Valentino Rossi is undeniably one of the most accomplished Italian motorcycle road racers, his performances have made him stand out among his peers. Apart from being a multiple MotoGP World Champion, Valentino is also famous for his nine Grand Prix World Championships. Seven of these are in the premier class.
If his exploits on the track have brought him fame and fortune, the fact of being the owner of the Sky Racing Team has made him even more so. Valentino, popularly known as “The Doctor”, was the first to achieve the 500cc/MotoGP racing classification of all time with a total of 89 victories. He is also the second overall winner of all time with a total of 115 race wins. Giacomo Agostini is the first with 122 race wins. On 3 June 2018, the road racer was the first MotoGP rider to score over 5000 championship points in his career.
Valentino Rossi Bio (Age)
Valentino Rossi was born on 16 February 1979 in Urbino, Italy. His father, Graziano Rossi, is a retired Grand Prix motorcycle road racer, while his mother, Stefania Rossi, works as a land surveyor for the Italian municipality of Tavullia. She is proud that the three men in her life are great riders – Valentino has a much younger stepbrother, Luca Marini, a member of the Sky Racing Team VR46 in Moto2.
Valentino’s love of racing began with karting and as far as we know he started racing when he was very underage – at the age of 5. It is said that his father nurtured his need for speed. So it was no surprise when 11-year-old Valentino won a karting championship in 1990. Soon after, he switched to the minibike, with which he won many regional competitions, before expiring in 1991. Later he started to race exclusively with small engines (minibike) until he won the Italian title in 1993.
In 1994 The Doctor took part in the Italian 125cc Championship with a motorcycle prototype built by the famous Guido Mancini (former rider and mechanic) called Sandroni, using a Rotax engine. The following year (1995) he switched to the Aprilia, winning the Italian 125cc Championship and reasserting himself as a force to be reckoned with when he placed in the third sport in the European Championship. Thanks to these successes it was no great surprise when he won the World Championship, his first in 1997, and the star soon moved on to the 250cc category, also with Aprilia, and won the World Championship again in 1999.
The following year (2000) he made the leap into the premier class, where he kept up with his wins and went home with several championships. If you look at the records, you will certainly see that he was the winner of the 2001 500cc World Championship. Still celebrated for it, he took home the major trophies of the 2002 and 2003 MotoGP World Championship.
With Yamaha, which he joined after leaving Honda, Valentino Rossi won the World Championship in 2004, 2005, 2008, and 2009. For the 2011 season, The Doctor left Yamaha to join Ducati but unfortunately had two seasons without a win. He returned to Yamaha in 2013.
The Italian biker seems to have had a longstanding feud with the younger Spanish biker and multiple World Champion Marc Marquez. In the 2015 season, Marc Marquez crashed during a race for which Valentino received a starting penalty for the last lap. He accused Marc of deliberately trying to ruin his season.
The game-related feud seemed to be settled in 2016 after their handshake in the Parc Ferme at the 2016 Catalonia Grand Prix. But this was not to last long, as Valentino crashed in the 2018 Argentine Grand Prix due to Marc’s “risky” overtaking maneuver during the race. His other former rivals are Max Biaggi, Sete Gibernau, Casey Stoney, and Jorge Lorenzo.
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Apart from The Doctor, Valentino Rossi’s other nicknames are The Goat, WLF, Highlighter Pen, and Rossifumi (in his earlier days). On May 31, 2005, he received an honorary doctorate in communications and advertising. For his efforts in promoting Italy’s world view, the Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini presented him with the first Winning Italy Award on 10 March 2010.
As is usual with other road racers, Valentino has suffered several accidents and injuries. The first time this guy missed a race in his Grand Prix career was in the 2010 season after he crashed at 120 mph on 5th June during his second free practice session.
Girlfriend
In 2016 The Doctor’s heart was broken by his girlfriend at the time, Linda Morselli, who is now in a relationship with Fernando Alonso, a Formula 1 driver.
Earlier this year, however, speculation suggested that his heart could be healed by the love of Sofia Novello, a former Italian professional lingerie model, and Instagram star. As much as they try to keep their love life private, the Italian media swear that they are loved.
