Rossi Diary no.2

Valentino diary – September 2006

A lot of things have happened since my last diary, especially on the track, but I have talked enough about that in the press and now my only thoughts regarding racing are to do as well as I possibly can over the last five races. It is quite strange because for the first time in almost six years I'm not feeling any pressure to go and win the championship. Of course it's still possible and I am going to try, I don't think anybody expects it of me now and I can just go out to enjoy each race and try to do my best.

With just one race in the past seven weeks I have been able to take some time out to relax and enjoy myself, which I especially needed after what happened at Laguna Seca. From there I went back to London for ten days and spent most of my time catching up on some shopping, going out with friends and taking care of my house. Soon after I was there last, there were all the security alerts at Heathrow. Personally I just try to not think about it, even if I’m really worried, because I live there and I have to travel a lot. It makes me really sad that these things can happen but we can only pray for the end of these tragic events.

After ten days in London I went to Italy for a short break before the race at Brno and was able to relax some more and spend time with my family and my dog, Guido. After Brno I went to Ibiza – a place I always love to go on holiday. Last week I took a boat out to Formentera – a really beautiful island in the Mediterranean near Ibiza, and had a great time some friends.

Going to Ibiza so late in the summer means it is a little less crazy and there are less people, so I can relax a bit more, and I wasn’t worrying about the bike so much, which was nice for me too. It may sound as though all I do when I am not racing is relax but I can assure you I train every single day. To be a MotoGP rider you have to be in top physical shape and even though riding the bikes keeps you fit during the season I still go jogging and visit the gym often.

Even though I haven't had much to celebrate on the racetrack this summer, as an Italian I have to mention the football World Cup, which of course we won against France back in July. I watched all the games during the competition – many of them in the Camel Yamaha hospitality unit at the circuits – and really enjoyed every one, especially the semi-final against Germany. A lot of the team are Italian so we were able to enjoy the games together – we even knocked out Australia so that kept Jeremy Burgess and my other mechanics quiet, thank goodness! When we won the final against France I went crazy - riding around on my bike with my best friends: it was an unforgettable night.

Speaking of football, my team Inter Milan have started the season well by making some good signings and winning the Super Cup against AS Roma. We were able to take advantage of the punishment given to Juventus by signing Zlatan Ibrahimovich and Patrick Vieira, and we also got Hernan Crespo from Chelsea, which I was really happy about because they are really good players. Vieira and Crespo both scored in the Super Cup so it looks like they will be good signings for Inter and I think we have a good chance to win Serie A this season, even though it will be difficult.

I have also been keeping an eye on the Formula 1 and I am very sad to hear that my good friend Michael Schumacher may be retiring. Even though it is a shame because he is still at the top I also think it's a great way to finish - still winning races, without spending some years going downhill. I really hope he can win the title this year and I will really be cheering for him - it will be hard but it's not impossible. I think it's good to see that 37 years is not too old in motor racing and when I look at Loris Capirossi I am very happy because he is five years older than me and he is still winning races! The main reason I didn't go to Formula 1 myself was because at the moment I cannot imagine my life without racing motorcycles. So hopefully I have a few more years in me and then I would like to retire at the top.

Anyway, back to motorcycle racing! This weekend we have the first of three races in as many weeks and I think the title could be decided during this trip. Overall this has been a more equal season and of course I am sad for the 30 points that I have lost when I couldn’t finish but it is great fun because now there are five riders within fifty points and they all have a chance to win the title. All of us have won some races this year so everyone is really competitive and it will be tough but I think my bike is in a good way after Brno and my target to win every single one of them. Then we will see how the championship is in Valencia!

Ciao!

Vale #46