MotoGP retiree Valentino Rossi talks about the era after his retirement and reveals what gave him the most support in his active career
Even though Valentino Rossi himself no longer competes in MotoGP, much of the grandstands at the season’s Grands Prix so far have been bathed in neon yellow. The nine-time world champion’s legacy continues to have an impact and it will probably be quite a while before the sport produces a similar icon.
How he became one himself, “Il Dottore” sometimes wonders to this day. “I don’t know how it happens. Maybe my secret was that I didn’t want to become a character. Or at least not at any price. I stayed myself and people liked that,” says the 43-year-old in an interview with ‘Il Giornale’.
“The World Cup was there before me and it will be there after me. Maybe it will get smaller, some people won’t follow it anymore,” he speculates about the post-Rossi era, “but MotoGP is a wonderful thing. It works, people watch, there are other Italian riders, there is Ducati. “
Rossi knows: the most important thing is the right environment
Looking back, Rossi stresses that his greatest support in all the years of success, but also of defeat, has been his environment. “They have always been my great strength,” he says, “because you ride alone, but it’s a great team sport.”
“Having the same people around me who I could trust and who I knew would always try to help me was fundamental. They have always helped me and protected me. And what a pleasure it is to be able to share all that I have achieved with them. “
And Rossi continues to do so to this day – at his ranch in Tavullia and with the VR46 riders’ academy. It is one of many projects the Italian initiated during his active MotoGP career, knowing full well that he himself will not continue to ride forever.
Ranch, academy, MotoGP team: Rossi has made provisions
“I had already built my future a long time ago: a merchandising company, VR46, a MotoGP team, an academy to introduce new riders, my own track like the ranch. And it’s also thanks to the people who have always been with me,” the 43-year-old says proudly today.
“It was a long career so we had time to reflect. When my merchandising was produced externally, we weren’t convinced and said, ‘Let’s do it ourselves.’ And from then on we did it for others,” he recalls.
But that was just the beginning. “Kids who were into racing came to us and asked for help. The first one was Simoncelli, then Morbidelli, Migno, then my brother, and I said, ‘Let’s try to do something to help the Italian kids.’ And we created the academy. “
Retirement as early as the end of 2020? Why Rossi continued
“Then, because of our passion for racing, we tried to create a team and now we are in MotoGP. We needed a track for training and we built the ranch. Having your own race track is the dream of all motorcyclists and we made it come true,” said Rossi.
Despite this, he kept himself on the Grand Prix tracks of this world for a long time. Critics think, perhaps a few years too long. But the 43-year-old explains, “I did it because I believed in it, because I believed I could keep winning, and I was very competitive until the middle of the 2019 season.”
“Of course I wasn’t the Valentino Rossi of ten years ago, that’s normal, but I believed in it. I could have stopped a year earlier, at the end of 2020, but it was the Covid year with several races at one track and no crowd.”
“That’s when I said to myself, what should I do? Should I just give up? No, come on, I’ll do another year. Not because I wanted the crowd for my retirement, but because I wanted to go after a year of real competition. “