Valentino Rossi announces retirement

After a career spanning more than a quarter of a century, including two decades in the premier class, Valentino Rossi will retire from grand prix racing at the end of the 2021 season. The 42-year-old made the announcement on 5 August, on the eve of the Styrian Grand Prix in Austria.

A fixture in the premier class since 2000, where he’s ridden for Honda, Ducati and Yamaha factory teams, Rossi spent a total of 15 years with Yamaha Factory Racing before joining the satellite Petronas Yamaha SRT outfit this year. While it was a demotion, Rossi was still on a full factory-spec YZR-M1.

Speculation on Rossi’s future had been swirling even before the Petronas move, due to years of sub-par performances that include no race wins since 2017. Earlier this year, Rossi stated he would make his decision over the mid-season break and honoured that commitment.

“I have decided to stop at the end of (this) season. Unfortunately, this will be my last half season as a MotoGP rider,” Rossi said at his special press conference.

“It's difficult, it's a very sad moment because it's difficult to know that next year I will not race with a motorcycle. I've done that for more or less 30 years! Next year, my life will change.

“But it was great. I've enjoyed it very much. It's been a long, long journey and it was really, really fun. It's like 25, 26 years in the World Championship, so it was great. And I had unforgettable moments with all my team, all the guys who work for me.”

Rossi added that the decision was difficult, but it’s one he said was based on results and those results haven’t been good in recent years.

“In all sports, the results make the difference. So, at the end, I think it's the right way.”

While Rossi did take a podium at Jerez last year, his last race win was back in 2017 at the Dutch TT and he’s been outside the Top 5 more often than not since midway through the 2019 season. Perhaps more tellingly, Rossi’s last MotoGP title was in 2009, despite coming agonisingly close to taking the title in 2015 – a missed opportunity that would have seen the Italian win ten grand prix world championships in total. Rossi referenced this controversial end to the 2015 season in the retirement speech.

“I am a little bit sad I didn’t win the tenth championship, especially because I think I deserved that with my level (of racing) and my speed (in 2015). But I cannot complain about the result of my career.”

While Rossi will be gone from MotoGP competition, he won’t be giving up racing, expressing a desire to take on four-wheel motorsport; something he’s dabbled in previously, but now aims to do professionally.

“I love to race cars – just a little bit less than motorcycles – so I think I will race cars from next year. It’s not decided yet, but I feel I am a (competitive) rider or a driver for life, so I just change from motorcycles to cars.”

Rossi’s Remarkable Career

First racing on two wheels in the minimoto class as a twelve-year-old, Rossi would progress to 125cc machinery in 1993, winning the Sport Production and National 125cc Championships in Italy.

Rossi’s grand prix journey started in 1996 with Aprilia in the 125cc class. Winning a race in his debut season, then the championship a year later, Rossi would repeat the feat in the 250cc class. Again on an Aprilia, Rossi took five race wins in his first year, then the championship in 1999.

Moving up to the 500cc category with Honda in 2000, Rossi would make history as the last champion in the 500cc era (2001) and the first in MotoGP (2002), when the premier class switched from 500cc two-strokes to 990cc four-stroke machinery. Since then, Rossi has also ridden 800cc and 1000cc four-stroke machinery as MotoGP evolved.

Proving his first three premier class titles weren’t down to Honda machinery, Rossi switched to Yamaha in 2004 and duly won the championship that year, then again in 2005. Finishing just five points behind 2006 MotoGP champion Nicky Hayden, Rossi was also runner-up to a dominant Casey Stoner in 2007 before taking the MotoGP World Championship again in 2008 and 2009.

After one more season with Yamaha, Rossi switched to Ducati in 2011 for what was billed as an all-Italian dream team. That dream soon turned into a nightmare as Rossi, like so many others before and since, found the Desmosedici GP bike to be unrideable.

Failing to win a race and taking only three podiums in two years with Ducati, Rossi was back with Yamaha for 2013, but that year also saw the debut of Marc Marquez; an adversary that Rossi couldn’t squash like he has done with so many others in the past.

Since Marquez’s arrival in MotoGP, he’s won 57 races at time of writing, while Rossi has won only 10 in the same period

While the premier class baton has well and truly been passed to Marquez, it’s hard to imagine him having the same impact – both inside and outside the sport – as Rossi.

At time of writing, Rossi’s grand prix record sits at 115 career race wins (89 500cc/MotoGP, 14 250cc, 12 125cc) and seven world championships (7 500cc/MotoGP, 1 250cc, 1 125cc).

Still a Presence

While Rossi the rider will be gone from the MotoGP grid in 2022, the Rossi name won’t. The Sky VR46 Avintia team that made its MotoGP debut this year (and has been in Moto2 since 2017, with a Moto3 squad from 2014 to 2020) will continue in the premier class next year, possibly with new sponsorship from Aramco and a yet-to-be-announced rider lineup. Before announcing his retirement, Rossi had been linked to Armaco Racing Team VR46 as a rider, potentially joining his half-brother Luca Marini.

“I had the chance to race for my team in MotoGP, together with my brother, something that I would like. But it's ok like this I think... we have another half season, I don't know how many races, I think it will be more difficult when we arrive at the last race, but for now it's just to say my decision to everyone. I can't complain about my career!"