Valentino Rossi press articles

Valentino Rossi


2008 will be a massive season for Valentino Rossi and Yamaha, as the Italian legend looks to bounce back from two consecutive title defeats and clinch his sixth premier-class world crown.

Rossi's World Championship debut came at the Malaysian Grand Prix in 1996 and he finished his first international season in 9th place with one race win. The following year he became the youngest ever rider to win the 125cc World Championship, winning eleven races along the way with Aprilia. The pattern continued when he moved into the 250cc class, taking second place in his first year before becoming World Champion in 1999, once again with Aprilia.

In 2000 he entered a new phase of his career when he joined forces with Honda in the 500cc class. He proved his worth once again by finishing second, before becoming the last ever 500cc World Champion in 2001. Rossi held onto his crown for the next four consecutive seasons, taking the MotoGP World title in 2002 and 2003, before moving to Yamaha and winning again in 2004 and 2005.

Rossi made history by moving to Yamaha in 2004 and winning the season-opening Grand Prix in South Africa, becoming the first rider in the history of the sport to win back-to-back premier class races for different manufacturers. He went on to win nine out of 16 races, finally clinching the world championship title, Yamaha's first for 12 years, with victory at the penultimate grand prix in Phillip Island. A final win at the Valencia Grand Prix also ensured that the Yamaha Factory Team won the team title.

Rossi followed up that triumph with a season of unprecedented success in 2005, when he successfully defended the title once again with a total of eleven race wins and five pole positions - only finishing off the podium once.

But the Rossi/Yamaha dream ended dramatically in 2006, when technical problems, accidents and injuries combined to hand Honda's Nicky Hayden the title at the very final round. Rossi had fought back from a massive mid-season points deficit to lead heading into the season finale, but then fell in the early stages of the race - gifting the title to Hayden.

Rossi and Yamaha were expected to restore order during the first season of 800cc competition, but both - like the rest of the paddock - were caught completely off guard by Casey Stoner, Ducati and Bridgestone. Stoner and his powerful Desmosedici beat Rossi to victory in the Qatar season opener and rarely showed a weakness thereafter, while Rossi's M1 remained underpowered and his Michelin tyres were rarely a match for the Bridgestones.

A disappointing season ended on a further low when Rossi broke his hand during qualifying for the Valencia season finale, then suffered a mechanical breakdown on race day - allowing Dani Pedrosa to steal second in the championship.

With one year left on his Yamaha contract, Rossi indicted his determination to regain the crown by splitting from Michelin to join Stoner on Bridgestone tyres in 2008 - a decision that has forced the Fiat Yamaha pit garage to be split in two, with new team-mate Jorge Lorenzo staying on Michelins.

Despite his recent troubles Rossi, who turns 29 in February 2008, is now just six wins behind the legendary Giacomo Agostini's all-time record of 68 and he remains the youngest rider to have won world championships in all three classes. Rossi continues to have the support of his long-standing crew chief, Jeremy Burgess, who moved from Honda to work with him at Yamaha.


2007: 3rd, MotoGP World Championship
2006: 2nd, MotoGP World Championship
2005: MotoGP world champion
2004: MotoGP world champion
2003: MotoGP world champion
2002: MotoGP world champion
2001: 500 MotoGP world champion
2000: 2nd, 500 MotoGP World Championship
1999: 250 GP world champion
1998: 2nd, 250 MotoGP World Championship
1997: 125 GP world champion
1996: 9th, 125 MotoGP World Championship
1995: 125cc Italian Champion
1994: 125cc Italian Sports Production Champion
1993: 3rd - 125cc Italian Sports Production Championship
1992: Regional Minimoto Champion
1991: 4th - Italian Junior Go-Kart Championship
1990: Regional Go-Kart Championship - 9 wins
1989: First Go-Kart Race

END OF 2007.
STARTS: N/A
WINS: 88 (62 - 500CC/MOTOGP, 14 - 250CC, 12 - 125CC)
POLES: 49 (39 - 500CC/MOTOGP, 5 - 250CC, 5 - 125CC)
FASTEST LAPS: 72 (52 - 500CC/MOTOGP, 11 - 250CC, 9 - 125CC)
POINTS: N/A
DEBUT: RSA 2000 (500CC) /JPN 1998 (250CC) / MAL 1996 (125CC)
DRIVEN FOR: FIAT YAMAHA (2008/2007) / CAMEL YAMAHA (2006) / GAULOISES YAMAHA (2004 - 2005) / REPSOL HONDA (2002 - 2004) / NASTRO AZZURRO HONDA (2000-2001)

Valentino Rossi's hometown lowers speed limit to honor him


Valentino Rossi is the most famous person that was born in the small Italian city of Tavullia, there’s no doubt about it. And to honor him, the local council decided to lower the speed limit to 46 km/h (28 mph), 46 being the racing number of the 8 time MotoGP winner and one of biggest talents in the motorsport world. If you think about it, it’s a little ironic to lower speed limit in honor of a man that is famous for going 200 mph, but still, it’s probably one of coolest honors we’ve ever seen. Beside honoring his career, the town is also very grateful for Valentino’s £500,000 ($870,000) donation, which is actually money claimedby the tax officials, but still, were given as a donation.
A spokesman for the local council said: “We are really happy about the cash and it will be put to very good use. He is the town’s most famous son and it is wonderful that he has given us this money. Changing the speed limit is a fitting tribute to a man who has made his fame and fortune entirely out of his skills on the road.”

i am thinking about getting all of these and putting them in their own thread

how does that sound to everyone?

tammerz wrote:i am thinking about getting all of these and putting them in their own thread

how does that sound to everyone?

There was no mention of Uccio in his article, does anybody else find this interesting?

I didn't read through the whole thing.
I found this one boring...
I actually did skim through and didn't see Uccio's name.. it surprised me..
And neither did he mention Guido...

Oh and THANKS a million tammmmez for posting it..
I think collecting them all would be a great idea..

okay that will be my next project

and remember y'all if there is anything i need to bring over just let me know
(if you know where it is that would be helpful)

Can you bring HeyJoe...

he didn't mention me either..

skinny whore, I thought he would appreciate my letter and baby pic...

M1 Among The Doc's Favorite Scalpels
by dean adams
Monday, October 20, 2008

Asked recently to list the absolute best motorcycles he has raced in his career, newly-crowned world champion Valentino Rossi says that the current 800cc M1 Yamaha MotoGP racer makes his short list.

Rossi has raced a wide variety of motorcycles in his GP career, from Aprilia 125s and 250s to the Honda NSR500 two-stroke and both Honda and Yamaha's flagship MotoGP machines. He also raced a Superbike--of sorts. Rossi teamed with American Colin Edwards II to race and win the Suzuka Eight Hours endurance race in 2001, sharing a Honda RC51-based endurance bike for that race.

In no certain order, Rossi says that three bikes top his own personal "best of" list: the final version of the '01 NSR500 Honda two-stroke 500 he raced in the last season "Grand Prix"; his 2003 RC211V Honda V-5 and the current Yamaha 800cc racer which features pneumatic valvetrain.

The 2003 RC211V V-5 is the bike that legend has it drove a wedge between Rossi and Honda. Rossi wrote in his book that he requested the bike for his collection, but Honda would not give it to him, a point that in the end led to Rossi meeting with Yamaha and signing with HRC's rival for 2004.

Rossi dramatically silenced any remaining critics in 2004 when he won races and the MotoGP title on the previously thought to be uncompetitive Yamaha M1 990cc racer.
Any thoughts that Rossi would include the '04 M1 Yamaha on his best of list are dismissed with Rossi rolling his eyes and smiling momentarily at the memories of the '04 machine.

"No, many many problems with the 2004 model Yamaha. The 2005 Yamaha was better but the best was this year, 2008 model," he said.

valegirl46 wrote:There was no mention of Uccio in his article, does anybody else find this interesting?

do you think its maybe because he employs Uccio not yamaha and he was bigging up yamaha..........

Thats a very good point nina, I never thought of that