After failing to win the title for two consecutive times, the Italian's skill on the bike was called into question by fans and experts alike.
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If one takes a look at the legendary career of Italian motorcycling legend Valentino Rossi, it would probably take an entire day just going through the first few years of it. The Doctor, as he is nicknamed, brought something special to MotoGP. He had speed, he had class, and most of all, he had style. Rossi did not just win world championships, he won them with swagger. Of course, some could argue that many racers have won championships with swagger. How many of them have done it nine times? You just knew that something special was about to unfold whenever a yellow bike with the number 46 stood at the front of the grid in a MotoGP race.
It is kind of hard to believe that at a point in his career when he was still quite possibly at his prime, people just wrote him off. This was right after the 2007 season. It was the one where Rossi missed out on the world championship for the second time running and Ducati racer Casey Stoner was crowned champion. Fans and experts were of the opinion at the time that The Doctor was finished. Some had even suggested that he should retire while he still was considered as one of the best. Naturally, talk like that all over the media frustrated the Italian racer. However, Rossi is not someone who would let something like that influence him in a negative way. He did not speak much over these matters and simply let his bike do the talking in the 2008 season.
That time, Rossi was a part of Yamaha alongside teammate and future rival Jorge Lorenzo. The bookies did not give either of the two any chance of winning the championship. All the talk was about either Australian racer Casey Stoner winning the second MotoGP championship of his career or Dani Pedrosa becoming a serious title contender. The Doctor was not even in the picture. Maybe his critics did have a point. To be fair, Rossi’s performances had dropped after he won his seventh world title. He might have been far from his retirement at the time but it was something that definitely unnerved him and Yamaha.
As the 2008 season began, Stoner and Pedrosa seemed like the two genuine title challengers, while Rossi was looked at as someone who could maybe finish in fourth or fifth place. It might even be possible that some did not see him as a dark horse either. The first race of the season was in Qatar and it was not something The Doctor would like to look fondly back upon. The former world champion could only manage a fifth-place finish while Stoner took the pole position. The race reignited talks over Rossi’s talent and skill to be competing for the championship. Maybe it was time for Stoner to take the limelight from the Italian, people thought. After all, Rossi was already a legend with seven championship victories. Unfortunately, the man himself did not think that way. Rossi is a serial winner, and people like him do not just give away victories to others without putting up a fight. And fight he did.
The Italian showed his mettle in the race in Spain. He drove like the champion the world knew him to be and finished in second place. He followed that up with a brilliant third-place finish in Portugal. His teammate at the time, Jorge Lorenzo, was the one who got the pole. What followed these two results was an awe-inspiring performance by the Italian. He bagged two second-place finishes in China and France, followed by a pole finish at his home race in Italy. That pole was then followed by two more second-place finishes in Catalunya and Great Britain.
Rossi did not have a good race in the Dutch GP, however. He was at the top of the championship table at the time and people were looking at him as an eight-time world champion by that point. He had a decent gap of 11 points over second-placed Dani Pedrosa. However, that day the Yamaha engine ran into quite serious trouble and The Doctor crashed out of the race long before its conclusion. It was a hefty setback for the Italian as it could have been a chance for Pedrosa to really turn the tide of the championship for good. Pedrosa had gained a four-point lead after that race.
It was after this race that the Italian really started to put his foot down on the championship. He came second in a rain-soaked Germany race which saw Pedrosa crashing out. He followed that up with a number of incredible victories, including the Indianapolis race in the USA and in Japan.
In the end, in round 15, it came down to the Motegi circuit. There were still more races to go but the Italian had the opportunity to seal the deal. He needed to finish in third to secure his eighth world championship. He did not have a good start to the race by any stretch as he found himself in fifth place at one point. Rossi then overtook his teammate Lorenzo, and Nicky Hayden to move into third. The Doctor made the winning move at lap 14 when he outwitted Stoner at a turn and assured himself of a place on the podium.
The Italian’s eighth championship victory was one that screamed of a comeback victory. After two years of being average, Rossi had to face a lot of criticism ahead of the season. What is amazing is how he did not let any of that talk affect his performance on the track. He seemed to get better with each race. Maybe it was the motivation The Doctor needed to get his game back on track and prove to the world exactly why he is considered as one of the greatest of all time.
