Press Release | August 5, 2021
Valentino Rossi announced he will retire from grand prix racing at the close of the 2021 season after an illustrious 26-year career racing in the world championship.
In an “exceptional press conference” called on the eve of the Styrian Grand Prix in Austria, the Italian confirmed he would hang up his racing leathers over the summer break despite having the offer to ride in his own VR46 team in 2022, aboard Ducati machinery.
Now 42 years old, Rossi has been undergoing his worst season to date after switching from Yamaha’s factory team to the Petronas SRT Yamaha squad. He sits 19th in the World Championship after nine races, with a best result of a single 10th place.
His intention at the beginning of 2021 was to continue racing motorcycles next year, he explained. But recent struggles were enough to convince him it was time to stop.
“I wanted to continue when I start the championship,” he said. “But I needed to understand if I was fast enough. During the season our results were less than what I expect. Race by race I started to think.”
From here, Rossi will switch disciplines and series. The nine-time World Champion had always harbored ambitions to race on four wheels (and came close to joining Ferrari in Formula 1 at the close of 2005). In 2022, he will take on the challenge of racing cars full time. “I love to race with the cars, just a little less than the motorcycle,” he said. “I would like to race the cars. I feel that I am a rider or driver all life long. Just [I will] change motorcycles for cars, not at the same level, but I think I will race anyway.”
The 42-year-old Rossi is a nine-time World Champion.
Rossi has fielded questions regarding his future all year long. But he insisted he was more comfortable with the idea of retiring now than any time in the past. “Sincerely two years ago and last year I was not ready to stop with MotoGP. But now I’m okay. I’m quiet. I’m not happy for sure. Anyway, if I make another year, next year I’d be not happy in the same moment because I want to race for the next 20!”
Since Saudi Arabia’s Prince Abdulaziz bin Abdullah Al Saud stated his desire for Rossi to join half-brother Luca Marini in the Saudi-backed VR46 Ducati MotoGP squad next year, speculation mounted on whether he would continue in the colors of his own team.
“I had an official offer from my team,” Rossi admitted. “I think deeply about continuing because I [would] like to race in my team, to have my bikes in Tavullia (Rossi’s hometown). We have a great Moto2 and Moto3 team with a lot of people I know for a long time. It (would be) very fascinating to race with my team. At the end I decide not. It’s a good project if you have two or three years. But if you think you have just one season. Maybe it’s more of a risk than a good thing.”
Rossi joined the World Championship as a 16-year old in 1996 and has since racked up 423 GP starts over 25 and a half seasons, the most in history. On what he will miss most from life as a MotoGP rider, Rossi explained, “I will miss a lot the athlete life. To wake up every morning and train with the target, to try to win. I like a lot this life. Number one, I will miss riding the MotoGP bike. It’s always a great emotion. Also, to work with my team, starting from Thursday and trying to fix all the small details to be stronger.
Rossi won his last World Championship in 2009.
“After I will miss a lot of Sunday morning, two hours before the race, it’s something where you don’t feel comfortable, you are scared but it’s an emotion because you know the race starts. This is something that will be hard to fix.”
For most of his premier class career, Rossi transcended the sport. His charm, charisma and outstanding racing ability was a heady mix that captivated audiences around the world and raised MotoGP to a major sport in his native Italy. His on-track antics and famous celebrations catapulted his profile to be among the most famous sportsmen in the world.
Along with the nine world championships, 115 grand prix race wins, 199 premier class podiums, and 65 pole positions, Rossi considered another aspect of his career to be the standout achievement. “A lot of people followed motorcycles because of me,” he said. “This is the most important thing I did in my career. I entertained a lot of people on Sunday afternoon and a lot of people enjoyed for one or two hours during the Sunday when they don’t think about anything, just enjoy my races.”
Neil Morrison
The following is a press release from Yamaha…
Spielberg, Austria (August 5, 2021) – Today, nine-time World Champion and Grand Prix racing legend Valentino Rossi has announced his retirement as a MotoGP rider after the end of the 2021 season. Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. and Yamaha Motor Racing want to thank Rossi for the–still ongoing–16 fantastic years of partnership. They plan to maintain a close working relationship with the Italian after 2021 through various collaborations including the VR46 Riders Academy and the ‘Yamaha VR46 Master Camp’ training and racing programs.
Following Valentino Rossi’s MotoGP racing retirement announcement, coming into effect at the end of 2021, Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. and Yamaha Motor Racing wish to sincerely thank the nine-time World Champion and Grand Prix racing legend for 16—still ongoing—unforgettable seasons together.
Yamaha and Rossi’s story started with that iconic victory at Valentino’s first GP race for Yamaha in South Africa in 2004. From there on in the partnership got to experience lots of thrilling racing action, many great moments in the paddock and off the track, securing to date 142 podiums, celebrating 56 GP victories, and winning four MotoGP World Championship Titles, in 2004, 2005, 2008, and 2009.
The Doctor’s astounding achievements, unparalleled passion for racing, and unrivaled charisma make up a huge part of Yamaha’s and MotoGP’s heritage, earning the Italian, who is recognized the world over, the epithet “GOAT” (Greatest of All Time).
It will be the end of an epic MotoGP era when the number 46 won’t be featuring in the MotoGP lineup in 2022, as racing fans the world over will agree. But Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. and Yamaha Motor Racing will continue to support Rossi in his future endeavors. They will retain a close working relationship with him through various collaborations including the VR46 Riders Academy and the Yamaha VR46 Master Camp training and racing programs.
The retirement decision and new career opportunities will not diminish The Doctor’s determination or lessen his efforts during his final months as a MotoGP rider. Likewise, Yamaha is extremely grateful for the MotoGP legend’s contributions to its racing successes and will remain fully dedicated to ensuring that the second half of their 16th season together will be a fitting end to a very special MotoGP partnership.
Yoshihiro Hidaka | President & CEO, Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd.
“First and foremost, I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to Valentino for the great partnership we enjoyed with him. He will be deeply missed on track, inside the paddock, and behind the scenes at Yamaha, but we fully respect his decision.
“At Yamaha we take great pride in the Grand Prix motorcycle racing legacy that we have created together. The 16 years we will have spent as partners were filled with epic battles on track and wins. At Yamaha we always strive to give our fans and customers the feeling of Kando*. In a way, Valentino’s entire career at Yamaha embodies this quest for the deep satisfaction and intense excitement that we experience when we encounter something of exceptional value. We are all very pleased that Valentino has decided to remain a Yamaha rider until the end of his MotoGP racing career and beyond.
“There are too many great moments between Yamaha and Valentino to pick one as a favorite. There were also challenges throughout the years, but the trust between us never wavered and even strengthened our partnership through the years.
“Valentino’s achievements were made both on and off the track, and they make up a large and important part of Yamaha’s racing heritage. We thank him for his incredible efforts, unequaled skills, and never-failing passion and optimism. We are proud to have been a part of his unique success story. We will forever cherish the precious memories we made together and hope to keep adding to them with him as a Yamaha brand ambassador.”
*Kando is a Japanese word for the simultaneous feelings of deep satisfaction and intense excitement that we experience when we encounter something of exceptional value.
Lin Jarvis | Managing Director, Yamaha Motor Racing
“First of all, I would like to thank Valentino sincerely, on behalf of Yamaha Motor Racing, for the special partnership between him and Yamaha.
“We were privileged to be key players in a legendary Grand Prix era, with Valentino fortifying Yamaha’s rider line-up for 16 – still ongoing – seasons. The now-iconic partnership between Yamaha and Rossi started almost like a fairy tale. Rossi won that incredible race at Welkom in 2004, his first GP with Yamaha. His arrival at Yamaha was the catalyst that completely changed our MotoGP racing program, and he gave us the confidence to regain our challenging spirit and once again become MotoGP World Champions.
“Since 2004 we have completed to date 264 races, together we secured 56 wins, 46 second places, 40 third places, and we won four MotoGP World Championship Titles in 2004, 2005, 2008, and 2009 respectively.
“Valentino is a living legend whose successes and personal flair contributed to Yamaha’s legacy and heritage in abundance. Also, during more difficult periods, his positive mindset would be a boost to those around him, and he was always ready to go the extra mile for a good result. It’s thanks to his never-failing passion for MotoGP that we can proudly look back on soon-to-be 16 fantastic seasons together.
“We all knew that eventually, the moment would come that Valentino’s illustrious Grand Prix racing career would come to an end. His unparalleled skills and warm charisma will definitely be greatly missed by the fans, the media, the MotoGP paddock, and the entire Yamaha staff. But before he finally hangs up his leathers, we have nine more opportunities to enjoy and savor his appearances at the remaining Grand Prix races of the 2021 season. In that respect, it is very fitting that we will see the return of racing fans and spectators at many of the coming races.
“So let us all enjoy the next GPs and then we’ll get the chance to say a proper thank you to Valentino at the end of the Valencia GP weekend in November.”
Rossi says his racing days are not entirely over. He will now pursue a career racing on four wheels.
Riders React to Valentino Rossi Announcing Retirement
Fabio Quartararo: “It’s difficult to believe because you know he was already a two-time World Champion and I was still not born, and we are still racing with him and imagine that next year he will not be racing. It is kind of sad you know, he’s really the guy that makes me want to be a MotoGP rider. When I was a kid watching him, waiting hours in front of the hospitality to get the picture and then for me, yes, he’s the legend of the sport, he made an amazing career and I think that he’s a legend, still my idol and yeah I have no words to describe him.”
Johann Zarco: “It will be strange but thanks to Vale for what he gave because I think he changed the vision of the motorbike during the 2000s until now and when you speak about motorbike with someone that doesn’t know anything, he can just tell you Valentino Rossi so it really means something. We were expecting that there will be a day that he will say stop and it’s coming and it came. Just amazing because he stayed such a long time, we could watch him on TV and he became the idol and then we could race with him. I think there are not so many sportsmen like that. So thanks for what he gave, and I think the way he was racing will remain always his way, because it was always with a different approach I would say, more than most of the others.”
Joan Mir: “I feel so privileged to have the opportunity to race with Vale for this for two years, three. I probably was more nervous than him when he was given the news! It’s a difficult moment because it looks like this moment never arrives for a rider. I’m for sure he has everything to go and enjoy a lot the life and I’m so happy for him. There was a question that a journalist was asking him if he feels like Michael Jordan of the basketball and for sure he’s the Michael Jordan of the motorbikes. It will be difficult to repeat another Valentino Rossi in history, so wishing him a lot of luck I would hope to see him in the next seasons around the paddock.”
Maverick Viñales: “He was my point of reference when I was a kid. You know when I started to love that passion of motorcycle was, especially when I start to see Valentino with his celebration the way he wins the races, so at the end, as a kid, I grew up I had the opportunity to share the team with him, and for sure to be internally sharing the data, sharing comments everything and you know I had the chance to learn, this is the most important. Valentino is more than an icon more than a legend, my idol. He’s the point of reference since I was three years old now and yeah, it’s sad. We need to say thank you to him because he grew MotoGP a lot and also was an inspiration for me so in the end you know as I said I was very lucky to share the team with him for many years and also you know sometimes they fight against him, other times to enjoy the time with him and was a very enjoyable time. I remember Malaysia, Indonesia, these long events where we could talk a little bit more outside of the bikes. For me what it remains also is that outside of the bike he’s always a great person and I think as Joan said, he is the point of the bikes. We need to be very thankful to him.”
Miguel Oliveira: “It’s hard to add anything else but I think like many of us Valentino has been a reference since we were kids. It’s easy when we were kids to relate to Valentino because everyone wants to support the winner or who is winning, and I think really the turning point that makes him a sort of more of a legend was the turning point and after that those many titles 2009, 2010 when he moved to Ducati and when he came back to Yamaha, people still loved him even if it was not winning, even if the results weren’t great and I think only at that time we could see really the greatness of Valentino and the image power he had the influence he had on the MotoGP paddock. It was a privilege to share the race track with him.”
Cal Crutchlow: “I think coming back is a great story to be able to go in into the Petronas SRT team as his teammate for the weekend he announces his retirement, but yeah as all of the guys said watching him, since even when I was young and I’m you know, he was racing Grand Prix, I was racing British championship but enjoying watching him. Then when I finally came to Yamaha he was in Yamaha and then went to Ducati and came back to Yamaha. I remember one night going to the motorhome one night he asked me if I was ready to battle next year, and we did. We battled in so many races that year in 2013 and it was good fun. He’s incredible, what he’s done for the sport, as Johann said, no matter where you are in the world when you say motorbikes they just say Valentino Rossi. He is just one fo those great sporting icons. I stopped at 35 years old, I could not go on for another 7 years, his motivation to be fast is incredible. He is going faster than he’s ever been before a lot of these tracks, now to be able to do that is incredible, it just shows that physically wise he’s in great shape to be able to do it and also the mentality of being able to perform and keep going fast, he never stops learning. To be in the sport with him at the same time, being there at the same manufacturer and now a teammate at one of the races, it’s been good.”
Dani Pedrosa (left) and Rossi share the podium at Valencia in 2009.
Dani Pedrosa: “It’s sad, it’s something you never want to happen and especially when you’re on a high level like he has been for so long. Like in my case, it’s a sad day but it’s something you can’t stop… sooner or later it happens for everyone, but in his case, it’s more special because of so many good memories with him. Personally, I can only have huge respect because he was here before me, I tried to catch him, we battled for many years, I’d say in our prime, and then I retired and I see him still going! So huge respect, and I wish him the best in his retirement.”
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