Being a MotoGP Legend couldn’t be enough for Valentino Rossi, one to whom motorcycling really owes a lot. For this reason Dorna and the FIM have decided to do more for the nine-time world champion, withdrawing his iconic number 46, which can no longer be used in the premier class of two wheels.
And the place of the ceremony could only be one of those he is most attached to and where he wrote unforgettable pages of his career: Mugello. The “Doctor” was already expected in his new role as team principal of the Mooney VR46 Racing Team and Dorna and the FIM took the opportunity for this great celebration.
The arrival of the Pesaro rider on the starting straight, escorted by the CEO of Dorna Sports, Carmelo Ezpeleta, and by the president of the FIM, Jorge Viegas, has finally brought some “warmth” to the central grandstand of the Tuscan circuit, which in this unfortunately the first day and a half of the Italian GP was a bit “deflated”.
Also applauding him were the guys from the VR46 Riders Academy, but also the family and friends who accompanied him in his long and triumphal career, who witnessed the symbolic delivery of a trophy depicting a yellow number 46, which already identified him on tracks all over the world for over 20 years, but which will now be his forever.
“It is I who must thank you for this! It is beautiful!” Said Rossi in response to the choirs coming from the grandstand, which magically turned yellow. “My back hurts and my knees hurt. From there I realized that I am old. But it was beautiful, thank you all,” he concluded at the end of a ceremony that was short, but rather intense.
Then, to Dorna’s microphones, he added: “It’s a mixed feeling. On the one hand it is very sad that I have finished my career and that 46 is retired from MotoGP. On the other hand it is very exciting, because it was a long history and an unforgettable career, full of good times “.
“I am very proud of this, then we are in a place that is always special, that of our home Grand Prix. I have always raced with the 46 for my entire career, so it means a lot to me. It was my dad Graziano’s number. when he finished second in the 250cc World Championship. It’s not just a number, it’s a brand. “
“This has been my life for 26 years, but I don’t miss it too much, because it has been a very long and also very stressful journey. Now I am more relaxed and I think it was also time to say enough. But there is still a lot of it. Italy in this MotoGP, both with bikes and with strong riders. I work every day with the Academy guys and there are also many interesting young people who will come from the minor categories, so I believe that Italy will remain protagonist in MotoGP ” .
Even if it is almost superfluous, it is always worth remembering the numbers of the legendary career of the champion from Tavullia: in addition to the 9 world titles, there are in fact 115 victories, 89 of which arrived in the premier class, as well as seven of his crowns rainbow. Collecting the number of a character of this caliber was really the minimum …
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