End of an era: Valentino Rossi announces retirement from MotoGP

Italian racing legend Valentino Rossi announced on Thursday that he will be retiring from MotoGP at the end of the 2021 season. Although the announcement feels like the end of an era, it is not surprising. Rossi has had a long and successful career, and throughout the current season, it seemed like his age did catch up to him. His best finish so far in the current season is only 10th, so it is quite understandable why the Italian made the decision. Rossi, 42, is considered one of the greatest motorcycle racers of all time. His chances of winning the MotoGP championship this season are pretty much over, but Rossi will still go out as the greatest of a generation after he finishes the final race of the season.

“I decided to stop at the end of the season,” he told a news conference which was specially arranged ahead of this weekend’s Styrian Grand Prix at Austria’s Red Bull Ring.

“Unfortunately this will be the last half-season as a MotoGP rider. It’s difficult, it’s a very sad moment because it’s difficult to say and to know that next year I will not race with the motorcycle,” he added in an emotional statement.

“I do this thing for more or less 30 years. Next year my life will change. But anyway, it was great, I enjoy very much this long, long journey and it was really, really fun,” the MotoGP icon concluded.

A GENERATIONAL TALENT

The Italian racer has won the MotoGP world championship a whopping nine times. Seven of those nine have come in the premier class. He is tied in third place for most MotoGP titles after Giacomo Agostini (15) and Angel Nieto (13). Rossi remains the only road racer in history to have competed in over 400 Grand Prix. He has only ridden with the number 46, and has been nicknamed ‘The Doctor’. The most recent of his nine world championship victories came way back in 2009.

There have been many rivalries involving Rossi in his 26-year long career. His battles against the likes of Sete Gibernau, Casey Stoner, Jorge Lorenzo, and Marc Marquez are just a few of the ones that will go down in history as some of the greatest rivalries the sport has ever witnessed.

FUTURE ENDEAVOURS

Although The Doctor has announced his retirement from competing as an athlete in the sport, he will not stay away from it. The Italian will be running his own MotoGP team next year with Ducati machinery. The rider lineup has also been decided and it will be Rossi’s half-brother Marini and Moto2 championship contender Marco Bezzecchi. Both the riders are graduates of Rossi’s VR46 Riders Academy. Some reports, however, suggest that Bezzecchi will be named Rossi’s replacement at Petronas Yamaha SRT.

It might also be possible that Rossi does not retire from racing in general. Recently, he reportedly tried his hand at GT3 endurance racing and seems to have enjoyed the sport. He might be thinking about participating in it on a more frequent basis as per reports. He has also expressed a desire to compete in rally racing in the past.