9 GREATEST ROSSI MOMENTS
Highlights from two and a half decades at the top
01 FIRST WORLD TITLE (1997)
Valentino picked up the first of his nine world titles at the tender age of 18. It was his second season in the world bike racing championship’s third tier – nowadays known as Moto3, in the late Nineties it was called the 125cc Championship.
After a consistent but unexceptional opening year, Vale really turned the screw second time around, winning not only 11 of 15 races on his Aprilia, but the hearts of most spectators with his vibrant celebrations – a number of them dressed as Robin Hood.
02 FIRST MOTOGP WORLD TITLE (2001)
Naturally, Rossi’s 125cc title saw him graduate up to the 250cc Championship, where history repeated itself and he took rider’s honours in his second season in 1999. Then it was up to the Big Boy class, named the 500cc Championship until it evolved into MotoGP in 2002. Again, Vale took the title at his second attempt, making him the last rider to claim 500cc honours and the last world champion from a non-factory team. He finished 106 points ahead of fellow Italian Max Biaggi. The Rossi legend was really starting to take shape.
03 FIRST YAMAHA WIN (2004)
Having won the title in 2001, there was no stopping Vale – he did it in 2002 and 2003 too. But there were still doubters when he moved from Honda to Yamaha for 2004. The season opened, somewhat unusually, at the South African Grand Prix in Welkom.
Rossi made history as the first rider to win consecutive races with different manufacturers, having ended 2003 with a Honda victory. After beating Biaggi’s Honda by 0.21secs, Vale was visibly emotional as he kissed his victorious Yamaha afterward.
04 WET WIN AT DONINGTON (2005)
Rossi and Yamaha soon became the most glorious of bedfellows, wins and titles coming thick and fast after that emotional day in South Africa. Highlights are abundant but among them was a particularly dazzling display at Donington Park. A sopping wet Donington Park. It’s a track Vale knew well and clocking up his seventh win there – at the 2005 British GP – was a doddle even in the damp. Rossi crossed the line standing aloft with not a soul anywhere near him. A masterclass akin to another motorsport hero around a moist Donington. A man called Ayrton.
05 MATCHING MIKE HAILWOOD (2005)
Donington was Vale’s 75th win, and he wasted no time in notching up number 76 at the very next round in Germany. This saw Rossi reach the podium of greatest bike racers, tying with Mike Hailwood in third spot. Obviously there was a charismatic celebration to mark his achievement, but with a delightful dose of class – Rossi carried a flag on his victory lap reading “76 Rossi, 76 Hailwood, I’m sorry Mike”. The season finished with Vale’s seventh title, which he celebrated with members of his fan club dressed as the seven dwarves.
06 NEARLY SHOWING UP SCHUEY (2006)
The Doctor enjoyed numerous dalliances with Ferrari over the years, his ‘Italian world champ’ status earning him frequent access to F1 test sessions. He was lapping Valencia half a second behind Schumacher at one such event in 2006, fuelling rumours that Rossi would leave the world of bikes to drive for the Scuderia. It never happened, while WRC entries were never much more than cameos.“Vale would have been an excellent Formula One driver,” said Ferrari principal Stefano Domenicali in 2008.
07 THE DUEL OF CATALUNYA (2009)
Not just one of Rossi’s greatest moments, but one of the greatest moments in motorsport full stop. Vale tussled with teammate and title rival Jorge Lorenzo throughout, but their battle came to a head in the final lap. Search for ‘Catalunya 2009’ and enjoy it for yourself, the precise opposite of F1 team orders keeping teammates a safe distance apart. Jorge and Vale didn’t have the greatest of relationships, with the Yamaha garage split and data sharing halted at the worst of it, but the pair embraced at the end of this tussle.
08 HONOURING MARCO SIMONCELLI (2012)
Vale had won at his home San Marino GP three times, but perhaps the sweetest moment of all was second place in 2012. Misano had been renamed Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli in honour of another bright young local MotoGP talent who’d lost his life racing in 2011. Rossi was in his second of two seasons with Ducati, with just two podiums so far. From sixth on the grid he battled his way to a third Ducati podium in front of a dewy-eyed crowd who surged onto the circuit and partied to let off much needed steam. A truly special moment.
09 DRIVING LEWIS’ F1 CAR (2019)
Valentino and Lewis swapped rides for a private test session at Valencia, with press locked out so lap times would never be known. It was a day of fun for two men with trophy cabinets the size of most public libraries. “It’s so awesome to see a legend like Valentino in the car. I’m excited for him, for discovering the car for the first time,” said Lewis. “I was a big fan of Lewis’ before but now I am even more,” added new BFF Vale. “We had a fantastic day where the two top classes of motorsports not only met but worked together. It was a proud moment for the team to share our passion.”