The voice was brittle, the look wistful.
"It's a sad moment for me," said Valentino Rossi before announcing his retirement from MotoGP at the end of the season.
“After all, I've been doing that for over 30 years,” said Rossi at a specially convened press conference for the now 42-year-old motor sportsman on Thursday at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg.
The Italian emphasized that his life will now change significantly.
Rossi won nine world titles and became one of the most dazzling stars on the motorcycle scene. An icon with fans all over the world. “I really enjoyed the time and this trip. It was a lot of fun to drive in the world championship for 26 years. I've experienced great things. Some wins and moments were unforgettable, ”he said. Rossi will remain in motorcycling in a different role: from 2022 on, he will be sending his own team to the MotoGP start.
In the future, Rossi would like to switch from two to four wheels.
“I love racing with cars just a little less than with motorcycles.
I think I'll be racing cars in the coming year, ”said Rossi.
He has already impressively demonstrated that he can also be fast in rally, formula and touring cars.
He was already racing in Ferrari's Formula 1 car and swapping his place on his racing machine with the cockpit of the Silver Arrow of Formula 1 record world champion Lewis Hamilton.
Disappointing season
Surprisingly, the decision to resign did not come, Rossi's results were recently too disappointing. At the beginning of the season he had repeatedly emphasized that a continuation of his career would be dependent on success. But in the first nine races of the season, the long-time victorious driver only collected a meager 17 World Championship points and went as World Championship 19. into the summer break. A tenth place in the home race in Mugello was the best result in the current World Championship series for the motorcycle pilot, who had been racing from success to success for many years.
On the five free weekends after the race in Assen, Rossi thought about his future. And then consequently decided to usher in the end of his career. If a substitute location is nominated for the canceled race in Thailand, there are still ten World Championship races, then that chapter is over for the Italian. The Styrian Grand Prix is on this weekend.
Rossi has been a regular driver in the motorcycle world championship since 1996. A year later he won his first title in the 125cc class. Two years later, Rossi prevailed in the 250s and rose to the premier class in 2000. Rossi won the 500 World Cup in 2001, becoming the last 500 World Champion in history. And even at the beginning of the four-stroke era, the charismatic Italian dominated the action. After two titles with Honda, Rossi made the risky brand change, but made himself immortal with fans when he won the championship in his Yamaha debut season in 2004. Three more titles followed for the legendary starting number 46. Rossi celebrated his last World Cup triumph in the 2009 season.
A training crash at the home Grand Prix in Mugello put Rossi out of action for a few races in 2010. It was the worst injury in the Italian's unprecedented career. A disappointing trip to Ducati followed. After two mixed years in red, Rossi returned to Yamaha and had the chance to win the tenth world title in 2015. A collision with Honda driver Marc Márquez in Malaysia, however, robbed him of the chance to become World Championship champion again. With 115 Grand Prix victories, Rossi came close to the record of his legendary compatriot Giacomo Agostini (122 victories). Rossi's last race win so far was four years ago.