FEATURE I VALENTINO ROSSI ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT
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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 said, "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.
"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
(Above) Dani Pedrosa (left) and
Rossi share the podium at Valencia
in 2009. (Left) The 42-year-old Rossi
is a nine-time World Champion.
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 bin Saud
bin AbdulAziz Al Saud stated
his desire for Rossi to join
half-brother Luca Marini in the
Saudi-backed VR46 Ducati Mo-
toGP squad next year, specula-
tion 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 be-
cause 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 fas-
cinating 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
