No twist, no second thoughts, at the end of the 2020 championship Valentino Rossi will say goodbye to the World Championship, at least as a rider. The champion from Tavullia confirmed this in some interviews released recently: «I signed my last contract and there won’t be another one. It wasn’t an easy decision, ”the Doctor said. First there is still a fascinating and prestigious goal to try to reach, the tenth world championship: “I still believe in it, I know it will be difficult but I want to try.”
Nine times MotoGP World Champion, 115 victories and 234 podiums in 402 races, 41 years old just yesterday, The Doctor, after 25 seasons, is preparing to end his wonderful career in MotoGP. Born on February 16, 1979, Rossi is one of the most titled riders on two wheels, by virtue of the nine world titles he won (five of which he won consecutively between 2001 and 2005), he is the only rider in the history of the World Championship to have won the World Championship in four different classes: 125, 250, 500 and MotoGP.
On 8 March, in Qatar, the great MotoGP circus will make the engines roar again. He will be there too, for the eighth championship in a row on the Yamaha. Rossi has come from some quite disappointing seasons. Many placings and a success that has been missing since 2017, from the Assen GP. A lifetime does indeed, but despite this there are still many who believe that he will soon return to victory. Maybe it’s just a question of the bike, the feeling with the rear that caused many problems last season, especially when the wear increased and the grip dropped, forcing him to fight too many times in the middle group. A giant that has become bulky even for Yamaha, in constant pursuit of Honda and Ducati. Marquez and Dovizioso run away, the Spaniard is one step away from overtaking Valentino in the world Olympus. It will not be a peaceful coexistence, certainly. Because Marquez is another aspect of the problem: too fast and hungry. Different from the various Biaggi, Gibernau, Capirossi and Stoner who, with and against Valentino, marked the golden age of the premier class.
Quartararo, his team colleague, will take his place on the factory Yamaha starting from 2021, eyes on the new season which will be the decisive one. Rossi’s performance in the first half of the season will be important to understand how the Italian 46’s career will continue; in agreement with his team, in fact, they will make the best decision for the future of both.
Unfortunately, time also passes for legends like him and from here at the beginning of the summer he will have to decide whether to continue or say goodbye to his world after more than twenty years of career, of triumphs, but also of defeats. A parable that resembles that of Francesco Totti, with doubts, reflections, hazards. Then the inevitable farewell dictated by technical and programming logic. Time is not kind to giants. Totti like Rossi, Roma like Yamaha. Stories that intertwine, myths that merge. And they get lost.
Valentino Rossi’s projects include endurance races on four wheels, but the hope of millions of fans is that his stay in MotoGP will be extended as much as possible. Is it still worth it?
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