Rejuvenated on his Yamaha, he fought hard with Jorge Lorenzo, and led the championship going into the penultimate round at Malaysia. Then came 2015, and a real title fight once more from Rossi. Two disastrous years at Ducati in 2011 and '12 meant that, by the time Marquez wrapped up his second title at the end of 2014, Rossi had only won three races in four years. It didn't help that this came at a point in Rossi's career when his stock was falling. He went on to not only win the opening race of the season in South Africa, but he dominated that championship, and again in 2005. In the off-season, he moved from world champions Honda to Yamaha, who hadn't won a top-class title in 12 years, in a widely-ridiculed move. Maybe the greatest achievement of Rossi's career was the 2004 championship win. Not Rossi, though, who won an incredible 11 of the 16 races in 2002. The massive change to the drivability of the bikes wreaked havoc, with extra power and torque causing major issues for plenty of riders. The sport completely rebranded in 2002 from 500cc to the much catchier "MotoGP" and with that came a move from 500cc engines and bikes to 990cc bikes
These weren't championships he won easily, either.
He also won the next four world championships. He then won the top-class world championship for the first time in just his second season, 2001. Thrown in at the deep end with former world champion Mick Doohan as a mentor, Rossi proceeded to finish second in the championship in his debut season. Many immensely talented drivers in all of motorsport struggle with the step up to the top level, but perhaps the greatest mark of just how good Valentino Rossi was and is, is how quickly he took to the 500cc class. 1998 saw a move up to 250cc (now Moto2) and a similar progression, as he added a second world title in 1999. Rossi, from the north-east of Italy, began his career in the then-called 125cc class (now Moto3) in 1996, and he had his first world title within two years. The Styrian Grand Prix weekend of 2021 will be remembered for years to come in motorcycle racing as the weekend where Valentino Rossi, nine-times world champion and 89-times top-class winner in MotoGP, announced his retirement from the sport. "Unfortunately, this will be my last half-season as a #MotoGP rider" 💔 announces his retirement at the end of 2021! 🎙️ #VR46Decision /4mUSQnswXT Valentino Rossi leaves behind a dotted legacy Statistically the greatest motorcycle racer of the modern age, the Italian was at least partially responsible for MotoGP's dramatic growth in popularity in the 2000s.īut, as he announced today that he will retire at the end of the 2021 season, Rossi will also leave behind him one of the most enigmatic and dotted legacies of any modern sportsperson, with plenty of quirky tales and gaffes throughout his career to pair with the greatness of his riding. Valentino Rossi truly belongs in the pantheon of modern sporting greats.
0 kommentar(er)
