The starting number on a MotoGP bike is far more than just a number: Often there is a personal story behind the trademark of the respective rider
Valentino Rossi once led the way and “The Doctor” has since found plenty of imitators. We are talking about the personal race number that a MotoGP rider uses for the majority of his career, if not his entire career, in the premier class.
Rossi, as 500cc world champion in the 2001 season, had the right to choose race number 1 for the following season. Instead, however, the Italian stuck to his starting number 46 for the first season of the MotoGP era. And nothing changed until the end of his career, which came 20 years later.
The last MotoGP World Champion to race as the defending champion in the year to date was Casey Stoner in 2012. In all other cases since then, the World Champion has opted to stick with his personal race number in each case. And even in the ranks of those who have not yet been world champions, there is often a desire to keep the personal race number until the end of their career if possible.
