The DOC for all seasons – Valentino Rossi “I arrive… I see… is possible…I go fast, I win.”
Hail, the king of the Moto GP Circuits, Valentino Rossi. Rossi, son of a former Grand Prix Winner, Graziano, was born in Urbino, Italy on 16th February 1979. Speed, thrill, fame was inevitable as it was in his blood. Rossi junior cleared every obstacle in his way. From go-karts to minimotos, it was a piece of cake for the youngster. In 1992, he became regional champion. During the next few years the Italian wonder boy had a handful of feats to his name; the Italian Sport Production Championship in 1994 and the Italian 125cc Championship in 1995. Rossi stood third in the 125cc European Championship which was sufficient to win him a place in the World Championship in 1996.
Rossi was a debutant at the Malaysian Grand Prix in 1996. Success was round the corner as he secured 9th position in his first international season. The next year, at the age of eighteen, he made ground by becoming the youngest ever rider to win the 125cc World Championship. Rossi had won eleven races en route to the championship with Aprilia. The winning streak was not marred, as he moved into the 250cc class. Rossi was crowned World Champion in 1999. Once again his association with Aprilia proved to be lucky for him.
Besides his racing talent, his fair outlook and mop-head hairdo were creating a stir amongst fans. He was a hero both, on the track and off the track.
After being promoted to Aprilia's factory squad he was the favourite to win the 125cc crown in 1997. Rossi won 11 of 15 rounds and by far dominated the series overall.
Rossi’s next target was the 250cc World Championship in 1998. He tamed the Aprilia RSW250 underneath him with comfort. His start was lightning but jittery. It took a while before he got his act together finishing off first in the final four races and stood second overall in the season.
“The DOCTOR” was unstoppable during the 1999 season after a steady start. Rossi exhibited extraordinary balance, sharp tactics and worthy consistency. He was destined to overshadow his more experienced opponents. As a result, he won nine of the 14 races.
At the age of, 30, Rossi had World Championships in both the 125cc and 250cc categories under his belt. His first senior category win in the 500cc class was with Honda in 2001. Rossi's image did not tarnish in the Moto GP with the introduction of four-stroke machines. Two more Championship titles were added to his never ending list of successes by the end of 2003. In search of a challenging task, Valentino switched to the underperforming Yamaha team in 2004 and. The crew, led by Jerry Burgess, helped Rossi on his way to overcome all-comers and become the second rider in the Moto GP history to win one after the other titles with different manufacturers.
Rossi passed the milestone of fifty 500cc MotoGP victories in 2005, but the true measure of Valentino's greatness was yet to be witnessed. In 2008, he surpassed the records of both Angel Nieto's Grand Prix 90 victories and Giacomo Agostini's 68 wins in the premier class.
Valentino Rossi crossed more milestones in his incredible career, last year, and took a ninth world championship title, his fourth with Yamaha. He reinforced that he is still the best rider even after fourteen years of racing in the World Championship and worthy of his accomplishments.
Rossi's encounter with his team-mate Jorge Lorenzo reached ambitious extent with the Battle of Barcelona due to go down in history as one of the greatest ever. A risky last-corner move saw him win by just thousandths of a second. His victory in Holland was the 100th win of his career. He finally secured the title at Sepang. With the 2010 season still in its prime, Rossi, at Le Mans was unlucky to come second to Lorenzo. Just 9 points down on the championship table, The Doctor (Rossi) is still in the run for the championship.
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