Yahoo Movies MotoGP Legend Valentino Rossi Will Retire After This Season
Italian rider Valentino Rossi has been a fixture of grand prix motorcycle racing for 25 years now, and it's hard to imagine the sport without him. Today, the racer announced his intention to retire from the MotoGP championship at the conclusion of this current season, marking the end of a remarkable career.
"Unfortunately this will be my last half season as a MotoGP rider," Rossi said in a press conference. "And it's difficult, it's a very sad moment because it's difficult to say and know that next year I will not race with a motorcycle, I've done that for I think more or less 30 years!"
Nicknamed "The Doctor," Rossi first entered the 125cc championship in 1996 and won it the following year. He graduated to the 250cc championship in 1997 and won the 1998 title before entering the 500cc championship, which eventually became MotoGP. Riding first for Honda then Yamaha, he won the world championship every year between 2001 and 2005 and again in 2008 and 2009. His 2010s were defined by a fierce rivalry with Marc Marquez and though he never managed to capture the title again, he came runner up from 2014 to 2016.
Next year, Rossi will enter MotoGP as a team owner with the new Aramco Racing Team VR46. He's also started racing sports cars in recent years, most recently capturing a third place in the GT3 Pro-Am class at this year's Gulf 12 Hours Race in Bahrain.
So, Rossi should continue to be an outsize presence in motorsport. But there's no doubt that this is an end of an era—the guy who defined (and arguably still defines) motorcycle racing is hanging up his helmet.
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