Valentino Rossi is an Italian professional motorcycle racer who has won several World Championships.
Among the most successful motorcycle racers of all time, Valentino Rossi has been the winner of Grand Prix World Championships nine times. He won seven of his titles in the premier class and became the only rider in World Championship history to have won the title in four classes: 125cc, 250cc, 500cc, and MotoGP.
Valentino is the son of Graziano Rossi, who is also a retired professional motorcycle racer. As a child, Rossi was gifted a kart by his parents instead of a bike.
He enjoyed it a lot in pre school.
Valentino still loved riding his kart, and in 1990 he won the local kart racing competition at 11 years old. He gradually transitioned from karts to bikes, and after the initial difficulties, he participated in and won the Italian Sport Production Championship in 1994.
His father helped and overlooked his progress in the two disciplines and took help of his former professional racer friends to guide Valentino properly. Valentino's motorcycle racing career started in 1995 when he participated in the Italian 125cc championship and won.
Every year, hence, Valentino Rossi participated in and won various motorcycle racing championships for 25 consecutive years.
In 1997, he became the youngest rider to claim the 125cc World Championship title. In 1998, he secured the runner-up position in the 250cc World Championship.
Rossi finished first in the last 500cc World Championship of 2001.
Valentino was signed up by Yamaha in 2004 when he participated in and won the Grand Prix. Valentino Rossi is nicknamed as 'The Doctor' and is regarded as one of the best motorcycle racers in the world and of all time.
In 2018, Valentino Rossi became the first MotoGP racer to complete 24,901 mi (40,075 km) of racing in a year alone, which is equivalent to taking one lap of the earth.
Rossi is known to be quite competitive and shares a very fierce rivalry with other motorcycle racers such as Marc Márquez, Casey Stoner, Max Biaggi, Jorge Lorenzo, and Sete Gibernau, among others.
Nine championships and 25 years later, Valentino Rossi retired from the world of motorcycle racing after competing in his final race in November 2021.
Valentino always competed under the number '46' which is also the number that his father, Graziano Rossi, competed in his motorcycle races with. You can find some of the best and most timeless Valentino Rossi quotes compiled in this article, taken from many post-race interviews over the years.
Motivational Valentino Rossi Quotes
Valentino Rossi is a motivational icon for many MotoGP and motorcycle racing fans around the world. Check out this compilation of some of the most inspiring Valentino Rossi quotes.
"The great fights with your strongest rivals are always the biggest motivation. When you win easily, it's not the same taste."
"Giving yourself threads doesn’t mean you don’t believe in yourself in my opinion."
"I’m very happy because I won a lot. I’ve won races and lived in a world that just gave me joy, so I remember it very positively."
"Fortunately during my career I have won more or less everything, so I need to enjoy it to have the right motivation."
"I think the secret is to understand that you still want to be part of the game. To do so, you have to forget all the victories you've managed to get in the previous years and have a great humility.
You also need to realise that, if you want to go on, you have to work hard. If you dwell too much on your past successes and say 'well, I have won nine world titles and more than 100 races', you'd rather stay home."
Valentino Rossi Racing Quotes
Motorcycle racing is a competitive sport, to say the least. Here are some Valentino Rossi quotes taken from his post-win interviews at some of the races and championships he has won.
"Riding a race bike is an art – a thing that you do because you feel something inside."
"I try to have a different relationship with the bike. I don’t give it a name, but I always speak with it. I don’t know if the other riders do the same. This is not only a piece of metal – there is a soul. The bike talks back too. But not with a voice, with the components"
"The most important thing is to have a good relationship with the bike… you have to understand what she wants. I think of a motorcycle as a woman, and I know that sounds silly, but it’s true."
"To be a great motorbike racer, the most important thing is passion for the bike."
"I never race for records. The motivation to try to beat the record is not enough to continue. You have to enjoy it."
"It's a big, big advantage because understanding what changes we might make takes time, and it takes time to work out settings and to understand everything about the new machine."
"I was lucky. My father raced bikes. He gave me the passion very early. I had my first bike when I was three or four years old."
"The work that we do during the winter is very important; we have a new bike and it's important to develop it during this time, and we start with this test"
"I race to win. If I am on the bike or in a car it will always be the same."
"The speed is something dangerous but very exciting."
"I am able to ride the bike and think clearly about strategy and tyres. I also have positive thinking. I am very constructively critical."
"In 2002, the Yamaha was at more or less the same level as the Honda, better in some ways, worse in others. But in the winter of last year between 2002 and 2003, Honda made a big step forward, and it seemed as if Yamaha couldn’t quite match that improvement."
Best Valentino Rossi Quotes
Being a champion of the competitive sport that is motorcycle racing, Valentino Rossi has many great words to convey the important things in his life. Read a few of them here.
"You can tell people you fell because the bike didn’t follow the trajectory it was supposed to follow or tell them that you are actually really fast, but the bike simply isn’t. inside you, however, you know the truth. You know, you fell off because you made a mistake, or because your opponent is simply faster than you."
"If you believe you are the best, you can't get better, and I always want to get better."
"I have always challenged myself, and it's also important to learn from the rivals. Every rider has his own style, and you have to count on some elements that cannot be changed.
On the contrary, the bike or the tires can change, and it's important to adapt yourself. It's up to the rider to understand what he can change and how much he can adapt."
“Friendship is very important to me. With some friends, we've known each other since we were kids, and it's a very strong relationship.
They always tell me what they think, even when I am wrong. It's great to share with them the best moments. I also have many friends in the team, and I like to share my passion with them.”
Famous Valentino Rossi Quotes
Some of the most famous Valentino Rossi quotes that stand out to motorcycle racing fans include.
"Maybe the bike is more dangerous, but the passion for the car for me is second to the bike."
"I'm Valentino Rossi. And I want to be a person, not an icon"
"I feel 100% a Yamaha rider in my heart. I had a long career and raced with several factory bikes, but the highlight of my career is undoubtedly with Yamaha."
"Barcelona is a special track. I have always loved the layout of the circuit, but also the atmosphere and the fans are special. It has always been good fun."
"I’m lucky because I don’t feel too much pressure – it’s only in the last hour before the race, and even then it’s good, positive pressure."
"I would have probably stolen cars – it would have given me the same adrenaline rush as racing."
"Records are not the most important thing but I am very happy to have the same number of victories as 'Mike the Bike'"
