2001 Le Mans – Rossi's 500cc debut win
The Doctor: nine-time world champion and MotoGP legend.
Valentino Rossi (born 16 February 1979) is an Italian racing driver, former professional motorcycle road racer, and nine-time Grand Prix motorcycle racing World Champion. Nicknamed "the Doctor", he is widely considered one of the greatest motorcycle racers of all time. Rossi is also the only road racer to have competed in 400 or more Grands Prix. Of Rossi's nine Grand Prix World Championships, seven were in the premier 500cc/MotoGP class. He holds the record for most premier class victories and podiums, with 89 victories and 199 podiums to his name.
Quick Facts
- Rider
- Valentino Rossi
- Team
- Honda
- Season
- 2001
- Class
- 500cc (predecessor to MotoGP)
- Circuit
- Circuit Bugatti
- Le Mans
- France
- Significance
- First 500 cc (0.5 L) career victory
Lore & Background
Rossi's motorcycle racing career spanned the transition from the two-stroke era of the 1990s to the MotoGP four-stroke era of the 21st Century. After winning World Championships in the 125 and 250 classes, he won the final 500cc World Championship of the two-stroke era in 2001. Rossi won MotoGP World Championships with the factory Repsol Honda team in 2002 and 2003 and with Yamaha in 2004 and 2005. After two less successful seasons, he regained the title in 2008 and retained it in 2009. After a 2010 season marred by a broken leg and no title defense, he left Yamaha to join the Ducati factory team, but endured two winless seasons with the Italian marque. Having returned to Yamaha in 2013, Rossi took three successive runner-up positions in 2014, 2015, and 2016. His best chance of winning a tenth title came in 2015, where he led the standings for most of the season but finished five points behind team-mate Jorge Lorenzo, the eventual champion. 2017 was the final season in which he achieved over 200 championship points, and he won his final race victory in the 2017 Dutch TT at the age of 38. After three winless seasons with the Yamaha factory team, he moved to Petronas SRT for 2021, and retired at the season's conclusion.
Reader's Guide
Rossi was born in Urbino, in the Marche region of Italy, on 16 February 1979. While he was a child, his family moved to Tavullia. The son of former motorcycle racer Graziano Rossi, he began riding at a very young age. Rossi began with kart racing rather than minimoto racing due to his mother, Stefania's, concern for her son's safety. Rossi first rode a go-kart in 1985. In 1990, Rossi won the regional kart championship. In 1993, Rossi was given his first opportunity to ride a 125cc motorcycle by former world champion Paolo Pileri, who had become a team manager after retiring from competition. Later in 1993, Rossi competed in the 125 cc Italian Sport Production Championship on a Cagiva Mito alongside teammate Vittoriano Guareschi. At his first race meeting, he crashed twice, eventually finishing ninth. In 1996, Rossi debuted in Grand Prix motorcycle racing at age 17. He finished his first season in ninth place with 111 points. In 1997, he won the 125cc title, winning 11 of the 15 races with 321 points. In 1998, he moved up to the 250cc class and finished as championship runner-up with 201 points. In 1999, he won the 250cc world championship with 309 points. In 2000, Rossi moved to the 500cc class with Honda, finishing second in his rookie season with 209 points. In 2001, he dominated the 500cc class, scoring 11 wins and winning the 500cc world championship with 325 points, 106 points ahead of Biaggi.
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