Valentino Rossi (born February 16, 1979[1] in Urbino) is an Italianmotorcycle racer and multiple MotoGP World Champion. He is one of the most successful motorcycle racers of all time, with 7 Grand Prix World Championships to his name. According to Sports Illustrated, Valentino Rossi is one of the highest earning sports personalities in the world, having earned an estimated $34 million in 2007.[2] professional
Following his father, Graziano Rossi, Rossi started racing in Grand Prix in 1996 for Aprilia in the 125cc category and won his first World Championship the following year. From there, he moved up to the 250 cc category, again with Aprilia, and won the World Championship in 1999. He won the 500 cc World Championship with Honda in 2001, the MotoGP World Championships (also with Honda) in 2002 and 2003, and continued his streak of back-to-back championships by winning the 2004 and 2005 MotoGP World Championship after leaving Honda to join Yamaha.
Nicknames
Valentino Rossi has had numerous nicknames during his racing career. His first prominent nickname was “Rossifumi.” Rossi explained the etymology of this nickname as a reference and tribute to fellow rider Norifumi Abe.
His next nickname appeared some time around his days racing in the 250 cc World Championship. The nickname “Valentinik” was a reference to the Italian Donald Duck superhero, “Paperinik.”
Since his dominance in 500 cc and MotoGP, Rossi has used the nickname “The Doctor.” This has been attributed to his “cold and clinical dismantling of his opponents” as well as his cool and calm composure in racing compared to his frenetic days in 125 cc and 250 cc where his performance was erratic and dangerous, resulting in numerous crashes. There are two theories as to why Rossi is entitled “The Doctor”, one is Rossi adopted the nickname upon having earned a degree, which in Italy entitles one to use the title “Doctor”. Another, as spoken by Graziano himself, “The Doctor because, I don’t think there is a particular reason, but it’s beautiful, and is important, The Doctor. And in Italy, The Doctor is a name you give to someone for respect, it’s very important, The Doctor… important”. Although Valentino often jokes that the name arrived because in Italy, Rossi is a very common surname for Doctors. These days Rossi rarely crashes and in fact holds the record for the longest streak of consecutive podiums. From September 8, 2002 to April 18, 2004, he stood on the podium at the end of all 23 races including every race in 2003.
He has always raced with the number #46 in his motorcycle grand prix career. Rossi has stated that the original inspiration for this choice of number was the Japanese “wild card” racer Norifumi Abe whom he saw on television speeding past much more seasoned riders in a wet race. He later found out that it was the number his father had raced with in the first of his 3 grand prix career wins, in 1979, in Yugoslavia, on a 250c Morbidelli. Typically, a World Championship winner (and also runner-up and third place) is awarded the #1 sticker for the next season. However, in a homage to Barry Sheene (who was the first rider of the modern era to keep the same number), Rossi has stayed with the now-famous #46 throughout his career. The text on his helmet refers to the name of his group of friends: “The Tribe of the Chihuahua”, and the letters WLF on his leathers stand for “Viva La Figa”, Italian for “Hurray the Pussy”. He has so far escaped any sanctions or ultimatums that he take the letters off because of the “W” for the first letter. Readily apparent is the “W” standing for the two “V”s in “ViVa”, and equally obvious is his success at escaping any disciplinary action from the FIM or Dorna for having the letters so brazenly on the front neck of his leathers. He traditionally also incorporates his favorite color (fluorescent yellow) into his leather designs. Up until the 2007 season, Rossi wore the #1 reserved for the reigning World Champion on the shoulder of his racing leathers.
Fellow motorcycle racer and former team mate Colin Edwards refers to him as The GOAT (Greatest Of All Time).