The news was in the air, given his age and the disappointing results of recent years, but now it's official: Valentino Rossi, the legend of motorcycling and Italian sport, is retiring from competitive activity. At the age of 42, the Doctor from Tavullia has decided to say enough: he will race until the end of the season as stipulated in the contract, but he will not renew his commitment to Yamaha. His long and glorious career as a motorcyclist, studded with 9 world titles (of which 6 in the MotoGp) and 115 races won (the record is Giacomo Agostini with 123, and 15 world titles) out of 423 disputed to date, will therefore end in a few months. To be precise, Valentino Rossi's last official race will be Sunday 14 November in Valencia, after a long adventure that began in 1996 in the 125 class, astride the Aprilia on which he won his first title the following year. The last world title in the maximum category dates back to 2009, 12 years ago, and the last time Rossi came close to the tenth consecration was in 2015. The last race won is Assen (Holland) in 2017, the the last podium is in July 2020 in the Andalusia GP.
“I decided to stop at the end of the season – declared the driver from the Marche region at the press conference -. It's hard to make this decision, I wanted to race for another 25 years but the time has come to say enough. Unfortunately, therefore, this will be the last half of the season as a MotoGP rider. It is a sad and difficult time, to say that next year I will not race a motorcycle. I've been doing this for almost 30 years and next year my life will change in one respect. But it was great and I had a blast. It has been a long and very enjoyable journey, with unforgettable moments with all my team and the guys who work with me”. Now an equally promising career as sporting director is looming for Rossi: in 2014 he founded his own stable, the SKY Racing Team VR46, which competes in the Moto2 and Moto3 categories and which this year also made its debut in MotoGP using a Ducati, led by Luca Marini, brother of the Doctor. In 2018 the SKY Racing Team VR46 also led the Italian Pecco Bagnaia to win the Moto2 world title.
