Italian Multiple MotoGP World Champion Valentino Rossi is considered one of the most successful motorbike racers of all time, with nine GP World Champions under his belt. Born on the 16th of February in 1979, almost on Valentine’s Day, he followed the footsteps of his father Graziano and started Grand Prix racing in 1996 in the 125cc category and won his first world GP championship.
On February 23rd, Rossi, will visit the country to promote his Yamaha team’s CSR efforts to help the victims of Typhoon Yolanda under a project called “Champions Rebuild Lives” to raise funds by selling limited racing items to collectors, MotoGP and motorbike fans donated by the MotoGP team.
Following his father,
Graziano Rossi, Valentino started racing in
Grand Prix in
1996 for
Aprilia in the 125cc category and won his first World Championship the following year. From there, there was no stopping him as he moved up to the 250cc category, winning the world championship in 1999. He moved on to the premier class in 2000, winning the 500cc world championship and MotoGP World Championship in 2001 and 2002. Today, he ranks first in the 500cc MotoGP win standings, with 80 victories and second in all time overall win standings with 106 race wins, 16 wins shy of Giacomo Agostini’s record of 122 wins.
Called by his fans as “The Doctor” or the “Goat” which is an acronym for “the Greatest of all Time”. He has always raced under the number 46 all throughout his motorcycle grand prix career as his father did in the first of his 3 grand prix career wins. Traditionally, a world championship winner is accorded the privilege of using the number 1 sticker for the following season. However, Rossi has stayed with the now-famous number 46 throughout his career, but he uses the number 1 patch on the shoulder of his racing suit. We will have more coverage on this during his visit.
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