetta said the test has been given the personal approval of Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo.

Jerry Burgess worried for Valentino Rossi’s rivals
By Matthew Birt

MotoGP

07 November 2008 10:15


Valentino Rossi’s crew chief Jerry Burgess believes the switch to a single make tyre rule for 2009 could have potentially dire consequences for the world title aspirations of Casey Stoner and Dani Pedrosa.

The Aussie reckons it will be even harder to defeat the Italian in the future now that the entire premier class field will all run on Bridgestone rubber.

“If I was a rider out there now I wouldn’t want to be on the same stuff as Valentino Rossi. That’s a tough call, “said Burgess, who believes Rossi will still be dominant and that MotoGP will not be significantly improved as a spectacle.

He added: “It was virtually a mono tyre several years ago without a regulation with Michelin in 500s and we saw some pretty uninteresting racing there with Mick (Doohan) clearing away and winning races. When it was Mick and Valentino in the past with everyone on the same brand, those guys did most of the winning, so nothing will change.”

And Burgess still believes that moving to a single-tyre rule is bad for the premier class world championship.

He said: “To me its taking away the reason we go prototype racing, which is to improve bikes and technical partners and the engineering challenge which can make motorcycles better and safer in the future. It’s a disappointing decision given we are in prototype racing and we need a many technical contributors, so we can to differentiate ourselves from the World Superbike category.”

Agostini untroubled by Rossi record-breaking


Monday, 10 November 2008


MotoGP Legend pays tribute to 2008 MotoGP World Champion

A MotoGP legend and a man regarded by some as the greatest rider of all time, Giacomo Agostini saw his premier class win record broken by Valentino Rossi at this year´s race in Indianapolis. The previous milestone of 67 had been matched by the 2008 MotoGP World Champion at the preceding race in Misano.

Another attendee at the EICMA show in Milan, Agostini revealed that Rossi´s taking his record for that particular honour had not made him overly concerned, and took the opportunity to remind fans of his other achievements in a barbed bouquet of sorts.
`Regarding records, I congratulated him on beating mine because I wasn´t that bothered about it. I won 123 world championship races, 13 world titles and 301 races in total, they´re the numbers I´m interested in,´ said Agostini wryly. `Valentino asked me if it was okay to overtake me if he ever beat that and it was nice to be so well respected like that from someone like him.´
Rossi also joined Agostini in becoming the only riders to win premier class World Championships with a two-year gap between title triumphs.

Although the MotoGP Legend was full of praise for the achievements by the man regarded as his natural successor –both in terms of success and charisma- he would not commit to whether this would be the start of another era of Rossi dominance.
`It´s difficult to find the words to describe Valentino. This was one of his best ever seasons and he did it coming back from some difficult moments and that makes it even more special.

Valentino is incredibly talented and has lots of experience, which probably made the difference this year. However, Casey Stoner can´t be ignored after what he did in 2007. I also think we´ll discover two new riders who will take them on: Andrea Dovizioso and Jorge Lorenzo. Watch out for them,´ warned the Italian.