MotoGP | Valentino Rossi retires: “I deserved the tenth title”

MotoGP GP Styria Red Bull Ring 2021 – As already written in the live news and in the following one, Valentino Rossi has announced his retirement from racing at the end of the season.

The "Doctor", nine times world champion, after announcing his retirement, answered the journalists' questions, also touching on the topic of the tenth title, which faded into the "famous" 2015, after the heated duel with Marc Marquez in Sepang and the subsequent departure from the last place in Valencia. Here are some significant passages from the conference.

Statements Valentino Rossi will retire from racing at the end of 2021

“As I said during the season, I would have made the decision and decided to stop at the end of the season. It's a difficult time, it's difficult to say that I won't race next year. I've been doing this for 30 years, starting next year my life will change, I had a lot of fun, it was fun. I would have liked to race for another 20 years, unfortunately it's not possible but it was nice. There were unforgettable moments, I will carry them with me forever. I have had a very long career, I have won many races, some victories that I saw in the video (he was shown a clip, ed.) are unforgettable, pure joy. It's difficult but you have to understand and I think that in the end, in all sports results make the difference. It was difficult because I would have the opportunity to compete with my brother. That's okay, it will be difficult when it comes to the last race. Now I'm just letting you know my decision. I have to tell my fans that I gave everything for a long time, I always tried to give my best to stay at the top, it was a long journey together. Many of my fans were born when I was on the track and arrive with me at this moment. I have incredible support from all over the world, sometimes it's hard to understand. Thanks to all the fans, we had fun together. I made the decision during the season, I wanted to continue but I had to understand if I was fast enough, unfortunately during the season the results were below expectations. I love racing cars, so I think I will race cars but I haven't decided anything yet. I am a pilot and will be one all my life. Two years ago, maybe even last year I wasn't ready to stop because I had to understand, try them all. But now I'm at peace with myself, I'm not happy but even if I had to do another year, I still wouldn't be happy because I would have wanted to race for another 20 years. In the second part of the season I will try to be stronger. I received an offer from my team, I thought about it for a long time because I have my own racing department in Tavullia and I think we have a great team with many people I know. There are mechanics who worked with me in the 250cc days but in the end I decided not to for various reasons. If you think you only have one season, the risks outweigh the positives.”

Statements Valentino Rossi regrets and tenth title racing retirement at the end of 2021

"Regrets? I don't have any, racing with Ducati was very difficult but it was a great challenge. Italian rider on an Italian motorcycle, if we had managed to win it would have been historic. I'm sad that I didn't win my tenth title because I thought I deserved it, I lost twice in the last race. I think I can't complain about the results I've achieved in my career.”

Statements Valentino Rossi career satisfactions racing retirement at the end of 2021

“In Italy many people started following motorbikes for me, like with Alberto Tomba in skiing. This is the most important thing in my career, I think I managed to entertain a lot of people on Sunday afternoons. They didn't think about anything and enjoyed following my races. Even now that the results aren't fantastic, people come to me moved. People recognize me everywhere even in the most remote places in the world like Thailand, where you see 46s on scooters. I will really miss life as an athlete, waking up in the morning with a goal. I will miss riding a MotoGP, I will miss working with my team from Thursday, engineers of the highest level. I will miss the feeling of Sunday morning, you don't feel at ease because you're scared but it's a thrill because you know that the race starts at two."