Finally, the day that motorcycle racing fans fear the most has arrived. MotoGP racer Valentino Rossi has decided to retire in the 2021 racing season. This year's MotoGP match will undoubtedly be the fans' last chance to see the action of the racer nicknamed The Doctor.

The decision, which had been heard since the beginning of the MotoGP season that year, was delivered before the Styrian GP press conference, Thursday (5/8/2021). The driver, who has competed in 26 grand Prix seasons and won nine - yes nine - titles, has previously said he will look at the results of the 2021 half-season to determine his future.

The result is not exactly good either. Rossi has only been able to finish in the top 10 once, making many people see him uncompetitive amid younger riders with higher aggressiveness.

“I've been doing this for about 30 years! So next year my life will change, but anyway it's amazing. I really enjoyed. It was a very long journey. It's really fun to be there for 25-26 years in the world championship," said Rossi.

 

 

 

 

 

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The Petronas Yamaha racer and owner of the VR46 racing team is indeed the person who is most eagerly awaited for his action to become world champion. But statistically, his most competitive appearance was in the 2015 season when he was runner-up to Jorge Lorenzo's world champion.

Rossi was runner-up again for the third time in a row when MotoGP used Michelin tires in 2016. His last win in a race series came in 2017 at the Dutch GP, and it was his 89th victory. Then the number of podiums decreased from five in 2018, 2 in 2019, and one during the 2020 racing season.

Rossi's condition then became increasingly uncompetitive due to several injuries and technical problems. This had made his relationship with the Yamaha manufacturer heated up and became media consumption. The peak was at the beginning of the 2021 season when he decided to move to the Petronas factory team to replace Fabio Quartararo, who moved to the Yamaha factory team.

Rossi himself has not divulged his future after retiring. Still, many say the Italian will not be far from the world of racing. Several times Rossi was seen busy racing with four wheels both in rally and GT.

"When I'm done with MotoGP, I want to race with those cars. I am a rally fanatic and do world championship events, but for me rallying is difficult, very demanding and I want to race on circuits because I like it more," said Rossi at the start of the season.

 

 

 

 

 

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Rossi's story with the world of four-wheel racing has indeed been carried out several times. He had time to feel sitting behind the wheel of Formula 1, Le Mans, and GT3 championships. The world is indeed competitive, which makes people seem to understand his love for the world of racing.

Another issue that is blowing hard is that Rossi will take part in the VR46 racing team, which will appear in the MotoGP class next season. Saudi Arabia's Prince Abdulaziz bin Abdullah bin Saud bin Abdul Aziz al Saud has publicly asked Rossi to continue racing by joining the Aramco-sponsored team. However, thanks to this announcement, of course, the plan was definitely not implemented.

The racer, who was born on February 16, 1979, is famous for his eccentric victory celebrations. At the beginning of his career, Rossi has always seen fierce competition with his seniors; the most memorable is Max Biaggi, to become champion. Rossi initially raced for the Aprilia team in the 125 cc class and continued in the 250 cc class, then moved with Honda and achieved glory with the orange motorbike.

Rossi's move to Yamaha at the start of the 2004 season was one of the most popular news because Honda was a strong team. Many think Rossi will not be competitive. But that negative view disappeared after Rossi brought Yamaha to become world champions in 2004 and 2005.

Throughout his career, Rossi has competed with world-class talents such as Loris Capirossi in the early 90s, Max Biaggi in the early 2000s, and Sete Gibernau, known as the "Qatar Incident." Then came the solid Casey Stoner at Ducati in early 2010 and his team-mate Jorge Lorenzo who also had a chance to become world champion.

 

 

 

 

 

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At the end of his career, Rossi was in the shadow of the young racer Marc Marquez who appeared dominant with Honda. Finally, when Marquez was injured for a season, Rossi could not take the opportunity to win his 10th world champion because Joan Mir from Suzuki was more competitive.

Rossi also had time to move to Ducati, which made many people look forward to the All Italian victory from the manufacturer and the racer. Unfortunately, Rossi only lasted for two seasons until finally back on the Yamaha.

Rossi's retirement decision made the Indonesian MotoGP audience disappointed because they buried their dreams of seeing Rossi compete at the Mandalika Circuit, Lombok. Although it is still tentative, the plan for MotoGP to be present on the island has 90 percent occurred; it is just a matter of waiting for the readiness of the infrastructure, which is currently still being worked on.

Thank you, Valentino Rossi, MotoGP legend.