(Motorsports news) Legend, Icon, GOAT, Prankster, Idol whatever you label him, Valentino Rossi will be the biggest name transcended around all of motorsports. There have been quite a few mega motorsport icons in the world but none had the astounding influence as “the doctor” on the youngsters and fans. Those who might have been captivated with his iconic number, vibrant designs on his bike or his post race theatrics, quickly became die hard followers of him. One can rarely say that a sport is defined by one man only but in Rossi’s case he created a gravitational pull of its own, sucking fans and gaining international recognition and interest from all over the world who would tune in to see him showcase his magnificent racecraft.
The most famous son from Tavullia rewrote the record books by winning 9 World Championships in all MotoGP classes in a career which spanned over 26 seasons. Pundits have been predicting his retirement ever since he won his last world championship but an unexpected return to form in 2014 where watched his rivals arrive with a gusto only to be left destroyed by his sheer talent and mental gymnastics. Time and time again Valentino is proving that age is just a number but the 42 year old has eventually decided to hang up his leather to join the paddock as a team manager.
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His career will always be remembered for his charisma and lust for bike racing but after retirement, this season there is going to be a huge void left by him. Valentino’s impact is so much so that most of the riders in the current MotoGP grid idolised him growing up. Rossi over his career has managed 115 victories out of which 89 have come in the premier class putting him second to Giacomo Agostini with 122 victories. Rossi ranks third with 9 world championships only behind Agostini 15 and Angel Neito 12.
After retirement, Valentino Rossi will become the team manager of VR46 a team which was started in 2014 in moto3. Now VR46 team has bikes in all the premier racing classes in MotoGP, along with that he also owns the VR46 academy which is producing world championship calibre riders to compete in MotoGP from Italy. Already a legend in the sport, he wants to develop the grassroots of MotoGP by encouraging youngsters through his popularity to take up bike racing.
The retirement of such an icon will not only be felt in MotoGP but the whole of the motorsport world. He's a once in a lifetime generational talent that used to fill out stands with only his ‘number 46’ and ‘doctor’ posters, but with him gone that amazing spectacle will never be witnessed anymore, no one will ever come close to the impact he's had on MotoGP and motorsports in general. The likes of Casey Stoner, Jorge Lorenzo, Marc Marquez have all fallen to the great Valentino Rossi at some point of their career, quite an extraordinary feat to say the least. More than his amazing riding skills fans will miss out on the aura and presence he had on the grid which made them fall in love with the sport to begin with.
