Rossi : A race against time

MotoGP World Champion Valentino Rossi returns to his country of residence this weekend keeping the fingers on his good hand crossed that he will be in sufficiently good shape to challenge at the front of the field once again.

The Italian left Assen on Saturday evening with his physiotherapist Marco Montanari, who will remain by his side for the rest of the week as he tries to recover as much strength as possible before the crucial ninth round of an intriguing championship.

“We have a lot of work to do to improve the situation with my wrist and try to reduce the swelling and heal the bone as much as possible,” explains Rossi. “It would be better to have a month now to recover but we are racers and we have to go straight to the next race, which is a pity. Anyway I hope we can improve it as much as possible so that I can ride well at Donington. For sure I won't be at full fitness, but we have five days to improve. Colin showed that the bike is working really well so hopefully it will be like this at Donington also for both of us.

“Donington is like a second home Grand Prix for me and I hope the fans give me all the usual support because I need all the help I can get right now. It has been one of my favourite tracks ever since I rode the 125 there for the first time in 1996 and I have a lot of good memories – especially my first win with the 500 in 2001 and victories with Yamaha for the last two years. It’s going to be a big challenge for me to stand on the top of the podium on Sunday, but as long as my hand continues to improve throughout the week, then I think we can try!”

Histoic Win

18 April 2004, in Welkom, the young city located in South Africa, I won my very first race with Yamaha -- a day which will long live in the history of motorcycle racing.

You know the others are looking to make excuses when they say you beat them just because the bike was better........ at the end of 2003, after winning everything in sight the Honda, I was certain I could win with another bike.

I remember well the conventional wisdom among the riders : "If you want to win, you need a Honda."........... I remember all those who insisted that leaving Honda for Yamaha was crazy, a hopeless choice, an impossible challenge with no chance of success. And I also remember what the engineers told me. They insisted that a great racing department, like Honda's, could create and develop an expectional bike even without input from the rider.

Everybody said that in 2004 I would rack up a series of disappointments with Yamaha..... A friend of mine told me that, Gibernau, who was watching footage of me laughing on a video monitor and said, " You'll see, next year when he's on Yamaha and the bike is slipping all over the place and he's landing his rear end, he won't be laughing quite so much."

I had left Honda and gone to Yamaha, in search of new challenges. I was determined to prove that I could win even without a bike, the Honda. That wasn't just about winning another title, it was about resentment and pride, rancour and honour.

That's why that first race at Welkom(South Africa) was the most important of my career. Because it was my first with Yamaha.
Because I battled until th last turn with Biaggi.
Because I had proved what I had set out to prove : the importance of man over machine, how important human input and sensitivity are to the development of a racing bike, to its tuning, to its performance in a race.
That's what it was all about and my win at Welkom confirmed this.


.....You may have seen me stop at the edge of the track, getting off my beautiful Yamaha, and watched as I sat down next to her, wrapping my arms around my knees and lowering my head. You may have wondered what I was doing, perhaps you thought I was overcome with emotion and was having a quiet sob of relief. In fact, I wasn't. Not at all. Behind my black visor, I was laughing. Laughing heartily at that. In that moment, huddled next to my bike on the grass, resting against her tyres, just me and my Yamaha, I was laughing. Laughing because of the incredible feeling of pride, relief and happiness which had overcome me......

Last lap Last chance

I love beating my opponents on the last lap.

It's the most exciting way to win a race.

It was the dying moments of an open shoot-out which began with eight riders and was now down to two. The two of us. Me and Max Biaggi.

The final reckoning of the 2001 championship. Last lap. Last tough spot. Last point of attack. Last chance.....for me.

The turn is on a stretch of asphalt spread like butter over a shallow, green hill..... When you go in to the corner, you can't see what's on the other side. You have to ride from memory. You have no idea when you can brake, you only began to understand when you're on the other side and if you haven't picked the right spot, it's too late, there's nothing you can do about it.

I planned an outside trajectory, so that I could be on his right in the brief downhill stretch and then on the inside on the following turn. There is only one way to get through that turn, in first gear, after downshifting from forth.

If you are first coming out of there, it's over, you've won. I was taking a huge risk of course, I was. But I had to. It was the only way to get ahead of him when it came to brake.

And that was how I won the 2001 Australian GP.
I became the new 500cc World Champion.


Three years later, Sete Gibernau and I found ourselves in the exact same spot on the same track. He was expecting me to attact him, just as I had attacked Biaggi. He knew what was coming - it was the last lap and I had already tried to attack him a few turns earlier, but then I had made a crucial mistake and had allowed Gibernau to regain the lead.

This time, I decided to go inside, at the entrance of the uphill turn, so that I'd be ahead just as we went downhill. I want to seal the victory early, before the long downhill stretch, so I went for it, just as we came into the long turn and the elevation changed.

"I did it!" I thought to myself. But my elation lasted a mere instant. It was a false down. Gibernau came off his brakes and closed my path, and we reached the top of the hill together, with his Honda nudging the front wheel of my Yamaha. But then, suddenly, I saw him going wide, too wide. He couldn't close the trajectory, he was blowing the turn.

"Oh you're going wide, aren't you.... yeah, you're going wide.... yes, yes, you can't do it ..... you're too wide..... I'm coming through!" The thought dashed through my mind as I hit the gas and accelerated past him.

In that part of the track, you're going very fast and you're bent right over. You can't touch your brakes and you can't get up. Once you're in, you're in. If you made the slightest mistake, if your speed isn't right, you're out.

Gibernau came into the turn too fast, while I had exactly the right speed. I passed him, going ahead into the last, slow right turn - just as I had done three years earlier.

And that was how I won the 2004 Australian GP.
I won with the Yamaha.
I beat the Honda.
I retained my MotoGP world title.

Rossi miraculous charge back

Valentino Rossi who fracturing his ankle and wrist in crash on Thursday, finished a miraculous eighth in Saturday's Dutch TT.

The Doctor was delighted with his get-out-of-jail performance as he saved at least eighth points with a powerful charge from the back of the grid to top eighth.

Rossi admitted to have had some 'fun'! "I was in some pain, especially at the start and I wasn't able to ride at 100% of my ability," He begun. "When the adrenalin kicked in I started to feel like I could race and by the time we got to the midway point I was feeling much better and having some fun."

Struggle Rossi : It's hurts a lot

Valentino Rossi's participation in Saturday's Dutch TT at Assen looks increasingly doubtful after the Doctor not only qualified last for the race, almost four seconds off the pace, but also admitted to being in a lot of pain after fracturing his wrist in Thursday's opening practice session.

It is speculated that the Doctor was hoping to save his wrist by completing just a handful of laps in practice before qualifying for the race in the hope that by Saturday, the swollen wrist would have reacted to treatment. However, the swelling and the pain has left Rossi doubtful for Saturday's race.

"I tried using some painkillers but the fracture in my right wrist hurts a lot," he explained." Truly it was very difficult to ride - the hand is very swollen and I don't have much strength.

"Together with Marco Montanari and Doctor Claudio Costa we have done the best that was possible, I've had a lot of treatment and I was able to ride for a few laps, but the strong pain stopped me from finishing the qualifying session," he added.

"We will see how I am and, depending on what happens in the warm-up, we will decide whether I will ride or not," he admitted. "Anyway it's going to be very difficult. We tried to move the brake lever a little bit down and we're now looking at the possibility of making a bigger brake lever to see if this is better for me."

Rossi hoping to race after crash

MotoGP world champion Valentino Rossi refused to let a broken bone sideline him from practice for Saturday's Dutch Grand Prix at Assen.

The Italian flipped off his Yamaha into the gravel at 160kph during Thursday's first session, fracturing a bone in the little finger of his right hand and twisting his left ankle.

He returned from hospital to complete 25 laps on an overcast afternoon with occasional showers, finishing the day as the 12th fastest rider."I'm okay and I would like everyone to relax about it, even if it's been quite hard for me to ride," said Rossi.

"When I...brake it's really hard. I don't have much power or feeling. Plus I took a big bruise on my thorax and I couldn't breathe well for a long time and it's still quite hard to breathe now," he added. "I had all the examinations necessary to check if everything was okay and with some painkillers I was able to ride this afternoon.

Rossi has won the last two races after a troubled start to the year and is now third in the standings, 29 points adrift of Honda's Hayden and nine behind Ducati's Capirossi. The Yamaha rider has a great record at Assen, even though the circuit has been substantially reconfigured since last season.

Rossi has won in the Netherlands for the past two years and started on pole there in 2005.The championship is now in a crucial phase, with a spate of races close together, and the Italian spoke only on Wednesday of the need to stay out of trouble. "It is very important to keep healthy and concentrate at such a crucial moment in the championship," he told a news conference.

Rossi Win Crash-hit Spain GP

MotoGP world champion Valentino Rossi, riding a Yamaha, has won the Catalan Grand Prix for the third year in a row on Sunday.

The race had to be restarted after a bad crash on the first bend that took out three riders, including championship leader Loris Capirossi. Italian Marco Melandri was carried away from the track on a stretcher after being attended to by doctors where he lay in the gravel.

Three MotoGP riders required hospital treatment

A Honda team official reported the rider was conscious. The accident started when Spaniard Sete Gibernau's Ducati flipped, taking John Hopkins, Melandri, Dani Pedrosa, Capirossi and Randy de Puniet with him off the circuit.

Rossi's third victory of the season lifted him to third place in the points table, only 29 points behind Hayden, who has yet to win this year, with 10 races remaining."The restart was difficult," Rossi said.

"Normally it is hard to concentrate, but after a crash like the one we saw today it is even more so." "I wasn't that confident at the beginning of the race, so I just stayed out of trouble," Roberts said. "I stabilised myself by the midway point, and then I rode more steadily to take the third place."

Rossi : Season start here

Fresh from taking an emotional victory at Mugello two weeks ago, Valentino Rossi heads to this weekend's Spanish Grand Prix at Barcelona with the impression that his 2006 campaign really starts here as a new Yamaha M1 chassis introduced at Le Mans has enabled him to find his true form.

The Italian was back to his confident best at Mugello after converting his first front row start of the season into a memorable victory, and with the M1 now to his liking, the Doctor is eager to continue that form into the three back-to-back races in Catalunya, Assen and Donington - three circuits at which he has dominated in past years.

"We have finally arrived where we should be with the bike. It worked really well at the Mugello test and now I think we've really shown that we can fight at the front," said Rossi, who is also aiming to become only the second rider after Mick Doohan to pass the 2000 point mark by finishing second or better.

"This championship is very balanced between Ducati and Honda and Yamaha and the other riders are at a great level so it was very important for us to win at Mugello," he added. "Now we have an eleven race championship and we have to be on the podium at every round."

The Italian, who could also surpass the 2000-point barrier should he finish second or better, heads to Spain with a 34-point deficit to championship leaders Nicky Hayden and Loris Capirossi.

Rossi Dairy 13/06

Rider Lounge, where the Yamaha factory riders hang around and give the fans low down on exactly what it like to be an international motorcycle racer - at work and play. Every few weeks Yamaha's MotoGP and Motocross GP stars will check into the lounge to file their latest report and give you an insight into their (sometimes) glamourous lifestyles.

Valentino Rossi (13/06/2006)

Ciao tutti!

Like everybody it has been a very busy start to the season for me and I have had very little time to spend at home in London. I went back there between Istanbul and Shanghai but from China we went straight to Le Mans, which was a very tough and tiring trip.

To have such a long journey with two races in just seven days was very difficult but to be honest I was unbelievably happy to be back in Europe.Now the trips are much shorter and I can travel back to London very easily to get some time to myself. I like to use that time to do very simple things, like exercising at the gymnasium, having dinner with friends or relaxing with movies and music.

It is good to be in Europe but I definitely enjoyed visiting place like Qatar, Turkey and China. I visited Shanghai, which is an unbelievable city, and the Chinese fans supported me a lot. Even last year, which was the first time we had visited the country with MotoGP, there was a nice and warm atmosphere, which I was really surprised about.

I couldn't imagine that I would be so popular there, so that was something very exciting for me. I also really enjoyed the Chinese food - I love to taste different foods from all over the world and even though you can get anything you want in London it is nice to try it in the country where it comes from!

I went straight from China to France and on the Wednesday night I watched the Champions League final between Barcelona and Arsenal on the television. I like both teams because they have some of the greatest players from all over the world. I enjoyed watching Thierry Henry and Ronaldinho in the final but my favourite player is still Ronaldo. I am a supporter of Inter Milan and he has been a hero of mine since he played there, even though he now plays for Real Madrid.

Speaking of Barcelona, I was lucky enough to have a quick trip there after we tested for a day at Le Mans. I was invited to the Laureus Sports Awards, a big party with lots of famous people. It was a very special night for me because I was given the "Spirit of Sport" award for my contribution to the profile of MotoGP.

This was a huge honour for me because this sport is very close to my heart and I grew up watching it as a fan. For people to think that I have contributed to it in such a special way is fantastic.

My passion for motorcycle racing is just the same as it always was and this is why, as many of you will now know, I have decided to stay in MotoGP and not move to Formula 1.

To drive a Ferrari was amazing and if I had taken on the challenge to drive, it would have been a great passion. But to do it well I had to give 100%, and while I still have a challenge in bikes I can't do that. For some time it was great fun, but to do it seriously while still riding the bike is impossible.

One of the big differences is the role of the rider in MotoGP. To go fast you have to absolutely be a part of the bike. In order to brake well you have to move your weight with the bike; in front, behind, left, right. Instead in the car, you can't move and everything is done with your hands. This is a big difference. I think this is why a bike rider finds it easier to quickly be fast with the car, rather than the other way around.

One of the things I like about motorcycles is that, from the start of the race to the finish, it's just you and the bike. In Formula One there are many other variables and many other people to consider and to make decisions. They know how the car is going during the race and make some decisions for you and tell you what to do. Once I had made my decision to stay with bikes there was only one factory for me to turn to, Yamaha.

It's great to fight with the other factories and the new young riders and it's good for the championship to have Dani Pedrosa on a Honda, Loris Capirossi on a Ducati and Valentino Rossi on a Yamaha. That is the way I want it and I am glad that is the way it will stay.

From Thursday, when we made the announcement, I was able to concentrate only on my home race at Mugello. In practice we did a really good job with the bike and I was happy because we didn't have any chatter problems, we found a good setting for the race and I qualified on the front row for the first time since Phillip Island !

To be honest I couldn't have asked for much more than this and I needed every little thing in the race because it turned out to be one of the closest and hardest battles of my career. I got a really good start and after I passed Sete I tried to escape but it was impossible, he was so strong.

For a long time I didn't know where Loris was because he had a bad start but once he arrived I knew I was in for a hard fight. I decided to let him pass and run behind him for a while but I closed the throttle for half a second and three more riders came through! Suddenly I was down in fifth and had it all to do again.

It was just an amazing fight for everybody and I think it is fantastic that it went down to the final lap between two riders, two factories and two tyre manufacturers. This is great news for our sport. If I had to bet on who would win the last lap I honestly wouldn't have been able to choose.

I don't think I took a breath over the last two laps but I made it! To do it in front of so many fans, family and friends is a special emotion. I enjoyed a little celebration on Sunday night but on Monday it was back to work with a quick test to prepare for a tough run of races. Three GPs in three weekends will be hard work but I'm looking forward to it now after this brilliant win. I hope you enjoyed my first diary and I will speak to you all again soon. Hopefully I will have many more victories to talk about!

Ciao,Vale #46

Rossi show Schumacher why

Valentino Rossi showed Michael Schumacher exactly why he didn't want to join him at Ferrari next year by winning one of the most exciting MotoGP races in living memory at Mugello on Sunday - with the F1 legend looking on.

90,000 patriotic Italians gathered to see Rossi take his fifth successive home victory, while MotoGP fans worldwide and special trackside guest Schumacher - who had earlier been treated to a ride on the Ducati two seater - marveled at the unbelievable 23-lap battle around the picturesque 3.259 miles circuit, owned by Ferrari, high in the Tuscan hills.

The first half of the race saw Rossi and Sete Gibernau head a seven rider lead group bu, in the later stages, the race turned into a gnarly street fight between the Camel Yamaha of Rossi, the Ducati Marlboro of fellow home hero Loris Capirossi and the Repsol Honda of American Nicky Hayden. After constant lead swapping, it was Rossi who secured his much needed second win of the season by just half a second from Capirossi, with Hayden a close third.

"It has been a perfect day for Valentino and for Italy after this fantastic battle to the final corner," added team director Davide Brivio. "It was just what we needed after the bad luck of recent races - Valentino needed to win and you could see how much it meant to him. Yamaha have done a great job to bring our package back up to a competitive level and now I hope we can keep fighting for wins until the end of the season."

Rossi stay with Yamaha

Valentino Rossi will remain with Yamaha Team in 2007 MotoGP World Championship. "The Doctor" will continue to spearhead Yamaha's Grand Prix challenge and bike development, as MotoGP enters a new era of 800cc racing in 2007.

Rossi has enjoyed huge success with Yamaha since he joined the factory just over two years ago. He won the championship with the YZR-M1 on his first try in 2004 and again in 2005.

When Yamaha took a clean-sweep of Riders', Team and Manufacturers' Championships in the year of it's 50th Anniversary. 2006 has proved more difficult for the World Champion, with just one win so far this season after a series of unfortunate occurrences, but Yamaha has every faith that Rossi will recover his winning-form, starting at his home Grand Prix in Mugello this weekend.

"I'm very pleased to be staying with Yamaha next year", announced the 27-year-old from Tavullia, "These past two years with Yamaha have been two of the best of my career and I am extremely happy to stay with them and with my team. I believe I have made the right choice and I am very excited about the challenge of a new class of racing with Yamaha next year."