Valentino Rossi

His career spanned the transition from the two-stroke era of the 1990s to the MotoGP four-stroke era of the 21st century. All seven of his premier class titles came in the 2000s, during which he accumulated 77 race wins and 48 pole positions in that class alone. In the following 12 seasons he managed 12 race wins and seven pole positions.

Rossi's family moved from Urbino to Tavullia when he was a child. His father, Graziano Rossi, was a former motorcycle racer. Rossi began with kart racing rather than minimoto due to his mother Stefania's safety concerns. He first rode a go-kart in 1985 and won the regional kart championship in 1990.

In 1993, former world champion Paolo Pileri gave Rossi his first opportunity to ride a 125cc motorcycle. He competed in the 125cc Italian Sport Production Championship on a Cagiva Mito alongside teammate Vittoriano Guareschi. At his first race meeting he crashed twice, finishing ninth.

Rossi debuted in Grand Prix motorcycle racing in the 1996 season at the age of 17. At the Austrian Grand Prix he achieved his first podium, finishing third. In the following race — the Czech Republic Grand Prix — he secured both his first pole position and first race victory in the 125cc class, riding an AGV Aprilia RS125R. He finished his first season ninth overall with 111 points.

In 1997, Rossi moved to the Nastro Azzurro Aprilia team and dominated the season, winning 11 of the 15 races with 321 points to claim the 125cc World Championship. He celebrated wins in unusual ways — including dressing as Robin Hood — earning media attention throughout the year.

After winning the 125cc title, Rossi moved to the 250cc class for 1998 on an Aprilia RS250, in a team that also included Loris Capirossi and Tetsuya Harada. He took his first 250cc victory at the Dutch TT and finished the season as championship runner-up with 201 points — 23 behind champion Capirossi.

In 1999, as the sole rider of the official Aprilia Grand Prix Racing team, Rossi dominated the 250cc class, winning 11 races and clinching the title in Rio de Janeiro. He finished the season with 309 points — his second title overall.

In 2000, Rossi joined Honda in the 500cc class. Retired five-time 500cc World Champion Mick Doohan worked with him as personal mentor. Rossi took his first 500cc victory at Donington Park in July and finished his rookie season second in the championship with 209 points.

In 2001, Rossi dominated, winning 11 races and finishing off the podium only three times. He took three consecutive wins in Japan, South Africa, and Spain, followed by victories in Catalunya, Britain, the Czech Republic, and Portugal. He won the 500cc title with 325 points — his third title overall and first in the top class — finishing 106 points ahead of Max Biaggi.

Many riders struggled with the transition to the new MotoGP four-stroke bikes. Rossi went on to win eight of the first nine races of 2002, ultimately claiming 11 victories and clinching his fourth title overall — the first in the inaugural MotoGP class — with four races remaining.

In 2003, Rossi continued to dominate despite competition from Sete Gibernau. The race was marred early in the season by the death of Japanese rider Daijiro Kato. Rossi won the 2003 title in Malaysia — his third top-class and fifth title overall — with two races remaining. The Australian Grand Prix victory is considered one of his greatest career moments: despite a ten-second penalty he pulled away from the field to win by more than fifteen seconds.

Rossi parted ways with Honda at the end of 2003. He passed on an offer from Ducati and signed a two-year contract with Yamaha reportedly worth in excess of US$12 million.

Rossi made the switch from Honda to Yamaha in 2004, becoming the first rider to win consecutive races with different manufacturers — after winning the South African race. He clinched his third MotoGP, fourth top-class and sixth overall championship in the penultimate race of the season, finishing first with 304 points ahead of Gibernau's 257.

In 2005, Rossi won 11 races and 367 points — 147 ahead of second-place Marco Melandri — capturing his fourth MotoGP, fifth top-class and seventh overall championship in Sepang with four races remaining.

After two frustrating seasons in which Casey Stoner and Nicky Hayden took the titles, Rossi won the 2008 championship with 373 points, clinching in Japan with three races remaining. On the podium, he wore a shirt reading "Scusate il ritardo" ("Sorry for the delay"). He switched from Michelin to Bridgestone tyres ahead of that season. In 2009, Rossi's victory at the Dutch round marked his 100th career win — making him only the second rider in motorcycle Grand Prix history, after Giacomo Agostini, to reach that milestone. He clinched the ninth title in Malaysia with 45 points in hand over teammate Jorge Lorenzo, finishing the season with his sixth MotoGP, seventh top-class and ninth overall title.

In 2010, a displaced compound fracture of his right tibia sustained at Mugello during the Italian Grand Prix's second free practice at around 120 mph ended his title hopes. He missed four rounds but returned 41 days after the accident, finishing just off the podium in Germany. He ultimately finished third in the championship with 233 points.

On 15 August 2010, Rossi confirmed he would join the Ducati factory team for 2011, signing a two-year deal alongside Nicky Hayden. His best result of 2011 was a single podium in France. The Malaysian round was abandoned after Marco Simoncelli suffered fatal injuries in a collision involving Rossi and Colin Edwards. Rossi finished seventh in the championship with 139 points, his first winless season in Grand Prix career.

In 2012, Rossi's second year on the Ducati also produced no victories. His best results were two second-place finishes, in France and San Marino. He finished sixth in the championship with 163 points.

On 10 August 2012, it was confirmed that Rossi would rejoin the Yamaha factory team. On 29 June 2013, at the Dutch round, he recorded his first MotoGP win since Malaysia 2010 — a 46-race winless streak broken. He finished fourth in the championship with 237 points — his best since 2010.

In the 2014 San Marino Grand Prix, Rossi won his first race since the 2013 Dutch TT round, pushing him past 5000 total career points — making him the first and only rider to achieve this milestone. He also took his 60th career pole position in the Valencian Community race. He finished second in the championship with 295 points.

In 2015 — his 20th season at World Championship level — Rossi led the standings for most of the season and came closest to a tenth title. He finished five points behind teammate Jorge Lorenzo, the eventual champion. A controversial incident with Marc Márquez in Malaysia resulted in Rossi receiving three penalty points and starting from the back of the grid at the Valencian Community season finale. Rossi called the result "a Spanish stitch-up". The Yamaha Motor Racing team clinched their manufacturers' title that year, their first since 2010.

In 2016, Rossi won in Spain — leading every lap from pole position, the first time in his MotoGP career he had done so. Despite securing second in the championship for the third consecutive year, Marc Márquez claimed the title.

In 2017, Rossi took his only win of the season at the Dutch round by just 0.063 seconds over Danilo Petrucci — making him the oldest race winner in the MotoGP era, surpassing Troy Bayliss. After the British round he fractured the tibia and fibula of his right leg in a motocross training crash, requiring surgery and missing San Marino. He finished fifth in the championship with 208 points.

Rossi's final race victory came at the 2017 Dutch TT at the age of 38. In his final three seasons with the Factory Yamaha team he scored no wins.

In September 2020, Rossi confirmed he would move to Petronas Yamaha SRT for 2021 alongside VR46 Academy protégé Franco Morbidelli. On 15 October 2020, he tested positive for COVID-19, missing the Aragon and Teruel Grands Prix.

On 5 August 2021, during the pre-event press conference of the Styrian Grand Prix weekend, Rossi announced he would retire from MotoGP at the conclusion of the season. His last race was the 2021 Valencian Community motorcycle Grand Prix at Circuit Ricardo Tormo. He was congratulated by prominent figures including Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen, and former rival Casey Stoner. His number 46 was retired in a ceremony at the 2022 Italian motorcycle Grand Prix. He was inducted into the MotoGP Hall of Fame as an official Legend after the 2021 season.

Before the first race of the 2001 season, Rossi and Max Biaggi had an argument at a restaurant in Suzuka. At the Japanese round, Biaggi appeared to push Rossi into the dirt at high speed; Rossi later overtook Biaggi and showed his middle finger on live television. At the 2001 Catalan round, the two came to blows before the podium ceremony. Honda organised a press conference in Assen to end the feud; the two shook hands in front of media.

Rossi's closest rivals in 2003 and 2004 were Sete Gibernau. Their rivalry culminated at the 2005 Spanish round in Jerez, where Rossi overtook Gibernau on the final lap with a collision. Gibernau ran wide and finished second; the Spanish crowd booed Rossi on the podium. Gibernau never won another race after Qatar — an outcome some referred to as the "Qatar Curse". Gibernau retired after the 2006 season.

The Rossi–Casey Stoner rivalry peaked at the 2008 United States Grand Prix, where an extended battle ended with Stoner in the gravel. When Rossi offered to shake hands in the parc fermé, Stoner angrily refused. At the 2011 Spanish round, Rossi collided with Stoner, and Stoner told Rossi "your ambition outweighs your talent" — a comment he later apologised for.

The rivalry with Jorge Lorenzo came to a boiling point in 2015, when Rossi was on course to win his tenth title. After returning to Yamaha together in 2013 the relationship was tense. Following the 2015 season the relationship soured, though it eased when Lorenzo moved to the Ducati factory team in 2017.

Rossi initially had a good relationship with Marc Márquez, who called Rossi his childhood idol. The relationship broke down after the 2015 Malaysian round, where a collision knocked Márquez out and resulted in Rossi's penalty. Rossi accused Márquez of deliberately assisting Lorenzo. In 2018, following a collision in Argentina where Márquez received a 30-second penalty, Rossi stated that Márquez "destroyed our sport". At the 2019 Argentine Grand Prix the two shook hands before the podium ceremony.

Rossi and Colin Edwards won the 2001 Suzuka 8 Hours for Team Cabin Honda on a Honda RC51, completing 217 laps and finishing ahead of Tadayuki Okada and Alex Barros. Rossi became the first Italian rider in history to win the race.

Rossi tested a Ferrari Formula One car from 31 January to 2 February 2006 at Circuit Ricardo Tormo. On the final day he was a little more than half a second behind Michael Schumacher's best time. Schumacher said Rossi would be capable of moving to Formula One and being immediately competitive. Rossi also tested a Ferrari F2008 at Mugello on 20–21 November 2008. In May 2006, Rossi announced he would remain in MotoGP.

In rally, one of Rossi's heroes in his youth was WRC champion Colin McRae, who taught him the basics of driving a rally car. The two competed at the 2005 Monza Rally Show — McRae in a Skoda Fabia WRC, Rossi winning in a Subaru Impreza WRC. Rossi finished 11th in the 2006 Rally New Zealand in a Subaru Impreza WRC04. He finished 12th in Rally GB in December 2008, driving a Ford Focus RS WRC 07, finishing 13 minutes 20.4 seconds behind winner Sébastien Loeb. Rossi has won the Monza Rally Show a record seven times, in 2006, 2007, 2012, 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018.

From 2022, Rossi competed in the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup for Team WRT, initially in an Audi R8 LMS and from 2023 in a BMW M4 GT3 after WRT became a BMW factory team. His co-drivers in 2023 included BMW factory drivers Maxime Martin and Augusto Farfus. He won his first race in the GT World Challenge at Misano in 2023, and in 2024 repeated that win.

Rossi competed in the FIA World Endurance Championship from 2024 in the LMGT3 class with Team WRT, paired initially with Maxime Martin and Ahmad Al Harthy. At the 2025 Bathurst 12 Hour, Rossi and teammates Ahmad Al Harthy and Kelvin van der Linde secured second place in the Pro category.

Rossi competed in the 2019 Gulf 12 Hours at Yas Marina Circuit in a Ferrari 488 GT3 for Kessel Racing, co-driving with his half-brother Luca Marini and Alessio Salucci, securing overall third and a Pro-Am class win. In 2021, the same trio took third at the Bahrain International Circuit edition.

Rossi founded the VR46 Racing Academy in Tavullia in 2014, for training and development of young Italian riders. He owns the Sky Racing Team by VR46, which debuted in the Moto3 category in 2014 with riders Romano Fenati and Francesco Bagnaia, with Vittoriano Guareschi as team manager. The VR46 Riders Academy produced Franco Morbidelli, the 2017 Moto2 world champion and 2020 MotoGP runner-up, and Francesco Bagnaia, the 2018 Moto2 world champion and 2022 MotoGP world champion. In the 2020 season, Sky Racing VR46 won the Moto2 teams championship with 380 points. The VR46 Racing Team competes in MotoGP as of 2025.

Rossi raced with the number 46 throughout his entire career — the number his father had raced with. As a tribute to Britain's Barry Sheene, who was the first rider of the modern era to keep the same number, Rossi maintained 46 rather than taking the number 1 to which his world championship titles entitled him, though he wore the number 1 on the shoulder of his leathers as champion. His helmets are manufactured by AGV, and he has worn Dainese leathers since the start of his Grand Prix career. Nearly every year, Rossi worked with Aldo Drudi to design a unique helmet for the Italian and San Marino Grands Prix.

Rossi's first name on the 500cc scene was "Rossifumi", after Japanese rider Norifumi Abe, whose spectacular 500cc wildcard debut Rossi watched at age 14. "The Doctor" became his most recognised nickname after he earned a degree. The text on his helmet visors reads "Tribu Dei Chihuahua" — "The Tribe of the Chihuahua" — the name of his group of friends. At the 2005 Spanish Grand Prix, Rossi first performed the leg-waving move at corner entry, which became widely imitated across MotoGP.

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